“Yes, Captain.” He swallowed. “I was worried because you’re not acting like yourself.”
Of course I wasn’t. I was stressed out of mind. My home, my last link to my curse-free humanity, was in danger, along with the entire crew, all because of me.
Scully said, “Cut him some slack, Jacobi. He’s been through hell.”
Rammus said, “I wouldn’t be myself either if my home, wife, and kids were in danger.”
“Mine are,” Sam said unhappily, fidgeting with his belt. “Captain, I’m as anxious as you to get home.”
Still glaring, I said, “Then let’s get going. And you,” I said to Jacobi, “will stop testing my patience with your vendetta against Jessie. Do I make myself very clear?”
Jacobi looked at me with a healthy dose of fear and remorse in his eyes. “Yes, Captain. I’m sorry.”
The apology was unexpected. I lowered my fist and water sphere, then stepped back and jerked him to his feet with the water around his wrists, just to give him another moment of feeling powerless. He let out a startled gasp, then stood there like an animal in shock while holding his arms up in surrender. I released his wrists and sent the water back into the sea.
The rest of my crew looked like they wanted to cheer for what I’d done but were afraid I’d snap at them for it. I didn’t want any praise for laying Jacobi flat. It was bullying to an extreme. Still, he probably needed to be put in his place, but what really bothered me was the fact that I’d snapped like that. It was a positive indicator that I was cracking, breaking under the pressure, just as Amphitrite wanted.
Jacobi lowered his arms, studied me a moment, then looked at Jessie. He went over and stood before her. “I still remember the night when those things came. All I heard was them wanting to take me. I thought you were in league with them, but you didn’t turn me into a prisoner and you brought Captain back all by yourself. I still don’t what to think about all that and I still don’t trust you, but… it’s…”
“I understand,” Jessie said. “I forgive you.”
“Thanks.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Please help Captain. I hate seeing him like this.”
“I’m trying.”
I picked up my towel, balled it up, and tossed it to Rammus. “Don’t worry about manning the wheel. Just stick her in neutral and drop anchor when I tell you to. I’ll take care of the rest. Everyone else go to your bunks and sit tight. And Rammus, go join them once you’ve released the anchor.” I looked at Jessie and bit back my comment about my impending telepathic communication with her. I didn’t feel comfortable letting the rest of the crew know we could do that while I was transformed. I didn’t care if she told Mido. She probably had while I was in lockdown. I needed the shred of humanity in their eyes.
“What’re you doing, Captain?” Rammus said.
“Going water demon and taking you all for a ride, so don’t leave your bunks until I’m up to full speed. Now where are we exactly?”
“Oh. Uh, the Caribbean. Somewhere between Venezuela and Puerto Rico.”
I nodded as I filed the geographical information and calculated my route. My crew hesitated, then started filing below deck. Of course their minds were a bit boggled. After all these years, this was the first time they’d heard me declare I was about to transform on purpose, and this would only be the second time for me, the first having been after Rhode had instructed me to. All the other times I’d been forced to, or had dipped too far into demon strength when commanding water.
I headed to the bow while Rammus headed for the wheelhouse, then I kicked off my sandals next to the Harpy and unbuttoned my pants. Rammus was watching from inside the wheelhouse. I held up a finger, signaling him to wait a moment, then climbed onto the bow and looked at the rolling water. It was clear and beautiful, yet too deep to see to the bottom. I had an intimidating fifteen-foot dive. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure everyone but Rammus had gone below deck, then made myself dive in before I could talk myself into climbing back down. Sure, I could transform on the deck but I really didn’t want an audience while doing that. Something about people watching me transform made me feel extra freakish.
I plunged below the surface then arced back up and took off my pants and boxers. I’d ripped out of enough clothes this year and didn’t need to ruin more. Both articles hooked on one finger, I concentrated on triggering the transformation. The sensation was like reaching inside myself for a trapped scream. I felt my skin tingle and body ache, reflexively fought away the sensations, then forced myself to let go and have the transformation do its thing. It felt like stretching out the stiffness after a good night’s rest. My body swelled and expanded into a ketos in seconds, and I heaved a satisfied sigh when done. I still loved and hated how powerful this form felt.
I shifted to my serpentine aquatic form, then popped my draconic head over the bow and flicked my clothes onto the deck. Looking at Rammus, I drew a horizontal circle in the air with a clawed finger. “Go ahead and release it!” I cupped the anchor in both hands, then started swimming ahead of the bow as the chain rattled with a drumroll of heavy thunks as it spilled out. The anchor itself weighed five hundred pounds, but my rode was four-to-one, and each chain link weighed fifty pounds. I was going to be carrying around a good few tons of dead weight, in addition to hauling a three hundred foot steam frigate over three thousand nautical miles. I was going to have to time this in a way where I wouldn’t be exhausted when we arrived.
Once the entire rode was free, I telepathically told Jessie to tell me when everyone was settled down. And while I was waiting for that, I gently pulled the Pertinacious into motion with my command over water and began swimming. A minute later, I got the all-clear. I built up speed and strength until we were gliding along the surface on a mound of water, just like a hurricane lifts the sea with it.
It took two days and two marathon runs from me to make Newport appear on the horizon. Rammus had piloted the ship while I passed out in my bunk between marathons. Mido fed me calorie-packed meals after each swim, and the crew left me alone. They looked lost and worried but I didn’t care. All that mattered was reaching Newport, which we did two mornings later.
Once I reached the eastern tip of Long Island during my second marathon, I helped weigh anchor, then climbed aboard and reverted back to human, Rammus taking over in the wheel-house for the rest of the trip. I rinsed off in the showers, got dressed, and wolfed down probably two days’ worth of calories in one sitting. Eggs, cheese, bacon, buttermilk biscuits with lots of butter, some cantaloupe, electrolyte water, and enough coffee to get my hands shaking. Jessie, Mido, and the others gave me worried looks but otherwise kept their mouths shut as I envisioned Newport getting pulverized over and over. O’Toole hid away in the cargo hold the whole trip, even at night. Sam tried to coax him out but ended up bringing him food, which O’Toole pecked at, and Sam just left him be. We had enough reasons to be stressed out. Still the Irishman’s behavior worried me. When he was fine, all of us were fine. When he fretted, we fretted, going on alert like he was a pet dog growling at an unseen threat in the dark.
Tin of coffee in hand, I headed to the bow. Fog hung low overhead. Below it visibility ranged far, Connecticut and Rhode Island lining the horizon. Sam was on the bow, his gaze fixed on land. I walked up beside him and took a noisy sip of coffee. “You have my permission to run to your family and protect them.” He looked at me, his face drawn with fatigue. He probably hadn’t slept much in two days, if at all. “Fight hard. Fight fiercely. Don’t give what rises out of the ocean the satisfaction of making a meal out of you and your family.”