I drew the knife across his throat with a single quick movement. Blood splattered my face as it poured from the wound in his neck. I took a second to survey my work before I pushed the man over the edge and into the choppy waters below. I knew what fate awaited him, and every sailor aboard this ship deserved it.
"You." I turned and pointed my knife at Johns. The group of men behind him seemed nervous. Sabers were pointed across the line at the group of men I’d decided to throw my lot in with. I licked my lips, shivering at the taste the human left there. They were so sweet, better than anything I'd ever tasted in the sea. "I want you to come here," I called out to him.
His eyes widened, and he scurried behind the line of his men like the coward he was. I shook my head in disgust and counted them. One. . . two. . . twelve? Twelve men.
"You're outnumbered!" I shouted to the sailors protecting their would-be captain. "All those savages you've been mistreating below deck are coming up, and I'm willing to bet they're a tad angry, boys." I gestured to the groups of men and women surrounding the captive sailors. A smile split my face as the bodies of the fallen sailors were dragged up the steps by a group of women.
"Bring the bodies here, please," I called out to the women in the lyrical tongue they seemed to understand.
A tall, thin woman nodded and whispered something to the others that I couldn't make out. One by one they laid the bodies at my feet. I kept my eyes on the sailors, taking note of their reactions. They were jumpy, their fingers twitching around their weapons. One man actually leaned to the side and retched. I shook my head in disgust as I searched for Johns. He deserved this more than any of them.
"Toss them into the sea where they belong."
The women hesitated for only a moment, glancing at one another before they began lifting and tossing the bodies over the edge. One by one their carcasses met the sea. I shivered with delight as the song inside me grew. This was satisfying. I was born for this . . . I turned and walked past the women, smiling at them as I moved toward captive sailors.
"What is this?" Johns shouted from his hiding place.
I smiled at him wickedly and focused all of my attention on the sailors before me. Kamil caught my eye, his newfound pistol aimed at the group behind me.
"If any of them move, please shoot them, love," I purred.
He nodded grimly and fixed his aim. His grip on the weapon seemed unsure—even to me—but it would have to do. I swept past him to Kesia and paused. Her dress was soaked in blood, the dark red liquid was smeared across her face. In her hand, the small knife she'd acquired dripped with blood. I glanced to her feet and shuddered at the gruesome sight lying there.
"Is that a cock?" I whispered.
"Yes," she answered in an innocent sounding voice.
I laughed. I actually laughed. In the middle of a showdown with the worst pirates that ever sailed the seven seas, my lover had cut off someone's dick. I covered my mouth, trying to suppress the sound, but it only fueled my fit of giggles. An African man near us glanced down and promptly covered his groin.
"Did he deserve that, sister?" Kamil called out between bouts of laughter.
"Yes, brother," Kesia answered. "What would you have me do to a man who forces himself on women?"
Her back stiffened as she stood a little straighter, a little prouder. My heart ached to take her into a hug, but I wouldn't take this moment from her. She was every bit the proud warrior—an avenging angel—and she deserved her moment of glory.
Hoots and hollers rang out from the crowd behind her, and I smiled, moving on down the line. I held out my hand, pointing to the deck when a man near the mast called out to me.
"What are you laughing for? What are they sayin'?" His accent was harsh and stung my ears. I didn't bother facing him, as I trusted my hearts—I'd decided I liked my humans' term of endearment—to protect my back.
"She cut off her rapist's dick. I imagine she plans to do the same to any others she gets her hands on," I cooed. I shrugged, my shoulder nearly hitting my ear, and I once again raised my hand to point to the starboard side of the ship. "Line yourselves up, little humans. It's time to feed the sea."
My song flew from my lips, whipped by the winds around us. The calm I’d felt when the first sacrifice had been offered had long since fled. Now, all that remained was the fury of the sea, the unending hunger fueled by souls like the ones who were about to meet their end.
"What is she doing?" a man called out.
"Someone grab the witch!" Johns screamed through the roaring wind.
