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Sabrina and the others said nothing.
"As in Long John Silver," he continued.
Still, the girls were silent.
"As in
Treasure Island, documented by Robert Louis Stevenson," Silver said proudly.
"You're the bad guy then?" Daphne asked. "I've seen the movie about you. You're not very nice."
"Everyone has seen that lousy movie. Doesn't anyone read anymore?" the pirate asked with a scowl. "The book really captures more of my complexities."
The pirates roared with laughter.
"Aren't you supposed to have a peg leg?" the little girl asked. Silver lifted his pant cuff to reveal a prosthetic leg. "This one here is the latest model."
"You'll regret this, pirate," Moth seethed. The crowd booed.
"Pirate is such an ugly word," Silver explained. "Pirates are criminals. This is the twenty-first century. We've traded in doubloons and treasure for stocks and bonds."
The parrot squawked. "Buy low, sell high!"
"Then why did you attack us?" Sabrina asked.
"Money, little lady, money. Controlling the ports is a lucrative business, especially now that Oberon isn't around to stop us. The king extorted a lot of money from us. Now we've got an opportunity to get it back."
"So, you shot ca
"Kid, they may call New York the city that never sleeps but they should call it the city that never notices. We could sail up the East River and attack the mayor's mansion and I doubt it would even make the papers."
"Well, then, we don't want to get in the way of your little party. Why don't you drop us off at the dock and we'll let you get back to your fun," Sabrina said.
The crowd erupted into laughter.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Silver said. "You see, you're not exactly guests, you're hostages."
"What does hostages mean?" Daphne asked.
"It means we're prisoners he's going to use to bargain with," Sabrina said.
"We're selling you to the highest bidder. The children of Veronica Grimm have to be worth something, not to mention a princess of the royal court to sweeten the pot. Friends, we're going to get one enormous holiday bonus!"
Everyone cheered.
"Now, rules of the sea are we treat our prisoners with civility, so help yourselves to the buffet. The DJ will be playing for another half hour and then we're going to do some karaoke. Relax, try to have some fun, but don't even think about singing 'Love Shack.' That's my song."
"Silver!" Moth cried. "When Titania finds out that you not only prevented the capture of a known murderer but also violently kidnapped me, you'll wish you were dead. You will never get away with this."
"I never get tired of hearing people say that to me," the pirate said, joining the others in a raucous laugh.
Moth snarled and then spit in the pirate's face. Silver calmly reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. He cleaned the spittle from his cheek, put his handkerchief back, then took a long curved knife from the cheese table and aimed the point at Moth's throat.
"You have a nasty mouth," Silver said. "Though I suppose I could fix that by cutting your tongue out."
The crowd roared its approval.
Suddenly, there was a bright flicker at one of the port windows. Sabrina looked out but didn't see anything. Maybe all the stress was getting to her.
"Leave her alone," Daphne pleaded. "She won't be any more trouble."
"Shut your yap, child!" Silver shouted as he dropped his cane and grabbed Daphne by the throat. "I'd hate to lose you, too, but I'm sure one Grimm girl would be just as valuable as two."
"Take your hands off her," Sabrina cried as she rushed at the rogue. He swung his knife away from Moth and toward her throat, stopping within the tiniest fraction of an inch of her skin.
"Keep it up, girlie, and you'll be able to breath out of your neck," he said.
Just then, the door into the hull flew off its hinges. A dark figure stepped down into the room. It was Cobweb. "Run, girls!" he shouted, then opened his mouth and shot a stream of fire at the pirates. They fled in every direction, giving Sabrina enough time to snatch her sister and Moth and rush them back up the steps onto the deck of the yacht. She peeked back and found Puck's cocoon following closely behind. "Did he just save us?" Daphne said.
Sabrina shrugged. "Let's worry about getting off this boat. He might come back up here and change his mind."
The girls searched the ship but there was no lifeboat to be found; and worse, the pirates were already charging up onto the deck. Long John Silver hobbled up from below, followed by a dozen angry men with daggers. Two of them were dragging Cobweb along.
"You know, there's one thing I've learned during my time on Wall Street-you have to weigh the value of investments," Silver bellowed as he came toward the girls, who were now trapped against the ship's railing. "Take you Grimms, for instance. The both of you could be worth your weight in gold, but then again, it might be just as valuable to me to watch you and your fairy friends walk the plank."
"Dump the stock, now!" the pirate's parrot shrieked from his shoulder. "Sell! Sell! Sell!"
One of Silver's men rushed up from below with a long piece of wood and set it on the edge of the yacht. Once it was secure,
Silver pulled the cheese knife out of his belt and forced Sabrina to climb up on the plank.
"Don't hurt my sister!" Daphne yelled. She tried to grab at Sabrina's shirt to pull her back on deck, but one of the pirates yanked the little girl away.
"Let them go, Silver," Cobweb demanded. A pirate punched him in the belly to quiet him.
"Wait your turn," the man croaked.
Sabrina walked to the edge of the plank and looked down at the icy water.
This is the second time I've been on one of these things, she remembered. Puck had forced her to walk a plank above their neighbor's pool the first time they met. He had used his pixies to get her up on the board.
Pixies.
"Excuse me," Sabrina said. "Don't I get a last request?"
Silver smiled. "Indeed. Name it."
"I'd like my good friend Moth to play us a song on her flute. Something happy before we die."
"You are as dumb as a cow!" Moth cried. "You get one last wish and this is it?"
Sabrina looked at Daphne. "Yes, a song like the one Puck used to play for us. One so sad it stings."
Daphne's eyes grew wide with understanding. "Yes, Moth, play a song on your flute."
Cobweb cocked his eyebrows, showing Sabrina that he understood what she wanted. "Princess, might I suggest a particular song? I've always loved 'Flight of the Pixies.'"
Moth took her wooden flute out of the folds of her dress. Sabrina wasn't sure the little fairy understood what they wanted her to do, but she lifted the instrument to her mouth and blew a few short notes. When she was done, nothing happened.
"Uh, wasn't there a second verse?" Sabrina said. Maybe they were too far from shore for the pixies to hear them.
"No, there isn't a second verse," Moth snapped.
"Then play it again!" Sabrina cried.
Moth lifted the flute again and blew the same notes.
"All right, that's enough," Silver said.
"But wait, you filthy crab, what about your last request?" Moth asked.
"Why would I need a last request?" Silver said.
"Because you're about to be attacked," the little fairy girl replied. A split second later, the entire yacht was enveloped in an enormous swarm of dancing lights. They swirled around the pirates, who swatted at them with little effect. The pixies were everywhere, and they were stinging with all their might. Silver swung his dagger wildly as little dots of blood appeared on his face. The pirates raced into the belly of the boat, hoping to escape the swarm and letting go of Cobweb in an effort to protect themselves. When he realized his men were gone, Silver hobbled quickly after them.