Page 15 of Queen's Griffon

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.” The honest truth. With that, he spun around and quickly made his way to the main deck and began barking orders only to find his crew already preparing.

Peter in the lookout’s nest hollered, “Storm on the horizon, Cap.”

“Ready the ship,” Griff bellowed. No need to itemize what that entailed. His people knew the drill.

The little queen had disappeared, and to his annoyance, he went looking for her and found her in the galley, eating some of the rabbit stew. Simhi sat by her side, their heads bent as they talked and laughed.

Griff grabbed his own meal but left with it to eat on the bridge, watching the dark clouds rolling in, ruining the sunset. The ocean waters had begun to heave in response to the gusts of wind, the tips of the waves white. He’d not lied to Avera. Storms always concerned sailors and their captains. A bad one could cause immense damage, even sink a ship.

This one looked to be as intense as the last they’d just weathered. Lightning flashed in the roiling morass overhead. Brilliant streaks descended in jagged branches of light. The rumble of the thunderclap provided an ominous accompaniment.

Griff finished his meal and one of the crew took his dishes to the galley so he could keep an eye on the storm.

Movement on deck caught his attention, or he should say, the little queen did. She emerged with Simhi who had her handsmoving as she spoke. His first mate’s sister pulled ropes from the trunks they kept all over the ship for storms. Simhi showed Avera how to harness it around her waist and clip it to the various spots on the ship meant for tethering. Nothing worse than a crew member falling overboard into churning waves. It often meant a death sentence.

Avera managed to keep her balance on the rocking deck as she tied herself to the rail and leaned on it. Did she watch the approaching storm, or did she try to keep her dinner down?

As the clouds reached them, darkness enveloped and would have made for tricky visibility if not for the weatherproof lanterns lit and hung throughout the ship. A loud crack of thunder startled the little queen, and she glanced overhead. She undid her clip from the rail and tottered for the passage down to the cabins. He lost sight of her and restrained an urge to creep closer to the window and peer down to see if she’d made it safe. The deck wasn’t rocking badly yet. Besides, if she went sliding, he’d see it.

To his surprise, she didn’t go below but appeared on the bridge, face pale despite her tanned skin.

“Don’t you dare throw up in here,” he warned, given her pallor.

“I won’t, but I do have a question. Is it normal for fish to swim so close to the ship in a storm?”

“It’s an ocean, there will be fish,” was his dry reply.

“I’m aware,” she snapped, “But these were clustering by the hull, almost as if they wanted to grab and climb it. Which is strange to me. I didn’t know that some fish had hands.”

He froze. “You saw hands?”

Even before she finished nodding, he was scrambling from the bridge and yelling, “Everyone arm yourselves!”

Kreed heard him from atop the poop deck and crouched to ask, “What’s up, Cap?”

Even as Griff hollered, “Undines!” the first webbed and clawed fingers appeared on the railing where the queen had just been standing.

The storm wasn’t about to be their worst problem. They were under attack!

Chapter 5

Avera

Avera remainedon the bridge rather than follow the captain into the storm. While Simhi had shown her how to tether herself so as to not become lost as sea, she didn’t quite trust a rope to save her. Not with how hard the vessel rocked.

However, she did debate heading out when she heard the captain yelling. She turned to the man at the helm and queried, “What’s an undine?”

“Nasty creatures,” was his grim reply. “Shaped kind of like a man mixed with a fish. Like the taste of flesh, they do.Ourflesh,” he emphasized to make it clear.

The response rounded her mouth. “You can’t be serious.”

“Look for yourself.” He indicated with an inclined head, his knuckles white as he held on to the helm.

She glanced out the window and her jaw dropped as a slick and glistening form slid over the rail. Despite the lanterns, she couldn’t see it well but made out enough to know it stood.

And it didn’t come alone.

More shapes clambered onto the deck, and who stood before them with his sword outheld?

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