Yells from outside launched Birch to his feet, but opening the cabin door took great effort against the wind. Once outside, he beheld not a typical storm, but like the Dutchman had said, ³something from the bowels of Hell.² Toward each horizon the sea was calm, with stars and a near-full moon visible, but the waves under and around the Beholder lifted her on ten-foot crests and the sky above her was a swirling black mess.

The captain yelled orders but the roaring wind snatched them away, so he pulled himself along rails and ropes until he found men and sent them to their tasks. Then, as he looked toward the prow, the dim light silhouetted the strange girl standing with arms spread wide and hair whipping wildly around her face.

He¹d been warned and didn¹t listen. The girl had seemed harmless yet now, due to his stubborn negligence, his ship may suffer the same fate as Sibylla.

³Stop!² he yelled into the maelstrom, but the girl ignored him and the storm strengthened. The air chilled suddenly and the clouds above them lightened in color, glowing green as a massive whirling column twisted its way down to the frothing waves. The vortex touched water just aft of the Beholder and then separated into three thinner tails.

The air between the three waterspouts crackled with blue light and for just a second Birch thought he saw two moons in a pale purple sky. The vision faded as the cyclones separated further, with one moving up the starboard side, another to port and one remained aft. They grew thick and hissed as they spun. The Beholder¹s only escape route was dead ahead.