Page 1 of Drowning in Sins
Prologue
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Stories are told of faraway places, where the ocean is so clear you can see all the way to the bottom. A magical place where the colors are brighter, the sun shines longer, and the breeze brings freedom. They were the only things keeping me going at this moment.
The murky water might as well have been surrounding us. I zoned out before the wedding, my feet doing most of the work as my heart fought to be elsewhere. It didn’t help that beyond my betrothed’s eyes, as we said our vows, was his first mate and all my heart’s desire.
A honeymoon sail was Simon’s idea. He was kind and handsome, but my heart belonged to another. I went along with it, of course; it wasn’t as if a woman could be anything without a man. We grew up living the lives forced by our fathers before being passed off to a husband.
Property.
I never dreamed of being free; I knew the reality of my situation. Love was all I desired. As if I could find love first. It came out of nowhere really. My eyes landed on John’s, which were as blue as the ocean, and they carried me away like waves.Our passion was on borrowed time. Stolen moments drifted poetry to the ears, and kisses stayed hidden in the shadows.
Now, my head was high as we left the harbor. I thought a fake smile would be needed, and I was well-versed in the act. Knowing John had a plan for us to make our escape after the wedding made everything feel calm and right. It gave me the freedom to enjoy the moment, as close friends and family were aboard. None of them knew it would be the last time they’d see me.
Darkness came, and the party moved below deck. Plenty of food and drinks were shared as music played. I tried to keep my head, but the alcohol hit too fast. One moment, I was swept up in the merriment in Simon’s arms, and the next, I was on the ground.
Whether we hit something or something hit us, I didn’t know. Then voices came in the wind, soothing as a lullaby. I glanced around the room to see the men’s eyes glaze over as they stumbled up the steps. The few women on board glanced at one another in confusion before we followed.
The ship creaked beneath my feet as I held the railing to carefully make my way up. Tentacles far larger than anything I’d heard about squeezed the ship around us. Wrapping themselves around the mast. To one side, sand appeared from the lowered tide. To the other, men were launching themselves over the side of the ship.
Everything happened so fast. My mother cried out to my father, then screamed. That was the first time I saw them. Something from a nightmare. Hair as dark as the night’s sky, pale skin on the top half that morphed into a darker fish’s tail on the bottom.
A siren.
I watched as the beautiful nightmare clawed out my father’s heart and ate it. My own heartbeat slowed as ice filled my veins. Icouldn’t watch. My feet stumbled back, and I looked around. As if by fate, Simon and John appeared next to one another, slowly moving to the railing and preparing to climb over and jump.
“John! Simon!” I yelled as I ran toward the pair of them. As soon as I tugged on their arms in an attempt to break whatever spell had been placed, a hiss sounded.
A siren was carried up on a tentacle. She sat on it like a swing as it lifted her. Her eyes met mine, and for one blink, I thought she might understand. Then her head tilted as her song played.
“No!” I tugged on their arms once again before I realized it wasn’t enough. My chance at freedom was slipping through my fingers, and I needed to act fast.
I grabbed the knives that both men kept tucked into their belts and ran toward the one who threatened it all. My skirts wrapped around my legs as I climbed up the railing and jumped toward the creature with both weapons.
The siren screamed as the blade pierced her. One in an eye and another where I thought its heart might be, if it even had one. It fell back into the water, and I held onto the tentacle in an attempt to not drop into the depths myself.
Fate had another idea.
I turned back to see John and Simon reach for me with awareness and fear in their eyes as all the breath was squeezed out of me. The tentacle wrapped itself around my body until nothing was left except the screams of both men and darkness.
Chapter One
ROSALYN
Fourteen Years Old
It wasn’this combover that had me wrinkling my nose. Nor was it the way his monotone voice could put a whole parish to sleep. It was the fact that he stood up there and spoke as if his word mattered. He pushed his agenda, and everyone surrounding me liked to be his sheep. As if sitting here gave them a golden ticket to heaven.
I wasn’t even sure if I believed in it.
How could someone worry about what an invisible man in the sky thought of how they lived their life, when the universe was so much bigger than that? The skies were a never-ending source of stars gone out, moons orbiting planets we couldn’t begin to imagine, and an infinite amount of life. As if one man was capable of all that.
I lost track of what the preacher man said from behind his podium. He’d occasionally raise his voice to keep everyone tuned in. I hadn’t been paying attention since I stepped between the pews. It was the same every Sunday anyway. Something about aGod who was both all-powerful and loving. I refused to believe for one minute that it was true.
If it were true, even a little bit, he couldn’t be both loving and all powerful. There were too many bad things in this world happening to good people. He may have the congregation that surrounded me convinced to commit their lives and money, but never me. I made a vow the first time I saw Brother Jonah in the acts of something his God wouldn’t approve of.
Not that I could tell anyone. Who would believe me?
