The Pirate's Siren

by Bethany Wicker

  Tentacles sprung up from the water and collided with our sails. They destroyed everything in their path and debris went flying everywhere. The crew seemed to be in a panic as they faced such a massive beast. Some had splinters of wood sticking out of them and others were unconscious. They were trying to aim the cannons at the giant octopus but didn’t seem to be having much success at harming it.

  My love for sea creatures had me admiring the monstrous beauty of the Kraken initially. It was purplish-blue in color and its head was attached to the ship. It looked like it was eating through the wood and Gregor was correct on his assumption that The Sea Nymph’s Revenge wasn’t going to make it through this one. There were already several holes in the side that had to be pulling in water. This vessel wouldn’t stay afloat much longer at this rate as it dipped down.

  The wood continued to groan from the pressure of the Kraken’s tentacles and the deck beneath us was starting to crumble. Steel brandished his sword, but it wouldn’t do much damage against this giant of a monster.

  “We need to get the men out of here,” I told Steel as calmly as I could manage.

  His eyes were raging with anger and fear when they met mine, but he still nodded. “Gregor, you get the men that’s out on the left side and I’ll take the right. Sera, I want you to find the nearest jolly boat and wait there until it’s full. I’ll find you once we’re safe.”

  “Yes, captain,” Gregor said as he darted to the left side and began shouting orders to evacuate.

  “But I would be more help here.” I placed a hand on Steel’s shoulder to hold his attention.

  “It’s too dangerous and I won’t willingly put you in harm’s way. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  His lips pressed roughly against mine, but the kiss didn’t have the chance to spark into life. A long tentacle slammed into our waists and sent us flying sideways. We both landed on our backs and the wind was knocked out of me.

  Coughs continued to come as I desperately attempted to draw in a breath. Steel seemed to be having the same problem as me, but he’d managed to sit up. My ears were ringing and I tried to cup them, but it didn’t do any good.

  As the air returned to my lungs, I assessed the damage around me and it was a lot. There was only one mast left standing and I staggered towards the rope that was dangling from it. Steel’s yells of protest followed me as I began to climb up. There was no way I was taking the easy way out and leaving everyone else here.

  The rope was rough and I was still woozy from the Kraken’s hit. My breaths were heavy as my heart threatened to burst out of my chest. I told myself not to look down because then I would lose all of the courage I was able to muster up.

  My hands and legs shook as I attempted to stand tall on the mast and I was gripping the rope so tightly that my knuckles had turned white. The fear of heights threatened to overwhelm me but seeing the men in trouble helped me to swallow it down.

  From above, I could see Gregor and Steel leading the men to the jolly boats. Once they were packed in, the boats that were out of the Kraken’s way were lowered into the water. The others weren’t so lucky as the creature’s head blocked their escape. The Kraken had to be forced from the side of the ship so the others would have a clear path to the water.

  I looked up at the swirling clouds above us and began to sing. The tentacles stopped swinging at the invasion of my voice. I’d successfully gained the Kraken’s attention as it pulled away from the ship to look up at me. Its eyes narrowed on my singing form and I met its stare. The nerves were lessened as the siren in me took center stage.

  The Kraken lashed out in my direction and broke the mast I was on with one snap. As I mentally tugged at all of the confidence that was within me, I ran across the thin sliver of wood before it too was broken. I nearly tripped on a ripped sail, but regained my footing quickly. Once I reached the edge, I jumped and willed the lightning to follow.

  As I plummeted, purple and blue flecks of light surrounded me. The Kraken opened its mouth and its teeth reminded me of the demons from the island. This creature had more though and they looked as if they could shred anything, even metal. I grabbed onto a long, sharp tooth that stuck out from the rest and flung myself out of its mouth before it had the chance to close it. The lightning didn’t follow my exit and the creature let out a loud, deafening shriek. It let go of the ship completely and descended back into the ocean.

