Chapter 6
I close my eyes once again and I lean in.
She suddenly pulls back, “We shouldn’t Harry…”
“I—What, no…” my eyes fluttered open to see the ashamed, or disgusted I wasn’t sure, look on Louis’ face. She turned away to the side, not wanting to look at me. And that’s when I felt it.
Rejection. It was strong and heavy on my chest. It swelled throughout my body and I felt its effects on my face, burning my cheeks. I had just been rejected by her. Why? Why did she initiate this? Why did she want to stop? But I didn't ask these questions out loud. No. Instead I did the cowardly thing.
“I’m sorry.” I ran from the room and onto the deck. I felt nauseous and my breathing was still a bit labored and my face felt as if I was leaning into a fire. I nearly felt a layer of sweat breaking onto my skin and went to the rail to lean over and try to catch my breath. I closed my eyes and leaned heavily against the wooden banister, gripping it for dear life.
I let myself breath slowly for a few moments before realizing that we were minutes away from raiding another ship. My head snaps up to look at the ship. It was far away but I knew that soon enough we’d crush the thing, if the legends had any truth to them at least.
It seemed surreal. Just days ago I was pretending not to be fascinated with the aspect of being a pirate; not having a true home, not answering to anyone, being free, all of it. But now it was happening. This was a test for me. Testing if this is truly what I wanted, but if I failed I could die or worse, I’d want to go home knowing I wasn’t cut out for this.
I stood up with a final deep breath and turned back around. The crew was still running around, but I spotted Louis standing at the wheel staring straight at me. As much as I wanted to look away I couldn’t. I wanted to decipher the look in her eyes, was it sadness? Pity? Regret? And why would she feel any of those things?
“Harry! You look great!” Niall runs over to me, clad in all black—trousers, boots, blouse, and vest. Her face is also covered with black ash, in the design of a skull, the back contrasting with her pale skin and blonde hair. I smile and return the compliment before Liam comes over handing me a sword.
She explained how everything worked, Louis would start, she’d give a speech to scare the other crew a bit, then we’d get close enough for them to see us, but far enough for the illusion of our ghostliness to be sold, and we’d give them the choice to surrender or be sent to the depths of the ocean. I got chills when she said that.
“Liam, get the crew into position.” Louis called from the wheel. I willed myself not to look over at her and Niall must have noticed my change in demeanor because she gives me a small sympathetic smile and places a hand on my shoulder.
“Liam said we should stay port side, says she doesn’t want us to fight for our first attack.” I follow the pull she has on my arm and sigh. As nervous as I was, I almost wanted to fight, if I was going to go through with this, I’d want the full experience. But I would keep Niall company as she obviously didn’t want to fight.
“Alright, you lot, you know what to do.” Louis’ voice sounded out loud enough for the crew to fall quiet. She began humming a tune, a beautiful one and I couldn’t help but look up as soon as she sang the first note.
The song was unfamiliar, but entrancing the way Louis sang it. The question of whether she was human or angel rang in my mind as I watched her steer the ship closer to our target but sing flawlessly at the same time, singing like we weren’t about to raid a ship and possibly take lives.
Before I knew it, the entire crew was singing along with Louis, a beautiful harmony of all the men and women who must have been with Louis for decades to perfect this kind of chorus. I look around, noting Stan and Liam standing closest to Louis—and Louis, looking back at me, still singing.
I attempt to keep my gaze on her, but I feel embarrassed all over again. Instead I turn my attention back towards the ship that we’re approaching. We’re within hundreds of yards away but we’ve slowed to a stop, a few of the crewmembers letting up the sails. We’re far enough to keep the illusion going, but I know they see us. When I look over the shoulders of the crew, it seems the men of the other ship are frozen with fear. The few men that were moving were jumping overboard or dropping to their knees to pray. I assessed the reactions of each of the men, but one thing was evident.
They all knew what was to come. They knew what their fate would be within the next few minutes.
The crew stops singing and I hear Louis speak up, “Which of you is the captain of this ship?” her voice sounding a bit more low and rough.
