by Trudi Jaye
She felt someone sit down on her other side, and didn’t need to open her eyes to know who it was. His body warmed hers, without even touching, even on this terrible boat. She opened her eyes.
“You’re not praying too, are you?” he said roughly.
She shook her head. “Not to anyone sensible.”
A thunderous smashing sound vibrated through the air. They both turned, and saw the ship give in to the pressure of the sea. It was ripping apart, the final center mast snapping and falling, while half the ship was sucked into the sea.
Constance held her breath. The water was devouring their ship and their belongings. Everything she owned was on that boat. She touched her hand to the silver heart-shaped locket at her throat. Almost everything. If they were to survive, what would she do? No money, no clothes, no nothing. Would facing Larkin really have been worse?
“I need you to keep your eyes open, and be on the lookout for more people. There might have been some remaining on the ship.”
Constance flicked her gaze back to Sunrise, and nodded. She was a good lookout, it was one of the reasons Larkin had picked her out of the gutter. She could spot things a mile off like they were close up. It had taken her many years to understand that not everyone saw things as she did.
“Can we save them, though? Once I see them?”
Her voice had been quiet, but Sunrise nodded, like he’d heard her easily. “We will try. We are not lost yet. There will be other beaches where we can land this boat. And by going out to sea we will be going further away from the storm, which will help us.”
Jimmy squirmed where he was still sitting encased in Constance’s arms.
“I can help, too,” he said. “I’m not afraid of the storm.”
Constance blinked at his words. If he could be brave, then so could she.
Sunrise handed Jimmy a small bucket. “I need you to bail.”
Jimmy nodded, his sharp eyes going to the water that was starting to fill the bottom of their boat. He crawled to the middle and started his assigned task without another word.
Constance began searching the dark waters around them, trying to sort out the pieces of ship from the people. In the distance she caught sight of another of the tenders heading towards land. It seemed tantalisingly close to shore, and in that moment Constance desperately wished she’d found a way onto the small vessel as she’d planned. She should at least have tried.
Instead she was heading further out to sea on a boat that would probably sink before making land, and all those stupid toffs were about to land on shore, their fancy clothes wet and their pride damaged, but otherwise alive.
A movement in the corner of her eyes made her glance to the left. A hand waved, a body clung to debris from the ship. “Sunrise! Over there!”
Sunrise turned, and squinted. “You sure?” he said.
“Yes. We have to get them. Two people, over there.”
He shrugged his powerful shoulders, and crawled over to the oars. “I’m going to row us over there. We have room for more.”
“But that’s further away from the shore! You’re going to kill us!” Therese said, her eyes wide with fear.
“We must do what we can. We cannot ignore them now Constance has seen them.”
He began pushing the oars through water, at first seeming to have no purchase. Then another of the men, and another, moved to help him. Soon there were two men on each oar, pulling hard, battling the storm and moving with excruciating slowness through the water to where Constance had seen the waving hand.
She watched the figures in the water, willing them to survive. We’re coming. Don’t die now. You can hold on. Sea beast, can’t you see how much they want to live? Don’t take them now, give them a chance to do something great.
Closer and closer, until she saw it was two men. Constance recognised them. Two small, neat men who had shared their accommodation below-decks. They had kept to themselves and had spoken in thick accents. Brothers, if she was right. They didn’t look so well-groomed now.
One of the men on board the boat held out his hands as they came close, and gripped the arm of the first man. “Merci, merci,” he gasped as they pulled him onto the boat.
He landed heavily in the middle. The boat tipped dangerously and Therese screamed. Water slapped against the oak barrels and the lifeboat righted itself.
“My brother!” yelled the man, scrambling to the side of the boat, and causing them to sway in the waves.
“Hold him steady,” Sunrise ordered. He leaned over the side of the boat and grabbed the arm of the second man, pulling him into the boat like he was a child.
Constance kept searching the cluttered waters near the ship, hoping to find another person who had made it off alive. She heard rather than saw the high pitched cry of an animal. “Over there,” she shouted, pointing toward a barrel floating precariously in the sea. On it was the ship’s cat, a striped moggy, and a bedraggled-looking woman clutching the barrel with white fingers.
“It is too close to the ship! We cannot risk it,” said Mac.
Constance shook her head. “We can save them. We must.” She turned to Sunrise, her eyes beseeching. “You promised.”
He looked at her, and then over at the woman and cat. He sighed, and then without warning, dove into the water. The boat rocked and Constance gasped, one hand going to her mouth. She hadn’t meant for him to risk his own life in the rough seas around them.
But Sunrise was a strong, powerful swimmer, and as they watched he made steady progress to the cat and the woman. When he arrived, he spoke quietly to the woman, who nodded tiredly. Sunrise grabbed a rope attached to the barrel and pulled it behind him, using strong strokes to cut through the turbulent water. The woman kicked with all her might, pushing them even faster.
It seemed to take forever, but eventually they arrived back at the boat. Sunrise helped the woman and the cat to climb onto the makeshift boards tied to the back of the boat with the other couple, and then tied her barrel to the vessel, making it slightly more sturdy. The woman sat in the centre of their makeshift boat, the cat clutched to her chest.
