Page 51 of Found at Sea
Fletcher moved closer to me and grabbed the back of my shirt, holding onto me as we walked.
Even though it wasn’t the time or place to be affected by such things, the action warmed me. My little spitfire might’ve been angry with me and disgusted upon hearing the details of my past, but knowing I was his safe place after all of that told me that perhaps he didn’t hate me as much as he’d stated.
Fortunately, we made it through the forest with no hindrances. Light reached us again, and even though we’d only been in the dark for maybe an hour, it felt like it’d been days since I saw the sun. The relief was short-lived, when the thought struck me that maybe it was because we’d be tested in a different way later.
“This is beautiful,” Fletcher said, still holding my shirt. The worry had left him, and he smiled as he studied our surroundings.
“It is.” I sheathed my sword now that we were out of the dense forest. “We’ll reach the cave shortly.”
We walked through a small meadow toward the beach. The soft crashing of waves reached my ears, and it was a glorious sound after having been in deafening silence for so long. Birds flew overhead, and a light wind came off the water. Once upon a time I’d imagined building a home in a place such as that, near the sea and with a nice speck of land.
It was only a dream, though, for my only home was theCrimson Night.
Fletcher released my shirt once we got to the water’s edge. He picked up a shell that’d washed ashore and smiled as he examined it. I thought that he might pocket it, but instead he placed it back where he’d found it and kept walking.
Perplexed, I stared at him as we moved farther along the coast.
“What?” he asked after catching me watching him.
“Why didn’t you keep it?”
“The shell?” He stopped and looked down at the ground, moving his foot through the sand. Spotting another shell, he bent to retrieve it. He moved it between his fingers. “It was not mine to keep. Although I enjoy admiring it, it belongs to the sea.”
“I’m sure the sea wouldn’t mind if you kept it,” I said, finding his sense of right and wrong endearing.
His green eyes shifted to me. “I don’t think you have a say on what the sea wants, Captain,” he said with a snap in his tone. “Given your history of harming those who dwell in it.”
Dax lifted his brows and pursed his lips. He hadn’t heard Fletcher backtalk me before, but at least he still knewhisplace and stayed silent.
Alek tried to hide his smile, but failed.
I sighed and kept moving. The cave wasn’t much farther and there was no sense in dragging out the argument. No, I’d leave that to the privacy of my cabin later, where Fletcher could call me every horrible name in existence if it made him feel better. I just hoped he forgave me someday.
I am not the man I once was.
The mood changed once we reached the entrance to the cave. Alek’s unease returned, Dax became more alert, and Fletcher returned to his previous position of holding my shirt and trailing behind me. The sun was hot on my skin and caused beads of sweat to trickle down my temple, but a chill still passed through me upon seeing it.
I told myself I’d never return to that place, to that woman. The one and only time I’d been in her presence had been terrifying. Probably even more so than the sea witch who’d given me my curse. Nevertheless, she had the answers I needed.
A small path led inside the cave, with a stream of water going down the center.
“Watch your step,” I instructed as we moved farther inside.
The instant the sun vanished was the moment a sinister feeling twisted in my gut. Dank and dark, the cave was ominous in itself. But the soft humming echoing from somewhere down the corridor made it even more unsettling.
“Is that her?’ Fletcher whispered, no longer just holding my shirt but clinging onto my back.
“Aye.” I stopped walking and turned around. The light from outside the cave was still visible, and I made out the forms of Alek and Dax not too far behind. “Be warned. Do not speak to her. Allow me to do the talking. And also…” I focused on Fletcher, who looked so frightened that I regretted bringing him along. “I should also warn you that she does not look…ordinary. Darkness eventually corrupts those who use dark magic. The body begins to…change.”
“Change how?” Alek asked, and I knew what he was thinking.
“Mages do not have to worry about it, for they are not fully human,” I explained. “But when a human meddles with dark magic, the body cannot hold such darkness and it starts to rot the person from the inside out.”
I faced ahead and continued down the passageway. Fletcher’s hold returned at my back.
The seer still hummed farther down the corridor, and the whispery sound came out in two octaves; a higher pitch and a deeper one. After a while, the passage opened up into a larger room and the rushing water going through the center of the path reached its end.
So did we.
