by Aaron Galvin
“Yes.”
“If that guy doesn’t wanna kill us. Why tie us up?”
Again, Chidi stopped short. How do I explain what this life is to them? She had no answers for what Henry planned next, though she had a fair guess. Two teenaged males on the eve of manhood, according to Dryback standards, at least, Chidi knew both would fetch a fair price in the New Pearlaya slave market.
Or would Henry take them to his home instead? Make them work the fish and oyster farms. Henry didn’t have much to his name, but two strong males would improve his fortunes. If he wanted to gamble, he might even test the fight in them. Use them for the pit games to challenge other owners in search of sport.
How do I tell them any of that without frightening them further?
The tailgate clanged open.
Sweet-smelling air with hints of wet grass and dirt poured in.
Chidi felt Henry’s hands under her knees and the back of her neck. He tugged her out onto the tailgate. Lifted her, setting her right side up, then helping her touch down to stand.
The gas station attendant lay on the pavement, the rise and fall of his back signaling he yet lived. She watched Henry bind the man’s wrists and ankles and then lift the larger man with a grunt.
Chidi marveled at Henry’s uncommon strength, even for a Selkie, as he pushed the attendant into the vacated spot her absence had left behind. Then her owner bent over and picked up what resembled a folded, silvery tarp with black spots throughout.
A Selkie suit. Chidi’s brain registered the make. A Leopard Seal…Wotjek’s.
Chidi had the urge to cry then, even though she’d barely known Zymon’s guardian.
“Come, Chidi.” Henry led her around to the passenger side. “I weel not let you suffer as a common slave.”
Henry opened both passenger side doors. Lifted her up into the back cab. “Lie down,” he ordered.
When she did, he strapped the seat belt over her arms and mid-section, another across her legs and feet. She thanked the Ancients he at least did not strap the belt closest to her throat.
Henry hovered over her. He sat down between the seats, where passengers’ feet should go. Then he laid his head on her chest like a child might against its mother. “I told you I would find you, Chidi.” Henry whispered. “I weel always find you. I promise.”
Chidi fought off a cold shudder and the urge to scream as Henry lifted his head. She watched him climb out. Close the door. She struggled against her bonds to no avail. Found she couldn’t even move her fingers to push the button that might unlock the safety belt nearest her hands. Her thoughts drifted to the two teens in the back, the attendant who scorned her and Allambee.
Chidi had a flittering thought. She had not known any of them before this night. Perhaps the answer to Marrero’s question was they might be deserving of such fates.
Did we all deserve this? She wondered. Marrero and Tardiff? Are we all being punished?
No. The answer came as quick. No one deserves this.
The driver’s door opened and the seat tilted back.
Chidi heard the engine fire. None but Henry.
Chidi felt the truck set in motion, back up, then put in forward drive and gain speed.
She swallowed. “Wh-where are we going?”
When Henry did not respond, Chidi thought his silence doubled as his reply.
Then, he spoke. “I keep my promises. Always.”
“O-oui.”
“I go now to make good on one more,” said Henry. “Who was it ‘elped free you earlier zis night?”
No…Chidi bit her tongue. “R-Racer.”
The truck swerved. Fishtailed in loose gravel before coming to a halt.
Chidi heard Henry throw the truck in park.
The cab light flickered on, illuminating Henry’s face between the seats as he peered over at her. Any false hints of the sincerity he spoke with earlier vanished, replaced by a madman. “You know ‘ow I feel about liars, Chidi.”
She nodded.
“Who ‘elped you?” Henry grabbed her trembling chin. Squeezed in what Chidi knew was only a modicum of his true power.
Give him the name. Give him what he wants.
Henry shook his head, a final warning before he resorted to other means. “Who?”
Chidi’s throat felt dry. “Len…Lenny Dolan.”
Henry grinned.
LENNY
Light dawned as Paulo drove up and out of the tunnel, bound ever eastward on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Already, Lenny smelled briny hints of the ocean. It wouldn’t be long until he would see it.
I’m comin’ home, Pop.
“Whoa—” Garrett said from the back of the bus.
Lenny glanced over his shoulder and spied Garrett’s cheek plastered his cheek to the glass, watching the downtown cityscape fade.
“That’s Boston?”
