“Ok, so what now?” Cassie asked.

“The rest of the crew are outside. We need to help them. Drag them in,” Delia said.

“Shit!” Cassie looked at Delia with renewed panic, the gravity of the situation finally dawning on her. “Won’t they have jumped overboard?”

“No, they’re all drunk and passed out.” She tried hiding the doubt in her voice, but Cassie frowned at the statement in thought. “I think the songs only hypnotise you if you’re awake,” Delia added more convincingly.

Cassie's eyes narrowed together further before finally agreeing. “And if you can hear,” she said, nodding towards Jonah.

“Yes, which means it’s up to us three. It’s why we need more girls on the crew.”

“Not the time, Del,” Cassie said. “Ideas that help us now?”

“We go out there and drag them back in.” She repeated, hesitatingly adding, “and fight off any Sirens.”

The doctors expression turned quizzical. “Why would we need to fight them off?”

“They’ll probably be on deck and -”

“What is going on?” Jonah blurted, cutting her off.

Delia battled to keep a straight face as she looked at his brows knitted in a cute frown.

“Right, Del, you explain it to him. I’ll go grab a few things.”

Her head snapped back to the doctor. “Wait, what?”

“If I remember the stories, Sirens sing to hypnotise men. We could drown out their noise, but we can’t risk waking anyone,” she explained. “Just because they’re hypnotised doesn’t mean their bodies have changed. They’ll react to chemicals all the same.”

“Del, care to tell me what’s happening?” The frustration of being ignored was clear in Jonah's voice.

“Just. Don’t worry, you explain and I'll do what I need to.” Cassie ran down the stairs and turned through the corridor without delay, leaving Delia with Jonah.

“I love your puppy eyes,” she said smiling, then shook her head. “Right, back to business. Sigh. Run.”

“Eye. Ron?”

“Sigh. Saaa-eye,” she said, mouth moving in exaggerated motions.

Delia pointed to herself, playing a game of charades. She repeatedly sighed, looking like the big bad wolf blowing down a pig's house. At first, Jonah’s face turned to one of concern, perhaps worried something was wrong with her. The jabbing motion towards herself must’ve eased his doubts.

She exhaled deeply, mouthing the words “Sigh.”

Delia's patience thinned with each repetition. The crew was in danger, but Jonah couldn't help without knowing what to expect. Going in blind would only hurt him. Fortunately, he guessed right quickly.

“Sigh? Run?”

She nodded frantically.

“Sigh run?”

Delia flapped her arms to imitate a bird whilst Jonah muttered the words to himself. It took a couple of seconds before his eyes widened with understanding. Then he bolted out to the deck, leaving Delia by herself.

“Ugghh,” she complained. “Why are you like this?”

***

Jonah rushed out onto the deck, fire running up his leg. He unsheathed his sword and his stomach fluttered at the familiar motion, anticipation, eagerness, and fear causing his muscles to twitch.

He bent his knees, feet shoulder-width apart and readied himself in his combat stance as he gazed across the Flightless Owl. But he found no prey.

Did he misunderstand after all?

The crew were lying on the deck, their chests heaving as they snored. Amongst them were empty barrels of liquor and half-finished mugs of ale, the light drinkers having hit the sack before finishing.

Lantern light illuminated the ship along with the silver beams of the moon, filtering through the grey clouds. The white light diffused the mist that seemed to thicken the further up the sails. It cast a ghostly glow over the ship masts and everything else it touched. It wasn’t just further up, the fog thickened the direction they were sailing towards too.

It seemed as if the Flightless Owl was flightless no longer, hovering in a sea of silver; the moonlight gave the scene an ethereal, dream-like quality. It was beautiful.

Jonah could even hear a soft symphony calling him, amplifying the stunning vista. He just needed to rid those lanterns, ruining the scene with their glow.

The orange flames flickered across the deck, causing the shadows to dance. It made it look like silhouettes flew in the air, circling them, breaking the immersion of the dream and its idyllic beauty.

Jonah limped towards a lantern before a sharp pain erupted from his sides.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Ow!”

He turned his head to the scowling face of Delia, crossbow in hand. And then he cursed.

The pain removed the fog in his mind and the dancing shadows took on solid form—his birds of prey.

They were a mesmerising sight as they whirled in the air. Their movements were graceful, wingspans fully outstretched, but not beating, as though floating on air.

Jonah’s eyes fixed upon their figure: long, flowing brown hair and shimmering wings of white, glistening in the moonlight. The ethereal beings were slender, bodies as delicate as the mist they bathed themselves in. Some were tan, others pale, but all of them were beautiful.

Pain bloomed once more, and the ship guard chided himself. That was twice now.

Jonah was well aware the sirens were dangerous. Their hauntingly sweet songs were known to lure sailors to their deaths, but he was deaf. Mostly. The Sirens' song was nothing but a distant hum to him, but even that had its threat.

Jonah walked, distributing the weight equally and letting the pain of his leg disrupt his intrusive thoughts. He spotted Delia dragging a man back below deck, but he kept his eye out for the creatures that flew around them.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a Siren reach out with its long, slender arms, trying to grab one of the sleeping crewmates. But before he could act, an arrow raced towards the creature.

