Chapter 168: Nereida’s Voyage
The music called the magic, and the waves roared to life. Nereida felt dizzy as she called to the depths of the ocean, churning the waves and bending them to her will. Alejo’s hands, not so little now, held hers as he called the magic alongside his mother and brother-in-law. Nereida matched her son’s tones. They brought the power, Jules brought the control, and together they wove something greater than themselves. She felt a surge of pride looking down at Alejo, his face twisting as he sang. He was still young, but… she could, in that moment, see the man he’d become. Her heart swelled, and with it the magic did.
The surge was not a smooth, gentle hand, but instead threw them forward toward their enemies like a toddler throwing away an unwanted bit of food. Nereida clutched her son’s hand, suddenly terrified they’d be thrown overboard. The ship was not designed to skip across the waves like a stone. Someone screamed, someone else whooped in excitement. Water sprayed into the air. The Tooth continued forward, without the ability to turn or control her speed. And through the chaos and the bumping, Nereida and Jules kept singing. Alejo, terrified, had stopped singing with a squeak. His face was pressed into her shoulder as he trembled. The ship was making terrible creaking and cracking noises.
Within fifteen minutes, they had cleared the two enemy ships. They had the better wind, and were nearly flying across the waves themselves, only to end up with their prey sailing past them. The sustained magic was nearly too much, even for Nereida, and she sank to the deck, still clutching her eldest as if he were a lifeline. Jules crumpled with far less grace, and the waves began to calm within moments. The crew scurried about, calling orders back and forth, but Nereida wasn’t able to understand most of what was being yelled. Her head swam, her ears rang with echoes of the magic and she was certain Jules was in a worse state.
“I’m sorry, mom,” Alejo whispered, holding her tightly. “I got scared.”
“Little love, you did nothing wrong. You aren’t grown. You shouldn’t try and keep up with Jules and I.”
“Jules can’t keep up with you,” he observed with a little smile.
“Jules has to use magic to breathe here,” she replied. The thought, once spoken out loud, filled her with dread. “Alejo, go fill the tub.” He nodded and tore off, able to avoid most of the adults who were preparing the cannons.
Nereida carefully crawled over to Jules. His breathing was ragged. The siren princess called for help, knowing there was no chance she could carry the larger man more than half a step. He probably outweighed her by two to three stones, and he was a head and a half taller than her. It took a moment, but Carlos and two other crewmen came jogging over. They lifted Jules up carefully, and rushed him to the cabin at her orders. She followed, slower than she wanted, her energy almost gone. She wanted to sleep. But there would be no time to rest. She could see the cannons being readied, the little ship was in their sights. Battle would soon be raging about.
A battle she’d have no part of.
She wanted to help, desperately. But her children, and Jules, needed her. Her magic was spent, and without rest she doubted she was up to any more trickery. The cabin was a mess, most of their trunks had been thrown about. Alejo was half-heartedly picking up his toys, pushing around a wooden soldier who had lost his head in the chaos.
“I liked that one,” he sighed.
“We can see if Dymion can fix it,” Nereida replied soothingly. He nodded, but just pushed it about more.
Jules was in the tub, completely submerged. He was awake now, his eyes wide, but he stayed beneath the water. Nereida stood over him, and was about to sign to him, when the first cannon shot rang through the air. Her hands tightened on the side of the tub. She hated that sound.
“You better?” she signed, trying to hide her fear with a soft smile. Jules nodded. “Good. Rest. Stay in water.” She looked over at Alejo. “Protect him?” she asked. He looked up at her with comically wide eyes.
“Me?”
“You, son. Don’t let him get out of the tub for at least an hour. And if… if something hits the wall, you get him into the ocean, alright?”
“Yes mom,” he replied seriously, though his eyes were still bright with pride. She felt a twisting in her stomach, a heavy grief as she realized she was helping kill his childhood. But another cannon shot rang out, and she had no more time to feel. It was time to act.
She hurried onto the deck. The enemy ship was trying to run from them, all her sails unfurled. This was not at all what she expected from the demons. Every demon ship she’d ever seen had chosen to pick a fight. So what made that ship special? Aella was on the deck, yelling commands, ordering pursuit. The little ship was smaller than they were, which meant they had better maneuverability but less speed. Aella was giving the enemy no time to pause, no time to change course. She looked beautiful, commanding and powerful, her feather drooping in the damp air, her face set in a scowl. Nereida watched her wife for a moment, before she turned to look back out at the sea.
The battle itself was almost anticlimactic. The fifth cannon shot hit the enemy’s main mast, and the ship was dead in the water. The other ship didn’t even appear to have cannons. Aella was calling for a boarding party. Nereida trotted over, only to be stopped by Caleb of all people.
“Absolutely not,” her brother-in-law said, moving to physically block her. “You’ve already done your duty, Nereida. Do not put yourself in danger and do not put her in more danger.”
