Stormy Seas

Stormy Seas

The cold water had filled my lungs. I had been terrified of drowning, but after the initial shock and pain, it was quite peaceful. I was no longer struggling, and felt as though I was falling asleep. My mind drifted back, recalling the last few moments of my life.

“No! Please! I have done nothing to endanger you, I have done nothing wrong! Please!” I cried out to any who would listen. I fought as my arms were tied tight behind me. These sailors were easily twice my size.

“Siobhan! Wait, please listen!” Pepin yelled. He too was held back, though no one was tying his limbs together. This was lucky, men caught helping women on board ships were thrown overboard almost as much as the women. This was the only thing that brought a small hit of relief. We would no longer have a life together, but he would have a life.

“Men, the cause of our bad luck has been discovered! Because of this woman, our winds have disappeared, our seas stilled. There is no place for a woman on this ship!” The captains’ chief officer, Admiral Mathers addressed the crew. Cheers resounded around the deck. “She has taken part of our provisions, we will not have a sufficient stock to reach our destination. She has been found as a stow-a-way! These crimes cannot go unpunished. Tie her legs!”

“No!” Pepin exclaimed behind me. I had no voice left to protest. My legs were bound and I could no longer stand.

“Officer Bower, explain your actions to your crew mates. Tell them why you put their lives in danger.” Mathers said. Pepin stood up straight, a hard look on his face, his black hair falling into his green eyes.

“I have not put you in danger. This woman is no threat, look at her! She is my fiancée. Her family did not approve of us.” There was a harsh laugh from someone in the crowd. “I brought her here with me so we could make a new start when we land. Your foolish superstitions are the only danger here!” His eyes, fearful, looked around for an ally. “You are the ones about to kill an innocent woman. She does not change our luck here! Think about what you are doing, you are meant to protect women, not give them to the sea!” I was so lucky to have him love me. We had been so close, another few days he had told me earlier that day. The crew, however, did not agree with anything he had said.

“Prepare to be rid of this woman,” Mathers told his crew.

“No, please!” I tried again, but why would they chose to listen to me now? My cries went unheeded. The large men lifted me up, the sky full of stars, and a full moon. I saw Pepins face, devastated there was nothing he could do for me. Men held him back as he tried to get to me. I watched him as long as I could, and then he was gone. I was falling through the darkness; then icy water was surrounding me.



Sharp pains brought me back to the present. My legs felt as though they were on fire. What was happening? Was the sense of peace just an illusion of death? Was this how it felt to drown? Was I going to Hell? The fire made its way up to my neck. I tried to scream, but all that was there was water. Still tied up there was nothing I could do to relieve the pain. I waited for death to come, but it never did. After what seemed like hours of floating helplessly, the pain receded. Though I was still below the surface of the ocean, I could suddenly breathe. I could see in the inky water. Fidgeting my hands, I felt the rope snap and they were free. I first put them on my neck. It was still tingling. Soft ridges lined the edges of my neck, moving slightly as the water passed by them. Confused, I brought my hands around in front of me. I looked in shock at what I saw. My nails were long and sharp. I touched one with a finger and a dot of blood appeared. It was soon washed away by the current. My skin was scaly, and though it looked to be the same color it had been before, it shimmered. I began working on wriggling out of my dress, it was pulling me down. Thought I was no longer afraid of the oceans depths, I wanted to free my legs of their bonds. I kicked my legs to pull them out of the dress quicker, and swam surprisingly fast upward. I looked down, the ropes were still there, but they were around a fin! I thought to myself that perhaps I had died. Though at the moment I couldn’t remember why I thought that, or why a tail would be so strange. I cut the ropes off with my new claws and examined my tail. Its scales were much larger than the scales on my upper body, and a fantastic blue! Someone in a past life would have told me it matched my eyes. I could no longer remember who. The transition from tail to the rest of my body was smooth, and beautiful. I grinned, then laughed as I twirled quickly before testing out my new body. Swimming left, then right, turning with unbelievable precision and speed, I was ecstatic.

Unexpectedly, I felt eyes on me. Who could possibly be down here? Who would dare to spy on me? I turned, angry, and saw a magnificent creature. She had black hair, long enough to touch her waist. Her eyes were the color of light emeralds, and her tail a few shades darker. Her body was a bronze that only came from spending time in the sun, and on islands I had never been to. With all her beauty, it was the look in her eyes that caught me. Excited, and hungry.

“Hello,” she said to me. I heard it more in my head than anywhere else, though her mouth moved. “My name is Mazelina. You may call me Lina. You are new here.” It was not a question. “Who are you?” She blinked and waited for me to answer. I thought for a minute, to remember my name as well as to find my voice.

“Siobhan,” I replied. She smiled.

“Well, Siobhan, how are you liking your new life?”

“New life?” I couldn’t remember a past life. But it wasn’t important. I grinned back at her. “It is wonderful.”

“I am glad. But think. What do you remember?” I watched her, confused. I wanted to please her, however, so I closed my eyes to think.

“I remember fire, fire all over. I remember I couldn’t breathe, falling. I remember…” My eyes flew open, “Mathers.” A feeling I had never known before grew in me. It became so strong I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Loathing, hot and harsh. Lina smiled in earnest now.

“Good. There are more like us. We were changed in the way you were. We stay together and help any new who come to us. We will help you find Mathers, and we will leave him to you. The rest of the crew, well, we will find our enjoyment from them.” I had enjoyed swimming on my own, but now I had a purpose. I smiled back at her egger to get started.



