Of Magic and Rum (Beyond a Contemporary Mythos)

Chapter 22

My ragged breaths strangle me at the sight of Anne on her knees, paler than usual, with dark circles under her eyes and lips so dry they’re cracking. All I want to do is pull her toward me, drown her with affection, and douse her with water, but this vile creature needs to pay .

Anne falls to her hands, my name barely escaping her throat and coming out as a scratched wheeze, which only adds oil to the fire raging in my chest.

“Back the hell away from her,” I threaten, storming forward to run my blade through his throat despite not knowing if it’d kill him.

He raises the violin and bow he’s playing in surrender. But the wry smile contorting his lips tells me he has no intention of making any of this easy. With a flick of his wrist, that same damn impenetrable water wall keeps me from nearing him and separates me and Anne.

“Goddammit,” I roar, punching the wall with my sword’s hilt.

Ragnar and Mary flank me with their weapons drawn and stare dumbfoundedly at the suspended water they’d yet to witness.

Anne lifts her chin, her forehead wrinkling, once she spots Mary. It’s as if she wants to cry but can’t find the tears. N?kk slides in front of her, blocking her view of us, and I slam my fist into the wall, making it splash against my knuckles.

“It’s going to be alright, Annie,” I reassure her but keep my focus on the walking dead man.

The man waves a finger at me, still fucking smiling. “I understand pirates are known for deceptions and lies, but why lie to her ?”

Moving to the wall, I stand close enough that the tip of my nose almost touches it. “We’re partners, she and I. No lies between us. And considering Anne and I have just found one another, I know neither of us will let a shriveling shrimp come between us simply because you don’t know your way around women.”

He chuckles, crouching near Anne now and stroking strands of her red hair away from her forehead. The way his fingertips lightly graze her skin has me pounding my fists against the watery prison this wall has become. “You’ll never get past my power, mortals. I can be just and let you walk away with your lives, but you cannot win this one.”

“Why,” Mary grunts between repeated kicks against the water. “Does this feel like concrete?”

Ragnar remains unusually quiet, the skin beneath one eye twitching as he studies Anne’s captor. He folds his arms and edges closer to the water. “Who are you?”

Despite barely having the strength to lift her chin, Anne tears away from the water man’s touch. It’s agonizing seeing her in such pain. And worse that I can’t do a damn thing about it but watch her suffer from the other side of an impenetrable barrier. I chew a hole in the inside of my cheek.

“What use is my name to you?” The man stares curiously at Ragnar.

Why did he ask his name?

“I normally prefer to know the name of the people or creatures I kill,” Ragnar responds, motionless like a gargoyle statue.

No, he doesn’t. He’s not known the faces of half the people he’s killed, let alone their names.

The water man scoffs, air puffing from his nostrils. “Then there’s little reason for you to know it.”

“N?kk,” Anne croaks, her fingernails digging into the stone floor, cracking one of them.

Ragnar’s eyes blaze, and he drops his hands at his sides. “N?kk,” he repeats, pronouncing it like Scandinavian languages intend.

Suddenly, N?kk is nervous, and his smile fades away. “Do I know you? Who—are you?” He directs the question at Ragnar, his confidence faltering.

“ Ingen ,” Ragnar shakes his head, his jaw tightening. “But I know plenty about you from the stories told to me as a child.”

N?kk shoots to his feet, palms up. His unease now borders on fear. “Wait.”

“ Nyk. Nyk. N?l i vann, ” Ragnar begins to chant.

I have zero idea what Ragnar is saying, but it has N?kk covering his ears and wailing, so I stand back to enjoy it.

“ Jomfru Maria kastet st?l i vann. ”

“Stop,” N?kk roars. “I’ll let her go. Just stop.”

But Ragnar doesn’t stop. He speaks the last line louder, emphasizing each word. “ Du sinker, jeg flyter .”

“No,” N?kk bellows and the water wall falls to the ground, splashing around us.

