Submission of the Siren

by Bella Settarra

  “I know you might want more time to think about it, my dear, but please consider it.”

  “Zigor…”

  “It’s all right. I know,” he said with a sigh. “But please promise me one thing. Don’t sail back with him today. He looks so angry I would be concerned for your welfare. Please promise me you will go back with one of the others, in a different boat. Perhaps his mood will have lightened by the time you get back to Refrainia. At least I know you will be safe once you are back on dry land.”

  That was an easy promise to make. No way did she want to spend the next few hours confined on a boat with Rech in that mood. “Of course,” she said, “I’ll go back with one of the girls.” She turned and followed the rest of the islanders who were making their way back toward the docks.

  Aitan had brought some money with him so they all celebrated their victory with a drink and some food at a bar near the dockyard. They all sat outside in the early afternoon sunshine and enjoyed a raucous lunch.

  Rechavia wandered off by himself while they others laughed and chatted. Kalliope watched him go, but didn’t follow. She wouldn’t know what to say to him. He had looked so hurt when Zigor had appeared with the shawl, and she was starting to feel angry with him for not challenging the smarmy businessman. Rechavia should have been furious enough to hit him the way he had on the beach. But things had been much different then.

  “Aitan’s piloting one of the boats back. Do you want to come with us, Kally?” Ligia asked sympathetically. She nodded thankfully, brushing tears from her cheeks. Ligia gave her a big hug.

  “Hey, come on, it could be worse,” Ligia said cheerfully. “Have you seen Ademia and those two hunks of hers? They’re threatening all sorts of stuff when they get her home. I had no idea they were so close.”

  “No,” Kalliope said with a sniff. She was a little ashamed that she hadn’t taken more notice of Ademia.

  “I couldn’t tell you which one she likes best, they both seem to want her. I honestly don’t think she realizes how much they like her,” Ligia said with a giggle.

  “Good. I’m glad for her.” Kalliope meant it.

  “Come on, darlin’, it’ll be dark soon,” Aitan called over to them as they got ready to go.

  “Kally’s coming, too,” Ligia announced as he caught up with them.

  “Great, the more the merrier.” Aitan’s gray eyes twinkled kindly as he smiled at the two best friends.

  “Where’s Ademia?” Kalliope looked around as they neared the fishing boats.

  “She’s going in the ship with Rech and her men,” Aitan said with a grin. “God help her!”

  They clambered into the little fishing boat with Melantho and got ready. The rest of the islanders got into their boats, and there was a loud hum as one of the men started up the outboard motor on the boat the girls had arrived on. Kalliope couldn’t help wishing the girls were all going back together on that boat. The journey here had been such fun, despite the situation with Rech.

  The smaller boats took off first, with Rechavia bringing up the rear in the main ship. It was the safest way to ensure that all the boats were together.

  Kalliope looked back to see Rechavia at the helm, as usual, with Dr. Jay and Farris sat either side of Ademia on the front of the boat. They were obviously keeping a close eye on her.

  “I didn’t want to tell them, Kally, they made me,” Melantho said in a small voice, once they were all settled in the well. She was still a little wary of Kally’s fiery temper.

  Aitan, who had the wheel, turned back to them. “It’s true, we did,” he said, “we had to know what was going on. Once we realized one of the boats was missing and that storm was brewing, we were worried sick. We knew none of you could handle the boat in the rough sea, a lot of the men would have struggled. At least when Melantho told us you’d set off before lunch we realized you would have docked well before the sea got too dangerous.”

  “We hadn’t really thought about that,” Ligia said, ruefully.

  “So you didn’t tell them until it was quite late?” Kalliope said, impressed.

  “We didn’t question her until it was late,” Aitan stated firmly.

  “Oh.” Kalliope was disappointed. Had Rechavia not been bothered about her until it had started to get dark?

  Aitan read her expression and sighed. “Rech soon got restless after he got some of his frustration out on the digging,” he explained. “He told me what had happened. He insisted we went to find Poseidon to put things right. He said it was the only way we could save the island for you.”

  “What?” Kalliope flushed.

