Sacrifices of the Siren [Sirens and Sailors 6] (Siren Publishing Allure) (19 page)

Blandon smiled. “It shouldn’t be too long. Let’s get over this next hurdle while we’re waiting for the authorities.”

Melantho felt a knot in her stomach as she suddenly remembered the old woman’s words. “I have to have him back,” she whispered as tears pricked the edges of her eyes.

“You will,” he promised, kissing her on the forehead. “Now get some rest. I’ll see you after lunch.”

* * * *

Blandon bumped into Dr. Jay in the corridor on his way to the canteen. The doctor looked extremely chirpy, and put an arm around the young sailor’s shoulder. Blandon immediately felt a little more hopeful.

“Farris is on his way and he’s brought Ademia,” the doctor beamed. He lived in a ménage relationship with Farris and Ademia, and it was clear he loved the bones of the pretty girl.

“That’s brilliant. Mel will be so pleased to see her,” Blandon grinned.

“They’re meeting us in the canteen in a few minutes.” The doctor nodded.

It was a little early for lunch, so it was quite quiet in the hospital’s canteen. Blandon and Dr. Jay took some coffee and found a large table. They didn’t have to wait long before the far doors burst open and in walked three large men and a pretty, curvaceous blonde-haired girl. Dr. Jay was on his feet in an instant and ran over excitedly to them. He lifted his girl in the air and spun her around, laughing and kissing her. She had a musical laugh and was clearly as excited as he was. Farris, Rechavia, and Aitan joined Blandon at the table, shaking hands and patting each other on the back.

“How’s Mel?” Ademia asked once they had all sat down and ordered their food.

“She’s been doing really well,” Dr. Jay replied.

“Yes, she’s much better than before,” Blandon agreed, taking a swig of his coffee. “I just hope this business with Hermandine doesn’t make her poorly again.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Ademia promised, smiling at him assuredly. “I’m going to stay with her and go and see her little boy—I can’t wait! We’ll make plans for when we get him home. It’s going to be wonderful having a child on the island!”

Blandon frowned. “But what about…?”

“We’ll see what Poseidon’s got to say about that, shall we?” Rechavia’s deep voice sounded determined as he grinned.

“Poseidon?” Blandon gasped.

“Yep. Let’s hear it from the horse’s mouth,” Aitan added. “If he won’t let Mel have her baby on Refrainia he’d better have a damn good reason.”

“We’ve got a good idea where he is, too. Some of the sailors who stopped off at the island the other week reckoned they’d seen him fishing down south. We’ll find him.” Rechavia’s determination was reassuring, and Blandon felt a hot swell of excitement in his belly.

“We’re setting off in the morning if you want to come?” Farris offered with a grin.

“Do I? What about Mel, though?” Blandon frowned.

“Don’t worry, I’m staying to look after her—with Jay of course,” Ademia chirped up cheerfully. “We’ve got so much to talk about, she won’t have time to get bored waiting for you guys to get back.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all sorted,” Blandon said, giggling. A feeling of relief flowed through his body. He looked around the table at all of his friends, who were rallying around in his hour of need.
I love these guys!

“We have,” Dr. Jay assured him with a pat on the shoulder.

They enjoyed their meal, laughing raucously at the antics back on the island, and fuming over Hermandine’s actions. Even Dr. Jay seemed more relaxed now that Ademia and Farris were with him. Blandon felt like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“Can we go and see Mel now?” Ademia jumped up as soon as they had all finished eating.

The men giggled and made their way to the little side room. Melantho’s face was a picture when she saw her best friend walk in the door, along with all her pals. Ademia had brought Refrainian flowers and was clearly over the moon at the news about the engagement. Her enthusiasm buoyed Melantho terrifically.

“Is this him?” Ademia gushed at the photos on the nightstand.

“Yes. This is Owen,” Melantho said proudly, and proceeded to tell them all about him and what he could write, draw, and say.

Blandon’s heart swelled as he spent the afternoon watching her happily describing her little boy.