A man slowly steps to the front of the crew, raising a hand shakily, “I- I am the c-c-captain.”
“Do you know who I am, captain? Who we all are?” I can hear the smile in her voice.
“Yes. You’re the crew of the Siren…” that’s all he states and he barely says it above a whisper.
“It seems you are not as brave as you were when stealing from those poor merchants.” Her voice is still rough, but her words come out smoothly.
“W- We have not stolen anything. The goods- they w-were left behind—”
“So you admit you took something that did not belong to you in the first place?” she cuts him off and the man looks terrified.
“You know of your fate captain,” she steps closer so he can see her a little better and a quiet gasp falls over the crew of the stray ship, they see her ghoul-like appearance, courtesy of the make up, and they must be able to tell she’s a woman as well.
She continues, “I will give you a choice then, comply willingly and hand over all you stole or,” she draws her sword, the slide of metal rings out against the cold air, “we will take it by force, and you know what happens if we have to do that.”
The captain nods without a second thought, “We will go willingly.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The process of getting beside the ship and getting a plank across to act as a bridge takes much shorter than expected, but if their speed of travel was any indication, the crew of the Siren worked fast. Niall and I watch as Louis and the crew set foot on the targeted ship, making the men line up without uttering a single word, just their stares were enough to scare the men into submission.
The men are made to stay towards the stern of the boat and are watched over by half the crew, while the other half and Louis go below deck to retrieve the stolen goods.
Niall and I were quiet the entire time, we were frozen to the spot, not in the fearful way those men were, but frozen with anticipation, curiosity, the way one regards the hunt of an animal on its prey. They come back up rather quickly, hauling four large crates above deck with Louis following them all. But she didn’t come back alone; in her arms is a young boy, no older than four years old. He looks sickly weak, thin, and Louis looks enraged, her blue eyes resembling a cobalt flame.
She hands the boy over to Liam before turning back to the captain with newfound anger. Before anyone can blink her arm is bending back and launching forward, her fist connecting with the man’s cheek. The whole crew flinches and the man falls to the ground, holding his cheek.
“How dare you take an innocent child!” her voice is shrill and loud, the total opposite of the low, calm voice she displayed just earlier.
“He- He wanted to come with us!” the captain tries to stand back up but Louis kicks him back down, her heel kicking down against his chest.
“He has been starved and mistreated, you disgusting filth.” She draws her sword and slices before anyone can stop her. The captain falls to the ground red staining the wooden deck.
“Tie them up so we can return the cargo.” Louis sounds drained. Stan nods his head towards the crewmembers and they begin to tie up the prisoners one by one. Louis turns towards Liam to reach for the boy again but then it happens. It all happens so quick.
A captured crewmember somehow breaks free from the group and charges at Louis.
“Louis!” I shriek. I’m running towards the plank, but she’s knocked overboard, the man following her down into the ocean. They splash into the water and resurface quickly, but they begin thrashing about, fighting despite the conditions.
“Louis!” Liam echoes. I can tell she wants to jump in but she’s still holding the child,
I immediately jump overboard, plunging into the icy cold water. I land a few feet from where the two are still struggling, the man’s hands around Louis’ neck trying to hold her underwater. She’s sputtering and fighting him but she’s obviously getting tired trying to swim and fight him off.
I quickly swim over to them, managing to swing at him, getting him in the eye. It temporarily stuns him and he lets go of Louis to try to fend me off. He tries to grab me around my neck but I dive underwater dodging his hold. But I feel a grip on my hair, yanking me above water then plunging me back under and in my attempt to breathe I gulp in a mouthful of water, I flail around, trying to loosen his grip on me and I can’t think clear enough to free myself.
The edges of my vision go black, my lungs are on fire, my limbs getting so weak, but I keep fighting for my life. There’s a muffled yelling above the surface before the grip on my hair loosens and I’m being pulled out of the water, and as soon as I am able to breathe everything goes black. All I can hear is Louis screaming my name, begging me to wake up, but I can’t answer her.Instead, I slip into the darkness.