Of Magic and Rum (Beyond a Contemporary Mythos)

Chapter 12

I’m quiet as Mary leads me below decks, partially astonished she hasn’t shunned me too. She put trust in me that I defiled by hiding who and what I am. Not to mention, my very existence will jar these mortals’ beliefs. Had they believed in magic before? In myths and legends? I’m living proof it all exists. Would some of them not be able to handle the epiphany?

“I don’t want to have to do this, darling, but Captain’s orders and—” Mary whispers, opening one of the iron cell doors.

“It’s alright, Mary. I understand. I’m not who I said I was. How can you all possibly trust me now?” My throat numbs. I gulp it away and walk into the cell. “Will you please grab my clothes? They’re by the stairs.”

“Of course,” Mary says, leaving the door ajar as she fetches them.

She’s still so trusting. But why?

After she returns, I clothe myself and hand her jacket back before sitting on the cold stone floor, knees pressed to my chest, arms wrapped around them. “You can lock the door, you know?”

“I’ll lock it when I’m good and ready. Why do it now? You gonna jump into the sea again if I don’t?” Mary crosses her arms and presses to the cell entrance.

There is no way in the Seven Seas that I will return to the water soon. Now that it knows where I am, the Charybdis will undoubtedly follow us.

“No,” I say hoarsely.

“Good. Glad we got that cleared up.” Mary squats in front of me, nudging my knee with a finger. “I think you owe me an explanation, Anne.”

I do, and then some. But where to begin? It’s been centuries since I’ve had to explain this to a mortal.

“I’m a sea nymph,” I start, wiggling my webbed toes that have begun to disappear the drier I become.

Mary pans her gaze from my feet to the ridges on my forehead. “Not a mermaid?”

“No. Mermaids can’t conjure legs at will and have many more pointy teeth.”

Mary’s expression becomes grave, and she nods. “I get why you didn’t say anything. You hid it to protect yourself. Many of us would have done the same, but—why are you here? And why can’t you swim to where you need to go? Or poof there—or, I mean, do you poof?”

An ethereal headache forms in my temple, and I let my knees flop to the ground, plopping my hands in my lap. “Mary, I wouldn’t know where to begin. But I can tell you I stole away on Jack’s ship because, though I have powers, there’s not much I can do to get back home with the Charybdis after me. It’s a vast ocean out there.”

“And where’s home?” Mary, eyes blazing wide, hangs on to my every word now.

Atlantis . But I can’t say this—one step at a time.

“The Mediterranean Sea,” I whisper. And for once, this isn’t a lie.

Mary’s bushy brows furrow, and she taps a finger on her thigh. “This can’t be a coincidence. Jack has never proposed going outside of the Caribbean. And when he does, it so happens to be to the Mediterranean, and that is where you need to go?”

My chest swells with something more than heartache—hope.

I sit up straight. “And I was in the tavern…”

“And you were in the fucking tavern.” Mary drags her hands down her face. “Am I part of some divine happenstance here or something? Because I’m not sure this is what I signed up for.” She cracks a gooey smile.

I want to hug her, cry on her shoulder, and wish to go back in time to try it a different way.

“How are you so calm? How are you not furious with me?” I dig my nails into my thigh to keep from crying.

“Oh, I’m mad. You lied to me. Hid this from me. But strangely, I’m also proud. I thought you were na?ve and too quick to trust, but here you are, outwitting the entire crew. Even—Jack.”

I hug my knees again and rest my chin on them. “I feel like I was just starting to earn his trust, and now—I’ll probably never get it back after this.”

“Bullshit,” Mary quips, making my gaze snap to hers. “He has to be wary of you right now because he’s got an entire crew to protect. There’s something you gotta understand about a crew. We’re closer than family. It goes deeper than blood.” She presses her fingertips together. “We’re loyal. We sail together. Kill together. Shit together. And with a captain like Jack? We bleed for each other.”

Not knowing if I’ll ever see my family again has me yearning to be a part of this one more than anything. But I wonder if I’m worthy of their trust because there’s still so much about me they don’t know and that I can’t share.

“You’ve sworn to the code but now need to commit to it, darling, if it’s what you want. Because if you do, it won’t matter to us what you are.” Mary rubs my arm. “But now comes the hard part. Convincing Jack of it. And for that, I don’t envy you.”

“Read, will you give us some privacy?” Jack’s gruff voice says from the shadows as if he’s been waiting for the right moment to announce his presence. “And lock the door.”

My stomach flutters, my heart thunders, and my throat goes coarse. Mary sighs and backs away, closing the metal door with an ominous clang before locking it with a rusted key from a ring with several more.

The lantern illuminates only Jack’s hand as it reaches out to take the keys, and Mary disappears. “Start talking .”