The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (boyxboy)

CHAPTER 8

The Merry | Present Day

Az's heart jolts sickeningly. Sirens. Singing and soothing, persuasive and provocative.

And it's with another sort of shock that he realises that familiar otherness he can feel is their magic. Akin to the awareness of emotions that aren't his, yet more prickly along his skin, and even more...comforting.

He's never heard them sing before. It's common knowledge that they can, but usually when sirens catch wind of ships nearby, they disappear.

Such ferocious killers, according to survivors of siren attacks, yet such a beautiful sound. A sound that tried to turn him placid and thoughtless before he could even understand that something was amiss.

His store room is probably a mess, but he suddenly yearns for the safety it provides. He covers his ears with his hands.

Slade, prodding something into his ears himself, leans over the side of the ship and inspects the foaming sea. Az can see his lips moving, but barely, as his eyes scan back and forth.

"Seven, by my count!" he calls. It comes through Az's hands muffled and dim. "If any of you are stupid enough to leave your ears open, I'll push you in myself." It's a warning, but he still manages to sound so excited.

Siren attacks, contrary to popular belief, are quite rare. From true accounts, they can gather that the creatures are intelligent enough not to attack when there are few of them. But seven? Would a siren consider that enough bodies to successfully sink a ship of this size? Az suddenly has the terrifying vision of them realising their singing won't work this time, and instead crawling up the side of the vessel like giant scuttling bugs. Whether or not these tropical varieties would eat a human... Az would hate to find out.

Slade turns back to the ocean. Az glances out as well. He can see them moving, circling the ship, swimming back and forth at its side and breaching the surface every now and then. But they don't come too close. He almost forgets what they're supposed to be looking for.

And out of nowhere, he sees it. Slade sees it too. A flicker or something that might be gold, but definitely isn't silver. Then it flashes again, and there's no mistaking it. The sirens' eyes twinkle like pale stars as they move, but this one flashes like the spark of flint,

Az's stomach flips with an emotion he can't name. Slade lets out a hysterical shriek of delight, throwing his head back like he so often does, as if catching a brief glimpse of the colour has sent a surge of pleasure through him. Az doesn't share the sentiment, but he can't help his awe.

The golden siren is real. They've found it. And Az might live to see his next birthday.

His wonderment is short-lived.

As Slade paces and barks orders, and people set about preparing their laboriously crafted net, Az's eyes don't leave the water. The creature is too far away. They all are. The net will never reach them, and Az has a feeling they aren't stupid enough to swim right into it. Slade begins muttering under his breath again. Leans further over the side before pulling back in and pacing again.

"They're intelligent," he remarks, though Az struggles to hear him clearly through his tightly-clamped hands. "We need..."

Slade commands more than twenty men. While he's completely out of his mind, in Az's opinion, he commands them competently in that his men have a healthy amount of respect and fear for their captain. They're all here of their own volition, which is more than can be said for Az.

But there are times, a bit like right now, where Slade becomes blinded by his own fixations. He zeroes in on one thing and can't see the bigger picture or the obvious solution.