He approached her, heat emanating from his solid tanned body. With his thumb he brushed her cheek. “Have ye had experience?” he whispered in her ear.
Aveda’s breath’s hitched and her mouth popped open.
The captain rested his hand on her thigh. Her cotton nightgown the only thing protecting her modesty. She closed her eyes. If he must get it over with she wasn’t going to watch.
“I want to see your beautiful eyes, my dear,” the captain cooed. The undertone of authority in his voice pulled back her eyelids.
“That’s better. Ye be a pretty thing.”
His gentleness eased her mounting dread by a hairsbreadth. Her tightly twisted insides remained in a knot.
The captain’s probing gaze made her skin prickle. It was like he was trying to search her thoughts.
“Have ye been deflowered, girl?”
A hot flush spread across her cheeks. My, what boldness!
“I’ll take that as a no. Good. Ye be ready for the sacrifice.”
Sacrifice. Aveda gulped. Was he going to take her womanhood? Was that the sacrifice?
“No, my dear,” the captain said. “If ye had been soiled already I’d gladly take you to my bed.
But ye be fer de Kraken now.”
“The Kraken,” Aveda murmured. “That’s just a myth.”
“Nay, he be real. And the only way to keep him satisfied is to give him a virgin for his own pleasure.”
A chilling sweat dampened her forehead and her pulse pounded as if trying to tear her veins.
She couldn’t swim. She’d drown … if she was lucky.
Aveda had been so intent on breaking free she hadn’t realized that the ship was picking up speed. All the sails were now catching a good wind and taking her out to sea. Out to meet the Kraken.
The men started shouting, their fearful excited voices drawing the captain’s attention.
“The monster, sir. He be off the starboard side.”
The captain took off running. “Mr. Wade, give him a wide berth. Mr. Hankshaw, ready the guns.
“Aye, sir,” the men’s voices rang out.
“We can’t trust the monster,” the captain said. “If the Kraken is not happy with the wench…”
His voice shuddered and then soft curses filled the air.
The captain took out his spyglass and stared into the dark swirling water. “He be there, sure enough. No creature makes bigger waves.”
The man strode back to Aveda, took out a knife from his belt and sawed through the ropes binding her wrists. Before she could enjoy one second of freedom he had her subdued with his powerful hands. It felt like a vice clamped to her arms. With her in front, they marched over to the starboard side of the ship.
“Kraken,” the captain shouted. “I bring ye a sacrifice. A virgin from the land of Queen Elizabeth.”
A black monster the size of three of her majesty’s vessels rose out of the water, his long tentacle arms cutting through the waves. His smoothly furred skin, similar to that of a seal, gleamed in the moonlight.
Aveda’s vision blurred, her head spun. The Kraken wasn’t a myth. Her knees weakened and she fell back against the captain’s body.
Salt water splashed in her face brought her back. Some of the pirates roared with laughter, the rest were more concerned with the beast that watched the ship with red glowing eyes.
“Take the girl and leave our ship alone,” the captain said, and pushed Aveda overboard.
Falling. Her hair whipped her back. Heart battering her rib cage, she flailed her arms. She couldn’t stop her decent. Plunging through the icy, dark water the sea swallowed her whole. She struggled to breathe, but only pulled water into her lungs.
Two strong tentacles wrapped around her middle, and a third gagged her mouth. She thrashed and tried to pry them off with her fingers, but it was no use. The monster pulled her closer to his mouth. She prayed she’d drown before she was eaten.
Large red eyes stared at her. Her whole body seized, paralyzed. But her lungs continued to expand and contract. She blinked. She had been underwater for several minutes. Why was she still alive? In fact, she was breathing quite easily. Her tongue cautiously felt a suction cup on the tentacle in her mouth. Air pushed down her throat. The monster’s tentacles infused her with oxygen.
The Kraken swam, his large red eyes continuing to watch her. They went deeper and deeper and deeper until it was too dark for her to see. The initial fear that had washed over her began to fade. The monster was keeping her alive.
The inky black depths began to yield to bright yellow light illuminating the sandy bottom of the ocean. Slowly Aveda’s eyes became accustomed to this brightness. Pieces of ship wreckage were strewn about.
My home, the Kraken said telepathically. Seamen call it Davy Jones’ locker.
Aveda’s eyes widened. Did the monster just speak to her?
The Kraken wiggled the suction cups in her mouth. My touch imparts many powers.
She couldn’t speak to the monster, especially not with one of his arms gagging her.
Think. Just think.
Wait. He could really read her mind. Aveda’s brain suddenly went blank. What do ye say to a sea monster? Thank ye.
The Kraken slowly unwound the two tentacles wrapped around her middle, but kept the
tentacle in her mouth. Aveda didn’t bother to try to get away. He was feeding her oxygen.
Ye are not afraid? the Kraken asked.
No. Just confused.
Then I have a proposition for ye, brave lass. The same proposition I have given all the women sacrificed to me. Become my wife and I will give ye life. You will rule the underwater world with me. Ye will have the power to crush ships and breathe life into drowning sailors or squeeze the life out of bloody pirates.
The Kraken stopped. Aveda waited for her second option. Or?
