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30
Leviathan
Milo
We steered ahead, the morning sun at our backs. Another few months at sea had taken their toll on my men and me. They were starting to complain, and they’d caught on that I was seeking something more than what I was telling them.
I’d been up for days, charting the stars at night and calculating a logical path to the Fountain. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but some hopefulness ensured me I’d know when I found it. But something told me we were close. Perhaps it was the strange siren song I kept hearing in my head since we’d left the island, echoing faintly, like it was guiding me along. I hadn’t told anyone about it, not even Clara, but something in me made me believe it was leading me on all these weeks.
“Tell me, Cap’n.” Clara stared out at a pod of dolphins racing alongside us as the Falcon sliced through the smooth waters with ease. “You ever think anymore about just abandoning this goose chase and making the most of yer time here? I know ya love her, but you’ve gained so much here. You ever think maybe…maybe it’s just fate.”
“And despite what it may look like, I’ve gained nothing here.”
Clara shifted her elbow on the side of the ship. “Oh come on. I know ya love her, but you ever think maybe…maybe you bein’ here and becomin’ this powerful captain…maybe it’s just fate.”
“I once thought like that. I once believed our destinies were set. Unchangeable. But not anymore. Now I think a man can choose his destiny, even change it, if he’s willing.”
“Exactly, Harrington.” Clara’s smirk faded into a look more solemn and serious than I’d ever seen in her eyes. “And that’s why I’m asking you…are you sure you’ve chosen yours?”
I tore my eyes from the water and looked down at my boots. She knew. She could see right through me. I was breaking these past few weeks. I still hated myself, and I feared what Katrina might think if and when I saw her again. And if her siren had grown more powerful, she was sure to have no use for me once that voice in her convinced her of my terribleness. It haunted me like a ghost, and drove me mad at times to imagine finding her again and losing her in a different way. I worried I would hurt her more by coming back into her life than staying out of it. My greatest fear was that I couldn’t be her sun.
But then that siren call in my head would sing out again, calling me to her, urging me once more to keep going. Her voice was my compass, and her song was reassuring me…I was almost there. I was supposed to be there.
“All the glory and glitter of the sea isn’t worth losing her. I think, though we can choose our own paths, some part of us will always be calling us where we’re supposed to be. And I imagine it’s awfully hard to ignore.”
I paused, running my calloused, fingers along a small chip in the ship’s hull. “What about you? You’ve had long enough here to figure out what you want. Have you?”
Clara pressed her lips together and looked back out at the horizon. “I just want this, Cap’n. A life on a vessel fast enough to carry me far away from my troubles.” She drew in a sigh as the wind picked up. “I just wish that was enough for you, too.”
I grunted with a nod, and we both watched in silence. Pointing to the horizon northwest, I finally spoke again, changing the subject. “If my charts are correct, the Fountain lies ahead that way.”
“I’ve heard that before, Cap’n,” Clara rolled her eyes.
“No, this time, I’m sure of it.” I thought of the siren voice in my head, and how it grew louder and louder the farther I sailed this way.
Suddenly, Keegan’s voice rang out from above, a dire warning signal of oncoming ships to the south of us. I glanced back, able to make out the blooded sails from here without needing my spyglass. Thane had been tailing me for a while now. I expected him to catch up sooner or later, so it was no surprise. But it was a bit of an inconvenience. “What was that you were saying about getting away from your troubles?” I teased Clara as I swung over the stair railing and went up to take charge of the helm.
The siren song in my head sang softly, calling me onward to a small series of islands just a few leagues ahead—the same network of islands where I believed the Fountain to be. I could trap Thane there and outmaneuver him easily in the Falcon. Thane’s new ship, Leviathan, was a beast, but mine was fast. I’d get that mammoth of a ship lined up just right, in a place he couldn’t wriggle it out of, and then blast him to hell with cannon fire and mortar.
“Full sail!” I gripped the wheel and maneuvered us toward the islands. To Thane, it would appear I was running from him. And he’d never turn down an opportunity for a good chase.
For now, I guided the Falcon toward the islands, careful to steer clear of the hidden sandbars lining the waterways. If I could catch Thane’s big ship on one of them…I smirked at the thought.
We slowed as we neared the island cluster. The sight of Thane’s red-flagged ship hurtling toward us was just what I hoped to see. He was taking the bait. And he wouldn’t be able to slow that massive galleon of his in time to steady itself through the islands.
Clara threw her weight into managing the crew as they adjusted sails and readied cannons. I reached for the pistol and swords hanging on their holsters, if for nothing more than just the mere feel of them in my hands. I reached up to touch my scarred eye. And then I thought of Katrina, held hostage and terrified at Thane’s hand. I replayed the moment he sliced his knife across her delicate face, and the rage I felt then boiled in my blood just as strongly now. Finding the fountain could wait until I’d cut Thane open and watched him bleed out like the filthy bastard he is. I waited, clutching the hilt of my blade as we wove through the stony islands with the Leviathan lurking on our tail.
31
The Fountain of Youth
Milo
The bow of my ship nearly crashed into the passageway of the rocky cliffs, but we could turn just in time to keep some sort of momentum. Thane’s ship eased its way in, desperate to reach me, but forced to nearly halt at the entrance of the cliff maze. I shouted for the crew to let fire, aiming from the rear cannons to get a direct shot. I could tell Thane was trying to ready his own fire, but I wouldn’t give him a second more. The cannons erupted at my command and shook the Lark before hitting Thane’s ship with a force to be proud of. Thane fired back, as I expected, but I doubted he knew what I had in store for him.
Clara glanced at me worriedly as the Leviathan’s retaliation shot pounded our hull. I gave her a nod, and she screamed out the orders. It was time to send Thane to hell.
The mortar shot was one I’d been waiting so long to use, and I’d been saving it just for Thane. With a fiery burst, the shot launched forth from our deck and soared—an eerie and beautiful sight all at once as fire arced across the water and lit the enemy ship ablaze. In seconds, Thane’s vessel went up in flames, black smoke billowing into the air as the sails and masts became engulfed.
