"I'm curious, Ent, what exactly did you give my brother to save him?" Nalu stood at the helm, unable to stop her admiration for The Bountiful.
Shikes, it really was fast.
"I used my blood, Captain." Ent stood just to her right, having performed all her tasks promptly and effectively. "Sorian blood has a substance in it that allows us to breathe underwater. When given to land-dwellers, it helps to push the water out of the lungs. An extreme measure, I will admit, but your brother was near death. A moment longer under the waves and he would have passed into Kolas."
It was strange to hear people talk of Kolas when Nalu had technically been there, or at least, she'd been in the waiting area that led into Kolas. Sometimes she even forgot she had died, until she tried to sleep. Then the nightmares reminded her of how much the trials had scarred her.
"Well, thank you. Your sacrifice helped save my brother. That is something I—" Nalu caught herself. Something she couldn't repay? Ent had killed her father. Indirectly or not, she'd been involved. They weren't even close to being even.
"You are welcome," Ent said simply. "I must see to Granite now. He knows so little of the terminology used at sea." The sorian walked briskly away, and Nalu wondered if she had actually seen sadness in Ent's eyes. No, it was probably just her imagination.
"Hey there, Lulu." Makani walked slowly up the steps towards her. "We've been at sea for twenty hours now. How does it feel to be Captain?" He leaned against the railing, trying to catch his breath.
Her heart twisted cruelly inside of her. He looked so frail and helpless. How close had he come to dying? "You really should rest, Makky. We don't need any navigational help yet. Seriously, I'm ordering you to rest. Take my room."
He moved to obey her and then stopped. "I understand now, I think."
"What?" Nalu glanced over at him, brows furrowed. What was he talking about? And why did it fill her with dread?
"I think I understand your fear of death. I was so close and..." he cleared his throat. "It's just not pleasant. So yes, I now understand--even just a small part--of what you endured standing up to Kane and his crew. You are so brave, Nalu."
Why were tears in her eyes? Nalu brushed them angrily away. She was a captain now and couldn't afford to show weakness to the crew, even her brother. How did he know she feared death? Even as she danced with it with every reckless act she made. "Thank you, Makky. I appreciate it."
He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "It's no problem. Really. Just know I support you and care about you." The response felt forced, and Nalu wondered if there was still hidden anger towards her.
"Thanks, but seriously, go rest!" She shooed him away playfully.
"Whatever." He tried to crack a smile but it never came close to reaching his eyes. As he retreated, her eyes remained fastened on him, trying to drown the guilt that started to fill her. What was her problem? She was acting far too emotional. Maybe she could ask Ent for some practical tips for suppressing such feelings.
Clearing her mind, she forced herself to focus on sailing. She was trying to find a siren. That was the mission, the goal, the only thing she needed to think about. What would her mother be like? Were those memories of achingly beautiful women with secret smiles and glowing hair accurate? The eyes that held so much allure that you wanted to be swallowed up in their gaze.
No. Nalu shook her head with a quiet chuckle, fists clenched tightly around the wheel.
She was going to disappoint her. All of the enchanting memories were false, created by a broken and hurting child who had always known the truth but had tricked herself into believing otherwise. Now all she had was a horrific nightmare dressed up as a pretty, innocent daydream.
Boom.
The thundering sound made Nalu flinch, her eyes tearing along the horizon, searching for the source of the cannon fire. What in all of Kolas was going on? There, to the port side.
A ship.
Dread sank in her stomach as bile rose up her throat. Oh, shikes, this was bad. Really bad. "Ent!" she screamed, returning her focus to The Bountiful. "I need you to get Makani. He needs to steer this blasted ship." The sorian rose immediately from where she had been scrubbing and darted inside.
"Granite, by Deteine's wisdom, where are you?!" His form was a blue blur in the crow's nest. "Report! How did you not see that shiking ship following us?!" She was angry, oh, she was downright furious.
"There's a ship?" His head peeked out from over the edge. "Oh wait, I see it. There's a ship approaching, Captain!"
Oh, she was definitely going to kill him. Yep, he was dead. "Curse you, Granite!" she roared, leaving the helm to find Zabwei. He was a weapons expert, so he could man the cannons. "Zabwei! Where in Kolas are you?"
The zep stumbled out of the galley, giggling. "Aye, what do ye be needin' there, Cap'n?" He slumped against the mast, the giggle turning into a booming laugh.
He was drunk. Of course. At least he wasn't lost to elixir. Was that really the silver lining in this situation? Oh shikes, they were so incredibly dead. "I need an explosive, Zabwei. Something big."
He blinked his eyes slowly, processing the question. As she waited, more cannonballs whistled around them.
"Ye want somethin' that booms? I can give ye that. Just give me a sec." He rummaged through the objects fastened to his body before pulling a small bottle free. "Just throw this at whatever ye be tryin' to explode. Works mighty fast."