  My ears were ringing again as I plopped into the water. I swam deeper and glanced back to see the Kraken was now following me, just as I’d hoped. Its red eyes glowed in the darkness of the ocean and I pushed my legs to kick harder. At least it’d lost interest in The Sea Nymph’s Revenge and the crew would be able to get away safely. Most importantly, Steel would be able to escape. Now, I had to figure out how to break away and save myself.

  There was no way to outrun it and nowhere I could go that would be safe even if I did. When an idea hit me, I swam up a bit so the creature and I were level and just when I thought it was going to eat me, I sent a surge of water in its direction. It was an instinctual move and I tried not to let myself get distracted by the surprise that bubbled up.

  The force pushed the Kraken back a bit and it appeared confused. It let out a roar at me and I sent another wave of water at it. It was propelled away a bit more, but still kept trying to come at me. Its teeth were bared as it bellowed another roar. I had to cover my ears and the distraction nearly cost me my life. Its mouth narrowly missed me as I dove out of the way, but its body knocked into me and I was sent spinning.

  Swimming in front of the Kraken had me feeling like an ant. This beast was enormous and much larger than The Sea Nymph’s Revenge. The proximity of it sent every fiber within me on edge with apprehension.

  Instinct had me singing again as I ordered the Kraken to leave. It stared at me, but didn’t try to attack again. I sang and sang and the water around me stirred. The swirling bubbles formed into the shape of a trident as it went flying towards the gigantic monster.

  The Kraken jerked backwards and a red haze erupted from where it was injured. The creature sat unmoving for a moment as it watched its own blood float out, and then hurriedly swam away. Its squeals of pain trailed behind and I huffed a heavy breath. I’d done it. I didn’t know what the Hades had just happened though. The how behind it was a mystery as well since everything was done by instinct. My survival skills were stronger than I ever could’ve imagined and I was becoming even more grateful to the siren in me. She wasn’t so bad.

  It took a moment for my skin to stop crawling and I kicked my feet to get to the surface. I took a deep breath of fresh air and glanced around for the men. I could see the small jolly boats in the distance and swam towards them.

  There were five boats in total and each held either seven or eight men. They were pretty much sitting on top of each other, but at least they were alive. A few dead bodies floated near the remnants of The Sea Nymph’s Revenge but I was too scared to go see who they were. I didn’t want it to be Steel or Gregor.

  The nearest boat held Bastian and Felix the cook. There were four other men who I didn’t know the names of and I hated myself for not taking the time to learn who they were. Felix was patting Bastian’s back with a downcast look and Bastian was sobbing. It was a heartbreaking sight because Bastian was the one who always had a smile on his face.

  I remained in the water as I asked, “What’s wrong, Bastian? The creature’s gone now.”

  He pointed towards the ship, but didn’t answer as the tears began to fall faster. I looked at Felix who took a shaky breath before he answered.

  “It’s Barty, miss. He is no longer with us.”

  A soft gasp escaped my lips and water pooled at the corner of my eyes. Barty had been so kind and funny. I turned towards the bodies and studied them harder. Barty was easy to spot with his bright orange hair and a weight settled into my chest. He didn’t deserve to die—not like this. Who else had we lost?

  “I’m so sorry, Bastian. He was
a good man.” It was the only words I had to offer him, but I knew they wouldn’t help.

  Bastian didn’t say anything in return, so I dismissed myself to search the other lifeboats. There was one face I wanted to see the most and the next three boats didn’t have it. It wasn’t until the last one that I found both Steel and Gregor.

  My tears mixed with the water as I swam towards them. Steel noticed me first and a small smile graced his face. It was out of place with all of the horror around us, but I still appreciated it. I was just so happy to see him alive.

  “You’re okay, Sera. I’d thought the worst when you didn’t come back up,” Steel said. He glanced around. “Where’s that beast?”

  “It’s gone,” I said.

  “You killed it?” Gregor raised his eyebrows.

  “No, but it definitely killed The Sea Nymph’s Revenge.”

