Free The World Duology (World Odyssey / Fiji: A Novel) by Lance Morcan, James Morcan Page A

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    Sasqua began fondling the young maiden and wasn’t expecting what happened next. Nathan caught him with a king hit that landed just below the big man’s right ear, felling him. The slave boss looked up, stunned, as the young white rai ned punches down on him. Somehow, Sasqua managed to roll away and scramble to his feet.
    The other slaves immediately cr owded around the pair as they went at each other hammer and tongs. Both Makah braves joined the spectators, keen to see the slave boss deal to the White-Eye. To everyone’s surprise, Nathan was giving as good as he got.
    One of Sasqua’s henchmen ran forward to assist his boss, but was tripped up by Baldy who had been waiting for just such an eventuality. Baldy kicked the slave fu ll in the face, almost knocking him out and leaving him minus several front teeth. This served as a warning to the other slaves not to intervene.
    Nathan knew he needed to finish Sasqua quickly if he was to prevail. He was keeping the bigger man at bay by firing out jabs like the accomplished boxer he was, but he knew he needed a knockout.
    Sasqua, and indeed all those watching, seemed mesmerized by Nathan’s demonstration of the pugilistic arts. Boxing was foreign to them. Like all the natives of the Northwest, they resorted to wrestling when fighting unarmed. Fighting with fists apparently hadn’t occurred to them.
    By now Sasqua had taken so many punches, his face was black and blue. He had two black eyes, a split lip and a nasty cut on his forehead. With every blow, his anger and hatred toward the White-Eye intensified. He threw himself at Nathan, grabbed him in a bear hug and lifted him up off the ground.
    Nathan felt as though his ribs were breaking as Sasqua increased the pressure. His vision blurred and he felt himself losing consciousness. Do something! He brought his head down hard against the bridge of his opponent’s nose, breaking it. Sasqua yelped in agony and released his grip on Nathan long enough for him to wriggle free. Blood now flowed freely from Sasqua’s broken nose, which had swollen to twice its normal size.
    Breathing hard, t he two antagonists began circling each other, each looking for an opening. By now the spectators were urging both fighters on. They seemed divided in their support. Nearly half those watching were supporting Nathan. The gutsy white slave was giving the slave boss a run for his money.
    Nathan could feel his energy slipping away. The bear hug had damaged his ribs , his lungs felt as though they were on fire and he feared he couldn’t last much longer.
    It was now the boxing lessons his father had given him came flooding back. Johnson Senior had been a bare knuckle fighter in his day and had passed on his skills to Nathan. All too often, those skills had been passed on in the course of a beating, but that was irrelevant at this point in time. Nathan could hear his father’s voice. Feint with the left then bring down the hammer . Johnson Senior always referred to his right hand as the hammer . It was something he’d used in anger on Nathan more than once.
    Despite the animosity Nathan felt toward his father, he decided it was time to take his advice. Feint with the left then bring down the hammer . He fired out two quick jabs. Both landed flush on Sasqua’s broken nose, causing the big man to blink back tears of pain.
    Sasqua shaped up to throw himself at Nathan. He knew if he could just grab the young white once more, he could crush the life out of him.
    Nathan feinted with his left hand. As Sasqua tried to avoid the phantom punch, he didn’t see the big right hand that came from nowhere and landed flush on the jaw. The slave boss was out to it before he even hit the ground.
    Seconds later, Nathan found himself surrounded by his fellow slaves. They were laughing and jostling as they congratulated him. Even Sasqua’s allies joined in. It seemed Nathan had earned the respect of the slaves at least.
    The young man looked around for Baldy. He