by CK Dawn
“I see.”
Hayjen glared at her and leaned forward. “Your tone says otherwise. Unless you are going to accuse me of something, keep your questions and opinions to yourself. Mer is mine.”
“Now, now, I think you have the wrong impression of me.” Lilja gave him her most sultry smile. “I’ve implied—” a whisper of a sound caught her attention. She turned just as the Scythian ringleader plowed into her, knocking all three of them over the balcony and into the black waters.
Lilja breathed a sigh of relief as the water caressed her skin.
Home.
She opened her eyes, seeing through the dark water clearly. The Scythian struggled to the surface but Hayjen sunk deeper, blood from his back swirling around in crimson streaks.
That wasn’t good.
Leviathan could smell blood from hundreds of feet away.
She dove deeper, sucking in a painful breath of water as her lungs closed and her gills opened. Lilja pushed through the transition, reaching Hayjen as her skin began to tingle. The Leviathan were here. Lilja wrapped her arms around the male and lifted her head, her white hair floating in front of her, giving her glimpses of the sleek black bodies circling. Baring her teeth, she hummed a warning tone. One darted in, its sharp white teeth gleaming in the dark water. She snapped her teeth at the beast, causing it to retreat into the circle. Normally they wouldn’t dare test a Sirenidae, but when a meal was in sight, they tended to get excited. The largest of the finned creatures faced her and swam until it was within arm’s length. The alpha. She met its black eyes and stared it down until its nose dipped. Lilja reached her hand out, allowing the Leviathan the choice to make friends. It eyed her and then bumped its nose into her palm.
Relief washed through her. There wouldn’t be a fight for dominance tonight.
The Leviathan turned its attention to the Scythian man fighting the waves above. A series of hums drifted through the water, making the hair on her arms stand up. Their hunting song always gave her chills. Lilja propelled herself and Hayjen to the surface. She braced herself for her first breath. Transitioning from sea breathing to air breathing hurt. Lilja choked and coughed as she expelled water from her lungs. Her chest burned and tears came to her eyes. She shuddered as she coughed more water and began hauling them to the side of the ship where a net swayed.
“Captain! You need to get out of the water now!” Blair shouted, fear tingeing his voice.
Lilja looked over her shoulder at what had caught his attention. The Leviathan were circling the Scythian, taking playful nips. They always liked to play with their food. It was the fins following her, however, that must have caused her first mate’s panic. Lilja picked up her pace, ignoring the curious beasts following her. They were probably hoping she would give up her prey.
Not today, beasties.
A soul-shattering scream erupted behind her, making her wince. No one deserved to die like that. The scream cut off in abrupt silence. It was time to get out before a feeding frenzy started. Even she wasn’t stupid enough to be in the water when they went crazy. Lilja latched onto the net, desperately holding on to Hayjen. “Pull us up!” she yelled.
Her arms screamed as she clung to the large man. His weight was almost too much to bear, but the sight of the dark creatures now directly below her was all she needed to help maintain her hold on him. Her crew heaved one last time and pulled them over the railing. She coughed up the rest of the sea water and pushed onto her hands and knees.
“Depths below, Captain. You smell so damn good.”
Hell. The sea water activated her Lure. What was meant to be a protection for her kind, only caused her trouble. Her poor crew couldn’t help but be drawn to her. It was chemistry.
“It’s the Lure. Step back and the effect will lessen.” She blinked the salt water out of her eyes and glanced over at Hayjen, eyes widening. “Get him off his back!”
Blair dropped to his knees and pressed on the man’s chest. “We have to get the water from his lungs first or he won’t survive.”
Her first mate pushed on his chest over and over before Hayjen’s lips sputtered and he spit up water. Blair quickly turned him to his side, blood and sea water pouring everywhere. Hayjen yelled and went limp.
“Is he okay?” she demanded, gaping at his back. It was a bloody mess.
“He’s unconscious. We need to get him off this hunk of wood and onto our ship.”
Lilja nodded, never taking her eyes off his back. The pain must have been excruciating. Depths below, the man had suffered, and all the open flesh had been subjected to the salty sea water. He was lucky he’d passed out. At least that way he’d feel no pain.