  Our eyes went to the sinking ship and I felt my heart dropping with it. The Sea Nymph’s Revenge had been my new home and now, that was being stolen from us. Couldn’t I have one thing that was mine to keep?

  Suddenly, I looked to Steel. His eyes swam with emotion as he watched his ship descend into the depths of the ocean. I was overcome by thankfulness that he was still here. He was mine, but he was also alive and he was someone I would hold onto tightly.

  “So, what now?” Gregor asked solemnly.

  “Now, we find an island to make camp for the night,” Steel said. “We need to make our way back to Tortuga if we’re going to acquire another ship and luckily, it isn’t too far from here.”

  “How will you find it?” I asked.

  “The stars will guide us.” Steel’s gaze traveled upwards and then, he furrowed his eyebrows. “Maybe we’ll have to camp during the day and follow the stars at night to Tortuga.”

  “From the position of the sun, it looks like it’s going to be dark soon anyway,” Gregor said. “Do you want to keep going until morning?”

  “I can help by using waves to push the boats,” I offered.

  “No way, you need rest too,” Steel said.

  “Everyone needs rest after today. I’m the only one who can do this though. Besides, it’s the least I can do to pull my weight around here. It’s finally my turn to put in some work.”

  The men chuckled lightly at that, but it didn’t last long as the weight of the attack settled back on their shoulders.

  “Should we see about salvaging any supplies?” one of the guys asked.

  “I could do a search from under the water. Fruit like apples float, so those should be easy to come by,” I said.

  “Hey, she can go get our gold,” one man cheered and the others chimed in their agreement.

  Steel didn’t add his input, but I knew he loved his treasure.

  “I can try to,” I said.

  “No, we need to get closer to the island before we run out of food. Let’s just get the necessities. We can always get more gold later, but it isn’t worth dying for,” Steel shouted so the other boats could hear.

  That was a weird statement coming from someone who willingly instigated a battle with another ship for gold. A battle to me sounded like a quicker way to die, but Steel was confident with a blade. That had to be the only reason he didn’t see pillaging as risky. I hated to admit that lingering here was risky because that creature could come back any minute.

  We took a few moments to gather what we could. It wasn’t much, but hopefully, it would be enough to get us to safety. The men looked worn out and defeated at the loss of their ship and I was in the same place.

  This was the first time I’d really used my abilities, and man, did it take a lot out of me. I felt guilty for not going retrieve their treasure, but I wouldn’t have had the energy left to help push them closer to Tortuga. I was at my limit already and we hadn’t gone far because the sun was still out. It was setting, but not fast enough.

  Steel nibbled on an apple halfheartedly and it tore at my heart to see him so upset. Bastian’s boat was now behind me and I noticed his tears had dried up, but his eyes held so much sorrow. I wondered if they could bounce back from this and if so, how long would it take? All I knew for certain was that I had an undeniable urge to be the one to help them once again. Why did I feel the need to prove myself to these guys time and time again?

  It wasn’t too much longer before the stars were burning above us and Steel pointed out the correct direction. The waves I created were moving us at a swifter pace, but I felt my reserve energy depleting with each one.

  I pushed on because I was a fighter and I was finally good at something useful. These men were counting on me and I wouldn’t let them down.

  Chapter Fourteen

  We pushed forward for a few more hours before we reached an island. The water was calm and the night sky was clear of clouds, almost as if we hadn’t just faced the Kraken. Almost as if we hadn’t lost any men—great men like Barty.

  All I wanted to do was crawl onto the sand and fall asleep, so that was what I tried to do. The sand was still warm from the sun that day and I wanted to soak up all of its heat. We had no towels for me to dry off with, so the breeze felt colder than it should’ve.

  As I was drifting off, something warm covered me. I peeked my eyes open to see Steel’s coat. He plopped on the ground next to me with his thin, white shirt that I was unaccustomed to seeing. His coat was always around him except for when he was shirtless in bed. It was a nice change to see him in only his long-sleeved shirt and I watched him as he gazed up at the sky. The sadness that lingered in his eyes was hard to look at, but there was something else too.

