Scarlet Tides • Gendry Waters

Chapter 5

"Kid!" Navi jumped at the gruff voice behind him. Jimmy, one of the gunners, stepped up beside the boy with a full bucket of chum in his hand. The stench was almost unbearable, but Navi was starting to grow accustomed to unsavory sights and smells. "Do me a favor and toss this in the tank. You make a mess, you'll be cleaning it up." Jimmy hefted the bucket into Navi's waiting grasp, a little liquid spilling over onto the just cleaned boards as he did. Navi often got the worst of the jobs aboard the ship, whether scrubbing the deck or feeding the acts. He'd been a crewmember for a little over a year now. It was for a measly wage, but it was infinitely better than scrounging for scraps on the streets of Dorne.

With a huff, Navi scuttled over to the iron gate inlaid in the center of the deck. The bucket of chum hung low as he struggled to pull its weight with his tiny body. A heavy clunk sounded as he set it down and rolled his shoulders. Navi was no stranger to hard work. Before signing on to the crew, he'd made enough money to keep from starving by shucking oysters for a vendor on the docks. His hands were calloused, and muscles rippled along sinewy arms, though his frame was lanky and disproportionate. The boy felt he was fit for a life at sea.

Leaning down, he fumbled with the latch of the gate, and with all his strength, hauled it open and over its hinges. As Navi straightened, a massive blur of shimmering blue shot straight out of the tank and into the air. Water splashed onto the deck, and Navi fell back in a heap. Pain shot up his arm, and his eyes flew to the other figure now sprawled atop the deck.

Wet fins flopped furiously against the floor as if expecting to move as fast as in the sea. The most beautiful woman Navi had ever seen began scrambling away from the tank she'd just escaped from. Slender porcelain fingers clawed at the splintering wood, no doubt ripping the skin and drawing blood. Her silvery blue tail was dead weight in her escape, and it took all Dyvon's strength to push on.

"All hands on deck!" boots thundered on wood as five sailors rushed to the scene. "Don't let it get away!" Dyvon bucked and flailed to get to the edge of the ship. If she were lucky, she'd be able to haul herself over and return to the sea. Navi scrambled back from the scene as a feral hiss sounded from the mermaid. A man grabbed at her arm with a death grip, his fingers digging into the point of her skin beginning to throb: In a flash, her razor-sharp nails raked across his skin, and blood splattered in an arch across the crates and scattered rope. The sailor cried out, dropping her to grip the gushing wound on his arm. Another man lunged, his boot slamming into Dyvon's side. This time she screamed. Her tail shot out and knocked the man to the side with unbelievable force.

She pulled herself desperately towards the side. Just as her hand closed around the rail, her neck snapped back as inky hair was yanked hard by a sailor. In an instant, three men were grabbing at her, and no matter how hard she fought their grip, there were too many. Hissing and screeching, Dyvon was hauled back towards the murky tank and shoved back down. She surged back to the surface just as the bars slammed shut on her face.

Navi sat in shock, his eyes glued to the tank and the bucket of chum, now spilled across the deck in bloody chunks. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, and his eyes had grown to the size of saucers. A hand appeared in front of him, and he looked to find Jimmy with a sour expression on his face.

"Alright, Kid? That was a close one." Navi took his hand hesitantly and allowed himself to be hauled onto wobbly legs. "No more opening that grate, got it? Don't want that she-devil takin' a chunk out of ya'." Nodding numbly, Navi looked to find the sailor she'd ripped up with her claws being tended to by the ship's doctor. His arm was covered in deep ragged gashes and had it been his throat she'd gotten, there was no doubt in his mind that man would be dead. A chill ran down his spine. They'd stumbled onto something much more than a pretty display piece. Navi wasn't sure he liked the idea of sharing a ship with that thing. But when the mermaid had scrambled across the deck towards the water, Navi had seen her eyes. There was no malice or anger in them but pure fear and desperation. This was a terrified animal, a frightened woman, and one that would fight to the death to be set free.