by Guida, ML
Ronan headed toward the stairs to go up on deck.
“Ronan, wait.” Mariah rushed over to him and held something in her hand.
’Twas the damn necklace.
“You must wear this for protection,” she said.
“No.”
She placed her hand over his heart. “If you do not, the black magic will grow inside you. S’il vous plaît.”
His heart leapt at her gentle touch. He stared into her gentle eyes, and his resolve was weakening. “I said—”
Kane headed down the corridor. “Ronan, put it on. That’s an order.”
Ronan stared at the chain in Mariah’s hand. Last time, Zuto had punished him for wearing it.
“S’il vous plaît.” She tried to hand it to him.
Staring at her hand, he stepped away from her as if the barest touch from the amulet would release unbearable pain. He opened his mouth to refuse, but her luscious smell and pleading look broke his resolve. Even if Zuto burned him a thousand times, he’d wear the damn necklace.
Kane gave him a steely gaze. “Put it on. Or have you suddenly decided to disobey an order?”
Mariah clasped the necklace around his neck. She must have given it a new chain. “I’ve made it stronger. Hopefully, Zuto will not be able to harm you like he did last time. Do you feel any pain?”
A shock rushed through Ronan, and tingles danced over his skin, but there was at least no pain. “No.”
“Zuto must know there is someone aboard this ship that has the power to seduce the mermaid,” she said.
Ronan put his hand on her slender shoulder. “Demons lie, Mariah. You should know this by now.” He marched up the steps and out on to the deck. Fresh air filled his lungs, and salt tainted his lips.
“Look who decided to come up on deck.”
Ronan turned to find Sean Mallory, the boatswain, leaning against the bulkhead.
“About time you showed your ugly face,” he said. His long blond hair framed his handsome face. “Cap’n wants me to show you how to use the sword.”
“I donna need to learn how to fight. I’m not a greenhorn.”
“I didn’t say you were, Macmillan. A stubborn ass, aye. But I will not defy the cap’n’s orders.”
Ronan held up his left hand. “This has always been weak. How am I supposed to hold a sword?”
“We’ll make it stronger. We can make a hook for—”
Ronan narrowed his eyes. “Never. I’ll not walk around like some kind of monster.”
Sean gave him a hard look.
“You are a monster.” A couple of inches taller than Ronan, William strolled over and gazed down at him. “Or d’ye forget about turning into a vampire during every full moon?”
Ronan refused to shrink. “I know what I am. You’d think with the bloody curse, being immortal, we could heal ourselves.”
“Demons are not fair. Or hadn’t you noticed?” Sean gestured with his hand. “Now, shall we?”
Ronan stormed past him, not caring where he was headed, bumping into crewmen, ignoring grumbles, and darting in between men. None of them had lost a hand. Other mortal pirates had severed limbs, but aboard the Soaring Phoenix no one had a mangled appendage and survived. Until now.
“Ronan,” Sean called. “Will you slow down?”
Ronan whirled around and lifted his arms. “So, where do you want to do this teachin’?”
“At the stern.”
He slammed his arms down and stuck his right wrist into his pocket. “Then why the hell did you stop me?”
“Because you keep plowing into people, and they’ll libel to toss you overboard for being such a bleeding bloat.”
Ronan bit back a quip, not wanting to start an argument with Sean since he was only trying to help. They walked in silence to the stern, away from the busy crewmen washing the deck, repairing sails, and cleaning the guns. Ronan’s job was to be the sea-artist, skilled in piloting or navigating the open seas. He couldn’t even hold a damn quill in his left hand or write legibly.
Sean tilted his head. “Take out your sword.”
Ronan fumbled with pulling his sword out of its sheath.
“You need to wear the sheath on your right side.”
“You sound like I’ll never get my hand back.”
“You won’t.”
Ronan unbuckled his belt and jammed the sheath onto his right hip. Maybe there’d be a way to trick Zuto into giving him back his hand without harming the mermaid. Besides, ’twas not like the mermaid was human.
