Page 53 of Wicked Tides #1

We ran after them until we were swallowed by the eerie shadows of the tunnel.

It felt like being in the belly of a great beast. The humidity and the smell of old water only added to the atmosphere.

Our footsteps bounced off the walls of the giant, hollow space, creating a ruckus.

The men fell silent. Some of them rested their hands on their weapon belts as if they thought something might leap out and devour us all.

Beneath us, the muddy ground was trampled and firm.

Footprints were smashed into the soil along a very particular path and when I looked up at the walls, I forced my eyes to adjust to the near darkness to see carvings etched into the black stone.

Drawings of animals. Men. The sun and moon.

Water. And, unsurprisingly, sirens, their fins long and slender.

They were carved out in groups. As we walked onward, more images filled the walls.

Sirens and men meeting at the water’s edge.

Men fighting giant beasts. Men in boats. Children walking hand-in-hand.

“What is it?” Vidar said. “What can your eyes see?”

I hesitated to answer, unsure whether I wanted to. “Carvings,” I said. I swallowed my fascination and turned to keep walking. “We’re clearly going the right way.”

The cave narrowed toward the end of the long passage until it finally opened into a vast valley framed by tall, pointed trees.

The land was white as far as I could see.

Mountains made the horizon look like a row of giant’s teeth and a thick forest spread out along the base for what seemed like miles.

“Holy hell,” Vidar sighed, watching the girls jog tiredly toward rows and rows of snow-topped cabins made of leather and wood. “We fucking made it. ”

“And it isn’t destroyed,” I said, glancing his way.

When our eyes met that time, a sense of accomplishment was shared between us.

In an instant, my thoughts raced with unlikely ideas.

The idea that we were enemies—that we were hateful, cruel creatures capable of little more than mindless violence—but we shared one simple goal.

The bizarre feeling of being of the same mind as Vidar cracked and splintered my thoughts.

“We should see to it that their safe,” he said, clearing his throat.

I nodded, straightening my shoulders to follow after the girls.

As we got closer to the village, figures began to filter out from the buildings.

Men. Women. Some wielded spears or daggers.

Others seemed too old or too gentle for either.

I caught Mullins putting his hand on his belt where his pistol was stuffed behind the leather and eyed him from behind.

Vidar walked beside him and shook his head as the villagers closed in on us.

Ahnah’s attention locked on an elderly woman with silver hair who walked with a limp.

She sprinted toward her, breaking into tears as they met and embraced.

Watching the two reunite filled me with a warmth I didn’t think I was capable of feeling.

I could smell their joy and relief on the chilly wind like a freshly blossomed flower.

I stopped, listening as they exchanged words in their beautiful language.

The other girls dispersed, finding their loved ones in the small masses of people while a row of armed men created a loose blockade between us and the village.

Gus said a few words, causing a couple of the villagers to perk up.

Their eyes flitted amongst each other until a few of them lowered their weapons.

Finally, one of the older girls in the group spoke up, pointing at us and speaking to our defense.

At least, I assumed that was her intention when the rest of the villagers started lowering their weapons.

The elderly woman hobbled our way with Ahanh clutching her hand.

There was a beauty to her serene yet wrinkled features when she wove her way through the armed men and stood before me.

She stared up into my eyes, her clouded gaze examining every scar and contour of my face before a warm smile met her lips.

She spoke to me in words I couldn’t understand and then surprised everyone with words I could.

“Thank you,” she said. She lifted her hand and slowly brought it to my face. I pulled back an inch before I let her touch me, caught off guard by the lack of fear in her. “Beautiful angel.”

Never did I imagine those words would be associated with me. I stared at the woman, unable to find words to respond.

“You know our language,” Vidar said.

The woman pulled back her hand and turned to him. “Yes. Some of us do.”

One of the village men stepped forward, his long, deep-brown hair tied into an intricate braid. He stuck the butt of his spear in the ground and nodded.

“We have traded with outsiders before. We get seed and livestock in the cold seasons. Only…” His expression soured as he scanned Vidar’s men. “The last ship to come here was unfamiliar and left with far more than we were willing to give.”

“The girls,” I said. They nodded. “That ship was the Cornwallis and those men are dead. Killed by my sisters and me.”

The old woman smiled knowingly. “We knew the sea would protect them.”

I wanted to say that wasn’t the case and that she was being na?ve.

That the sea would have swallowed them whole if they hadn’t been found by me first. Or, other sisters would have found them and gnawed the meat from their bones before letting the deep have their remains.

I said none of it, though. Instead, I stayed silent, watching the village slowly relax in our presence like my existence was somehow a comfort. It was perplexing, to say the least.

“And, pirates?” the old woman said, looking over Vidar and his men.

Mullins cleared his throat. “Privateers, ma’am.”

“Independent,” Vidar added, hanging his thumbs on his belt.

Gus just huffed a laugh at that. “Don’t think we’ll be answerin’ to anyone after this. Our cap’n is just a man with a damn heart is all. And I think your little ones won over more than one crewman on the Rose.” He smiled down at Ahnah and she gleamed back at him.

“Our Ahnah is a gift,” the woman said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Which is why we are so glad to see her and these girls safe, even if it is not all we have lost.”

Vidar and his men exchanged looks before Vidar said, “There are others on my ship, waiting to come ashore.”

The villagers’ eyes lit up, but I caught the solemn wilt in Ahnah’s smile and the way her gaze slid downward like a dying flower.

“All but one,” I added softly. “Sakari was lost to another crew, I’m afraid. One not as decent as…” I eyed Vidar for a second. “As the crew of the Burning Rose.”

There was a short but heavy silence among us after I said those words. I hadn’t expected them to come out of my mouth and neither did anyone else.

But it was true. When it came to the girls, at least.

“I am Taupek,” the woman said as if sensing something needed to be said to cut the tension.

There was a deep and painful crack in her voice, though. One I was certain was tethered to the news about Sakari. I regretted my role in her passing and revisited the incident when I saw the look on Taupek’s face.

“I am Ahnah’s grandmother,” she said.

“Sakari was your daughter?”

She shook her head. “The daughter of my late husband, but I loved her like my own. I… she will be missed.”

I heard Ahnah snivel and glanced down at her wiping her eyes.

And like the coward I was, I turned away from her, seeking something else to focus on.

“The others,” the man said. “Can they come ashore?”

Vidar nodded. “We can send for them now, but the weather is harsh and the journey was long. We’d be grateful for lodging and food and supplies for our journey back. ”

“Stay for a while,” Taupek said. “We have empty lodging since one of our elders passed and their children married.”

“Enough for my whole crew?”

Taupek nodded and then turned to a few of the men, speaking in their native tongue. They inclined their heads and then headed into the village.

“We will prepare food and beds,” she said.

Vidar shrugged. “Then we will retrieve your girls.”

I turned to accompany the men back to the ship to get the others when Vidar grabbed my arm, pulling me close.

“Stay,” he said quietly. “They seem warmer to you than to us.” He paused and glanced sideways at Ahnah as she and Taupek walked away. “And the little one wants your company.”

“I got the woman’s daughter killed,” I whispered.

“You did no such thing.”

I clenched my teeth, preventing any further arguments.

Vidar’s eyes bore into me, keeping my gaze.

I realized then that his words were meant to comfort me.

Comfort from Vidar was not something I ever thought I’d get.

Not in that way. Slowly, I let my eyes fall to his hand around my arm and watched him gradually release me.

“Alright,” I agreed. “I will stay.”