Of the Sea

Chapter Twelve

Donovan stood at the helm of the lobster boat, watching what was perhaps one of the last sunrises he would see. There was no peace he could find in that moment though, for his daughter was still back home waiting for him to return.

He had never planned to return in the first place.

He remembered peeking in her room the morning he left, watching her sleeping form and debating on whether he should tell her the truth and instead he had left without waking her.

He thought perhaps without her knowing his original intentions, she could easily forgive him for abandoning her. His lip quivered when he thought about her, how she was beautiful like her mother with those red, frizzy curls and soft brown eyes. The past few years had aged the both of them, and he wished he had done more. He wished he had said more, spoke more, loved her more than he had shown her. And now, he had lost both his wife and his daughter.

"You have to let us go." It was barely a whisper from the Eldest.

"I can't." He said, shaking his head. "If I'm going to die out here without answers, you're going to be the proof I need."

"What is it you want?"

Donovan felt his chest tighten, and the hot tears begin to well in his eyes. He thought might not get the words past his throat, but finally choked out, "I want my wife back."

"What?" Donovan turned to face the Eldest. Her cheeks were stained with tears as well. "You have to let us go, she's dying."

He forgot his situation for a moment, absorbed in his own sorrow. "Who?"

The Eldest looked over at her dark haired companion, their fingers still linked loosely together "My daughter."

Donovan Delaney gripped the net to keep his knees from buckling, and he closed his eyes to clear his fogged mind. He stay like the for what felt like an eternity, feeling the the boat rock beneath him, listening to the roar of the ocean that had haunted him every night. He felt a hand reach out and touch his cheek, and for a moment he thought he was going mad. He opened his eyes. The Eldest was begging him with her aquamarine gaze.

"What does she need?" He asked.

"She needs the ocean."

Donovan inspected the younger of the two, and admitted that her health was declining.

She hadn't uttered a word or opened her eyes in the last twenty-four hours. Her skin was peeling and her breath was shallow. Bruises lined her body from where she had been thrashing in the capture. It was quite possible she could have broken a few ribs.

He looked to the Eldest. "If I let you go, you go to Bedford." He reached for something beneath his shirt collar, and pulled it from his neck. "Take this to the lighthouse. To my daughter."

The Eldest grasped the locket. "And what about Ara?"

"When you get back, I'll release her too." Donovan explained. "I'll take care of her."

It was funny, in a way, that they were each trusting the care of their children in the hands of a completely different species. There was an understanding, as parents, as they looked into each other's eyes.

The Eldest nodded, and clutched the locket close to herself. "I'll return."

* * *

Madelyn and Emily were the first to reach Joey and Katelyn at the marina, of course by the time Astrid and Noah along with Dupree and Garret had shown up, the authorities had beat them to the scene. Two had pulled Joey aside for questioning, one was trying to console an unsettled looking Katelyn.

"What was it? What did you see?" Garret urged as the six of them stood off to the side.

Madelyn shook her head. She was looking sickly as well. "It's not Reece," was all she said.

"Who was it then?" Noah asked.

"Todd Lanier," Emily spoke. None of them recognized him, until Astrid thought back to her trip to the fishmonger. Todd had been the over inquisitive man in coveralls, offering his condolence to Astrid after what happened to her mother.

"What happened to him?" Dupree whispered.

Emily's arms broke out in chills. "A spear..." she indicated to her stomach, and they understood, "and there was a...a fish shoved down his throat."

This, Astrid decided, was no accident. "Where is his boat?"

The group looked at her, and Madelyn knitted her brows together, but pointed to the end of the dock. Astrid led the way past the police, who were still questioning Joey, and to the aluminum fishing boat. Somewhere on the hull, somewhere on the hull... She wanted to be wrong. She didn't want it to be there, but it was, just above the surface of the water. They were becoming more bold.

"There." Astrid shivered, and pointed to the trident scratched on the side of the boat. The others didn't think much of it, but Astrid was abruptly aware of how vulnerable they were standing on the dock.

"You mean that mark?" Noah squinted, and then looked over to the next boat. "That one has it as well? Whats the big-"

Astrid shoved him out of the way, and sure enough, the neighboring boat had the trident carved into it. Astrid shook her head in disbelief, and went from boat to boat, inspecting their hulls. On each and every boat, some more obvious than others, there was a trident etched into the metal of the hull. A fantasy world was becoming a rude reality.

"They're targets..." Astrid whispered.

Dupree reached out for her. "Astrid, what's-"

"She's dead." Astrid's initial assumption was reaffirmed; Reece had fallen victim to the rogue morvens. It was only a matter of time until her body washed up like Todd Lanier's. "Reece is dead."

"Don't say that!" Emily screamed at her. "We don't know-"

"No! You don't know. You'll never know." Astrid hissed at the five of them. Why had she been dragged into this?

"Look, we're all frustrated here, but Reece could still be alive." Noah reassured.

"No, you don't get it." Astrid snapped. "There is no way to stop what's happening."

The five were silent, eyeing Astrid warily as if she'd gone mad. Dupree abruptly spoke out, "And what is it that's happening?"

Astrid shook her head and turned away, walking back up the dock. "Just stay out of the damn water." She called over her shoulder, leaving them to wonder.

* ***

She stood in the same place where she had first seen him, looking out over the ocean. Where it all began. A million questions were running through her mind, but only one mattered: Was he a part of this? She fought the idea, thinking he was on his way to the canals of Venice to hear the best music in the world, or perhaps to finally swim the Panama canal, but there was no way he would be involved.

She didn't know what she was waiting for, standing there in her driveway. Perhaps if she stood there long enough, everything would go back to being the way it was before she met the morven. Maybe she'd see her father's fishing boat come sailing over the horizon, but what she really wanted was to see him. She'd dive head first into the ocean if it meant seeing him.

Rather appropriately, clouds were beginning to form over the sea. She expected a rumble of thunder, but all she heard was the incessant barking of a dog. She was a bit surprised when the barking continued, which was out of character for either of her dogs. She followed the sound over the hill towards the lighthouse and down in the direction of the dock. There at the beginning of the bridge were both Buoy and Goose, the black dog being the source of the sound. They stood with their hackles raised, their eyes fixed on the dock.

There was too much going on in this town to ignore it, so Astrid walked down the bridge, and pushed the door open. It was dark and quiet on the inside, just as she'd left it. She half-hoped Morgan would appear, but there was nothing.

Or so she thought. She turned to leave when she heard the faintest voice: "Hello?"