To Ocean's End (24 page)

It took Jessie fifteen minutes to recover from her bliss before she could stand again. She more rolled than sat upright as Mido picked up their plates. He looked just as dreamy as her, even though he’d only given. He planted one more kiss, then headed to the galley to wash off and clean up after breakfast. Jessie fixed her pants, ran her hands through her hair a few times, and wobbled her way to the bathroom with a full bladder.

The stall she walked into was unusually shadowy but she didn’t care in her dreamy state. She felt too good to care about anything but continuing to feel good. She relieved her bladder and just sat there with her hands in her lap, too dreamy to move.

Something rustled above her.

Hunched on the shelf that was supposed to be holding extra toilet paper was-- “
O’Toole!
” He sat there with his fists in his mouth, eyes twinkling with mischief, and one foot wiggling away with nervous energy. She cleaned up, zipped up, and flushed. “Get out of here!” She grabbed his legs, yanked him to the floor, and shoved him out of the stall. He gibbered and whimpered, and pawed at her shoulder, but she pushed him so hard that he almost fell over. It was taking all her willpower to not beat the crap out of him.

Gibbering, O’Toole ran off, leaving Jessie to wash her hands in bliss-ruined peace. Once clean and thoroughly pissed off, she stormed over to the galley and took a seat with a huff.

Mido looked up from the dish pile he was building. “What’s wrong?”

“O’Toole was hiding in the bathroom stall I used. I am not pleased.”

Mido started laughing, then gave his back to her when she gave him a glare of death. His broad shoulders shook with silent laughter.

“It’s. Not. Funny.”

He doubled over.

Jessie got up and poured herself some coffee. “I need fresh air.”

He caught his breath enough to say, “I’m sorry. That’s our unofficial rite of initiation into the crew. Ted’s the only one left he hasn’t gotten yet.” His face was all red and eyes watery.

“Fantastic,” she said dryly. “And he had to pick when I was feeling all dreamy to do that.”

Mido lost most of his grin. “Aw, Jessie, I’m sorry. I’ll bring you back to that in Paphos. Start dreaming of us making sweet love while you go get some fresh air.” He kissed her forehead and sent her off with a squeeze to her rear. That got a smile out of her but she shooed the pleasant thoughts away, determined to be grumpy for a bit.

*     *     *

Towards the end of the day, Cyprus bore into view on the horizon. Jessie joined Dyne in the wheelhouse to help him navigate to the dock that would lead her home at last. Mido was preparing drinks and treats in the galley. Even though she wanted him up with her, she didn’t mind waiting for some celebratory food and drink to go with her homecoming.

Cyprus didn’t look quite like she remembered it. The northwestern coast was more or less foreign hills and mountains; she’d spent most of her life in the southern half and even visited Mt. Olympus a few times. She could’ve sworn there’d be more flora but maybe her memory had gotten it wrong.

Once the
Pertinacious
reached familiar shores, she stared in open-mouthed disbelief.

“What’s wrong? Dyne said.

“Where’s all the green?” She studied the distant terrain. “There should be more green than that.” Dread crept into her chest but she refused to believe anything terrible could happen to her home. “Go around the jetty about a mile in front of us and you should see a network of docks. Drop anchor there.”

“Alright.”

She left the wheelhouse and more glided than walked down the stairs. What she was seeing couldn’t be right. There was too much brown. However, like her disbelief when she’d watched Dyne slowly transform into the water demon, she had a sinking feeling her eyes were telling the truth. She jogged to the bow and stood in the Harpy’s open-air cockpit. Paphos just couldn’t be this brown. Maybe this portion of land had simply been plagued by an airborne floral parasite and the rest of her home was fine. Just get around the bend and all would be well...

The
Pertinacious
putted around the jetty as Mido and several others joined her at the bow. Her heart raced in anticipation of finally laying her eyes on home for the first time in two years...

