36. Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six

Meria

“ W e have arrived. Is the captain well?” Sands asked as he poked his head through the cabin door.

“He is still asleep. How are the other men who were affected by the bites?"

“Still asleep as well.”

“Okay,” I said, pausing. I worried about us staying in one place for too long. What if there were other creatures around us that would try to hurt us? We also needed to be quick because Peter was waiting for us on Pixie Isle.

“I think we just need a few more hours for them to rest so that they feel mostly recovered.”

“I can try to move the ship about, but if we come across another sea monster–” Sands said.

“I will help take care of that,” I answered.

Sands nodded and closed the door and paced back and forth in front of Dominick's bed. What was I going to do? I looked at Dominick’s sleeping form. I wanted to save him–keep him safe.

I walked up to him, placed my hand on his arm and traced the black veins there. The inky black veins were such a testament to his strength of will. I did not want him to be cursed–did not want him to be in pain. I cried, unable to stop the sorrow. I felt for all that Dominick must have endured through his life. My tears dripped onto his arms. I waited until all the black veins on both of his hands and arms had disappeared. I could do that much for him and still be able to ward off any sea creatures.

I smiled, noticing that his breathing was even and stronger. It was helping him. Soon his eyes opened, and he sat up. He looked around, and then down at his hands before saying anything. Maybe I should have put his gloves on him.

I watched, and it was as if it unfolded in slow motion as he looked at his hands, and he was clearly startled to see that the black veins there–were gone.

“I told you not to heal me, Meria.” His eyes were cold with anger.

“You also told me not to do as you say.”

“Do not help me. Save it for someone else–yourself,” he snapped.

“If I had not, you would be without a hand and without a crew, all would have been lost in the depths of the sea! You might at this very moment not be breathing!” I shouted, and it was the first time in my life I had ever shouted at anyone. But I couldn't help it; the feelings that floated around inside of me were confusing, and he was confusing, and it was such a stark contrast from what had just been between us. How quickly the warmth had cooled down between us with his cool, ‘Cruel Hand’ demeanor.

“I can take care of myself! I have for my whole life!” he said, moving up in bed to sit. I went to sit beside him upon the bed, placing my hand on his shoulder.

“I understand that, but you do not have to.”

He pushed my hand away. “Meria, I am fine, and I do not need help.”

Anger crashed inside of me, again, like a huge wave. “Maybe that is your problem! You do not let people help till you are nearly dead!” I bellowed back.

He stood, not moving far, but he was off the bed. I quickly followed, standing in front of him, the bed just behind me.

“Get in bed. Rest, Meria; you have helped me enough. You have to be very tired,” he said, his dark eyes flashing to my mouth before looking again at my eyes.

“No! I do not want to. I will not do what you say! You have a problem, Dominick!” I shouted again.

“ I have a problem?” he said, his eyes bright with irritation. “Yes, I have many of those; where should I begin?”

I knew he was not looking for an answer, so I waited. I wanted to hear what he had to say.

“Should I begin with my curse? Maybe, I should begin with the fact that I was sent away from my family? That I lived with my cruel uncle who I am sure even the Traitor King himself would fear? Or you know what you should know–what I should really tell you first?” he asked, leaning in closer to me. My heart was beating erratically within my chest.

“I torture people, Meria,” his voice was deep, his tone dark and haunting. “I kept track of every single one. Five hundred and fifty-four. I tortured them all before they were tossed into the sea for dead.”

“Dominick–” I gasped.

“No, there is more,” he said, moving even closer to me. I did not move; he was not going to frighten me with his past. I was not afraid of him. “I steal from kingdoms. I use my title as a way to blend in, and then I steal gold and jewels. And do you want to know the worst of it all?”

Tears were streaming down my face, but not from fear, but from the pain I could sense inside of him. From all he had been forced to do, for the life he had with Veeto, that horrible man. Dominick was silent for a moment. Slowly, with his hands, he touched my face. His hands were still gloveless and clear of the black veins. He wiped away each tear, and I prayed to Mother Sea and to the Creator that my tears he was wiping away would finish whatever healing they could for him. His skin was rough, but warm. He was gentle even though the world he had known had only ever been cruel to him. I understood that he had been forced to be cruel.

