Page 70 of Found at Sea
21
Fletcher
I slept very little that night. Mostly due to the storm raging outside, but also because of the one inside my heart.
I’d fallen for a man who was untouchable. Not a physical touch—which was easy—but one deeper than that. Even with knowing his atrocious history, I’d put all that aside and saw him for who he was now: someone who was still grumpy and rough around the edges, but who had moments of kindness and a smile that made me forget my own name at times. Someone who was trying to be a better man.
And yet…he was the sun and I was the sea nymph staring up at him, yearning for a love that could never be.
“You look like hell,” Alek said to me the following day.
I was sitting on the bottom step of the staircase leading to upper deck. There was so much work to do that morning, and I was too exhausted to do it.
“You don’t look much better, my friend,” I stated, taking in his pale face and the dark circles under his blue eyes. “The storm kept you awake as well?”
He nodded before sitting beside me. “It did more than take my sleep.” A silence passed, and I wasn’t sure if he’d expand upon his statement. But then he lowered his head. “A strange thing happened, Fletch. I was in my bunk, listening to the howling wind and thunder when all of a sudden, I wasn’t here anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure,” he answered. That’s when I noticed his hands shaking. “One moment I was in my bed and the next, I was back in Black Hallows. It wasn’t storming there, but it was dark. The only light came from the torches and candles around the room. Men in cloaks were standing in a circle and chanting in an uncommon tongue.” His eyes glazed over and there was a tremor in his voice. “I couldn’t understand their words, but I caught one phrase:Blood of Haman, child of the dark.”
Alek’s blue eyes moved to me. “They were talking about me, Fletch. I’m not surehowI know, but I do. The chanting stopped and one of them looked at me. Then I was gone from the room and back here on theCrimson.”
“It was probably a dream,” I said, trying to comfort him. “A vivid dream, but one nonetheless.”
“Perhaps,” Alek said, but he didn’t sound convinced. “We should get to work. The deck won’t mop itself.”
The captain had allowed me to continue working as a swab, even though he didn’t understand why I’d want to do such a thing. The truth was that working as his cabin boy was boring. Being on a ship for days on end didn’t give me many errands to run, and apart from serving him in bed—which I didn’t mind at all—I didn’t have many other chores throughout the day, apart from doing his laundry and cleaning the cabin. And that only took two hours at most. So once I was finished with my work from him, I helped Alek.
Mainly for my sanity.
As we worked, I tried to keep Alek’s mind off the dream. I talked about all sorts of things, any random thoughts that popped into my head. I also told him more folktales, and we conversed about whether or not the myth had any basis in reality. After what I’d witnessed in previous months, I’d wager that the majority of those myths were true.
“Do you think he’s still following us?” I asked once we’d put away the mops and sat down to rest. “The merman?”
Alek was quiet a moment before saying, “Yes.”
“What does he want? Why doesn’t he just talk to us?”
With an amused snort, Alek rubbed his face with both hands. “By the gods, Fletch, you’re so inquisitive. I don’t know what he wants. Perhaps he doesn’t speak our language, which is why he hasn’t tried to communicate.”
I listened to the lilt in Alek’s voice, and the appearance of it told me he was comfortable again. The accent was only noticeable when his guard was down.
“Mermaids speak another language?” I asked.
“Your little stories haven’t given you the answer?” Alek said with mock astonishment. “I’m stunned. Truly.”
I shoved against his shoulder and we laughed.
“How do you know he’s still following us?” I asked. “You seemed so certain that he is.”
“Difficult to explain,” Alek said before sharply exhaling. “But I sense him. I know when he’s close, and when he’s not around the feeling is gone.”
“He’s traveled a long way just to shadow the ship,” I pointed out, thinking of how the merman had first been spotted months ago. “Seems…I don’t know. Fruitless?”
“Unless there’s something on the ship he wants,” Alek said, staring off into the distance. “And he’s just waiting for the right time to take it.”
“Or someone,” I whispered as a feeling of dread washed over me.
