The Cursed Doubloon Read Free Page B

the surface. They don’t like humans much.”
    “No?”
    “No, not really. Humans have hunted us in years past. The mermaids make themselves known though, especially the Sirens.”
    “My father thought you were a Siren tonight.”
    “Yes, I know.”
    “But are you not a Siren? Your voice is enchantingly beautiful. It seems like you could use it to lure pirates to their death.”
    “No, I am not a Siren,” he chuckled. “I am a ShipSaver.”
    “A ShipSaver?”
    “Yes. I do the opposite of what Sirens do: I lure pirates to safety. Well, most of them anyway. There are a few I don’t fancy at all. They can crash into the rocks for all I care.”
    “Sometimes I feel the same.”
    He smiled down at me. “Would you like to go sit on the rock? I can bring you to it if you like.”
    “Oh, well, I think I can swim there myself, thank you.” He smiled and slid his hand away from my arm. “I have to stay in the water, though,” I said as I bobbed in front of him. “A lady wouldn’t reveal herself to a man she’s just met.”
    “Don’t worry, Grace. I have to stay partly in the water as well.”
    We both smiled and took off swimming toward the rock. When we made it there he crawled on top and left his tail dangling in the sea while I crossed my arms over the jagged surface and rested my chin on my wrist.
    “Your tail is magnificent,” I complimented him.
    “Thank you. Would you like to touch it?”
    “May I? That isn’t odd for me to, is it?”
    “No, not at all.”
    I reached out and trailed my fingers down its length. The smoothness of his scales surprised me; I expected them to be rough and slimy like a fish. But he was nothing like a fish at all. My eyes met with his and I saw that he was quietly watching me, seeming to be entranced by my touch.
    “Your tail isn’t slimy,” I told him.
    “Boy, you really do think of us mermen as vile things, don’t you?”
    “Not now I don’t.”
    “Good,” he smiled.
    My eyes settled on the top of his head. “And what about the fin in your hair? Mermaids don’t have those.”
    “No, only some of us mermen have them.”
     “Not all of them?”
    “No.”
    “What does it mean?”
    “Well,” he sighed, “I guess it’s a symbol of status, really.”
    “Status? What do you mean?”
    “Let’s just say I’m highly regarded among Merfolk.”
    “Highly regarded?”
    “You have a lot of questions, don’t you?” he laughed.
    “Can you blame me? Here I am, a girl of twenty, seeing a mythical creature for the first time in my life, only to be righted by the fact that you are not a green slimy monster with pointed teeth and rough scales. I believe I have a right to ask as many questions as I like.”
    “Rightly so,” he agreed with a smile. He sat quietly for a moment and watched me wading in the water below him. “So,” he began, “a girl of twenty you tell me? And not yet married?”
    “Well look who I have to choose from: pirates. I hate pirates. All the well-versed men on land won’t come near me because of my father’s curse. So yes, I am twenty-years-old and unmarried.”
    “I don’t know how any man could stay away from your beauty, even if you are surrounded by pirates and a cursed father.”
    “Well they do, Ladarius. I can assure you that.”
    He leaned forward onto his stomach, placing his face in front of mine. “Well no pirates curse can keep me away from you.”
    His closeness aroused a fire inside of me. “You sure are a charmer,” I said while feeling my cheeks flush over. Out of nervousness my eyes migrated to his hair. “Would it be too much to ask for me to touch the fin on your head?”
    “You can do whatever your heart desires.”
    I reached up and felt that it was smooth, just as his tail. “A symbol of status. Is it a good symbol?”
    “Yes.”
    He watched me intently as I ran my hand along his fin and trailed my fingers down his neck to his shoulder. “Your skin is dazzling. It sparkles so beautifully in the