Sons of the Tide (mlm)

Chapter 35: Man Overboard

Caleb

Caleb was the first to spring out from behind the stack of crates, his sword drawn. Joseph and the others followed, each taking down one of the few men down in the storage hold to get more cannon balls.

Caleb, Joseph, and Coral all used blades to kill the men quickly, but Damara used her claws and teeth. It was much more bloody and much more brutal. Caleb hoped her animalistic approach didn't get them caught if she was too loud.

Once each of the six men were dead, Joseph and Caleb took guns and bullets from their bodies while Damara and Coral watched the stairs leading to the next level of the boat. Once they were sure they had enough ammunition, they handed Coral a pistol and stored the extra bullets wherever they could before heading up the next flight of stairs.

For being a pirate ship, it was surprisingly big. Caleb had only seen it once before, when he was exhausted from sinking a ship and a fair distance away, but even from just how large the areas below deck were he could tell it was a huge ship.

When they got to the next level, the cannons were still firing. It took them a matter of minutes to kill each of the pirates, with Damara getting her fair share of kills without any weapons. The woman was a beast. He supposed that came with living in the ocean. It was a cruel and unforgiving place, most times.

When they killed the last of the pirates, they reloaded their pistols and hurried to get up the final flight of stairs. This last trap door would lead to the deck, where Hawke and his best fighters were waiting--he always kept his most skilled pirates on the deck with him to fight off any unwanted visitors that found their way onto the deck during battle.

Today, they were the unwanted visitors.

Caleb pulled Joseph's shirt collar and planted a quick kiss on his lips. "Be careful, okay? We're probably going to get separated."

Joseph nodded. "You too. Don't exert yourself too much with magic."

Coral and Damara were wishing their own good luck on each other as well.

When they were all done, the exchange only taking a matter of seconds, Caleb shoved the door open and they charged onto the deck.

Their unexpected entry point gave them the element of surprise. The pirates had only just realized their cannons stopped, and didn't have time to prepare for the possibility there were intruders on the ship.

Caleb was firing shot after shot, taking down as many pirates as he could before they swarmed them. He saw a glimpse of shiny blonde hair on the quarterdeck, but he couldn't look to see if it was Hawke lest he take his focus off his shooting.

When his gun ran out of bullets, he took his sword out and began to swing it wildly. He could hear Coral and Damara to his left, indicated by the sound of ripping flesh and Coral's vocal reactions to fighting. Joseph, on the other hand, was making his way towards the quarter deck. He could see his auburn locks over the heads of other pirates, his sword in one hand and his knife in the other.

Despite their good start, Caleb could tell they would be overpowered soon. The sheer size of the ship allowed a great number of pirates to keep flooding them, and they were only four people. This would not end well if he didn't even out their odds.

So, he slipped behind the stairs leading to the upper level of the deck and sliced his palm open. Once he was sure he'd cut deep enough, he pressed his palm to the deck of the ship and started chanting.

Hawke may be a lot of things, but a witch wasn't one of them. His ship was just like any other, with no magical protections or repellants.

Caleb panted as the ropes on the ship glowed with blue magic, his blood soaking into the boards of the ship and taking hold. In many sudden motions, the ropes holding the sails in place snapped from their ties and snaked around the deck, gripping the ankles and legs of pirates and dragging them overboard.

Panic erupted at the sudden attack by their ship, and Caleb gritted his teeth. he couldn't keep this up for long, since animating so many things at once was quite the strain on his body, but he could get a good number of the pirates out of the way.

Caleb finally had to pull his hand from the deck when he felt blood dribble out of his nose. He coughed and wiped it away, using the wall as a brace to stand up. There were only a few pirates left, and those that were had been surprised enough by the ropes that their guard was down.

Damara moved through them like a whirlwind, using her nails to cut open their bellies and slice their throats. Coral used her last few shots to drop a stray pirate who'd noticed Caleb under the stairs, to which he shot her a thankful glance.

Finally, all of the pirates were dead or in the water with no way back up. Joseph pushed his hair out of his face and looked to Caleb in question. He nodded to show he was fine.

Then, they heard clapping. Slow, taunting clapping coming from the stairs.

Caleb stumbled out from under the stairs and watched as Hawke slowly walked down them, not a care in the world. "Well done, Captain Jones. I must say, you four put on quite the show."

Caleb stopped once be was beside Joseph and the others, still trying to catch his breath. Hawke leaned against the railing and smiled his way. "I knew you were capable of much more than just storms, demigod."

Caleb raised his bloody hand and flipped him off. He chuckled. "Still got your attitude, I see."

"Enough." Joseph's voice was low, loud and clear. "You've got no one left on this ship. Surrender and pull your fleet back."

He angled his head. "Why would I do that, dear Captain Jones?"

"You're dying either way, Hawke." Joseph pointed at him with his sword. "So either make it a quick death or a difficult one."

Hawke hummed, tapping his finger on his chin as he used his other hand to pull his coat off. When it slid to the floor, a large, winding tattoo of a serpent was visible below his half-sleeve. "I think I choose a difficult one."

Joseph stepped forward, but Hawke was faster. He snapped his arm outward and said something in a foreign language, catching them all by surprise.

The tattoo on his arm ripped off of his skin and grew in size, landing on the deck a few feet in front of them. It continued to grow until it was ten feet long and the fins on its back were razor sharp.

Joseph stepped back in surprise. "What the fuck-"

The snake snapped forward, aiming for Joseph, but Caleb reacted quickly. He shoved Joseph out of the way and the serpent slammed into his chest, immediately wrapping around him tightly. He heard Joseph shouting, but all he could focus on was getting the serpent off him.

It was wrapping around his legs, making his stumble. He couldn't tell where he was going, but it was squeezing his lungs and he couldn't think. All he could do was use his free hand to try and pry the thing off him.

When he felt the railing of the ship hit his lower back, everything became crystal clear. He could feel his body tipping over the railing and hear Joseph and his sister yelling. Hawke was laughing, and the serpent was squeezing tighter.

He was going to go over. Shit.

He looked up to see Joseph lunging with his hand extended towards him, panic in his eyes. Caleb reached out on instinct, but he knew he wouldn't make it. His body was already going over the railing and he was too far.

The last thing he saw before water slammed around his body was Joseph looking over the railing and screaming.