The arrow missed, but it staved off the attack.

Jonah turned to the source, seeing the smug smile of Delia as she continued to drag a sleeping figure.

“Don’t be too happy. You didn’t hit it,” he said, a grin plastered on his face. He was getting rusty, laying in bed. Or perhaps their songs slowed his response? That was a poor excuse.

Another shadow approached at the other end of the ship and Jonah unleashed an air slash in its direction. The familiar pulsing of the sword warmed his sedentary muscles, and his smile grew wider.

The creature twisted but failed to evade, and its body dropped into the sea of mist unceremoniously.

“One to me, zero to you,” Jonah said at the spectacle, imagining Delia's competitive nature take over. He didn't look her way for a response. Instead, he patrolled the deck and his eyes searched for the slither of shadows to strike; though his targets were elusive, staying a distance away, wary of the duo.

The ship sailed further into the mist, and as it did, more outlines loomed in the sky, circling them.

“Del, we need to change course,” he said, his concern for the crew growing.

Two figures flew down, one starboard, the other port side. Jonah cursed under his breath. They were smart then.

He prioritised the one closest to him and released an air slash before turning to face the other, hoping it wasn’t too late. The siren was gone, but the seaman remained. The blotches of blood on the man's white uniform told Jonah what he needed to know.

He turned to Delia, who gave him a thumbs up and shouted something. He imagined her saying, “Two-one,” keeping score of who was more effective. Jonah didn’t intend to lose.

Cassie joined the pair moments later with a silver suitcase in hand that was no doubt filled with an assortment of liquids. He didn’t bother thinking about what, focusing on the growing problem of the encircling Siren’s.

“Cassie, we need to turn the rudder,” Jonah said. “We’re getting closer into their territory, and their numbers are increasing.”

Cassie nodded, handing something over to Delia before running towards the helm.

The ship guard focused back on the swarming shadows. There were five, maybe six, circling them now. If more than two attacked, they would lose someone.

Though his stomach churned, the adrenaline of battle reinvigorated him. This wasn’t like the Kraken. He had bad odds, yes, but they weren’t insurmountable.

Well, he had outlived the Kraken too.

Lips curling, Jonah sent precautionary strikes into the air. A few Sirens retreated into the clouds, but the others seemed to grow more frantic, aware that their prey was escaping their grasp.

The Flightless Owl changed course and Jonah watched as a Siren flew straight at the sails. His breath caught in his throat and he hesitated. If he attacked, then he would destroy the sails.

“Delia!” he shouted.

It wasn’t necessary.

A bolt pierced into its target, penetrating deep and staining the Siren a crimson red. It appeared to shriek in pain and fury, though Jonah didn’t hear it. Instead, the guard noticed the crewmates stir.

“Salt.”

The thought of the crew waking sent a chill through his bones. If they were zombified and jumped overboard…

“Guys, we need to drag them in before they - Del?!”

Jonah watched in horror as Delia woke up Gavin, the sleeping boatswain.

What was she doing? Weren’t women supposed to be immune to the Sirens' influence?

The boatswain moved slowly, sleep and inebriation showing their effects. He sat up and wiped at his eyes, yawning and burping, before saying something to Delia. When she responded, his eyes grew comically large.

Jonah looked at the scene in befuddlement.

“Wacks,” she mouthed.

Jonah's heart skipped a beat, relief flooding him. She really was a genius. He then refocused on his task, trusting Del and the boatswain to do theirs. His gaze turned skywards, searching for the birds of prey. And then he spotted one.

Like a descending meteoroid, a figure plummeted, buffeting winds clearing the mist in its wake. Despite his deafness, Jonah imagined, heard; felt its piercing screech echo in the air as the siren plunged.

He inhaled a long breath and held it as his eyes focused on the blurring figure as it came closer and closer. He needed to time this perfectly. The ship guard braced himself for impact, his sword held high.

The creature's talons extended. Then It struck. So did Jonah.

He swung Midnight Ode with all his might, then released the sword mid-arc, dashing to one side and falling into a roll to avoid the siren's claws. The bird-like woman smashed into the deck and the blade burst through her body like an uncontested javelin travelling through the air. The sword shimmered yellow for a second, before returning to its gunmetal self, arcing back to the deck.

Jonah winced from agony and from fear, watching the blade descend in slow motion. As his eyes tracked the sword, he felt the impact of the siren hitting the deck. The reverberations of the landing erupted pain in his limbs once more, his body already anguished by his frantic movement.

He gave out laboured breaths, relief and adrenaline filling him. The sword sunk into the deck, clear of any sailor - his worry of spearing a seaman unfounded.

The captain would still give him an earful for damaging the ship, but he was deaf. He guessed there were some benefits, after all. Jonah laughed as he got up and dusted himself. His body complained with each vibration, but not for long, the laughter stifled by sleeping sailors waking from their slumber.

His eyes locked with Delia’s and the panic in them confirmed his fears. She didn’t reach everyone. Of course, she hadn’t. Those she did were awake, dragging the crewmates as they stirred in their fleeting sleep.

He panned the ship, counting their numbers. Half a dozen were awake, and more than thirty dozing.

There was no way to stop them all from jumping over.