Sellie

Looking out of the dirty upstairs window, Sellie wonders why she was so stupid to trust them. It’s been months, maybe two, no more than three, she thinks, since she first met the three brothers in a pub in Belfast. She likes to have fun and could handle most any situation. She is tall and strong, smart and tough, as well as, beautiful, in an amazon queen way. She could use men for her pleasure and discard them as she pleased. Now she is thin, weak, malnourished. She can’t just run away, they stole something from her and promised to give it back when they leave for Scotland. Instead they brought her to this dirty shell of a cottage in Scotland. They don’t see any value in what they stole from her. Just some trinkets and amulets wrapped in what appears to be an old seal skin. What they do know is that she won’t leave without her treasure and thus lies the value in her body. As long as they have it, they have her to use anyway they want.

Looking around this prison she shares with the three men and their kin, the rats, Sellie feels she may die here. None of her kin know what happened to her. The only thing keeping her going is that she has found where her treasure is hidden. But still she has no energy to retrieve it and run.

A sharp knocking on the door of the cottage woke her from a deep sleep. Dread engulfs her. They are back and ready to gang rape her. A voice she does not recognise yells out her name

“Who’s there?”

“Lady Primrose sent me. I am Ian from the Star Clan.”

Shellie works the lock to open the door. Standing before her is a large muscular man. On his left neck a tattoo of a tentacle is peeking above his shirt.

“How do I know Primrose sent you?”

Ian removes his shirt to show rest of his tattoos. A complex tattoo circles around his left nipple. Shellie knows the tattoo. She first saw it on Lady Primrose. Only the Clans of the area wear this mark. On his right chest is another mark, a starfish, identifying him as being a member of the Stair Clan and on his left and right shoulders is a tattoo of an octopus.

“Now, Sellie, show me yours.”

Sellie drops her dress to reveal , not only her emaciated body, but the same mark on her left breast placed by the witch, Lady Primrose. Showing no emotion, Ian nods his head and tells her the Sea Witch is waiting for her.

After retrieving Sellie’s treasure from a hidden space in the root cellar, Ian helps the weak lady to his truck.

“Don’t worry about the brothers. We saw to it that they spend the night in the constable’s jail. They won’t know that your gone until the morning.”

“Will I be home by then?” Yes first we must get you to my grandmother so she can give you some nourishment.”

“Thank you, Ian. I have not eaten proper nourishment in months. How can I repay you, your grandmother and Lady Primerose?”

“No need.”

Sellie leans against the massive man that saved her. No matter what, she is in their debt.

The punishing ride in the truck to the west coast seemed longer than it was. They have arrived at the sea’s edge. Ian’s grandmother, the Sea Witch, emerges as black as the black night and, with the strong aroma of the sea permeating about her, she helps Sellie into the cottage to rest and eat. To gain strength. To live. To live to escape. To live to return. To live to exact revenge.