Heart of the Kraken (Tales from Darjee)

by Exley, A. W.

  "Every time, Mr Fenton," Reis murmured from his side. "One could almost forget you were birthed on land, or perhaps the ore-mancers fished you from the ocean?"

  "I didn't spend my youth on land like the others, perhaps that is why I only have sea legs and no stomach for fixed land," he replied, sweeping the vista that unfolded around them.

  Vibrant activity beckoned, starting with the brightly coloured tents arrayed along the beach. Flags flattered along the guidelines. The canvas offered temporary accommodation for sailors who wanted to sleep on the earth, either alone or with one of the women prowling before them. Courtesans clad in multi coloured chiffon that swirled around the legs as they walked. The women displayed their wares as they called to the sailors. Beyond the sand and the row of palms and shrub, rose the tops of buildings of the little settlement, marching away down the main street.

  Before the pirates were able to partake of Lusions delights or think of buying supplies, they first had to deal with pragmatic issues. A small wooden office with a shady verandah stood by the path. Within lounged the harbour master surrounded by paperwork and wielding a small stamp. Reis stepped to the window and the man looked up and grabbed his pen. He noted down the ship's name and that of the captain and the length of their intended stay. Like a fine hotel, they had to pay per night. Reis dipped into his pocket to pay the fee for safe harbour for three days while Fenton wished it were a week.

  The men walked the dirt road that lead straight to the heart of Lusions - the Fancy Garter. Shouts, laughter and chatter filled the air alongside the weird calls rising from the dense bush that surrounded the town. The volcano dominated the sky and stood watch, clouds ringed the top and obscured the very peak. Trees and shrubbery stumbled down the side of the steep incline and only stopped at the doorstep to the buildings. No one really knew what animals called the exotic greenery home. They saw few apart from brightly coloured birds and agile monkeys.

  Women flashed their petticoats and exposed pale ankles as they passed. Dinger whistled at one and she called out to him.

  "I've got a safe harbour for your boat, lovvie." She lifted her skirt higher to show a voluptuous white thigh with a lace garter.

  "Have you got a berth large enough for my warship?" He grabbed his groin and leered.

  She giggled. "It'll be a tight fit for sure."

  Reis reached out and grabbed the seaman by the back of the collar before he followed his fancy. "Business first, Mr Dinger, then you may pursue your pleasure."

  "Yes, Captain." His gaze followed the woman who blew him a kiss and then locked arms with another hungry looking sailor.

  They kept step up the broad road, avoiding those who were already drunk at one in the afternoon. The Fancy Garter was part tavern, music hall, brothel and mayoral office. The enormous building covered an entire block, stood three storeys high and was the largest structure on Lusions, apart from the volcano that over shadowed everything. Noise burst from its open doors as sailors found escape from the daily grind while stores were restocked and repairs undertaken. In here, they would find any sort of entertainment they desired, they would also find the mad mastermind behind the island – Zebadiah Nancy. Somewhere in the haze and din, he kept his office.

  Two enhanced bouncers manned the front door. Muscles bulged from arms, legs and necks as though they were inflated with air. Metal covered their limbs and chests and a helmet hid their faces. You couldn't tell where man ended and automaton began, the two merged seamlessly to produce a mass that could evict a crowd and shut down any trouble makers.

  Within, one end of the building was given over to the music hall. A high stage held the attention of several rows of comfortable chairs. Men enjoyed the antics of the talented dancers going through their routines to a cheeky song that had them laughing and clapping along. Girls with trays circulated to ensure drinks stayed topped up and plates of snacks appeared as desired.

  The upper floors were reserved for the brothel. The men and women catered to all needs behind discrete doors: from the basic to the lavish and decidedly odd. Reis' business lay in a different direction. The opposite end to the stage was an enormous bar, running the length of the building and manned by three bartenders.

  Reis leaned on the polished wood and beckoned to one. "I need to speak with Nancy."

