Page 76 of A Curse of Salt

We turned our gazes up as the first mate’s dark silhouette appeared against the crimson mainsail. She straightened, unwavering, and launched herself backwards into the breeze. I watched in amazement as Golde arced over our heads and plunged into the waters below. Moments later, a black shape re-emerged, inky hair wavering around her like seaweed.

Pirates dove off from all sides of the deck, their splashes puncturing the air. Others, the old and injured, gathered to stand watch, Mors among them.

Una went next, a beam plastered on her face as she ran full tilt towards the gangway, bare feet thumping against the wood. She vaulted into the air, her whoop of delight warming the frost.

My laughter followed her as I slipped off my outer layers and leather boots, feet meeting the biting cold planks.

‘Blackbird.’ Sebastien’s hand was warm on my waist, pulling me towards him, away from the water’s call. ‘You’re drunk,’ he said, voice flat as the sea.

I leaned into his chest, looking up at him with a pout painting my lips. ‘And you’re no fun.’

A muscle feathered in his jaw, but I turned away before he could say anything more. Aron was waiting a few steps ahead, his eyes silver in the moonlight.

‘C’mon,’ he called, hand extended.

I followed, excitement bubbling in my chest. I longed to feel the air sweep around me, to glide through it as Golde had; to fly.

‘Climb them ratlines, lass. Like I showed ye,’ Aron instructed, guiding me as I pulled myself up the shrouds, the ropes coarse beneath my icy toes. He followed close behind, arm extended to catch me if I lost my footing.

I could sense Sebastien watching from below, the sounds of the crew fading behind us as we climbed higher and higher. It felt much further than it had looked from the deck and my arms were tiring.

‘Almost there,’ Aron encouraged, grasping hold of the yardarm and hoisting himself on to it. He reached for my hands as I clambered up after him and rose unsteadily to my feet, relying on Aron’s wiry arms to keep me from falling. The sky yawned around us, endless and speckled with stars. I couldn’t tell where it ended and where the sea began.

I resisted the urge to jump then, to leap into the abyss, and took the length of rope that Aron pulled towards us, a loose brace hanging from the spar above.

The pirate wound an arm around my waist, pulling me tight against him. ‘D’ye trust me, lass?’

I looked up at his bearded face, the scar that ran down his cheek, the smell of rum and sweat and salt that clung to him. I nodded.

He grinned again. ‘Hold tight and don’t let go ’til I say.’

My hands tightened around the rope. Before I knew what was happening, Aron pitched us from the yard and into the sky. We swung out, the night sweeping through my lungs.

‘Now,’ he yelled, when the darkness was all around us, the sea stretching below.

I let go.

A scream leaped from my throat as I hurtled towards the waves, clutching my knees to my chest just in time as I plunged into the glacial water.

For a few glorious moments, the sea was all around me. I looked up, seeing the faded moonlight against the surface, the silhouetted figures of the crew, a world filled with laughter and starlight.

We see you.

I whipped around. There was a voice, one separate and the same from the sea. I saw nothing but darkness, until the water rippled around me, taking shape – bodies, faces, morphing from a twist in the current. Laughter sounded, a tinkling somehow unmuffled by the chasmic, choking water. I met the gaze of another, so human yet made from nothing but waves, its gentle face purling ever-closer as it swam towards me.

We see you, they said again, speaking as one. We watch you.

They smiled, and the tug of the deep in my chest grew stronger than ever.

Who are you? I tried to say, but the ocean swallowed my words. The spirits continued to circle me, their eyes bright, beckoning me to play.

My lungs burned. I fought the urge to open my lips, to gulp down a mouthful of the sea I knew would drown me, every part of me arching inwards, craving air.

I broke through the surface, gasping. Ice-needles pricked my face, the taste of salt sharp on my lips.

The three pirates lazed across the waves ahead of me, oblivious to the movement below the surface. I glanced wildly around me at the calm, endless sea. No sign that anything was stirring, that anything made a home in it but us.

I watched the crew, resisting the urge to dive below again. Una scooped water in her palms and tossed it upwards, scattering droplets of moonlight across the surface. A vicious water fight ensued, the horizon erupting with their cries and splashing limbs. Una screeched, clambering on to Aron’s back in an attempt to submerge him, their laughter loud enough to fill the sky.

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