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BOOM!

Suddenly an explosion rocks the boat from above us, dust falling from the ceiling. Both Sedge and I look up just as another explosion happens further down the vessel.

Yelling and shouting erupts, a clatter of footsteps running back and forth on the deck above and then a yelp that seems to get louder. I look to the porthole just in time to see a skeleton go flying past, having been tossed overboard.

I get to my feet and hop to the porthole, looking out the best that I can. It’s hard to tell from the angle of the ship but I don’t see anyone swimming away.

After that, everything quiets down and then the boat fills with the groan of metal and the clanking sound of the anchor being pulled up.

This is either a very bad sign or a very good sign, I think, trying to convey the message with my eyes to Sedge.

He nods, looking unsure.

We wait.

A muffled sound comes from outside the door before the lock starts turning.

Both of us freeze.

Four skeleton crew walk in, looking relatively unharmed.

“We’re taking you to see the captain now,” one of them says, his jawbone looking especially loose as he talks.

I give Sedge an impassioned look.Is this it for us? What does the captain want? What happened to Ramsay?

Sedge gives me a patient nod in return, his way of telling me it will be alright.

But how?

The skeletons yank us to our feet and even though my nature is to thrash around a little and do some damage, I have no choice but to hobble along with them as we make our way out of the room and to the upper deck, the stairs especially challenging on my bound feet.

Once on the deck, I take in the sea breeze that brushes back my hair and flaps in the sails, noting how we’re starting to pull away from the bay. There’s quite a few of the skeleton crew up here all gathered at the aft deck, which is where we are swiftly taken.

I can see a captain’s hat amongst the skeletons, a worn and battered tricorn with the jolly roger stitched across the front, and my heart slams against my ribs. Is the captain going to defile me with his bones? Pass his curse onto me like he did to Sedge? Submit me to a public flogging?

Or worse, discover what I truly am and drink my blood until I’m one of the skeletal Syrens in the deep?

An image of the crew suddenly swarming me and biting me with their skeletal jawbones puts a shiver down my back, my stomach filling with cold dread. The crew that’s handling me dig their fingers into my skin and I’m shoved forward through the crowd, bones knocking with each other as they part.

And as the crowd parts it reveals the captain.

Captain Ramsay “Bones” Battista.

“Hello, my lovelycearban,” he says to me, his brogue deepening. “That’s quite the hook you have in your mouth.” Then he nods at Sedge. “Sedge, my good man.”

Relief floods my body and I exhale. “What happened?” I say through the chains, my throat drier than ever.

“I’m the captain now,” he says with a grin. “I let loose a few grenades until I found their captain, who was quivering like a coward, knocked off his head, tied up his limbs with some iron and tossed him overboard. He’ll be kept busy at the bottom of the sea for a long time now.” He pushes at the hat on his head. “Took his hat and told the crew that I’m their new captain. Ain’t that right boys?”

“Huzzah!” a cheer goes up amongst the skeleton crew.

How the hell did he win them over so fast?

He smirks at me, knowing what I’m thinking. “I told them we’re in the business of hunting mermaids too. If we find one, she’ll be shared equally amongst us.”

Blast. I scowl at him. I knew there would be a catch. I also knew it would be me.

Then he winks at me, as if to tell me my secret is safe with him, but at this point I’m not sure what to think anymore or who to trust. I’ll just keep trusting myself.