Starsinger

Storm

Aaron woke to the groaning roll of the ship as it knocked him clear out of his hammock.

He smacked against the boards of the steerage. The world spun as the floor continued to buck underneath him. He could hear shouts and the crash of water against wood.

The steerage was empty of people, hammocks swinging wildly and crates groaning at the shifts in gravity. The half-assembled pieces of Raelyn's machine tumbled across the floor. Aaron scrambled to his feet, yanking on his boots and grabbing a heavy cloak as he stumbled toward the hatch. He shoved it open.

The deluge splashed across his face. He swore and launched himself onto the main deck, shoving the hatch closed behind him.

The Drake was in chaos. Sickly dark green clouds thundered and rolled in the sky, casting down a barrage of torrential rain. The ocean pitched and moaned like an angry drunk. Waves crashed against the side of the Drake and split across the decks, leaving sailors slipping and grappling for purchase as they fought to keep the ship afloat.

Winter storm. Aaron felt his stomach drop.

Katrina was at the wheel, roaring over the wind. She was soaked to the skin.

A sailor shoved Aaron out of the way and he tumbled toward the foredeck. Another wave smashed into the Drake and the deck slanted sharply beneath his feet.

"Captain," he shouted, grabbing onto a railing and holding firm.

Katrina's blue-gold eyes were frighteningly bright as she turned to him. "Get below," she bellowed. "Tie down whatever you can."

Get below. But he had to find the others. Aaron scanned the deck but all was havoc. He pushed across the main deck from handhold to handhold to keep himself from sliding every which way in the storm. The people in the rigging were dark wet shapes, clinging to the ropes for dear life.

He heard an enormous crack and saw the heavy cast iron pot roll off the galley stove to smash through the floor below. Water poured through the gap into steerage.

Aaron jumped down and yanked a thick yard of canvas over the hole in the deck, lashing it down with a nearby rope. The oven was clanging loudly. He grabbed more rope and set to work tying down everything loose in the galley. The door to the pantry was swinging open and shut with a clang. His hands were slick with rain and saltwater, slipping over the iron.

A shattering crunch, and Aaron glanced up to see the top of the tall mast crack and give way, landing somewhere in the rigging amongst the shouting crewmembers. A giant sliver of wood crashed to the floor by Aaron's feet, nearly slicing clean through his leg. He shouted his surprise.

Then a small figure landed in the galley with a thud. Sapphire. Despite the swaying of the ship she stood and bulled towards Aaron.

"Where's Raelyn?" he shouted to her. "We have to—"

Sapphire grabbed him by the collar and shoved him backwards through the open door of the galley pantry.

He landed hard against a crate, sharp pain shooting up his right side. Sapphire stepped in and slammed the pantry door behind her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she yelled.

"We need to find Raelyn and the others," Aaron insisted, forcing himself to his feet "We have to get below."

"We are below," Sapphire fumed. Her blue curls were plastered to the sides of her face. "The rest of us holed up in the sick bay with Cally and Beau as soon as the rain started. Where were you? I had to come looking for you—"