Edgewise

33

Silence followed Mack's statement, punctuated by the drip of sea water from their clothes. The crew of their rescue ship stood, sharing a bleak expression as they held a clawed hand over their hearts. A sailor's send off, though Calponia couldn't understand how they could be so accepting of the whole situation. She was freaking out. How long had they been dealing with ship eating monsters to be that chill about it? Her shaking hands found the deck railing, knuckles pale as she gripped the wood until splinters bit into her hand.

Were Ravelock and his crew still alive? She shivered hard.

"Bloody heathen monsters," Captain Eleni spat, finally breaking the silence. "We'll bound for port, lads. We'll honor the fallen of the Mist Bane at the Harbor Master's call." The woman turned the wheel, sending the vessel in a smooth spin as Mack joined her at the helm, engaging the captain in a furious whispered exchange. To be a fly on that wheel. Calponia's curiosity stalled as she felt a strange fluttering pull in her bones. Her stomach churned. She winced, wrapping an arm around her waist. Eugene moved up beside her, leaning on the deck rail. His gaze remained on the wreckage as they pulled away.

"This is bad," he offered conversationally, wincing when he turned to her expression. "Right, a rather obvious statement wasn't it?"

She gave a helpless shrug, trying to ignore the discomfort in her stomach. Nausea made a happy appearance, causing her to bite down on her retort.

Eugene frowned at her. "Are you feeling ill, Cal? You've gone rather green."

"I-" speaking was a mistake. A horrible, horrible mistake. Saliva filled her mouth, her only warning before she leaned hard on the railing and released a stream of bile from her mouth. Her body heaved so hard her senses momentarily blanked. Since there was scant in her stomach, there was only burning yellow fluid that made her eyes water and stung her sinuses. The strange fluttering pull increased at opposite ends, from her scalp and her toes; a pull that went in alarmingly opposite directions. She felt as if her body would corkscrew apart from her stomach out.

She held onto the rail for dear life, vaguely aware there was a vampire holding her hair back like a helpful sorority sister. Calponia heard the rumble of his voice, but couldn't make out the words. Her skin tingled all over. That couldn't be a good sign. She was silently praying for the nausea to subside when the railing abruptly snapped under her hands. As her body pitched forward, she found herself wondering what took the bête noire so long. Maybe it was gun shy, what with Krakens swarming in the sea below her and all. Her head jerked back.

Right, there was a vampire still holding her hair. She thanked the realms for Eugene's speedy reflexes as his arm snaked around her waist and hauled her backward, the two of them landing in a heap on the deck.

"Keto's Tits, Macklemore, what did you bring on my damn ship?" Captain Eleni appeared above her. She was seeing an awful lot of this woman from the flat of her back. Calponia wanted to answer but between nearly plunging off the ship and vomiting her guts out, she was a bit occupied. Her stomach rolled, informing her it intended to keep up its attempt to evacuate through her throat. She choked on acidic bile, gasping for breath.