S. Welles - To Ocean's End

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.