A Pirate's Song.

Chapter Twenty-Three.

All four of them had eventually caught up to me in that hot, red desert terrain, climbing dunes to follow me.

I ignored them until Rebecca casually asked, not bringing up the previous conversation or the fact that the tension still hung thick between Caleb and I.

“So what exactly are we looking for?” I stooped walking when a strong gust of wind came blowing past us, causing sand to lift and pelt against my bare legs. I held onto my hat which was the only thing protecting my face from the harsh rays of the Southern sun. Becca pushed down on her skirt to keep it from blowing up as Ben shielded his face. Both Caleb and Nolan didn’t seem effected by the burning sensation that the sand against their skin caused.

“A green gem” I replied once the winds had passed and I could continue down the dune we were placed on. I skidded down the side of it then kept moving, eyes narrowed onto the horizon as I scanned it for any sign of a green glimmer.

No one felt the need to say or ask anything else as we walked, our feet leaving trails of red dust behind us.

Rebecca twisted her ankle, falling to her knees in the sand, hand gripping for the nearest thing to catch herself which happened to be Nolan. She grabbed hold of his arm and nearly dragged him down on top of her as she cried out in sudden pain. I stopped, turning to glance back at her.

“f**k sakes, las” Nolan complained, half bent over her with his arm still in her hold. Ben was quick to her side, always the kind and caring young man who worried about all women and respected them regardless of who and what they were.

“Are you alright?” Ben asked when my eyes caught sight of a green shimmer in the distance. I rushed to get to it, moving as fast as I could in the heat and dirt. When I got there I bent down to pick it up, unaware of the fact that Caleb was right there with me.

I held it up towards the sky, watching as the sun reflected off its surface, sending green beams of light across our faces. There was a rumble, the ground beneath us starting to shake as I stumbled, barely able to properly grab hold of the gem when the sand gave way, seeping down into a hidden cavern beneath the surface.

I fell, my legs slipping out from underneath me as I gasped, unable to scream before my back collided with the floor. The air was knocked out of my lungs, the gem slipping away, cluttering across the stone floors.

“Caleb!” Rebecca’s voice cried out from somewhere above me. I turned onto my side, my eyes blurred and foggy as they blinked at the sight before me.

Caleb was standing up nearby, also having fallen. He moved toward the gem, leaning down to scoop it up from in between the stone and red sand.

“Evangeline!” Ben called down into the cavern. I didn’t move, my world dancing in slow motion with my breathing echoing in my ears. I blinked, watching Caleb as he stuffed the jewel into his pocket and raised his head to look at me.

“Lassie!” Nolan added in when he too realized that I had gotten hurt. My eyes began to droop, my hand balling around the red grains that lay beside my head, my body, legs and arms were covered in the substance, stained.

There was a heavy thudding as the image of Mary’s face flickered past my closed eyes. They shot open, my mouth gaping as I gasped, pushing myself onto all fours when her blank expression surfaced like a thundering heartbeat in my mind. I began coughing, wheezing with my hands balling into fists against the stone tiles.

Caleb stopped dead in his tracks a few paces away, he didn’t want to come near me unless it was absolutely necessary, but he stayed where he was in case things would go South and he needed to reach me in time.

I leaned back onto my knees, my hands sliding along the ground to fall limp at my sides when I looked up to the gaping hole above.

Nolan had Rebecca’s arm around his shoulder, the leg of her sprained ankle lifted to prevent her from stepping on it while Ben was on his hands and knees much closer to the hole, peering down at me.

“I’m fine” I reassured them, my head falling forward, hair shielding my face from their view as I leaned onto my palms, breathing, just taking a moment to feel where it hurt.

For once I was grateful for the endless torment of Mary, for her sudden appearances in my mind and dreams. If it hadn’t been for her I would’ve most likely passed out cold.

There was no warm liquid at the back of my head which meant that I hadn’t hit it, my arms and legs could move without too much pain.

“Rope” I breathed out, leaning my body in Caleb’s direction with my hand patting the stone. He glanced back down at me, his eyes searching my form and face before he turned to address the three looming overhead.

“Fetch me a rope!” he called up, his voice echoing which lead me to believe that the room we were in was vast and empty. I could hear sand falling into the hole when Ben moved to address both Rebecca and Nolan. There was the trickling of water nearby and my eyes shot open to glance over to the side for fear of me getting wet with Caleb so close by.

“Take Rebecca back to the ship, treat her ankle and bring a rope” Ben’s voice said, sounding louder with the help of the cavern. I blinked at the crystal pool of water that sat off to the side. The room was giant, the pool deep with statues of a bearded man, holding a triton lining the walls.

Was this some sort of temple that was built in honor of the sea god, Neptune?

