by Liz Kessler
“If either Dean or Kat say we need to make an adjustment, I want it done instantly,” Sam carried on as Dean made his way to the sails. “Come on, now, crew. Our goal is in sight. Let’s put aside personal feelings and win this thing.”
As we got to work, I could almost feel the air change around me. It started with Sam. It was as though he’d suddenly developed a belief that he could do it — not just win this round but be the captain of the ship. And his belief was infectious — at least, to most of us. Dean would probably never respect Sam or his instructions, but at least he’d stopped arguing. Even he knew it made sense to work together now.
I stood on the deck, listening for instructions from Kat, passing them on to Luke. I felt like a cog in a machine that was working smoothly and efficiently. I was part of the machine, part of the crew. I had a weird feeling that I was with my people.
My people? A bunch of pirates?
The feeling didn’t make any sense, so I shrugged it off and got on with my job.
I’d arrived on beautiful beaches before now. I’d sailed to incredible places, swum with the most enchanting animals, been greeted by sights that had taken my breath away. But I had never experienced the feeling that washed over me as we sailed into Crystal Bay.
If you added up the thrills you got for every birthday and each Christmas morning, you might get close.
And not just because of how beautiful it was: the sea was so clear we could see the seabed; hundreds of multicolored fish, coral-covered rocks, and dancing reeds lay below us when we were still half a mile out. They were as clear as if we were looking at them through polished glass.
Ahead, the sand looked as soft as fine sugar and was the color of the purest gold. The sunlight sparkled on the waves like tiny crystals.
Hence the name, I guessed.
It was completely beautiful. But that wasn’t the reason I felt so good. At least, not all of it.
It was also the fact that we were the only ship in the bay. Which meant we’d done it. We’d gotten here first.
We dropped anchor in the bay and started pulling down the sails.
Sam was walking around with the biggest grin on his face. “Crew meeting, guys,” he called. “Finish what you’re doing and meet me at the wheel in five minutes.”
I pulled on the mainsail’s ropes with Ana. Once the sail was down, I watched how she neatly looped her rope, then did the same with mine.
“Nice work. You’re a quick learner,” she said as we walked over to join the others.
“OK, gather ’round,” Sam said once we’d all arrived. Most of us sat down, but Dean stood, holding on to the barrier at the edge of the deck. Sam was standing next to the wheel.
All the sails were down. Other than bobbing gently on the light swell in the bay, the ship was still and silent.
Sam couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “Well done, crew,” he said. “We did it. We got here first. We beat Noah!”
“Well done, Captain!” Kat said.
“And Emily,” Ana added.
Luke stepped forward. “You did a good job,” he said to Sam. “Nice one.”
Dean shuffled his feet. “I thought we were a team?” he muttered.
“We are a team,” Sam replied.
“So we should be saying ‘Well done’ to all of us, not just Captain Sam and his freshly promoted prisoner.” He loaded the “Captain Sam” with heavy sarcasm in his voice.
“Chill out, Dean,” Kat said. “Can’t you give him a break for two minutes?”
Dean shrugged and looked at his watch. “All right. Two minutes,” he said.
“You can say what you like, Dean, and you can be as miserable as you want, but you’re not going to change the fact that we — yes, we — have just scored an amazing victory,” Sam said. “And I, for one, am not going to let anything, or anyone, spoil it.”
Hal was looking out to sea. “Sam,” he said without turning around.
“What?”
Hal pointed to where he was looking. “I think we’ve got company.”
I couldn’t see what he was pointing at. Now that we were in Crystal Bay, the mist had mostly cleared up, but it was still hazy out on the horizon.
Then I saw it: two ships.
“Noah,” Sam breathed. “And it looks like my dad’s ship is behind him.”
“He said the first ship would open the way for the others,” I reminded him. “We somehow let them in and they’ve followed, like he said they would.”
We watched the two ships come toward us. Soon they were close enough that we could see the crew on them both.