“Dominick, I do not like seeing you like this.”

Dominick gently guided me, until my back was against the wall beside the bed. Only a few steps, but it seemed like miles.

“Of course not, and that is good. But I will go on because you need to know. You should be aware of the man you have put your trust in. The man you keep trying to save .”

“Dominick, it does not matter what you tell me. I know you are good,” I whispered. I heard the hum again, what I believed to be his soul’s melody. With time, I was sure he would be able to release it. I knew how to pull it from him, and I would; I would show him.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. “I killed my father.”

I gasped, unable to control my surprise that he believed that. “No, you didn’t.” There was no way. Killing someone stripped the murderer’s soul.

“That is why I have this scar,” he said as he touched the side of his cheek where his scar was. “As I was inflicting unspeakable pain upon my father, he shoved me away. I fell and cut my face. It is a reminder of who I am–what I have done. My father’s last gift to me, that I would always remember him by. I killed him. Do you still wish to touch me, Meria? Still think I am not bad ? Still think my touch won’t cause you pain? Still want to break my curse?” he taunted, so close but not touching me.

“I–” I began, but I did not have the words for all I was feeling. I had so many emotions flowing through me, but none of them indicated that he was so lost and beyond saving, or that he held no value, or that I should not care for him deeply. Yes, he had been through more horror than I or probably most mer or humans go through, but that did not mean he was not good at his core. He had goodness in him, and despite the bad in his past, that goodness was trying to sing free. I could hear it.

“Still think that there is something here within me worth a moment of your time? Because I am telling you, now, this is the only warning I will give you, little mermaid , there is nothing but darkness here.” He was panting, and I felt my face continue to become wet with tears.

I was shocked by his words, but my heart, more than ever, realized that all he had dealt with during his life had made him the strong man that he was, standing there before me.

“Dominick–” I whispered behind my tears.

“Do not cry for me. Please, do not pity me. You should fear for yourself.”

I looked up in confusion. I knew Dominick would never let harm come to me.

“I should also tell you that I am also very selfish,” he said, brushing a strand of hair off my cheek and wiping my face of its tears. “I am so incredibly selfish, Meria,” he whispered even closer to me.

“You are not selfish,” I whispered back.

“No?” he asked with a chuckle.

“You are not . You have gone through so much, Dominick, but you are searching for your sister. Through it all, you are doing good things.”

“Saving my sister?” He nodded, pressing his lips in a firm line. He turned his head to the side, a smile on his lips as if he were excited to prove me wrong. But he would not. “You want to know why I want to save her?”

I tried to keep on my feet, but my exhaustion was getting to me. I wobbled.

He gripped my shoulders, guiding me away from the wall, and onto the bed.

“I am looking for my sister so I can see my mother–not so I can save my sister because she deserves saving, but because it also helps me . If I show up with my sister, my mother cannot turn me away. I will see her face to face and get my revenge for all she has put me through by giving me up–and for sending me off to be on Veeto’s ship.”

“Dominick–”

“And you want to know what else makes me the most selfish? What makes me the most wicked?” he asked, leaning to place my legs upon the bed–pushing my shoulders so I was laying on my back. He climbed beside me, not touching me, but we were a few inches apart. He just looked at me, his eyes wild with something I did not understand, but wanted to, desperately.

“What?” I asked, my mind reeling with all the new information, but my heart was ever constant, not caring for him any less, but ever caring for him even more, the more he spoke. For the more he spoke, the more he divulged, and the stronger his faint melody became. His inner soul’s melody, deep inside of him, began to reach out to mine.

“What makes you the most selfish?” I asked, needing and wanting to know.

“This–” he whispered against my lips; then he crushed his lips against mine. His hands dug into my hair. Kissing him was like breathing in sea water–refreshing, all consuming. I was selfish, too–I also wanted his kiss. I wanted everything from him. I was not afraid of his past, not afraid of the dark parts. I cared about him . I knew that I always would. I loved him.

