The terrible scream is cut short, and I don't let myself imagine the reason why. Instead I push my feet faster, leaping over fallen crates and dodging sailors as they try to keep their ship afloat. Whether we're hitting waves or bodies of those demented mermaid things, the ship continues to be rocked every few seconds, throwing everything and everyone on the deck around in a mad frenzy.

As I near the front of the ship, the rain that started as a gray drizzle is now a complete downpour that blurs my vision. All I know is that Darren is close, and the haunting music is getting louder.

"Come away, O human child."

My body knocks into the front mast as the ship hits another obstacle. The words of the song are clear for the first time, and I feel a strange pull in my chest. A kind of familiar tug telling me I've heard the words before. Peering through the sheets of rain, I see a pair of red eyes rising above the side of the ship.

"Come away, O human child, to the water and the wild."

The hallowed face of a goat, followed by the body of a seal, levitates in a current of water, its black mouth gaping as it sings to me.

"With a faery hand in hand."

The red eyes don't scare me anymore. In fact, I think the goat thing wants to help me. It knows how hard I've tried to make a better life for Darren and I, and it can show me a better way. My feet are quick to reach the edge of the ship, and my hands stretch out beyond the deck, grasping for the only creature who understands what it feels like...

To be abandoned by the people who should have been there no matter what. To wonder every day of your life what happened to them. Were they killed somehow? Or did they simply walk out on their own kids? Each option offers a unique kind of hurt: the first means you'll never see your parents again; and the second means they don't love you enough to come back and make it right.

My torso is leaning over the ship, and I glance away from the red eyes to look at the ocean. It churns like an angry pot of boiling water. It reminds me of myself.

"For the world is more full of weeping than you can understand."

The goat calls to me as it sinks back into the ocean. I can't let it leave me alone. I'm so tired of being alone.

"Roisín, no!"

Whoever cries my name is too late. My eyes shut everything out as I fall forward and await the cool embrace of the water below.

But then something solid impacts with my body and swings me around. I'm thrown onto the deck with that same weight pressed on top of me, and I slide over the drenched wood and into a pile of crates.

Black specs scatter my vision and I taste blood. The combination of pain in my head and bitter iron on my tongue act like injections of sanity to cure whatever hypnosis spell I was under.

The solid force that tackled me to the deck is trying to detangle from me now. Cináed's sharp green eyes blink back at me, providing the only vibrant color in a scene of gray as the storm rages around us.

For a moment we just stare at each other, and I can feel his body's warmth as a steady stream of water trickles off his chin and onto my face.

"Where is Darren?" Cináed's voice is urgent, launching me back into reality as my stomach immediately ties itself in a knot.

"I was looking for him, and then I..." How do I explain that the ugliest goat I've ever seen almost convinced me to drown myself?

Cináed helps me to my feet and I sway unsteadily, falling into his arms when the ship collides with another wave. He pushes my back into the mast and starts to tie my hands together behind me.

"The Murdhaucha sing to your pain, and you decided to heed them. You must stay here while I find Darren."

I try to resist his hold but my hands are already bound around the mast. "I won't let it happen again! I have to find him!" I'm begging now. The guilt at having let that stupid monster get in my head and distract me from Darren is gnawing through my chest.

If Cináed hears my pleading, he doesn't answer. I don't see him come back around the mast once my hands are tied, and I'm left alone to watch the handful of waterlogged sailors as they battle with fate for our lives. One creature with dark green skin and small horns on its head runs past me, shouting profanity at the top of its lungs. Red eyes peek over the ship and the green man runs straight at them with a plank of wood held between its hands.

"I AM NOT LISTENING TO YOU, YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!"

Before the sea monster can dodge the blow, the wooden plank meets its face and sends it tumbling back into the crashing waves. Lightning illuminates the green man's toothy grin as he spins around and continues shouting to block out the music.

After what seems like an entire day of tumbling over waves and trying to see through the blanket of rain, I notice that the music has stopped. It's followed closely by a glimmer of yellow on the horizon through the clouds. The sunrise deciding to show itself after a night of pure, nightmarish hell.

But although the storm is fading and the waves are calming, the nightmare isn't over for me yet. My hair is plastered to my face, and my clothes are heavy with water as I scan the deck, willing Darren to appear.

If something happened to him, I'll never forgive myself.

It's no longer rainwater that falls down my face as I hang my head and let my body collapse into the mast. My shoulders shake, and I'm barely aware of someone cutting me loose, letting me fall to the deck on my knees.

Then two small arms wrap around me, and a head of dark hair tucks itself beneath my chin. I sob his name over and over as I pull him close and hold him to my chest.

"I'm so sorry, Darren. I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine, Raisin. I promise I'm just fine." He says into my shirt because I'm not ready to let him go yet.

Cináed comes to stand beside us, his light hair darkened with water and his shirt clinging to him, outlining the contours of his torso. Despite the long night we've had, he's still managed to maintain that smirk of his.

"Let your brother breathe, Roisín." He says, his eyes twinkling. "The hero deserves to relax for a moment."

I release Darren, looking at his face. "What happened?"

My brother's mouth twitches with a smile, but it's true that he needs rest. His eyelids droop low and his gaze doesn't focus on me.

"When I heard the music, I knew the sailors would be in danger." He begins. "So I went to try and keep as many of the crew on the ship as I could."

"And he did just that. He saved two sailors before they jumped overboard."

I'm watching Darren's smile, overwhelmed with the thought of him risking his life to save the lives of strange creatures. Before I can ask him for more details, someone's voice calls from above.

"What was that?" I say, noticing how Cináed's shoulders slump as he leans into the mast.

Cináed runs a hand over his face, shaking his head as a genuine smile spreads over his face. "He said he can see land."

Darren's head falls back to my chest as his eyes close, the sleepless night finally overcoming his senses. My gaze wanders back to the golden horizon where I imagine an island of green appearing after miles and miles of ocean.

"We are almost home." Cináed says.

<<-------------->> 

So remember how I promised to post another chapter today? Well, I might only have 30 minutes to spare, but I made it! Sorry for making you guys wait a little longer, but it's been a crazy weekend.

Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of my crazy weekend. And you should go do the same <3 you deserve it the same way Darren deserves a solid nap ;)