The Kraken shifted his tentacles restlessly. Guiding her with the tentacle still in her mouth he brought her around to a pile of bleached and decaying skeletons. Or you may join them.
The oxygen from the Kraken’s tentacles no longer felt enough to satisfy her lungs. Her chest felt painfully heavy with each breath.
The Kraken pushed her mouth open wider and the tip of another salty tentacle entered her mouth. More air eased her distress.
She didn’t want to die … but could she really be the Kraken’s wife?
Tell me that all that power doesn’t sound inviting. The Kraken interrupted her thoughts.
It does … but… Do you have other wives?
No. Krakens mate for life and we live for hundreds of years. Ye, too, can live for hundreds of years.
Does that mean that if I marry you I become a Kraken?
Yes. The Kraken again wrapped two tentacles around her middle and pulled her close to him.
Her limbs shivered. Would it hurt to grow tentacles? Would she regret the loss of her human form? She gazed at him, hypnotized by his inhuman stare. But his large glowing eyes seemed kind, kinder than those of the pirates. Tinged with unfathomable sadness, deep as the sea.
Become my wife, the Kraken pleaded. I have waited centuries for a woman brave enough to join me, and my heart can’t wait much longer. I long for love.
Aveda had always wanted to be loved. Her mother did the best she could, raising Aveda on her own. But she worked long hours and often times Aveda felt alone in the world. She spent nights dreaming of a man to rescue her from her depressing life, to protect her and care for her.
And love her.
But the Kraken was not a knight in shining armor. He was a monster. Still, even monsters had a heart.
The Kraken’s restlessness grew. He seemed to be feeding off her indecision. Tell me yer choice. Do ye want to me to lay you to rest? The Kraken’s thought came across as shaky like he was trying to contain his emotions. Or do ye want to live and have me by your side every day of your life?
The Kraken massaged Aveda with his tentacles, his touch comforting, relaxing, akin to worship. His f
urry skin tickled and teased her cheeks and neck. I will never hurt you. I’ve been waiting for a beautiful wench, a brave wench, someone with a heart big enough to love a Kraken.
Aveda closed her eyes and let the Kraken’s touch infuse her with a warm fuzzy feeling. This was what love was supposed to do. Her pulse skipped, the fluttery feeling migrating to the pit of her stomach. Everything had happened so fast. It was almost like this was a dream.
Not a dream, my dear. Ye are here with me. Please. I don’t want to kill you. I want ye to be my life mate, my wife.
Aveda thought of her weary mother. Dark circles under her hazel eyes. Thin lips constantly pressed into a determined line. Ever since Aveda’s father died her mother had fought to survive each day. Perspiration and despair gleamed on her skin from the hot scullery.
The scullery where she, too, would have been chained for life, eking out a slim existence until the grave claimed her, likely before she’d even had a chance to truly live.
Living with the Kraken would be better than living off crusts of bread and other leftovers, fighting to survive each and every day. Here she would be queen of the underwater world, not a mere servant. She could choose her own path, make her own rules.
Her mother would mourn her loss. It would eventually be reported that Aveda had been
kidnapped by pirates, but perhaps not having to worry about her daughter’s welfare and lot in life would lessen her troubles.
Her father would rise from his grave if he knew his God-fearing daughter made a deal with the Kraken. Not any deal, an agreement of marriage. But her father hadn’t been around for many years. And it was her life. Her last chance at love.
Aveda looked into the Kraken’s red eyes. The glow no longer seemed menacing, but more inviting. The Kraken was offering to set her free from worldly suffering, a chance to be powerful and protected. And loved. For a long, long, time. The last of Aveda’s trepidations floated away and she opened herself to him. Yes, Kraken. I will be your wife, but only under one condition.
The Kraken’s tentacles stilled, the massage coming to an abrupt stop.
Aveda wanted to beg him to continue caressing her body, but she didn’t. If he was this desperate for a wife surely he would grant her wish.
What is it that ye desire?
After I change into a Kraken I want to kill those pirates.
The Kraken hesitated. I gave my word not to attack them. I always keep my word.
Aveda petted one of the Kraken’s tentacles. Aye. But I never gave mine.
AUTHOR BIOS
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EVA LEFOY
EVA LEFOY WRITES AND READS all kinds of science fiction, steampunk, and romance, and is a certified Trekkie. She’s also terribly addicted to chocolate, tea, yoga and hiking. One of these days, she’ll figure out the meaning of life, quit her day job and travel the galaxy. Until then, she’s writing down all her weird and dirty thoughts for the sake of future explorers.
D.R. LARSSON
D.R. has been around the block a time or three, often in different time zones and different centuries. He grew up in costume at a historic site and couldn’t remember if it was 1876 or 1976. Later he studied everything. Music, history, education, psychology, sociology, geology, chemistry and anthropology, then spent 20 years as an archaeologist. Now, by day he works as a research assistant in a high tech industry. By night, among other things, he writes. This is his first foray into the public with his fiction.
Haley Whitehall
Haley Whitehall lives in Washington State where she enjoys all four seasons and the surrounding wildlife. She writes historical romance set in the 19th century U.S. When she is not researching or writing, she plays with her cats, watches the Western and History Channels, and goes antiquing. A good book, a cup of coffee, and a view of the mountains make her happy.
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