“That’s all well and good,” he continued. “But the Burning Rose dies today and we’re setting a new course.”
“Don’t tell me you’re thinkin’ of going straight, cap’n,” someone else chimed in. “We ain’t cut out for merchanting or the like.”
“No. No, this ship’s still a hunter. She’ll hunt till she sinks. So will I. But I can’t ask the same from all of you.”
I glanced across the crowd at Meridan. She was gaping up at me, waiting anxiously for Vidar to finish. Guilt racked my brain over the idea of bringing her along on our strange journey, too. The woman would follow me anywhere and it hurt to know I couldn’t change that. I didn’t want her getting hurt either, but in the end, suffering was unavoidable. For all of us.
“You all have a choice to make,” Vidar said. “We all know the tides are changing. Something’s coming and Dahlia has been feeling it since the day she came onto this ship. Some of you trust her. I know that. Some of you hesitate. I know that, too. Dahlia is a part of this crew and so is Meridan. So, the decision you all have to make is whether you’re going to stay on this ship, wherever she goes next, or if you’re done with this dangerous life of ours.”
“And if we stay?” Gus asked, lighting his pipe up and taking a puff.
“If you stay, then we are heading to some of the most dangerous places we’ve ever been.”
“Why would we do that?” someone asked.
“Because there is a force beneath us, in the shadows, that will release hell on us if we do not end this. Madness will find us all. What’s contained deep below will come ashore and by then, all of this will be for naught. All of our hunting and killing and drinking with the coin we collect. It will mean nothing. Soon, there will be no governors to pay us. No shores to anchor at. No whores to put in your beds. So, this ship is still a hunter. A hunter of bigger game than we’ve ever faced. The head of the snake and perhaps an end to all of this is our next destination.” He paused a moment, taking time to look over his men again. “Your choice is weighty, but it is simple. You stay and you fight. No one will know what you’re fighting for. No one will thank you. No one will even know your names. But it will mean something. Or, you row back to shore and you find another ship. Another trade. Another life. Perhaps go inland and stay far away from these waters altogether.”
He silenced himself again, taking a deep breath and pushing off the railing to stand tall, arms crossed.
“Choose,” he finished.
No one said a word. There was a thickness to the air around us. I considered for a moment that some of his men might blame me or think I’d manipulated him into this decision. Not all of them trusted me yet, even after months of working with them, but theyremained noncombative over the matter. Now, I expected arguments. Objections.
“Bunch of shy cunts, all of you,” Gus groaned, smoke puffing from his mouth as he spoke. “I’m too old to find another trade. I’m with you, Vidar.” His one eye turned to me with a subtle nod. “And I’m with your siren because she’s risked her life for more than one of us. And I’d wager she would do it again if it came to it.”
I inclined my head toward him, taken aback by his words. It wasn’t long ago that he hated me for what I was. So much so that he would have reveled in my dying screams. Now, he was defending me to a crew full of men who hunted my kind for a living.
“And you know I’ve got nowhere else to go,” Boil said. “No one else will tolerate my shit cooking or my ugly face.”
“I’m in,” Billy added. “For both of you. Dahlia’s always done right by me.”
“I owe my life to both of you,” David said. “This ship is where I stay.”
“Goes without saying that I’m staying, cap’n,” Mullins said.
Meridan subtly turned her eyes to him and smiled at his commitment. For a blink, he smiled back at her and it warmed me to see a connection forming between the two. Perhaps they could protect each other like Vidar and I did. It would put my mind at ease.
More and more men spoke up, pledging to stay on the ship. In the end, only seven men decided to row back to Thorpes for a life free of unknown horrors and the threat of almost-certain death.
It was enough for Gus to tease the idea of hiring more men, but not enough for Vidar to agree to it.
When James and Smalls returned with the boat used to take the crewmen to shore, the men hauled the boat up and stored it on deck. A dozen others were heaving against the rods on the capstan, gradually pulling up the ship’s anchor. Vidar helped to house the anchor while I watched, taking a place beside Meridan. Hismuscles strained against his pants as he pushed, and I couldn’t help gawking. Sometimes I believed that he put in the physical labor for my benefit, and if that was the case, I didn’t mind it.
“Your hunger for him has not waned,” Meridan commented. “I thought it would by now, but you’ve made a fool of me.”
I smiled faintly. “I care for you just the same, Meri.”
“I don’t doubt it. In fact, the way you look at each other has sparked a bit of curiosity.” Her eyes wandered over to Mullins, who was coiling the extra thick ropes after the boat had been successfully secured.
“You two have grown rather comfortable together.”
“Only because his company is consistent. I meant only that studying humans has quenched my boredom these past months.”
“Of course.”
“So, we are off to hunt larger game, are we?”
“I would have discussed it with you, but I only just deemed it urgent enough to bring up.”
