A Heart of Crystal

The Guilty Party

Drake knocked on her door the next morning.

“Zeada? You feeling any better?” he asked, his voice slightly muffled by the door. Zeada fumbled for her sunglasses and shoved them onto her face.

“Yeah,” she replied as she got up and fished a change of clothes out of the bag she had grabbed the previous day. Raul lifted his head off of the floor as she finished and clicked her tongue. He then stretched and stood up, shaking his fur violently before padding over to the door. Zeada slipped her extendable pole into her pocket. She did not want Raul caught up in whatever might happened on the ship when she went to confront Ray’s friend. She opened her door to find Drake leaning up against the wall outside. “Drake I’m going to go talk to Ray. Besides me, he was the first one at the lighthouse after the crystal got stolen.”

“Do you want to eat before you go? You didn’t eat dinner last night.”

“I’ll eat when I come back.” Drake sighed and followed her down the stairs. He stopped them both outside the kitchen and grabbed a piece of fruit off the counter without looking. The banana fit easily into his hand.

“At least eat this,” he insisted, extending the banana out to her, “you know that both your brothers and Zach would have a hissy fit if they heard you were mistreating yourself.” Zeada sighed in resignation and grabbed the dull yellow speckled fruit. She peeled it quickly before shoving the peel back into Drake’s hand and the piece of food into her mouth. “Call if you need anything, ok?” She nodded before turning to walk out the door and heading for the docks. The yacht was still docked in Zach’s spot when she arrived. Zeada ran a hand over the side of the ship, making sure Ray was inside, before knocking firmly on the side of the ship.

“Who are you?” an unfamiliar voice growled from the deck.

“My name is Zeada, I’m looking for Ray Garner,” she told him flatly.

“Wait a minute,” he grumbled, shuffling away from her, “Garner! Get you hide up here!” Zeada heard more shuffling and groaning as Ray emerged from the belly of the ship.

“Zeada?” he asked groggily, “What are you doing here this early in the morning?”

“I wanted to take you up on your offer,” she told him simply.

“Well then, want to come aboard?” he asked her, seeming a little more awake than before.

“Sure,” she then turned to Raul, “Stay here.” He whined but sat down. Zeada then pulled out her pole and extended it.

“Over here,” Ray called over to where he had lowered the boarding pathway. Zeada made her way over and carefully crossed over onto the boat.

“This might seem like an odd request, but would you mind if I took off my socks and shoes? It helps me feel where I am better.” In reality, Zeada just wanted to be in direct contact with the ship if whoever had knocked her brother unconscious wanted to do the same with her.

“Of course.” Ray then led her over to a deck chair and waited for her to pull of her sneakers. Once she had carefully set them aside, Ray helped her to her feet. “Let’s go below deck.” Zeada just nodded and allowed him to escort her down the stairs. While they walked down the single corridor, her arm accidentally brushed into one of the doors. A bright, yet welcoming, sense enveloped her for a moment before she forced herself to continue past. Her hopes that Ray was not involved were dwindling fast. Ray led her to a small conference room, closing the door behind him. He escorted her to one of the chairs in the room, pulling it out for her. “Please take a seat. Now,” he started while he took his own seat, “what did you need to talk about?” She shifted uncomfortably, tilting her head down to avoid his gaze.