BARK AND THE PIRATE’S CHARM
Thunder rumbled and roared above as The Barracuda cut through the waves. Wood creaked and added to the ship’s complaints to the howling wind. Jochi dashed over the deck. Stomach churning, he looked into every nook and cranny. Rain washed cold sweat from his face and lightning illuminated a wild look in his eyes.
His lucky umbrella was gone. Jochi had scoured the ship from top to bottom, twice, and there was no trace of it. It had taken him years to save enough money. Years of waving a sword and roaring curses. Years of cutting throats. Years of cataloguing every item they stole. Years of laboring over books and numbers in a dim candlelight.
Numbers, those he loved. The rest he could do without. He would much rather cut over a page with a pen and spill ink than cut across a man’s neck with a sword and spill blood. A civilized man, that what he was, at least when given a chance.
And now his chance was missing. He had bought the umbrella only a week ago when they made port in Trandithorp. It had cost some extra to modify it to his needs, but he had deemed the cost worth it. How could he have lost his most valued possession?
The Barracuda groaned as it gained speed. They would catch the merchant ship soon and Jochi had to find his umbrella before they did. The Captain shouted orders. Cannons were readied, hooks and swords glinted in the rain. Jochi gritted his teeth and darted back inside, down the stairs and into his tiny cabin. His sword hung by the door, but the place next to it was still empty.
Cursing, he grabbed the sword and ran back up. A cannon boomed and then another. Yet another blast reverberated in the air and the merchant ship’s main mast cracked. It swayed in the wind and then, with its own deafening boom, it fell.
“Ready yer swords,” the Captain shouted.
“Ay, ay, Captain!” Jochi replied with everyone else. The Barracuda drew beside the merchant ship, The Sea Lily. What a pretty, useless name. There were even lilies painted on its hull. In the rain, they looked to be wilting.
Movement in the corner of his eye caught Jochi’s attention, and he turned to look. The relief was so staggering that Jochi dropped his sword. His lucky umbrella. Bark had it! Jochi launched after the dog and almost lurched in front of a swinging hook. Curses flew after him, but Jochi didn’t hear them.
“Come ‘ere, you bilge rat,” he shouted and hurried after the dog. Bark didn’t listen and kept dragging his umbrella as he ran. Something made the deck sway violently and Jochi lost his footing. Just as he fell, Bark turned and ran past him again. He was whining frantically and looked to be out of his mind with fear. Jochi felt a prickle of unease. Bark was a seasoned ship dog, a pirate. He had sailed all seven seas.
Scrambling to his feet took some effort, and Bark was almost on the stern by the time he managed. What could make The Barracuda shake like this? He hurried after the dog and then The Barracuda reeled again.
In one amazing leap, Bark cleared the rail. Jochi could only watch as the tiny dog and his lucky umbrella plummeted towards the sea.
Gust of wind hit them and the umbrella flared open, carrying Bark further away. And then the umbrella flipped, smoothly landing on the waves, with Bark safely inside. Jochi cursed both the umbrella and the dog. Now they were lost to the sea, and he hated the tears that threatened to spring into his eyes.
Stupid dog.
The Barracuda cracked, shaking again. Sea roiled beneath, like it was boiling. Furious waves lashed The Barracuda and salt burned in Jochi’s eyes. He looked again at Bark, barely visible anymore, sailing away. He looked down at the sea. He looked into the sea.
The prickle of unease shifted to dread and then into terror. There was only one thing sailors of seven seas feared. Only one thing that made them abandon the ship. Only one thing that could gaze back from the depths.
Kraken.