"Release the sails," Captain Wyvern commanded. He looked at his captives. "Take them below," he ordered Isaiah the quartermaster. "I will decide what to do with them later!"

Thor, Iakob, and Edgar were taken down into the hold where they sat on the mast step, tied with their backs to the base of the mast. The hatch was closed and they were surrounded by darkness. Thor could feel the ship rise and fall with the motion of the sea. He could hear the sounds of footsteps from above and the creaks and groans of the ship as she rode the waves.

Edgar's words echoed the thoughts in his own mind, "What will happen to us?"

Thor did not even want to consider what might become of Edgar. The way the pirates had looked at the boy with undisguised lust when he had been found on The Alexandria, made Thor fear for him. Thor vowed in his heart he would do all in his power to keep Edgar safe. He knew it was an empty promise. In his present situation he was powerless. But if the opportunity arose he was prepared to do what he must to protect the boy.

Iakob responded to Edgar's question. "It all depends on the captain's wishes. It is best for us if we submit to him. Our fate is in his hands. We must pray that he is a fair-minded man."

Fair-minded? Thor thought bitterly. Do those words have any connection to the man who killed Brewster, set Captain Allison, Miguel, and Adams adrift and sank The Alexandria with the crew lashed to the rails!

After a time, which in the darkness Thor had no way of calculating, the hatch opened. The quartermaster appeared, carrying a lantern.

"The captain has sent for you!" he said with a sneer as he hung the lantern, untied Thor, and pulled him to his feet.

"Remember what I said," Iakob admonished.

"Stow it!" the seaman snarled and issued a swift kick to Iakob's ribs. The old seaman grunted in pain.

As Thor was led away, he could hear Iakob comforting Edgar.

* * * *

Isaiah pushed Thor down the passageway. His hands were still bound behind his back, and he lost his balance several times, falling heavily against the bulkheads as he was roughly shoved from behind. They stopped outside a cabin door.

Pounding on the door, Isaiah shouted, "He is here, Captain. I brought him to you just as you asked."

The door opened and Thor was thrust inside. Isaiah followed and stood behind him.

"Untie him," came the captain's voice from somewhere in the shadows.

Thor felt the ropes being removed. Isaiah gave him one final push, and Thor staggered to the center of the dimly-lit cabin, massaging his wrists to restore circulation. He stood for a moment trying to get his bearings.

The captain stepped into a pool of light created by a lantern. Thor stared. This was the first time he had seen the man this close. Thor's heart raced. The pirate captain's shaved head, chiseled features, goatee, and arched eyebrows all reminded the young seaman of the pictures of Satan in his catechism book back at St. Bartholomew's. The man standing here now exuded total evil. Thor was surprised that he felt arousal mixed with his fear and loathing.

Slowly, Wyvern disrobed, letting first his shirt and then his pants fall to the deck. Thor's eyes took in the man's muscular nakedness. Wyvern smiled at Thor's sharp inhalation as the young man saw for the first time the dragon tattoo that graced the captain's body. Its scaly green head hung over one shoulder and rested on the right side of his chest. Its extended red tongue seemed to lick the man's nipple. One black clawed limb encircled his right bicep, the other curled around the back of his neck, resting on his left shoulder. Wyvern turned sensuously and Thor stared mesmerized as the dragon coiled itself around the man's back, down over his firm buttocks, a claw giving the illusion of digging into the full, round mound of flesh, the tail wrapping around his left leg.

Wyvern turned again to face Thor. The captain's cock now stood straight and rigid from his body, another clawed dragon foot encompassing the base of his erect manhood. Captain Wyvern stepped toward Thor, who took a deep breath and held it, straightening and squaring his shoulders in defiance of the man standing before him.

"It is either you or the boy," the captain said softly, running a finger over Thor's chest and teasing a nipple with a long painted nail. "The crew has him at this moment and will not violate my order to spare him. I have no taste for a youth's flesh, but they are a hungry lot and will not wait forever when fresh meat is available. So, what will it be, my fine young sailor?"