The four of us stood still, waiting to see if it came back. Our chests heaved with rapid breaths. Blood and the sea hung from our bodies. My hands tingled with an aftershock of vibrations and my fingers buckled in pain around the hilt of my sword.
Finn emerged from down below. “Aye!” he said. “I think I got the beast.”
The bow of the ship entered the wide opening at the end of the cavern and I looked back the way we came. The narrow tunnel of water was now stained with blood. Like a sickening red oil spill, it seeped up from below the surface and spread. But that was it. No sign of the kraken.
“We did it,” I said but it was barely a whisper. So, I repeated, louder, and looked to my friends. “We did it!” I glanced down at the gem that hung from my neck and it pulsated harder. Brighter. Like it longed to be returned.
What I thought had been a grotto was actually a massive ocean pool, big enough to fit a hundred ships, and encircled by a series of small rocky islands. We’d only saw a sliver of it until then.
“My word,” Gus muttered in awe, mouth gaping as we all stared incredulously at the scene before us.
Stunning, naturally sculpted cliffs jut from the family of islands, pointing inwardly to the body of water where we sat idle. Moors of green and blue rode over the hillsides and cascaded down into pools of radiant gardens. Neon waterfalls rushed over the cliffs and filled the paradise with living color.
The water that surrounded our ship became peppered with ripples of leaping creatures; mermaids, large fish, and something that reared the head of a horse but ended with a thick black serpent’s tail as it plunged back into the water.
Henry took my hand, his body still tight from exhaustion as his chest rose and fell with labored breaths. I cradled my head against his shoulder, trying to ignite a sense of calmness in both of us. My head pounded, and I let it fall heavy against him. My weary eyes threatened to stay closed. When I pried them open, a gasp seeped from my mouth.
“What is it?” Henry asked.
“Look,” I replied with a whisper of awe.
Two bright specks swirled above our heads, leaving behind tiny trails of blue and green light. We watched them as they danced in the air. One came to a halt and I held out my open palm where the petite creature sat. Gently, I brought it closer to my face and admired the frail but beautiful body; long, crooked arms, big black eyes like that of a bug. With the tiniest of grins, the fairy’s mouth spread open, revealing a set of pointed teeth.
“A wil-o-the-wisp,” Henry spoke. “They seem to have a fondness for you.”
I smiled and lifted my hand to the air where the fairy took flight and disappeared into the distance with its friend. Finn ran back and forth from side to side, leaning over and catching glances at everything he could. Like a child in a candy store, his grin was wide. “Christ! I cannae believe it! The bloody Realm of Monsters. This be the stuff of legends, ye know? Places like this just dinnae exist.”
I shrugged. “And yet, here we are.”
He came over and cupped my shoulder proudly. “And ye swung that sword like ye actually knew what ye were doin’.”
Grinning, I replied. “I had a good teacher.”
“Here,” Henry spoke as his hand released its hold on mine and his fingers tugged at the rope around me. “Let me get you out of this.”
When the knot had loosened, and the rope fell at my feet, his arms slid around my torso and held me tightly. I fell into his warm embrace and let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding on to. After months at sea, everything that happened on the island, and then the battle with the kraken, exhaustion began to set in. I was running on empty. Had been for a while, I just didn’t have the will to accept it.
“So, how do we find the sirens?” Lottie asked.
I peered down at the green heart that hung at my chest. It still emanated a bright green glow but stopped pulsating. “I’m not sure,” I told her and then plucked the string from my neck. “But I’m tired. I don’t have it in me to wait around.”
I walked over to the side of the ship and poked my head over the edge, searching the water below and hoping that a siren would just magically appear. My mind scrambled to remember everything Benjamin had told me. But I couldn’t recall anything about summoning the sea creatures. I considered tossing the heart into the water, thinking maybe that would catch their attention. But then, what if it sank to the bottom and I lost all hope of freeing my friend? I was beginning to lose patience with it all. I had Maria to worry about and my mother to save. A feat that frazzled my brain just thinking of the impossibility of it all.
Dangling the gem over the side, I waved it around impatiently. “Hey! I have your damn heart! Come and get it!”
“I don’t think it works like that, Dianna,” Henry said as he approached me from the side. I shook the gem some more, desperate for this to be done. Gently, he gripped my arms and pulled me back from the edge. “Come away from there before you fall over. You just have to be patient.”
“Patient?” I shrieked. “I think I’ve been patient enough, Henry!” The exhaustion was taking over now. Defeated tears streamed down my cheeks. “I’m tired. I-I’m so freakin’ tired. We have so much ahead of us still, I was a fool for coming here.”
“You’re many things, but not a fool, Dianna. You’re brave and selfless. You’re everything the world is not. Those men don’t deserve to be saved and, yet, here you are. Risking your life to break their wretched curse. For nothing in return.”
I plunked down on the floor, deflated and beat. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep for a thousand years. The skim layer of water that sat on the deck soaked into my clothes and chilled my skin, but I didn’t care. I didn’t have the strength to stand anymore. Without a word, Henry sat down next to me and then the rest followed soon afterward. We were all tired, that much was evident in the way we visibly relaxed. Finn stretched out and lay back on the blood-stained boards and covered his face with his arm.
