The Fires Beneath the Sea (A Novel)

Chapter 9

9.

When they got back to shore they were too tired to take the boat home with them, so instead of hitching it back onto the bike they hid it in the undergrowth to pick up later, along with the scuba gear and the snarled-up, peeled-off wetsuits. They were too tired to do almost anything but pull their sandy clothes on and start pedaling home; the sounds of dawn rose around them, birdsong and faint car noises, and light streaked through the sky, pink and yellow.

“So,” said Hayley. “When do I, like, get the skinny on what happened back there?”

“There were—there were these ghosts underwater,” said Cara wearily.

“Say what?”

“Dead,” said Cara. “These ghosts that used to be the crew of the Whydah. Like, pirates.”

“Cara had a faceoff with the pouring man,” said Jax. “That was when he split into two and shifted his shape….”

“We had to win over the ghosts to our side,” said Cara. “They were—Jax says they were the ghosts of the pirates from that ship. The pirates of the Whydah.”

Hayley just looked at them over her handlebars, her mouth open.

“He tried to scare us, he’s all about fear,” said Cara, but it sounded stupid and she lapsed into an exhausted silence.

She wanted to ask Jax what had happened, why, after all that, the selkie hadn’t given them the key. At the same time she wanted to tell him not to read her anymore, since the emergency was over. But of course she couldn’t, not with Hayley here—Hay didn’t know about Jax’s ability, and it had to stay that way.

“Of course,” said Jax suddenly. “I won’t.”

“Won’t what?” asked Hayley.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Cara.

“And about the key,” went on Jax. “We’re covered.”

“Later, when I’m not totally wiped out?” said Hayley. “I’m gonna need the 411.”

They rode quietly again. They’d forgotten to take towels with them so their hair was still wet and full of salt, their fingers and toes were just coming out of numbness, and they shivered in the chill early morning air as they pedaled. Cara could barely keep her eyes open; her arms and legs ached, and she wondered if it was tiredness or some lingering pain from the pouring man’s invading her.

“Uh oh,” said Jax, as they cruised slowly down their street.

Hayley peeled off down her driveway; there was Lolly, waiting for them at their front door.

Her toddler grandson was holding onto her leg beside her, his face smeared with applesauce.

It was a good question, Cara thought, whether he or Lolly looked more disgusted with Jax and her.

“We’re really sorry,” said Cara humbly, as they trudged up the steps.

“We’re very sorry,” agreed Jax, nodding.

Lolly seemed like she was about to yell at them. But then she must have noticed the state they were in, because her face softened a bit.

Maybe, thought Cara, she was deciding she had priorities other than yelling.

She shook her head, turned and disappeared down the hall, and they followed her in. When she came back she was carrying plush bath towels that were still warm from the dryer.