Cyll’s fist crashed into a wall of twisting white air that appeared between him and Humbol. The well dressed man gave him a dismissive look and turned his back on the immortal pirate to glare at Maya.

“Sending your useless subordinates against me will accomplish nothing,” Humbol growled. “I do not enjoy your games. Give me the treasure.”

“You’d best watch your tone,” Maya said, her brow lowering in anger. “You clearly have the wrong idea. We aren’t scared of you, moneybags. We just don’t want to damage our ship. If I did, I’d just ask Patty to chop you in half.”

Humbol scoffed at the sight of the small girl beside Maya. The axe was nearly larger than she was.

“But you won’t handle me yourself, eh? I wonder why that is,” Humbol said.

“Because you’re not worth her time,” Cyll growled. His hand wrapped around the man’s neck and squeezed.

Humbol’s eyes bulged out of his head. A violent gale erupted around him, throwing Cyll back. The immortal pirate spun midair, landing on his feet with a savage grin. Maya and Patty were also buffeted, but the winds reduced drastically in strength as they grew farther from the intruder.

“How did you get through the wind?” Humbol asked, his eyes wide. “They were moving fast enough to tear human flesh, but you didn’t even get wounded?”

Cyll responded by dashing towards Humbol. The bejeweled pirate flicked his hand and a gust of wind launched Cyll into the air.

The pirate spun as he flew, grabbing a rope and swinging across the deck before launching himself towards Humbol feet first. He slammed into the man and they both went down in a flurry of punches.

“Watch the deck!” Maya yelled. “We don’t want to put any dents in it on accident.”

“My bad!” Cyll called back. His muscles tensed and he spun onto his back, releasing Humbol.

The intruder staggered to his feet, a bruise on his cheek. Cyll rocked onto his shoulders and thrust his feet straight into the air, driving them violently into Humbol’s neck and snapping the man’s head back. Cyll rose and drove a powerful punch into the man’s stomach.

A merciless blade of white wind formed in the air behind Cyll. It drove into his chest, punching out of where his heart was in a spray of blood that splattered across the deck and Humbol’s cloak.

The dark-skinned pirate spun furiously to face Maya. His nose was bleeding and one of his eyes was swollen shut.

“Now your man is dead,” Humbol said, glaring at Maya. “You wasted his life. Are you happy?”

Maya just quirked an eyebrow. Cyll rose behind Humbol like a vengeful demon, his eyes flashing with fury. Humbol didn’t even have time to squeak as the other man’s powerful arms wrapped around his chest.

Cyll suplexed Humbol into the deck. The wealthy pirate’s head hit the wood with a thunk and he crumpled like a doll with its strings cut. The immortal pirate dropped his adversary on the ground and rose, grimacing at the new hole in his shirt.

“Sorry about that, Cap,” Cyll apologized. “I think I got blood on the deck.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Maya replied. “I saw you absolutely jittering next to the wheel when this moron jumped on board, so I figured you’d want to get a swing at him.”

“Read me like a book,” Cyll said, scratching the back of his head and grinning. “So, what do we do with him? I don’t think he’s dead, and his ship is still heading straight at us.”

Maya stretched her arm out and sent a request to her cloak. A moment later, a rope of water detached itself from her and slithered around Humbol, binding the man tightly. Then she slapped him in the face.

It took two more strikes before the man jerked awake. He drew in a sharp breath and tried to rise, but the bindings restricted his movement. The eye that wasn’t swollen shut widened as he saw Cyll before him, completely unharmed.

“You’re still alive?” He wheezed. “How?”

“You don’t get to ask the questions here,” Maya said, grabbing Humbol by the collar and lifting him slightly into the air. “Honestly, you’ve got a lot of nerve. You fly onto our ship, threaten us, and then don’t even have the good graces to look ashamed after you lose the fight.”

“Maya? Humbol’s ship is getting pretty close,” Patty warned. “We’ll be broadside pretty soon. Do you want me to jump over and take care of them?”

“Can you really deal with an entire ship?” Maya asked, dropping Humbol and rising to her feet. “We could just try to book it and toss this bloke in the other direction so they don’t follow us.”

“I could probably throw a cannonball hard enough to sink them if I landed a few good shots,” Patty said, tilting her head in thought.

“Now there’s an idea,” Maya said, her face brightening. “Get on that. Give them a warning shot first. If they keep coming, send them to the bottom of the ocean. We tried being nice, and look where that got us.”

She nudged Humbol with the tip of her foot.

“Send them to the bottom of the ocean if they don’t listen. I think I’ve had enough being pushed around,” Maya said.

“Wait!” Humbol begged, forcing himself upright. “I don’t know if you can actually sink them, but please leave my crew out of it!”

Maya’s eyebrow raised.

“Your crew? You’re the captain?”

“I am,” Humbol replied, gritting his teeth. “They won’t fire on you. We don’t even have any ammunition left. Don’t sink them. Please.”

“And how do I know you’re telling the truth? You didn’t seem very willing to listen to reason when you first got here,” Maya said.

“He’s being honest,” Cyll put in. “I’ve met enough liars in my time to know what one sounds like. This one is way too proud to lie like that. He’s just as pitiful as he looks.”