  “Oh yeah. He realized that you must have thought he didn’t care about keeping the island. All he meant was that he didn’t care where he was as long as you two were together, but that’s not how you took it. He said the only way to make you happy was to make sure you kept your island, so that’s what we had to do.”

  “But Poseidon hasn’t been seen for months. How did you expect to find him?” Ligia was aghast.

  “We didn’t know. We just knew we had to try. If we could find him we knew we could save the island. We couldn’t see any way around it. It was a fool’s errand. We didn’t stand a hope of finding him. Everywhere we went it was the same story, no one had seen him in ages. We spent all day looking. Eventually we had to turn back as the storm was brewing and it was getting dark. It was when we got back that we noticed one of the boats was missing so we asked around. It was a good job Melantho knew what you were all up to. We were worried sick that you’d gone off on your own, but we kind of understood your thinking.” Aitan sighed. He had evidently been sick with worry.

  “Was Rech mad?” Kalliope had to ask. She got up and lit a couple of lamps.

  “Oh yeah! He was furious. At first he wanted to get out here and find you, but with that storm it would have been stupid, especially as we knew you’d have been there already, or we hoped you would. It was him who thought you’d find a way to Super-Skype us, he said if we hadn’t heard from you before midnight he was going to get back in the boat. Good job you spoke to us when you did!”

  “It was Ademia’s idea, I wanted us to sail back,” Kalliope admitted ruefully.

  Aitan smiled. “You’re just like Rech,” he said with a grin. “You make a great couple, Kally and Rech, careless and reckless, that’s you two!”

  The girls laughed, even Kalliope. It was nice to be thought of as a great couple, even though it seemed hopeless right now.

  “So you met up with Zigor then?” Aitan had to ask.

  “Not at first.” Ligia was quick to mention that. “We found Benat, the reporter, and another guy, Palben, who was a friend of theirs. He just happened to work for Zigor’s fiancée’s mother.”

  Aitan turned round and stared at Kalliope. “Fiancée? Jeez, I’m so sorry, Kally, that must have been hard.”

  “Not really,” Kalliope said truthfully. She remembered how hurt she was but had since realized that she was more indignant than upset. She had been so angry with him, as well as herself for being so stupid. “I didn’t like him all that much. He was a dick!”

  “Kally!” Melantho was shocked. The others laughed.

  “I’m sorry but he was,” Kalliope admitted. “I went to his house, I saw them together. They deserved each other. He’s so up himself just because he’s rich. He’s got no backbone though, no oomph. He’s just smarmy and creepy and everyone scurries around him because of his money, even his fiancée. The only one who stood up to him was Mrs. Loidi, the mother-in-law, and that’s only because she’s got more money than him. Money means everything to those people. They don’t care about feelings or honour or respect or anything!”

  “Yeah, there are lots of people like that in the world, sweetheart,” Aitan said with a nod.

  “Not in my world,” Kalliope stated, pulling her shawl around her as the wind sprung up.

  “No, not in your world,” Aitan agreed. “That’s why it’s so important to keep your world just as it is.”


  “I still don’t get how you managed to change Zigor’s mind about Refrainia, though?” Melantho frowned.

  “I’m not too sure about that myself,” Kalliope admitted. “I caught him with his fiancée in bed and ran downstairs. When I got to the front door it opened and in came Benat taking photos. It was really funny, as Zigor was completely naked and they both ran upstairs but Benat kept taking pictures of them. Mrs. Loidi nearly fainted from shock, I think she had some weird idea that her daughter was still a virgin or something.” She giggled.

  “You told me to get Benat down there with his camera,” Ligia said. “I got him there as quick as I could but he kept drinking with the Governor. That reminds me, here.” She handed Aitan the micro-chip from her bikini bra.

  Aitan grinned and stuffed it in his pocket.

  “But Mrs. Loidi was already adamant that Zigor wasn’t to buy the island,” Kalliope said with a frown.

  “Hmm, I think Ademia might have had something to do with that,” Ligia said with a grin. She turned to look at their friend in the boat behind them, then shrieked.

  “They’re sinking!”

  Chapter 13

  “Something’s wrong with the bilge pump,” Farris shouted up to the others on deck. “There’s far too much water down here for it to cope with and it’s struggling.”