Then the men helped him climb back into the main boat. Several people glared at Constance, and she tried not to notice their looks, keeping her gaze focused on Sunrise. He was drenched, his skin pale and his hair plastered to his head, but she had never seen anyone more magnificent in all her life.
Constance looked away, trying to maintain her equilibrium. It was always like this around Sunrise.
Through the crash of waves and the pelting rain, the unmistakeable sound of yet more wood shattering distracted them all. Turning toward the source—closer to shore and futher north than their position—Constance saw a boat broken against a row of black rocks that had appeared up out of the sea like giant gaping teeth. It was the boat she had glimpsed earlier. She heard screaming as survivors desperately clutched at the rocks, trying to find purchase. Another enormous wave crashed down and the screams were abruptly cut off.
Everyone in their boat was silent. Unmoving.
“Do you think—” began Constance, before cutting herself off.
No. They didn’t survive.
She felt sick, wondering if the fish-faced man was on that boat. What about the tall man who’d demanded to get on?
“We should row,” said Sunrise into the silence. Even the storm had settled for a moment, as if it understood it had just won a round.
“Where? Where do we row to?” asked the tall, thin man. One elegant eyebrow raised up over his dark brown eyes.
“There must be a reef back there,” said Mac. “That’s what they hit.”
Sunrise nodded. “We avoid the shore. We row south, find another bay along the coast. There must be one somewhere,” he said.
The men nodded and began to pull the oars again. Constance wished she could take part, anything to distract herself from the dreadful fear that was clamouring inside her chest. The cold rain assailed them and their tiny boat rocked unsteadily as the waves
dragged at them. The makeshift raft attached to the back kept knocking into the tender, making both vessels tilt disconcertingly.
What were they to a power like the ocean? The sea-beast was laughing at them, amused they had thought they could win against his fury.
With no other way to help, Constance searched the waters around them, her eyes narrowed against the elements, trying to track another arm, to see a head bobbing through the water around them. There was nothing but debris. Her gaze returned to the reef in the distance. Was that a body she could see lying against the black rocks? She blinked and shook her head. Even if it was, there was nothing they could do for anyone on that boat. They had to look outward, towards the ocean. Maybe they could outrun the storm, and outlast it. Sunrise was right. That was how they would survive. Through the strength of their character and their determination to beat the odds.
She took a breath and followed her own thoughts, looking toward the ocean, away from the land that until a few minutes ago had seemed to offer safety.
Another loud crash rent the air. Constance turned but immediately regretted it. A second lifeboat had been dumped over the same black rocks. People leaped out into the sea, and were immediately slammed back against the gaping reef by the merciless waves.
Constance shuddered.
The blonde woman next to Constance slumped onto her arm, then slid onto the floor of the boat. She’d fainted. Constance briefly considered trying to revive her. But perhaps being unconscious was the best option. No need to see death so close, not if you could avoid it. She helped Hamiltyn pull his wife up into his arms, but neither of them suggested attempting to bring her back to consciousness.
When the third boat smashed against the rocks, no one turned. They all looked steadfastly towards the ocean, the men swapping around to take turns at rowing.
“Are we moving, Constance?” asked Jimmy quietly.
She squinted through the rain, trying to find some kind of land feature to mark against. “I think so, Jimmy.” We need to go further. Sea beast, you’ve let us live this long. Push us further, faster. You don’t need to add us to your kingdom.
A particularly large wave broke over the boat, and Constance gasped through a mouthful of cold salty water. Coughing, tears ran down her face as she pulled in another breath against the salty taste of seawater.
“It’s working. We’re heading out to sea, away from the storm,” said Therese, clutching at her children. The hope in her voice was painful to hear.
For a long time there was no talking. Everyone in the boat concentrated all their attention on moving away from the burial ground of their ship, and the sharp black rocks that had claimed the lives of everyone else. Through a gap in the clouds, Constance could see the eclipse of the moon above their heads. The glowing circle of light was slightly thicker on one side.
A giant tree of lightning ignited the sky with electricity, making Constance jump. It lit the faces of everyone around her, making them into tortured masks of their real selves.
A young girl screamed.
The choppy seas seemed to rumble and vibrate with the thunder that rolled across the sky in the wake of the lightning.
“That was close,” said Sunrise, his eyes gazing overhead. Lightning flicked down into the water again, around the debris from the ship, this time so close it made the hair on Constance’s arm stand up. She brushed the hairs down again, and sniffed the air. The lightning must have hit some debris; she could smell wood burning.
The thunder rolled across the sky seconds later and to Constance it sounded like the angry complaints of a dormant beast. She closed her eyes. Don’t you dare take us yet. You got all those others, but don’t you dare take us. We survived the sinking of our ship, sea-beast. We deserve something for that.
Just as Constance opened her eyes, the world exploded. Light was everywhere she looked, buzzing with energy. A blinding flash went through her, burning off the hair on her body, and making her shake. Water surged up to consume them all as the boat disintegrated around them. Then the world went black.
