28. Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Dominick

“ D o not wake him; he needs rest. I am first mate. What’s the problem?” Sands asked.

“There is something stuck to the side of the ship. It's slowing us down.”

“Are you sure?” Sands asked.

“Yes–you see, there are tentacles on the hull.”

“An octopus–harmless,” Sands said with a grunt.

“You don't understand, this is a giant octopus.”

I opened my eyes and sat up with a start.

“Rest–” I turned to see Peter standing beside me.

Peter? Why is he not below the ship, locked up?

“What happened?”

“You don't remember being bitten by a shark last night?” he asked with wide eyes. I looked at my arm, which did not hurt in the slightest; however, it was bandaged.

“Why are you here?”

“I am your brother; I wanted to make sure you didn’t die. Meria released me so I could see you. I like her,” he said with raised brows.

“I am alive; you can go,” I said with a wave.

Sands walked to us with a smile. “Peter has been very helpful. He swore not to cause a mutiny. Are you feeling better?” he asked.

“Where is Meria?" I asked, starting to get out of bed, but Peter put a hand on my chest to stop me.

“She said you need to rest for most of the day, today, to restore your blood or something. You lost a ton of blood. It was a heck of a time cleaning it off the deck.”

“Where is she?” I was confused.

“You like her,” Sands wiggled his eyebrows at me.

“Shut it, Sands, not now. What is this thing about a giant octopus?”

“I will tell you in a minute, but for now, you should know that last night you were saying the sweetest things to Meria–that she was beautiful–that you wanted her to stay with you forever,” Sands said, clasping his hands to his chest as if he were a child, excited for a sweet.

I grunted, finally moving from the bed. I felt a bit light-headed, but other than that, I was fine. I noticed that I was still only wearing pants, and I quickly went to my closet to change.

“Please do not take those off with me here!”

I turned as I was about to slip off my pants to see Meria sitting in the chair at my desk.

“Are you well?” I asked, as she looked very tired. Her beauty was still evident, but her eyes seemed wilted.

“I am fine as long as you do not take your clothes off. I can only handle so much,” she said with a frown, pulling a blanket up from her lap to cover half of her face.

“You let Peter out?”

“He’s your brother, and I thought he should be allowed to see you after such an injury. He was worried about you, and as Sands said, he promised not to take the ship’s command from you.”

I turned to Peter. “If you give me any hint that you are planning anything–”

Peter raised his hands. “I don’t care who captains this ship, truly, I only want to rescue my friend. You let me do that, and we will have no problems.”

I sighed and nodded, not sure what else to say to that. I was outnumbered. I turned back to Meria as she stood up. She was still wearing the same slip of a dress from the night before. I watched as she slowly made her way over to where Sands, Peter, and I stood. She almost fell over, but I moved to catch her.

“Sorry, I am still a little tired, it seems,” she said with an embarrassed smile.

“Go, lay down; the bed is free.”

“Yes, sir,” she said with a chuckle. I grabbed my clothes and briskly walked out of the door with Peter at my heels.

“You need to rest, Dom,” Peter said.

“Dom.” That sent a pain through my chest. I wasn't sure if I liked it, but it did something to me.

“No, it seems there is a giant octopus trying to eat the ship. I am needed; plus, my arm feels fine,” I said.

“Hard to believe. I wonder if you might have lost it. I am prepared with options to replace it, should that be required,” Peter offered.

“Replace what?” I asked.

“Well, your hand, of course–if you’ve lost it.”

“Nonsense,” I grunted as I entered the smaller room that Meria had used. Peter, of course, remained on the other side of the door, still talking to me as I dressed. It reminded me of the time when he had wobbled down the hallways in the castle after me with his toothless grin and the way he called me “Dom” because he could not pronounce my full name.

“I was thinking, you could attach a sword to it.” There was a pause. "Or a fake hand–made out of wood. I am sure someone could craft something handsome enough for you. We could commission an artist to carve little ships and waves onto it, make it personal.”

“I am not losing my hand,” I grunted. He was worse than Sands.

“I also thought about a hook–quite fitting for a pirate. You could hook all who get in your way–slice them right through if it is sharp enough.”

I opened the door, and Peter stopped.

“Are you done? I have things to do, Prince ,” I said.

“Sure, Crown Prince , but you like the hook idea, don't you?”

