Revenge of the Siren Song (Rogues of Sea and Sky Book 1) (6 page)

The melancholy captain tried to tuck herself back into her bed, but as soon as she’d settled in she knew she was too awake to drift off easily again. She remained there with her eyes closed, searching for the deep body relaxation that would lead to sleep, but it would not come. She got back up and milled about the room in a numbed daze until she began to yawn.

She wandered back toward her bed, but no sooner did she reach for the blanket than the crow began pecking at the glazing again.

“What is it? What do you think you want so badly?” she growled to herself more than to the crow.

Again the crow stared her down from the other side of the thick wavy glass. It grew accustomed to her presence and began to peck at the window.

“You bloody pest of a crow, stop that!”

The fiendish crow pecked away at the window with even greater resolve.

Grace lunged at the window and pushed it open with the intent of scaring off the crow. Instead, the crow took advantage of the opening and flew boldly into the interior of Grace’s little cottage. It flapped in wild noisy circles just out of her reach before settling high in the peak of the thatched ceiling.

Unable to reach the intruder, Grace gave up and sat on the bed. The crow sat there looking at her as if it expected something of her. For the longest time, nothing at all happened. Grace sat on the bed with her face in her hands. She could take on a ship of skilled sailors, but was utterly defeated by a persistent black bird.

She finally looked up and began to measure up her foe. The crow was a bit larger than average, shiny tiny beads for eyes set above a sharp black beak. The bird was covered in glossy blue-black feathers except for the very edge of its wings. An oddity of nature had caused the feathers at the tips of both wings to turn white. It hopped deftly from beam to beam in the ceiling well out of reach, seemingly in anticipation of some sort of action on Grace’s part.

“You did all of that just so you could come inside,” she finally asked the crow.

The crow cocked its head and stared.

“There’s nothing in here to interest you. There’s nothing in here that interests me either, for that matter. Why don’t you fly back out the way you came and leave me alone?”

The crow tipped its head as if it were trying to be sympathetic.

“Curiosity is a very dangerous thing, little bird. The next house you fly into may contain a raving lunatic.”

The crow paid no heed to her advice.

“Saints preserve us all, the lunatic is me; I’m talking to a crow as if it understands me.”

The crow hopped nearer and made a clicking sort of sound.

“Oh, so you do think you understand me? Is that it? You’re a crow. I doubt you would know anything about love, affection, or heartbreak.”

The crow cawed softly.

“What business is it of yours if I do not wish to deal with the pain I’ve caused myself? I certainly can’t blame anyone else for it,” she whispered to the bird, to herself. “I certainly can’t claim that I had no idea what a no-good mangy sea dog Liam O’Shea is. I knew, and I still let him sweet talk his way back into my heart. He seems to know every one of my weaknesses and never misses an opportunity to exploit them all. I’m the foolish one for letting him touch me that way.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, Bartolo is right. The crew will eventually abandon me if I don’t find a way to get my bearings again. What do you think, crow?”

The crow hopped up and began to fly about the room.

“Oh, so you’ll take Bartolo’s side on this? You think we should leave, too. You would, so you can have this island all to yourself again, selfish crow. Well I can tell you this, if I do leave, I don’t ever want to see that scurvy rat, O’Shea, again.”

The crow cawed loudly in response to that idea.

“O’Shea has his woman, what does he need me for?” She turned to the open window and shouted, “Bartolo! Come here at once.”

The idea of sailing away and leaving the whole mess behind was growing in appeal. Old thoughts she had never given herself the time to ponder resurfaced.

“I've always wanted to ply our trade in the Orient,” she told Bartolo through the window as he came running up to the cottage. “Perhaps a voyage south around the Horn and into the south Pacific would do us all some good.”

“Aye, mistress,” Bartolo smiled with great relief.

“Tell Hawkins to make ready. We leave the cove as soon as the Song is provisioned.”

Activity did wonders for Captain O'Malley's demeanor, as it always did. Soon she was able to accept the realities of the situation with a level head. The morning of their departure for waters unknown, Grace sat at her little writing table one last time to pen a note to Captain O'Shea.

“Dear Liam,

Even the fiercest fires cannot be fueled forever. In time all raging flames cool to weak embers. Whatever torch you bear for me cannot last, therefore a decision must be made.

I will admit that you do stir a passion, a life, in me that no one else has ever managed to touch. But that alone is not enough to claim my heart. Master O’Malley always said my heart was as wild and free as the wind upon the waves. Maybe he knew me best of all, for I am beginning to believe Fate intends for me to remain as wild and untamed as the seas.

There is a woman with a far greater claim to you than I could ever have. Do what needs to be done and leave me to my wild ways.

Farewell, O’Shea. It was a grand adventure.

Grace”

“Now, if love seeks to ever try to tame my wild Irish heart again, it will have to search the vast Pacific to find me,” she said to the crow that had become her new companion as she folded up the letter.

“Bartolo,” she called.

“Yes, Captain,” he answered hoarsely. He was out of breath from running all day, constantly beckoned from one side of the cove and back again.

“Be sure to give this to the most trustworthy man staying behind. Should Captain O'Shea ever return, I wish him to receive this,” she instructed as she handed him the folded letter.

“Aye, Captain.”

* * *

The morale of the crew increased greatly once the
Siren Song
was back at sea with a new and exotic destination for the journeying. Putting off the sloth and lethargy of land dwelling life eased all of their hearts, even that of their fair captain, though Grace still struggled with the fresh wounds upon her heart. For weeks into the voyage she continued to lapse into periods of misery. At those times she tended to drown her sorrows in the available rum and keep herself shut up in her cabin. She knew that she had chosen correctly by leaving Liam to the woman with the stronger claim, but that knowledge did not make her battered heart ache any less.

As the
Siren Song
rounded Cape Horn and turned westward for the first time since leaving the Caribbean, Grace O'Malley finally felt at peace. She stood in command of her ship with the wind in her face and the Pacific before her.

The rest of the crew had come topside to watch the sun set one last time into the Atlantic. All eyes were forward, towards the future, except those of Bartolo. His gaze rested back to the east and to a past not forgotten.

About the Author

Michelle Stinson Ross has scribbled and made up wild tales most of her life. She never really outgrew her childhood penchant for building castles and lands of legend from the everyday world around her. A voracious reader, she rarely picks up a book she doesn't like.

For several years she worked at being a respectable adult, earning a Bachelors Degree in Business Communication, raising three daughters, and building a career in marketing. But as the children grew up and the career progressed, the drive to create those wild tales never left her. An active blogger and social media addict, Michelle has been feverishly working on several story ideas, a podcast and a new blog to serialize the work of dreams.
Revenge of the Siren Song
is the debut tale in a series that spans from the Golden Age of Piracy into an adventure-packed steampunk world. Two full-length novels are currently in the works for the Rogues of Sea and Sky series.
Treasure of the Sun Stone
picks up where
Revenge of the Siren Song
leaves off, continuing the historical adventures of Captain Grace O’Malley and her crew. The current working title of the 4th book in the series, W
here Redemption Lies,
will be a treasure hunting romance in a steampunk setting.