Page 23 of Stealing the Merman

“A mystical merman isn’t going to help either,” Kristian snorted.

“But they’re beautiful!”

“Oh, stop drooling. Dear god, you’ve been going on about mermen since we left for this trip. There are no mermen, and if you want company, look at the next harbor. Heck, look aboard this ship for all I care, but stop gabbling.”

“Fine,” Darin huffed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep quiet for long. Kristian was right, he’d brought up the topic of mermen a few times during this voyage. Not every day though. Definitely not every day.

Darin was obsessed. He thought about Finn and Conall every waking hour. And while idle talk about mermen earned him Kristian’s side-eye, it wasn’t risky. At least not as risky as talking about how much he liked burly pirate captains. That was downright dangerous. Kristian didn’t suspect Darin’s past, which he hid, lest the authorities at the next port hanged him. He couldn’t let on he’d been a pirate, but he could talk about how mermen were supposed to be gorgeous. And he had to talk about something. If he didn’t, it’d eat him up from the inside.

He’d thought time would erase his longing for the two men that had stolen his sanity, but as months passed and his desire didn’t fade, it began feeling like a trap. If Darin had favored girls, he could’ve found a wife in Puerto Rico or wherever. But he didn’t, and it hurt him when all he wanted was a family. He’d never have a family. It wasn’t in the cards for him. He touched his mother’s token hanging from his neck, wishing for a life where he’d grown up in a house warmed by love.

They finished on deck, and Darin was keen to get away. He headed for the mess, where he chatted and played cards with the other crew for a couple of hours until his eyes grew heavy, and he called it a night.

He plodded to his cabin, where he stripped and crawled into bed, glad another meaningless day was over. What was Conall doing this minute? Was he preparing to board another ship and relieve it of its treasures? Where was he? And what was Finn doing? Had he lured in another ship?

The sheets were coarse and stiff as Darin pulled them up to his shoulders. The rough material was a far cry from the softness of Finn’s silky hair and skin. At least the temperatures were comfortable. London was at its worst this time of year. If Darin never returned, it’d be too soon.

He fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming of a blond merman with deep blue eyes and a pirate captain packed with muscle, regarding him with a steely, possessive gaze. Then a water vortex ripped them from him, swallowing them.

He woke with a start, screaming, arm outstretched, reaching for someone who wasn’t there. Sweat soaked his hair, and his breathing was rapid as if he’d run a mile.

Reality settled in. It was dark, and he was alone. Discontented, Darin dropped back onto his pillow. This had to stop. He couldn’t go on like this. He had to leave the past behind and move on. He wouldn’t see Conall or Finn again, and it was best if he accepted reality. His unhealthy preoccupation with the two of them would stop today. Conall had made it clear that he hated Darin’s guts, and Finn had been a one-time chance encounter. It was ridiculous. Darin swore to put them out of his mind.

His good intentions lasted mere hours. His thoughts returned to the two men with painful persistence.

A couple of nights later, Darin was back to telling colorful merman tales as the crew had a light dinner and heavy drinks in the mess. It was the last night before they’d reach the safe harbor of San Juan, and Fernando and Luis let them celebrate the final evening of a successful voyage as rowdily as they wanted to. In fact, the Spanish merchants participated. Darin had quite a bit of rum, but he was used to the vast amounts of alcohol consumed on pirate ships. He’d drink any of the sailors under the table, even if they were twice his weight.

The importance of that was slammed home when at the height of the celebration, the ship ran into pirates, and Darin had to think on his feet. Their ship,The Haste,was small; the bulk of the Spaniards’ cargo had already arrived in Puerto Rico, carried by far larger galleons. After a short discussion, the men decided to make for the uninhabited Culebra archipelago to hide in the shallow waters and the maze of islands and bays. The area had been a pirate haven until it was abandoned for unknown reasons ten years earlier, and the pirates around Puerto Rico strengthened their base in Vieques.

Until the early morning hours, Darin buzzed around deck, making sure the crew prepared the ship for dropping anchor in the archipelago. The night was fading, and the first light painted a yellow strip onto the horizon. The pirates were still in pursuit, slowly gaining onThe Haste.

One of the deckhands, the same useless lad who hadn’t tidied up properly the other night, piped up. “Where are we headed again?”

“Culebra,” Darin said. He yawned behind his hand—he’d spent one half of the night drinking and the other directing the crew as they ran from the pirates.

“Culebra? I heard that before.”

“Yeah, used to be a pirates’ nest, but they’re gone,” Darin said.

“Oh, yes, I remember,” the deckhand said. “Mermen came and—”

“What?” Luis asked from halfway across the main deck, his sharp tone making Darin snap around. Luis marched over to them, eyes fixed on the deckhand. “What did you say?” Unlike Kristian, he believed the merman stories sailors told. The night before, when Darin had shared the myths he knew, Luis had chimed in, telling tales of ships lost at sea, rumored to have been taken by mermen.

“Heard a story about mermen ‘round the archipelago,” the deckhand said. “That’s all.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kristian said and went on about how it was all nonsense.

Darin didn’t listen. His head was spinning, his heart galloping. Mermen? Here? How was that possible? How hadn’t he heard of it? It had to be a misunderstanding. But Darin had never inquired about mermen outside the Bahamas, fixated as he was on Shroud Cay. He hadn’t spared a thought as to where other mermen lived. How many mermen colonies existed in the New World? A dozen? A hundred? Darin hadn’t bothered to find out, and it was coming back to bite him.

AsThe Hastecut closer to the archipelago, the pirates turned away, abandoning their pursuit. Was it because their ship had too deep a draft to enter the straits between the islands? Or did they fear the mermen supposedly living in those waters? There were many stories of men being taken by mermen, disappearing forever. Not all pirates were as eager as Conall and his crew had been to let themselves get abducted. Were the mermen the reason pirates abandoned the islands ten years ago?

Fog wafted over the water as the islands grew larger asThe Hasteapproached; golden beaches and verdant hills rose out of the deep blue sea. The ship entered the strait separating the main island of Culebra from two smaller ones.The Hasteslipped past the steep coast of Cayo Norte, fresh wind billowing the sails.

A break in the islands, and then Isla Culebrita peeled out of the fog. Its flat shores promised mellow beaches and the tranquil play of waves against fine sand. Compared to its rough sister Cayo Norte, Culebrita was an inviting paradise.

Soon the sun rose past the horizon, its light painting the fog golden. It was then that the first note of the mermen’s song met Darin’s ears. The sweet call consumed him, lulling him into a haze. The melody swelled, the mermen’s voices carrying across the water. The crew, overwhelmed by the song, rushed to the railing, Darin amongst them, fighting for the best vantage point to see the mermen.

Blood thundered in Darin’s ears. His senses had to be playing tricks on him because he thought he heard Finn’s voice among the others. It couldn’t be; it was impossible. Finn was a thousand miles away in the Bahamas.

---