... and then it sank into despair at the sight of a charred husk of a village that stretched to skeletal orchards blanketing the blackened hills. “No.” She dropped into the Harpy’s chair as her brain tried to sort out the devastation.

“Whoa,” Scully said. “What happened here?”

“I don’t know,” she said in a hoarse whisper. “This can’t be right.”

Dyne’s voice sounded over the loudspeakers. “I don’t see a dock to pull up to. Are there any others nearby?”

Jessie shook her head.

Mido shouted, “She says no!” He reverted to normal volume. “Jessie, come down.”

She took in her immediate surroundings, then slid off the Harpy and landed on her feet on the deck. Her feet carried her to the railing. She hadn’t told them to do that; they just brought her to the side of the boat of their own accord. She was too busy gaping and taking in the devastation to think of anything else. House after house was burned to the ground, the dirt roads deserted, and the citrus orchards barely more than army of charred stumps. A few carrion birds circled overhead. The sea carried the smell of burnt wood and salt water. No stench of rot. How long ago had this happened? Who had done this? And why? Why destroy her sleepy little farm town?

Mido came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Ed and Ted stood on either side and wrapped their arms around both of them. She just let her arms hang limp. Her chest felt hollow.

“I’m so sorry, Jessie,” Ed said.

Dyne said, “Jessie, do you still want to go ashore?”

Jessie pivoted and the three boys moved with her. She could make out Dyne’s face through the wheelhouse window. She slowly nodded once. She hadn’t come all this way to just never set foot in Paphos again.

*     *     *

Two inflatable crafts called kernels were blown up and fitted with motors that ran on corn biofuel, then lowered into the water behind the stern. Ed, Ted, and Cancer boarded one. Dyne, Jessie, and Mido boarded the other. Cancer tagged along in case anyone ashore needed his medical attention. No one had spotted any locals, nor did they expect any, but there was always that possibility. Even though Jessie was still mildly intimidated by him, she welcomed his aid.

They rode the small swells in subdued silence as they made their way to land, then disembarked and dragged the kernels onto the sandy shore. Jessie watched the men secure the crafts, then led the way through the once-familiar town, stopping to pluck two white lilies from a large patch on the edge of tangled brush. How fitting for her culture that white lilies had managed to regrow first... Jessie held the flowers to her aching chest and redirected her route to the cemetery on the other side of the main road. Once again, it felt like her feet had minds their own as they slipped into automatic pilot, heading down a too-familiar path.

The cemetery was covered in simple tombstones and wild grass. Ironically, this place was the greenest part of Paphos. She navigated the rows of wind-worn stones. Most of them were in good shape; just a little mossy, but very few were broken or crumbled. She stopped by a pair of gravestones placed close together. The one on the left read, “Zoe Adamou 2364-2408.” The one on the right read, “Meles Adamou 2359-2410.”

Jessie brushed moss off the top of their stones and pulled a few weeds, then lay a lily on each grave. She knelt between them and her heart suddenly felt heavier, almost heavy enough to lie down and never get up again. But she resisted. The grass was cool and it wreathed her legs up to her thighs. “Geia mamá kai ton bampá. I miss you both.” Tears were far off. She felt too empty for them. She was still in shock from Paphos’ current state. On top of that, she’d had two years to come to terms with her father’s sudden death, and four for her mother’s. She and her father used to visit her mother’s grave once a month. They’d grieved but they’d made an effort to get back to life as usual as soon as possible. A friend of the family helped fill the void of mother figure, and other villagers helped pick up where she left off when it came to maintaining the orchard. The memories hurt but they were sweet, too. No one in Paphos suffered loss alone. They’d been there for Jessie when MS finally claimed her mother, and when the quasi-children had killed her father. The villagers had asked her to stay after his funeral but no one got in her way when she decided to leave. She looked around the ruined town. How differently things would’ve turned out if she’d stayed...

Mido said, “Do you need us to give you some privacy?”

