cXC #2
“Because there is a force beneath us, in the shadows, that will release hell on us if we do not end this. Madness will find us all. What’s contained deep below will come ashore and by then, all of this will be for naught.
All of our hunting and killing and drinking with the coin we collect.
It will mean nothing. Soon, there will be no governors to pay us.
No shores to anchor at. No whores to put in your beds.
So, this ship is still a hunter. A hunter of bigger game than we’ve ever faced.
The head of the snake and perhaps an end to all of this is our next destination.
” He paused a moment, taking time to look over his men again.
“Your choice is weighty, but it is simple. You stay and you fight. No one will know what you’re fighting for.
No one will thank you. No one will even know your names.
But it will mean something. Or, you row back to shore and you find another ship.
Another trade. Another life. Perhaps go inland and stay far away from these waters altogether. ”
He silenced himself again, taking a deep breath and pushing off the railing to stand tall, arms crossed.
“Choose,” he finished.
No one said a word. There was a thickness to the air around us.
I considered for a moment that some of his men might blame me or think I’d manipulated him into this decision.
Not all of them trusted me yet, even after months of working with them, but they remained noncombative over the matter. Now, I expected arguments. Objections.
“Bunch of shy cunts, all of you,” Gus groaned, smoke puffing from his mouth as he spoke.
“I’m too old to find another trade. I’m with you, Vidar.
” His one eye turned to me with a subtle nod.
“And I’m with your siren because she’s risked her life for more than one of us.
And I’d wager she would do it again if it came to it. ”
I inclined my head toward him, taken aback by his words. It wasn’t long ago that he hated me for what I was. So much so that he would have reveled in my dying screams. Now, he was defending me to a crew full of men who hunted my kind for a living.
“And you know I’ve got nowhere else to go,” Boil said. “No one else will tolerate my shit cooking or my ugly face.”
“I’m in,” Billy added. “For both of you. Dahlia’s always done right by me.”
“I owe my life to both of you,” David said. “This ship is where I stay.”
“Goes without saying that I’m staying, cap’n,” Mullins said.
Meridan subtly turned her eyes to him and smiled at his commitment. For a blink, he smiled back at her and it warmed me to see a connection forming between the two. Perhaps they could protect each other like Vidar and I did. It would put my mind at ease.
More and more men spoke up, pledging to stay on the ship. In the end, only seven men decided to row back to Thorpes for a life free of unknown horrors and the threat of almost-certain death.
It was enough for Gus to tease the idea of hiring more men, but not enough for Vidar to agree to it.
When James and Smalls returned with the boat used to take the crewmen to shore, the men hauled the boat up and stored it on deck.
A dozen others were heaving against the rods on the capstan, gradually pulling up the ship’s anchor.
Vidar helped to house the anchor while I watched, taking a place beside Meridan.
His muscles strained against his pants as he pushed, and I couldn’t help gawking.
Sometimes I believed that he put in the physical labor for my benefit, and if that was the case, I didn’t mind it.
“Your hunger for him has not waned,” Meridan commented. “I thought it would by now, but you’ve made a fool of me.”
I smiled faintly. “I care for you just the same, Meri.”
“I don’t doubt it. In fact, the way you look at each other has sparked a bit of curiosity.” Her eyes wandered over to Mullins, who was coiling the extra thick ropes after the boat had been successfully secured.
“You two have grown rather comfortable together.”
“Only because his company is consistent. I meant only that studying humans has quenched my boredom these past months.”
“Of course.”
“So, we are off to hunt larger game, are we?”
“I would have discussed it with you, but I only just deemed it urgent enough to bring up.”
“I cannot fault you. I am glad you finally told Vidar, even if I wish you’d come to me. I’ve seen you changing. Becoming more fearful. It frightens me that a woman like you has found something so terrifying.” She turned to me, taking my hand. “Let us destroy both our fears. Together. Like always.”
I nodded, withholding the fact that part of my fear was that she would perish in our efforts. But it had been a strange day. I didn’t want to bring more strife into the situation yet.
“Alright, men!” Vidar’s voice roared over the wind, demanding everyone’s full attention. “Maddox. Butcher. Start lowering the sails.”
Gradually, the men began toying with the rigging.
Finally, the massive main sail unrolled like a great, giant bird spreading its wings.
The crew cheered and hollered and one by one, the rest of the sails unfolded, catching the wind.
Vidar jogged up to the helm, a smile on his face, and took the wheel.
Staring straight up at the new, ghostly white sails above felt like glimpsing into a terrifying yet world-altering future. One that would end in destruction or victory. Either way, a nightmare awaited and that ship would be our mount to carry us through.
The wood creaked and moaned around us as the ship lurched forward with the wind toward the open ocean once more.
Slowly, the men dispersed to do their various jobs.
At the helm, Gus was talking to Vidar about something and when he left, I walked up the steps to his side, always too eager to be close to him.
“She’s moving fast,” Vidar commented. “She’ll always have that, no matter the color of her sails.”
“Strange that this ship I hated for so long is now a haven of sorts,” I said. “She needs a new name, does she not?”
“Aye. She does.”
I stared up at her sails again, watching them grab the wind like greedy hands.
“The Storm Weaver,” I said.
“The Storm Weaver. I like that.”
“You cannot stop a storm,” I said, quoting words we’d exchanged before.
“And we are the storm,” he added, the corner of his mouth curling into the devilish smirk I’d come to love so much.
“So? What’s the plan then, captain?”
“Dornwich. There’s someone there we might need.”
“James’s sister? Why would we need her?”
“She’s a blacksmith.” He patted the hilt of the bronze cutlass that always hung on his hip. “Her mentor made Lady Mary.”
“You want her to smith more bronze weapons for your crew.”
“Aye. We’ll need them. And since my last blacksmith died in that little mutiny up north, she can fill in.”
“It sounds like Dornwich is a dangerous place if they’re trying to sell sirens. And did Nazario not mention that your face is hung all over that place? You’re a wanted man, remember?”
He emptied his lungs with a groan. “I am not worried about a few posters with a handsomely accurate sketch of my face on them. We’ll be careful. And we’ll get answers, right?”
“Yes,” I nodded. “We’ll get answers.”