Carissa and Michael's lair is much bigger than I'd thought, apparently. The front room with the wardrobe and squishy chairs is only the beginning, and the invisible door that Carissa had lead Lindsey through earlier leads to a whole cluster of other rooms -- bedrooms, kitchens, other living rooms, what seems like a lab of some sort -- it seems I could wander around for hours and still not see the entirety of the place.
Michael leads me to a bedroom that he said I could use for the night, and after a thin-lipped smile in response to my "thank you", he leaves me in solitude.
The bedroom is larger than any bedroom that I've ever seen -- not quite as spacious as the front lounge, but pretty close. A large, cream-colored bed rests on the wall closest to me, so soft-looking that I'm afraid I'll sink underground if I put any weight on it.
Resting on the soft blanket of the bed is a new pair of pyjamas, made of something that looks an awful lot like silk. I reach out and touch it. I've never felt silk before, but I've always pictured it feeling the way these pyjamas do.
I look down at myself. My hands are covered in a fair amount of dirt, my hair is probably filthy, and the clothes that I'm wearing I've been wearing for weeks. I grimace. I almost don't want to put these nice pyjamas on and risk ruining them.
As if on cue, the door behind me opens and I turn around, startled. Carissa stands in the doorway, wearing an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, love, I didn't mean to frighten you," she tells me.
"It's alright," I reply honestly.
"We have a bathing area if you'd like to wash up. I'll lead you there. I know you're probably due," she says, her voice almost reminding me of a mother's. I wonder if she has children of her own. Not that I know anything about maternal figures, I remind myself.
"That's an understatement," I reply, laughing. "Thank you."
"Of course," she tells me, smiling. "The best one is just down this hallway, and then you take a left, then a right, then two lefts, and then you keep going straight until you pass the...actually, I should probably just show you," she finishes with a flustered but cute chuckle.
"Probably," I agree, feeling the memory Carissa's directions already slipping through my fingers.
"Follow me then," she instructs. I grab the silk pyjamas and quickly meet her outside of the door, eager to clean the layer of dirt and grime off of my skin.
She closes the bedroom door and begins to walk down the hallway with all of the confidence in the world. I decide there must be some sort of magic guidance or something, because there's no way that she could have memorized all the hallways of this place.
It reminds me of Captain Lewis's lair, with so many twists and turns with the sole purpose of confusing and trapping its victims. It's still a miracle that we were able to find and rescue Mitch in such a place.
Mitch. I sigh.
"Carissa?" I ask tentatively. "Do you know where Mitch is? Like, can you use your magic or whatever to ensure that he's okay? Or at least that he hasn't left us stranded here without a ship?"
"La Rosa Morti is still docked, I checked a few minutes ago. He's probably still in Venice, but his exact location is unclear," Carissa replies. "I wish I could tell you more, I'm sorry."
I feel my heart sink. If even Carissa can't pin him down...
"He's not..." I start awkwardly. "He's not dead, is he?"
Carissa stops walking to raise an eyebrow at me. "Are you hearing yourself right now, Scott Hoying?"
"I don't know! I just...I just get scared I guess," I tell her sheepishly. "I mean, what if the Sapphire wore off and the jump actually worked this time?"
YOU ARE READING
The Clockmaker and the Pirate - EVERMORE BOOK 1
Fanfiction"The only thing I've wanted my entire life was to die, to die, to die. But then -- by a twist of fate you found yourself onboard my dinky little ship and you flashed your stupid smile and you gave me the opposite," he tells me. "What's that?" I...