“No. You’re all fine. I just need a few minutes.”

Mido and the others politely waited in silence while she talked to her parents. She was grateful for living company. It probably would’ve been too much if she’d come this far inland alone. She used English so the crew could understand her.

“I hope you two are together and happy again, wherever you are. I miss you and I’m doing my best to honor your lives. It hasn’t been easy but it’s worth the effort.” She took a deep breath. “I have something important to do now.” She faced her father’s stone. “Bampá, I wonder if it really was you who named me, or if Amphitrite had any say in it. I also wonder if you ever thought if the thing between me and sea creatures was because of her. You always smiled real big when they swam up to me. I guess I’ll never know, but that’s okay. It’s not important.”

She fell silent, lost in thought. Her father had never given her curious looks when fish flocked to her; just found it fitting. However, he’d never made a big deal of it, so neither had she, until now. How could he have foreseen that she was an avatar of a goddess, and that she’d be asked to help lift a curse. “I wish you could tell me what happened here. Did anyone we know survive?” She took in the burnt, charred land again. “I was hoping to revive the orchard but that looks impossible now.” She just stared at the land, at a loss for what to say. She’d intended to visit her parents’ graves, but she’d been expecting to have local friends with her. “God, I wish you could tell me what happened. I don’t know where I’ll go anymore. I have no home to go to. I feel so lost and stranded.” Her plans to live out her days with Mido in Paphos were no longer an option. Sure, the land would regrow in time, but she didn’t want to live in a husk of a village with a population of two. That would be too lonely.

Jessie took a fistful of grass and pulled on it without uprooting anything. She sighed. “I love you both and miss you very much. I’ll come back to visit you again one day. For now, may you both rest in peace.” She pushed to her feet and just stood there, her aching heart rooting her in place.

Ed came over and gave her a fatherly hug the same way her father used to. She hugged him tight and rode out the waves of pain. So many memories she thought she’d lost cycled through her consciousness. She latched onto each one and embraced the emotions each one had to offer. Once she felt strong enough, she let go and whispered her thanks.

“No problem, hun. Ready to go?”

Jessie nodded. Mido took one of her hands and kissed her temple. She stood before Dyne and met his serious gaze. “I’m ready as I’ll ever be to help you. I’ll do whatever it is I can to the best of my ability and see if I can help you finally lift your curse. After that? I don’t know.”

“Then let’s just take this one day at a time,” he said. “Worry about what happens after when we get there. No matter what, you’re welcome to a permanent spot on the
Pertinacious
if you want it.”

“Thanks. We’ll see. It’s too early to make such decisions.”

“I know. Just making you aware of your options. Ready to go back to the ship?”

“I wanna go back to town and see if I can figure out what happened. I’d like some closure if I can find it.”

“Fair enough. We’ll stay no later than sundown.”

The six of them returned to the heart of town and fanned out to gather clues. Mido stayed near Jessie as they investigated burnt homes and shops. Skeletons lay among the debris, dragging everyone’s mood down all the more. The only solace was that Jessie couldn’t identify any of them. She dared not put names to them, even when she knew who worked or lived where.

“Captain!”

Someone came running up to them from the direction of the kernels. For a second, Jessie’s heart leapt at the sight of a survivor coming to meet them, despite what he’d shouted, but then she recognized Sauna bolting towards them and her heart sank right back down.

“We all need to get back to the ship. We’ve got bad company!”

“Pirates?” Dyne said.

“Worse. Tethys.”

Chapter 22

Clash

I led us back to the kernels and we fought the tide all the way back to the
Pertinacious,
then ordered Scully to the Harpy, and for everyone else to arm themselves and get below deck for now. I took back over for Rammus at the wheel. He grabbed his own sword and joined the rest below. I switched on the sound system and glared at the cargo ship headed straight for us. It had that distinctive blue hull with a gold stripe that everyone knew was part of Tethys’s ship.

