Nathaniel was silent for some time. It wasn't as if he hadn't anything else to say. It was because he had too much. The floodgates in his mind had broken and all manner of memories had cascaded forward. Lloyd was stronger than he looked but even so, Nathaniel was still reticent to speak. And not just because of Lloyd, but because of his own feelings of weakness and failure. Admitting them aloud...that wasn't done. A man did not admit to failing, or to those irksome emotions that plagued so many others."The beast was as good as his word," he said eventually, swirling the copper-coloured rum in the base of the bottle. The small vortexes were nothing spectacular but anything was better than meeting the depths of Lloyd's eyes. "We found the hidden caches that had been hidden long before our ancestors were born. The crew were elated. Who wouldn't be? Gold and cold metal...they could buy the warmth of a courtesan and not just a disease-ridden whore. It stilled their bitterness for a whil

Damaging the boat was easier said than done. The helmsman had a decent view of the hazards around them and most of the rocks were protruding from the surf and too prominent to hit. It wasn't a matter of simply driving into one like the living did on their roads to file fake insurance claims. They weren't under the thumb of someone who would happily take the skin from their flesh. Nathaniel wasn't foolish and would assume he was up to something if he was that careless. No. This had to be furtive, and that was not going to be easy. 'The land has changed,' he thought to himself, wiping away a fleck of blood from his lip. Alas, the curse had condemned him to eternal tuberculosis. It wouldn't worsen, but it never got any better either. 'I can use that as an easy excuse. He has not shown me updated charts of the area. I can say I missed the signs of underlying dangers as I was concentrating on those I could see. Rocks that I was not expecting.' Whether Nathaniel would believe that

The sand under his feet. The shade of the trees and the scent of the plants. Such simple things and yet to Lloyd they felt like manna from heaven after being stuck on the confines of the ship. He paused on the cusp of the forest, turning to look over the sea and breath in the salty air, filling his lungs with fresh air that was free from the smell of body odour.Nathaniel used perfume. At least, he certainly had a fragrance of musk about him, his personal hygiene far superior to that of his crew. Lloyd supposed he'd given up on keeping his crew in half-decent order. What was the point? Even if some of them smelled as if they were rotting from the inside out, there was little he could now.He didn't notice Blake standing in the shadows of the rocks and glaring at him, a strange smile tilting his lips. Nathaniel had. And he frowned. Blake was dangerous. He knew that. Out of all his crew, Blake had been the one who gave him the most trouble. He had never dared mutiny, he knew how far h

Blake had noticed Lloyd wandering off but, whilst curious, was not in the position to have anyone follow him. There was something about the amulet that set his nerves on edge and that was only heightened by the determined look in the boy's eyes. "Ask Thomas, he's friendly with the boy,' one of the others suggested when he mentioned it."Ain't any point," Blake snapped as he pushed away a tangled branch that reached down from the darkness. "He won't say anything. And there's the chance he'll go and blab to Hemlock."His hand drifted to a sliver blade at his side. The metal was tarnished from age but it remained lethally sharp. Perfect for a blood offering. 'Do not spare suffering on the human,' a voice whispered to him alone. He paused briefly in midstep. 'The token dies swiftly. The victim must linger. So long have I waited for one who seeks agony. Such boons I can give if my needs are met.'The voice concerned him but the smooth guttural tone had an oddly soothing effect and stirre

The very deep did rot: O Christ!That ever this should be!Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs,Upon the slimy sea.About, about, in reel and routThe death-fires danced at night;The water, like a witch's oils,Burnt green, and blue and white.And some in dreams assurèd wereOf the Spirit that plagued us so;Nine fathom deep, he had followed usFrom the land of mist and snow.The words swirled like a winter storm around Lloyd's mind as he took up a worn book that Nathaniel had left out.He had left soon after placing them on the deck. They had shared a lingering look, holding just a second too long and revealing more emotion than either wanted.He muttered something, a few garbled words that probably made as little sense to him as they did to Lloyd before he left more slowly than normal. The only thing that had been clear was he would be back shortly. Lloyd assumed he wanted to clear his head, and he could understand why.There was a strange warmth in the room, and it penetrated in