The burned sea
«Look!» Shouted Nethopyrina, pointing somewhere to the north. She hovered above the deck and saw something beyond the horizon that Patricia couldn’t see. She had to get a telescope.
«What an obsession!» Patricia pulled back the telescope, barely peering through the peephole. Inside it, she could see the sea floor, water dragons and sirens coiled in rings, but the surface of the sea was not visible.
«Morgens had it forgotten!» Zeligena excitedly picked up the telescope and clutched it to her chest. «This is a priceless thing! Through it you can peek at all the secrets of the sea and ocean kingdoms.»
«But that’s not what I need right now!» Patricia sighed. The danger was not from the depths of the sea, but from the surface.»
The moth flew above the masts and blew into the sails, creating a tailwind. The ship sailed forward faster, or it would run aground. If only scorched leagues of sea could be called a shoal.
When Patricia looked at what Nethopyrina was pointing at, she gasped.
«Apparently, a dragon ship had recently sailed through here!» She guessed.
The left side of the sea had dried up, with charred fish skeletons and ash at the bottom.
«Good thing we didn’t get close!» Nethopyrina flapped her gray wings triumphantly. «I can replace the wind.»
«I’m lucky to have you.»
Patricia was startled by the burned out part of the sea. The dragon had scorched it to the bottom. Poisonous vapor rose from the empty pit. The gray spirits of the conflagration hovered over the burnt pit. Patricia had once seen the ghosts of fire over a burned hunting lodge near Opal. They hovered over the ashes in a roundelay and frightened passers-by. To see them over the sea was even more frightening.
Patricia felt as if she were sailing past a huge grave. After all, the bay had been home to mermaids. Now only their skeletons lay on the bottom. Bones blackened by the fire.
«Mermaids are like sisters to me,» Zeligena sobbed. «The same thing could have happened to me if I hadn’t run away from the swamp to the sea.»
One mermaid skeleton was wearing a magnificent crown. It could have been removed, but Patricia thought it was sacrilegious. In case the mermaid skeleton came to life and caught the thief by the hand or the ghost of the mermaid would haunt the ship. The Morgen’s treasure was better left untouched. They should have returned the spyglass as well, but Zeligena didn’t want to part with it. She said the Morgens had left it on deck on purpose.
«They only leave such things for people they want to invite to visit them,» she said.
«I won’t go to the bottom of the sea,» Patricia decided. «I don’t want the Morgens to lure me into the underwater realm and drown me.»
The mermaids who emerged from the depths were acting good-natured, but suddenly their kindness was only an act. If she went down to the bottom with them, the mermaids might harm her. Patricia liked to look at the surface of the sea, shimmering in the morning sunlight, rather than think about underwater wonders. It was frightening to imagine that if the dragon ship crossed the sea a few more times, there would simply be no sea left.
«What is he trying to accomplish? Does he really want to scorch all the waters? It seems that fire-breathing dragons can’t stand water.»
Patricia realized that she herself loved the sea and did not want it to become a burned-out hollow. It is so pleasant to look at the water surface, gilded by the sun! And under the water dwell such marvelous creatures as mermaids. Is the dragon so cruel that he will destroy them all?
The dragon is a mystery. Patricia noticed several more mermaid skeletons with jewelry glittering on them. The pearl necklaces contrasted sharply with the black bones. Apparently pearls don’t burn in dragon fire. Or are the pearls magical?
Nethopyrina flew down to the skeletons and took a couple of the jewelry.
«Why is it?» Patricia wondered.
«I want to question the mermaid ghosts about what happened here.»
«It’s clear enough, a dragon ship sailed through here, and everything burned.»
«The air down here is poisoned,» the Mermaid sneezed. «If I were human, I’d have suffocated by now.»
Patricia thought she heard a ghostly mermaid’s laughter coming from the jewelry.
The ship changed course to sail away from the burned-out part of the sea. Ahead was a small tropical island.
«This is the Isle of Purra,» Netopyrina determined. «It is inhabited by marvelous animals that have the same name as their island.»
Patricia was more interested in the banana palms on the island. We need to troop the goblins and trolls to pick more fruit. There were almost no provisions left on board. The magic team didn’t need food, but Patricia was hungry.
