Chapter 9 #2
“Shucks. Not really. Here, let’s see our handiwork.” He helped me open up the sail, and we examined our repairs. My stitches were far lumpier compared to his perfect, neat ones. It was actually embarrassing. He clucked his tongue and shook his head. “Good thing they’re just goin’ to trash it.”
“Wait, what? Why did we—”
Ash gave me a sly grin.
“Ashkade Taleus Synnex, did we just sew that whole sail back together for no reason?”
He grimaced at my use of his full name. “Hey now, that wasn’t the whole sail.
Just a piece that the captain said I could use as part of your punishment if I let you out.
Would you rather be stuck with Rei still?
” At my furious head shake, he laughed and motioned for me to join him as he limped towards the door.
“Maybe one day you two’ll get along. Can’t you give him a chance? ”
The last man I gave a chance to kidnapped me.
As I followed him out onto the deck for the first breath of fresh air I had in two days, I considered trying to be friendly with Reiven, for Ash’s sake.
No, never. Not with him.
My punishment had been fairly light compared to Reiven’s. When they let him out the next day, he got stuck taking over Gatelo’s chore of scrubbing the deck.
I took great joy in watching him suffer as I sat with Gatelo, Ash, and Lyneca in a circle on crates.
Ash had designated me his helper, so I spent most of my time watching him fiddle with his rings, handing him tools and getting him food and water.
Not a bad gig, really. I had convinced him to ditch his ugly brown vest for a royal blue one that didn’t look like a burlap sack.
Blue was my favorite color anyway, and I thought it matched his personality better.
Since the medicine I gave him helped so much with his seasickness, Ashkade spent more time on the open deck, and it was nice to see him squint in the sun as the briny wind ruffled his fluffy hair. Being outside would do him good.
Lyneca dumped a bag of dried beans into a pot of water to soak. She blew a frizzy curl out of her face and said, “So, I’m curious…I know we in the crew aren’t going ashore with you when we arrive at Ghrysim Isle, but do you think you’ll be welcomed? Aren’t they reclusive?”
Ash scrunched up his nose in annoyance at a symbol he had been trying to carve into a new ring and had apparently messed up somehow. I threw a glance up at the sky, but I couldn’t see the threads of time, the symbols that Ash claimed he could.
“Well, I sent ‘em a letter explainin’ the situation, but honestly, I’m not real sure.
I think there’s a ritual they have that allows for foreigners to venture into Hell, but...
” He dug through the books he had me stack beside him and pulled out one to show to us.
The cover depicted three Humans drawn in a childish manner, and a crimson-skinned humanoid with glowing red eyes and long black nails that stood in front of a volcano.
“This is all I have to go off of. It’s a story about a group of Humans that journeyed to Hell, searching for a relic called the Phoenix Mirror.
According to this, Mourners are demons that channel the power of Hell to destroy all who set foot on their island—but in the story, when the adventurers arrive and demand to enter Hell, the Mourners allow them a day of rest before opening the way for them. ”
I took the book from him and flipped through the pages. The artwork within was comically exaggerated. “This is a kid’s book. Are you taking this as fact?”
He shrugged. “It’s all I got. But there’s somethin’ I’ve been wondering. If the Mourners stole the Tome like you said, why is it in Hell? Why don’t the Mourners themselves use it?”
“I'm sure they tried,” I said. “But my people believe the Water Spirit wouldn’t allow them to after the cowardly way they stole it.” I threw a glance at the sparkling waves past the railing.
“The Water Spirit sang an abomination of Sirensteel to life and sent it to guard the Voidtome after the Mourners locked it within Hell. She claimed it was our punishment for losing her gift. It would be lost deep within the realm of our enemies, kept from us by demons and fire and her own Sirensteel monster.”
I wrapped my arms around myself and glared down at the deck, lost in a furious haze. The Mourners were evil, simple as that. They flooded the ocean waves with Siren blood, stole from us. It was long past time we saved the Voidtome from their black-clawed clutches.
The first Mourner I meet, I’ll kill.
Gatelo continued to whittle at a spare piece of wood from one of his repairs and didn’t even look up. “I bet the Mourners will incinerate Zephra on the spot, aye?”
Pretty sure he was joking since he wriggled his eyebrows at me, but I already knew I wouldn’t be welcome. I’d never even seen a Mourner before, but historical bloodshed aside, fire and water would never mix.
“Mourners really hate Sirens that much?” Ash shook his head sadly.
“War does that. They stole the Voidtome from us and partnered with pirates to kill my people, Ash.” I spat the words like poison, anger rising in my gut just thinking about it.
“I don’t know which is worse, a Mourner or a pirate.
Though I’m tempted to say pirates are worse after what they did to me. ”
My hateful voice hung in the air, met with silence from the others. It felt like even Reiven, from his place on his hands and knees scrubbing the deck, was listening carefully.
Ash broke the silence with that soft drawl of his. “Zephra, I don’t wanna pry, but what is it that happened to you?”
It wasn’t like I made a habit of talking to Humans about my plight, how I ended up being dragged from my home into captivity.
But maybe this was an opportunity to fool them further into my facade of innocence.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
“I was eighteen, and terribly curious for a young Siren. Fascinated by the world above, I drew closer to the surface despite my mother’s warnings of the dangers and evil lurking above the waves.
What Mourners and Humans would do to me if they caught me.
But I had to know what was out there. I wanted to go beyond the Abyssal Deep.
So, I wandered too close to the surface. ”
“What, the ocean wasn’t big enough for that massive attitude of yours?” Reiven’s sharp words made every muscle in my body tighten.
I drew myself up to my feet and stalked to where he knelt on the deck, a scrub brush in his hand. My eyes cut into his. He probably would’ve flinched if he wasn’t such an arrogant jerk.