Page 48 of Reflections of Silence

“Now, you want to know about Anitta.”

“Amy— yes, I know her by another name.”

“Many do,” she said enigmatically, sliding a white bundle across the table. It was so bright I could barely look at it until she pressed a hand to the cloth. The glow diminished as if by a silent command. “I’ve been trialing a new silk, one that tells the prying person tokass twa.”

Her Creole words rolled over her tongue with emphasis, but her meaning was clear. The cloth parted under her hands, revealing a handsome stack of vibrant blue cards, much larger than the average deck of playing cards. Each one was about the length of my hand with all my fingers extended.

Dolion returned, lifting Minette and placing her across his lap to slide into the chair beside me. She didn’t so much as squark but curled her hands around his shoulders as though hanging on for dear life.

Granny Smythe smirked. “It’s so sweet when the olds find new love.”

“You know I can hear you,” Dolion said from behind Minette’s mop of curls.

“Yes, dear. Of course.” She shuffled the cards, sending several in a straight line towards me. When five were lined in a neat row, she looked at me expectantly.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Put your hands on the cards, of course.”

“Of course,” I muttered, more out of my depth than before. “Is this magic?”

“Well, we could call it voodoo to get you in the mood.” She sent me an impish grin, her eyes sliding to Dolion. “I could get out my snakes and shake some rattles, but it’s not in me. There are plenty it’s for, but not this witch.”

“Is that what you are?” My hands were drawn to the cards, dealt face down. I hovered over them, indecisive. “You know, strangers might take you more seriously if you showed some age,” I muttered, trying to decide between two end cards.

“If I did that, the nice young men,” she patted Dolion’s bicep, and Minette slapped her hand away, “might not come calling.”

“Is that what you think they do?” My hands couldn’t choose and, not being the most patient person, I slapped them both down, to see what would happen.

The table rippled. Like water, the entire surface became fluid, its edges flowing in waves. Granny Smythe scooted back, her hands held high in the air. Dolion lifted Minette in his arms, tossing her away from the table to the rug in the center of the room behind us.

Everything on the table turned the blue of the deck of cards, rippling in rows of waves and eddies that shouldn’t have been possible. Drawn to the movement, I leaned forward, swaying as I had on the ship. Something in the water called to me, something beneath the surface.

Impatient, I pressed closer, desperate to see what it was. Strong hands gripped my shoulders, hauling me upright. I struggled, ripping and tearing at the thick arms around me, but they refused to release me, dragging me back from the water and its siren call.

“Stay with me, Gella.” His voice was rough in my ear, bringing me back, centering me. “Please.” That last had an edge of desperation, and instead of me begging, it was him.

And that was enough to break the spell and bring me back.

“Sebastian,” I gasped. My hands uncurled, clinging to him, rather than fighting.

“Tell me,” Granny Smythe commanded, her eyes the color of the ocean.

I sank forward again, but Sebastian held me upright. A roar filled my ears, and I was back with the ship. Not on it, but seeing it from the outside, as though I were a bird flying at its side. Wind rushed against me, chilled and full of salt. I screamed as that salt was torn away, rent through my skin. The air across the watery table white. Tiny crystals formed, suspended in the air between us and the crone.

Then the waves crashed over me, and I lost myself in their chaos.

“Gella!” Sebastian yelled in my ear, but all I could see were waves and white caps, the unbroken surface. I needed to dive down, find what was beneath, to claim what called to me.

“It’s taking her!”

I wrestled in his arms, twisting, yanking, but he was iron to my lace. As I came back to myself, I knew there was nothing between us but the ashes of our souls clashing, then rent apart.

His face came level with mine, his lips moving, though I didn’t understand a word of whatever language he whispered. I pressed my hands to his cheeks, holding on as the water calmed around me, numbing, soothing, stilling.

Then the world returned in full force.

I stared at Granny Smythe until her eyes returned to a human form, though I doubted that anyone could convince me of who could be considerednormalhere. Exhaling a salty breath, I turned in Sebastian’s arms, pressing my cheek to his shoulder, his shirt dry. Neither of us were covered in sweat, nor did I have a tear to pass for my trials.

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