It was Copper who walked her to the shore, encouraged her gently to extend her arm, but Beata had seen enough to know it would go well, and she flinched a little inside when that large tentacle moved toward her, but it lasted only an instant and then she was fine.
She hardly felt its touch, physically, but in her mind she heard a deep, gentle croon, comforting and reassuring. It was the Old One, no doubt, calling forth its young, but Beata relaxed even more upon hearing the sound, feeling as if it was meant as a kindness to her, as well. The salve numbed her arm as before, and she felt the tiniest pressure of the puncture, but nothing else. Crouching down, she released the larvae into the water, and smiled as they greeted the Old One and then flitted down and down till they were gone.
Rising again, she felt torn between joy and tears, but wasn’t sure if it was something she got from the Old One’s welcoming song or something inside herself. Still, she was glad she’d done it, and was only sorry that her beautiful dreams of floating in music were over.
9 – Epilogue
A year later...
Beata lay on her bunk, idly toying with one of her braids as she watched the moon playing hide and seek with the clouds outside the porthole on the opposite wall. In the next bunk over, Saramay was buried under her blankets in a tight ball, and made little snuffling sounds in her sleep. The other two bunks in the cabin each held a fellow crewmember, already fast asleep.
Tomorrow they would go down to the flesh market and look for likely candidates. It would be unpleasant and heart-rending, but they could only afford to save a few each time. Not all would be willing to be a host, but even those who didn’t would be given work and started on a new life. Beata and Copper would try to find out what had happened to Beata’s mumma, and Captain Nyx had agreed to help where she could if they learned anything useful. It was more than Beata had expected, and there were no guarantees, of course, but she had hope it would be enough.
Still, Temmin was in another cabin down the companionway, sharing with three other crewmembers, happily learning the workings of the ship as one of several ship’s pages. Saramay was learning how to be a doctor from Doc Roban. Azri and Dara had chosen to remain on the Siren Islands, joining the villagers in tending the fields, fishing, and crafting the things The Kraken would trade for coin and other goods. Beata was apprenticed to Chief Oskar and couldn’t be happier about it. Except for poor Kailin, things had gone fairly well, overall.
Knowing morning would come sooner than not, she rolled over and settled herself for sleep, relaxing with a long, deep sigh. After a few minutes, the soft, distant sounds of singing drifted into the back of her mind, gently swelling and fading like the sea, and Beata smiled as she slid down into a peaceful sleep.
FROM THE AUTHORS
All of these authors and I would like to thank you for coming along on this steampunk ride with us. We hope you enjoyed it, and if it was worth your hours of reading, then please spend a moment more and let it be known. All reviews are greatly appreciated, as they not only bring in more readers, but help in allowing all of us to justify the immense amount of time we spend on these endeavors.
--Jessica Augustsson, www.JayHenge.com
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