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“COVER YOUR EARS, MEN!” The shouting continued. “COVER YOUR EARS!”
Aurora obeyed the warning and laid her hands over her ears. The bellowing crewmate stopped in front of her and hollered, “NOT YOU, LOVE! IT WON‘T WORK ON YOU!”
“It... won’t?”
“HUH? I CAN’T HEAR YOU?” For a moment, the man lowered his hands from his ears and leaned toward her. “What’d you say?”
He was leaning so close to her face, she could see a ring of wax around his inner ear. “What won’t work on me?”
“The siren’s song. It won’t work on your ‘cuz you’re a lady.” The pirate flicked a thumb in Lyric’s direction. “But yer friend there better cover his ears. If he don’t, he might go mad.”
Aurora gave Lyric a little nudge. “You heard the man, didn’t you? You better cover your ears!”
Lyric threw down his mop and followed Aurora’s recommendation, but not before voicing his opinion. “This is ridiculous... I don’t even know what’s going on!”
“CAPTAIN!” the earwax pirate hollered. “Captain, c’mere!”
Blackbeard came running toward them, his eyes filled with alarm. “What is it, Johnson? Is it what I think it is?”
“Yessir!” the pirate called Johnson replied. “SHE is here!”
“Wonderful. And what’s the damage report so far?”
“Three men leapt over the side of the ship already.” As Johnson gave his report, they heard a loud yelping noise in the distance—followed by a splash. “Uh... make that four, sir.”
Aurora tugged on the captain’s sleeve, hoping to get his attention. When he looked down at her, she asked, “Um, what exactly is going on?”
“Remember that dangerous creature I was telling you about?”
She nodded.
“Then it should be obvious. The monster’s found us, and she’s-” Before he could finish his sentence, a haunting melody pierced the sky, and Richard clapped his hands over his ears.
It was the strangest song Aurora had ever heard. The melancholic female voice seemed to ebb and flow like an echo; it grew louder and softer, then louder again. When the song was it its loudest, the men on the ship seemed to sway on their feet.
For a moment, the song subsided, and Richard tapped Aurora on the shoulder. “Have you ever heard the expression, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?”
“Yeah.”
“The expression should be hell hath no fury like a siren scorned.” The captain’s eyes were filled with devastation. “This isn’t the first jilted lover that’s come back to haunt me.”
“Wait a second... a jilted lover?! The thing that‘s attacking us right now is a jilted lover?”
He nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
“CAP’N! I think I spotted her over there!” shouted Johnson.
“Over where?”
“Near the bow, captain!”
Richard didn’t need to be told twice. He ran in the direction of the bow, and Aurora followed. She tossed a glance over her shoulder and motioned for Lyric to come along. With an uncertain scowl, he obliged.
“Rebekka!” the captain hollered. He leaned over the side of the ship and spotted her at once. “Rebekka, stop this nonsense!”
She responded with a song. The captain covered his ears; Aurora covered Lyric’s.
When the melody faded, Richard uncovered his ears and shouted at her again. “Rebekka, if you stop that singing, I’ll let you on board!”
They heard a woman’s faint reply. “You promise?”
“Yes! I promise!” When she was reasonably appeased, Richard turned to a member of his crew and commanded, “Haul her up.”
“Yes, sir!” They mobilized immediately, working hurriedly to lower one of the rowboats into the water.
“And if you can,” Richard added, “try to locate the men who went overboard.”
“Yessir!”
As his men worked, Richard turned to Aurora and Lyric. She could have sworn he looked ten years older at the moment. “Brace yourselves for this,” he warned them. “Rebekka can be... a bit overbearing.”
“So the sea creature you were talking about is actually a woman?” Aurora asked.
“Not exactly,” Blackbeard countered. “A siren is a... well... well, she’s, a...”
Johnson appeared at his captain’s side to assist in elaborating. “She’s a temptress. Nothing’s more frightening to a sailor than a siren. She can drive men to their deaths with her song. She can make them do crazy things.”