«I must be the only captain who doesn’t have a cook or a galley,» she complained.
No one cooked food aboard «The Bloodsucker», but the ship itself greedily absorbed any blood spilled on the deck. The only decent food had been taken from the captured ships, and it was already running out.
«Launch the dinghy!» Patricia commanded as the ship approached the island.
«Why is it?» With a surprised sigh, Nethopyrina slipped her arms around the captain’s waist and pulled her off the deck. Her wings were strong enough to take to the sky with a burden like Patricia.
The other crew members could make it to shore on their own, some on wings and some swimming. The dinghy proved to be of no use to them all.
Patricia felt like a toy when Nethopyrina put her on the shore of the island.
«I don’t like bright sunlight,» the bat fairy confessed. «I like the night better than the day.»
Patricia did not immediately notice the burned mermaid by the shore. The sea beauty was desperately clinging to the sand with her fingernails. She tried to crawl to the water, but she didn’t have the strength.
«Stop it! I’ll help you!» Patricia ran up to the mermaid. «Why don’t you tell me what happened to you?»
If the sea maiden could talk to her, she wouldn’t need to summon ghosts.
«The dragon ship came within a meter of me,» the mermaid whispered. «He was looking for you.»
What the hell is the mermaid talking about? Maybe she’s having sunstroke. Patricia felt the mermaid’s cold forehead. It felt like ice. The mermaid’s body didn’t heat up at all in the blazing sun. So how could the fire burn her? The green tail was burned to black in places, and there were burns on one cheek and shoulder. Somehow they were black, not inflamed.
«What does the dragon ship want?»
«He’s sure you’re at the bottom. If we burned the whole sea, we could get you, and at the same time take revenge on all the underwater wizards who’ve been harboring you.»
«No, it is not me,» Patricia objected. «You’re confusing me with someone else.»
«I wasn’t burned so badly that I lost my memory,» the mermaid said. «The dragon thinks that we are hiding his main treasure at the bottom.»
– What’s that?
«It is his wife, of course. He has a very special wife. She alone is worth a whole magic kingdom.»
The mermaid must have been delirious. Patricia was able to drag her to the wolves. The salty sea water immediately had a healing effect on the mermaid’s body. The burns began to go away. In the water, the mermaid regained her strength and swam on her own. She didn’t even say thank you. Patricia was not offended. The mermaid had suffered so much from the burns that she had no strength left to be polite.
The mermaid’s crest was left on the sand. Patricia picked it up and wanted to throw it into the sea, but changed her mind. It was unlikely that the mermaid would find it in the waves; it was better to keep it for now in case she came to the ship to thank her for her rescue. Patricia pinned the comb to her hair, fastening the strands above her ear. Immediately, unearthly voices sounded in her ear. The comb seemed to somehow carry the singing of sirens.
The island turned out to be full of marvelous creatures, half of them resembling white furry monkeys, half cats. They turned out to be intelligent. The Purrs traded the bananas and coconuts they gathered on the island, and they also picked up all sorts of things from wrecked ships and offered them for sale in the big coastal market. For some reason, most of the ships were wrecked off the Isle of Purrs. Could it be the animals’ fault? The Purrs seemed to be quite cunning. Patricia haggled with them for a long time before she managed to barter a sack of bananas and coconuts. In return, she had to give up an expensive bracelet.
«It’s okay. I’ll take some new jewelry from the sea! I’m a pirate!» Patricia consoled herself when the Purrs lured her away with a chain and a locket.
«You could have taken it from them instead of buying it!«Nethopyrina advised. «You have sabers and muskets.»
«How can you hurt such nice animals?»
«These cute little animals will rob you of everything.»
«Let them! I wouldn’t spare anything for them.» Patricia tried to pet one purra and was immediately slapped. The purra’s tail was more painful than a whip. These animals really are not easy!
A creature that looked suspiciously like a human was walking through the coastal marketplace. Patricia was surprised. Why would a human be here? Patricia herself had only been allowed onto the island because she was in the company of supernatural beings. Even goblins and trolls could be easily tricked by the Purrs into buying spices for the price of gold. These animals must be wizards to be able to seduce even supernatural creatures so easily.
