Dark Water

Chapter Nine

As evening sets in and Claire sets about cooking for the team, Sagan finds herself back out on the front deck.

They'd moved the boat closer to the rock formation in hopes of deterring the creature from paying them another visit.

Now the dark water surrounds them, pressing them closer to the jagged peaks breaching the surface.

"Nothing comforting about this place at night...wonder why you chose to live here?"

Sagan knows it's stupid to whisper to the water. She knows that the creature isn't going to answer her but it's almost soothing to try and reason with it, even if it isn't listening to her.

"They're just fledglings... they didn't deserve it."

For a moment she wants to reach out and touch the glassy surface, to try and reach out for those who have been lost, even if she knows that it would be pointless.

"I don't know what quarrel you have with the angels. I don't know who wronged you and I can't say I blame you because some of them can be real feathered dicks but...just tell me why."

The wind suddenly blows colder over her, the water hissing softly against the rocks to her left. She shudders and grips onto the railing, turning her head towards the rocks.

"Maybe just...tell me...what you are?"

The wind goes silent, the only sound she can hear is the water lapping against the side of the boat.

Her heart jumps when she hears a dragging sound, something heavy moving across the rocks.

She dashes to the side rail, desperately trying to see over the higher outcrops and get a glimpse of whatever is causing the sound.

As the sound pauses, loud raspy breathing echoes past the rocks and into her ears.

She narrows her eyes, grasping for the knife that hangs at her belt.

"I am not afraid of you."

The breathing pauses and then a small, raspy laugh echoes across the small gap between the edge of the boat and the rocks.

The air goes cold as Sagan remembers the laughter from her nightmares about Lily drowning.

The laughter stops and against her instincts she leans towards a large crack in the rock falling back with a scream when a flash of red meets her eye at the crack.

Whatever it is senses the movement of the others as they stumble through the boat in their panic to get to her.

She hears it move towards the water, sees a large shape move into the water.

"Fear me"

It moves into the water silently, vanishing below the surface and out of sight.

Sagan lies on the deck, shivering violently in the stillness until the door bursts open and Zanzi sprints over to her as the others pile onto the deck.

Sammael stomps over to her, glaring down at her, wings puffed up in an almost comical way.

"I saw it...well part of it..."

She allows Zanzi to lift her up, suddenly feeling weak.

"It can talk. Oh hell....Zan it can talk."

There's a collective gasp from the group and Sagan's composure caves in sending small, ink black tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I was talking...to the water and it...it could hear me...I said I wasn't afraid. Oh hell it understands us. It's smart."

By the time they've managed to haul her inside the food Claire had laid out has gone cold. No one has the appetite to eat anyway.

Sagan finds herself lying across a padded bench, Fynn sitting on the floor so his head is level with hers.

"You saw it? What's it look like? You wouldn't tell Sam."

"I think it has a problem with angels. I think heaven knows what this thing is and is trying to cover something up."

"Really?"

"Flynn. It didn't look like a monster fish."

"What did it look like?"

"It looked like a human. It looked like a hollow. It looked like you."