Shipwreck Souls Read online

  Shipwreck Souls

  Brought to you by the three-way

  Kendra Moreno

  K.A Knight

  Poppy Woods

  Contents

  Prologue

  Storm Along

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Blow Them All Down

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Leave Her, Johnny

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments From Kendra Moreno

  Acknowledgments From Katie Knight

  Acknowledgments From Poppy Woods

  About The Authors

  Copyright

  PLEASE RESPECT THE WORK OF YOUR AUTHORS.

  DO NOT PIRATE THIS OR ANY OTHER NOVEL.

  Shipwreck Souls

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to places, events or real people are entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 Kendra Moreno, K.A Knight, & Poppy Woods, all rights reserved.

  Written by Kendra Moreno, K.A Knight, & Poppy Woods.

  Cover by Ruxandra Tudorica of Methyss Design

  Formatting by Nicole JeRee with The Swamp Goddess Book Formatting & Design

  For everyone who has a sister of blood or heart.

  May your bonds always stay strong enough to weather the storms.

  Cruel ocean tides will churn and twist,

  Birthing forth three glittering Jewels,

  Poseidon himself can’t stop their fate,

  For one day, they will rule.

  Anger festers in the heart,

  Determination in their heads,

  The laws say they must earn their place,

  And feed the seas with death.

  Ligeia, Luecoisa, Lorelei;

  Released on the world of men,

  Sink a ship, fulfill your rite,

  And then swim back home again.

  Prologue

  Davy Jones

  I stared at the page for what felt like the thousandth time, blinking at the scribbled words inside my journal. No matter how many times I reread them, they didn’t make any more sense than they had when I’d written them. They’d be illegible, even if I were able to focus on them long enough. Every time this day came, I found myself sinking into a melancholy so deep, that I could hear the singing in my mind. The tune was eerie, hauntingly beautiful. I’d never forget that sound, but I wished I could drown it out.

  It was time for Poseidon to send them out, these young sirens, his three youngest daughters. Leaning back into the chair, I tried to relax and stared out the window to my left. A swarm of young sirens swam past without a care in the world. I couldn’t remember ever being that young, it was such a long time ago. My eyes caught on the painting of my lost love to the right of the window. My eyes slid down her face, wishing she was here to offer me guidance and support. Even as resolve steeled my spine against what I knew was coming, the slightest doubt scratched at the back of my mind. There would be challenges, this time, with these three. Forcing my eyes back to my journal, I stared at the words and hesitated over my transcribing. Their names were already there—ready for their rite of passage. All I had to do was head to Poseidon and inform him all was ready, although he must have known it as much as I did. They had come of age, it was time.

  Closing the journal with a snap, I tucked it under my arm and stood. With one last, longing look at my love, I left my cave—as the young sirens called it—and headed in search of our leader. Along the way, I was met with more memories and younglings. I found myself watching them, wishing I could be like that again, but my long service as the historian to this strange race had taken its toll. Never to love again, never to join my love on the other side. It was my sacred duty and my worst nightmare—I was trapped. Shaking my head to dislodge the dark thoughts gathering there like usual, I carried on towards Poseidon's Hall.

  I found Poseidon where I expected, waiting for me in the great hall. He had a knowing and defeated look on his face. It might have been his kingdom and his laws, but each time he sent out a child, it obviously took a toll.

  “Your highness,” I greeted him, bowing out of respect.

  He nodded his head, his eyes catching on the journal held under my arm. “It is time?” he asked, his voice sounding tired, the only sign of weakness he let me see.

  “Yes, your highness. Would you like me to go and inform them?” I inquired hesitantly.

  He glanced away for a moment, taking in the empty hall. During ceremonies or rites, this room was the busiest in the kingdom, but today it seemed empty. Just a throne and a lost-looking king. Before my eyes, he transformed back into the Poseidon everyone knew and feared. When he looked at me, his eyes were once again the bright blue of the sea, swimming with power and pride. His face was blank and controlled as he stood from his throne and met me in the middle.

  “Come, we shall go together. I fear they will not react well to the news,” he murmured, his love for the wildest of his daughters evident in his voice.

  I hid my grin by turning and starting to leave the room. Wildest, indeed. They reminded me of my lost love—of course not just in looks, but also in the way they spoke or acted. Each were so different, yet all three powerful and ready for this. I knew that, but I feared this might not have the outcome the king was expecting. Call it knowledge or knowing, but they were different.

  I guess we shall see how different they are.