«And you’re human!» Someone pulled Patricia’s hair. «You only look like a fairy, but you’re an earthly girl to the touch.»
Patricia turned around. In front of her stood a hunched figure that looked a lot like an old woman. The old woman’s dress was spreading sea foam on the sand, and a necklace of coins and shells glittered on her wrinkled neck. Such signs are usually worn by coastal fortune-tellers.
«A whole team of magical creatures is captained by a human!» The old woman marveled. «Usually it is the other way around: a whole team of humans has a captain who is a magical creature.»
That makes sense! One sorceress can easily control a whole team of thugs. Patricia had heard stories from seafarers visiting Opal about a witch who had captured an entire pirate ship and made slaves out of the sea robbers. They mined gold and jewelry for her, but they themselves did not get any share of the loot.
And the legendary wife of the sea king Lilophea in general could control the entire fleet going into battle. Sailors had to submit to her magic, and then to the magic of her daughter, the sea princess Lorelei. It was said that if Lorelei played her magic flute, the entire crew of an entire armada would turn into sleepwalkers obedient to her. But these were just sea legends. Patricia did not expect to meet Queen Lilothea or Princess Lorelei on an open voyage. If they had once ruled the storms in ancient times, they were now hidden at the bottom of a fiery ship.
There was a pretty white purra twirling around the old lady’s hem.
«Would you like to take her for a swim?» The old lady suggested. «Purra could be a great assistant to the captain.»
«Thank you, but I don’t think so,» Patricia didn’t want to put the animal at risk. «I don’t think Purra would like to be involved in sea battles.»
«Well, as you wish!» The old woman walked past, leaving puddles of sea foam on the sand.
«Look, her clothes are made of foam and water!» Patricia tugged at Nethopyrina’s wing.
The fairy was not surprised. «Sea Queen Lilothea has a dress made entirely of sea foam. When she spreads her train, a storm starts.»
«She can summon a storm just by spreading her train?» Patricia thought it was incredible.
«That’s right!»
«I wish I could do that,» Patricia sighed.
«It’s never too late to learn,» Nethopyrina encouraged her.
«Isn’t magic the result of study, not talent?»
«It can be. We all knew a wizard who learned magic so well that he became emperor of a whole empire populated by fairies, elves, and monsters. What a guy! Handsome, smart, talented, and…»
«He is golden-haired!» Patricia said.
«How do you know?»
«I saw someone like that in a dream.»
«You could have seen the King of Dreams in a dream, and I’m talking about…» She hesitated. «I guess I can’t talk to you about it.»
«Why is it not?»
«It’s the rules!»
There, Nethopyrina had intrigued her and left her wondering.
«So magic can be trained so well that it can take over magical creatures?» Patricia decided to find a way around the questioning.
«I misspoke,» she frowned, clearly not wanting to say anything. «That young man originally had a magical gift. He just needed to be awakened with the help of magic books.»
«That could be said of anyone who was trained in magic.»
«No, he was really special. You wouldn’t find the likes of him anymore.»
As they walked forward along the shore, Patricia and Nethopyrina came upon a stranger who was also dripping water, but he didn’t look like an old man anymore. Patricia recoiled from him. It was an ugly morgen with gills, twisted horns and webbing. You’d have to run away from him if you didn’t want to get into a fight. Patricia fumbled for the hilt of the saber at her belt, but the morgen wasn’t going to attack, he mumbled something and shoved a gold coin into Patricia’s hand.
«You shouldn’t have taken it!» The mongrel flapped her wings excitedly. «Everyone knows that the Morgens deliberately give their gold to fools in the harbors so that they can become slaves of the underwater kingdom.»
Perhaps she should have been frightened, but Patricia had rightly decided that if the dragon ship continued to sail the seas, there would soon be no underwater kingdom left.
The coin was beautiful. It was embossed with mermaids and some unfamiliar crest. It reflected the rays of the setting sun.
Patricia shuddered as she noticed that the light on the shore was tinged with scarlet. It meant that the day was coming to an end. The sun was setting over the horizon.