  The short, stout man with the balding pallet looked like he should have been pulling pints in a dingy city pub, not supervising a lush, tropical playground. Sleeve garters kept the cuffs of his striped shirt from being soiled. A pristine apron hung around his neck. With a soft cloth he kept polishing the glass in his hand and barely glanced at the pirate captain. "He's busy."

  "I think he'll spare me a moment if you show him this." Reis pulled the metal object from within his jacket and laid it on the counter.

  Chapter Twelve

  The bartender sighed, set down the glass and then tossed the cloth over his shoulder. His gaze flicked from Reis to the shiny plate. Greens and blues played over the surface in the low lighting and it shimmered with a pulse of ore-mancer wizardry. The man grunted as he picked it up and disappeared around the back of the bar.

  Fenton tried to cut out the noise and avoid the ample flesh on display. Dinger's tongue was practically on the ground and Maynard already had two scantily clad women entwined around him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, centring himself and willing the nausea away. It didn't work.

  "How about you lovey, lonely?" A hand encircled his bicep.

  He opened his eyes to find a woman with a painted face and dyed bright red hair staring up at him. She was attractive in a I've been at sea for two months solid kind of way. The smile on her face appeared genuine, and the softness in her eyes led her a touch of warmth, while her curves promised of other diversions. Except this woman would never haunt his dreams. After tasting Ailin, the thought of kissing another woman was as appealing as licking the latrine floor.

  "No, thank you." He took her hand and removed it.

  Reis signalled to Maynard who extracted himself with soft promises of later to the ladies. The captain took a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it over. "Take Dinger to the store and order our supplies. Once you have that in hand, you two can have the rest of today off."

  Dinger gave a quiet whoop and shot his hand up in the air. Maynard rolled his eyes, nodded and guided the smaller pirate through the maze of warm bodies to the door.

  The bartender returned and gestured with his head. "He'll see you, now."

  Following his direction, Fenton saw the faint edge of a wide doorway tucked under the stairs. Almost lost in the shadow it blended in with the woodwork. There was little to differentiate it from the panelling apart from the plain steel handles, resting side by side.

  Reis grabbed the handles and pushed them apart. With a quiet sigh, the doors slid away from each other on unseen rails. Fenton glanced around as he stepped into the private domain of the ruler of Lusions. With a soft hiss, the doors closed behind him and sliced away the noise leaving clean silence.

  The subtle décor within was at odds to the riotous life of the tavern. Here the walls were lined with books and unusual curios, not brightly coloured bottles of liquor and mirrors. Two things dominated the space. One was an enormous open fireplace. Granite nubile maidens were the pillars supporting a gnarled beam that served as a mantle. At the other end, by a tall window, sat a desk of dark oak. Arcane ruins and creatures were carved into the wood and it was large enough to serve as a double bed. Papers, books and small mechanical objects were scattered over the desk top. An ink pot seemed to possess legs and strolled back and forth like a patrolling soldier.

  Leather sofas were piled high with velvet cushions in tones of green and blue. End tables held piles of more books and random metal parts. On another sat a delicate glass vase holding a single blue hibiscus flower. A chess board and pieces with a game in progress, waited on a low table between two sofas. Heavy drapes of watery silk in the same shade as the cushions, were pulled back and
beyond the window was the cool green of a formal garden with clipped hedges.

  The room enclosed and enveloped the occupant like a peaceful ocean. For the first time ever, the land stopped heaving under Fenton's feet and his balance felt as stable as at sea with a lurching deck under him. He glanced around more curious at the sensation through his feet than the noble's parlour in the bottom of a brothel.

  "You feel it, don't you?"

  Fenton glanced up at the speaker. Nancy, the ore-mancer, pushed away the high backed chair and rose. Short and thin in stature he resembled an imp. His face was aged by sun, wind and time. He wore a long tunic of silk the same colour as the cushions, belted around his waist from which dangled a variety of strange shaped leather pouches. Long white hair was tied back with a thong at his neck and deep laugh lines feathered around his warm brown eyes.