  “What are you thinking about?” I asked.

  His attention remained upwards as he said, “The things I lost in the attack on The Sea Nymph’s Revenge besides my bed.”

  The seriousness in his voice forced the drowsiness away and had me sitting up. I pulled his coat tighter around me and scooted closer to him. His arm came around my shoulder and I could feel it shaking. Steel’s eyes were glassy, but no tears were falling. I waited for him to be the one to say something because I didn’t want to push him to talk if he wasn’t ready to.

  When I thought we were going to be sitting in silence for the remainder of the night, he sighed. “I know you don’t know anything about me really and that’s my fault. I’m not usually one who opens up, especially about my past. But after all we’ve been through, I think it’s time you know a little more about my life before The Sea Nymph’s Revenge.”

  He drew in a shaky breath before continuing, “My dad left my mom before he even knew she was pregnant with me. She was a whore who worked in a brothel and he’d been a client. Pregnant whores don’t get much sympathy or assistance, so she was doomed to fail before she really had a chance to live. My mom was only seventeen when she had me and I was delivered in the whorehouse. She almost died during childbirth, but claims that the life returned to her after taking one look at me.”

  He paused again and there was a hitch in his voice now. “My mom was an amazing woman who was dealt a bad hand by fate. She loved me, took care of me, clothed me, fed me. Everything a mom should do, but our home was in the whorehouse. It was all I knew for the longest time and I was seen as a bastard. Sons had no use to the owners of the brothel, so mom was given a choice when I reached age five. She could either send me away or sell me into slavery. If she didn’t do either of these, then—per her contract with them—they would sell both her and me to the highest bidder. They were greedy bastards who should’ve been killed for the way they treated other people, especially the women and children.”

  “That’s terrible,” I interrupted with a gasp and my eyes blurred at the thought of Steel being treated so poorly.

  With the way he acted, I would’ve never thought he had such a bad start in life. It made me understand why he went into piracy a bit more.

  “Do you know what she chose?”

  I shook my head and waited for his answer with bated breath. Whatever she chose must’ve been bad because none of the o
ptions sounded reasonable.

  “She decided to run with me. Her goal was to get us out of town and she would find us a home instead of a brothel. Only, she didn’t make it that far. We were discovered quickly from the owners who wanted their money. Well, mom was. She’d forced me to hide in a nearby bush and made me promise that I would survive for her. You wouldn’t think so with the way I am now, but I was a good child, so I did as she asked without hesitation. I didn’t even come out when they dragged her away from me by her hair as she fought them tooth and nail. I blame myself for her being in the position to begin with. If it wasn’t for me, there would’ve never been a choice for her to make.”

  “It isn’t your fault, Steel.” I squeezed his arm encouragingly. “She loved you from the sound of it and would be happy you escaped. Have you been to see her since?”

  Steel’s body vibrated under my hand as he shook at that question. The tears were coming freely now and it was a heart wrenching sight to see him cry. I thought it had been bad seeing Bastian upset, but this was ten times worse.

  Steel cleared his throat and took a bit more time before he was able to speak clearly again. “I went to see her when I was a teenager, but it was too late. She’d died a year after the attempted escape from a fever and the other whores believed it was the plague. They were kind enough to pass her belongings on to me without the owner’s consent. There was a beautiful silver necklace, a gold pocket watch, and a silver hairbrush. It wasn’t much, but it was all I had from her. Now, it’s all at the bottom of the sea along with my ship. I typically wear the necklace in memory of her, but something must’ve yanked it off my neck while I tried to escape.”

  That explained the heart-shaped pendant I’d seen him wearing. Now, I felt terrible for thinking it was too girly.

  “Oh, Steel, I’m so sorry.”

  “Me too.”

  “Thank you for telling me all of this,” I said after a few quick heartbeats passed. “It means a lot to me. More than you can imagine.”