Page 106 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

“I’m not dying today, pirate!”

She wondered what was going through his head as he went silent.

“Well, there’s always tha’ one thing ye do,” he finally responded.

She turned to him and shot him a quizzical look. “The thing I do?”

“Sing, Nola,” he replied, placing his fingers against her lips. “Use tha’ lil’ siren call of yers. Sing the monster away from our ship.”

She shot him a scowl. “You can’t be serious.”

True, she had done it before on tiny, nine-inch-tall gnomes. But what the old pirate was asking from her was to repel a Kraken.

When they turned back to the window, the monster was gone.

“Well, I think we ’ave a problem,” Wentworth said, followed by blood-curdling screams above deck.

Nola looked up, hearing the buccaneers’ guttural cries and the pounding of feet on the main deck. She ran up the stairs and looked around. The Kraken’s tentacles had wrapped around the ship’s front half, tilting it on its side. She felt a jolt, and part of the boat split through the center, and another one of its tentacles broke through and grabbed the young boy who had shot Hill. It took hold of his waist and yanked him off the ship and into the sea.

Nola sprinted to the mast and climbed up as fast as she could to the crow’s nest. She held to the flag and swung on a rope dangling next to her. Clenching tightly, she pulled herself up until she settled inside and looked down.

One by one, the creature yanked each pirate from the deck. The pirate called Russell tried to cut away the tentacle gripping his leg, but it was too strong, and it flung the man into the dark, churning waters. Wentworth only watched in terror at the destruction of his ship and crew.

Nola closed her eyes, sucked in a breath, and began to sing. It was not music, but it was a calling, a melodic sound that vibrated inside her chest. The siren felt her body tingle as she harmonically echoed the cry over the sound of the violent waves.

After a few seconds, she was controlling the beast’s movements.

Nola felt her eyes glow; warmth radiated from under her eyelids. When she opened her eyes, the creature had tossed the last standing pirate and waited close to the ship. Wentworth was face down on his stomach, pistol in his hand, and blood spewing from his side. Nola looked down at the old pirate who hurt the man she loved. Rage filled her heart, and she felt no mercy when she gave the Kraken the final command.

Kill him,she ordered.

The creature wrapped its tentacles around the remaining floating pieces of the ship, crushing Wentworth with one blow.

As the Kraken pulled the old captain’s lifeless body into the sea, the mast tilted forward until she released her grip and fell into the sea with it.

As Nola hit the cold water, she sucked in a breath before her head sunk under the sea. Suddenly, her eyes felt like someone had forced them open. A light that was not there brightened the sea, giving her a clear vision of her surroundings. The siren watched as the Kraken swam away from the ship, dragging Wentworth’s corpse with it.

She stared in awe at the gorgeous reefs surrounding her and the schools of fish circling her body.

As she expected, her legs began to pull together at the thighs, tugging again like they had before. Her limbs felt free, her skin rough as the hairs on her arms stood straight.

The dress she wore remained intact, but she felt the wet fabric loosen where her tail had formed. Nola gathered the courage to suck in a breath at the sight of a maroon fin moving under the dress. As water entered her mouth, it filled her lungs and the pressure shifted to her chest. She breathed out, water bubbling in front of her, and her breathing settled. It felt as if she had sucked in air from above the surface.

It was a strange feeling, but she continued to inhale and exhale until she no longer noticed the difference.

Nola paused and looked around, the ocean looking as clear as the world above. She saw every detail, from the small forage fish to the algae a few hundred feet below her.

Not knowing if the Kraken would return or how much longer it would be under her spell, she swam off quickly to find safe land. There was such an exhilarating feeling in her tail as she moved through the water. It was an odd yet familiar feeling as if it were embedded in her genetic memory.

At least a day had gone by when she noticed a slight change in depth, possibly leading to a sandy shore. She swam to the surface and saw what appeared to be hundreds of charcoal-colored bark trees drooping over each other.

Her father had once told stories of such a place; a dark, swamp-looking land, where King Matthias would banish traitors to live out the rest of their lives: the Marsh Wetlands. If the Kraken could not kill her, that place surely would. However, swimming for almost a day had exhausted her. She had to rest.

Nola hurried to the shore using the energy she had left. She then buried her hand in the grainy sand, resting her face on them, and closed her eyes to sleep.

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