“Yes, exactly,” Richard agreed. “Sure, we had our good times, Rebekka and I. But now she won’t leave me alone!”
Lyric slid Aurora’s hands off of his ears and asked, “You’re trying to tell me some girl is the cause of everyone’s panic? She almost made the entire boat tip over?”
“Uh-huh. She’s very strong. And she has incredible stamina, too.” As he said this, Richard had a momentary twinkle in his eye.
A moment later, the pirates heaved the rowboat onto the deck, and the siren rose from the boat with unparalleled grace. Her face was pale and ethereal, and she wore a gown of gauze and seaweed. There were slits up both sides of the gown, revealing legs that were covered in scales, and skin that was slightly bluish in tint. With her webbed hands, she reached for Richard.
“Ricky Poo!” she cooed.
As she moved toward him, Richard took a step away from her.
“Haven’t you missed me, Ricky Poo? I certainly missed youie-oo!” She spoke to him in a toddler’s voice. In no time at all, her levels of obnoxiousness put Princess Rachelle to shame.
“Uhhh...” The captain looked around, desperately catching the gazes of everyone around him. He wanted someone to come to his rescue, but no one knew what to do.
“Haven’t you missed me at all? Won’t you give me a huggy wuggy?”
Blackbeard stepped forward and seized her in a one-armed hug. She responded by snatching him in both arms and smashing her face against his chest.
“Oooo... you’re so cuddly and snuggily! You’re my Blacky-beardy Cuddle Wuddles, aren’t you?”
The captain frowned. “There went my reputation as a pirate.”
The siren looked up at him. “What did you say, baby?”
“Uh, nothing. Sweetheart, what did I tell you about singing to my men? It’s dangerous to them. You know that.”
She pouted. “I know.”
“I think you owe them all an apology.”
“I know...” Her grip on Blackbeard’s waist continued to tighten. “But I didn’t know how else to get your attention, Pookie. You were moving through here so fast, it was like you were trying to get away from me. You weren’t trying to get away from me, were you?”
“Nononnonono... of course not!”
“Don’t you wuv me anymore, you Poophead?”
“Uhhhh...”
Lyric tried to avert his eyes. It was almost embarrassing to watch the captain squirm.
“Actually, dearest, there’s, uh, there’s, uh... there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” Richard looked over his shoulder at Aurora, who answered his desperation with a shrug. “There’s someone I wanted you to meet.”
When they fell on Aurora, the siren’s eyes turned red. “Who, her?”
“Yes. Her.” Blackbeard turned around, laid his hand in the small of Aurora’s back, and urged her to step forward. “Listen, darling... I know this will be hard for you to understand, but-”
“Who is she?” Rebekka snarled. When she did, she flashed a set of sharp teeth, not unlike the teeth of a small shark. “WHO IS SHE?”
“Now, don’t be angry.”
“HOW CAN I NOT BE ANGRY?”
Blackbeard laid a hand on the siren’s shoulder. “I meant to tell you this sooner, of course, but it’s hard to get in contact with you sometimes, what with you living in the ocean and all. But, uh... this is Aurora.”
“Aurora.” Rebekka repeated the name with zero inflection.
“Aurora is my wife.”
Aurora nearly choked on her own tongue when she heard him say that. She could practically feel the siren’s hatred boring a hole in her head.
“YOUR WIFE?”
Richard wrapped an arm around Aurora’s shoulders. “Yes. Aurora’s my wife. She’s my lovely little pirate princess.”
Aurora tried to shrug off his arm. “I’m not your wife.”
The captain chuckled nervously. “Don’t be silly, honey. I know you’re a little bit afraid of Rebekka, but there’s no sense in denying how much we love each other. Every time I look into your eyes, I know I can’t hide it.” In an attempt to look like a doting husband, he kissed the top of Aurora’s head.
“Ohh... oh nnnooo...” Rebekka was on the verge of tears. Her bright blue lips trembled with sorrow. “Y-y-y-y-y-you’re... married?!”
“No.”