I wanted to tell them I was sorry for dragging them across the Atlantic. I wanted to throw the gem into the sea and tell them to sail The Queen out of there. But I had no words. So, I sat with them in silence. My eyes fixated on the floor. The way the kraken’s blood left Rorschach shapes soaking into the wood and the how a layer of clean water flowed over it. I watched as it moved, the clear substance, twisting and turning. Pooling at my feet as if it were alive. Then Benjamin’s words rang in my mind like clanging bells. Something he’d told me about his brother…
He jumped on the water creature and stuffed his hand inside her chest, ripping the glowing gem from her form and she collapsed into a puddle.
I snapped to attention and eyed the slowly forming puddle of water. It seemed to draw the wetness from all over the ship, compiling it all in one spot in front of me. I opened my palm, revealing the siren’s heart, and it began to pulse once again. The puddle moved closer as if reaching out.
“It can’t be…” I whispered in awe.
Henry perked up and looked at me. “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t reply. I was too enthralled in the possibility before me. Amusing myself, I dangled the heart in the air and let it sway back and forth. The water mimicked the motion. With aching fingers, I pried open the metal claps that held the gem and freed it from the binds of the necklace. Carefully, I leaned forward and set the heart down in the puddle and waited.
The emerald began to glow more than it ever did before, and the tiny body of water grew, pulling trickles of the sea up over the sides of the ship. We all stared in wonder as a tall shape began to form, resembling that of a person, and the solid appearance of a siren set before our very eyes.
Similar to that of the siren we’d met on Shellbed Isle, but far more beautiful, the creature seemed mesmerized by its own appearance. It held its arms out, examining them with admiration, and then cast its giant black eyes to me.
“You,” a melodic voice echoed from all around. “You returned my heart.”
Henry tensed and stood close to my side.
“Yes, that would be me,” I replied. “I was returning it for a friend.”
“A friend, you say?” The siren was still taking on its solid form. Thick, iridescent scales began to layer its body from the waist down and the skin of her arms took on a sort of pearl-like texture. Red kelp hung from its head and she took it in her hands, rubbing it between her fingers. “It has been nearly a hundred years since I’ve taken form.” Her mouth of pointed shells twisted in anger. “Since my heart was ripped from my chest.”
“I had nothing to do with that, I assure you,” I told her. “And the man who did it, Captain Abraham Cook, is dead.”
The creature appeared interested. “Dead? Then whom is this friend you speak of?”
“His brother, Benjamin Cook,” I replied. “He and the rest of the crew were unfairly taken under the curse and paid the price they didn’t owe.”
“Unfairly?” the siren spat and glided closer to me. Henry’s hand shot out and crossed my chest. The creature regarded him curiously. “They came here together with the same intent. To steal my heart.”
“No,” I insisted. “Only the captain had those intentions. The rest just wanted treasure and were following orders. Please,” I begged her, “They’ve suffered enough. And I’ve come a really long way to return your heart.”
My eyes flitted to my friends who stood around us; eager, anxious, but tired. Just like me. The siren was so hard to read. She was clearly upset, scornful. And rightfully so. But I wasn’t leaving until she lifted the curse. So, I stood my ground and refused to speak until she did first.
Finally, the sea creature stepped forward. “I thank you for your selfless deed,” she paused and grinned wide, “Dianna Cobham.”
I gasped at the sound of my name on her lips. “H-how…”
“I know many things,” she added with a bored expression. “Too many things. One of the downfalls of being an immortal. But now, I am complete once more. I can take form and live on land, should it please me to do so. And for that, Dianna Cobham, I have you to thank.”
My cheeks flushed with blood at the unexpected compliment. “Oh, well, you’re welcome.”
“So, what is it you wish for?” the siren asked me. “Riches? Immortality? Eternal beauty?”
I felt stumped. My mind tried to imagine those possibilities. Immortality? Could I really ask for that?
“Aye, Lassie,” Finn cut in, “ye get a Siren’s Wish! Ye can ask fer anythin’ in the world.”
Henry turned to me. “You can find your mother, Dianna.” His eyes locked onto mine, willing me to keep the wish for myself. To make our next journey easier. I imagined reaching England and then using my wish to find my mother. Or perhaps I should use it to wish Maria would be locked up in a cell for the rest of her miserable life. Or, better yet. For her death.
I shook the thoughts from my mind. No, I came to the Siren Isles for one purpose. “If I can only have one wish, it’d be to break the curse and set my friend free. But, also, that they get a second chance at life. I know Benjamin should have died many years ago, but his life was wrongfully taken from him. He deserves the chance to live again. Break the curse and set them free.”
Finn spewed off a few Scottish curse words under his breath and stormed off toward the stairs where he plunked down in a huff.
“Dianna,” Henry urged under his breath. “Your mother–”
“I’ll find her,” I told him sternly. “I didn’t need a wish in my pocket before and I don’t need it now. I made a promise, Henry.”
His shoulders shrugged with a sigh of defeat and he nodded. “Of course.”
“You choose to use your single wish for someone else?” the siren asked with surprise.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “Please, break the curse. Let them go. Let them live.”