  "Feel what?" Reis said, frowning at Fenton.

  He cast around in his mind for the words to explain the inexplicable. "The floor here hums and shifts, like the ship's deck."

  A broad smile lit Nancy's face. "The sea has carved hidden channels under the island, one such passage runs under my office. The flow of the ocean is beneath your feet, which is why your nausea abated when you stepped over the threshold."

  Fenton paused, a question on his lips. Not one about hidden oceans under the floor but how the ore-mancer knew about his land nausea. Did he know him? Hope flared in his heart, if Nancy knew of his origins could he possibly undo what was once done?

  Like a grandfather with visitors, he pushed Fenton in the direction of the overstuffed sofas. "Please be seated, make yourself comfortable."

  Reis dropped with the sigh of a man too long without comfort. On the chess board sat the metal plate, their entrée to Nancy's domain. He leaned back and crossed a leg over his knee. Fenton remained standing at his captain's back. His brain was too busy chasing possibilities for his body to sit. Nancy glanced at him, then tucked his tunic out of the way as he sunk into a deep cushion.

  He picked up the plate and spun the object between his hands. Green and blue flashed around the room like the ever changing azure of the deep sea. "You brought me a curiosity."

  "From the Curiosity," Reis said. "You know what that is."

  Nancy shrugged one narrow shoulder. "One scale from many thousands that covered her hide. I'm sure she has dropped many over the last fifty years, scattered on the ocean floor as she passed above."

  "Where you there when she was built?" Fenton asked. The man looked old enough to remember the decades old legend first hand, and he was curious.

  "It was a different time." He nodded and his eyes misted over as he peered back through his memory. "I was still a mage of Darjee when Weston built the ship. So tragic what happens when people seek to stand in love's path."

  "Love doesn't put food in your stomach or clothes on your back," Reis said.

  Nancy narrowed his eyes at Reis and cocked his head to one side as though re-evaluating his opinion of the captain. Then he tapped the manufactured scale and a musical dong rang through the room. "And where did you find this? I often wonder where she roams."

  Reis smiled. "Oh, I have a little bloodhound that found that scale and I have hopes of finding the rest of the vessel and claiming Lady Alise's bounty."

  Nancy laughed. "Then you would set yourself on a fool's errand. No man will find the Curiosity until her captain wishes her to be found. You would need a million such bloodhounds to search the oceans the world over." He set the scale down again. "Or it would take one bloodhound a million lifetimes to chance upon the vessel. Do you have such a store of patience?"

  Fenton tensed behind Reis. He could imagine the war of greed within the captain. Keep Ailin chained on the off chance she might, one day, stumble upon the Curiosity or claim the gold she represented now?

  Nancy glanced from captain to first mate. "But if you wish to sell this item, I will give your men money at the bar in exchange for this trinket. Is this all you have to trade while in port?"

  Reis looked deflated as though the store room of gold drained while he watched. "A fool's errand you say? Perhaps I will not wait so long to collect a large purse. I need to send a message to Darjee. Locked up safe in my hold is another item much desired by the Lady Alise and I wish to organise an exchange."

  Nancy played with the end of his long ponytail. "You'll need to be a little more specific, the lady desires much."

  Reis dropped his leg and leaned his forearms on his knees. "My bloodhound that found the scale also happens to be the tasty morsel Alise wishes to devour to enable her to peer into all our hearts."

  He dropped his hair, all his attention on the pirate. "You captured a mermaid," he whispered the words as though not believing them. Then he leaned back on the sofa and tapped his chin. "Would you surrender such a rare and beautiful creature to have her heart carved out and eaten?"

  Reis barked a short laugh. "For ten thousand gold and her weight in Sunshine, I would serve up my own grandmother."

  Fenton stiffed his spine and held in the words that rushed to the tip of his tongue. His hands turned to claws that dug into the back of the leather sofa. No one would take Ailin's heart, not while his still pounded blood through his veins.