* * * *

Blandon had to wake his fiancée to say good-bye the next morning. They had planned to leave as soon as dawn began to break, as they weren’t sure how far they would have to travel.

“I love you,” she whispered as they pulled away slowly from a lingering kiss.

“I love you too,” he promised. “Give Owen a hug from me when you see him.” They enjoyed another quick kiss before Dr. Jay appeared in the doorway. “They’re waiting,” he told Blandon quietly.

“Take care of my fiancée,” Blandon whispered to the doctor as they said good-bye. He made his way down to the entrance where Farris was waiting for him. “Ademia’s gone back to sleep. She’s exhausted after last night.” He winked at Blandon who rolled his eyes. It was the first time Ademia had had both of her men to herself in a while and they were obviously making up for lost time. “She’ll be over to stay with Mel soon.”

“She’ll love that! Seeing you all yesterday was a real tonic,” Blandon told him as they made their way to the harbor. It was still quite dark and there was a chill in the air.

“Ademia’s a tonic for anyone,” Farris said with a snigger. “She’s been so looking forward to seeing her again. They’re gonna have a great time making plans. It’s probably a good thing we won’t be around.”

They were laughing as they arrived at the port and climbed aboard
The
Refrainian.

“Weather conditions look good so we shouldn’t have any problems,” Rechavia called over with a grin as they set sail. Aitan had already visited the café just as they opened up and had bought a stack of hot muffins, rolls, and pancakes. They all tucked in eagerly as they left Eastland behind them and headed south.

* * * *

A little after midday the sailors became aware of an eerie stillness in the air. The water, which had been choppy and turbulent for the past hour or two, had become calm and quiet. A strange force seemed to entice them all up onto the deck where Aitan was at the helm. In silence they all stared out to sea. There was nothing but the dark green ocean all around them. There was no land in sight, no islands, not even fish.

Blandon held his breath. He was sure everyone was feeling the same as him. A suffocating cloud of dread and anticipation hung low over them. They searched the sea in silence. Something was out there. Something was coming for them. Blandon’s thoughts immediately turned to his own mortality. Melantho and Owen were waiting for him, depending on him. He straightened his back and held his head high. He had to survive this for their sake. His big green eyes scanned the ocean for any sign of life. Any sign of…
anything
.

Rechavia suddenly motioned toward the starboard bow and they all slowly crept over to see what had alerted him. The calmness of the water was disturbed just a short way from the boat. In the midst of the smooth ripples something was a stirring. Suddenly a huge head appeared, with a long, scaly neck. Blandon jumped back in terror as its eyes burned into the sailors. It looked a little like a dragon, but had two long horns projecting from just above its inner eyes. Its claws reared next, with merciless sharp talons. Its body rose majestically from the depth of the ocean. It was a grayish-green color, with skin like leather and evil in its eyes. Murderous spikes traced a line from his head down his magnificent neck and onto its back. With a thunderous whoosh of waves its massive wings appeared, bright green and almost translucent. They were beautiful but deadly.

Blandon felt a knot of fear inside him and his whole body shook as he gripped the hull of the ship determinedly. He watched the others step back a pace, all mesmerized by the powerful beast. Its chest swole to mammoth proportions as it heaved in a long breath. There was a deafening roar as it stretched open its cavernous mouth and its gargantuan head swept through the air, towering over the boat, jaws wide and talons primed. Blandon covered his ears as best he could. He could smell its putrid breath and see its gigantic needle-like teeth as it aired its objection to their intrusion. A long gray tongue lolled out of its mouth, dripping thick saliva into the well of the ship. Slowly it lifted its head again, pulling back as if preparing to attack.

Every sailor now had his hand on his knife, and Aitan was frantically trying to steer them away from its grasp. The creature owned the sea and there was no escape. It easily swiped at the vessel with its humungous, thick tail, sending it into a terrifying spin. The sailors were thrown around like ants into the ship’s well, as the capacious creature towered menacingly over them. Rechavia grabbed a telescopic boat hook which was attached to the starboard hull and yelled at Farris to fetch the one from the port.