  “Is there a back-up pump aboard this thing?” Dr. Jay looked around anxiously as he made his way to the hatch.

  “No but there’s a manual one down below,” Rechavia shouted. “Ademia, get your life jacket on!”

  Ademia was already on it. She grabbed one for Rechavia too, and ran up behind him to help him get it on. The boat pitched violently and a massive wave gushed onto the deck. Ademia screamed as she slipped and careened toward the starboard.

  Rechavia struggled to keep the wheel straight as he reached out to grab her. She was too far away. There was a loud thud as her arm hit the small built-in cupboard that sat under the bench, and she squealed.

  “Fuck!” Dr. Jay abandoned his attempt to help Farris and rushed to her aid. She was shaking and her arm was limp.

  “She OK?” Rechavia hollered.

  “It’s broken and she’s going into shock. It must hurt like hell. She’s getting cold, too. What the hell’s going on?” Dr. Jay quickly examined Ademia’s arm and put it in position. He ripped off his shirt and used it to tie a sling around her neck to support the limb. He wrapped his arms around her, hoping his heat would soothe her as he lifted her in his strong, muscular arms. He wasn’t a small man, and he was all muscle.

  “One of the tubes in the cooling system must have split. It’s forcing too much water into the bilge,” Farris yelled up the hatch.

  “Shit!” Rechavia clenched his hands around the wheel to try to keep it on track.

  Dr. Jay was muttering into Ademia’s ear, trying to soothe her, as he led her to the top of the hatch.

  “What’s happened?” Farris’s face turned pale as he looked up and saw Ademia in the doctor’s arms. Her face was ashen and she was staring blankly toward him.

  “She’s hurt. I need to get her warmed up,” Dr. Jay said, looking around for something that might help.

  “Here”—Farris threw a blanket up the hatch—“don’t bring her down here, Jay, the place is swamped.”

  “There should be a manual pump,” Dr. Jay called, wrapping the blanket around his patient.

  “That’s what I thought but I’m damned if I can find it!” Farris yelled. “You stay with her, I’ll keep looking.” He sloshed away from the hatch and continued his quest.

  “There should be some flares in that bench,” Rechavia yelled.

  Dr. Jay sat Ademia down and lifted the storage cover. Empty.

  “Not in there.” He searched all the storage areas and cupboards in the tiny well. Nothing. The boat pitched again and a massive gush of water spilled over the stern.

  Dr. Jay cursed as the water snuffed the lamps, plunging them into semi-darkness. Luckily the moon was up. It took a few minutes for their eyes to adjust.

  “The freaking pump’s missing,” Farris yelled up from the hatch, “and the pails are gone from the storage chest down here.”

  “Fucking sabotage!” Rechavia thumped the wheel in anger, just as another wave splashed over the deck.

  Dr. Jay leapt over to Ademia and held her steady as the icy water drenched them.

  “It’s all right, baby, we’re going to be fine, d’ya hear?”

  Ademia’s eyes stared into his. There was a slight flicker of recognition in her blank expression and she managed to nod her head weakly.

  “Good girl, you stay with me now, OK?”

  Another slight nod. He held her tight with a sigh of relief.

  Yet another wave flooded over the transom, and the boat rolled to the starboard, where Ademia and the doctor were sat, huddled on the bench.

  “It’s no good. If I didn’t know better I’d say she was holed somewhere too. We’re going down too fast!” Farris started to climb out of the hatch.

  “Aitan’s seen us, they’re on their way over,” Rechavia shouted, seeing his friend nearing them.

  “Thank God for that!” Farris went to hoist his large body out of the hatch just as another massive wave smothered them, causing the boat to roll to the starboard again. This time Ademia and Dr. Jay were flung over the side and Farris was forced back down the hatch where he landed hard on his back.

  Rechavia grabbed a pole and held it out to the couple in the icy water. Ademia, in her dazed state, bobbed up and down but took no notice of him. Dr. Jay grabbed her sore arm and pulled her to him. She screamed in pain. The doctor managed to reach over and seize the end of the pole and Rechavia pulled them toward the boat, just as Aitan’s boat arrived on their port side. With Ligia at his helm, he jumped onto Rechavia’s sinking boat and helped him haul the shivering couple aboard.