“Everyone get nice and loose. That goes for you techies, Cancer, and Jessie, too. Today’s the day we put an end to this rivalry gone deadly. And Jessie, I believe you have first dibs on a dick that needs ripping off.” My crew let out a hearty cheer loud enough to make me lean away from the receiver. I checked Tethys’s location again. “We’re gonna let him come to us and invite him to die on our ship. And fair warning: they’re getting their own water show.”

I steered my ship half a mile away from Cyprus so we’d have plenty of maneuvering room. I aimed my bow at Tethys, who was almost close enough to make out details on his deck. Right now, his boat didn’t look any wider than the span of my hand, but he’d be here to get his ass handed to him soon enough. Hopefully my crew was building a teamwork strategy for melee combat. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with ranged crap. “Scully, do not fire unless I order you to.” He waved as he kept the Harpy fixed on our approaching company.

Once Tethys and his ship, the
Rumrunner
, were half a mile a way, I turned my ship, presenting my side. A lot of skippers might think I was stupid for sending the open invitation, but they weren’t the ones with supernatural powers. Plus I
wanted
him and his crew to invade my ship. Newport had been the first time we’d exchanged more than glass grenades and lots of insults and some harpoons. Competing cargo ships were supposed to go no farther than trying to steal each other’s potential business. It was an unwritten rule, part of a sailor’s code. We all had enough pirates and mercenaries to deal with. Tethys going pirate on us meant we’d take him down like one.

When his ship came at us head-on longer than I liked, I thought he was going to ram us and open fire with his own harpoon gun. I  raised a hand to my sound horn and leaned towards it without taking my eyes off the
Rumrunner
. Right as I sucked in breath to give Scully the order, Tethys swung his ship and brought it in so his bow lined up with mine. His ship was as ragged, beat up, and in need of a paint job as mine. We floated twenty yards apart in the swells. “All hands on deck.”

I left the wheelhouse and grabbed my sword from the weapons crate. I didn’t plan on using it too much; it was more for appearances, but who knew how this clash would unfold? Besides, stupid as Tethys was, he’d catch on that something was amiss if I didn’t wield my sword. So, with weapon in hand and my entire crew on deck, the only thing I’d have to worry about was if he’d be too skittish to invade my ship since he knew I had a gun. For once I was at a loss for what to expect from him.

I stood by the railing, sword held low at my side. My crew spaced themselves out on either side of me, Jessie on my immediate left. She looked so pissed off, yet scared out of her mind. Her glare radiated hate and the tears welling in here eyes her hurt. “Jessie, I commend you for facing the very bastards who hurt and disrespected you. It’s time we helped their karma catch up with them.”

“I agree,” she said in a tight voice. She rolled her wrists and flexed her fingers, then held her gloved hands poised at her sides. They were shaking. Yeah, that was gonna be me in Australia.

Tethys lined up opposite me, and his crew matched themselves up against mine, all wielding swords. Several had glass grenades and none held bows. They had in the past, but today it looked like Tethys and I were of like minds for melee combat. However, one of his crew manned his harpoon gun. He aimed it right at Scully; not at my hull or the Harpy’s base but right at Scully’s head. What was that about? That guy needed to die. Scully gave the gunner a curious look, yet kept the Harpy trained on the
Rumrunner’s
hull. Hopefully he’d bail his post if the other gunner fired. I wanted him alive more than I wanted Tethys’s ship at the bottom of the sea.

“Dyne!” Tethys yelled, “you have a piece of my property. Give it back and I’ll go nice and peaceful-like.”

Mido started calling Tethys all sorts of colorful names in a low voice. The same names came to my own mind but I let my cook voice them for me. “Don’t know what your’e talking about, bud! You’ve got the wrong ship.”

“Oh, no. I’ve got the right one. That bitch standing next to you is what I’m talking about. Now hand her over!”

“No.”

“I’ll tell you nicely only once. Take the easy way and hand my property over, or enjoy a little acid rain. Your choice.”