“INDEED.” Richard raised his voice, speaking above Aurora’s protest. “We’re deeply, deeply, terribly in love with one another. If I’ve broken your heart, Rebekka, I do apologize. But Aurora and I are meant to be together.”
The siren let out an ear-piercing scream. The waves were rocked by her fury, and the ship swayed.
“Richard,” Aurora whispered to him. “Richard... why are you doing this?”
He leaned toward her ear. “Shhhhhhh. I need her to believe this! You have no idea how clingy she can be!”
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ricky Poo!!!” The siren clasped a webbed hand over her heart and threw back her head in agony. “Ricky Poo... Ricky Poo... what about me?!”
Richard softened his voice in feigned consolation. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m sure you’ll find someone someday, love.”
“I’m not going to let you do this to me! I”ll... I’ll sink the ship!”
Richard let go of Aurora and reached for Rebekka, hoping to stop her if worse came to worst. “Nooooo, come on. You don’t want to do that!”
She took a few steps away from him. “I’ll condemn you! I’ll condemn you to die!”
Richard shook his head. “Oh, I’m sure you don’t want to do that either.”
Rebekka crossed her arms and kept silent for a few seconds. She looked around the boat, her red eyes flickering over the faces of Blackbeard’s men. “If I can’t have you,” she sniffled, “I’ll have to take a consolation prize.”
“Ahhh, now we’re talking! A prize sounds better than being condemned to death. What is it that you want? I have some nice treasures down in the galley, you know. I’m sure you’ll find something that’ll look nice in your underwater palace.”
“I want...” Rebekka’s eyes stopped on Lyric. “I want him.”
The captain raised an eyebrow. “What? Him? Who?”
“HIM!” She thrust a finger at Lyric. “I want him. He’s cute.”
Aurora ducked under Richard’s arm and ran in front of Lyric, protecting him from the siren’s whims. “No!” she shouted, surprised by her own fervor. “No, you can’t have Lyric! You can’t just take a person as a prize!”
Lyric shook his head in protest. “No, no...let her go on. She thinks I’m cute. I’m interested to hear what else she has to say.”
Aurora shot him a nasty look over her shoulder, and Lyric grinned.
“His name’s Lyric? Really? Then that’s perfect. I sing songs, his name’s Lyric. He can be my NEW Ricky Poo!”
“Um, okay.” Lyric winced. “I’m not sure I entirely agree with you on that...”
“Come to me.” Rebekka held out her arms to him. “Come to me, Lyric, come to me.”
Then she started singing the words: come to me, come to me, Lyric, come to me...
Aurora turned around. “Don’t listen to her, Lyric. She’s trying to trick you. Just cover your ears.”
But her warning was too late. The captain and the rest of the crew was held in place, immobilized by the siren’s song. Lyric extended his arms toward Rebekka and started walking toward her, not unlike a zombie.
“Come to me, come to me, Lyric... be with me.”
“Lyric!” Aurora tried to shout some sense into him. “Lyric, snap out of it! Lyric!”
He pushed her out of the way so he could make his way to Rebekka.
“LYRIC!”
“Come to me... come to me...” He stopped right next to her, staring at her with adoration in his eyes. He caressed her cheek in the palm of his hand. “Be with me... kiss me.”
Lyric bent his head forward and planted his mouth on Rebekka’s.
Aurora dragged a hand across her face in devastation. She couldn’t help but feel partly responsible for everything that had happened to Lyric. Now he was going to be some madwoman’s love slave? She couldn’t let it happen! When she saw their tongues touching, she felt sick to her stomach.
“Come with me.” The siren was speaking now, not singing—but he was still under her spell. “You’ll come with me, won’t you?”
Lyric followed her to the edge of the ship. “Anything for you, my love.”
Thinking fast, Aurora whipped the wayspinner out of her pocket. Rebekka dove into the water, and Lyric was about to dive in after her. Aurora reached for him, touching the back of his arm. She turned the dial and secretly prayed that it would work; otherwise, the emperor would be gone forever.
More than ever, she was relieved to see the flash of white light.