  Ademia was whimpering as Aitan grabbed hold of her. She let out another cry as she bumped her arm again on the side of the boat, before collapsing into Aitan’s arms.

  “It’s the pain and the cold,” Dr. Jay yelled as he clambered aboard. He took his girl from Aitan and quickly checked her over as Rechavia beckoned Aitan to the hatch.

  “Farris has fallen down there.”

  “Get her over here!” Kalliope was leaning over the side of the boat, trying to reach Ademia and Dr. Jay.

  The doctor scooped the unconscious girl into his arms and passed her over to Kalliope and Melantho. They grabbed their friend between them and lay her on the deck of their ship.

  “Go with her, she needs you!” Rechavia yelled over as he and Aitan set about rescuing Farris.

  Dr. Jay climbed over the boat and joined the girls, just as another wave hit the injured boat, setting it into a deep roll to the bow.

  “I’ve hurt my back but I don’t think anything’s broken,” Farris yelled as Rechavia reached him. “I was winded for a minute but I’m OK.”

  “I think he’s OK. I’ll try to pass him up to you,” Rechavia shouted up the hatch to where Aitan had just been soaked by yet another wave.

  Sloshing through the icy water he first checked his friend for broken bones. “You’re right, nothing seems to be broken. Can you get up?”

  “I think so but this damn pain at the base of my spine’s giving me hell.” Farris winced as he tried to sit up. Like Jay, he was a big man and he had fallen hard.

  “Hopefully it’s just bruised. You fell a heck of a long way down,” Rechavia said as he helped him up.

  Farris swept a hand through his jet-black, tousled hair and took a deep breath before venturing toward the bottom of the hatch.

  “Come on, mate, let’s have you,” Aitan called down cheerfully but hurriedly.

  Farris groaned in agony as he made his way up the hatch, and Aitan grabbed his shirt and helped him haul himself onto the drenched deck.

  “Fuck! It’s as wet up here as it is down there!” The big guy cursed.

  There was a sudden jolt as the boat q
uickly dived downward.

  “Quick!” Dr. Jay yelled as he struggled to pull their boat closer. “Farris, get here now!”

  “Rech’s still down there.” Farris was panic-stricken.

  “Get out of here. I’ll see to Rech. Look after the girls.” Aitan pushed Farris toward the port-side where Dr. Jay was reaching over.

  “Rech? You still there?” Aitan strained to see down the hatch as his injured friend clambered onto the other boat.

  “Yeah, I’m here—just!” Rechavia was breathless, having been flung across the hull of the sinking boat.

  “Now, buddy,” Aitan ordered as his long arms reached into the blackness to grab his friend.

  Rechavia stretched up and forced his exhausted body to lift up and out of the hatch. Aitan grabbed him and heaved him up. Rechavia slumped onto the deck, but Aitan wasn’t about to let him stop there.

  “Come on!” He dragged his dark-haired friend across the deck just as the ship pitched again. A massive wave swept over the stern and drenched them both as they reached the port side. Aitan was flung into the bench by the force of the water. Rechavia grabbed his friend by his life-jacket and pushed him up to where the girls and Dr. Jay were stretching out ready to receive him. With one final push, Aitan was aboard. He immediately turned around ready to help Rechavia.

  Another wave threatened to push Rechavia back, but he stood firm, clutching the side of boat. As soon as the wave started to die down, the sailor took his chance and threw himself over the side. His friends were ready to catch him as they grabbed and hauled him onto the safety of the fishing boat. Rechavia looked back just in time to see their main ship disappear beneath the black waves.

  The girls used shawls and blankets to cover their friends, as they all sat shivering in the tiny vessel. Once he had checked everyone over, Dr. Jay took the helm.

  “We’ll soon be home,” he promised as they sped away from the massive shadow on the water’s surface. Aitan threw his arms around Ligia, his aching body taking comfort from her stroking fingers. Farris shivered as he held Ademia, who was barely conscious. Kalliope wrapped herself around Rechavia, who was too exhausted to object. Melantho scurried around, fetching food and blankets for them all, include the bare-chested doctor.