“I’ll stay here as a look out” Ben declared. I knew that the threats surrounding the desert climate were large, sand storms could pop up out of nowhere and burry us alive in the cavern, the ceiling could cave in but beyond that I had something else to fear equally as much. I was starting to dehydrate, having ventured so far away from the damp sea air and with Caleb around I wouldn’t be able to get into the water.

“Right-.” Nolan began, Rebecca’s heavy breathing reaching my ears. The Irishman turned to start the journey back to the ship but paused to glance back at Ben then down to where I was gripping my forehead with my right hand, rubbing red dirt along my pale skin.

“Ye best take care of the las” he warned. My eyes widened slightly at his threat, my gaze going up to look at him, however he had already started leading a limping Rebecca away from the hole.

Did the man who enjoyed tormenting me really care whether I got hurt or not?

I shook my head, falling onto my side so that I could turn and lean my back against a nearby wall in the shade. Ben took a seat with his back to the cavern, his eyes staring out onto the open planes and dunes of crimson dust.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the wall, lips slightly parted and hands trembling from the shock of the fall that still shot through my limbs.

It was starting to get hotter the later it got into the day, I had kicked off my boots and rolled up the sleeves of my shirt. My hat had fallen when I did and lay a few feet away, covered in dust and sand.

Caleb had stripped down into only his pants, pacing from one end of the room to the other like a restless, caged animal.

My head was pounding; my breathing came as dry pants.

“How long does it take to get a simple rope?” he complained, his eyes darting towards the surface as he moved, sweat coating his chest and muscles in a glossy layer. I sighed heavily, letting the breath escape me at the loud volume of his annoyed tone that sent a sharp pain through my skull.

“Please stop yelling” my voice rasped, catching Caleb’s attention. He turned to glare at me, eyes blazing over. He was still irritated from the events of the night before, from that morning’s argument.

“I’ll do whatever the hell I want!” he snapped, louder. I flinched when his words struck me like a blow to the face. My tired eyes blinked up at him when he stormed toward me, stopping a few feet away, breathing hard with his nostrils flaring as they always did when he got mad.

“Don’t start with me” I warned, my voice faint but sounding louder from the echoes that the room created. Ben turned to glance down at us from over his shoulder, his elbows resting on his propped knees. I wasn’t in the mood to argue with Caleb.

“Who do ye think ye-?” I cut him off when he began yelling again, my head raising to send a glare in his direction. My voice rose higher, growing like that of a lioness’s roar, threatening and without hesitation.

“You want to start? Then let’s start!” I gripped the wall behind me, using it to drag myself onto my feet since I wasn’t going to take his harsh words sitting down. He leaned back slightly, his hands balling when he moved to snarl something in my face. I again interrupted him.

“I’m done playing games” the words brought an end to his confident bursts of fury, instead leaving him angry but silent. We both knew what I was getting at through my words. I gripped for the back of a collapsed statue, using it to steady myself as I stepped closer to him with shaking legs.

“I may look like her-.” I began, bringing up the true subject behind our heated words, deadly glares and s****l tension that hung in the air between us.

“I may sound like her-.” my hand slid along the side of the statue, helping me walk closer until I was stood directly in front of him with my free hand twitching at my side, the pain in my head having intensified when I stood up. I was too weak, to drained to yell so I spoke calmly.

“But I am not Mary-.” my eyes were rimmed with red, burning from the lack of water in my system when I locked gazes with his golden one.

“And if she’s what you want then I won’t stand in the way of that” his body tensed at the sound of her name, his face starting to grow colder but I was done fighting, done yelling and arguing.

I glanced down at the floor, my bare feet in between the red dirt and grey stone tiles.

I breathed in, my chest rising and falling, a loud wheezing sound coming from my lips when I looked back up at him.

“If you want to love a ghost then I won’t be the girl who fell in love with a man who loves the dead” Ben had turned to listen in on our conversation, his own brown eyes growing sad as he listened to my words. A part of me felt something strong and intense for Caleb but he only felt the way he did toward me because of my face. I stumbled back a step, shaking my head.

“I’m not Mary and I won’t pretend to be her” I finished, watching the anger start to fade from his features almost like he understood what I was getting at. The irritation still lingered there long after I spoke.

He breathed out through his nose, his hair hanging in his eyes in some places while other strands framed his face.

“Ye’re nothing like her” I wasn’t sure if his words were supposed to sting or comfort me so I stayed silent, my hand tightening on the statue, so much so that it turned white, the skin on my arms and legs starting to itch from lack of moisture.

“Ye’re feistier, ye can swim, ye’re not afraid of anything, ye’re reckless, stubborn and a pain in the ass to deal with-.” I winced, my eyes closing as I took in his harsh words.

Yes, they were what separated me from Mary but they weren’t necessarily good things.

Caleb moved closer to me, drawing my eyes back up to him when he peered down at me with a softened look in his eyes.

