Page 39 of The Tides of March

“No! This was only my second time being on a boat and I’ve never been on an island before or inside a lighthouse,” he babbled excitedly as he followed Tony down the cottage’s front steps.

“Neither have I,” Tony confided, taking the path away from the shore and up to the lighthouse. “Ronan says it’s haunted and wouldn’t give me a tour,” he said over his shoulder and Everly skidded to a halt, his eyes huge as he stared up at the lighthouse.

“It’s haunted?”

Tony shrugged as he continued up the path. “From what Ronan said, back in the 1850’s, two brothers’ ship went down in the bay. One brother washed up on Pooles Island but the other brother was never found. Ronan buried the body in the orchard, so the other brother could find his way safely to shore. Supposedly, the young man haunts the lighthouse, protecting it and waiting to be reunited with his brother.”

“That’s so sad,” Everly said.

“Yup,” Tony agreed, distracted as he searched for the right key. The lock was old-fashioned and had a giant keyhole so it wasn’t hard to find a match. It took all of Tony’s strength to get it to turn and he had to lean against the tall, metal door to get it to budge. With Everly’s help, they were able to open it enough to slip through. “Easy enough,” Tony panted and used his phone’s flashlight to illuminate the space around them.

Ronan wasn’t kidding when he said there wasn’t much to see. The inside of the lighthouse was damp, musty, and rusty. An ancient, creaking metal staircase was riveted to the chipped, flaking concrete walls, and various tools and trunks filled the narrow room.

“Want to run up and take a look?” Tony asked but Everly shook his head, eyeing the staircase nervously.

“No thanks. I think we better make this quick.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Tony said with a chuckle, aiming his light along the curved wall until he spotted a beat-up metal cupboard. “There it is,” he said and made his way through the maze of old wheelbarrows, a honey extractor, and other beekeeping and gardening odds and ends. Tony moved the shovels, rakes, and pickers out of the way and heaved the rusty, crumpled doors open. “Okay! Let’s see what we’ve got in here…” he said and Tony’s face fell at the rotted and corroded selection. Several of the implements had been harpoons long ago and therewere two shotguns that looked as old as Ronan anda musket.“We’ll take one of the guns—I’ll take the gun—and you can take this box of ammo,” he amended when he found a box in a leather pouch, hanging from a hook. There was also an old flare gun. Tony tucked it into the back of his waistband and checked for more shells.

“Can you kill a kraken with bullets?” Everly whispered.

Tony opened his mouth to reply but a loud, ominous“Noooo…!”filled the lighthouse as the wind stirred around them, kicking up the moldy leaves and debris on the floor.

“Let’s go!” Everly was suddenly plastered against Tony’s side and he nodded.

“Good idea. I’d run but you’re standing on my foot,” he whispered back.

“Sorry!”

Everly grabbed Tony’s wrist and Tony grabbed the sturdier looking shotgun and they shoved their way past any obstacles as they fled the lighthouse. Tony pulled and this time, the door swung easily, slamming behind them. His hands were shaking as he quickly locked it before he and Everly raced back to the cottage.

They crashed through the door, chests heaving as they fell back against it. “Any luck?” Nox asked, turning from the bed.

“Nope. None,” Tony replied with a hard look for Ronan. “And I will never, ever ask to look inside that lighthouse again for as long as I live,” he added, making Ronan erupt into a hacking, sputtering cackle.

“I tried to tell ye, didn’ I?” he said, then sobered. “There ain’ nothin’ in there but Elijah’s sorry soul and some old junk. But it’s too late for ye to escape now. The tide’s rollin’ in and it’s comin’ for us all.”

Sixteen

Ronan thought he was dreaming again when Tony barged into the cottage. It had been memories of Tony and the magickal weeks they shared that had sustained Ronan when he was barely hanging on. And it was those memories that had given him the strength to fight every time the evening tide came in.

He should have been disappointed to see Tony, knowing what was said and the danger he’d put himself in by returning to Pooles Island. But damn it, he was like an angel and Ronan had never been so happy when he opened his eyes and saw Tony’s beautiful face again.

“Have ye been well?” Ronan asked when Tony sat on the bed next to him with a bowl of tomato soup. Tony cut him a hard look but was quiet as he raised the spoon to Ronan’s lips. “Ye look well,” he said cautiously, earning a dry snort from Tony.

“Looks aren’t worth shit.”

“Aye… I can tell yer still mad at me but I had to do it to protect ye,” Ronan explained quietly.

“I’m not mad at you,” Tony replied and the steadiness of his voice and his calm tone were concerning as he smiled and serenely served Ronan his soup.

“Yer not?” he asked nervously. He’d survived numerous duels with a kraken but Ronan was quaking as he awaited Tony’s wrath.

Tony shook his head, his smile stretching. “I understandnowand I’m mad at myself—mostly—because I bought that steaming pile of bullshit when I knew better.”

“I was convincing and?—”

“Iknewbetter,” Tony snapped, his voice shaking. “But my pride! You knew exactly which bait to put on that hook and boy, did I bite,” he said and Ronan nodded.

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