“Like I’ve been restrained for three days straight,” I growled softly. I was getting tired of the game. If something didn’t get exciting soon, I would leave without a backwards glance.
“I’d untie you if I could. I still don’t understand why you’re here.” He looked behind him as if to check no one could overhear. Still, he dropped his voice lower even though the room was relatively empty. “The captain has been acting funny. I don’t know what’s going on, but he almost beat two of the crew members to death yesterday.”
“What did they do to deserve it?”
Goddard leveled his too knowing eyes at me. “They walked into his line of sight.”
That didn’t sound good. I wondered if it had something to do with the darkness crawling across his eyes. “Have you noticed anything strange about his eyes?”
That time, Goddard’s gaze was sharp on my face, studying my expression, not that it would give anything away. I was as sealed as a clam.
“I have, yes. I swore I saw them go completely black this morning, which is impossible because he has the lightest eyes I’ve ever seen.”
The darkness was something more than only I could see then, but this gave me the opening I needed.
“Tell your captain I’d like to make a deal with him,” I said, my voice loud and sure.
“Are you certain?” Roger whispered, his brow wrinkled in confusion. “That doesn’t seem wise.”
I smiled at him. If my hand had been free, I might have patted him on the head. “Don’t worry about me, pet. I’ll be fine.”
He raised one brow at me, but didn’t pose the question again. The word “pet” didn’t sit right in his mind, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. Silly men emasculated by the simplest of things.
Goddard nodded and stood, leaving us to our own devices. Hardly ten minutes had passed before the captain himself walked into the room, completely alone. I looked him over, noting the bloodied knuckles, the twitch of his right hand, and the hard clench of his jaw. Something was definitely eating away at the captain, but what could it be?
“I’m not a dog to be called.” He didn’t even say hello. I just barely stopped myself from rolling my eyes.
“I’d like to make a deal with you.”
My voice should have been parched by now, but Goddard had been amazing at bringing me water often enough that it hasn’t harmed me. Still, I’d been out of the water far too long. My skin held a constant itch, and I could feel myself getting just a little bit weaker.
“So Goddard said. Spit it out. I’ve got things to do.”
“I would like to take a shower.” I ignored the complete and utter confusion on Roger’s face because he didn’t understand. If I wanted to maintain my strength, I needed to get into water soon. I was an ocean creature. Without vast amounts of water, I would die. If I wanted to continue my game, I needed to convince him to let me get water willingly. If he refused, I would have to end the game. “In return, I’ll give you something you desire.”
“And who says I desire anything at all?” he asked, but his eyes roamed my body as if he might ask for sex in exchange. My ultimate goal was to seduce the most powerful man, sure, but that didn’t mean I would trade it for a shower. No, once I got my shower, then I would jump him as a bonus.
“I can see it in your eyes, captain. You desire many things or else you wouldn’t be a pirate. Jewels, gold, those are all just trinkets. If that’s what you want, I can get you treasure the likes that you’ve never seen. Or better yet, I can convince old Roger here to give you even more money than the ransom. Have they contacted you yet to pay it?”
He didn’t answer my question, but he didn’t need to. No, they hadn’t paid it yet, and Roger told me that they wouldn’t. He didn’t believe in catering to bullies, so his company would know not to send the payment. Instead, they would be tracking him as we spoke, the best trackers and military experts in the business searching for him. I was surprised they hadn’t found him yet, honestly, if they were as good as he said they were. But it didn’t matter. The money wasn’t coming, and the captain must have had a suspicion that it wouldn’t come at all, because I could see the glint in his eye. He wanted that money badly.
“Say I make this deal,” he began, his eyes shifting over to Roger for a second before settling back on me. “Why just a shower? You could have demanded to be let go.”
That time, I actually grinned. I looked him right in the eyes and jerked my arms once. The bonds they used to tie me broke as easily as a piece of grass. I held my reddened wrists in front of his face, the ropes hanging loose around them, just as useless as their weapons. “I don’t need you to let me go, captain. I could have walked out of here the moment we arrived.”
His eyes widened, and that darkness danced along the edges of his eyes before it was gone. “I don’t know what the fuck you are, but I’ll take your deal.” He straightened and looked towards Roger again. “You release him, and the deal is off.”
“Why would I release him?” I purred. “He’s exactly where I want him.” I winked at Roger as I stood and followed the captain from the room, heading deeper into the house for the first time.
He took me up a flight of stairs, to a different level of the house, before opening a door and gesturing for me to go inside. He never pulled a weapon on me, even after the display of my strength. Either he was really stupid, or he didn’t truly understand he wasn’t the biggest fish.
“The shower is in there,” he said, pointing at the doorway opposite us. He turned and closed the door we came through, locking it for good measure, and then he turned and looked at me expectantly.
“I take it you’re staying in here?” I raised my brow. That would be perfect, and make him an easy target.
“Someone has to watch you. You’re still a hostage.”