“You’ve never been, I take it?” Oscar asked Garrett.
The abducted teen shook his head. “I’ve never been much of anywhere. My dad took me with him out on his rig once. Just to St. Louis and back. I always wanted to see more places.”
Lenny tried to shut out Garrett’s voice, the innocence plaguing his every word. Even Garrett’s sheer happiness at witnessing a few skyscrapers and driving under overpasses annoyed Lenny.
The hefty girl seated next to him didn’t help matters. All the respect Lenny thought he’d garnered from freeing Chidi and Racer vanished the moment he saw Ellie Briceño watching him. Indeed, her disapproval of her captain seemed to grow for every mile they drew closer to the Salt. Lenny knew she hadn’t strayed five feet from Garrett since breakfast.
What’s she think I’m gonna do? Lenny wondered. Ask her to kill Oscar and have us all run?
He snorted, both at the thought and to let Ellie know he read her disdainful look clear from the front of the bus.
“Where am I headed, boss?” Paulo asked.
Lenny leaned against the railing. “Oscar wants us to park at the pier.”
Paulo snorted. “You mean he don’t want Weaver to see where this little bus trip ends before it’s too late.”
Lenny nodded.
Paulo whistled. “Take in the sights. See some dead fish. Get Salted.”
“He don’t need to be Salted, rememba?” Lenny said as Paulo exited I-90 east and turned right on Congress Street. “He’s a Salt Child.”
“Lucky him.”
“I dunno,” said Lenny. “If he wadn’t born that way, he wouldn’t be here now.”
“Sure he would.”
“How’s that?”
“Fate, boss,” Paulo said. “Can’t nobody hide from fate. She has her way with us whether we want her to or not.”
Lenny folded his arms across his chest.
Paulo chuckled. “I know you don’t buy into that talk, but it’s true. Think about it. What’re the odds a crew of Selkie catchers runs into an Orc on land? Oh, and that the Orc don’t know what he is?”
“My good luck.” Lenny scoffed. “And ticket outta here.”
“Maybe.” Paulo shrugged. “Or it’s fate toying with you. My mother says—”
“Ah, would ya shuddup already? My Pop says a lotta crap. Don’t make it all true.”
No such thing as fate. A man makes his own luck.
Paulo raised his fingers from the steering wheel in show of surrender.
The radio hooked to the dash crackled. “Oi? Anyone there?”
“That’s Tieran’s voice.” Paulo whispered. “What’s he doing on the Hard?”
“Pick up, you sorry seadogs!”
Lenny stepped to the dash and snatched the radio up. “This is Dolan. Whattaya want?”
“I don’t answer to no slaves, no nipperkins neither,” said the voice. “Put the lil’ Crayfish on.”
Lenny clenched the receiver. “Ya master’s busy…and ya talkin’ to the captain. I’ll ask ya again, whattaya want, Tieran?”
“I want lotsa things, your tongue included. Right now though? I want to know wh
ere you lot are. Can’t strike out on me own until I finish me work. And I can’t finish me work until I’ve got the bus and your haul tucked away, now can I?”
“So where are ya?”
“Boston Fish Pier, where else?”
Lenny glanced out the windshield as Paulo came to a halt. Stopped at the point where Congress Street ended in a T intersection at Northern Avenue, Lenny saw the Salt across the street.
We’re here…
Lenny felt the bus lurch forward in a wide turn on a street meant for smaller vehicles. Horns blared. Drivers shouted obscenities. Throughout it all, Lenny didn’t take his eyes off the water. In a matter of hours, he would swim beneath the surface, bound for home and Crayfish Cavern.
Lenny glanced back at Garrett and found him grinning. Not too late, Len. He looked at Oscar. Ya could still free him and send him on his merry way.
That was his heart speaking though, Lenny knew. Weakness. To blatantly free Garrett now…
Oscar’d have me killed. Pop too.
Lenny steeled his mind as Paulo pulled onto the Boston Fish Pier and took up two parking spaces. He heard a loud hiss, the bus releasing a sigh at the momentary rest.
“Ah! Here at last!” Oscar said from the back. “Come, Garrett!”
“Open the doors, Paulie.”