“The lightning hit the boat. Hold onto anything you can.” Sunrise’s voice was as strong as ever in the darkness, and Constance grasped a section of timber from the boat, just as he said. Half her body was in the water, and she was blind from the flash of light. A small set of hands gripped the wood next to hers, and she grabbed one hand tight. Constance clung desperately to her last chance at survival with all her strength.
“I’m scared.” It was Jimmy. “I can’t see.”
“Just hold on. That’s all we can do. Just hold on, and pray to the gods.” Constance kept her voice calm, but her heart was beating like she’d just run a mile.
The lightning forked out across the sky again. Constance flinched and her frozen fingers slid down the wooden section they were clinging to. Desperately she scratched at the wood, gathering splinters under her nails, but it wasn’t enough. She slid down into the freezing sea.
Constance kicked, and held her arms wide, trying to keep her head above the water. The heavy material of her skirts dragged her down as if she had lead weights attached to her dress. Her breath came in gasps, and her body was numb. She looked around, trying to find Jimmy, but he was gone. The rain pounded into her face, and waves dumped water over her head. The sea was was intent on claiming her into its cold embrace, and there was nothing Constance could do.
She looked up one last time and saw the glowing outline of the moon between the clouds, like a halo on an angel. It was beautiful. She sighed, closed her eyes, and her head slipped below the water.
The noise of the storm disappered, and her world became silent. The water enclosed her, holding her tight and consuming her entire body. By instinct, she held her breath, but she knew this was it. Her skirts pulled her mercilessly down toward the sea-beast.
It felt warm down here, nothing like the cold of the above-water, and bubbles tickled against the skin of her face. Constance smiled.
It even seemed lighter, as if the sea were providing its own light.
“Constance. Open your eyes,” said a voice that sounded like the swish of waves over a deserted beach.
She opened her eyes, and before her was the most beautiful—and most terrifying—creature she had ever seen in her life. A woman swam before her, glowing with the greens and blues of the sea, her eyes all-black emotionless orbs and her skin the color of an oyster pearl. She wore a multi-colored dress of various shapes and colors of seaweed and shells, sea anemones and coral all woven together. Tiny orange and gold fish whirled in continuous cirlces around her neck, wrists and ankles in a strange glittering parody of jewelry. Her long, blue-black hair drifted out around her head, and she wore a crown of coral and spiked shells. Sea horses swam gently around her, occasionally slipping in to kiss her on the cheek.
Constance blinked. Beside the woman, holding long three-pronged spears, were two mermaids, their long hair floating in the sea, their breasts free to the world, and their flourescent blue and green tails holding them steady in the ocean’s currents. They glared at Constance with matching petulant expressions in their bright blue eyes. A third mermaid swam toward her, holding a small bundle in her hands. Jimmy. His body was still, and his eyes were closed in an eternal sleep.
“You are a fighter, Constance. I admire that,” said the woman. She didn’t move her mouth, simply smiled mysteriously.
Constance stared. She didn’t understand why she wasn’t dead yet. Perhaps she was? Perhaps this was the last dream of a drowning woman who had succumbed to the ocean.
“You called to the gods of the deep. The eclipse, joined as it is with the storm, has gathered immense power in this place tonight.” The woman glanced up as if considering the surface high above them. “Your prayers were heard deep in the darkest places of the ocean. I have been woken from my sleep.”
Constance glanced down. She was floating in the sea in front of the woman. “Is this a dream?” she said before she could think. She held her hand over her mouth. Sh
e must be dead. There was no way she could speak and breathe underwater.
The woman shook her head, making tiny blue and silver fish rush in and out of her floating hair. They looked like sparkling jewels. “It takes an unusual confluence of events to draw a sea goddess from her abode. Some might be afraid to do so. But you, Constance, I think you are brave. Even if you had known what you were doing, you would have done it anyway.”
She gestured at the mermaid holding Jimmy. The mermaid swam gracefully forward, the same sulky expression on her face as the other two. But she gently laid Jimmy’s still body in Constance’s arms. Constance gazed down at his face, wishing things could be different. That he could have had a long, full life.
“Things can be different, Constance. You had the power within you to draw me from my sleep. You asked that I leave you be, and take only the others. This I have done.”
“I didn’t ask you to take the others,” whispered Constance, a vision of the boats smashing against the rocks in her head. Bubbles rose out of her mouth.
The woman smiled, showing pointed teeth identical to the black rocks that had taken the other boats. “Ah, but you did. You prayed for it with every fiber of your being as you sat on your puny little boat. I have simply done what you asked.” Her eyes glowed ominously in the water, as if daring Constance to refute her words.
“But all those people…” Constance stared helplessly at the goddess before her.
The sea goddess waved her hand dismissively. “The storm was fated to take you all. Only your intervention has the potential to save the lives on your boat. But there is a price. Are you willing to pay my price?” Her voice hardened.
Constance swallowed over the lump in her throat and glanced down at Jimmy. “You can bring Jimmy back?” she asked.