The sunset of the third day has already come! In the night, Medea Shai will appear. And what shall she say to her? Accept the generous offer or reject it, risking the wrath of the Queen of the Fairies?
Somehow Patricia was sure that she risked the same in both options. After all, becoming a business partner of an evil fairy was no less dangerous than incurring her wrath.
Purra
The setting sun was as warm as dragon fire. The dragon seemed to be flying across the sky above the ship. Patricia stood at the stern and watched the island of Purras disappear over the horizon. The cute little animals wouldn’t go away.
«If one day I live on my own estate, I’ll have a purra,» Patricia said.
Perhaps she should have thrown a coin into the sea, so that one day she could return to the Isle of Purras. There is an omen that if you throw a coin into the water, you will surely return to this place again.
Nethopurina shook off some invisible grit. She brought Patricia back to the deck and noticed a red hair on her wings to shake off.
«Your hair is like fire yarn,» complained the bat fairy. «It seems to be hot like fire.»
«It must have gotten hot in the sun,» Patricia watched the goblins load bags of fruit on board. Zeligena took the role of bookkeeper and wrote down the list of purchases in the ship’s log. She used green swamp sludge instead of ink and a fish bone instead of a quill. The lines came out green.
«How is it that instead of robbing, we started buying?» Patricia wondered.
It is nothing surprising!» The mongrel spread her wings. «The Purras will drive anyone to extremes.»
«Are they magical animals? Can they do any small magic?»
«Of course, they can! There are also human-sized Purras, but they live on other islands. For example, on the island of Shean (which is south of here) lives Princess Leonella, who has surrounded herself with large purras instead of bodyguards. By the way, she doesn’t like the King of Opal either. You should meet her.»
«Will her purras turn on me again?» Patricia felt her purse lighten after landing on Purras’ island.
«Well, pirates rob the ships they meet so they can spend the money on booze and pleasure,» Nethopyrina said diplomatically.
«I thought it was to accumulate more treasure and bury a pirate’s treasure, which can then be dug up at the end of the career and spent on a large estate.»
«You’re a humorist!» Nethopyrina gave Patricia a friendly pat on the shoulder with her wing. «I haven’t seen a single pirate who could save up money for his own farm, let alone an estate.»
«Have you seen many pirates?»
«I’ve been flying over ships for a long time, eavesdropping, peeping. I steal something pirates don’t have well. They usually blame the thefts on each other and don’t suspect the fairies. Pirates have an unstable income, depending on the wealth of the ships they encounter, and an unreliable future. They can always be captured and hanged or sent to feed the fish. Each boarding could be their last, so pirates dump all their booty on Peony Island. There are many taverns there, you can drink and have fun.»
«I’ve heard that there is a slave trade on Peony Island,» Patricia said.
«That too! The pirates have to sell captured prisoners somewhere, but we don’t take prisoners, so we don’t need to go to Peony.»
That’s true. All the prisoners were destroyed by a bloodthirsty ship. It’s impossible to spend a single man on «The Bloodsucker», the ship will drink his blood immediately. The planks of the walls and deck would turn scarlet for a moment, and the man would die. The only exception was Patricia, that’s why she was the captain. And the ship was squeamish about the blood of fairies and magical creatures. Their blood must be poisoned or enchanted. That’s why the fairy in the hold was still unharmed. She was now singing strange songs that sounded like drunken ramblings. Probably one of the goblins gave her rum and the fairy got drunk.
«Everyone drinks from grief,» Nethopyrina nodded. «And for a fairy to be a hostage is a great sorrow. I bet she feels like a moth in a jar.»
«No kidding!» Patricia was nervous, because the scarlet rays of the sunset were beginning to fade behind the horizon.
«You’re so serious! What if I told you about the dancers from Peony? They’re all nagas, serpentine or evil fairies. Their profession is to pick pirates’ pockets. All our colleagues sail from Peony with empty wallets.»
«How come rumors of pirate treasure if it’s all spent on booze and dancers?»
«Do you want to find a pirate treasure?» Nethopyrina clapped her gray eyelashes in surprise.