As they sailed into the bay, Sam breathed out through his teeth. “Here we go,” he said. “The moment of truth.”
All three ships were moored in the bay. While his crew set about bringing down sails and securing his ship, Jakob came out and stood at the bow. He waved across to us and to Noah.
“Gather your crews and meet on deck in ten minutes,” he bellowed across the bay. “I will announce the winner of round two and tell you what comes next.”
Something flipped inside me. If Noah was bringing all his crew members on deck, would that include Aaron? Or would he be locked up somewhere below, like a real prisoner should be?
“Announce the winner?” Sam grumbled as I helped him coil a rope on the deck. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m the winner. I hope Noah isn’t going to try to convince Dad that he got here before me!”
“He couldn’t do that, could he?” I said. “They both arrived just now; they’d have seen us here. Nothing can stop you from having won this round, surely.”
Sam looked persuaded by my argument. It was true; anyone could see that. Still, I had the feeling Noah wasn’t used to coming second to his younger brother, and he wasn’t likely to take it lying down.
“You both did well,” Jakob called to us once we’d all gathered on the ships’ decks. The vessels were virtually stepping distance away from one another now, so he didn’t have to shout too loud. “Not by much,” he went on, “but Sam had the edge.” He strode over to the side of the deck closest to our ship. “Sam, you are the winner of round two!”
The pirate king’s announcement was met with an instant cheer from our crew. Sam punched the air. Even Dean managed half a smile.
“We did it!” Sam said, turning to give us all a huge grin. “Well done, team.”
“That’s a point apiece,” the pirate king continued once he’d given us a couple of minutes to celebrate.
I looked across at the Lord Christianos. Noah was strutting up and down, pointing at his crew, shouting at them. They all stood there, not moving, not responding while he yelled.
“You’re a useless bunch of lazy good-for-nothing layabouts!” I heard him shout. “Pathetic. You call yourselves pirates? And you let that waste of space of a brother of mine beat me? I’d throw every last one of you off the ship if I didn’t think you’d come crawling back, like the miserable sea rats you are!”
Sam turned to talk to us. Looking mainly at Dean and Luke, he stuck a thumb out at his brother’s ship. “Is that how you want me to be? That’s how a real pirate captain acts, is it?” he asked. “Still want to join my brother’s ship?”
Luke stared openmouthed at the spectacle, along with the rest of us. Dean shrugged and looked at his feet.
“He’s horrible,” Ana murmured.
Noah’s tirade was still going. “I’m disgusted with you! Every last one of you.” Marching up and down the deck, Noah paused in front of one of his crew members. I couldn’t see who it was, as Noah was standing in the way. “Well, almost every single one,” he went on. “You are the exception. You and your knowledge saved the day. Come here. Stand beside me.”
Noah moved aside and pulled his best crew member forward. I couldn’t help gasping out loud when I saw who it was.
“You are my new first mate,” Noah announced.
His perfect crew member, the one he’d just promoted . . .
It was Aaron.
; From where I was standing, I could practically look into Aaron’s eyes as he stood next to his boss. Or I could have, if he were looking my way. He was too busy grinning at Noah.
Sam turned to me. His face was white. “Emily, isn’t that —?”
I shook my head sharply. “Don’t say anything.”
Sam nodded like he understood. But he didn’t. He had no idea what I was feeling. The confusion, the betrayal, the hurt. How could Aaron look so happy on that ship? How could he be smiling up at Noah like that? Had he suddenly become loyal to a pirate?
But, then, from the outside, wasn’t that exactly what I’d done?
In my mind, Sam was different — but maybe Aaron saw something that made him feel the same about Noah?
There had to be an explanation for Aaron’s behavior. I knew him. He was the reason I was out here! He wouldn’t abandon everything he believed in for the sake of a bit of praise from a pirate.
Would he?
Noah strode to the bow of his ship. “A point apiece, is it, Father?” he called. “You really have me even with my useless brother?”
“Now, Noah, it’s my contest, and your brother won round two fair and square,” his dad replied.