My grin slowly spread across my face as I walked towards the shower room, my hips swaying provocatively. I could feel his gaze on my skin, but I didn’t turn. I did, however, close the door behind me before starting the shower. When the water touched my skin, there would be a strong chance that my tail would threaten to come out, which meant scales could flash and be apparent to the human eye. Goddard may call me siren, but that didn’t mean I wanted the captain knowing my greatest weapon. I turned the water as cold as it would go, sighing in pleasure when I ran my hand through it before making quick work of my clothing and climbing inside.
I almost orgasmed from the feel of the water alone.
I’d let myself go too long without it, playing the game too much. Next time, I would make sure to stay close to a water source.
I didn’t stay in long, even though I was tempted to. There were plans to be put into place. I made sure my strength was full before I climbed out though. You could never be too careful. Now the real fun could begin.
I didn’t waste time drying off. I didn’t grab the towel at all, and I certainly didn’t put my clothes back on. I had a plan, and while I was up here on land, I intended to taste all it had to offer. That included its men.
I threw the door to the room wide and stepped out, water dripping down my naked body. The captain had been sitting on the bed, bored out of his mind as he stared at the door I was behind. When I walked out, his eyes trailed slowly up my body, pausing at my naked breasts and the apex of my thighs. That darkness flashed across briefly before disappearing. He stood, but he didn’t move forward.
“What’s the matter, captain?” I purred the words, my tongue dancing out to wet my bottom lip. “Never seen a naked woman before?”
“You need to put your clothes on.” His words were rough, as if it was a struggle just to get them out. Maybe it was.
“Why?”
“If you’re trying to seduce me, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
I moved farther into the room, not stopping until I was right in front of him, close enough to touch if he wanted. His breathing grew ragged, his hand twitching hard at his side.
“Ah, but captain,” I whispered,
reaching up to place my hand against his racing heart, “you’ve already been seduced.”
I didn’t wait for him to react. I leaned in and placed my lips against his. Once I’d had him, I could leave this hell on land behind and sink his ship, take Roger with me even. Maybe I would take Goddard too. Who knew what the whims of a siren were?
The captain didn’t react at first, either out of surprise or restraint, but when I darted my tongue out against the seam of his lips, a savage growl tore from his throat, and then his arms were around me, too rough and yet perfect. I knew he would be savage. One of his hands threaded into my hair roughly and yanked back, causing me to arch my back as his teeth bit at the skin of my neck, my shoulders, the top of my breasts. It was heaven and hell and all kinds of borderline too far.
“You think that you can come in like some sort of evil temptress and cause a rift between my men?” he snarled against my skin. I wrinkled my brow, but I was enjoying the feelings going through my body too much to care. At least, I wasn’t bothered by it yet. “You think that I don’t own you?”
That line went through the haze of pleasure.
“No one owns me,” I hissed. His other hand went to the apex of my thighs and circled my clit, too rough to be pleasurable. For fuck’s sake, I’d hoped the captain was a better lover than this. “The sea owns us all.”
“I own you!” The sound that came from his throat was complete madness, and when I broke his hold on my hair and looked into his eyes, I found them completely black, no sign of the ice that I’d come to expect there.
He changed tactics and spun me around before slamming me chest first into the wall, his front plastered to my back. I could hear him working his pants loose and anger the likes I’d never known coursed through my body. I gave up any pretenses of being weak, of enjoying what was happening, and I shoved him back away from me. He went flying a good meter, stumbling over his feet in surprise. I didn’t give him a chance to regain his footing before I moved forward and clamped my hand around his throat.
“How dare you?” I squeeze tightly, his face turning red. “You thought you could overtake me?” He clawed at my hands in an attempt to dislodge me, but it was no use. That time, when I snarled, I knew my teeth were sharp and threatening. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, captain,” I spat, “but you will not touch me or anyone in that way.”
When his face turned purple, I finally released him, letting him drop to the floor in a heap. He looked up at me, his eyes black, with tiny black veins crawling along his skin, and something tickled at the back of my mind.
I didn’t wait around for him to try again. I threw on my clothing and left the room. I walked down the stairs and sat right next to Roger, ignoring his questioning gaze. I only took a moment to slice through his bonds, my hand on his knee to keep him in his spot rather than doing something stupid like trying to run away. We were far outnumbered, and while I would escape, he would be a casualty of that act, so we stayed still.
I didn’t speak to him, too lost within my memories to hold a conversation. I didn’t speak to Goddard when he brought out food and stared in confusion at our freed limbs. He wisely kept his mouth shut. I didn’t speak when the captain came down, his eyes full of ice again even as some of the black veins stood out on his skin.
I sifted through my memories, searching, searching, searching.
What was it that I was forgetting?
Chapter Five
The next day, I begun to hear talk about their next mark, something bigger than they’d ever attempted. Apparently, the captain had grown more confident with his madness, claiming they had to make everyone fear the Kraken Team. I didn’t realize they were talking about themselves until I asked Goddard about it. A few of the men wore jackets with a kraken patch on them, the words of the team emblazoned on there. Huh. I would have to be sure to mention it to the real kraken. I was certain he wouldn’t appreciate someone taking his namesake for something so idiotic as thievery.
