The Misadventures of Anna Cabbot

Choices

Some rules are meant to be broken.

Funnily enough, the voice in the back of Jamie's head sounded suspiciously like Thom. Jamie ignored that and clung instead to the idea the words represented — some rules were meant to be broken. And some, like the no interference clause, were meant to be blown apart for the right reasons.

That was his philosophy as he piloted his father's 20 foot SeaRay out onto the calm waters of Lake Erie the Thursday after Anna and Carson had disappeared. There was still no sign of the boat they'd been in.

Jamie was well aware he wasn't supposed to interfere. This was Lache business, and he was meant to sit on his ass while everything played out in front of him. Fuck that idea sideways, he wasn't going to do nothing when he could do something even if another voice in the back of his head screamed at him to turn around. Funny, that voice sounded like a rather irate Bess.

He ignored that, too, and pushed a little harder on the throttle.

Once all he could see of Buffalo was the haze from the downtown lights he backed off the engine. The sudden quiet was deafening; the boat came to a slow halt, rocking gently. He scrambled into the open bow and leaned forward, ears strained for any sign or noise out of the ordinary.

There was nothing.

"Come on, come on," he muttered. He rolled up his shirt sleeve and draped himself over the side to touch the water. It was pure force of will that calmed his breathing and sent his witchsense looking for even the smallest trace of them.

Silence.

"No. No, no, no." Jamie swished his hand back and forth in the cold water. "Come on, you two. Come on."

He refused to believe they were dead. They were out there somewhere. They had to be. He just had to find them.

With his fingers still in the water, he struck hard against his Evrael and sent it out, waiting for it to ping back like sonar. It didn't return. No matter how many times he did it or in which direction he sent it, there was nothing. Not even a murmur.

Undeterred, Jamie straightened. He shed his jacket, picked a different place on the boat, and tried again. When that still didn't yield results, he slapped his palm off the side.

Fine. He could find them without magic. It would just take longer.

The SeaRay felt like it made little to no progress. He peered through the darkness for any sign of them.

"Anna," he bellowed across the water. "Carson!"

There was no answer. Not even a ripple.

Jamie leaned his elbows on the side of the boat, shoved his forearm in his mouth to muffle the sound, and yelled until he was so breathless he was dizzy. He staggered back to where he'd left his phone on the seat and sat down hard. There were a number of messages from his siblings

[Thom]

James?

[Thom]

Answer the door dumbass

[Les]

Thom can't find you even though your bike is out front. Where are you?

[Les]

Call someone when you get this.

[Bess]

Don't be stupid James. You know the rules.

[Bess]

Where the hell are you?

[Les]