The higher my notes climbed, the harder the storm seemed to rage around us. The sailors walked to the starboard rail of the ship, their bodies swaying as they halted. I sang until I stopped in front of the first one.
"You're afraid of me, Johns?" I found his face quickly this time. He stood behind the men but was no longer crouching in fear. Instead, he looked distraught. I licked my lips and addressed the sailors waiting for their death. "When I'm done with you, you will dive overboard. Won't you?"
"Yes," they all answered in unison.
A shiver raced up and down my spine as I dragged the blade across the first throat in front of me. I held Johns’ gaze as I walked down the line; warm blood splashed against my neck and cheek while I moved from man to man without a glance. I sang while I felt the skin and muscle give way to tendon beneath the sharp blade.
I sang while Johns’ face grew paler.
I sang while the Africans joined my song.
Body after body fell overboard, disappearing into a watery grave from which they’d never rise. I came to the last man and stopped, turning to him.
"How scared of me are you, Johns?"
"Witch, you stop this!" he shouted. "Stop her! Go!"
The sound of boots thundering across the wet wood was background music. An opera serenade for my play. I handed my knife to the man before me and licked my lips.
"Slit your throat for me, love. Then, hand me back the knife."
My hand rose to his face, brushing the dark brown curls from his eyes. This one had beautiful green eyes. I pressed my lips to his, even as I felt his hand raise between us. Warmth splashed against my throat and chest, and a moan slipped from my lips. I pulled away from the kiss, surveying his work. He'd done just as I asked. The sailor stood before me, his throat gaping. I held my hand out for the knife, and he placed it in my palm.
"Thank you, love. Now, isn't the sea beautiful?" I murmured, low, just for him.
The young man turned and gazed into the rough waters, clambering over the edge of the ship. His movements were labored and slow. I bit my thumb in anticipation. Eventually, the sailor pulled enough of his body over the side of the ship to fall into the sea. I rolled my neck against the goosebumps tickling my flesh.
Bang!
The shot pierced my ears. I spun around, surveying the throng for my hearts. They had to be okay. My gaze swept over dark face after dark face, trying to find the pieces of my song that lived in the two of them.
Kamil bent over a body. Bare, brown feet were the only thing visible; my heart skipped a beat. I ran toward him, weaving between the men and women rushing the sailors on the other side of us. I had to make sure they were okay. A sailor was shoved into me, and I rounded on him, shrieking into his face. Panic swept through his eyes as my song caught hold of him, and two arms came around him from behind. I backed away, not waiting to see what became of him before I moved forward again. I needed to reach them.
"Wait right there, girl," a voice growled in my ear.
I came to a sudden stop, a shiver arching my back. That voice was Johns. I turned, slowly, and met his gaze. The end of his pistol pointed at my forehead, pressing into the flesh. One eyebrow inched up as he backed me toward the bow. My feet slid in the rain and blood on the deck.
"What's your plan, Johns?"
I regained my footing, glancing down at my feet as I stepped backward over the body of a slain African. My heart stuttered, and my eyes rocketed up, looking
behind the would-be captain at the battle. It wasn't much of a battle. There were two sailors still standing, and of the bodies littering the ship, only two were former captives. My eyes paused on Kesia. She pressed her hand to a wound in Adjo's side, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Kamil stood, his own pistol drawn. Johns didn't seem to care about what was happening behind him at all. The muffled moans of another dying sailor filled the air as Kamil inched toward us.
My back met something hard, and I smiled. There was nowhere else to go. Johns pulled a lever on his weapon.
Click.
"Why are you smiling, witch?"
"I told you, Johns, I'm not a witch."
I glanced over the edge of the ship and into the water below. The dark green, stormy waves called to me. Johns’ shirt clung to his chest. His vest—no doubt stolen from the captain's quarters—sagged with the weight of the rain.
"Mermaid. Siren. Sea witch. I don't care what you are," he spat as he pressed the barrel of the gun against my forehead once again. "I want you off my ship."