  Nancy glanced up at him, the smile dropped away and a curious look flashed behind his eyes. "You don't agree with your captain?"

  Fenton swallowed and glanced at Reis. His captain wore a scowl, but the words were undeterred and refused to stay put in his gut. "She has a mind and feelings. I do not believe we should traffic in fellow creatures."

  Reis laughed and waved a dismissive arm at his first mate. "The mermaid's sweet words have rotted his brain and perhaps he found a better use for its evil tongue. Soon, he'll be waving a placard demanding equal rights for fish."

  Fenton frowned and moved to stand in front of the man who controlled his life. The more time he spent with Ailin, the more resolve he found hidden inside himself. "If you think me so feeble, why do you let me continue to care for her?"

  The cold black eyes lacked warmth as his teeth pulled back in the shark's laughing smile. "Far easier to watch one man I know has been turned, than to rotate her guard and suspect half my crew. Tell me, Fenton, who amongst my men do you think would assist in your escape plan?"

  His nostrils flared as his breath raced through his chest. Reis knew and had said nothing. Perhaps this was simply another of his cruel games, letting him think there was hope when Reis had already decided the ending.

  "Relax boy, I know she has her hands wrapped around your organ, no wonder your thinking is compromised, lack of blood flow." He laughed at his own joke.

  Nancy coughed and Fenton's gaze flew to the older man. He gave a tiny shake of his head as though he suspected the younger man longed to take the captain by the throat and end things his way.

  He took a step backward and then turned to survey the bookshelves. The lure of the printed word calmed the kraken that seemed to stir and move over his skin. The tentacles gripped his arms tighter. The ebb and flow of conversation continued behind him as he ran a finger over gold etched spines.

  "It will take a day or two for the message to be relayed and for the Lady Alise to response," Nancy said.

  Reis grunted. "We have some minor repairs to do and we need to restock. We can wait."

  "Good, and I would like to meet your mermaid."

  Reis' laughter was shorter this time, his patience wearing thin. "I have no intention to publicly display my treasure."

  Fenton turned, but the benign smile never budged from Nancy's face. "Then I'm sure you'll be fine sailing straight up the Darjee channel to Regulators main base to negotiate your own exchange."

  Reis swore under his breath. "Why? What interest do you have in the fish?"

  Nancy's hands returned to the end of his pony tail, wrapping the white strands around a finger. "Need I remind you that Lusions harbour is teeming with reprobates with no conscience? And they gossip like fishwives. Even now, they are all ey
eing the Razor's Edge and figuring out how to slip on board and meet this rare creature. Far better to display her for all to see and satisfy their curiosity. Besides, I have seen mermaids from afar but have never had the privilege of conversing with one."

  "Daft old fool," Reis muttered under his voice, low enough that Fenton heard but beyond the reach of much older ears. "We'll bring her to the end of the pier this afternoon, 4pm."

  Fenton's feet removed to budge and his spine stiffened at the thought of so many pirates ogling Ailin. "I'll not have her exposed to everyone. We cannot fight off the entire island if they try to take her."

  Nancy regarded him with the thoughtful look. Then he nodded. "I will ensure your mermaid's safety. I have ways of casting a shield around her."

  "If you give you word she will be safe." A new strength surged through his body and reinforced his bones with every word he said to protect Ailin.

  Nancy's smile broadened. "You have my word, lad."

  Reis laughed and walked to the door. "Told you the fish had its hand wrapped around his member. His only thought is of it."

  "One other thing, Fenton," Nancy called as he was about the leave the strangely tranquil room and step back onto the roiling earth.

  He turned and arched one eyebrow, waiting.

  "A siren's sway over man only works on landwalkers, not those connected with the sea. Think on it." Then he waved his hand and shooed him from the room.

  They stepped back into the wave of noise of the main bar. Fenton swallowed bile as the ground undulated to a beat only he could sense. Reis slapped his shoulder and pointed to a vacant table to one side. He liked a hearty meal in his stomach before he moved upstairs and to stretching out flat on his back.