We charge with swords raised, and I stand between him and Anne. I’m seconds away from impaling him with my blade, but he’s—changing. His human form turns rail thin, gangly, gray, and scaled inhumanly. Multiple red fins sprout from his elbows, hips, shoulders, and head, with two much larger ones extending like ears. His blonde hair falls away, replaced by straggly, greasy black strands. The nose has become two nostrils, his face short and broad with deep ridges and grooves above a pair of pupil-less glowing yellow eyes.

“You’re—” I scrunch my nose at him “—disgusting.”

The thought of this thing’s hands on Anne in a human form had me raging, but this? It sends me over the edge.

“ Du sinker, jeg flyter ,” Ragnar repeats, a command this time.

N?kk bares rows of pointy teeth before squatting to the floor, his head and back turned at odd angles. And then—he’s gone in a splash of muddied water, leaving patches of green algae behind.

“The chant is meant to ward him away. I don’t know how long it’ll last.” Ragnar tosses me a stern brow.

“Get her to water, Jack,” Mary cries out.

I’m already sheathing my sword and scooping Anne into my arms before barreling out of the cave, grunting as I slip once, catching myself on the wall with a shoulder. She doesn’t have enough strength to wrap her arms around my neck, and they hang limply at her sides, her head resting against my chest.

“Jack,” Anne whispers.

“I have you, love.” After kissing the top of her head, I sprint through the woods, not caring when branches snag on my clothes, leaves slap my face, or stray barbs cut my forehead.

Anne’s groaning, her cheek pressing against my collarbone. I hold her tighter, running as fast as I can without hurting her, and finally, the sea appears on the horizon. I’ve always held a special place in my heart for it, but now, holding a piece of it in my arms, the ocean has become something far more than a mere sanctuary. It’s become— everything .

Night has overtaken the sky since I left N?kk’s cave. White light spills over the sand from the full moon and makes jagged shapes on the choppy water of the sea’s surface. I slow only a little once I reach the sand, my boots sinking into it. Anne’s nose twitches, and her eyes flutter open, her gaze flicking to the beckoning water before us.

“Jack,” she croaks.

“Yes?” I cradle her like she’s soaked parchment, careful not to let it wither and tear in my arms.

“My trousers.”

Pausing where the tide laps at the shoreline, I do as she asks, crouching to one knee and quickly removing her trousers and boots. Not bothering to remove my clothes or shoes, I scoop her back into my arms and wade into the sea. It’s freezing, and the temperature resembles a thousand tiny pin pricks piercing my skin, but I grit my teeth and bear it. The water welcomes her while still supported in my arms.

It takes only seconds before her legs morph into a tail, the teal fins at the tip of it brushing the backs of my thighs. Blue scales appear over nearly every inch of her body, her hair darkens to a sapphire color, and her ears shift to webbing. She’s motionless for far too long for comfort, and I find myself holding my breath. Her eyes burst open, the nymph glacial blue replacing her emerald gaze, and she gasps.

I stare at her with acute stillness because this is the first time I see her like this—the sea nymph. Both sides are equally beautiful, and I’m thanking whatever higher power is willing to take the credit that today wasn’t the last day I’d witness both parts of her.

Her head lifts from the water, lips lightly sputtering, her gaze fixed on me. She presses a hand to my cheek, the webbing between each finger somehow softer than the rest of her, which already feels like liquid silk against my skin. Her eyes roam my face as if searching for signs that what I see displeases me somehow. It’s not possible. She’s perfection.

“Thank you,” she whispers, her voice more vital and more like herself.

The words take me aback. “For rescuing you? Don’t you dare thank me for that. I told you we’re partners. And you’re a part of this crew, this family, and—” a shiver catapults through me from the frigid waters settling into my bones “—you mean a great deal to me .”

Anne frowns at my body trembling from the cold, her ears drooping toward her chin. She slips a hand in mine and coaxes me to the shore. “Let’s get out of the water.”

“Are you feeling better?” It’s my turn to frown because I’ll not forgive myself if she’s not fully healing herself because my body betrayed me and decided to shiver at the most inconvenient moment.

She tugs me, easing me through the water and toward the wet sand. “Much better.”

Flopping my ass to the ground, I rub my arms, working heat back into them. Anne still dons her tail and sits behind me before wrapping the tail around my lap. It’s surprisingly warm, given my experience with the usual fish scales, but she’s not a fish.