He whipped out his sword, and the silver handle was strange in his palm, as if it didn’t belong there. He had a hard time finding balance and knew he could be easily disarmed.
Sean raised his sword. “We’ll do this slow.”
“I’m not—”
Before he could finish, Sean knocked the sword out of hand, and it clanked to the deck.
“You bastard.”
“Pick it up, and we’ll start slow. You need to be prepared, Macmillan. We don’t know when the Fiery Damsel will attack again. Grab your sword.”
Ronan snatched the sword from the deck and avoided the curious stares from the crewmen. Some were laced with pity, and he wanted to gut them. He shook his head to try and ease his burning anger, but hate for Zuto fueled it, making it stronger and stronger.
He lunged at Sean.
Sean deflected easily. “Slow, Ronan, slow. You’ve no strength, and you need to build your skill.”
Ronan wanted to flee back to his hammock and hide, rather than be treated like a hot-headed bungler.
He forced himself to take Sean’s lead and hit his sword slow while Sean repeated the same rhythm.
Ronan crossed his foot and stumbled. “Blast it.”
“You’ve got to rework your footwork. Lead with your left rather than your right, or you’ll lose your balance.”
“I know. I know.”
Ronan concentrated and met Sean, thrust per thrust, leading with his left foot rather than his right, giving him more leverage. The sun beat down on him. With each clank, his arms tired, and sweat streamed down the front and back of his shirt. It melted into his body. Sean didn’t let up. Ronan’s arm and hand ached. He tried to reverse his footwork to meet Sean’s attacks, but ’twas harder than he expected.
“D’ye need a break?” Sean asked.
“Aye,” Ronan said. He bent over and put his hand on his knee. Lord, it was like being a damn greenhorn again.
Footsteps approached. Kane clapped him on the shoulder. “Well done, Ronan. ’Tis good to see you using the sword again.”
Sean sheathed his sword. “It’ll take time, Cap’n, but he’ll learn.”
“Glad you think so, mate,” Ronan answered. He fumbled putting his sword away but managed to do it.
Kane tilted his head. “Mariah’s conjured a spell to capture a mermaid.”
Ronan scanned the ocean. “Where is she?”
All he could see was the wide blue sea. A couple of seagulls flew overhead, and a dolphin jumped in the water. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
“Hell if I know,” Kane said. “She says we need to drop the nets at a location she’s identified. She’s enchanted them, and we’ll snare one there.”
Ronan’s stomach tightened at the thought of a mermaid being ensnared in the nets. He’d remembered all too well what it was like to be chained aboard the Fiery Damsel. At this point, he and his friends were no better than Palmer. “Where is her location?”
“Due east of Zuto’s.”
* * *
Ronan paced the deck, waiting to get to the island where Mariah said the mermaids liked to visit. According to her, the creatures liked the many coves and played there for hours.
“Ronan?”
He stiffened at the soft French voice and the scent of lavender.
Mariah came up alongside him. “You have to be prepared.”
He hid his right arm behind him. “Prepared for what?”
“I believe there was a reason Zu
to did this to you.”
“Why?”
“He’s a sly demon and has a purpose in what he does.”
“Aye, everyone aboard knows this. So what are you tryin’ to say, lass?”
“I suspect Zuto wants you to mate with a mermaid. You must possess something that one of the crewmen lacks. I do not know what it is. Zuto is hiding it from me.” She ran her hand down his arm. “I promise you I’ll find out what it is. I think it’s important.”
Trying to ignore the desire her slight touch inflamed inside him, Ronan turned away from her. “I’m no different than the crew. And I’ll not mate with a fish.”
She grabbed his arm. “They’re not fish. She’s a water elemental.”
“Bloody hell.” He ripped his arm out of her gasp. “So, you think only a sea creature would want half a man?”
“Half a man?” She frowned, obviously annoyed. “Why do…You mean because you lost your hand?”
“Leave me be, lass. I’ll not have your pity. Give me my dignity.”
She cupped his face. “Ronan, you are a desirable man. Any woman would count herself lucky to be with you.”
“Except you.” He lowered her hand and walked away. How could she torment him like this?