“How about some bonus points, then?” Noah called across to him. He held on to a halyard and leaned right out of the boat. “What if I have something that shows how brave and tough and talented I am?” he asked. “What if I prove — as usual — that anything my brother does, I can do better? Would we still be a point apiece then, Father?”
“Son, what are you talking about?” Jakob yelled.
“Wait.” Noah swung back onto the deck and went over to a couple of his crew members. I couldn’t hear what he said to them, but they both nodded and instantly headed for the stern.
“Give me two minutes and I’ll show you,” Noah called.
The pirate king pulled a huge gold watch from a pocket on his chest. “You have two minutes, son. Then I will make the result official.”
“Official?” Sam blurted out. “What do you mean, then you’ll make it official? It’s official now, isn’t it? Round two was to get here first. I got here first. I win! What more is there to it?”
“Calm down, Sam,” his dad bellowed. “This is my contest, my rules. You have won round two. But if I decide Noah gains a bonus point, then that is up to me. You hear me?”
“I hear you,” Sam grumbled. For two minutes, no one said anything else. The wind softly whistled through the masts and lanyards as the ships bobbed on the gentle waves.
A door opened on the pirate king’s ship.
“What’s going on, Jakob?” It was Michele.
“Help my wife!” the pirate king barked at his men. Two of them instantly ran over to the door Michele was heaving herself through and held their arms out for her.
She joined her husband on the deck.
“Noah has a surprise for us, my dear,” Jakob said loud enough that the wind carried his voice across to us. “He says it will be better than Sam’s win.”
Michele looked across at us. Beaming, she called to her younger son. “You won! I’m so proud of you, darling!”
Just then, Noah’s men came back into view. They were hauling something around from the back deck, something over the side. In the water? “We need a hand here,” one of them called over his shoulder to the rest of the crew. “We’ve got a wriggler.”
A wriggler? What did he have? A shark? A small whale? What could he possibly think would earn him bonus points with his dad?
Whatever it was, the men were now hauling it along the side of the deck and starting to pull it up.
A cage. A heavily barred cage.
And inside it, wriggling, fighting, screaming in rage as the cage came out of the water, was Shona.
For a moment, no one spoke. It was as if someone had come along and switched the scene to mute.
Noah grinned as he paused his strutting up and down the deck. Jakob looked on with an expression that could have been horror — and from what he’d previously said about mermaids, should have been horror — but looked more like fascination.
Sam stood with his mouth open, not saying anything.
Aaron had turned away and wasn’t even looking at Shona.
And I — what could I say? What could I feel? All I could do was stare at Shona. She had stopped writhing and was staring straight back at me; her eyes were scared black holes.
My feet felt as though they had been bolted to the deck. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. What should I do? If I called out to her, I’d give myself up and could jeopardize everything. If I ignored her, I was turning my back on my best friend. Indecision meant I did nothing, which felt more of a shameful betrayal than any of my options.
Michele was the first out of us all to find her voice.
“What is the meaning of this, Noah?” she wailed, clutching the side rails of the ship as she leaned across to peer at Shona. “First your brother taunts me with mermaid jewelry; now an actual mermaid?” Her legs began to give way.
Jakob caught her in his arms and helped her to a bench, where she sat down. She pulled a fan out of her bag and wafted it in front of her face.
Jakob returned to the bow of his ship. He still hadn’t said anything. No one had except Michele. It seemed we were all holding our breath, each of us for different reasons.
“Son,” Jakob said. His voice was gravel. “What is the meaning of this? Have you lost your mind? Or are you simply intent on upsetting your mother?”
“Neither, Father,” Noah replied. “This is a gift, for you.”
“A gift for me? A mermaid?” Jakob looked as if he were about to explode. “Son, you had better explain yourself, and fast.”
