NORTH ATLANTIC, DECEMBER 1697
Long Shadow sailed along at an even pace, keeping a sharp eye out for wrecks. It was storm season and most shipping in the profitable West Indies stopped. Any ship that was unlucky enough to get caught there was practically doomed along with her crew. Long Shadow hated her job sometimes. Finding the bodies of dead sailors strewn about the water wasn't her idea of fun. But someone had to do it. Someone had to help those poor souls.
"Debris, dead ahead!" came the cry.
Long Shadow sighed. If there was one thing she hated more than finding dead bodies, it was the human's gunk. Fishing nets were some of the worst. This one looked like it'd been washed overboard in a storm. And what's more, there appeared to be something in it. Curiosity drove her and she approached albeit cautiously. There was no guarantee the creature, whatever it was, wouldn't turn on her suddenly. As she drew closer, Long Shadow crew, every single one of them including Vandecker, backed away.
"It's a giant squid!" Jones breathed in awe.
"Actually it's a cephalopod." Vandecker corrected.
Jones scowled and was going to snap a harsh retort when Long Shadow intervened.
"Stow it, the both of you!" She growled.
They sighed and nodded. She turned her attention back to the poor creature trapped in the netting. It seemed to be alive, thrashing weakly as it noticed the ship coming towards it.
"It's okay." Long Shadow soothed it, unsure if her gift of language had interpreted the creature's speech correctly. "I'm not going to hurt you."
It seemed to understand and quit struggling. Long Shadow looked it over, admiring its thick muscular hide and its big wide hazel eyes, staring up at her through a mass of tentacles. Long Shadow smiled reassuringly at it as she set to work untangling the net. Soon it was free and it splashed around joyously before facing Long Shadow. The crew tensed as it gripped her heel. Long Shadow felt herself being pulled under. Her crew had no time to react.
"Gah!" Long Shadow gasped as she vanished below the surface. The thing pulled her along a short ways before letting go. The first thing Long Shadow noticed was she was floating. The second thing she noticed was she was sailing. She was actually sailing underwater! The thing did a twirl of joy in front of her.
"How is this possible?" Long Shadow breathed.
"It's possible because of your powers." replied a voice inside her head.
The sound of it appeared to be female and startled, Long Shadow looked around widely for the source of it. Again, she turned her gaze back to the creature, seeing it staring back. There was curiosity in that gaze as well as something else Long Shadow couldn't quite distinguish.
"I've never sensed a more unusual ship. You are really something, Long Shadow." It said.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"I have no name but the ones man provides me with. Beast, Leviathan, Kraken." It replied.
"Such names do not suit you." Long Shadow said.
"Just as flattery does not suit you." The creature, the Kraken, mused. "I feast upon human flesh to survive. I track them across trackless seas, finding them in their riggidy open boats. Your kind is so fragile. You break so easily." She replied.
"Why don't you break me then?" Long Shadow asked, half a challenge entering her voice.
"As I said, you are different." The Kraken said. "The scent of the stars is strong on you. It is such a scent that I have only smelled once, upon another ship years ago."
YOU ARE READING
The Founding Sisters #1 The Damned
General FictionRedoing my original and tying it in with the main series. We go back to the beginning, before the founding of the United States. Several ships were key players in this founding and this is their story.