Patricia didn’t know what to say. Not to admit honestly that she wanted to find an alternative to Medea Shai’s proposal. Patricia hadn’t told either Nethopyrina or Zeligena about the impending deal with the fairy queen yet. And they were her main assistants aboard «The Bloodsucker». Unlike the active fragile fairies, the strong goblins behaved passively. They only knew how to fight, and had no ideas in their heads. Strategists of them were not good. Acting on the principle of «you have the power, you don’t need the brains» does not always lead to the best. And now there was an unhappy murmur on the deck. The motley crew was shaking their fists, saying goodbye to the island disappearing in the distance. There were curses and threats. The goblins were only now coming out of the enchantment of the purras, and they felt screwed.
«Oh, those purras are!» The largest of the goblins complained. «They occupy the whole island and set their own laws on it. You can’t even pick a coconut from a palm tree without their permission. Otherwise they will bite your finger off.»
Since the goblin was blowing on his paw, there was no doubt about the damage caused by the Purras.
«Next time I’ll show them!» The goblin waved his wand menacingly.
«And they will come at you in a pack, and you will not be able to get your paws off their island. But the purras will sell your skin,» said Nethopyrina, snidely.
The goblin immediately fell silent. He was not afraid of the cannon volleys of oncoming ships, but he was afraid of some purras. How could those furry little things frighten such a big guy?
The trolls did not complain about life, because they were not interested in the fruit from the purras’ island. But they had drunk almost all the fire wine from the hold. There were only a few barrels left. Patricia hoped that they would finish it too. Otherwise the whole ship might burst into flames like a match if one of the barrels suddenly cracked.
The bags of fruit were brought to the ship by goblins. They are so strong that they can easily carry even a boulder on their backs.
Patricia noticed a bag of mangoes, kiwis and pineapples that she hadn’t bought.
«I traded it to the Purras,» Zeligena bragged.
«What did you give them for it?»
Zeligena wore no jewelry of any value that the greedy islanders might be tempted by.
«Nothing but a promise and a few smiles,» the swamp fairy boasted.
«Don’t tell me you took it all away from them by scaring them with a musket.»
«It is no way! I don’t scare anyone with a gun. It’s against the law. I could be arrested and executed like a common pirate for walking around with a saber. I’m more subtle than that.»
«And what did you do to scare the Purras?»
«I promised them you’d bring a flood to their island unless they gave you a gift. They’re very afraid of sinking. The Purras don’t like water at all.»
«Did they really take your word for it that I could summon a flood? I didn’t realize the Purras were so naive.»
«The waves told them you were friends with mermaids. A girl who’s friends with mermaids can get the sea maidens to flood an entire country. Besides, you have another swamp fairy in your entourage,» Zeligena pouted smugly. «The proximity of the swamp makes purras sick, too.»
«Don’t make any more promises to anyone that I can’t fulfill. It’s not in my power to summon a storm or create a flood.»
«But you can really make a deal with the mermaids. Even if they can’t flood the whole kingdom for you, they can flood it so much that the inhabitants have to walk knee-deep in water. In such a situation, you can already give any king an ultimatum. To prevent the lower floors of his own palace from sinking, every ruler will make concessions. It’s a pity that the mermaids are now exhausted by the dragon’s attacks and can’t flood all of Opal for you. Otherwise you wouldn’t have to fight the war yourself.»
«What would the mermaids ask in return?» Patricia was wary. She could not believe that the sea maidens could help unselfishly. She herself was ready to save a mermaid only for a thank you, but she didn’t expect a favor in return.
«Well, mermaids aren’t purras. They won’t rob you of everything, but they may ask you to make a blood sacrifice over the sea.
«Is it a bull or a goat?»
«It is a man.»
«That’s horrible!» Patricia was embarrassed.
«For a pirate, killing the enemy is routine. You capture someone and slaughter them over the sea. You’ll have to perform a ritual to make the mermaids realize the sacrifice is meant for them.»
«Has anyone ever done something like that over your swamp?»
Zeligena was now embarrassed.
«One king, defeated in a war, asked the swamp fairies to flood his enemy’s country with mire,» she admitted reluctantly. «I still remember what it was like: a whole army and a whole kingdom went into the swamp. No one ever saw them again.»
«Could you have lured the King of Opal into the swamp?»
