Of Sails and Souls

Chapter Thirteen

The Bountiful drew close slowly and would not arrive till daybreak. Nalu relaxed slightly as she stood at the bow, letting the gentle breeze ripple through her hair.

"Cap'n?" Zabwei crouched behind her, his eyes wary. "I have that report ye've been askin' for. About the guns and such. Are ye busy?" He moved to leave, but Nalu stopped him.

"No, give your report. Is there anything we'll need to buy once we dock at Kuron?"

"Well, we be a bit low on gunpowder and we'd not last long ina fight with the bit that we got. So I'd recommend we buy a good deal more when we land, Cap'n. The grub is gettin' mighty few too." Zabwei shuffled his feet awkwardly, twirling a shiny pistol in one of his hands. "I also had a request for ye, Cap'n."

Rolling her eyes, Nalu gestured for him to continue. "Spit it out, Zabwei."

"I was thinkin' we could grab some elixir when we stop. We got none on the ship, Cap'n, and it'd be mighty useful for the long nights out at sea, if ye know I mean." Zabwei winked, emboldened. "Ye sure would be a fun one with elixir in 'er. Most just get lost in their head, ye know? But there be a few who be right funny when lost on the stuff."

By Deteine's wisdom, did no one on this ship respect her? "Absolutely not," she responded curtly. "I've seen what that stuff does to a person and I refuse to have an incompetent crew. Now, if you want to bring some ale and you keep the amount small, that's fine. But no elixir."

With a sullen glance, he nodded and shuffled away.

"Oh, and Zabwei." Nalu locked with two of his eyes. "If you ever speak so brazenly to me again, I will have no qualms with making you an example to the rest of the crew. Understood?" Nalu had to practically bite her tongue to keep siren magic from slipping out, but she somehow managed.

Shaking slightly, the zep nodded furiously and scurried away.

Nalu's eyes locked on the fast-approaching island. Was her crew composed entirely of imbeciles? Zabwei was a loose cannon, Granite had not a respectful bone in his body, and Ent... Well, Ent was the only one who was passable. If only she actually showed emotion every once in a while, that would be nice. And Makani didn't count. He was her brother, and at the rate he was hurting himself, he'd probably die before he did anything useful.

As Nalu expected.

To be fair, she died a lot herself, so she probably shouldn't be too hard on him. The poor fellow only got one chance to not die, after all.

"Captain," Ent's poised voice called. "The crew would like to discuss something with you, if that's alright. Some of them think they deserve to know how exactly you survived the explosion. I told them it was none of their concern, but your brother insisted..."

"Ent, enough. I will meet with them." Nalu sighed, knowing she'd never avoid this if her brother was behind this, anyway. It wasn't like she could kill him. A woman had to have morals, even if part of her was siren.

"Very well." Ent nodded. "I'll have them meet in the galley then." She turned curtly away and disappeared into the hull of the ship.

Fear spiked inside of Nalu, though she tried to push it away. What would they say when she explained how she had survived? They were hunting a siren, all of them thinking it was to kill it. There was no way they were going to accept one as their captain. Besides, they'd never believe a word she said.

So she'd lie. That would be easy enough, except for Makani. He knew everything and if he was the one who had called the meeting, then he would not let her lie slip by. Shikes. She ran a hand through her hair, twirling it over and over until it knotted.