“She doesn’t belong to you, Tethys.” I almost said she belonged to Mido now but I really wasn’t into the whole one human owning another concept, even in the name of love. “Now go take your stupid ass elsewhere. Don’t know why you’re making a big deal over one person.”

“‘Cause she’s mine! I refuse to let you sail around with something that doesn’t belong to you.”

“Scully, stay put. Everyone else come to me right now!” My crew converged on my position. I waved for them to stand behind me. “Pack in nice and tight.” I stepped to the railing, held up my sword, and fell into a fighting stance. And just to get under his skin, I gave him a taunting wave. “Come and take her if you think you can.”

Tethys snarled. “You heard him, boys. Make it rain!” He swung his sword arm and a bunch of glass grenades filled the air like a flock of transparent, rotund birds.

I called water to me in a band wide enough to protect my crew and thick enough to catch every last grenade. The orbs splashed into my upside-down waterfall with a series of plunks and collected in front of my face like a school of fish.

As much as I wanted to look and see Tethys’s face, I couldn’t spare the split in concentration. This was a lot of water and a lot of juggling. I lowered the upside-down fall and let the grenades float on the ocean’s surface, then formed a rope of water with a large hand on the end, sucked a grenade into its grip, and chucked it at the
Rumrunner’s
hull. I threw one after the other until a large patch of his hull was sizzling with corrosion.

“Nice one, Captain,” Sauna said.

I checked their harpoon gunner for signs of firing. He was too busy gaping at me and my crew. So was Tethys and the rest of them. I ordered my crew to spread back out, then took a fighting stance again. My men jogged back into position without taking their eyes off the other ship. “Looks like Mother Nature’s on my side, Tethys. Better try something else.”

He regained his composure enough to stop gaping and lean over his railing to inspect the damage. There was one big splatter mark with drip lines of corrosion eating through his hull. He looked at me again. I gave him another taunting wave and his anger returned.

One of his men said, “Captain, we need to shut that mouth of his for good.”

Another said, “What about the quasi-children? He has a gun.”

A third said, “He never tried using it until we attacked the landies. I bet you he won’t use it now. He’s dead if he fires it.”

I said, “Your man is right about the consequences of firing it.” Even though the quasis couldn’t kill me, I still hadn’t fired it all these years. “I took it out that day just to scare you off. I’m not interested in that today; just killing you. It’s time for that duel you wanted.”

Even with the open invitation, he hesitated. His nearest men goaded him in urgent voices too low for me to make out their words.

Mido said, “See, Jessie? He’s just a coward in need of a dick removal service.”

I said, “I’ll do my best to keep him alive for you while you chop it off. That’s a promise.” A smile crept in through her fear and rage.

“Time to kick ass again, my sea goddess.” Mido kissed Jessie on the lips then gave her fighting room.

For a moment she stood there, stunned, and then she developed a feral grin that encouraged me to sidestep away from her.

It didn’t seem like that was Jessie standing next to me anymore. She suddenly held herself like she was the most  powerful woman in the world. She looked taller, even though that wasn’t literally true. This had to be Jessie with her avatar self fully at the forefront. No wonder she had the strength to overcome all the abuse on Tethys’s ship.

“Come claim me if you dare!” Jessie yelled in a voice too rich and resonant to be her own. That couldn’t be her choice of words either. I put a little more distance between us.

Mido went wide-eyed. “Jessie?”

“Amphitrite,” I said.

Jessie faced me, a sensual smile on her face. That smile made my gaze wander to her breasts tucked away in a sports bra and tank, just a bit of cleavage showing above the curve of her tank. My eyes snapped back to her face when she spoke in Amphitrite’s voice. “I look most forward to our meeting again. It’s been too long, Dyne Lavere.”