“It’s a drakon!” Aitan yelled over to them. “Watch out for its venom!”

Being a keen fisherman, Aitan knew all about the sea and its creatures—even a lot of the so-called mythical ones.

The huge monster swiped a savage claw into the well of the boat. The speed of its movement caused the air around Blandon to sweep him further down the side of the ship. It felt like he had been caught up in the vortex of a whirlwind, and he clung to the side rail for dear life. The sharp talons narrowly missed him as he squeezed himself into the hull. It roared wildly with evident frustration. The vociferous clamor of its wrath encompassed the ship like a thick cloak of terror.

As it leaned back again, Rechavia and Farris got into position with the boat hooks, now extended to their fullest. The creature leaned into the boat again as the courageous sailors jabbed hard with their hooks. A fearful bay filled the air and a dark liquid flooded from its punctured torso.

“Aim for the heart—if it’s got one!” Rechavia cried, presumably recalling his encounter with the Taras, another hideous sea creature which he had fought on his previous voyage to find the sea-god.

Farris pulled back on his hook, causing a torrent of its thick blood to shower over the wavering ship. With another hard thrust he stabbed into its flesh once more, eliciting a feral howl as it threw its head backward, blood gushing down its scales and into the dark water below. As its whole body leaned back Rechavia felt the pole slip through his blood-soaked fingers. The drakon reared ferociously with the metal pole still protruding from its abdomen. Its eyes were aflame with rage and its claws reached over to pull the offending item from its skin. The talons were too long, however, and prevented its grip. With another treacherous roar it leaned back over the ship, flailing its manus wildly at the sailors.

Blandon’s heart pounded hard against his ribs as he stood on the bench which ran the perimeter of the well and reached up, grabbing hold of the pole as the creature bore down. Aitan abandoned the wheel and suddenly appeared right behind him pulling his body backward as the drakon swung its own heaving body away from the ship. As the two sailors fell into a pool of rancid saliva in the bottom of the ship the pole was forced from the monster’s body, resulting in an agonizing howl and another deluge of its blood into the inky black sea.

Blandon and Aitan scrambled back to their feet, sliding in the putrid puddle, and between them they positioned the pole ready for the dying creature’s next onslaught.

“Aim high!” Aitan yelled as Rechavia took hold of the end of Farris’s pole.

The huge vessel swayed violently as the enormous creature ruled the waves, but soon enough it was back for more punishment.

“Now!” Farris roared as the horrific drakon leaned over them. Blandon and Aitan stabbed it just where they assumed would be its heart. At the same time a hideous bellow escaped its throat and as it heaved back one last time, Farris and Rechavia abandoned their position, swiped the rod sideways and just as its head returned they whacked it across the jaw, sending an effusion of calamitous venom cascading away from the ship and into the sea. Its wings caused a gale to violently rock the vessel laterally, and Aitan ran back to the helm, fighting for control of the wheel as the massive creature hurled sideways into the deep dark waves. A mournful cry haunted the air and Aitan accelerated as fast as he could to put some distance between the ship and the monster as it sank deeper into the ocean, almost taking them in its wake.

All four sailors were panting heavily as they sailed away from the raging waters and the black mass which floated heavily on the dark waves like a huge oil slick.

“That was fucking close,” Rechavia managed at last. He and Farris were slumped on the benches at the stern while Blandon had fallen back onto the one which lined the port side of the hull. “Everything all right up there, Aitan?”

Aitan turned back, nodding exhaustedly “Fine,” he assured them with a weak grin. He continued to speed up, anxious to get back into calmer—hopefully safer—waters.

As soon as he regained his breath, Blandon stood and grabbed a mop. He was eager to get the sticky saliva out of the well of the boat before it caused any more accidents. The stench made him heave, and he was grateful for the soothing breeze which washed over him as he dipped the mop into the sea. He had removed his shirt, but he could still smell it on his shorts.

“I need to have a dip as soon as we can stop,” he told Aitan once the ship was clean again.