Evocation

Chapter 17- Superstitions

Echo:

Another two weeks have gone by and everyone is starting to feel tense knowing we have one month left. The crew is getting along, but they all have short fuses. It's a small ship with a lot of people, and our adventure is a bleak one. It was only a matter of time before everyone became irritable. Captain Bradley has been nicer to me, though. He gets snappy with his crew easily, but I can tell he's putting a genuine effort into being nice towards me- well, as much as he can be. Our conversations are shallow and surface-level, but we're conversing nonetheless, so I'm happy. Lorcan's becomes more of a hermit every day and Dean seems more tired, but things are good. Our search continues.

Captain Bradley's crew is finding a lot of treasure, but none of it is the Skull Gem. I've tried to continue staying positive and calm, but I wouldn't lie if I told you I'm beginning to fill up with anxiety. Sleeping next to a giant man and constantly surrounded by friends helps, but it's getting harder to ignore the fact that we are making no progress.

A storm is nigh on the horizon. Dark grey clouds cover the sun and kiss the sea in the distance. This storm looks to be one of the worst ones I've endured in a while. It could wreck our ship if we're not careful. Captain Bradley has suggested we find somewhere to dock and camp out, but there aren't any open ports or villages nearby. We're going to batten down the hatches and risk staying in the storm. This is not The Evocation's first dance with a bad storm anyways. If the storm gets too terrible for Captain Bradley to bear, we'll find an empty plot of land and set up camp there. Either way, we're going to be out a few days of diving, which everyone is on edge about.

Speaking of, I hear Hadrien's baritone voice shouting at some poor soul up by the helm. I was watching the divers below the ship with Captain Bradley, so we both turn to the helm to see what the issue is. Hadrien is bent over Dean, red in the face shouting.

"Oi!" I call, running up the wooden steps to greet them. "What's the issue?"

Hadrien narrows his eyes at Dean. I look to Dean and see his brown eyes are red and puffy with lack of sleep. His hair is sweaty and stuck to his blanched forehead, sweat nearly drenching his body. It is extremely warm and sunny today despite the oncoming storm, and Dean is dressed in leather. He must be melting.

"Go sit down," I tell him, touching his elbow gently. "Drink some water."

"I'm fine," he says angrily. His speech is slurred, like he's drunk, but I don't smell any alcohol on him. Captain Bradley comes to pull Dean away.

I turn to Hadrien. "Why are you shouting at him like that?"

"Why are we here?" Hadrien shouts. It's not directed at me, rather just letting off steam, but it still aggravates me.

"What does that mean?" I ask. "We're looking for the Skull Gem, you know that."

"Why are we here," he motions around himself. "This is not where we were attacked. You know that."

"Of course I know that. I was there," I say back. "The gem likely drifted. We're covering our bases."

I hear footsteps around us, so I look to the deck below us. We're drawing in an audience, which is not good.

"The Skull Gem wouldn't have drifted this far out. We're weeks worth of sailing away from the spot we were attacked." Hadrien's eyes glance to Dean, then back to me. "He is hiding something. What's really going on?"

I see Lorcan round the corner to join the watching crew, staring at me with wide, scared eyes. He doesn't want me to rat him out. We didn't lose the gem during the attack, he threw it out weeks later. But I can't tell them that, or they'd crucify him.