FLOOD

Ghost Ship Rising

I explained the situation to her, since she couldn't see the army behind me from where she was.

So, I finished, We could really use a ride across the water, if you don't mind.

Well, since you ask so nice, Jotun. I'm sure we can come up with something.

Great.

She went silent after that. I guess you could say the line went dead. I could make her form out for a few more seconds and then she disappeared deeper into the water and out of my reach.

Gut churning, I turned back to find the king and queen, and the entire army behind them, all watching me.

No pressure or anything.

"Um, she's gone to get—well, it will be a few minutes."

A buzz of low panic started in my chest. Cassa hadn't actually said what she was going to do. Maybe she'd just said she was going to help, in order to mess with me. Maybe I was going to stand there like an idiot and wait for something that was never going to happen.

And then I would look like a complete fool in front of everyone.

Some of the soldiers, shifted, restless, and someone called from the back, "How long?"

My mouth hung slack. I had no answer for him.

Thankfully Queen Megan turned and shot the guards a stern look, and Loki actually sang out, "Are we there yet?" which brought a low rumble of laughter.

My shoulders relaxed.

Eli shuffled closer and nudged me. "Hey, you did fine. Great, actually. She's sending someone...or—" His brows knit together. He didn't have any more idea than I did about how the mermaids might help an entire army across the ocean.

But King Aegir was a god. He had to know a way, didn't he?

We waited for another ten minutes at least, and King Loki kept up a string of banter with his soldiers, which seemed to ease the tension.

Finally something happened.

A low rumble started from somewhere below us, deep in the earth, vibrating the soles of my feet. Instinctively I reached out to grip Eli's shoulder.

"What—"

The water fifty yards out began to broil, and I stumbled back. Even without having my feet in the waves I could feel something huge and ancient rising up beneath the currents, slowly making its way up.

Jagged black spikes pierced the surface, rising slowly inch by inch. Slews of sea water rushed from ragged black sails, and the creaking of timbers reached us from across the water as the ship emerged like a monstrous wooden kraken.

My mouth hung open, and beside me I heard Eli gasp.

A low murmur went through the watching soldiers, and even the king and queen looked stunned.

Once on the surface of the water the ship stilled, and the only sound that reached us was the slow and steady drip of water from the sails. It was almost eerily silent.

The sound of rushing water followed as the ship moved for shore, towering over us as it came closer and closer. The timbers of the ship were black and rotting, and there was a man-sized hole in the side, yet somehow it was still floating.

Or—not floating, being lifted on a churning wave.

As it came closer I caught glimpses of flashing scales in the wave, as if all the sea creatures in the near vicinity were helping to push the boat ashore.

At last it came to a gradual stop, rocking in place, and the wave washed outwards, lapping onto the beach, splashing up and drenching my legs. I barely felt it, so caught up in the sight of the black ship towering over us.

"Well." King Loki finally spoke into the loaded silence. "I guess, let's go."

Eli and I stayed back for a little bit, letting the soldiers wade around us on both sides. A few jotun stayed behind with the horses, since taking them on board the rotted ship was a recipe for disaster.

The black ship was close enough to reach once we waded in waist deep, and luckily someone had thought to bring rope along, and after a few minutes they'd managed to fashion a very rough rope ladder.

Eli and I were two of the last to climb aboard, followed by the king and queen.

As soon as my feet hit the deck my stomach plunged. The boards shrieked underfoot, half rotten. Someone near the stern gave a shout as their foot plunged through with a crack, and the soldiers had to pull him out.

The ship shuddered, and I clutched the railing as the wind whipped my hair back into my face. We were moving.

Beside me, Eli leaned out over the railing and I shot one hand out and snatched at the back of his shirt as the railing gave a threatening squeak beneath his weight.

"I wouldn't count on that to hold your weight."

He pulled back and gave me a grin. "What? Are you concerned about me?"

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, if you want to fall overboard and become a mermaid snack don't let me stop you."

It didn't wipe the cheeky smile off his face, but I did notice he took a step back from the rail.

The sun was down beneath the tree line now, and it was hard to make out the faces of the soldiers around us. It was sort of creepy, having hundreds of us standing still on the deck, without making any sound. Only the creak of ropes and timbers filled the silence, and the wash of the waves against the hull of the ship.

The ocean was a dark horizon beyond and behind us, a flat expanse of velvety black nothingness. But the island was getting closer and closer, a dark shape looming in the near distance.

My fingers curled around the damp railing, fingernails digging into the rotten wood. Just the sight of the island made my palms sweat, and the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Memories came flooding back. Of leaving Fiske behind, wounded in the woods. And the laboratory with its sterile plastic and steel. And Kalda.

My Kalda.

The railing squeaked again, as Eli shifted, and there was a light touch on my shoulder. When I glanced over, Eli was watching me.

"It's not going to be the same, Vee. You've got an army now."

"I know." I forced myself to relax my grip on the railing, but my entire body was still tense. "I know that."

As the island loomed larger, Eli moved, close enough to touch my shoulder with his. It startled me at first, a little, since I was so fixated on the dark shape in front of us.

But he was better than my fears, a solid warmth in the darkness, someone I could hold on to. So I pressed into him, leaning my head against his shoulder, shutting my eyes.

For just a moment, I let myself drink in his scent, pine trees, now mixed with ocean spray. Eli's arm crept around me, and we just stood that way for a few minutes, not moving or talking, both staring at the island as the ghost ship brought us closer.