Chapter 4

The man before me squirmed in his seat as I narrowed my gaze on the worn leather bag with coins.

"You insult me if you believe I will hunt down a leviathan for that amount of coin," I scoffed, sliding that bag back toward him.

Everyone in the dimly lit tavern seemed to hold their breath as my words hung in the air. The clanking of tankards stopped and the distant chatter fell into a hushed murmur, all attention now focused on the uneasy exchange between the man and me.

He nervously licked his lips, realizing that my services didn't come cheap. "Please, it's all I have. No ship has been able to get to Andros without that damned monster attacking it. It's costing me and several men our livelihoods." He slammed the tankard of ale down on the table, sloshing the golden liquid over the edges.

I pushed away from the table, the chair legs scraping across the shabby wooden floor. "Tell your sob story to someone who cares. My price is double that."

The man stood abruptly, gripping the bag between whitened knuckles, and my hand instinctively went to the hilt of my sword. He quickly realized his error and slowly sat back down. "I'll be able to pay you the rest once I can get my merchant ship to Andros." His hands shook as he desperately pushed the satchel back toward me.

A fight broke out in the corner of the tavern. Hoots and hollers followed shortly after as my attention was pulled from the pitiful man before me. Two men were brawling in the center of a makeshift circle of onlookers. I watched in fascination for a few seconds, only to realize it was one of my crew members, Flynt. Sprays of stale-smelling alcohol sprinkled across my face as the surrounding men became increasingly unruly while they cheered on the fight.

I glanced back at the man sitting at my table, who had gone stark white with fear. His clothing was a patchwork of tattered garments stitched together, but he was clean and seemed well-fed. Based on his meager attire, I had my doubts about getting the rest of my money. His trembling hands clutched the frayed satchel. Despite the weariness in his clothes, a glint of resilience lingered in his eyes, a spark that refused to be extinguished by the shadows of his circumstances.

Snatching the bag from the table, I shoved it into my coat pocket. "Be gone with you," I said, stepping toward the fight.

"Does that mean you are taking the job?" His voice trembled as I turned back around.

I met his gaze with steely determination. "I expect the rest of my money the next time I am in port."

"How will I know when you have re-returned?" he stuttered.

"You'll know," I replied cryptically, turning my attention back to the brawl.

The instant the fistfight turned deadly, blood drummed in my ears. I pressed closer to the show as the man who was losing to Flynt pulled out a dagger. He dove for Flynt to rip him from stem to stern. His hand came crashing down, but I caught his arm in midair.

As I squeezed his wrist without mercy, the man holding the knife yelped in pain, went down on his knees, and dropped the blade he had clutched between his whitened knuckles.

The dim light flickered over the tense faces of the onlookers, their eyes shifting between me and the man on his knees. The man struggled against my grip, his eyes widening with a mixture of surprise and fear. Caught off guard, Flynt took a step back, his gaze darting between the dagger and the unexpected interference.

I stared down at the miscreant before me. "We may be pirates, but we do uphold some decorum in our fights, and it appears to me that you tried to win by cheating." A sudden hush enveloped the tavern, a collective gasp lingering in the air as I held the assailant's wrist in a viselike grip.

"Please," the man begged as I further twisted his wrist. The snapping of bones and the man's cries rang in my ears.

"Have some decency. Don't beg. Die like a man." I struck out at the man and slit his throat with my cutlass. His body fell and struck the floor with a loud thud. "Clean up this mess," I thundered and retreated back into the shadows.

Two men rushed forward and dragged the body outside while everyone else continued on as if a man had not just been slain before their eyes. Once back at my table, I noticed a spindly woman attempting to press her way through the dispersing crowd.

I usually wouldn't pay anyone like her any attention, but something about her sparked my curiosity. The haggard woman navigated through the remaining men with an air of determination. Her worn clothes suggested a life of hardship, but something about the unusual glow of her otherwise wrinkly skin held my attention.

As she reached my table, she cast a sneaky glance around before leaning in, her voice barely above a whisper. "I wish to parlay with your captain," she said plainly. "I have a proposition for him."

My eyes rose to meet hers over the tankard of ale at my lips. With a quick jerk of my head, I motioned for her to be removed from my sight. I had no patience for any more begging or pleading this night.

"Wait!" she called as one of my men tried to shove her toward the door. "At least hear my proposition. You won't be sorry!" she screamed as she hopelessly leaned all her meager body weight against a man who was double her size.

With a frustrated huff, I sat my cup back on the wobbly table. "Very well, Cael. Let her pass."

She rushed forward and plopped down in the chair across from me. My eyebrow shot up at her audacity.

"I have a job for you—" she started, but I immediately cut her off.