Three
Hayjen
Stars above, his body bloody hurt. He blinked at the colorful bedding beneath his cheek. Where was he? Hayjen moved to get up and yelped, falling back to the bed. He breathed hard as pain and nausea washed through him. That was stupid. He put his nose into the blankets and attempted to breathe through the pain assaulting him. Vaguely, he registered citrus and sea salt.
“What the hell did you do?” a smoky voice asked.
Hayjen jerked painfully, and turned his neck to spot pirate Captain Femi glaring at him as she bore down on him.
“You opened your wounds back up,” she scolded.
His nose twitched when her green silk dress brushed his nose. How cliché—a pirate wearing silk.
“I heard that, you ungrateful brute.”
He had said that out loud? He must be addled. “Sorry.”
“Hmmmm…”
Pain bit him. “Damn it, that hurt.” What was she doing? Where was Mer?
“Stop being such a sissy, and hold still. You would think I was torturing you or something.”
“Then stop poking me.”
“I wouldn’t be poking you if you hadn’t ripped open your wounds.”
“Where’s Mer?”
“Behave and I’ll tell you. Hold still. I’m putting seaweed on your back.”
“Seaweed?” She was talking in circles.
“Among other things.”
“Mer?”
“She’s fine.”
“That’s not an answer.”
She remained silent as she worked.
Hayjen scowled, guessing that would be the only answer he received. Bloody pirates. He gritted his teeth as she worked, channeling his pain to focus on the room he was in. There wasn’t much to see but a doorway out to what he assumed to be her study. A large desk made from blue- green wood dominated the middle of the space. Two large bookcases stuffed to the brim with books bracketed a bay window with a window seat. Colorful pillows spilled across the seat in a disheveled, homey way. So the pirate liked to read. Interesting. His only experiences with pirates had been with illiterate thieves who were in need of baths. Speaking of baths, Hayjen caught a whiff of himself and cringed. He stunk. “How long have I been sleeping?”
“You’ve been in and out for four days.”
He stiffened. Four days? Who had taken care of the women, and Mer?
“Calm yourself. Mer and the girls are fine.”
“Forgive me if I don’t believe you until I witness it with my own eyes.” Like he would believe the words of a person who made it her career to steal from others.
Her hands paused. “I made a promise.”
“Not everyone keeps their word.”
“True.” A breath. “Mer, I know you are listening at the door. Come in!”
The door was flung open and little feet slapped against the wooden floor. Despite his pain, Hayjen smiled at the sound. Mer never walked anywhere—she ran. She skidded to a stop in front of his nose and dropped to her knees. His worry loosened a bit as he saw her healthy, precious face. Mer flung her arm around his neck and squeezed; his back pulled, but it was worth it for a hug. “I missed you too, Mer.”
She pulled back, her little eyes filling with tears. “I was so scared, Hayjen. The Leviathan almost got you, and then you stopped breathing, and then you wouldn’t wake
up!” she cried.
“Shhh…” Hayjen soothed, wishing he could hold her in his arms. “I’m okay. Captain Femi has taken great care of me. I will be better before you know it.”
Mer’s eyes slid to the silent woman tending his back. “She’s alright.”
The captain sniggered.
“What have you been up to while I was sleeping? Did you behave yourself?”
Mer met his eyes and nodded her head so enthusiastically her hair tumbled from her bun. “I helped the cook make soup, I fixed a net with Blair, and I even was able to go for a swim with Lilja.”
Hayjen’s eyes narrowed, his hackles raising. Why would the captain take time to swim with a little girl? Why take an interest in Mer? One thing was for sure—he didn’t like it. Not one bit.
“Tell him what we discovered,” the captain hinted with a smile.
Mer’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She practically vibrated on her toes. “We found an oyster bed! Look!” She pulled up a thin, silver chain hidden beneath the neck of her dress, exposing a small cage encasing a pearl the same soft lilac color as Mer’s eyes. “I got to pick the oyster and Lilja dove for it. When we opened it, this was what was inside!”