The sea creature eyed me curiously for a few silent moments. Maybe I wasn’t allowed to use the wish for others. Maybe I blew it and now Benjamin would forever remain latched to that island, to that ship. Suddenly, the siren spun around and resumed her clear liquid form before falling to the deck’s floor with a splash and poured down over the side of the ship.
“No!” I cried and ran to the edge, peering down over. “Please, come back!”
I had asked but didn’t expect her to return. So, when a massive spurt of water shot up from the sea below, I stumbled back. Henry caught me in his arms and steadied me on my feet. We all watched in shock as the water pooled on the damaged deck and molded into the shape of the siren once again. Her solid form caressed her body and she held out a hand toward me with some sort of trinket hanging from it.
“You prove to be selfless and with a heart full of honorable intentions, Dianna Cobham.”
She stepped closer, leaving a trail of sea water behind her. Her long, crooked fingers gripped the trinket and held it out for me to take. I examined it more closely, noting three pearls that a glistening string of gold looped through. One pink, one silver, and one black. With shaky hands, I accepted the gift.
“This bracelet holds three pearls, each possessing a single wish.”
A resounding gasp made its way around and I stared at the item in my hand. “You mean–”
“Yes,” she replied. “You now hold three wishes in the palm of your hand. Pluck one from the golden thread and return it to the sea. You will get the wish you seek.”
I had no words. The possibilities began to run through my mind like a movie reel. I could save my mom. I could stop Maria. Wish for my baby’s invincible health. Stop impending world wars. Boundless treasure. The options were endless, and I squeezed the gift tightly in my hand.
“Thank you,” I told the siren.
She nodded her head once. “It is I who is of thanks to you. It’s not often immortal creatures allow themselves to be indebted to mortals. So, use this gift wisely, Dianna Cobham.”
“I will.”
“Now,” the siren spoke and turned toward Finn who was still on the stairs. “Before you leave the Isles, I require that map you possess.” She stared at him, unblinking, and held out a waiting hand.
Finn appeared reluctant and looked to me for orders. I nodded. He stood and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the folded piece of parchment that led us there. The siren plucked it from his fingers and crumpled it in her scaly hand, turning it to dust before releasing it to the wind. We tipped our heads up and watched as the particles floated away, preventing anyone from ever reaching the Realm of Monsters ever again.
“Now, go,” the creature ordered and glided toward the ship’s edge. “And never return to this place again.”
“We won’t,” I promised.
The siren gave me a curt nod before diving off the side and plunging into the waters below. The ship suddenly began to rock with the movement of large waves. They pushed our ship forward, the bow pointed directly between two of the isles. But my eyes widened with panic at the realization that we wouldn’t fit. The opening was far too narrow. I gripped Henry’s arm and he held me tightly. The others came close and we huddled together as we watched the scene unfold.
At the last second, before our ship’s nose collided with the rocky cliffs of the twin isles, the bodies of land moved with a force that vibrated through my chest. Like two sleeping giants parting the way for The Queen to get through.
The sea pushed us forward and the five of us braced in a circle together as the huge wave calmed and we coasted quietly along. I glanced back and watched the two islands come together again, like some fantastical gate closing in on a forbidden world. The view began to fade, and I knew we were passing through the invisible veil that hid the Siren Isles. Within seconds, it was gone. As if it never existed in the first place. And we stood there, breathless, reeling from what had just happened.
Still huddled in a circle, my eyes peered around at my friends and I let out a loud cackle of laughter. After a second, the four of them joined me and we danced around, giddy from the rush of excitement. Gra
teful that we came out alive.
We came to a halt and Henry took my face in his strong hands, placing a kiss on my lips. He pulled away, but I yanked him back, not ready to let him go. I wanted to relish in the moment. Finally, I relinquished the hold my mouth claimed of his and grinned.
“You’re truly a magnificent creature, Dianna,” he told me. “I’m starting to believe there’s nothing you can’t do.”
I shrugged and took his hand, glancing around at my happy crew. “There isn’t. Not as long as I have you all.”
“Aye,” Finn started, “What are ye gonna do with yer three wishes?”
I beamed proudly at the gift I held in my hand. “I’m not sure. Find my mother? Stop my sister? Wish for world peace?”
“Blah,” the Scot muttered. “World peace? The world needs chaos for the peace to work, Lassie. Leave it be.”
I laughed. Perhaps he was right. Regardless, I would have to give it some serious thought. I’d been granted an immense honor and with that came a certain responsibility. Which reminded me…
“I’ll have to mull it over.” Walking over toward the ship’s edge, I plucked a black pearl from the golden thread and the fibers fused back together. “But, first thing’s first. I made a promise.” I threw the pearl into the sea and watched as it melted into a swirl of black liquid. “I wish to set The Black Soul free and allow the remaining crew a second chance at life.”
The dark substance began to glow and dispersed through the water until there was nothing left. I only hoped that it worked. That my friend was free. I whipped around and faced my waiting crew. We all looked beyond exhausted, but eager to get back to our original journey.
“Finn?”
“Aye, captain?”
The Blackened Soul Page 16