I love him.

I love all of him. Every single broken, cracked, or dark piece. I wanted them all, wanted him.

He broke our lips apart, and then he looked at me.

“I am so selfish, Meria–because I want you. I want to keep you forever and ever.” He teased kisses down my neck, over my cheeks, all around my face, and I wanted his lips so badly to find mine once more. “I want to lock you up in the cell below, make sure you never escape,” he growled into my skin as he continued to kiss me again and again, drenching me in pure bliss and joy.

“You want me in the dungeons?” I laughed quietly. “If that is where you want me–”

“Perhaps, this room can act as your prison cell, my mermaid captive. I have to admit that I like the sound of that.” He kissed me again, gently against my jaw and then my throat. “I like the sound of you never leaving, never finding another man–mer, human, or magical being–to be with. Just me.”

“You cannot keep me prisoner,” I said tenderly as he peppered kisses down my neck, making me dizzy with the need for him to never stop touching his lips to my skin.

“But I can. Remember, I am not a good man, Meria. I am a rather wicked pirate, with no desire to change my selfish and greedy ways. We pirates love treasure, and I think I found what I have been searching for over all these seas,” he said, meeting my eyes and smirking at me.

“Well,” I tried to be calm even though what he was saying lit up my entire world. “I like pirates. And I would not be your prisoner because I have no desire to leave you,” I said, tangling my fingers at the back of his head in his soft, dark brown hair.

He groaned. “You do not?” he asked as I began kissing his jaw at the rough stubble there. He always let his hair grow for a couple of days, and then he shaved.

I pulled away and looked at his flushed face and messed up hair from my fingers running through it. He was the most handsome man I had ever laid my eyes upon. And that man, he was kissing me, and I was kissing him, and it was a thousand times better than the last kiss I had been given by Edmar. Edmar was nothing to that. Finn had been right; my soul did know when I was in love.

This is love.

It was life changing. I was more attached to him than ever before. I was a barnacle, he a ship, and I would not come off.

“I am not going anywhere without you,” I said.

“Be careful what you wish for. I think this pirate is corrupting you,” he whispered.

“No, the opposite, actually. I am going to make your soul sing, Dominick.” Before I could say anything else, his lips devoured mine, like he was a stranded, starving sailor on a deserted island, like my lips were the most delicious thing he had ever tasted, and he was addicted after just one taste. I had no idea how long those powerfully warm lips danced with mine, but I was sure there was nothing better on any land or under any seas.

“It already sings for you, Meria,” Dominick whispered against my ear. I was unable to think about anything else, All there was was us. Dominick with his salty sea scent; his warm, tanned skin, caressing mine; and his dark hair, falling into his eyes, along with the erratic beating of my heart–my heart that only beat for him, and the soul song that swirled around us.

We broke apart, hearing a steady thumping at the door. I wondered what it was, but then I saw Sands inside the room, knocking on the door, his back to us.

“What are you doing in here!” Dominick snapped at him.

“Oh, is it safe to look?” Sands said, peeking over his shoulder to look at us.

I felt my cheeks darken with embarrassment.

“Get out,” Dominick sighed.

“Wish I could, but we are still on a ship, and you are still its captain. You know , I wouldn't break this up unless it was important,” Sands said with a knowing look. “Hello, Meria,” he nodded to me.

“Shut up,” Dominick said, reaching behind my head on top of the pillow for his gloves, and then putting them on. He met my eyes and looked over my face; his hand, then, still not gloved, caressed my skin around my mouth. “It looks like you have been thoroughly kissed, my mermaid.” That smile was one I had never seen before–there was a sense of pride there, and something else. “Tell me, was it different this time versus the last time when you kissed your betrothed?” he asked with a playful grin.

He had to know that what we had just shared was rare–was life changing.

“Completely different. It was incredible,” I sighed, feeling like a puddle of water and unable to move or say much from the shock of what had just happened between us. Would it happen again? I wanted to kiss him everyday for the rest of my existence.

