Something Wicked This Way Comes

Chapter 32

"Rook! Hey, buddy where are we going!" Toby called, jogging to catch up.

Rook paused long enough to allow the mortals to follow into step behind them. "I want you two to see this." They moved aside some foliage, revealing a pristine cove. It was a familiar sight to them. This was where the village got their food. "Look, do you see the entrance to the cove?"

"Yeah," Carter said, dark eyes narrowing with that easily recognizable suspicion. He'd had that look on his face since the moment he'd woken up. Rook wasn't sure they could blame him. "What about it?"

Rook gestured with their fishing spear. "The boats have to go through that to get in and out of the fishing grounds. Almost every time they're passing through on the way back in, the pirates attack. They take everything the fishers bring in."

"Why don't you post a guard or something on the boats?" Toby asked.

"We've tried." Rook said. "But none of us are much the fighting type. And even so, the pirates have the number advantage." They sighed, leaning on their spear. "We've gone so far as to beg the king for help."

"Why doesn't he?" Carter questioned.

"There was a plan to send some of the king's guard to defend the boats, but then the shadow beasts began to attack the island and that was abandoned in favor of dealing with "the more immediate threat"." They didn't even try to mask the sarcasm in their voice. "I don't blame the king for choosing his priorities, but my village is dying. We're barely scraping by at this point."

Carter stared out at the cove entrance, shoulders tense, expression hard to place. Toby's expression was more open—easier to read. He was concerned. Sympathetic.

"So?" Rook asked hopefully. "Will you help us?"

Toby and Carter exchanged looks. After a brief moment, Toby looked at Rook and nodded firmly.

"We will," he said.

***

Douxie kept thinking about Carter. Even in the midst of all this, he couldn't take his mind off his soulmate. He wondered where he was right now... Douxie knew he was alive, but alive didn't necessarily mean safe.

"Hey," Jim called. "Stop over thinking, Doux. I can hear you from over here."

Douxie frowned. "I'm not—"

"You are."

He grumbled. "Shut up, Jim."

Behind him, still arm-linked with Jim, Harley laughed. "Is it always like this?"

Jim snickered. "Yeah, when we can find the quiet moments. It's better when we're not on life-threatening quests."

"Speaking of," Douxie piped up. "Do we even know how long it's been?"

Jim was quiet for a moment. "What?"

Douxie sighed and turned around. "I mean—how long do you think it's been since we left? It's... been hard to keep track of the days. Weeks. I don't know. Just...." he pursed his lips and looked at Jim earnestly. "Carter."

"Oh." Jim nodded, then slowly pulled his phone out of his sub-space pocket. "Good thing my phone keeps a charge when it's locked away in my armor."

Harley's eyes got wide. "Woah, what is that?"

Jim blinked and looked at him. "A phone? It's like this... device that lets you uh... contact anyone anywhere. You need Wi-Fi though."

"What's—"