Nalu didn't even want to ask why he was carrying such a deadly thing on his person, so she snatched it carefully from his grasp. "Thanks."
"Captain." She turned to see Ent coming back from her quarters empty-handed.
"Where's Makani?" she demanded, knowing they were running out of time to form a plan.
"I'm sorry, but he's so weak I can barely get him to open his eyes. I could carry him out, but he won't be able to respond. He's not doing well." Ent kept her face neutral, but Nalu could see the tenseness of her muscles--she was worried about the attack too. At least there was someone.
"That's fine." Everything was not fine. Granite was incompetent, Zabwei was indisposed, and Makani was an invalid. That left Ent and herself. Glancing down at the explosive in her hand, an idea came to her. It was incredibly stupid and Makani would hate it, but she couldn't defend the ship all on her own. And she most certainly wasn't letting this ship be destroyed.
"Take control of the ship. Get as far away as you can on your own, and then anchor if possible. I have an idea."
Ent nodded. "Of course, Captain, but what are you planning?"
Nalu looked out at the ship that was following them and grinned, the excitement of danger filling her with adrenaline. "Something very, very stupid."
***
Tying the explosive securely around her waist, Nalu stood on the ship's railing, looking down into the water below. Their attackers were closing in, which shouldn't have been possible with their own ship being the fastest ever built, but considering how inept her crew was, it made sense.
"I don't see how this has any chance of success, but if this is what you are set on, Captain, I shall assist in any way." Ent stood at the helm, the wheel grasped confidently in her hands. Without her, this whole operation would have fallen apart way sooner, Nalu realized.
"Trust me, it will work. Just remember what I told you." Taking a deep breath, Nalu dove into the sea, every worry and doubt vanishing. It was almost frustrating how good the water could feel because she had to force herself to swim towards the other ship and to not abandon her crew for the call of the sea.
Considering the fact that she hadn't already blown up, she assumed the bomb was fine. Things were about to get interesting if it wasn't. Kicking her legs out behind her, the water wrapped around her, pushing her forward faster than should have been possible. Every breath further solidified her confidence.
They had no idea what was about to hit them.
The ship loomed closer above her, its shadow ominous. Shikes, it was huge. If it reached The Bountiful, they'd be blown to bits in seconds. But she wasn't going to let that happen.
As the ship passed over her, she grabbed onto a trailing piece of rope hastily secured to the side of the vessel. Taking a deep breath, she lunged upwards, climbing hand-over-hand until she reached the railing. Her muscles barely quivered, invigorated by the sea.
Hopping over, she whipped out her sword, her hair a sopping mess about her shoulders and her eyes most definitely black, given that everyone onboard was varying shades of red, purple, and yellow.
"It's the siren," a human shouted, withdrawing his own sword. "Sir, what is your command?"
As her vision cleared, Nalu noticed the portly man standing at the helm, his suit freshly pressed. Disgust boiled up inside her, a sneer etching itself onto her features.
The tophat from the pub.
So he was the one who had chased her down, no doubt still smarting from his loss. "Aye, tophat," she called gaily, lifting her sword into the air. "Now why are you chasing my crew? It's honestly rather rude, if you ask me."
He sniffed. "There is no fairness with your kind, siren. You'd just as likely gut us all in our sleep and steal our souls. Now, surrender peacefully and I'll allow your crew to be taken as galley slaves aboard mine--no death needed." His eyes glittered as he leaned against the rail, gaze solely fixed on her. "Except yours. There's a reward going around for the one who manages to kill the blue-haired bandit."
Nalu swore silently to herself. Why oh why had she gone and revealed she was a siren to this baseborn buffoon? Makani was right, she needed to keep her mouth shut sometimes. But who wanted her dead? She couldn't have angered that many people...
"Stop wasting my time, siren! Surrender peacefully," he pulled out a small pistol and cocked it, "or else." It was almost laughable that he even had a weapon on him. How would he manage to get his stubby fingers to pull the trigger anyway? That she'd love to see.
Risking a quick glance back, she saw The Bountiful still forging on ahead. Good. She didn't know how big of a boom this was about to cause and she was not planning on dying in vain. Oh shikes, this was really happening. She was going to die again. Was she sure she'd come back? Maybe Dethana had lied. No, there was no time for regrets. Pulling out the bottle, she flashed a grin at the tophat.
"I am truly sorry, but I have no idea who the blue-haired bandit is. I'm Rhonda, the green-haired goblin. Obviously." She raised her arm, and with a startled look of panic, the tophat realized just a second too late what was happening.
As the bottle broke against the deck of the ship, fiery blue flames licked up the air around it, turning everything into a blazing sphere within seconds. Everything was pain, heat, and the fact that she had forgotten how unpleasant dying could be.