“But-”
“No. I may only have one hand, Nerry, but I can and will haul you below.” He glared down at her and she sighed.
“Fine,” she snapped. “But I’m watching, and if they are in trouble I will help.”
“You help best by resting,” he insisted. “What if I go in your place?”
“No, stay and man the cannons. The other ships might come this way, and if they try and board while she is gone, we will want your fire.”
“It’s foolish to board while we still have enemies on the way,” Caleb grumbled. “Why not let them pickle a bit?”
“I can answer that,” Carlos said, ambling up to them. “Begging your pardons, and all, but I know the answer.”
“Speak.” Caleb’s voice was clipped and harsh.
“The demons keep slaves. They’ll kill them all if we give them the time.” Carlos looked over at the ship that was bobbing in the waves. “Admiral’s being kind. We’re close enough to port to save them this time.”
“This time?” Caleb echoed, the heat gone from his voice and the colour from his face.
“I’ve heard some of their other adventures, before my time. Hard calls get made at sea all the time.” Carlos shook his head.
“Last time Aella saved the slaves she walked away with Epelda and a bunch of other children,” Nereida whispered.
“Nearly lost her the ship, or so I heard,” Carlos confirmed. “But here, here we can get the slaves back to the sylph island.”
It was difficult to get the ships close enough for boarding. Gregors was struggling, and Nereida heard him curse more than once, a rarity for the usually stoic man.
“Rudder’s damaged,” he announced. “We can turn, but barely. We need a port.”
“Understood,” Aella replied, her face hard. “We’ll limp to port after this. But something is on that ship.” Nereida swallowed. The way Aella’s face twitched meant that her magic had told her something. She wished that Aella would practice more. Perhaps then the information would be clearer.
Aella led her party across. It was her and four well-armed, large muscled men who went to the enemy ship, swinging across on ropes in a way that Nereida had thought only happened in stories. She felt her heart flutter, watching Aella land on the deck with grace. They engaged the enemy, cutting them down with brutal efficiency. One of the men shouted a warning, and all five crewmates dodged as shadows rose to life on the deck. Nereida wanted to scream, wanted to help, but when she tried to call the magic she just ended up sluggish and dizzy. There were limits to her might, even on the ocean, and she had reached them.
The last time she had reached her limits, someone had died.
Aella, ignorant of her wife’s fear and helplessness, continued her attacks on the deck of the enemy ship. She managed to kill the demon, though he’d hurt Aella before he went down, his shadows piecing her arm.
“Heal her when she gets back,” Caleb said, grabbing her and forcing her away from the edge. “You are driving yourself to madness watching this!”
“I can help!”
“You can’t,” he barked. She took a step back, and his face softened, regret in his eyes. He lowered his voice to a softer, kinder tone. “Don’t kill yourself trying to reach her. She is capable, and it is not on you to be her hero.”
His words made her blood boil, but she relented when he put his good arm around her, pulling her into a hug like he had when they were younger. She did not cry, but did close her eyes. She let him comfort her, let his warmth chase away the chill she’d picked up and let herself believe that it would be well.
Only twenty minutes later, Aella and her team returned to the ship. The other demon ships had not come, despite all odds. But Aella did not return with a triumphant grin. Instead her face was set with a grim frown, and there was pain in her eyes.
“Sink her,” Aella commanded, her voice rough. The cannoneers did so without hesitation. The little ship ate four more shots before she was taking on water fast. Aella watched the little ship go down, her face made of stone but her knuckles white as she held the railing. The other four who had been with her scattered, looking pale and haunted. It was only once the other ship was beneath the waves that Aella spoke again. “Gregors, get us to port. Evander, you have the helm.”
“Aye.”
Nereida followed her wife into their cabin, arriving just as Aella hurled a teapot into the wall. It shattered impressively, bits of porcelain everywhere. Nereida gently stepped in behind her wife, wrapping her arms around her. Jules, in the tub, was wise enough to not surface despite a chunk of the porcelain landing in his water.
“Love?” Nereida probed.
“It was an alchemy ship,” Aella said, her voice hollow. “They had prisoners who had been sylphs.”
“Had been?” Nereida echoed, her stomach churning at the implications.
“They combined the poison with some of the black ichor. It was… it was changing them.” Aella shivered as she spoke. “We gave them what mercy we could, love. I almost lost myself to the Moon, seeing that. If they had escaped….”
“They didn’t,” Nereida soothed. She kissed Aella’s head, gentle and chaste, and pulled her toward the bed. “Rest with me.”
“If I close my eyes I’ll see those things. It was… Ner I don’t have words.”
“You don’t need words,” Nereida replied softly. “Hold me, and let me keep the nightmares away.” Aella buried her face into Nereida’s shoulder, as if she could hide from her own memories. “I’ve got you,” Nereida promised softly. “Always.”