The Midnight Watch

Chapter 33

I'm not late. You're early. Yeah. For sure.

I heard the boat before I saw it. The soft crash of churning water and an engine gurgling reached us when the moon was at its crest. Then, by the pale starlight, a shadow detached itself from the empty ocean.

The boat was running at considerable speed, even if not in a straight line. It cut through waves rather than ran with them, which I put down to inexperience, and by the grimace on Ben's face, so did he. Still, what could we expect from someone who had never seen the ocean before today? The boat creaked to a halt at the bay's mouth. At least they had the sense not to brave the rocks in this kind of current.

I saw a figure plunge over the side and tread water. Whoever it was seemed to melt into the shadow of the hull, but there was no mistaking when two smaller figures were handed down to the swimmer, who then made their way towards us, making long, lazy strokes.

With my head still resting on Kai, I felt all the tension leave his muscles as he let out a relieved breath. That must be Leah and Logan. And their rescuer didn't seem in a hurry — quite the opposite, actually. What worried me more was the stillness on the boat, the lack of any other swimmers. My hand went automatically to my blade as I watched the ferry bob freely on the waves. Too calm, too quiet. Something was wrong.

Kai stood when they got closer. Once the swimmer began wading, it was blaringly obvious that Rhys — his height distinguished him — was the one holding Kai's siblings, one in each arm, their heads resting on his shoulder. Peaceful, almost unbelievably peaceful. I remembered them as excitable and shy of strangers, but apparently, that didn't apply to their rogue cousin.

Rhys Llewellyn reached the surf and, dripping wet and sand-caked, emerged onto our beach. Kai was waiting for him and took Leah straight away. She was getting too big to be carried, but that was forgivable considering the trauma of being shaken out of bed to run away in the dead of night.

Warily, I approached the gathering. They were talking in undertones; I caught words 'followed' and 'Rochesters' before Kai and Rhys noticed my presence. The former offered a genuine smile and the latter a teasing one.

"We played a game, Kai," Logan announced, breaking the silence. "A new game!"

"Oh yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah! Like hide and seek, except moving."

Leah kept her mouth shut, watching the conversation with tired eyes. She had been the tamer of the pair, I remembered, but more sure of herself when she did want to talk. If she had any inkling what was going on, she didn't betray it.

Rhys grinned at the kids. "And who won?"

"I did!" Logan shouted. "Dad lost and I won."

"Dad didn't know he was playing," Leah said very, very quietly. I exchanged a worried look with Kai. If she hadn't wanted to be rescued from her father — even though she might not realise why it was necessary — had we done the right thing?

"That's the point, little one. Cheating's okay if you get away with it." Rhys ruffled up her hair, earning a grudging smile. He was more at ease than I'd ever be with children. They might as well be another species.

Kai's snorted. "Is that what they teach you at rogue school?"

"Don't be ridiculous. We don't go to school."

I might have had a thing or two to say about that, but just then a bright light winked into existence at the edge of my vision. It was a search beam, floating atop the ocean, obviously attached to a boat.

"That's our cue," Rhys said, a touch of sadness to his voice. Then several things happened all at once. First, he cupped his hands to his mouth and imitated a seagull's call, eerily lifelike. The docked boat began to reverse into open sea, spitting out water with every chug; and finally, I felt a questioning nudge at my mind and opened myself to a connection that was shared with both cousins.