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Clara appeared at the top of the forecastle, looming over where I sat on the steps under the cover of night. “Need some help with that?”
I didn’t turn my head. “Deck swabbers don’t intrude on the captain’s private affairs.”
“Then say I’m not a deck swabber fer now. Say I’m just a human watching another human fightin’ his demons.” She stooped down to meet me, kneeling by my side and taking the bloody knife from my hand.
“Fighting my demons or succumbing to them, I can’t tell which anymore,” I groaned. She jabbed the knife back in. I winced in agony as she sliced beneath the skin, prying flesh from flesh. Like filleting a fish, she worked the blade underneath the width of the tattoo I’d worked so hard to memorize over the past month at sea. With another month ahead of us, the map was stored clearly in my head now, and I no longer needed this damn seal of Bastian’s marking me as his slave.
“There,” Clara said, pouring a bottle of rum over the gaping wound in my forearm. I thought my teeth would shatter from how hard I bit down on the rag as the burning seared through my veins. But just as a small sliver of relief began to wash over me that I was at least free of being tracked, the torn open flesh reformed right before our eyes. Sinew and skin appeared as if by magic, reconnecting itself to seal up my arm with a new jagged and scarred version of the tattoo.
“Fucking hell!” I slammed my fist into the edge of the steps, scraping my skin against the salt-worn wood.
“Don’t fret about it so,” Clara reassured, wiping her bloody hands with the rag that was just in my mouth. “You agreed to do this. Now see it through.”
“How do you know anything about what I’ve agreed to?” I snarled.
“I was watchin’ you in the tavern that night, you know. I don’t know why you did it or what yer lookin’ for. But I know you made a deal and I can see now that you regret it.”
“No,” I grunted. “I don’t regret it. It’s what I had to do, but…” I caught myself. So desperate to share the burden on my mind and heart, I nearly gave away everything. I barely knew Clara. I hadn’t told a soul on board this ship of what ailed me night and day. And I wouldn’t ruin that here. She, like everyone else aboard, needed to know nothing. “I don’t regret anything.”
“Suit yerself, Cap’n. But just know yer not the only one out here lamenting what you wish you hadn’t lost.”
I lifted an eyebrow, curious as to what she meant by that, but knowing it was far better not to wonder.
“Thank you for your...assistance.” I said, looking at the bloody mess on the deck. “I’ll clean this up. You go get some sleep, Clara.”
I expected her to protest, but she only turned and walked away without a word, the last bit of her flaming red hair fading into the heavy darkness. I cleaned the blood quietly, left alone with my thoughts once again. I watched the sharks swarming the water below as I dumped the bucket of red water overboard. Scavengers, just waiting for their chance to catch something worthwhile. Weren’t we all?
As I left the deck, low thunder growled in the distance, heralding a line of storms looming miles away to the west of us. It was a slow-moving monster, and I expected we’d miss it based on our direction and its speed. We were traveling steady and slow, just to ensure we didn’t get too close to it overnight. If it was still out there in the morning, we’d just have to sail around it. I preferred not to stop and wait it out. Time was too valuable to waste.
That night in my quarters I dreamed of her.
She walked to me on the beach, a vision calling out to me with her song. I ran to her, but the sand of the shore grew longer, farther, stretching to create a path I could never outrun. Finally I took a wrong step in the sand, crashing forward into the surf to find myself hitting cold stone. I was back on the lighthouse where I first brought Katrina to show her the stars. Everything felt right here.
She met me at the top, her call soothing my aching soul as she emerged like a queen from the stairs. Like the night I saw her in that glittering dress and lost my breath at the sight of her. As if dancing across the air, she came to me, kissing me with her melody still on her lips, wasting no time driving her tongue into mine, and tangling her fingers in my hair. I felt every inch of her, my hands trickling down her dress to find the slit halfway up her thigh. She guided me underneath, like a song she was singing with her hands, placing mine between the warmth of her legs. I traced the delicate parts of her, up, down, inside and out, yearning to join our bodies once and for all so that time and distance could never separate us again.
I kissed her slow and steady as my fingers moved in her. She released a blissful moan that carried on the sea wind and wrapped me further into her. But then her voice turned dark and cold. “I told you not to become like them.”
I opened my eyes to see myself face to face with eyes as blue as the depths of the ocean, staring at me with the narrowed pupils of a predator. I tore myself away from her, my heart breaking as she followed me, no longer in desire but in bloodthirst. Her sweet song became an echo, rattling in my head as she stalked toward me in a state I could not break through. I called her name, begging her to recognize me…but ignoring it all, she placed her hands on my shoulders and shoved me off the lighthouse, following me down into the raging water below.
I awoke with a start as my body hit the wooden floor below my bed. Small bits of sunlight already poured through my stained-glass window along the walls. It was just after dawn.
“What the hell do I make of that?” I muttered, disturbed by the dream as I rubbed the spot where my head made impact with the floor. “Had to be the rum.”
I’d downed a good amount last night to dull the pain of my self-attempted tattoo removal, though it hadn’t helped much. I glanced down at my scarred arm, the tattoo still perfect despite the skin beneath and around it having been mutilated just hours ago.
I heard a muffled cry from up top. It sounded like Keegan from the crow’s nest. He must’ve spotted something. I rushed to throw on my shirt and boots, grabbing swords and slinging my pistol holster over my shoulder, then hurried out on deck. An eerie morning mist covered the waters and severely limited my view.
“What is it?” I shouted for my first mate. “Felix!” Felix came running up before I’d barely finished saying his name.
“Red flagship spotted, Capitán. We saw it all too late because of the fog. It’s close.” His heavy Spanish accent coated his words, but he was the most reliable communication on board, making him my choice of first mate. I trusted him, and he was loyal enough to my commands and decisions. However, on a personal level, even after all these months, we hardly knew a thing about each other. Just as I preferred it.
I reached for my spyglass, focusing on the ship in the distance. It was close enough for me to easily make out the flowing red flag atop its mast even without the spyglass once my eyesight adjusted to the fog. Carl Thane’s ship. A massive galleon, no doubt laden with cannons and guns far heavier than most pirate vessels. He’d traded speed for strength.
“The bastard never gives up,” I said smugly, handing the spyglass to Felix. There was no mistaking the vessel for Thane’s. Though I’d lost track of him after the showdown with Bellamy’s ship and the warship, I knew it was far from my last encounter with him. I knew he’d turn back up eventually to continue hunting me down once he got back on his feet. I didn’t mind though. His retribution was long overdue for when he kidnapped Katrina and left her scarred. I anticipated when he’d come for me again so I could ensure he got what he was owed before I found my way out of this life.
But that would have to be in due time. Not yet. Though I relished at the thought of facing him to enact my revenge, I couldn’t allow myself to get distracted now. Not when I was so close to what I believed could be the start of the missing piece of Bastian’s map. I couldn’t risk my ship. For now, I’d have to outrun him. Give him something to chase a bit longer.
“Increase our speed, lads! Let’s catch as much wind as we can!” Felix and I trudged to the helm. Thunder rumbled in the distance, making sure we didn’t forget about the presence of the giant storm ahead. We’d be sailing right toward it, but a bit of shaking up from wind and rain would still be better than getting battered by cannons from a warship twice the size of my frigate. But the damn fog had hidden him long enough to keep us from getting a good head start.