“I will see you soon,” he whispered, and to my surprise, he bent down and gently yet quickly pressed his lips to mine again. When he stepped back, he was smiling with the same confident look on his face. He winked, and I felt my face warm. His confidence and happiness were some of the most attractive things I had ever seen. They made my body shiver. I really really liked that pirate.

“Okay, love birds–” Sands said, reminding me he was still there.

“Oh, you are still here,” Dominick said, turning to look at Sands, who was, indeed, still there by the door. Dominick quickly put on his gloves, and with one last look at me and then a beautiful grin, which made my jaw open wide and him chuckle, he was gone, and the door was closed behind him.

I was alone. Alone in his bed, alone in his room, alone with my thoughts. He was mine. I would never let him go.

As I closed my eyes, I touched my face. His warmth there had been so absolutely wonderful. With that kiss, I was more his mermaid than ever before. My heart was his, and I would go wherever he went until the day I died. Perhaps, I was his prisoner after all, only a very willing one.

I was not sure how long I slept, and I couldn’t remember how many days it had been since Pixie Isle. But when I woke up, I knew something was wrong, again . It could have been anything in those dangerous waters, and I needed to find out what it was. My legs ached.

When was the last time I had been in the sea? Maybe I could swim and also check out the waters around us for dangerous, magical sea creatures. Or, perhaps, one that was already there, because I did feel magic.

There was a small, sealed window behind the captain's desk, but a circular port window on the side. I could shimmy myself through that if it opened.

To my luck, there was a little lever that opened the window. I smiled again. I stripped off my pants, shirt, jacket, and vest. Then I walked to Dominick's closet, and I pulled out one of his black shirts and held it up. Once I turn back into a human, it will cover the important human parts of me. I pulled it on.

I shimmied myself out the window and dove into the welcoming sea below.

As soon as I hit the water, the frigid temperature was so foreign to me that I felt a bit numb. After I inhaled the water through my gills and swam deeper, I began to become used to the temperature. I had no idea what I would find. I focused on the water and swam around the ship, going back and forth. I soaked up the feeling of the salt water and the movement of my tail. It seemed so long ago since I had been in the sea; it always felt so long. I loved the sea, loved the feeling of water in my lungs, loved the swishing of my tail, propelling me forward, and my hair gliding behind me. It felt right–good. But there was something I sensed in the water; something was off.

As I went to dive a bit deeper, I heard a call–a mermaid call, but it sounded different from the calls I knew. It was as if the sound was drenched in squid ink. An uncomfortable, dark sound. A sound all sea creatures, humans, and mer feared.

The sirens’ call. No, it could not be. Could it? These waters are cold enough and wild enough. Anything could be here.

I moved directly under the ship and saw dark fins, with an obvious lack of color.

Sirens. Soulless abominations.

Sirens with their unnatural, pointed, razor teeth, their nails sharp, and their faces sunken and hollow with haunting, black, soulless eyes.

Sirens were once mermaids–mermaids who became corrupted because they did not follow the ways of the Creator nor the laws of the sea; they had been seduced by the darkness, and lost their soul-melodies, which connected us, not only to our world, but to our Creator above it. Even though melodies had been forgotten about by humanity, humans and magical beings were meant to have melodies of the soul, even after the Great War. Whenever magical beings lost their soul-songs to corruption, their loss of connection to each other, other creatures, and to the Creator turned them into unnatural, dark, soulless creatures–and mermaids, they became sirens.

Long ago, some humans, like the sirens, had also corrupted their melodies, and that led to the lack of soul-song recognition amongst humans. It was said that the Traitor King Falcon had been the first human in more than a thousand years to become so corrupt that he not only could no longer hear his melody, but he destroyed it entirely–becoming a soulless abomination, and then he did his best to bury all knowledge of souls’ melodies forever. He may have been successful if the mer race had not been hidden away by the Ancients.

Because sirens were the first ultimate abomination, their hearts could only continue to beat within them, if they stole and consumed the hearts of men.

