Page 30 of High Seas

“Are there any other messages hidden in your stakes?” he asked.

I looked at my thigh, removing both the secured stakes. I’d checked them back in thirteen forty-eight and came up empty-handed. Maru sent me the only information he had. “They hide vials of holy water, but no more messages,” I explained, handing them over to him and watching him ease the vials of blessed water out, examining the cavities left in the stakes themselves.

For a second, it hurt that he didn’t believe me, but I pushed the disappointment down and tried to put myself in his shoes. I probably wouldn’t have believed me, either. I would’ve asked for proof.

“Tell me about the one who wrote the note.”

Chapter Nine

Enoch

She began, “Maru is a few years older than me. He was my trainer, so we were close. I guess I should say, we are close. He’s ex-military, an expert tracker who moves as silently as I’ve ever seen anyone, and he taught me to use the stake, among other weapons. I think you’d like him.”

But would this Maru like me? I highly doubted it. I debated for a moment whether to ask, but the way she said his name, the reverence she had for him made me question the extent of their relationship. “Do you love him?”

“I do,” she answered honestly. My abdominals clenched upon her admission. “But not in a romantic way. He’s my closest friend,” she added, thankfully.

“Nothing more? He risked his life to warn you. Victor Dantone wouldn’t have appreciated his plans being laid bare – especially to you.”

“No, he definitely wouldn’t like that. And Maru did risk everything, but it’s because he… I guess you could say he feels responsible for me in a way; not just because he’s my trainer, but because he’s like a big brother to me. We were with one another from sunrise to sunset for years. He pushed me to be the greatest. He never hurt me, but he never settled for anything less than my best. And he never asked why I cried, or why I got so frustrated sometimes I could’ve driven my stake through a brick wall. He just let me feel and helped me refocus. Maru never judged me for my demons.”

Maru sounded perfect. No doubt Victor had hand-picked him for that reason. Eve was strong, but needed someone with whom to be held accountable. Everyone needed a shepherd at times, someone to keep their feet on the right path. Maru was that person for her.

I respected him for the risk he took, and the sacrifice he would’ve made if his note had been found out.

“Hey…” Eve said, abruptly. “I wonder…”

“What?”

She held her hand out, staring at the back of it. Titus had repaired her ‘tech,’ I hoped for good. “What if Titus could remove my tech and replace it with tech from a clone?”

I shook my head. That was a risk she shouldn’t take unnecessarily. “How do you know that the clones’ tech returns them to your time?”

“I don’t for sure, but –”

“What if it hurts you?” I asked. “What if that,” I motioned to her hand, “is yours and yours alone?”

“What if it’s not? What if it’s exactly what we need, Enoch? What if it allows me to go home?”

I swallowed. I knew it was what she wanted, but it wasn’t what I needed. I needed her to stay. The only thing stopping me from saying those words was that I didn’t want to be the thing that held her back. She had to want to be with me.

“Tell me about the one who attacked you, the one who hunts my brother.”

Her features darkened. “Abram. Well, you can probably tell he hates me.”

“Why?”

“A mixture of insanity and jealousy, maybe? You’ve seen some of my upgrades.”

With that, she disappeared from sight. I gave a laugh, reaching out to see if I could find her. She reappeared behind me without a sound.

“He doesn’t like that you can disappear?”

“That, among other things,” she answered. “I have enhanced hearing and vision, I can control my scent, as you know...”

“Yes, Eve. I know.”

She grinned. “Well, and I have quicker reflexes, for the most part. While I’m physically stronger than I was, I’ll never be as strong as Titus or Abram. They had a head start, because men are naturally physically stronger than women in some ways. Women are stronger than men in others, though, so don’t go getting a big head. Anyway, I had to learn to be smarter; to think a few steps ahead and anticipate their strategies.”

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