Lina led me to a group of creatures like us.

“We have a new ship! Siobhan was left for dead by a man named Mathers. He is hers, the rest are just as guilty and free for any of us. Let us go, and find justice for our new sister!” Odd cheers followed Lina’s speech. I felt a tug in my abdomen, and knew it was leading me to Mathers.

“We will follow you Siobhan. We feel the pull as well, but this your justice. You are our leader this trip.”

“How can we fight them? We have no weapons that I’ve seen, and he has a ship,” I was uncertain how to proceed.

“Do not fear. The same power that allowed you a second life also gave you a great gift. You will know what to do when we get close,” Lina explained to me. I nodded, then turned to look at my new family. Once I was certain they were all ready, I turned, and began to swim following the tugging feeling. I did not know how far away the ship had gotten from where they left me, but I was not worried about losing it, or needing rest or food. My new body seemed capable of anything. Lina swam next to me, but never ahead. She seemed to be the leader of this group and filled with the same hot hunger that was fuelling me. The farther we swam, the hotter my hunger became. I was soon thinking of nothing but extracting my revenge. Having the others with me seemed appropriate. They too were innocent women men had killed because of their fear. More would do the same, and we would be there. Perhaps they had reason to fear us after all.

Sooner than I expected I saw the ship. I grinned and called out. They were getting ready to sail by a small island, it was new and had only a rocky surface. There were many small outcroppings surrounding it. My sisters and I swam past the ship and climbed onto the rocks, sitting with our tails swishing in and out of the water. They looked beautiful, and I knew I looked the same. Lina and I looked at each other, and she smiled.

“Go ahead,” she said. Her voice sounded of wind chimes in a soft breeze. I could hardly wait, and didn’t need to be told twice. I closed my eyes and began to sing. It was not a song I recognized, but I knew it came from the sea. She was helping me receive justice. My sisters allowed me a couple minutes to sing alone. Men began shouting from the ship.

“Be quiet! Do you hear that?”

“Listen!”

“Turn the ship!”

“I see something!”

“She is beautiful!”

They came closer. Lina sang with me, then the rest of my sisters.

“My God!” It was Mathers. “Men, prepare the rowboats!” There was commotion as every man ran to be part of the expedition. Three boats were lowered into the water. We swam toward them, never once ceasing to sing. Mathers was in the first boat. I swam to him, my voice melodic and enticing. He could not take his eyes off me, leaning closer and closer. I rose up and kissed him, putting one hand behind his head. I knew my sisters were doing the same. Mathers put his arms around me as our tongues touched and caressed. I slowly lowered myself down, further into the ocean. His arms tightened, and I sank, pulling him with me. I don’t think he was even aware we were under water. That was fine with me, less struggle. I would let him suffer in a moment. His hands came up and grabbed my breasts, squeezing in a way that was almost painful. It only drove me on. With my sharp nails I cut open his pants, running my hand softly along him. My other hand was across his back, holding him to me. He gasped, only resulting in him losing some of his precious breath. I grabbed him harder, rubbing. His body convulsed, with desire as well as a lack of oxygen. He needed to surface, his lungs were filling with water as mine had. My fingers began cutting into his back, my other hands’ nails causing pain rather than pleasure. His eyes flew open, wide with the realization of his situation. My teeth bared, sharp and ready for his blood. He began to struggle, fighting to get above the surface. I struck out and cut his arm before letting him get away. What fun is it if you don’t let them think they are surviving? I followed him up, my head breaking through the waves. The night was no longer filled with harmonious voices, but screams and cries. Mathers was one of the loudest. That thrilled me. I caught him easily and pulled him under again, holding him beneath me so I was between him and his goal. He thrashed about, strong, but not strong enough. I brought him close to my face.

“You do not deserve your life,” I hissed. He tried to scream. He had nothing left. I wanted to see him drown before feeding on him. Others were not so patient. The water was becoming tinged with a red glow. His body was flailing, trying desperately to get air back into his lungs. His eyes bulged and mouth open and closed like a lowly fish. His dancing limbs amused me. Finally, after one last shudder, he was still. I felt a glorious release, like nothing I had ever felt before. Desperate for more, I dove at him, closing my mouth around his neck and thrashing, tearing his skin to release his delicious blood. I sucked deeply, enjoying his metallic taste. After a few minutes, I pulled out of his throat, blood drained. My blood lust settled, just barely lurking below the surface of my mind, I turned to find Lina.

“Is it always like this?” I asked her, wondering if she felt the same.

“Always,” She replied, the same hungry look in her eyes a little duller than before. “You did well.” I beamed, realizing again just how gorgeous she was. She swam up to me.

“Not everyone is as natural at this as you. I like that,” she was very close now. Our faces only inches apart. I looked into her eyes, desire pooling there. I felt a new tugging. It was pulling me to her. She smiled, showing all of her teeth, and kissed me. We became entwined, holding each other and kissing in the middle of our latest battle field. A minute later, we pulled apart. Our sisters were finished feeding, and we had no reason to stay here.

“Come, we will return home, and guard the seas,” Lina said, grabbing my hand and turning to lead us all home. Swimming through the bodies, I saw a young man. He had black hair and green eyes, like Lina. I hoped I would find someone like him to feed on at our next ship. I would have liked to play with him before he died.