Mermaids and sirens kept away from each other, and sirens preferred to dwell in deeper, darker waters. I should have thought about that before I found myself in their seas.

I swam to the surface, observing many of them looking up at the ship, and a few of the crew members were leaning over the rail, looking back at them. After a few minutes, I watched in horror as the sirens opened their mouths and began to sing. Only it was not a beautiful song like mer souls’ melodies. It was terrifying. Mer songs came from within. Sirens made loud shrieks and screams, no words at all, only horribly unpleasant noises came from their mouths, and a twisted, corrupted, dark magic spewed from within them, and somehow, they could lure men to follow after them.

A normal mermaid song was also persuasive. We could help persuade humans and sea creatures to do as we asked, but we couldn't force any of them to do anything. If any human or magical creature did not want to do as we desired, they could choose to break through our songs. Sirens commanded, and the hearts of men were weakened by them and left entirely vulnerable to their commands. I cringed, just thinking about something so horrible. Sirens wanted blood, hearts, and death.

Many mer believed that the Traitor King created the first siren by torturing an innocent mermaid to the brink of death, and when he was unsuccessful in gaining that mer’s power for himself, he left her in a state of despondency and humiliation, having broken her completely, and having stolen all her innocence from her, he left her for dead, believing that she would soon die. That mermaid did not die, but she had been abused to a state of insanity and abject hatred. That mermaid, not recognizing her torn and polluted song, sought after revenge. She hunted down a human and sunk her nails deep into his chest, screeching at him, dragging him into the depths of the sea, ripping out his heart. Then she devoured it.

It was a horrible tale, but one I had heard hundreds of times. Humans were dangerous. We had always been taught that. Perhaps, the story was true. No one knew for sure.

I looked back and forth between the ship and the water. The sirens’ sickening, lilting screeches made the men aboard the ship smile. They could not hear the sickness of it–could not hear the corruption. I swam to the side of the ship and climbed up the rope. I ran to the wheel to find Sands.

“Sands! Tell them to cover their ears,” I shouted as I reached him.

“What is that horrible sound?” he said, and I noticed he was covering one ear and cringing, but he was not affected by their call.

“You can hear the screams?” I said with surprise. It was said that a siren could only lure a man’s willing heart–a heart not given to another. Did Sands love someone?

“Yes, of course; it is awful. What is making that sound?”

“Sirens. There are over a hundred all around the ship!” I shouted. Sands' face changed from annoyance to fear. Pirates, if they had never met a siren, had to have at least heard the lore. Too many men had lost their lives to them.

A crew member walked near us and mumbled: “That song–it is so lovely. I think I would like to take a swim,” he said, slowly shifting from side to side.

“George!” Sands smacked his face, but he only smiled. We walked around the ship, smacking the men and using their hands to cover their own ears, hoping they would snap out of the dark, magical lure. I looked over the ship and down at the sirens, their teeth gnashing with human blood permanently staining their teeth a pink color. Their eyes were soulless, nothing but blackness inside. Their hair was gnarled and messy, long masses about them–their skin a dark blueish, green tint.

I began to sing, not only from my soul’s melody, but from my voice, too. I hoped to drown out their screeches.

Corruption, Soulless, leave–

Do not come near–

We follow the Creator,

We have no need to fear.

I sang loudly, and I watched as a few of the sirens paused their calls to watch me.

They hissed, becoming louder, their squeals, then, actually became words, but just barely.

They sang:

Come men,

Come, let us give you rest–

Rest and safety in this sea–

We will give you rest at the seabed floor–

And give your heart peace.

I watched in horror as two men jumped overboard, and again in horror as two sirens latched their razor teeth to the men’s mouths, kissing them while dragging them under.

“Stop!” I called out to them. “Stop it! Now!”

“Silence!” a siren screamed at me with a sickening noise.

“Leave!” I sang, using the melody inside of me, given by the Creator, and I called upon my magic to make it even more bright and powerful.

The sirens sang in unison.

