Page 36 of Found at Sea
“What ya goin’ on about?” Redmond asked before looking into the water. He gave Sexton an exasperated look before slapping him upside the head. “Ain’t nothin’ there, ya bilge rat. Get back ter work.”
Those two were always bantering back and forth. Sexton incessantly spoke of creatures he saw in the blue depths of the sea and he told stories that clearly did not happen. I wasn’t sure if he intentionally fibbed or if he was just that delusional to believe they were true. Regardless, the crew and I had gotten to a point where we paid him no mind anymore, other than Redmond who humored his wild tales.
“There it is again!” Sexton exclaimed.
My blood ran cold as I saw it. It was only there briefly, but I’d slain enough of their kind to recognize a mermaid’s fin.
Hadn’t Fletcher said he saw a merman back in Stonebridge? And now another one was spotted. Or perhaps, the same one. Given my history, it didn’t bode well for one of the merfolk to be hanging around my ship. My curse centered on them, and I was certain all merfolk knew of my crimes against them.
It was a sign.
A warning that something was coming.
***
“Why didn’t ya tell us yer a bard?” Dax asked above the voices of the crew. “Have at it, lad. Tell us a story!”
With the setting of the sun and an end to another day, the men sat on the deck, talking and resting from a hard day’s work. It seemed Fletcher was the center of it all. I’d just walked out of my cabin when I saw them.
Fletcher blushed and looked toward his legs. He sat with his knees up and his arms rested on them.
“He’s shy,” Alek stated with a sly grin. “He just needs a bit of courage.”
Tig then laughed and handed Fletcher his mug. “Have some of that. All the courage ya need, boy.”
Intrigued at seeing Fletcher interact with the crew in such a way, I remained in the shadows and leaned against the stairs, watching.
Fletcher accepted the mug, and when he took a drink, he made a face and spat it out. The surrounding men laughed.
“Eh, Red, looks like he doesn’t fancy yer grog,” Tig said, bumping Redmond’s arm.
“No one fancies Red’s grog,” Alek said, earning more laughs from the men.
Water didn’t last long on the ship. It eventually turned green with slime from the barrels, making it rancid to drink, so instead of drinking the water straight, a bit of rum was added to help kill the terrible taste. The men who couldn’t stomach the grog stuck with drinking mead or ale.
“All the more for me,” Redmond said, holding up his own mug before taking a swig.
Alek leaned over and said something to Fletcher, and Fletcher gave him a dubious look before burying his face in his hands. That made Alek grin and bump him with his shoulder.
I wondered what they were saying, but to find out, I’d have to step closer. And I typically didn’t visit with the crew or participate in any of their tomfoolery.
Most captains didn’t. The men were supposed to look up to us with respect, and if I acted a fool around them, the line would be blurred.
Tig brushed his stringy, dark blond hair from his face before drinking more grog. He lightly kicked Fletcher’s leg with his and said, “Come on. Let’s hear a story.”
Fletcher looked to Alek, as if seeking moral support. Alek smiled and leaned back over to whisper something to him. After nodding, Fletcher focused on the men and licked his lips, an action that made my trousers fit tighter.
“Growing up in Helmfirth, I spent many days learning stories from passing sailors and merchants,” Fletcher started with a voice shook with nerves. “Most spoke of danger. Like pirates.” The crew laughed, and it even made me smile a smidge. “But many told of sea creatures as huge as war ships, lurking beneath the waters. Creatures that could swallow an entire fleet.”
With a shy smile on his face, Fletcher looked toward his legs again. “I didn’t fancy those tales. No, the ones that held my interest were the ones involving love, heartache, and the beautiful, mythical beings who lived beneath the water’s surface.”
There it was again; mention of the merfolk. Instinctively, I reached for the shell-shaped mark on my chest.
Most of the men aboard theCrimsonhad only been there for two or so years. Only a few had been with me during my butchering of mermaids. They hadn’t been cursed; only I had, for I was the captain and the one who’d forced them to do my bidding.
Out of them all, only Kris, Horace, and Dax knew of my curse. The rest only speculated.
“There are many tales about mermaids,” Fletcher said, this time with more confidence in his voice. “Just like I suppose there are manytypesof mermaids. Some are beautiful and assist sailors who get lost at sea, and others are more monstrous and lure sailors to their deaths. Mermaids, sirens, and sea nymphs are similar and yet so different.”