“It has, hasn’t it?” I did my best to sound casual as the shock of seeing Amphitrite take control of her avatar. I backed away one more step and brushed elbows with Jacobi. He shuffled away to compensate. “Mido, I think you need to be careful with calling her ‘sea goddess.’ Now probably wasn’t bad timing but... in the future? Yeah...”

“Echo that, Captain.” His gaze was a mix of awe and fear. “Jessie?”

Jessie gave him a feral grin, then faced me. Using two fingers, she drew me to her by my chin and pressed her mouth to mine. She kissed me long and hard while Tethys and crew argued amongst themselves. I couldn’t break away, despite having no desire to kiss either woman inhabiting that pretty body. Jessie belonged to Mido, and like hell I’d willingly kiss the one who cursed me. Jessie slowly pulled away and Amphitrite’s voice returned. “Now fight for me, my champion.”

“I’m not your champion,” I said flatly, wiping my mouth with a forearm.

“Oh, really?” Her smile contained only a twinge of anger.

“Captain?” Mido said. He looked at me with a mix of confusion and anger.

I held up my empty hand. “Divine intervention, I swear. Jessie’s all yours.”

He looked at me a moment longer before turning to Jessie and calling her name.

“I’m still here,” she said in her own voice. “Your kisses really are magic.”

“You just kissed Captain.”

She gave Mido an incredulous look. “No I didn’t.”

“Yes, you... you don’t remember?”

I said, “Like I said, Mido: divine intervention. We can discuss this later, if necessary.” Ugh, my skin was crawling after all that, but I mentally pushed aside the discomfort. The corrosion on the
Rumrunner’s
hull had progressed to the point where the metal was bright with rust. “Scully, now!” I waved my sword in the air.

Scully fired and the harpoon punched right through eight inches of steel as if it were made of wood. The bolt buried itself all the way to the tail. Shards of metal broke off and splashed into the water.

Tethys’s gunner fired at Scully. Right at him. Not at my hull. Not even at the Harpy. Him. The harpoon launchers were no more than thirty yards apart. Scully dived off the Harpy as the bolt lanced right through where his head had been. Fleshy-looking chunks sprayed the air as he fell onto the deck in a heap.

“Scully!” I and several others cried out. Cancer bolted to him. I wanted to do the same but I’d only get in the good doc’s way. Scully lurched to his hands and knees and shook his head, sending blood droplets everywhere. He raised a hand to the side of his face, the side that looked like one big red gaping hole, his cheek dangling from his jaw like a piece of uncooked meat. His arm went limp and he collapsed, lying facedown. Cancer knelt by his side and rolled him onto his back. I faced Tethys again.

“Come and get us, you cowards!” I sent a band of water for the gunner, knocked him from his post, and sucked him over the side like a receding wave pulls all things out to sea. Watching Scully go down like that.. it’d take so much control to keep Tethys alive long enough for his dick removal service.

Tethys’s men readied grappling hooks and zip lines, and I had a bit of deja vu as I ordered my men to back away from the railing. This was Newport all over again, but this time we were out for blood in any way we could get it. A half a dozen steel hooks clanged onto my deck. Several of my crew had to dodge out of the way, including me. At least I didn’t have to order anyone to hold back while hooks clanged against my railing and the lines drew taut. One cheap shot after another... I was so beyond pissed that I had to concentrate on
not
commanding water. I’d more than likely go too far and tap into demon strength.

Six toughened veterans zip-lined onto my ship, swords in hand. Their feet thudded against the side. And once they cleared the railing, the next six, including Tethys, followed. But before they got halfway, two twenty-footer great whites leapt out of the water like they were seal hunting and bit down on a pair of unfortunate men. The fish had pitch black backs and gaping jaws more than big enough to swallow an adult whole. The two men splashed into the ocean with their attackers, the men looking no bigger than toddlers in the sharks’ mouths as they turned the churning water red. Jessie wore a humorless smile as she held up her fists. The second group of men hopped onto my deck and the mountain of a man named Tethys squared off with me.