(Yah-�u Nahkts)
Chapter 3
Diego lowered his head and brushed her neck softly with his lips. She smiled and turned around, facing him. �Diego de la Vega,� she murmured, putting her hands on his broad shoulders, �do you have any idea how much I love you?�
He raised his right brow in mock surprise. �Was that a rhetorical question?�
Annabelle faked indignation. �You know very well what I meant,� she said, pinching his sides � a slight revenge for him tickling her this morning.
He laughed and grabbed her hands, bringing them behind her back so that she could not move. Having imprisoned her in this fashion, Diego caught her mouth, despite her desperate attempts to break free, and covered it in a long ardent kiss. And she stopped squirming, giving in to the bewitching power of his lips.
***
The rolling became stronger, and the sky kept growing darker every second. Suddenly, it became so dark inside their cabin that they were barely able to make out separate objects, let alone each other. Diego groped blindly for the candle, and, a few moments later, its delicate flame illuminated the room with a faint, flickering light. Annabelle noticed the worried look in his eyes and swallowed nervously. She had heard of the violent storms that raged in the North Sea. So many ships found a cold watery grave in its deep. �God forbid, the same should happen to us,� the young woman thought, feeling a cold shiver run down her spine.
�I will go and see what is happening outside,� Diego said and walked out the door.
A violent gust of northern wind mixed with icy water slammed into him as soon as he left the cabin, almost throwing him backward against the wall. The young Californiano gasped for air, feeling the chilling wind penetrate down to his very bones. As far as he could see, the sky was completely covered with sinister looking pitch-black clouds. The sea itself seemed almost black, raising its waters angrily all around the Victoria, eager to swallow up that fragile vessel and turn it into a wooden wreck.
Diego moved slowly toward the captain�s bridge, trying to keep his balance on the rocking, slippery deck. When he finally made it, he thanked God for the railing. Had he not grabbed a hold of one, a strong, though middle-sized, wave, that swept over that area a second later, would have certainly carried him overboard.
��Qu� diablo?� Juan Viejo glared at the young caballero, screaming over the storm. �What are you doing here?�
�I wanted to know how bad the situation was,� Diego yelled back, spitting out the salty water.
Viejo scowled, turning away from him and shifting his attention to the confused group of sailors below the bridge. �Secure the jib, men! Don�t let it get loose!�
�Captain!� Diego reminded, shielding his face from the icy, stinging splashes.
Juan Viejo turned sharply, narrowing his eyes on the young don. �What do you wish to know, se�or?� he growled, praying silently that this rich caballero would go back to his cabin and get out of harm�s way. �That this wind has probably sent us miles off course into the open sea? That we will be lucky if our ship does not get torn to pieces by this storm? Is this what you wish to hear?�
Seeing the disconcerted look on the young man�s face, the captain regretted his blunt outburst. There was no need to alarm the passengers in such a way. And even the stress of the situation was no excuse. �If you will just return to your cabin, please, se�or,� Viejo added softly, looking pleadingly at him.
Diego nodded in confirmation, but, before he could move, a giant wave rose mountain-like above the ship and swept across the deck, coming down on it with all its might. It knocked the young man off his feet and flung him across the captain�s bridge, throwing him with full force against the railing. Diego gasped in pain, clutching the wooden reinforcement, as he struggled to get back up.
�Man overboard!� came a shrilling, fear-filled cry that split the roar of the storm, cutting into everyone�s consciousness like a knife.
Still slightly dazed from the impact, Diego glanced down to where the Victoria�s helmsman stood only a minute ago. The steering wheel rolled aimlessly from side to side, unattended. The deck was empty.