Her arms envelop me next, chin resting on my shoulder. “Is that better?”

“Much better,” I mimic her words.

The moonlight gives her scales a celestial glow, and the tip of her tail lazily sways, making arched patterns in the sand. “You could’ve frozen, Jack.”

The chills have passed, and I allow myself to sink against her. “You would’ve never let that happen.”

“You’re right.” I feel her lips smiling against my cheek.

I trail a finger over her tail where a human knee would be, making the scales glow brighter. “Was what N?kk said true?”

“Is what true?” She tilts her head.

“That you’re his—” I pause, finding it difficult to say out loud, and add another finger to her tail “— mate ?”

Anne’s arms tighten around my ribs. “No. I’m not.”

Shifting so we can look at each other, I drag a hand through my wet locks. “Are you sure? I don’t understand how this works, but how would you know otherwise? I’d like to know if I’m stealing another man’s destined betrothed.”

A half smile tugs at Anne’s lips, and she lightly tugs my beard, the pointed translucent fingernail scraping my chin. “It’s hard to explain how I know, but trust me, Jack. He’s not my mate.”

Blowing out an exaggerated sigh, I hang my head. “Damn.”

This makes her laugh, vibrant and lively. “Excuse me?” She playfully jabs me.

“It would’ve been far more my niche if I were to have stolen you away. You would’ve been the most valuable haul in my pirating career.” I lift my eyes to hers in time to see them widening and softening, slowly materializing to Anne’s emerald gaze.

“What if—if you and I—” she’s turning into Anne bit by bit, the red hair swirling her face and neck, scales melting away “—were mates?”

Contemplating this, I let my face fall. “Well, that’d be no fun. I can’t rightly steal you for myself from myself.”

“Jack,” she shrieks, tackling me with the human legs that have returned, and I’m painfully aware she’s now naked from the waist down.

I’m sitting with Anne in my lap, knees straddling me. I trace a thumb across her cheekbone and grin at how she nuzzles my hand. “I’m not sure what I would’ve done if N?kk took you away from me. Probably scoured the Earth looking for you and taking out my rage on poor bastard merchants.”

“You don’t have to wonder.” Anne presses her forehead to mine, and we close our eyes, listening to each other breathe. “I’m right here. With you .”

Sitting back, I take her face in my hands, waiting for her to look at me. “Are you alright? The son of a bitch denied you water for days. I still wish I could’ve harpooned him to Davy Jones’ Locker. Still do.”

“I’m fine, my Captain,” she reassures me, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips. “I’ve been through worse.”

“Worse than dying a painfully slow death in the equivalent of immortal drowning?” I blink at her.

“Funny thing about being immortal. A sword through your stomach won’t kill you, but you can feel it all the same.” Her eyes turn glassy like she’s remembering the moment it happened.

“Anne.” Waiting for her to return to reality, I edge my thumb under her bottom lip. “We should get back to the ship. N?kk could reappear at any moment.”

It’s peculiar to feel protective of another life above your own. But I dare say I’d be swallowed whole by the Kraken if it meant saving her life in the process. Is this what love is? Devotion? Commitments of the heart?

Anne chews her lip, her mossy eyes suddenly heavy, and unbuttons her shirt. “The sea is my domain. He has no power here.”

Her domain. Anne can command the seas and oceans. The realization should make me feel inferior as a mere mortal, but surprisingly, it only draws me to her more. Because I know she’d be willing to share it all with me. And even if I never ask, this knowledge puts her on a pedestal far above me.

I slide the unbuttoned garment from one of her shoulders, then the next. “I do suppose the crew can wait a few moments longer.”

She grins at me, propping on her elbows and spreading her milky thighs with a beckoning finger. As I remove the wet clothes, still clinging to me like a second skin, the tide has grown closer and splashes over us, making Anne’s blue scales on one side of her body shimmer in the moonlight. And as I crawl across the wet sand, hovering over her still smiling face, half sea nymph, half pirate queen, I admit what a lucky scoundrel of a pirate Calico Jack truly is.