“Ronan?”
He maneuvered between crewmen and went to the stern, away from the others. He hadn’t wanted to admit he suspected Zuto’s intentions. The idea of mating with a magical being turned his stomach. He wanted a woman, a human. Lord, let it be someone else.
“Land ho!”
Ronan glanced up at the eagle’s nest, and the watch pointed. They cruised toward an island much smaller than Zuto’s. Probably broken off from Zuto’s hundreds of years ago. Waves rushed up onto the white sandy beach, but he didn’t see anything that looked like a water sprite.
A pit of uncertainty swam in his gut. What if he was the one? He’d be even more of a freak aboard the Phoenix. Damn Zuto! ’Twas his fault.
A cove appeared, and the ship slowed and headed toward it. Men rushed around the deck, preparing to anchor, dousing the sails.
The sun glistened on the water in the cove and splashed onto the rocks. Water sprinted into the air. Ronan narrowed his gaze. “Well, I’ll be.”
On a rock sunning herself sat a buxom blonde. Her blue gown clung to her curvy body. Her glorious mane of blond hair caressed her shoulders. He licked his lips. She was more beautiful than the woman in his dreams. He wanted to see her eyes to see if they were bluer than his beloved sea. “Is that a mermaid?”
“Where?” Sean frowned. “I don’t see anything. Just waves splashing on rocks.”
Ronan swallowed. “That’s all you see?”
“Aye,” he said, slowly, as if trying to figure out whether Ronan had lost his mind. “Why? What do you see?”
The blonde stared at the ship, and Ronan held his breath. Tingles danced down his spine, and dread shot through him. What if she was looking at him? And why the hell couldn’t Sean see what he saw?
Mariah glanced at Ronan and Kane. “They’re here, Capitaine.”
Kane took out his spyglass and aimed it at the island. “I don’t see anything. Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Oui. My magic said they are here.”
Kane lowered his spyglass. “Release the nets.”
The ship paralleled the island, and the sails were doused. Men cast the thick nets onto the calm sea. Ronan couldn’t see anything different with the nets, but maybe that was the point. The nets were enchanted, designed to ensnare an unsuspecting mermaid, just like Palmer had captured him.
He’d been drinking in a pub with Lark and William, and when they walked outside, they’d been ambushed. William managed to escape, but Lark and Ronan hadn’t been so lucky. The next six weeks of his life had been nothing but unbearable agony. He chewed on his cheek. What would Kane do if the mermaid wouldn’t reveal her hidden powers? Even if she wasn’t human, she didn’t deserve to be trapped in the brig. Kane wouldn’t torture her, but he could make her life unpleasant. Ronan suspected being cut off from her cherished sea would be agony for that lovely creature.
Chapter 4
Warming herself on a rock, Angelica warily watched the pirate ship sail into the cove. She could still remember her mother’s screams when she’d been dragged onto the pirate ship. Somehow the pirates had captured her with a net, and it was the last time Angelica ever saw her mother alive.
The ship was far enough way that the pirates couldn’t harm her, and to them, she’d look like waves crashing onto the rocks. This was her favorite spot away from her domineering father and nagging sister. Here, she could pretend to be free and not be forced into doing something she didn’t want to do such as marrying Ty. Father thought he was perfect—a warrior, but Ty was selfish and controlling. He believed females were there to serve him. There were so many women falling over his feet, why did he have his sights on marrying her? Knowing Ty, it was to get closer to her father’s throne.
Angelica frowned. She didn’t need protection. She was the daughter of Eldric, King of the Mermaids. That had to count for something. But ever since Mother had died, Father had become even more overprotective and overbearing until Angelica didn’t feel like she could breathe.
Her sister, Isabella, swam over to her sanctuary. Angelica stiffened and rolled her eyes. Couldn’t she have even one moment alone in the sun?
Isabella held onto the rock, her dark hair swirling around in the water. “What are you doing?” She tilted her head toward the frigate. “You need to hide. Don’t you remember what the pirates did to Mother?”
