The Song of the Sea

26. A Fight to the Death

As Marco's body was gently lifted and thrown off the back of the ship, Pete watched as Jacob turned and quickly walked away, heading towards his cabin.

Pete saw a few men raise their eyebrows in surprise. To some it might appear disrespectful for the Captain to turn and walk away before the body had even sunk below the surface. But in the brief glimpse Pete got of Jacob's face, he knew why he went. It was a look Pete had not seen on Jacob for many years, but it was the look of a man about to break down. And there was no way Jacob would ever break down and cry in front of his men.

Pete went back to his original position on the main deck and lit another cigarette. There was a lot that needed to be done. The ship, while still afloat, needed lots of repairs and the cannons needed cleaning ready for if they were needed again. But above all the men needed feeding and then to get some rest. Everything else would have to wait until morning.

Pete heard the footsteps of someone approaching and turned round to see James heading his way.

"Come on, there's bread and cheese in the galley," James said, and Pete stubbed out the remains of his cigarette and put it behind his ear for later.

The mood was somber inside, so Pete decided to take his food and eat above deck. He saw Jacob carrying two plates back to his cabin and was about to call out to him, but then realised he didn't really know what to say. In the past, the two of them would have spent a night like this one, lying out on the deck staring at the stars attempting to be philosophical about life. But he had Raephier now. And the fact that he made a beeline for his Cabin to break down meant that he was comfortable in doing so in front of him. Pete knew that Jacob would not be coming to stare at the stars with him tonight.

Pete heard his name being called and turned to see James waving him over. He got to his feet and saw that most of the crew seemed to be sitting in a circle on the upper deck. James scooted over and patted the floor next to him, so Pete came and sat down.

He suspected that they would be reminiscing and sharing stories about Marco. He was wrong.

It was James who spoke.

"Some of the men are worried about Jacob, and I thought it would be worth hearing your opinion, seen as you are probably the closest to him."

Even though Pete was expecting some backlash from the men over what happened today, he still found himself surprised to hear it voiced.

"Why are you worried?" Pete asked, keeping his face as expressionless as possible.

James seemed to not want to answer that question and shot a pleading look at Lyle, so Pete turned to him to see if he was more willing to say something.

"I'm not saying we don't trust Jacob," Lyle said. "You know we do. His integrity is not in question. What I don't trust is that thing in there with him."

Pete saw James flinch slightly at the bitter tone Lyle used when he called Raephier a 'thing'.

"Ok," Pete said calmly, "I think we all know by now that you don't like Sirens. But what has that got to do with Jacob?"

"Don't you see it?" Lyle said, sounding exasperated. "Can you not see how he's changing him?"

Pete frowned. "What do you mean, changing him? I don't think Sirens are capable of changing a person."

"He's bewitching him. That's what Sirens are isn't it? They trick people into falling in love with them and then they rip out their souls."

"Surely if that was Raephier's intention, he'd have done it by now," Pete suggested with a shrug.