The Hunter's Pursuit

26. A Mer's Tale

Viviane's back ached from her hunched over position as she jammed oakum into cracks in the ship's deck. She fitted another length of loose fibers into the next crevice and wedged them down using a hammer and caulking iron. Jacob followed behind, waiting to spread hot pitch over the oakum to seal the patch.

They'd been working on the main deck for hours after dinner, trading out at regular intervals. It was nearly time for them to trade again and Viviane couldn't wait. It would be a relief to straighten her back and relax her shoulders for a moment.

She scooted aside to let Jacob take over. "How long do you think it will be before all the repairs are finished?" Viviane asked.

"It depends on how soon our aid gets here," Jacob replied. "They should arrive within another day or two, Caspian thinks, and afterwards, it will only take us about that long to finish with the repairs."

"Good. We'll be off soon then." Viviane's mouth quirked to one side. "It's a bit odd that we haven't heard anything about the Pirate Lords yet."

"I imagine we'll learn something when the Lucre arrives."

Viviane rose and they exchanged tools. Viviane held the pitch bucket at a safe distance from her leg, not wanting to burn herself on the heated metal. They stepped over to another crack and Jacob set to work filling it with fibers.

"Are you worried about what we'll hear?" He asked shortly.

"In a way. I'm not worried that one of them has managed to kill Ryujin. I hold little expectation of them accomplishing that. I'm just worried they'll do something to make our job more difficult. The crew might be improving, but we're still going to need all the luck we can get to bring down Ryujin."

Jacob pursed his lips and nodded. Viviane knew the matter concerned him just as much as it did her. He'd begun staying up late at night to pour over the books he'd brought along. She questioned him about what he was hoping to find but he never gave her a sufficient answer.

All she gathered was that he was looking for any missed weaknesses, overlooked abilities, or forgotten advice. Anything that might give them an edge when they finally faced the creature. Viviane was looking for answers too, but in a different way.

She'd been sneaking off the ship when everyone else was asleep and using her powers to speak with the creatures dwelling in the waters around them. She asked if they knew what Ryujin wanted or why it was lashing out now. She asked if they knew why it sank the Silver Oriole or why it had gone into hiding only to re-emerge a few years later. None of them had an answer. Like the land dwellers, they were avoiding the beast.

Only one creature had offered Viviane a piece of advice. The eel encouraged her to reach out to her estranged sisters and see if they had anything to offer, but that was something Viviane could not do. If her sisters were aware of her presence in the sea, they had chosen not to seek her out.

If they thought her dead, it was best it stayed that way. She couldn't believe that her sisters would forgive her for leaving them the way she did. They wouldn't understand what drove her to make the decision, and if she returned, they might punish her for her betrayal.

Jacob scooted back a few inches and Viviane dribbled pitch over the crack he'd just filled. When she straightened, Caleb was approaching. "The Captain thinks you should do some practice with the lancers," he told Jacob.

"And what about me?" Viviane crossed her arms over her chest. Jacob glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but she didn't meet his gaze.

"I assume you'll be in charge of the cannon lessons later. For now, your help could still be used with repairs. Emilia is swapping out breech ropes below deck. Jesp, Lester, and Pops are patching the hull. Prim and Coralyn are mending sails."