Chapter one
The Captain
Rose
The captains of the Mysterious Deep are not born like other men. The sea takes them, shapes them, and fills their hearts with silence and salt. For in waters where monsters feed, only those half-mad with wonder or grief dare command.
-An excerpt from The Mysterious Deep: A Comprehensive Understanding
Morning mist clung to the ocean like it couldn’t bear to be parted from its love. I didn’t have the heart to tell it that the afternoon breeze would soon come to force them apart. So was the way of the sea, cruel and relentless in its mercurial depths. The best anyone could do was to survive her. Any hope of conquering the abyss below was a mourner’s song.
“Prepare to be boarded!” Val’s voice cut across the hazy morning like a knife.
Hooks carefully thrown over the sea latched onto the Queen’s Promise and lodged into the thick wood that held her together. Shame it wouldn't last much longer. Heavy wooden planks were laid between our ships, and two by two, the crew of the Sea Wraith made their way onto her unfortunate victim. I’d chalk it up to bad timing, but it was much more than that.
Time to see what we won.
My steps are even, sure of themselves. Half a year spent at sea molded me from seasickness to whatever this was. Once, I might have looked down from these planks and seen only the distance to the sea beneath. Now it wasn’t worth the effort it took.
“They laid over like pups eager for belly scratches, Captain.” Val grinned.
I peered at her through the mask tied to my face, shadows surrounding her long blond braid and illuminating the scar that sat over her eye.
“You are having too much fun,” I told her.
“And you aren’t having enough, it’s called compensation,” she said.
I snorted at my quartermaster, who came alive with even the hint of a fight. It was a shame for her that no one had put up a decent one in over a month. I almost felt bad for her.
“Her captain?” I asked.
Val’s smile turned down in what could only be described as a pout, though it didn’t suit her scarred face.
“You used to be fun,” she said, tossing her pistol in the air and catching it. “Captain Seward.”
Excellent, this would make what came next significantly easier.
I walked the deck of the Queen’s Promise and surveyed the mass of men confined at her center, hands bound behind theirbacks. They all tracked my movements as if there weren’t pistols and swords pointed at them in every direction. No, their eyes were all for me.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the thrill that ran from the tips of my toes straight to my heart.
The heels of my boots clicked, and with the sea still waking from its evening slumber, they were the only sound except for the breathing of the living. The British flag flew high above us, settled against a pink-tinged blue sky. The red and blue of King George I’s flag in direct contrast to the one that flew adjacent.
I took the opportunity to survey the black flag that hung over the Wraith. Green and blue scales that rose and fell with the sea serpent’s body. Wide webbed fins dropped off its belly while two large tendrils retreated from the back of its head. Perfectly painted and a realistic representation of our Koinu.
A bellow erupted from the sea, and the Queen’s Promise shifted with the waves that rolled beneath.
Show off.
Captain Seward was a stocky sort of man. His sideburns thick and bushy, while his beady eyes reminded me of a snake. Maybe that was just because I knew what sort of man lived behind them.
When those sickly green eyes fell over me, he straightened his shoulders and held himself a little taller. Was it bravery or stupidity?
“You must be the demon I’ve heard about,” he spat the words onto the wood below. “I thought you would be taller.”
I held out my arms.
“I’d say I was sorry to disappoint, but that would be a lie.” I tilted my head to the side. “How long were you in charge of the Queen’s Promise before you lost her?”