“It’s beautiful,” Hayjen remarked. It didn’t matter what age a girl was—they all loved trinkets from the sea. He eyed the pearl with suspicion. What was Captain Femi up to? The Scythians had had an unhealthy obsession with the girl—maybe the pirates had a similar interest. He lifted his eyes to Mer’s. She was looking at him with innocent joy. Maybe it was just a gift and he was being paranoid.
No, if he had been paranoid, he wouldn’t have been caught by the Scythians. He was using good sense, and his sense told him that Captain Femi was an edgy character.
Hayjen sighed when his back began to tingle—not in a bad way, but merely from numbness. Blessedly without pain. His muscles relaxed and he practically melted into the bed with a relieved smile. “I am glad you had a good time.”
A bell rang loudly, surprising Hayjen. “What was that?’
Shooting to her feet, Mer plopped a kiss on his forehead. “It’s lunch time,” she said before darting out the door.
“She has a lot of energy,” Lilja commented.
That was an understatement. She never stopped moving. “Yep.” His eyelids drooped, much to his frustration—hadn’t he had enough sleep? The pirate continued her ministrations. Hayjen blinked slowly. Had she drugged him? “What did you say was in that salve?”
The captain pushed off the bed and moved into his line of sight. “I didn’t.”
“Did you drug me?” he slurred.
Captain Femi threw her head back, laughing. Her silvery white braid tumbling down her back. Her eyes met his with humor glimmering in their depths. “If I had drugged you, you would know it.” She chuckled, and began cleaning up her supplies. “It is a family recipe.”
He still didn’t believe her, but he found himself muttering, “Fair enough.” His own mum had secret family recipes.
Hayjen took the moment to really look at Captain Femi. The dark night he had met her hadn’t done her shocking beauty justice. Her silvery white hair was in a thick braid tossed over her shoulder, emphasizing her long, graceful arms and body. She was tall, but still shorter than he was. What intrigued him the most, though, were her odd magenta eyes. He’d never seen anyone with that color before. Between her striking eyes, shiny hair, and unique coloring, she made quite the image. She paused in her cleaning and raised a brow in question. Hayjen coughed and offered her an appreciative smile. “Thank you for taking care of Mer, and my back.”
Captain Femi waved a hand at him. “Think nothing of it. Soon enough you will be off my ship.” With that parting remark, she sauntered out of the room.
She was a character.
One he wasn’t sure he could trust.
Hayjen closed his eyes just for a moment and sunk into a painless sleep.
Sleek black beasts circled him. He was going to die in a watery grave. The pale moonlight above shimmered through the waves like it was saying goodbye. Hayjen wanted to let go. He was tired, his body hurt. Just as he closed his eyes, something slammed into him causing his eyes to spring open. Smooth, pale female arms wrapped around his chest as shimmering white hair swirled in the currents cocooning the woman and himself. He smiled at the idea of dying in the arms of a beautiful woman.
What a way to go.
It was only when her hair parted that fear squeezed him. Huge Leviathan circled them, just waiting to attack their prey. If he could have moved, he would have. Now the beautiful woman holding him would die as well. His heart flew to his throat as the largest of the Leviathan swam at them, halting within arm’s reach. Its jagged teeth were so close they could tear into his flesh. Its eyes were the worst. No color—just black soulless orbs. Hayjen wanted to scream when the pale hand clutching him reached out to the immense sea creature. He waited for the Leviathan to tear into her, but to his surprise, it bumped its snout into her palm and hummed before backing away.
His body began to cut quickly through the water. How was he moving? He wasn’t swimming—he couldn’t move his arms. Idly, he gave up trying to figure out the phenomenon and watched the monstrous creature’s tail above them. His head bobbed, giving him a glimpse of the woman carrying him. Fascinated, he stared at her neck. Gills, she had gills. Then everything went black.
He jerked awake to find sweat pouring down his face.
What was that? he thought.
He’d had nightmares before, but nothing like that. He shivered, the hair on his arms rising as he recalled the empty black eyes of the Leviathan watching him. It had felt so real, like it had really happened. Hayjen placed his forehead on the coverlet and breathed deeply, trying to center himself and forget the nightmare.