A hand fell on his shoulder and he spun around, gun pointed at his attacker. I shrieked and reached out a hand, grasping desperately for skin at the same time I began to sing a wordless tune. I had to calm him; I couldn't let him hurt Kamil.
Everything happened so fast. The two men locked shoulders in a struggle for power. A loud boom sounded between them as my fingers finally clasped skin, and my eyes went wide. Johns staggered into me as he pressed a hand to his shoulder.
Kamil's hand stretched out for mine; my fingertips brushed his before I tumbled backward off the ship. A large shadow fell over with me, but I focused through the panic of the fall, making out the features on Johns’ face as he careened over the edge toward me.
Oh, this is going to be fun. . .
His eyes went wide with terror as we rushed toward the sea. My eyes drifted shut the moment before my back hit the water, the ice cold, stormy current pricking my skin like a thousand tiny needles. I let the shift come over me the moment I felt water slide around my legs. There was no need to hold this human form anymore.
Scales erupted across my knees, spreading down my legs and ankles. Gills sliced their way through my forearms and behind my ears as I allowed myself to sink below the ship. I breathed in the saltwater, my body filling with a sense of home. My tail flicked back and forth, the unused muscles desperately trying to reacquaint themselves with their proper state. I looked above and found what I was searching for.
Just to the side of the ship, clawing desperately at the wooden hull, Johns treaded water. A cruel smile stretched my lips as I swam toward him. My fingers drifted through my hip-fins, reveling in their silky feel between my fingers. I hadn't expected to miss them as much as I had. I flexed my tail faster and sped toward the man who'd been foolish enough to attack me. My head broke the surface just behind him; my hand came down on his shoulder lightly.
Johns spun in the water, batting at me with his hands before he even knew who or what I was. "Aaah!" he screamed.
"Something wrong?" I purred, swimming around him in a circle. I lay on my side, leading with my hand while my tail propelled me, corralling him. The stupid human had no idea just how much trouble he was truly in.
"Get away from me!" he screeched.
Somehow, he'd managed to keep hold of the gun during the fall. Johns raised the pistol and pointed it at me. I shrugged and continued swimming laps around him as his shaky hands took aim.
He pulled the lever on the back of the weapon.
Click.
He pulled the trigger.
Click.
I smiled at him and flicked his arm with my tail. "Human weapons don't work well once they meet the sea," I called out in a singsong voice.
"D-d-don't sing to me, woman!"
"Oh, I don't need to." I came to a stop in front of him, wrapping my arms around his neck and staring into his eyes. "You see, we sing to get you into the water, Johns." I held out a hand, motioning to the vast sea before us. "Once you're here,” I pulled him under the water mid-sentence, twining my body around his so he couldn't move, "that's when our fun truly begins."
A giggle slipped past my lips as I watched bubbles spill from his. Screaming underwater was such a bad choice. He was going to deplete all his oxygen much too fast. I tapped my lips with my finger. A red smear of blood in the water caught my eye, and I licked my lips. They really did taste so damned good, these humans.
I sank my teeth into his shoulder, tearing away the flesh from his gunshot wound. The more he thrashed against me, the more he tore his fragile human flesh on my scales. I unwrapped myself from the man. Waiting to see if he had any fight left in him.
A pained look etched Johns’ face before he began kicking toward the surface again. My song stirred inside me, and I let it free. I sang as I swam after him, and with two short flicks of the tail, my fingers were closing around his ankle. Pulling him down to face me, I met his gaze and whispered to the tune of my song.
"You deserve a watery grave, Johns.
The sea must be fed,
you'll turn the sea red."
He shook his head; smaller bubbles slipped out of nose and mouth as I took him deeper. There was no place for Johns aboard that ship. My fingers wrapped around his throat, his pulse beating against my palm as we passed the bodies of his shipmates, caught in the currents beneath the waves.