We need hearts;

We need blood,

We hunger;

We must feed.

I ran to the edge of the ship where a candle burned. I broke off some of the candle wax, and with my hands, I kneaded it until it was soft and malleable. Quickly, going from crew member to crew member, I instructed them to place the wax in their ears. Once they regained their minds, I motioned for them to help the most susceptible crew members. Some, like Sands, were not affected.

Where is Dominick? I wondered as I moved about the ship.

Had he been pulled under? Was he dead? I could not think of that; it was too painful. Once I finished and the crew appeared to be no longer affected by the corruption, I again found Sands.

“Where is Dominick?” I begged, clutching his shirt in my hands.

“I have not seen him,” he said, worry on his brow.

I heard angry screeching from the sea and looked over the edge of the ship. The sirens were leaving.

“Humans are weak,” I heard one siren screeching. I peered into the water in horror. Dominick was in her grasp. His eyes were closed.

“NO!” I screamed. Before I knew what I was doing, I jumped into the water. My tail returned, and I swam after that siren.

“He is mine. His heart is mine, he dove in–he wanted this,” she hissed in a scratchy sort of coo .

“If his heart is yours, why is he still alive?” I knew somehow they had knocked him into the sea, perhaps had lured one of the crew members to do it for them. He would never go willingly.

“He is tied to you. Why?” she squealed.

“Go, you can only have free hearts, and you know it. He is already taken.”

“I can still watch in joy as he drowns,” she hissed.

“Go, I command you to leave this place, siren.” I swam closer to her, took one of Dominick's hands, and his glove came off. Then, an idea came to me, as I realized that the siren was not going to let him go; her sharp claw-like nails had pierced through his shirt. She needed to touch his skin–his curse. It could save him.

“Fine, take him, but I want these,” I said, pulling away the second glove. I watched as the siren smiled a horrible awful smile and moved in closer to Dominick, but not before touching his hand–his cursed skin. Even without the veins in his hands, I knew the curse was still there inside of him.

I watched as she touched him and then began to writhe in pain. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. I watched as the pain caused her to let go. Then, Dominick was sinking into the depths. I swam to him, pulling him up above the water.

“He is cursed!” she snapped and swam back.

“Go!” I shouted with emphasis from my melody. She screeched one last time, then slumped down into the sea and was finally gone. I did my best to keep Dominick's head above the water, which was moving back and forth rather aggressively. I touched his face–it was fine, but his arm was bleeding from the siren’s grasp, but everything else seemed okay. I had no idea why he was not conscious, but I had to get him out of the water. I swam to the side of the ship where Sands was looking overboard, and he tossed us a rope, and some crew members pulled us up. Once we were on the deck, Dominick lay there, only breathing slowly.

“Is he–” Sands said carefully.

“No, he is still breathing. I don't know what they did to him, though.”

“Did they rip out his heart?” one crew member asked in a whisper.

“I didn't mean to push him, I swear–they got in my mind,” another sailor cried out.

“They knocked him out–” someone else said. Their minds must be clearing as the sirens stopped their screeching and swam away.

I shook my head. Tears dripped down my cheeks, and I let them fall onto Dominick’s face.

“Please, wake up, Dominick,” I begged, touching his scruffy jaw.

“I wish you would wake up. I wish we could leave this place.” I caressed his face and leaned over his chest, resting my head there.

“I don’t know if you see me in this way. I would not blame you if you didn’t, but I love you, Dominick. I love you, and I want to give you all that I have. I want to be there for you always. Will you let me? I want to be with you. Please do not leave me,” I cried, and more tears fell from my eyes, I hoped they were doing something –anything.

I sang,

Please, Creator of all, save this soul.

Dominick shifted, and his eyes fluttered open.

“Meria?” he asked, a small smile on his lips.

“I am here, Dominick. Are you alright?” I asked, wiping at my face.

He reached his hand up and caressed my cheek. “Do not cry for me, beautiful.” Then he placed his hand on top of my own, which was resting on his chest. He pressed our hands together, and without another word, he lost consciousness again.