"I don't take jobs from sea witches." I waited to see if she would confirm or deny my suspicion.

Her eyes gleamed with a mixture of mischief and frustration. "How could you possibly know that I am a sea witch?" She glanced down at her tattered clothes as if to ensure her disguise was still in place.

I regarded her with skepticism, surprised that she so readily admitted to me what she was. My fingers drummed rhythmically on the table as I attempted to control my anger. The reputation of sea witches was rife with deceit and treachery, their motives often as murky as the depths they hailed from. But a flicker of curiosity danced within me, urging me to hear her out. "I haven't survived this long by being naive. I know more about your world than you could possibly imagine." An evil smirk pulled on my lips, and she sat back in the chair, completely flabbergasted.

"I'll pay you well," she insisted.

"I don't want your money." I motioned for Cael to step forward to throw her out.

"Wait! I don't offer money!" With swift hands, she reached into a bag made of seaweed and pulled out a glowing orb filled halfway with sparkling sea water.

My eyes latched onto her offering, and I held up my hand, stopping Cael. "You offer me a trinket?" I growled.

"This is no trinket. Take a closer look, pirate." She shoved the magical bubble before me, and I peered closer. A victorious smile brushed her lips when my eyes widened with wonder. She knew she had ensnared my attention.

"The Wraith." She supplied the answer to the question burning on the tip of my tongue. "They say the hull was carved from the bones of the leviathan, making it impenetrable to Dark Water." She ran her fingers lovingly along the smooth surface of the bubble, as if caressing a cherished relic.

"Dark Water is a myth," I scoffed, attempting to quell the unease that crept into my thoughts.

A wicked smile twisted the corners of her lips. "Oh, it's real, and it's coming."

I leaned back into my chair and crossed my arms over my chest as she continued.

"Think about it. You will be the only human capable of sailing the Seven Seas once Dark Water takes over." She let a cackle slip from her lips and placed her hand over her mouth to stop it. "Think of the power. If you do this little job for me, I will release the Wraith from my enchanted bubble, restore it to scale, and it will be yours."

Something akin to excitement drummed in my veins as I leaned forward. "What's the job?"

"Nothing a grand hunter like you couldn't handle in his sleep. I just want you to kill a siren," she said as innocently as possible.

"That's it? Just kill a siren, and you will give me this legendary ship? I'm not buying it," I answered while sipping my ale. If she thought to pull one over on me, she had another thing coming.

"Fine, she may be the Princess of Aquarius…"

I set my tankard back on the table.

"And I want you to take her to Medusa…"

For a moment, shock rippled through me, a jolt that I tried to conceal. My eyes widened before I could regain control, and I took a steadying breath, attempting to cloak my surprise with a mask of indifference.

"And I believe she is the only being who could steal Medusa's locket. I want you to take her to Medusa, let her get the locket, steal the locket from her, kill her, and then bring the locket to me." She smiled as if she hadn"t just requested that my crew and I accept a suicide mission.

I threw my head back and laughed. The rich rumble echoed throughout the tavern, drawing prying eyes in our direction. I reached across the table, picked up the bubble, and held it closer to my face. I marveled at the stunning ship gliding over the entrapped waves within the iridescent sphere.

"An illusion." I chuckled, skepticism lingering in my eyes. "You'll need more than pretty tricks to sway me."

The sea witch's expression remained composed, though a glint of frustration flickered in her eyes. "Appearances can be deceiving, but the power of this ship is very real. Take the offer or leave it, but time is not on your side."

The noise in the tavern gradually subsided, leaving a charged atmosphere in its wake. I leaned back in my chair, the tankard of ale now forgotten. I was known for my brash decisions and could not deny that her offer was more than tempting, no matter how outlandish the job seemed.

"You have a deal, witch," I said, placing the bubble on the table before her. She collected it and shoved it back in her bag. "But I warn you…if you even think to double-cross me, I will hunt you down, decapitate you, and hang your head on the bow of my ship for all to see." I held out my hand, intending for her to shake it.

The sea witch studied my outstretched hand for a moment, her calculating gaze meeting mine. After a tense pause, she extended her hand, a sly smile playing on her lips.

"Deal," she replied, the echo of our pact settling in the air like a deep-sea current.

As our hands clasped in a shaky alliance, the atmosphere in the tavern shifted. Having witnessed the exchange, the onlookers returned to their drinks and conversations, oblivious to the agreement unfolding between us.

She rose to leave, but I stopped her. "How will I find this princess?" I inquired, curiosity lining my tone.

"Don't worry, Captain. When you see her, you will know. You have never seen anything that looks quite like her, and besides…" She stepped closer to me. "She is on her way to you as we speak."