Lenny hurried off as they whooshed open. A collective scent of fish, gas, and salt smacked him in the face the moment his foot touched pavement. Lenny snorted his nostrils in an attempt to clear them of the smells.
It failed.
He focused on the trawler masts, swaying as their boats bobbed in the harbor. Air horns sounded in the distance. Men shouted out commands on the docks to others who argued back, all of them in hard accents akin to Lenny’s own.
Lenny turned his gaze eastward. Buildings blocked his sight. He didn’t need them gone to know what lay beyond. The lapping of waves by the dockside told him the Salt called his name. Some voice, deep and powerful, bid him return to that other world, the realm beneath the waves.
More than the voice, Lenny feared no small part of him desired the homecoming. Freedom existed on the Hard, but every Selkie knew of that other freedom, which existed only in the blue world. The kind even runners could not resist—the urge to swim, to cut through the water in a way no mere Dryback could ever experience.
Lenny fingered his hood then dropped his hand when he heard the others exit the bus.
“Ah! Do you smell that, Garrett?” asked Oscar.
Lenny saw Garrett plug his nose. “Fish guts?”
“Opportunity,” said Oscar. He clapped a hand on Garrett’s shoulder. “Come. I’d like to show you my family stock and trade while the others ready our yacht.”
“Yacht?” Garrett asked.
Lenny felt his earrings vibrate.
He’s scared already? Paulo’s voice entered Lenny’s mind.
Lenny nodded. But why?
“You don’t like yachts, Garrett?” Oscar asked, his voice calm and soothing.
Garrett shook his head. “I-I uh…I’m not a big fan of water either.”
An Orc who’s afraid of water? Lenny cocked an eyebrow as he surveyed the parking lot. Oscar shoulda’ thought this plan out a bit more. If Weava flips out here in the open, no way we get him back on board without bein’ seen.
Oblivious to Lenny’s thoughts, Oscar patted Garrett’s back. “It’s a big yacht and quite safe, I assure you. We’ll board soon enough. For now, won’t you come with me and tour my father’s business? It’ll be loads more fun than the task I’ve set this lot.”
Garrett nodded. “O-okay. Yeah, let’s do that.”
“Right,” said Oscar. “Off we go then. Lenny, I believe Tieran is waiting for you. I rang ahead to let him know of our arrival. Do ensure all is ready on our return. I’ll want to shove off immediately. Is that clear?”
“Aye.”
“Good.” Oscar smirked. “Shall we crack on, Garrett?”
Lenny watched Oscar pull Garrett away. His stomach turned as the pair walked toward the newly renovated buildings near the end of the pier. This’ll be over soon. Then ya can forget about him.
“This is wrong,” Ellie muttered.
Here we go… Lenny rolled his eyes.
“One of us should stay with him.”
“Yeah?” asked Lenny. “Fine. I volunteer ya for the job, Elle.”
“Why don’t you do it?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Garrett’s your prize. Your ticket to freedom, right, Lenny?”
Paulo stepped between them. Reached to touch her arm. “Easy, Ellie.”
Lenny watched the big girl shrug away.
“So you’re on his side again?” she asked Paulo. “What happened to last night when we were alone? You told me this all felt wrong. That we should do something about it while we still could, Paulo. You remember that?”
“I—”
“Because I do,” said Ellie, turning her stare again on Lenny. “And he knows it’s wrong too.”
“What I know is I gotta chance at freedom,” said Lenny. “Maybe even for me and Pop. I know something else…ya woulda made the same deal if given half a chance.”
Lenny’s earrings flashed. And ya almost did. If Oscar hadn’t called me back inside the jail to help him, ya woulda been runnin’ free with Cheeds and Racer right now.
“No,” said Ellie. “I wouldn’t.”
“I would…” said Paulo. “I’d make the same deal.”
Ellie turned. “How can you say—”
“I would if it meant freedom for you,” said Paulo.
“Ah, gimme a break with all this lovey-dovey crap, Paulie,” said Lenny.
“Why?” Paulo wheeled on him. “Why is it okay for you to make a deal but not me?”
“Cause I’m talkin’ about Pop,” said Lenny. “Family.”
Paulo loomed over his tiny captain. “I want her to be my family.”
“Paulo…” Ellie sighed. “I keep telling you not to think like that.”
“How come?”
