Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of Jason. He was engulfed in the wave as well, but staring at her, a knife in his hand slashing at the rope holding him to the foremast. Then she lost sight of him as the rushing wave twisted her about. She caught at the gunwale, pitting human strength against the force of an angry sea, but felt her grip loosening as the irresistible weight of the water pushed her to the rail and over.

Chapter 12

Kira saw the gunwale falling away from her as she was pushed toward the hungry waves below. Everything seemed to move so slowly: her arm raised toward the rail now just out of her grasp and forever beyond her reach, the rage of the storm and her own futile efforts almost frozen in what Kira knew must be the last seconds of her life.

As if in a dream someone's arm shot into view over the rail, then Jason appeared, riding the wave, one hand locking onto the top of the gunwale, the other reaching for her, Jason himself over the side but holding on, arms fully extended, his free hand closing on her arm just below the wrist and clamping tight with a grip so hard it hurt.

Kira's fall halted with a jolt, the last rush of the wave past, her dangling over the waves, Jason holding her arm and clinging to the rail, his face twisted with effort. "Let go of me!" Kira shouted. "You'll fall, too!"

"No!" Jason yelled, straining to pull her up.

The ship jerked upward as she rolled toward the next trough, bringing them hard against the hull. Kira used the motion to boost herself against the side of the ship, managed to get one hand onto the rail, then she and Jason twisted over the top of the gunwale and fell to the deck inside.

Kira barely had time to blink in disbelief that she was still alive when over the roar of the sea and the storm she faintly heard shouts of warning. "Here comes another!"

A second monstrous wave rose on the starboard quarter, already sweeping toward them. Huddled against the inside of the gunwale, Kira ran her arm through a tiedown next to her, wrapped the other arm firmly around Jason, then curled up to take the force of the wave.

It hit in a welter of solid water and foam that slammed her against the gunwale, seeming to take forever to subside. Kira gasped for breath as the water finally eased, looking over at Jason, trying to understand what had just happened, what he had just done. But there was no time for anything except trying to survive the next wave. Kira got her arm loose and helped Jason stand against the force of the wind, the rain, and the pitching deck, both of them staggering toward the mainmast.