“Other ships have figureheads carved out of wood. We sail with them on our bows, to ward off evil spirits and warn others of our intent.” Noah spoke quickly. “You can have a real, live mermaid — something no other pirate possesses. Keep it alive by putting it low enough that it dips in the water. When you have a mermaid as a prisoner, even your enemies will have to acknowledge that you really are the bravest, the toughest, and the most fearless pirate on the seas.”
For a full minute, no one spoke. Noah ran a hand through his hair as he stared at his dad. Jakob looked down at the deck and rubbed his chin, pulling on his beard. The rest of us looked between the two of them, as if we were watching a tennis match. The wind whistled a low, humming tune through sails and lanyards and ropes.
Finally, Jakob turned to his wife. She gave him a curt nod. Jakob turned to Noah.
“Do it,” the pirate king said.
Noah punched the air. “Thank you, Father,” he said. “You won’t regret it.”
“I had better not,” Jakob replied darkly. He waved a hand at Shona. “You’ve done well, boy. You’ve done very well.”
“I get the bonus point?” Noah asked.
His dad nodded. “You do. Which now puts you at two points and Sam at one.”
“What? That’s so unfair!” Sam burst out.
Noah grinned widely. “Suck it up, little bro,” he said. “Might as well give up now. You’ll never act like a pirate. You’ll never even think like one!”
I could feel Sam’s rage coming off him. “Seriously, Father?” he shouted. “You’re going to let this happen?”
Jakob shrugged, as if it were out of his control. As if it weren’t his stupid contest and his stupid rules and him constantly moving the goalposts. “Unless you’ve got something better . . .” he said.
Noah had instructed his men to haul Shona’s cage onto the deck. Shona lay inside it on the floor, barely moving.
“She needs to be in water,” I hissed under my breath.
Sam turned to me. “What’s that?”
I opened my mouth to say it again — but nothing came out. I had to protect myself, I had to protect what I was doing here.
But did I? I was here to rescue Aaron. Aaron, who was right now laughing and joking with Noah’s crew. It didn’t look
like he needed me. Even if he did, right now Shona needed me more.
“She needs to be in water,” I said again. “She won’t survive.”
“Who needs . . . ?” Sam began. Then he looked across at Noah’s ship. “Oh. I get you. Stay here,” he instructed me. “OK?”
I nodded and he marched to the edge of the deck. “Hey!” he yelled. “If you want to hand that thing over to Dad to prove how fearless and clever you are, you’ll probably need to keep it alive!”
As he called across, Aaron stopped talking with the guys he’d been joking and laughing with. He glanced at Shona, and, even from here, I could see that his face had turned white.
“Get it back in the water!” Sam yelled.
It.
Get it back in the water.
Sam’s words stuck in my throat. I felt as if I might be sick.
Aaron was already rushing over to Shona in her cage. He was beckoning others to join him. I stood mute as I watched them lower her cage, holding my breath till she was back in the water and safe again. As safe as she could be, given the circumstances.
Jakob called across to Noah. “Keep it for now until I decide what to do with it.”
Noah gave his dad a salute. “Will do, Father.”
“Right. We’ll take a couple of hours’ break before we head off. Free time, everyone,” Jakob announced.
Every word they uttered made me feel worse. The way they talked about Shona. Like she was a thing, not a person.
I had to get away. Had to think. “I’m just going to . . . get something,” I said to Sam. I couldn’t even make up a good excuse. I didn’t care about making excuses — I just needed to be gone.
“What?” Sam swiveled around. “Emily, are you OK?”
“I’ll be back in a sec,” I said. Then I turned and hurried away from them all, looking down at my feet so no one would see the tears that were already beginning to prick at my eyes.
I sat on a steel box at the stern of the ship, my head in my hands as I tried to figure out what to do next. The others were all still at the bow. It was safe to let myself register my true feelings for a moment.
But what were my true feelings? I almost felt numb. Confused about Aaron, horrified by Sam, disgusted by Noah, furious at Jakob. Yes, all of those. But stronger than any of them was the heartbreak that seared through my body each time I pictured Shona in that cage.