Ellie hesitated. “I—”
“Ugh. The pair a ya are gonna make me puke,” said Lenny. “Can we just get outta here already? I wanna get this over with and go home. Neva thought I’d miss the cavern so much, but after months on the road with the two of ya…”
Lenny left his crewmates without waiting for their response. He heard their heavier footsteps fall in behind him a second later, the pair of brutes allowing their captain the lead in the joyless reunion to come.
They found their owner’s dockmaster, Tieran, in the southwest corner. A yacht bobbed near the pier, its pearl-white veneer gleaming in the sunlight. Lenny glared at the decal down the starboard side claiming the boat as CRAYFISH I, its letters emblazoned in gold.
A man in orange rubber waders and a black hoodie to match his equally dark and greasy hair strolled down the gangway, whistling all the way. Stopping near the end, he put a finger to his nostril and blew hard. A stream of green mucus shot into the ocean. He wiped the remains away with the back of his hand.
“Well, well, well. If it’s not the lil’ nipperkin, back from his—”
“Ya got keys for me, Tieran?”
“Slow down there, son. Mind who you’re talking to and don’t forget it.”
Lenny frowned. “A dockmaster and auctioneer’s got no power over catchas. Where’s the keys?”
“I’ve more power than you’ll ever know, boy.” Tieran spat. “Catchers or not, you’re all just a gang of slaves.”
“And all ya do is sell ‘em,” said Lenny. “Now. The keys.”
Tieran shook his head. “That’s a sharp tongue on you. Make a fine trophy, I expect.”
“Take it if ya can.” Lenny stuck his tongue out and flicked it from side to side to make a popping sound as it struck either side of his lips.
Paulo and Ellie snickered.
Tieran reached for the dagger hanging at his hip. “You lot think this is funny, do you?”
“Aye,” said Paulo.
&nb
sp; “Wait till we get back under.” Tieran said. “See what’s there for you. I heard tell more than a lil’ funny business happened during your haul. The sort that finds you dangling at the end of a rope, see.”
“Wait,” said Ellie. “What are you talking about? Heard from who?”
Oscar…
Tieran’s smirk only confirmed Lenny’s theory. “Aw, what’s wrong, love? Not so funny now, is it?”
“What’ve you heard?” Paulo asked.
“I could tell you, I could,” said Tieran. “But where’s the profit in it for ol’ Tieran, eh? Maybe I just make you sweat it out.”
“Nah,” said Lenny. “That’s not ya style. Ya like to hear ya’self talk too much.”
He watched Tieran’s grin broaden into a full on smile, full of rotted, yellowed teeth.
“So come on.” Lenny urged. “Tell us what ya heard. Convince me to tell ya a secret a mine.”
“You got secrets?” Tieran asked, bemused.
Lenny stepped closer. “Loads.”
Tieran squinted. “Nah. I don’t believe it. What’s a nipperkin to know that ol’ Tieran don’t, eh? Nuthin’. That’s the answer to that, it is.”
“I know we bagged an Orc.”
Tieran barked a laugh. He cut it short when Paulo and Ellie didn’t join in. His face grew serious. “Codswallop. That’s what that is.”
“Fine,” said Lenny. “Wait till we get unda. I’ll be sure and wave to ya before I leave the cavern with Pop…free Selkies, the both a us.”
“You’re a filthy lil’ liar, you are,” said Tieran. “And your brain’s turned to muck if you think the Crayfish means to free you. I don’t care if you caught a bleedin’ pod a Orcs. The Crayfish don’t give nuthin’ without he takes double for hisself.”
“Ya, we’ll see about that. I told ya a secret. Now gimme one.”
Tieran stroked his whiskers. “All righ’. There’s some guests been askin’ on the crew what went looking for Marisa Bourgeois. I reckon they’ll be plum tickled to hear you’re back.”
Lies. Lenny kept the thought. Why would anyone care about our crew? No one knows we caught her.
“Who?” Paulo asked. “Who are they?”
Tieran glanced down at his bare wrist. “My, my. Look at the time, won’t you? I think it’s best I shove off. The lil’ Crayfish told me I could take one of you to help square the haul away. Think I’ll take you.” Tieran pointed at Ellie. “Maybe in more ways than one, eh?”