  We spent our search for the sisters in silence, taking in the kingdom around us. Many greeted us, throwing their king worshipping glances. Even now, I received some distrustful ones, they would never accept me as one of theirs completely, despite the life—or more accurately, the love—I had chosen.

  When we found them, I almost laughed. They were in the trove they coveted so much. The place was filled to the brim with mementos from their adventures, not that these adventures were approved by their father. There were many things their father turned a blind eye to for his favorite daughters.

  Three sets of eyes glanced up from different positions in the room, settling on their father first before they turned to me. The journal in my arms caught each one's attention shortly after. Various emotions crossed their faces—excitement, anger, annoyance—but this must be done. Certainly they knew that.

  “Father?” Lorelai asked, her black eyes snagging on Poseidon and holding. She had always been the most curious of the three. She twisted her long, red hair behind her, her lips peeling back slightly with nerves. She was probably wondering if he caught onto her little adventure to the surface to watch the humans again. Oh yes, curious one indeed, was Lorelai.

  “It is time, my jewels.”

  The urge to slip from the room was strong, the intimacy in this moment was something I shouldn’t be privy to, even if I was the historian.

  “Your names have been written.”

  “Why must we continue this terrible tradition?” Leucoisa inquired, her eyes accusatory. She addressed me rather than her father, but I had no say. I only recorded the truth, and I did not determine the laws.

  “It is tradition, and every siren must complete the task. You three are no different. You have a role to play. It is time you took
your place in our society.” Poseidon used the tone of voice he saves for court, and everyone in the trove straightened.

  “Would you send us away?” Ligeia questioned, her eyes hard but understanding. “If we don’t complete the task, will you not allow us to return to our home?”

  Poseidon didn’t answer for a moment, instead staring in defeat at his three daughters. It was a known fact that Leucoisa, Ligeia, and Lorelai, did not approve of the old ways. All three were strong and would one day bring so much change to this city, but in order to do that, they must complete their rites of passage.

  A siren must sing, and she must sink her first ship.

  My love had not been spared the task. The three Jewels of Atlantis would not be spared either.

  Finally, Poseidon opened his mouth, and I knew before he spoke that he would seal their fate.

  “If you do not complete your rite of passage, you cannot come back. That is how it has always been, and how it must be.” His tone was defensive, his voice strong, and offering no compromise.

  I clenched my weathered fingers harder around the journal, this scene very familiar after having watched it repeat for so long. Some were excited, some full of fear, but watching the three sisters I saw only anger and determination. Poseidon knew not what he was sending into the world, what he was releasing upon the open seas. Maybe they would be the ones to break the cycle.

  Inside, I knew the answer . . . the thing that hadn’t changed for ages amongst the ever-shifting tides surrounding the sunken city: a siren must sink her first ship, and with it, they would paint the seas red.

  They started to protest again, anger and denials leaving their lips until Poseidon slammed his trident against the trove floor. Sparks and water rushed away from the force as what looked like lightning wound up the golden metal. “This is final,” he ordered, power crackling in the words and echoing throughout the cluttered space.

  He looked over at me and nodded, and I sighed. “You leave right away, say your goodbyes.”

  Poseidon turned back to his daughters, his face softening for a fleeting moment. “Good luck, my Jewels, I will see you soon. Of that, I’m sure.” Turning, Poseidon left the trove, leaving me alone with his daughters.

  Three sets of eyes bored into me, penetrating the hardened exterior I’d grown accustomed to over the past forty years since my love died. My skin crawled under their stare. There was nothing I could do to change their fates. Either they would go out and sink a ship, feed the sea, and return home heroines, or they would fail and be banished. That was the law.

  “Good luck. I wish there was more I could do, but if history has taught us anything, it’s that change comes at the most unexpected of times, and the things we fear the most might be the very things that create that change,” I offered, before following after my king.

  The Jewels of Atlantis, our future. I prayed they would succeed where many have not. I prayed they did not repeat my love’s history, that they would sink their ships and come back home.

  I prayed that they would not, ultimately, spell our demise.

  A siren must sing . . . but what would these three summon with their songs?

  Storm Along

  By K.A. Knight

  Innocent and young is the red-haired sister

  Fair in skin and kind of heart

  She will make destiny her mister

  And of the rite of passage be a part

  Hope and longing are found on the captain’s lips

  But love is not meant to last

  It’s a twisted and selfish thing

  One not meant for sirens of the sea

  Her heart is broken

  Her soul is dark

  Witchcraft and magic

  In her blood will embark

  And with the power invested in her, she sings

  For the loss of her innocence

  The destroyer of dreams

  And her newfound sense of vengeance

  For them, she sings

  For them, her heart bleeds

  Chapter One

  Lorelai

  It was no surprise when my father and Davy came to us and announced it was time. Our arguments fell on deaf ears. After I had said a reluctant goodbye to my sisters and wished them luck, I ventured out on my own, the farthest from them I had been in a long time. Inseparable, that’s what we were, but my father's word was law.

