Page 71 of Of Magic and Rum
Using my sword, I cut a piece and slap it into her hand, glaring at her and waiting to hear what I’ll need to bargain this time.
Morgana throws the hair into the pot, blue vapors spiraling from it. She chants something in a language that resembles a mix between Latin and something far more ancient than I am. A parchment sheening with a rainbow prism rises from the pot’s magical waters, and she snatches it, her villainous gaze zeroing in on me. “Now. For whatIwant.”
Someone’s gasping for air and splashing through the waterfall entrance. Jack hunches forward, his hands on his knees. He takes several deep breaths and sputters. “Thank Christ, it’s an air bubble.”
Terror overcomes me. No. What if she tries to bargain with him? She can’t know he’s mine.
“Jack, what the hell are you doing? Your Captain told you to stay on board. Are you disobeying orders?” I fold my arms and lift my chin. “I should make you walk the plank for such insubordination.”
Jack’s glaring at me, and he looks between Morgana and me before dragging a hand through his soaked hair. “Apologies,Captain. But me and the crew were worried. Seeing as I can hold my breath the longest, we voted for me to come check on you.”
“I don’t believe you.” Morgana floats in front of Jack, and how close she is has my skin on fire. “Because no mortal could break past my shielding spell unless—” Her eyes cut to me, and her lips slowly curl upward. “I know what I want from you, sea nymph.”
“No,” I shout without reason or composure. Sliding in front of Jack, I shake my head at Morgana. “No. Please, anything else?—”
“Shh.” Morgana taps a pointed nail on my cheek. “You haven’t heard my proposal.”
Jack’s hand wraps my hip, pulling me against him.
“Thenspeak, witch.” My voice isn’t my own. It’s venomous and cold.
Morgana twirls once before speaking. “For the rest of eternity, you may not harm my daughters. Inanycapacity.”
Her daughters. The Sirens. I’ve never harmed them, to begin with. What difference will this make?
I open my mouth to answer, but Jack clamps a hand over it. “Remember what I said. What could shegainfrom this?”
Hours can go by, and I’d still come up empty on ways a trickster like Morgana can twist this to her advantage. There’s no doubt this will come back to bite me straight in the ass, but I know we can handleanything.
Peeling Jack’s fingers away, I nod at Morgana. “Agreed.”
Morgana appears in front of me in a swirl of black smoke, grinning and holding out her hand. “We have a deal then.”
I stare at her fingers, taking one final moment to think of the worst scenario that could come of this. But the more time I spend hesitating, the more time passes with my family fearing for my safety, and the more time passes before we reach Atlantis. And so, I shake her hand. There’s a blinding flash of light, and she’s holding the parchment out to me and dropping it in my limp hands.
“Write on it what you wish, put it in a corked bottle, and throw it to sea. The scroll will know its way from there.” Morgana says this to me but winks at Jack.
With the parchment crinkling in my grip, I lurch forward, but Jack grabs me, coaxing me toward the exit.
“It’s not worth it, love,” he whispers.
Morgana waves at me, one finger at a time. “I’ll be seeing yourealsoon, Rhode.”
The name is like a hundred jellyfish stings striking my body. And before I realize it, I’m back in the water, swimming with Jack to the surface and on board the ship. Jack lets me use his cabin to write my message in privacy, and I now sit in silence, staring at the blank parchment, not knowing what to say. There’s the possibility of saying both too much and not enough.
I grab the quill resting at the corner of Jack’s desk, lick the tip, and start writing from the heart.
Dear Dad,
If you’re reading this, that means the crazy sea witch was right, and this enchantment actually worked. I hope it does because I want to let you know I’m aliveand safe. I’m in the Caribbean and have made the most of my life that I can here. Don’t worry. No one knows who or what I am.
Wincing, I pause, questioning whether I should say this because it’s a partial lie. But Ineedhim not to worry, so I continue.
If I know you, you’re doing everything in your power to find me, find a way to me, and probably running yourself ragged over it. Thank you. But just know, if, for whatever reason, we aren’t able to see each other ever again, I’m your daughter, and I’m a survivor. I love you to the stars and back.
Your little seahorse,
Rhode
