The Fire in the Wind // Book One (Complete)

Twelve - The Storm

Two weeks had passed since Phoenix's apology to the captain, and truth be told they two hadn't seen much of each other since. It's not that they were actively avoiding each other, rather, the captain was discussing their next voyage with the navigator, Cassius, and Phoenix was studying. Adilah had given him a book of all the basic medical knowledge she could think to give him, granted she had to translate from arabic, which took a while. Phoenix was happy to read it, Adilah had a way of writing that was both informational and intriguing, and he'd always wanted to be a doctor.

He was currently sitting on Alexander's bunk, down in the crew's quarters, reading while Alexander snored on his lap. The two had quickly grown fond of each other, having bonded over making fun of Leo, so in the past week this was an often occurrence. Everyone else was on deck, most likely eating lunch, so it was peaceful in the crew's quarters... for about two minutes.

"Alexander? Alex-" Phoenix looked up from his book in surprise, the captain was stopped at the doorway.

"Oh..." he said, looking at the two uncomfortably. "Am I interrupting something?"

"He's just sleeping." Phoenix told him. "Is something wrong?"

"I was just getting him for lunch." he looked at Alexander's snoring figure, Phoenix's hand in his hair, his expression became stony. "I'm sure you can manage that."

Phoenix was about to speak when the air pressure in the room seemed to drop, and the captain's eyebrows furrowed. "What the-"

Phoenix gasped as the boat lurched to the sides, Alexander fell from his lap and was barely caught by an equally shocked captain. the first mate woke with a start, the boat shook again, and Phoenix was thrown to the ground.

"Shit." the captain muttered, he ran out of the room, followed by Phoenix and a dazed Alex.

"Are we under attack?" Alexander asked, reaching for his sword. They ran up to the deck with the captain, and he let his sword fall. Rain began to pour from the sky, pounding on the deck as the ocean churned around them. They were in a storm.

"Tie down the cannons! Batten down the hatches! All hands on deck!" Nico shouted, his normally calm voice becoming powerful and commanding. Phoenix rushed over to the on deck cannons, picking up a rope on his way.

"Leo!" he called, he tossed the rope to the carpenter, and they both got to work. the rain made the rope slick, and they both struggled to keep hold of it, the cannon began to roll back, Phoenix braced himself against it, groaning as it hit him. A hand came from the side and pushed the cannon back, Oliver placed his palm flat against the deck, and the wheels became frozen.

"Tie it!" Oliver ordered, and ran off to help Esther and Adilah.

"Where the hell did this come from?!" Phoenix managed, he helped Leo to his feet as the rain beat down on their backs.

"I have no idea! Nico said we weren't due for a storm until next month!" he answered.

"This isn't a normal storm." Oliver said.

"What?" Leo managed, Oliver looked to the sky with an indecipherable expression.

"No lightning, normal winds... This is the work of a blessing." He said gravely.

"Amber..." Phoenix whispered to himself.

"The hull is filling with water!" The navigator called from the stairs.

"Grab a bucket and follow me!" Leo shouted, Phoenix obeyed with no hesitation, and followed him below deck. They made it to the hull, and Leo cursed, the water was already above their ankles.