Some would make their way to the surface before they sank again. Some of the remains would never feel the air hit their flesh again—sharks and other creatures of the deep would feast on them before they got their chance. Johns’ pulse grew weak, but I swam deeper and deeper until I reached a place that seemed fitting. I pulled his lifeless body in front of me. Red eyes stared back at me in the darkness. The blood vessels in his eyes had burst on the way down. I shivered at the sight, feeling something stir in my lower belly.
With no human ears near enough to listen, I sang to the sea. I sang about my offering and my plan. I sang to my father. I told them both how I intended to trade these lives strewn among the waves and the water for the ship that sailed above.
"Take them, for all they've done and all they couldn't get to. Leave the ship and leave me my hearts, please." The water around me seemed to vibrate with power as I spoke the words. I knew the sea could hear me, but I hadn't been expecting a response.
"It's a fair trade," I murmured at the end of my song.
I sank my teeth into Johns’ neck, tearing the flesh until the water around us was a deep, red cloud. With that, I let go of the foul human and flicked my tail toward the surface. My ears pricked, and I glanced over my shoulder, into the dark red water surrounding the body. Several dark tentacles wrapped around Johns, pulling him deeper into the darkness and I shuddered as I swam away from the maniacal laughter, toward the ship that held my hearts.
Chapter Eight
I stared up at the surface and then down at my tail, my green flesh, and rubbed my arms. I'd never felt self-conscious before now. When I breached the water, they'd see me, if they hadn't already. Kesia and Kamil would see what I truly looked like. I was still beautiful—all of us were—and I could always sing to them, but I didn't want to trick them into being with me.
These two humans were different. They'd snuck into my heart somehow and carved out a home for themselves there. I flicked my tail in slow, lazy strokes as I approached the surface. My head broke the surface first and the sun was near blinding. The storm had passed, but the ship was still here, sails down and waiting. For me?
"Over here!" a voice called out.
"She's back!"
I flung my tail in front of me, coming to a stop in the water as the voices above clambered in a cacophony of noise. I searched the faces lining the rail of the ship until I saw a familiar one—Kesia.
"Gia!" she cried out. "Toss her a rope, idiots! Bring her up!"
I bit back a smile. Listening to her boss around a bunch of warriors was beyond amusing for me. A rope fell into the
water a few feet from the ship. I glided toward it and held on, preparing myself for the odd sensation of being hauled into the air once again.
My stomach lurched when my tail left the water, but I resisted the urge to shift into human form. I needed Kesia and Kamil to see me for who—and what—I truly was. My shoulder banged into the side of the ship, and I heard cursing from above. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Kesia was a bossy thing; I loved it.
Finally, I could reach the rail if I wasn't holding on to the rope. Several hands gripped my forearms and pulled me over the side. I fell onto the deck, my fin twitching beside me as I watched the faces of the humans. Some looked shocked, others looked awed, and some looked a little frightened.
I chewed my lip and searched out Kesia's face. She covered her mouth with one hand and ran toward me. She knelt and threw her arms around my neck, peppering my face with kisses.
"I was so worried!"
"Worried? Why?" I sputtered.
"Johns went down into the water with you . . ."
"The water is my domain, Kesia. Johns is gone, he can't hurt you or anyone else anymore." I smiled at her, brushing her uneven curls away from her face before I kissed her lips. She tasted amazing. Sweeter than human blood. I sighed against her soft lips. "Where is Kamil?"
"Bring them," she mumbled in a numb voice to a group of men at our left.
I steeled my spine, waiting for the worst. Had he been injured in those moments before I fell overboard? Johns had been shot, but had he somehow been in the line of fire as well? I didn't have a real understanding of human weapons, I knew only the basics.
"What's happened?" I whined, searching the crowd for my other human.
"I'm fine, heart," Kamil sighed as he ran to me. Behind him, two men carried Adjo by his shoulders and feet.
"Oh, seas . . ." I whispered.
They laid the injured man by my tail. I called my human form back and rushed to kneel by the injured man. A gaping hole in his stomach poured blood.
"What happened?"
"One of the sailors put up a good fight. He twisted his blade." Kamil's voice strangled on the words. "I saw it."
Shipwreck Souls Page 17
