Page 27 of Of Song and Darkness

Cael rushed to a lever I had not noticed before, grunting and straining his muscles as he flipped the wooden switch. The ringing of steel against wood and metal echoed in the air. I looked down the side of the boat as massive jagged blades protruded from all angles along the ship.

Kai grappled with the wheel, causing everyone to tumble to the deck. The beast screeched as the blades dug into its skin, slicing off at least two of its eight tentacles.

“That’s it, my beauty! Raise the harpoons!” Kai's malicious laughter echoed, the sinister tone sending a chill through me and setting my nerves on edge.

I jumped out of the way as more than a dozen wooden contraptions that looked like giant slingshots rose from beneath the ship’s deck, all armed with sharp-tipped harpoons. The size of the spears would quickly end the sea creature much easier than the cannonballs.

I stood there in momentary shock. I was on a floating death trap. How had I forgotten that this was Blackheart Kai’s monster-hunting ship? Everything about it now was deadly, the perfect killing machine. When the leviathan rose from the depths, I’d thought we were all goners, but as the ship shifted into a weapon, I was confident the leviathan was the one who didn’t stand a chance.

“Fire!” Kai boomed.

A dreadful feeling sank to the pit of my stomach as a few of the harpoons were launched, sinking deep into the leviathan’s flesh. It screeched, eyes widening, and looked for an escape.

“Rope that devil,” Kai ordered.

Nets attached to ropes anchored to the boat shot out from below the ship’s hull, trapping the creature and preventing its escape. The leviathan struck out with its one free tentacle. I was moving, but I was not quick enough. The tentacle struck me, pulling my legs from under me and swiping me over the railing of the ship.

I screamed as I fell into the ocean. The billowing water consumed me immediately. I gasped for air but only swallowed a mouthful of salty water. I kicked and pulled with my arms, but these stupid legs of mine would not tread the water like my beautiful tail. My fight was useless, the current caused by the thrashing leviathan too strong. I was pulled deeper into the abyss.

My body convulsed in its desperate need for air. It felt like my chest would explode if I did not take a breath. My lungs spasmed, causing my mouth to open spontaneously. Water rushed down my airway, filling my lungs. I screamed, bubbles escaping from my mouth as the last bit of air was ripped from me.

Pain radiated from my lower half, then my legs melded together. Just when I thought my time was through, I gasped, and water passed through my gills, allowing me to breathe underwater. I looked down in stunned silence. My siren body was fully restored.

I flipped my powerful tail to distance myself from the massive leviathan that thrashed in the sea. My head broke through the surface of the water, my eyes searching for the ship. Kai gripped the railing, staring directly at me. I was too far away to make out his facial features, but I could have sworn that his shoulders slumped with relief upon seeing me.

He yelled something incoherent over the thundering waves and battle aboard the ship, then disappeared from sight.

I searched for the sea creature as its fear vibrated through the water. It was hopelessly trapped. The leviathan would have already returned to the depths of the sea after discovering that the cirrata was not there for his dining pleasures, but the heathens aboard the ship were determined to kill it.

Another explosion shook the skies as Kai commanded more harpoons to be released upon the creature. Its cries tore at my resolve. This was heartless and cruel.

The leviathan fought against the ropes and nets and dove underwater. I gasped when the front end of the ship dipped below the surface. Ducking under the water, I watched as the leviathan’s scales shifted from midnight black to the palest of blues. The camouflage was self-defense to ward off the threat, but it would do him little good. The ship was too buoyant and popped back up out of the water like a cork, bringing the leviathan with it.

Blood seeped through the water, staining the crystal blue sea. I had seen enough. This was going to end now. I fought against the swirling current and came up alongside the ship. For a fleeting second, I remembered the captain’s words about what he said he would do to me if I ever tried to use my song on him or his crew again, but in this instance, I didn’t care.

My song was mighty, and I could put the entire crew under my spell with just a few notes. The melodious song tingled in my voice box as it came forward. Instant relief washed over me as my tune filled the air. The attackers stopped dead, and all eyes turned to me.

Kai gnashed his teeth at me and threw a slur of curses my way, but I ignored him. He couldn’t reach me this far out in the water, not unless, of course, he shot me with a harpoon. Judging by the look on his face, that was not entirely out of the question.

I continued to sing, forcing the men to lower their weapons and cut the ties that bound the leviathan.

Kai gripped the railing, simmering with anger, utterly helpless in stopping his men from doing my bidding. When the final rope snapped and the leviathan was free, it bellowed and turned toward the ship, but I focused my song on it, releasing the men I had captivated.

Yells and curses brought my head back around as the men slowly started to come out of my trance, but I was too focused on the massive beast that thrashed in the water with me to pay them much mind.

My song calmed the creature, and it dipped into the water with just its head visible on the surface. I stopped singing, reaching up to brush my hand along the slick scales on its nose. It was severely injured, but it would survive. It blinked at me a few times as I released it from my bewitchment. I never felt I was in danger, even though the creature could easily open its mouth and swallow me whole if it wanted to. It snorted in the water, spraying my face with a salty mist.

I smiled at it. “Thanks for that.”

It ducked beneath the surface, and just as suddenly as it had appeared, it returned to the depths to which it belonged.

As I turned to the ship, I swallowed the lump in my throat. I was sure I had doomed myself by singing. The crew’s malicious glares made it clear they had no idea I was a siren. Not until now, anyway.

Scooping up my pride, I swam back toward the ship. Groveling was beneath me, but I would beg Kai to take me to Medusa if I had to. The lives of my people depended on me getting that locket and stopping the Dark Hydra, but all that was now questionable.

Kai

What the hell had just happened? One minute, we had the leviathan trapped and at our mercy, and the next, it was gone like a fleeting memory. I could taste the victory on my tongue like a fine rum until that little sea demon snatched it away from me. I gritted my teeth so hard that cracking them was a definite possibility.

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