  Three sisters, three sirens. All born to the ruling man—Poseidon. We lived a sheltered life—well, as sheltered as we could be as the next rulers of our kingdom—until that day, our rite of passage. I should have been overjoyed; I should have been excited.

  Yet all I felt was panic and confusion swirling inside me. I was born with the sea in my blood and death on my lips, but my heart longed for love and happiness. Only my sisters knew of my silly dreams. To their chagrin, I had ventured into the human world before.

  Sink a ship, lure the crew to their death. Simple enough, but the toll it would take on me was a heavy burden to bear. Even now, I remembered the beautiful world I had glimpsed when I swam ashore. Humans were seen as destroyers, but their world was beautiful. So green, vibrant, and alive. If only my sisters and father could see that. I’d only met a few humans in my time, but I had watched them from afar. It didn’t feel right to me—was I the only siren who would prefer to immerse herself in their culture and world and not kill it?

  Shoulders slumped, I swam slowly towards the portal. My tail and fins cut through the water with ease, and my hair curled around my head like a kraken in love. No matter what form I was in, human or siren, my hair was always the same bright red. A sign, my father called it. That I would be the best of our kind, blood would follow in my wake, and men would tremble at my feet. I guess he didn’t know everything.

  Pushing forward with my arms, I eyed the purple and green shimmer across my limbs. My sisters and I had different coloring. My scales began purple then faded to blue, but on the very tips of my fins and scales there was an iridescent purple that refracts in certain lights. Some people even said they could see pink gleam across my skin. My father and his people called me beautiful and deadly, but I thought I looked like a Unicorn, which the humans worship, had thrown up all over me.

  In this form, my true form, I was what the humans called a monster. Deadly and nightmarish. My father always said we were prime and true bloods of our kind. My eyes were as black as the darkest corners of the world, my hair the colour of fresh blood. My skin matched the reef at the bottom of the sea and the colours glimmered in the light of the water.

  Shaking my head at my silly thoughts, I picked up speed. Dawdling won’t make this disappear and I didn’t want anyone to catch me out here. They would report back to Dad. Who knows, maybe this freedom would be good for me? Get out all my dreams and issues before I returned and took my rightful place in our society? An octopus passed me, as if mocking my slowness. Feisty bastards, people thought they were cute and cuddly, but they were the ultimate assholes. Sticking my tongue out at it, I swam faster, overtaking it on my way to the portal.

  The whirlpool, or whirlies as we called them, was a magical vortex formed under the sea and used for transport. Hidden in the corner of our underwater kingdom, away from prying eyes and sea witches, I had chosen the one farthest away for no other reason than to allow myself time to think. But with the whirlie before me now, all my choices have been taken from me. I was facing the destiny my father and our people had sung about since our birth. The water called to me, singing its sweet song.

  I felt the water pulling at me, and even from this distance the whirlie swirled with unknown magic. My father had tried to figure out what or who made them, but some magic was unexplainable. It just was, and to poke and prod only brought more questions than answers. Vortex, that’s what the whirlpool looked like, with a center that was so dark, not even the brightest of magic could penetrate it.

  Shaking my head I let go, letting the current pull me towards it until I was entrapped in the swirling waters, and
spinning around so I had no control over what direction I went or where I ended up. Instead, I let fate guide me.

  I knew it would throw me out near a ship, so when the magic glowed brightly and eclipsed everything else, blinding me, I closed my eyes and stilled my thrashing tail. Let it send me where it must.

  The spinning seemed to stop after I gave up fighting, the water propelling me out into unknown depths. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking away my second lid, and looked around curiously, swishing my tail as I swam gently around, getting my bearings. My hips twisted with the movements as I flexed my muscles, which were cramped after the magical journey.

  Where or when was I?

  A whirlie was unpredictable and they don’t just travel along locations—but time itself. I threw all caution to the wind and decided to explore. Cutting through the murky depths easily, the other animals either gave me wide berths or swam closer to investigate—curious, like me. This water was slightly warmer than ours was, and the water itself appeared darker...more dead than alive. Usually reefs, animals, and life bloomed in human hidden depths like this...but to me it felt sad, even with the few animals lingering there.