“But most importantly ye’re Evangeline” it was a good thing, his list of differences between Mary and I were a good thing.

I parted my chapped and cracked lips, wanting to speak but before I could, I choked on my own breath. My legs gave way beneath me, my hand losing its grip on the fallen statue. Caleb moved to catch me, going down on one knee to lighten my fall as I began violently coughing, wheezing and struggling to breathe.

“Evangeline!” he cried out, his arms wrapped securely around me, supporting me. I reached for the pool of water, my hand outstretched toward it in desperation. I wasn’t going to survive if I held out any longer in that scorching heat.

“Get her to the water!” Ben’s voice yelled down into the cavern, frantic and knowing exactly what was happening to me. Caleb glanced up at the younger man then looked back down at me. I moved my arm to grip at my necklace, my chest rising and falling rapidly but the air not reaching my lungs. My body fell limp, slumped against his chest, causing him to take action by snapping him out of his daze.

There was genuine worry in his eyes when he picked me up, one arm wrapped around my shoulders, the other tucked underneath my knees. I didn’t know if it was concern for him not being able to find the remaining few treasures once I would die or whether he really cared for me somewhere deep down in his black heart.

My eyes were shut as he carried me, the swaying motion of his movements letting nausea set in.

I mentally prepared myself for how he would react, for how he would take me being a mermaid when the sound of his feet stepping into the water reached my ears.

I gasped, my eyes shooting open when the cool liquid struck my back and soaked my bare legs, cleaning them of the red dust. I tore the necklace from my throat, clutching it in the palm of my hand when my head fell back into the water.

My legs kicked, tangling into one silver fin that when caught by the light reflected violet. My hair became grey, my pupils slitting with eyes glowing and teeth extending to form fangs. My fingers and the shells of my ears webbed when scales littered my arms, chest and face, gills forming on either side of my neck.

I stared up at Caleb, his eyes locked onto mine before they roamed over my body, most of which was still covered by his shirt that I had been wearing.

I was still weak and unable to move, completely at the mercy of his hands if they chose to choke me or crush me.

My body shot forward, pulling my face out of the water as my hand grabbed for his shoulder, holding the top portion of my figure out of the water. Caleb was oddly calm, his form stiff from the feel of my scaled arms around him but he relaxed, easing into it.

His hand slid up along my back and to my neck where he ran his fingers across my gills, across my scales, admiring them. His tender, curious touch sent child down the back of my spine, causing my mouth to gape near his neck where I could hear blood pumping through the main artery of his heart.

I gasped when his thumb traced my jaw and was pulled out of my trance. My instincts kicked in when I realized where I was and who I was with. The threat of a pirate Captain registered in my mind, causing me to become frantic at the thought of him wanting to hurt me, to cut off my scales to sell on the black market.

I began thrashing against him, pushing him back a few paces as I dove into the water, diving into the shallow end where we were stood. My hands moved quickly, fastening the necklace back around my neck as my eyes locked onto a rusty, old knife in the water nearby.

I reached for it out of fear and desperation, my fin separating into two limbs once more. I stood in the water, my body trembling as I held the knife up in self-defense, pointing the tip of the blade at him with my pupils still slit, my mouth parting to bare my fangs with a threatening hiss.

Caleb had raised his arm to shield his face from the splash of the water and lowered it back to his side when he locked eyes with me. His sense of curiosity faded away, being replaced with the realness of the situation.

He knew that I was scared, that I saw him as a threat and that made him grow dark, as if he had been expecting me to trust him more.

“I don’t want ye scales” he declared, his shoulders rising and falling with every breath that he took. I slowly began to lower the knife back to my side, my face going back to normal, eyes no longer glowing, hair as white as snow, canines retracting. I was starting to regain myself again, the fear from before having been replaced by the realization that by not trusting him, I had hurt him.

“Caleb-.” I breathed, taking a step towards him in the water. He turned his back to me, glancing back when he spoke again, words that cut through me like the knife I let slip from my hand.

“All I want is them treasures” was it his way of saying that as long as I lead him to the treasures he wouldn’t hurt me or was it him saying that the treasures mattered more than money and the abilities that mermaid scales could bring him.

I found myself watching him as he climbed out of the water, walking to the opposite side of the room with his back reflecting the light that shone in through the hole in the cavern ceiling. Questions that I had been keeping inside all this time surfaced to the forefront of my mind.

Why were those treasures so important to him? What did they mean to him? Why was he so determined to find all seven gems to begin with? I had gone the extra mile, placed myself in harm’s way to get to those jewels but why? Why was I so desperate to get to those gems without even knowing what the purpose behind them was?

Ben remained silent, watching the look on my face, the stinging of my eyes when I felt so vulnerable, so exposed. I had hurt Caleb and just the thought of him in pain because of how I reacted, caused me a pain more agonizing than any I had ever experienced before.