Not wanting to remember that horrible day, Angelica said, “Yes, I was there.” She looked at the frigate. “Besides, the pirates can’t see me.”
“Some humans have the ability to see.”
“Only if they have selkie or mermaid blood.” She flicked her hand at the ship. “Now, how likely is it that any pirate scum on board that ship has that blood? To them, we are just sea foam.”
“Angelica, you can’t be certain. Father sent me to bring you home. He wants to talk to you about Ty.”
“I’m not marrying him.”
“But Father commands it.” Fear crept into Isabella’s voice.
Angelica had slept with Ty on more than one occasion, and each time, he left her unsatisfied. He only cared about himself and never asked how he could please her. “I’ll never marry an overbearing merman who thinks my whole purpose in life is to worship him.” She glared at Isabella. “How can you and Father ask me to do that? Father never treated Mother that way. He always put her needs before his own. He allowed her to make her own choices.”
“But look what happened to her? We don’t want that to happen to you. You’re too much like her, too daring. You need someone to reign in your impulses.”
“Isabella, you’re not Mother. She wouldn’t want me to be trapped in a loveless marriage. Quit acting like a shrew.”
Isabella narrowed her green eyes. “Someone has to protect you. I won’t lose you like I did Mother. I promised Father I’d never let anything happen to you or Penelope.”
Penelope was their younger sister. She did need looking after since she never paid attention to what she was doing when she became enthralled over something like she did over watching dolphins playing chase in the surf. She’d have become a snack for a great white shark if Isabella hadn’t screamed at her to change into a wave.
Angelica sighed. Isabella blamed herself for their mother’s death, and what was worse, so did Father. He was wrong. Isabella had been little and had been curious about a large frigate. No one could have predicted what would happen. Angelica tried to talk to Father, but her pleas for him to forgive Isabella fell on deaf ears. “Isabella, Mother’s death was not your fault.”
“Yes, it was. I should have stayed away from the ship. If I had, Mother would still be alive.” She looked over her shoulder. “That’s not going to happen to you.” She seized Angelica’s wrist. “Come home. Father commands it.”
“No!” Angelica broke free of her sister’s grip and dived into the water.
Her heart beating wildly, she swam as fast and as hard as she could, knowing Isabella was pursuing her. If Isabella caught her, she’d be dragged back to Father’s Red Coral Palace. He’d lock her up until she agreed to his demands. She refused to be Ty’s concubine, and Great Neptune, his wife.
“Angelica, stop,” Isabella called. “You’re heading for the ship.”
Angelica darted away from the ship’s hull into a school of silver snapper, but the snappers mysteriously disappeared, changing into a silver net trapping her like Mother.
Using all of her mermaid strength, she rammed into the net, but it only moved with her body. She transformed into a stream of water, but bounced back like a ball. It was as if she’d run into an invisible barrier. Returning to solid form, she grabbed the ropes and pulled, trying to create an opening, but the rope dug into her palms, refusing to unravel.
“Isabella, help me.” Angelica’s voice turned into a high shrill panic.
Her sister swam up and yanked hard on the rope, but her efforts were useless. She bit into the rope, trying to gnaw through it, cutting her lips, but it remained strong. “I’ll not let them take you.” She tore on the rope, her fingers and palms, bleeding.
Panic flooded through Angelica’s veins. She was going to die like Mother. She wanted to be free, not become a pirate’s dinner or worse. Angelica twisted and thrashed her legs, but she only managed to get tangled up tighter in the net. Surprisingly, it didn’t tear into her skin, but she didn’t care. She had to escape. Yet the net wrapped around her body like a snug blanket, cocooning her tight. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Isabella, I’m so sorry.”
Isabella put her hands over Angelica’s. “I won’t leave you. I promise. I’ll find a way to save you.”
Angelica nodded, praying her sister was right. How could she have been so stupid? She’d avoided nets plenty of times, but none of them had changed from a school of fish into something deadly.
The net slowly edged toward the surface. Fear squeezed the air out of her lungs. She was going to be a prisoner on board a pirate ship. Pirates were cruel, soulless, evil—the worst of humans.