“They’re fucking idiots,” Roger whispered once we overheard more chatter. “A cruise ship has its own security on board. There are far too many passengers to actually do anything with, thousands on a single craft. The captain will be on the bridge, far too high to get to before he calls the Coast Guard. It’s an idiotic plan.”
I nodded my head as if I understood what he was talking about. I didn’t know what kind of ship was that big to be able to hold thousands of people, but an inkling in the back of my mind told me to sink it. I pushed it aside. Sinking a ship of pirates was one thing, or a yacht of idiots was easy enough, but I didn’t think I could sink a ship with that many people on it. It would be a waste of life, and a soulless act.
Still I could not figure out what it was I was missing, what memory I’d lost, that would tell me what exactly was wrong with the captain.
He was not the only one, either. At least half of the crew were suffering the same symptoms, as if it was catching. Every single one of them stared at me as if I was a piece of prime cutlet. Fucking morons, all of them.
Goddard stumbled through the doorway, and the captain’s eyes went towards him. For a moment, I thought he would attack the boy he had raised, but he trained his eyes on another shipmate instead, punching him in the nose without reason. Goddard stared in horror as the pirate crashed to the floor. When his eyes met mine, I motioned him over with a small nod of my head.
“What’s happening to them?” Goddard whispered harshly. “Is this a zombie apocalypse?”
“Zombie apocalypse?” I tasted the odd words in my mouth and spit them out. I didn’t know what those words meant, but I was sure that was not what was going on at all.
“You know, the undead walking the earth? They eat brains.”
“But they are alive,” I pointed out, confused.
Goddard shook his head, and if the situation wasn’t so odd, he probably would have smiled. “Well, something is very wrong.” He turned his head towards me. “It isn’t something to do with you and your siren temptations, is it?”
I opened my mouth to deny it, to tell him that I had nothing to do with this, but his words finally brought forward a partial memory. My father once spoke of a sort of madness spreading through the land at one point, but ever the rebel, I hadn’t paid attention. What was the story again? Was it important to the current situation?
“They’ve decided to attack the ship today,” Goddard whispered, eyeing the captain in worry.
As if he willed it, the crew members and the captain separated, and went about getting their gear ready, their attention no longer on us.
“Roger,” I whispered, glancing at him. “Now is your chance. Run. Get out, and let your rescuers find you. I saw a small boat outside. Take it and head west.”
“What? I’m not leaving you.” Roger looked at me as if I was an idiot.
“You will. No harm will come to me.”
“Bullshit. You’re coming with me.”
Tired of his words, I turned to him with a snarl on my lips. I knew I no longer looked human, my scales, no doubt, crawling along my neck in my anger, my eyes black as night, my teeth as sharp as a shark. Whatever he saw, he tumbled away from me in horror, and I ignored the tiny pang in my chest his fear caused.
I knew I was a monster, but having someone look at you as if you’re one is a different feeling altogether.
Goddard, on the other hand, didn’t even react. He looked at me in surprise, sure, but there was a healthy dose of curiosity in his eyes too. For that alone, he became the most important person in that room to me.
“Run,” I repeated to Roger when he got his feet beneath him. “Before you become a casualty of my rage.” My words were husky, a side effect of my rising emotions and the sharper teeth in my mouth.
Roger didn’t waste another second arguing. He sprinted from the room and out the door we had been led through. He was not an idiot. He would find the boat and get off of the island. Then it was the sea’s choice whether he would make it to safety or not. I n
o longer wanted to keep him, not with that fear in his eyes. A part of me willed the sea to take him anyway, for the way he’d looked at me.
“So, what are you, really?” Goddard asked, after my face returned to the human disguise. He inched a little closer to study me.
“A siren.” My eyes flicked to the captain as he stepped inside the room again. He gestured for one of his men to come towards him, barking orders. He didn’t notice Roger missing. “You guessed correctly the first time.”
“I knew it!” He kept his voice low, but I couldn’t miss the excitement in his voice. I glanced at him sharply.
“Don’t think I’m your friend, Goddard. I’m a monster, nothing more.”
The smile dropped from his face, but he didn’t move away. No, he moved closer, and that boy, barely a man, reached out and threaded his fingers with mine, ignoring the claws that still tipped the end of my fingers. I stared at him in surprise, but I didn’t pull my hand away. It felt nice.
“Even monsters have a heart,” he whispered.
I clenched my jaw hard, my eyes meeting his. Special, I thought. This one is far too special.
“You will be spared,” I proclaimed.
A tiny smile was my only answer.
Chapter Six
I had a job to do. I still needed to complete my rite of passage, I’d let myself be sidetracked by my curiosity, and these humans who were far too interesting for their own good. I was starting to think I had grown soft on the creatures, as too many of them were changing my perception of what they were supposed to be, but I knew that was a lie. My thoughts were not soft when it came to the pirate crew nor the captain. I yearned to paint their organs across the ocean, to paint her red as I slaughtered them all. I was tempted to not use my powers at all, to use only my bare hands, but I knew that wouldn’t count for my rite. I needed to sink their ship, and to do that, I would have to use my powers.
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