Song of Ramona (Book #1 in Pirates of the Cloudsea Trilogy) (Teaser)

IX. Siren Song

"Bugger!" I kicked the door, grumbling a string of filthy, hateful words.

It bewildered me to see a girl in such a fit without anything the matter. For a moment, I considered breaking out of the room, stealing a parachute, and trying my luck in the open sky.

I would lose everything I had built over the last year. I had survived the Fledgling phase and would earn my job assignment any day now. I had friends here, brothers who would risk their necks for me in battle. And if Dirk truly meant what he said and made sure no one ever hired me as a sky pirate again, I would become the most miserable wretch. I had come to love the skies, to crave the feeling of ascension and the thrills of bad weather. I had to make this work.

I returned to the girl, trying to think what helped me the night I was mugged. Beaten and robbed of my coin, I had curled up in the darkness, taking shelter beneath a broken cart as it began to rain. I had wept and pled with the gods to send me to my mother and father in heaven.

Then it struck me. Perhaps this girl was missing the maternal love her sod of a brother couldn't convey. Whenever I felt sad, my own mother would cradle me in her arms and sing to me. She sang a song passed down through the generations, a lullaby known only to our family.

I hummed the melody to Molly, surprised I remembered it. It was slow and a little melancholic, especially at the end. The girl rolled over, her teary eyes blinking themselves dry.

"What is that song?" she asked.

"I don't know the name," I said. "I'm sorry for my voice. I had an accident."

"I don't mind. Please, go on. It lifts my sorrows."

I continued to hum, hearing my mother's voice in my head as I did. The song conjured a feeling inside me that had been numbed for years. It was a yearning for something I knew I could never have again, and while the melody eased this child's pain, it nearly brought tears of my own. I heard the lock in the cabin door turn over. Captain Dirk re-entered.

"Ah, you made her see reason!" he cheered. "Oh, Molly. Whatever was the matter?"

"I swear it was nothing, brother. It was the strangest thing. The tears came upon me like a fever."

"Thank you, Clikk!" Dirk cried, kissing both my cheeks. "The wedding is the day after next, and you've saved us."

"Happy to help," I said. "I hope I might remain on the Wastrel and continue to serve."

"Yes, of course!" Dirk's celebration was a bit premature; once again, little Molly began to cry. "Oh no, no, no, no! What's wrong now?"

"I... can't... stop..." She had to force the words out as she choked on her sobs.

"Clikk! Do something!"

"Shhh," I hushed her and began to hum again. The tears vanished.

"Don't you see?" the girl said, exhausted. "The song helps me think clearly."

"Well then, by all means, keep humming it, Clikk!"

I did as my captain asked, but I couldn't very well do this for the rest of the girl's natural life, so I halted to present my theory on what was going on. "This has to be the witch's curse. If you recall, she said your most valuable prize would be made as worthless as your promises."

Molly began to weep yet again. Dirk bit his lip and scratched his head, pacing about the chamber.

"Damn. Damn. Damn," he kept saying. Molly sniveled helplessly. "Ugh! Clikk!" he snarled. "Would you please keep humming while I think?"

"Yes, sir!" I continued the song.

"Only stop humming to answer me. What is that song?"

"I don't know the name!" I spit the words out between notes.

"Do you know any of the words?"

"No!"

Molly tried humming it for herself, and I stopped to see if she could keep up the tune. She could not and collapsed back into her crying fit.

Dirk wrenched his eyes shut. "This is bad. This is really bad. Right. Clikk, I need you to be singing that song when we board the emperor's ship. And... throughout the wedding ceremony."

"Captain. My voice is rubbish, but I might play it on the fiddle instead so it would be more pleasing to the ear."

"Yes! Of course!" he exclaimed. "You must practice the song."

"Yes, Captain."

"Miss Clikk?" said Molly, sniffling. "Could you perhaps sing to me just a bit more? It is so hard for me to fall asleep."

Pitying the girl, I hummed the melody from the beginning.

Molly lay down on her side and closed her eyes. The cushion beneath her head was damp, so I turned it over and fluffed it for her. Then I pulled the fleece over her shoulder, withdrawing my hand suddenly. It was a strange role for me, as I had never taken care of anyone but myself. My only example of nurture came from memories of a mother as distant as the stars.

Dirk watched in silence, his eyes unfocused, his arms folded. As much as he pretended to have a callous heart, deep down lurked some familial compassion for the girl. Big brothers pretend not to care about their younger siblings, and pirates are the most adept men in the world at hiding their sentiments, but I could see the relief in his eyes as Molly drifted off to sleep.