“Are you alright?” The captain’s smoky voice floated through the air.
Hayjen craned his neck to watch her glide into the room. Moonlight caressed her loose silvery hair making it seem like it was glowing. She looked ethereal, otherworldly. He blinked. She looked a lot like the woman from his dream. Odd. The mind was a curious thing.
“Hayjen?” she questioned, stopping by the side of the bed.
“Just a nightmare,” he replied, still trying to shake off the dream. Stars above, it had felt real, like a memory.
“Oh.”
He squinted at her, still seeing her in his mind with gills. People didn’t have gills, but still he found himself wishing her hair wasn’t covering her neck. His brow furrowed as he tried to remember exactly what had happened after the Scythian had knocked them into the water. He came up blank. “What happened once the Scythian knocked us into the water?” he asked, peering up at the pirate.
Surprise flickered across her face at his question. “We hit the water. Luckily for us, I was able to grab you and pull you into the net.”
That couldn’t be it. The water had been swarming with Leviathan. “And the Leviathan?”
“Too preoccupied with the Scythian.”
He frowned. Leviathan were known to go into a frenzy at the smell of blood. He had been ripped to shreds after his beating, covered in blood. How had he survived? The beasts were wickedly fast—they couldn’t have outswam them.
“You hit your head when we fell.”
That explained the memory loss, but not how he’d survived. Nothing made sense, but her story rang false in his ears even so. What was she hiding?
The captain shifted on her feet, and brushed her hair over her shoulder. His eyes zeroed in on her neck. No gills. He was an idiot. A person having gills made no sense. It was just a dream, nothing more.
“Well, I’ll let you rest.”
Hayjen stared at the doorway as she swept out of the room, disappearing into her office. He needed more rest. Or he was going crazy. It was probably the latter.
He woke up with a smile. His back itched and ached, but he wasn’t in excruciating pain. That was something to be happy about. Gingerly, Hayjen stretched and pushe
d himself from the bed. His whole body revolted, so it took a couple times to sit up. Dizziness assailed him and the room blurred. Taking deep breaths, he focused on the flower rug beneath his bare feet. So feminine. The captain was an interesting study in opposites.
Once the room stopped spinning and his lightheadedness had receded, he braced his hands on the bed and stumbled to his feet, nearly braining himself against the doorway as he tried to catch his balance. The bloody ship wasn’t helping as it bobbed through the waves.
Carefully, using the walls and anything he could find, he moved through Captain Femi’s study and opened the door. The hallway was dark, but he could see sunlight at the end. Hayjen moved slowly towards it, hands pressing against the opposite walls, and paused just out of the light, breathless at the view.
The girls were laughing and working together with real smiles on their faces. Hayjen could count on one hand how many times each of them had smiled in their time together on the Scythian slave ship. He eyed the rest of the crew working. They darted glances at the girls but held neither malice nor lust, just curiosity. Many men would take advantage of an abused weak woman, yet none of the men were. Captain Femi ran a tight ship.
The ship rolled, causing him to stumble and slip into view. Mer saw him first and let out a squeal of delight before sprinting to him. He braced himself for the impact, knowing it would hurt.
A man with a warrior’s build he vaguely remembered snatched Mer around the waist and swung her through the air. “Young one, remember that he’s hurt. You need to be careful or you will injure him more.”
Mer nodded emphatically, her lilac eyes round. “Okay, Blair.”
Blair.
Captain Femi’s first mate.
Blair dropped Mer to her feet and she covered the distance between them in a much more sedate manner. She wrapped her pale arms around his leg and gave him the smile he had come to love. “Missed you.”
He brushed her unruly white-blonde hair out of her face, soaking in the happiness she wore like a cloak. “The same.” Hayjen lifted his head and met the dark brown eyes of the first mate. He didn’t look like an evil man, but one could never be sure. His eyes dropped to Mer and back to the first mate. The little girl had an uncanny sense of character. If she liked the man, then he was probably okay. He jerked his chin towards Mer. “Thank you.”