Page 18 of Wicked Tides
“Sing a song, Gus,” someone added.
“Aye, I’ll sing a song,” he grumbled, staggering toward the railing and leaning forward on his elbows.
There was a moment of silence as the men rolled their dice again and made some disappointed sounds. Then Gus started tapping the bottom of his rum bottle on the wood. One. Two. Three. He kept tapping it and tapping it and then started to sing to it. He was a great singer, his voice deep and rough like the sea in a storm.
In the dark of night, on a restless sea
Dark seas, dark fate, dark seas.
A pirate’s son with his father bold,
Dark seas, dark fate, dark seas.
Dark seas, dark fate, to the ocean we go
With a heart full of vengeance and a tale full of woe
We’ll hunt the sirens till the end of days
Dark seas, dark fate, dark seas.
The sirens came with their haunting song
Dark seas, dark fate, dark seas.
They took the crew and his father strong
Dark seas, dark fate, dark seas.
Dark seas, dark fate, to the ocean we go
With a heart full of vengeance and a tale full of woe
We’ll hunt the sirens till the end of days
Dark seas, dark fate, dark seas.
“Gus!” Mullins called out. “Really? Are you singing that on this ship while we’re in the middle of the sea hunting sirens?”
Gus took a swig of his rum. “Don’t forget it,” he said, pointing a finger at the men playing their game. “Crew don’t always win. You all signed up for it.”
“You don’t have to make us regret it,” someone said.
“Nah, it’s too late to regret it.” His eyes flicked up to meet mine where I was standing unphased above them. “Any minute, we could be torn to bits. He knows it. We all know it.”
“What are you going on about, Gus?” I sighed.
“This deal with Whitton. It don’t sit right with me. You saw that woman in town. She alone could kill twenty men before someone could restrain her again. It isn’t worth it.”
I sighed again, shaking my head at the fact that I couldn’t agree more. But I didn’t like seeing a strong drink take away Gus’ collected demeanor. It reminded me that the waters under the surface of those stoic eyes were just as squally as mine.
“What are you saying, Gus?” James asked.
“I’m saying this is wrong, sailing out here looking for sirens to enslave. Fuck the money.” He pointed up at me. “That’s our captain. That’s Vidar Bone Heart, but the wolf cub of the Mother’s Fang first. He knows these creatures better than anyone and I’ve been seeing it in his eyes since we left. This shit’s going to get us all killed and for what? A pocket full of coin?”
“One good run could fill our pockets for months,” Uther said. The man was fairly new to my crew and he hadn’t grown up on the coast like most of us.
“Yeah, and it’ll fill that town with things that will eat your kids alive,” Gus said.
