Drake slowly pushed himself to his feet with his one good arm. “But it’s alright for you to use that magic to beat up unsuspecting pirates, especially one obviously too injured to protect himself?”
Beck glared at the man. “Sometimes it serves Volmar to remind people that…” Again the ship seemed to shake a little at the name of the god, and this time even Drake seemed to notice it. The man looked truly worried, far from his usual arrogance.
“You say that name again, Arbiter,” he said, more earnest than Beck had ever heard him, “and I swear to Rin, I will throw you to her. I’ll not risk my ship, my crew, and my life because you don’t understand the rules here. There’s power in names, Arbiter Beck. Things greater than us hear them when spoken, and not all of those things like that name you keep throwing about. There’s a reason folk refer to their gods as he and she and her and him. It’s not always wise to gain the attention of a creature powerful enough to name itself a god.”
“Captain!” A grizzled old pirate with more grey hair than black leapt down from a ladder that led up to the deck.
“What is it, Ollie?”
“The sea, Captain.”
“Aye, still there, is it?”
“It’s… um… ah, shit. Captain, you best come look fer ya own self.”
Drake wasted no time in running for the ladder, and Beck followed in close pursuit. The older pirate had gone ahead, and as Beck emerged into the waning light of the day she could see him, and what looked like most of the crew, crowded around the railings of the ship and looking down at the water below them.
Beck followed Drake as he mounted the ladder to the poop deck and crossed to the side of the ship. Many of his crew were looking to him now, asking what they should do, while others were making crude signs in the air.
As Drake reached the railing his face paled, his mouth hanging open. The man was clearly speechless – for the first time in his life, Beck suspected. She reached the railing a moment later, and looked down to see why. The sea was black.
It took Beck a while to realise that it wasn’t actually the sea that was black. There was something darker than night just below the surface of the water, and whatever it was, it seemed to stretch the entire length of the ship and then some. Judging by the reaction of the crews on the other ships, it spanned all three of them. With a whispered blessing of sight, Beck could just about make out scales on the black surface.
“What is it?”
“It’s a leviathan,” Drake said, his voice full of awe and dread.
“Shall we get the poles, Cap’n?” shouted one of the pirates to a cacophony of replies from other crew members.
“Anyone so much as spits into the water, and I’ll personally sacrifice ya to Rin,” Drake shouted over the din. He gestured downwards to make his point. “Stillwater,” he yelled across to The Phoenix. “Same goes for your crew. Let’s try to not make any aggressive moves, eh.”
“How big is it?” Beck said. She’d never seen a creature so large. She’d never even imagined anything living could grow so monstruous. Even a dragon would pale in comparison to the beast that floated beneath them.
“Big enough that it could sink all three ships with barely a flick, and it wouldn’t even notice the carnage it caused.” Drake grabbed hold of Beck’s shoulder and turned her around to face him. A part of her realised she should be insulted by the manhandling, but something about the size of the creature beneath them shocked her into inaction.
“You know why there’s so few tales about these bloody things?” Drake hissed.
Beck shook her head. Drake’s face was different; all the usual smug self-confidence was gone, replaced by earnest fear.
“Because nobody tends to live through a sighting. They ain’t just your average beastie come up from the depths for a glimpse of sunlight, Arbiter. They’re Rin’s damned servants. Sent by an angry goddess to punish those who earn her wrath,” Drake added in a whisper.
“I’m sure people must have said Vol…” Beck was silenced by a slap from Drake. For a moment she was too shocked to react. But only for a moment.
“How dare…”
“I just saved your life, and that of every other man, woman, and child on these three boats. I’m sure your god’s name has been said over the sea before. For one reason or another, she” – he pointed downwards – “has decided to take offence, and trust me when I tell you this, Arbiter. Your god will not be able to save you from her. Not here.”
Beck thought about arguing for a moment. One last glance over the side of the boat convinced her that, though it might all be shit, sometimes it was better to be cautious. Instead, she leaned forwards so that her face was close to Drake’s, and attempted to still her shaking.
“If you ever slap me again, you will lose that hand.”
“Captain,” shouted a pirate from the lower deck. “What do we do?”
Beck held Drake’s gaze for a few moments more, until a grin erupted onto his face and he turned to face his crew.
“Do?” Drake shouted loudly enough to carry to the adjacent ship. “We do nothing. That beastie down there is one of Rin’s, and we are her fucking chosen!” A cheer passed through the pirates below, and Drake leapt up onto the railing that overlooked the main deck, steadying himself by grabbing hold of a low-hanging rope.
“You really think she’d send a leviathan to kill us? No. She sent it to inspire us. To congratulate us on our victory. Her victory. And to remind us that out here on the blue, we live and die by her leave.
“Today we did the impossible, boys. Today we took on Sarth and we fucking won!” Again a cheer erupted from the gathered pirates; this time it wasn’t only Drake’s crew. Beck looked across to Stillwater’s ship to see the captain and many of his crew standing at or on the railing, leaning out to hear Drake’s words and cheering along.
“They burned our towns, slaughtered friends and family members, and they tried to murder us. But did we let them?”
“No!” the pirates shouted in unison.
“They tried to take away our freedom, but did we let them?”
“No!” The atmosphere was so charged that Beck almost found herself joining in. After all, she’d fought to keep these people alive and free as well.
“No!” Drake screamed back. “We fought and we won!” Pirates from both the Fortune and The Phoenix cheered even louder than before, complete with stamping on the decks and wooting calls from up in the rigging. Beck watched Drake from behind as he strutted back and forth on the railing, inciting the crowd to even more noise. Eventually the captain raised his hand, and the crews fell silent, waiting.
“Today was historic.” Drake didn’t shout. He pitched his voice to carry, and Beck saw that the sudden lowering of volume worked. Crew members on The Phoenix were hanging dangerously far out over the stretch of water between the two vessels to hear the man’s next words. It was almost as if they’d forgotten about the giant sea creature below them. “And the thing about history is you either watch it pass, or you make it happen. Well, today we made it happen.”
Again a cheer went up, and again Drake strutted back and forth for the pirates before holding his hand up for quiet. Beck caught herself in a smile, and quickly replaced it with a much more fitting scowl.
“Now, it ain’t over. Not by a bloody long shot. In fact, this right here is just the beginning. They’re gonna send more, a lot more. They’re gonna come at us with every fucking thing they have.”
Drake paused and swept a gaze over all those gathered before him. Beck tore her eyes away from him and risked a glance at the pirates. They were rapt, hanging on his every word and looking at Drake Morrass as if he were their saviour – or, Beck realised, their king.