Of Siren and Men

Chapter 3

The waters of the Sea of Blood were icy and dark. I felt like my body was going to shut down and I was not going to succeed in rescuing Gideon. I was going to die. I should have listened to Linus and I should have taken the opportunity to catch the demon and continue on the course to Myra. But I'm too stubborn to follow the instructions of a lout and let a friend die. 

I have known Gideon of Themis for some years. He came to Beckwith hoping to become a knight and leave behind his past as a Company mercenary. When he arrived at the palace one autumn night, my father did not hesitate for a second to give him lodging and open the palace doors for him. I, on the other hand, did not trust at all the banished mercenary who had managed to escape from the Capital and betray Ragnar, the bastard, in the hope that some lord who still retained his independence would accept him into the ranks of his army. Lucky Gideon that he arrived at the palace of the Duke of Beckwith, one of the most honorable and praiseworthy men in the whole kingdom of Thalia, because if Gideon's fate had been in my hands, I would not have hesitated to behead him the very instant his feet touched the lands of the duchy of Beckwith.

I had been submerged in the dark ocean for a few long seconds when I felt the movement of Gideon's body trying to wrestle with the Siren who was trapping him with her arms. The creatures of the ocean were known for their beauty, their dexterity, their movements, but above all for their strength. Once they managed to lure the victim into the ocean, their perfect faces would transform and the sharp teeth would dig into the victim's carotid arteries, bleeding them out in a matter of seconds. Beating a Siren aboard the Marquis was a difficult but not impossible task; but managing to defeat the demons in their territory was a feat that very few men had accomplished in the last thousand years. Linus was one of them. And I, James Beckwith, would be the next to do it.

I plucked up my courage and drew from my neckband the knife that always accompanied me. I managed to identify the Sirens fin and plunged the dagger with all my might, causing the demon to release Gideon and flee at full speed into the gloom of the ocean. I took Gideon by the hand, already weak, and swam as if there was no tomorrow to reach the surface.

- EDWARD. THE ROPE! - Ed turned and fixed his gaze on mine. I could see that my idiot cousin had shed a few tears thinking that I wasn't going to survive. His surprise didn't last long and within seconds he threw a cabuya rope to pull me and Gideon out of the Sea of Blood.

- PULL! STRONG! - Ed shouted at the top of his lungs.

- Hold on Gideon. We're going to make it. - I whispered to him. His face was pale. His green eyes were staring at the horizon, unfocused, and his arms were wrapped loosely around my neck, faded. The mercernary was giving up. 

We were a few meters from the Marquis. The waves were pounding hard and Gideon's weight made swimming to the ship an almost impossible task. The Sirens had vanished and the creature we had managed to catch had escaped when I jumped into the sea to rescue my friend. But it didn't matter, on Myra we would figure out how to open the stone of Hades without the song of a Siren. The important thing now was to get out of the Sea of Blood alive. I tied the rope around Gideon's waist and signaled for Clark and Ed to pull the rope and get the mercenary out of the ocean. He looked like a corpse floating in a rope, weakened and without a hint of life. Ed threw the rope again to pull me up to the Marquis once Gideon was on board of the ship.

I tied the rope around my waist tightly and yelled for Ed to pull me aboard the Marquis.

- Pull hard you idiot. I'm still down here waiting. You're going to freeze me to death. - I laughed under my breath, the worst was over. Soon I would be aboard my ship bound for Myra to find a mage who could tell us how to find the stone of Hades. But suddenly I felt a force pulling me back into the depths of the ocean. A Siren. The same one we had captured a few minutes ago. Her hazel eyes met mine, full of anger but also curiosity. As she pulled down, my men pulled up. It was a war of egos and the Siren would not be an easy opponent to defeat. My hands gripped the rope tightly and my body, suspended in the air and a few millimeters from the ocean, struggled with all its might not to fall into the hands of the sea creature.

- PULL HARDER. - I shouted as my legs tried to free themselves from the Sirens grip. But she wasn't going to let go and I wasn't going to die. I released my left arm from the rope and quickly grabbed the dagger that was still in the neckband to plunge it into the creature's arm.

- I'm sorry beautiful, but it's either you or me. - She let out an excruciating moan and her pupils dilated. This was my chance. I thrust the dagger harder so as not to let her escape and grabbed her slender waist with all my strength.

-I got her! Quick Ed. Get me on the Ship.