Free Heart of the Kraken (Tales from Darjee) by A. W. Exley Page B

help thinking it tried to communicate something to her. Then it turned and swam away, leaving her to be hauled up on deck.
    Hands grabbed at her and she still clutched the prize claimed from the rock. The sun had dropped in the horizon and no longer stung her skin or burned her eyes.
    "Well don't you look revived for a swim," the captain said. "And what do you have there?" He held out one hand.
    She toyed with holding on to her treasure but what was the point? A few more days and she would be dead anyway. At least her restored health would ensure she was a fine meal for the Lady of Darjee.
    The captain took the object and turned it over and over in his hands. The dying sun played over the surface and it shimmered with blue and green fire. The cycle of subtle colour what attracted her attention on the coral bed.
    "What did it find, Cap'n? A plate?" One of the crew asked.
    "This is no plate," he said. It wasn't a circle, but flatter at the top and then curved.
    "Looks like a giant scale," another said.
    The captain's head shot up and he fixed the man with his steady gaze. "Scale?"
    The man blanched. "I was just joking, Cap'n. Of course it's not a scale. Imagine how big the fish would be that it fell off."
    A brief rustle of laughter broke out but the captain stared out over the ocean. He made a noise in his throat as he thought. Then he let out a low whistle. "I happen to agree with you Dinger. I think our pet fish has found us a scale from the Curiosity."
    Silence fell except for the odd whispered oath and the captain regarded her with a hard, wondering look in his black eyes.

Chapter Nine
     
    Fenton found the men circled on the deck, Ailin at their feet. He breathed a sigh of relief to see the grey tinge gone from her skin and replaced with a pearl-like warmth. The spines along her tail stood erect rather than flopping to one side and her scales had regained their lustre. Her long hair draped over her shoulders and covered her breasts, hiding them from men who had been overlong at sea without a shore visit.
    "Any problem from the Regulators?" he enquired of the captain. He lost himself when controlling the kraken, with no awareness of anything that happened on the vessel while his mind was lashed to the beast.
    Reis looked up from the plate in his hands. "Our bad luck to encounter Captain Shame and he demanded we hand the creature over. I told him to find it and damn if the scourge didn't search everywhere, he even sent a man down to the latrine. I thought I might have to invite him for dinner, he took so long."
    Fenton picked up Ailin and her arms looped around his neck. "Will he be back?"
    "Undoubtedly, he had talked to Captain Wyman and knows we hold the fish, he just doesn't know where. We have created quite the puzzle for him and he is intent on solving it." Reis tucked the blue disc into his jacket. "We make for Lusions."
    A cheer went up from the assembled crew, they would finally have time in a port to spend their gold, to have land under their feet, and a woman under their bodies.
    Fenton held Ailin closer. Docking at the Isle of Illusions bought him time. Time to figure out how to free Ailin, even as the other part of his mind made a mental note of the supplies the ship would need to acquire. "I'll double check the hold and give you a list of what we need to restock."
    Reis smiled. "Good. We need an intermediary to contact Darjee for us. We can't exactly sail up the Darjee channel, especially not with Shame snapping at our heels. Plus there is another matter I want to discuss with Nancy." Reis stared at Ailin for a moment longer, then he strode toward the helm, shouting orders. Men leapt to action, others watched Fenton, ensuring he didn't slip the mermaid back over the side.
    Below deck, he placed Ailin on the floor with her back against the crate. He sat next to her, his long legs stretched out next to her luminescent tail. Their shoulders touched and the cool metal of the container behind him soothed the sweat