The bodies of Bjarni and Jon bob in the bay, torn like rag dolls. When one drifts close to the dock, Osk tries to snag it with a boathook, but the sea creature bursts from the depths to snatch the hook from his hands. Everyone runs and no further attempts are made to retrieve the dead men. They are still out there, rolling with the surf, as we all cower on the shore. The gulls circle and cry over the water. One alights on a bobbing corpse and pecks at the torn flesh.

11

11

ARWYN DOES NOT live to see the morning. With both legs chewed off, he has simply lost too much blood. Mesud clings to life, but he is senseless with a wide-eyed fever. Two attempts are made to fetch the remains of Bjarni and Jon from the water, both foiled by another mermaid attack. Clovis loses his skiff in the attempt but manages to swim to safety before the creature can eat him. Neither corpse is recovered. They are picked apart by the fishes and the birds, until there is nothing left to float.

The Prefect asks Father to arrange the burials, even though the coffins will be empty.

Some try to fish from the dock, casting their nets in, only to have them ripped from their hands. Gunther stalks the pier relentlessly with a harpoon in hand, eager for any chance to spear the monster. With each throw he takes, the mermaid rises to the surface to taunt him further. Most of us simply watch from the safety of the shore as she glides back and forth, patrolling the harbor. Anyone foolish enough to climb into their skiff quickly scrambles out again when the mermaid rushes for them. I have never seen anything move that fast.

This goes on for days. With the men unable to fish, larders and pantries soon empty out. There are only a few families that own cows, but these animals have all become sick. Blood squirts into the pail now, instead of milk. Eggs collected from every coop are spoiled, cracking out a gray sludge. Hagar’s goat is found floating in the bay, and dogs begin to disappear.

In a place where fishing is everything, the village is going hungry. And the vicar’s family, who depends solely on the kindness of its parishioners, goes hungry sooner than most. How can they contribute to the tithe, the fishermen ask, when their own barrels are down to last winter’s dried fish heads?