The Dacabre Killings

 09 ~ ember

Dedicated to @tatsuthedragon for being such a dedicated reader!!

*Unedited*
Ember

     The swishing of the icy ocean dancing against my raw flesh was all it took to stir me. This had been the second time I had blacked out, and my cheeks were already flushing red from embarrassment.

     My eyes flashed open, the remembrance of something warm and buttery in my hands rekindled. A gasp sucked in through my lips. The treasure chest. Ignoring the constant throb of my body, I submerged below the frosty sea, my eyes awake and aware for anything that glittered. A large figure swam into view, and I almost mistook it for a shark before I recognized the giant body of rock. Grey.

     My feet propelled my body to the surface, and I inhaled the salty air of the sea moments before Grey reached me.

     "You dropped it." He growled. His soaked crew-cut blond hair was deflated, plastered to his scalp. Droplets of water ran down his cheeks, but if I hadn't known better, I would've thought some of them were tears.

     "And you left an unconscious girl to drown in the water, which almost happened. What were you thinking Grey?" The hoarseness of my own voice surprised myself, but the man in front of me didn't seem to notice nor care.

     "You were unconscious?" The distaste in his words accompanied with the disgusted look I received caused my cheeks to burn with shame.

     "I'm sorry." I mumbled, feeling as if all of the fire within me had been drained into this very ocean. When we were drafted, we had been trained not to faint no matter what the circumstances. It was better to die, because at least that way our partners didn't have to fend for themselves and us at the same time.

     I vaguely remembered failing that part.

     Grey shook his head before his eyes drifted down to the water surrounding me. Following his scrutinous gaze, I discovered that scarlet liquid was seeping from my body and tainting the blue of the ocean. Oops.

     "You're bleeding." Was that concern I heard in his voice? "A lot."

     A slight frown burrowed into my face. "So? It's not going to kill me." I was starting to get tired of being under the spotlight of fainting and blood. "Let's search for the gold now. Remember? We have to complete the lifting of the curse." I hoped my change of subject was subtle enough to pass.

     Grey's feautures drew together in a pensive state, and I could almost hear him debating whether or not to send me back to our little rowboat. Eventually, his face relaxed slightly, and I knew his decision before he spoke it. "Fine. But be careful, and whatever you do, do not pass out again."

     I nodded before submerging once more into the cool depths. Already, my strength seemed to be returning. Despite the fact that the cold made me weary and sluggish, the ice of this ocean invigorated me somewhat, and my strokes were more efficient than before. Part of me began to wonder if touching the chest had healed me a little. After all, my left arm had nearly been ripped off considering all the chunks of flesh that had been torn from the talons of the Siren. Now, however, it just ached heavily and the wound was only about as deep as the first time it had been slashed.

     A sensation akin to the heat of a fire amidst a snowstorm spread faintly throughout my body. A dim light shone in the murkiness, and immediately I knew I had found it. Swimming back up to take a gulp of oxygen, I felt the cold soak back into me, a sure sign that the gold had some sort of magic lingering within. After scanning the waters for Grey, but not finding him, I plunged back underneath the ocean and towards the source of the light.