“I am not playing this game, Peter,” I said, walking down the hall.

“It is not a game. I mean, it is an important thing to think of. I mean, you should be prepared. If I lost a leg, of course, I would commission a nice pegleg–”

“Captain!” Sands called, and I walked away from Peter and some of the crew.

“What is happening?” I asked as I reached Sands, Peter following behind me.

“There seems to be a rather large octopus attached to the ship, Nick. It is slowing us down.”

I walked over to the side of the ship and looked out. The sea was misted, and I could not see far in front of us. I had read about the terrors that kept the Misted Seas safe from humans– the monsters and creatures who only had one purpose: hunt and kill. From what I had learned, they simply waited for prey to pass by. It would be hard to release the suction of the tentacles and to remove it from the ship. Small creatures attached themselves all the time. I moved back, and a large purple appendage reached out, nearly hitting me in the head. Some of the mist parted enough to see that, indeed, it was a gigantic octopus. Its tentacles were very wide, and I was sure it would have no problem wrapping around a human body and pulling it to a watery grave. I moved back away and went around to all sides of the ship. It seemed that it had us entirely in its grasp.

“What are we going to do?” Peter asked, running up to me as I tried to move the wheel and realizing it was stuck. If we did not remove that octopus soon, our ship would crash on the isle that was, according to the maps, just a few hundred feet from us.

Meria , I thought as I looked out into the clouded fog. She was from the sea. Perhaps, she would know what to do.

“Keep the men busy. Do not provoke the creature. Give me some time to think of a plan. Have the men keep quiet, and away from the railing,” I said to Sands and Peter, who had come up beside me. Sands did not look at all fearful–typical for him.

“Will do, but for the record, I do think a hook would be mighty fine if your arm doesn't make it,” Sands started up.

“Really, right now?” I said to Sands as he chuckled, turning to Peter.

“See, it was a good idea,” Peter said, folding his arms.

“There is a giant octopus pulling our ship into the sea! Get to work; we can make jokes later,” I grunted and turned my back to them.

“Yes, captain,” Sands said. I walked quickly to my cabin, grateful that Peter was no longer following me. I entered, closing the door quickly behind me. Meria was laying in my bed, her light blond-pink hair, spilling wildly about my pillow. She looked so peaceful–so beautiful.

“Meria?” I asked delicately. Her eyes fluttered open. I wished that I did not have to wake her.

“Yes?” she asked, opening her eyes fully and focusing on me.

“I need your help. I am so sorry,” I said.

“What is it?” she asked.

“There is a gigantic octopus stuck to the entire bottom and all sides of the ship–”

“So the legends are true; she is real.”

“She?”

“The giant Octopus, we call her Kaia . She protects the isles beyond Marren from humans.”

“Can you–Do you know–Can you speak with her or something?” I asked, feeling foolish as I spoke.

“They don't speak, but I can help.”

“How can you help?”

“I cannot explain it, exactly; however, the crew will discover that I am a mermaid, as I need to go into the water–”

“No–no, there is no way you are getting into the water with that thing.”

“Dominick, I have to.”

“No–there could still be sharks; we can find another way.”

“Sounds as if there is only an octopus. This is why I am here, isn't it? So I can get you safely to the Mirror Sea?” she asked with a smile.

“Meria–”

“If Kaia is here, the sharks are long gone; she could eat them easily,” she said.

“Even still–what if it wraps one of those arms around you?”

“Kaia does not like humans ; mermaids are of no interest to her.”

“How do you know? What if–” I could not let her go. She had already saved me twice. I owed her so much.

She got out of bed, a little wobbly.

“You need rest.”

“If it's Kaia, we don't have much time,” she said, moving to the door. “Prepare your men for a mermaid among them.” I followed her out the door. As much as I wanted to keep her safe, she knew the sea better than I did.

“I am coming with you.”

“Absolutely not.” She stopped and turned to look at me.

“She is not here for me; she is here for you . Kaia was spelled to protect magical beings from humans, Dominick. You would die in those waters. I am a mer; really, I will be fine.”

“Captain! The ship is starting to sink!” a sailor called.

I looked at Meria, who looked as if she were seeking my permission. I sighed, and nodded.

“Have all the men meet me on deck, now,” I growled, and Meria walked to the helm.