«My swamp is gone. The dragon burned it out,» Zeligena reminded her with a resentful look.
«It’s a shame!» Patricia regretted that she would not be able to profit from her acquaintance with the swamp fairy, but Zeligena understood her in her own way.
«Don’t regret it! Otherwise we wouldn’t be on the same ship right now.»
The swamp fairy liked the feeling of being the captain’s assistant. The cabin in which she had taken up residence was slowly turning into a swamp. Even frogs started jumping out of it, but the crew of supernatural creatures didn’t mind. Zeligena would have liked to take the hold and turn it into a swamp, but they were holding a valuable hostage, the fairy from Opal. It was now evening, and the captive fairy was raising a scandal again. Her threats to enchant the whole ship were heard even through the barrier of magical signs drawn at the entrance to the hold.
Patricia thought with horror of the fairy queen who was about to appear. Along with the night would come Medea Shai. What to say to her, Patricia hadn’t decided. Should she try to exchange the hostage for gold and call it a day? Would Medea Shai compromise?
It is unlikely that the queen of fairies will descend from the sky directly onto the deck of a pirate ship. Most likely, she would wait in the captain’s cabin. Her ability to emerge directly from the void was stunning to Patricia. If she could move through space, she would have long ago appeared in the royal bedroom of the Opal palace and tried to kill the king.
What an idea! Patricia had a plan. We should give the Fairy Queen an ultimatum. Let her prove her sincerity by destroying Patricia’s enemy. The Queen of the Fairies should be strong enough to do that.
Medea Shai is able to appear as a black mist in the captain’s quarters, so she can also move to the Opal royal palace in the same way. She could suffocate the king in his sleep and disappear immediately.
Patricia thought about the plan.
«Hey, look!» One of the goblins shrieked. He seemed to be scared out of his wits.
What’s the matter? Patricia didn’t immediately notice what the goblin was pointing at. A nimble white monkey was leaping along the ropes and masts.
«Wow!» Patricia whistled as she realized what was going on.
The nimble purra had sneaked onto the ship and leaped as she wished. The goblins fell into a stupor when they saw the purra. It seems that most of all they wanted to chase her off the ship, but for some reason they did not dare to approach the magical beast. Did the purra hypnotize them and deprive them of their own will?
Patricia didn’t know what to do with the guest.
«The purra came aboard as a hare,» she concluded. «Maybe we should put her in a dinghy and send her back to the island. I think she can row, and you can make the wind. Isn’t that right, Nethopyrina?»
«I won’t bother with the wind because of an insolent animal,» the gray fairy stammered. «Let’s invite the purra to dinner in the captain’s cabin.»
«You mean mine?» Patricia was frightened. After dinner with the purra all her savings would be gone.
«The captain must have his own monkey. Without a parrot or a monkey, sailing at sea is boring.»
It was as if Purra had heard and understood Nethopyrina’s speech. She jumped on Patricia’s shoulder like a tame monkey. Her nimble paws played with Patricia’s curls for a long time, and then suddenly unclasped the chain and removed the pendant.
Patricia did not object. Let Purra wear it if she wanted to. The pendant was cheap anyway. She’d taken it off the corpse of some corporal killed in a naval skirmish. He probably got it from his girlfriend or mother and wore it as a memento. It is bad luck for a girl to wear a dead man’s item, but Purra as a toy will do.
As soon as the Purra moved into the captain’s cabin, the compass, the spyglass, and even Patricia’s pillow, immediately became the insolent beast’s possession.
«Just don’t kick me off the bed!» Patricia hurriedly took her place on the bunk and waited for Medea Shai to arrive. Outside the cabin window, the sunset had already faded. Night had fallen. Barely had the stars popped out in the sky before the queen of the fairies would show up and have to negotiate with her.
Should we get the Purra to gamble with the fairy queen? Then Medea Shai would owe the Purra for eternity. The nimble little beasties of the island were a terrific con artist. But how could the queen of the fairies will be persuaded to play cards with a beast?
Time passed, it was getting dark outside the cabin window, and the Queen of the Fairies didn’t show up. How could it be that she had missed the appointed time? What could have delayed the fairy queen herself?