Ashes on the Waves (25 page)

There was something in the tone of this note which gave me great uneasiness.

—Edgar Allan Poe,
from “The Gold-Bug,” 1843

P
lease don’t make me do this,” Muireann pleaded.

“If you want to survive the day, you will do as instructed,” the Na Fir Ghorm said. “The next test is fidelity, and who better than a Selkie to test that?”

She couldn’t believe her father was allowing this. They’d always lived in fear of the Na Fir Ghorm, but she never dreamed they held this kind of power over the pod.

“It’s only for one night,” Keela whispered. “Then everything will go back to normal. That’s what they promised Dad.”

“And you think they’ll keep a promise?”

“Do we have a choice?”

The Na Fir Ghorm were watching them closely, but on land, the sound didn’t travel well and they certainly could not be heard.

“This could be your chance to help him,” Keela said. “Who better than you to go interact with him? All you have to do is spend until sundown tomorrow with him. Isn’t that what you’ve been dreaming about?”

“No! I have not been dreaming about tricking him.”

Keela turned so that her back was to the Na Fir Ghorm. “Listen to me, little sister. If you do not do this, they will most likely wage war on us. Is that what you really want? Is it so awful to have to go ashore and shed your pelt for some human you have already been longing for? Would you rather I do it?”

“Yes.”

She snorted. “Well, that’s not an option. They want you because you were a troublemaker in the harbor and defended him. Maybe next time you won’t interfere.”

“Your time is up,” the leader called. “What will it be?”

Muireann searched her parents’ faces, but all she found there was a pleading for compliance. Her father nodded.

“I’ll do it,” she whispered. Never had she imagined that her wish would turn into her worst nightmare.

* * *

I arrived at the store right as the sun broke over the harbor. I loved this time of day. There was so much promise in new beginnings, and daybreak always filled me with hope. Today was no exception.

Anna loved me, and that alone made my soul soar. As much as it pained me to be apart from her, the promise of her return made her absence endurable.

She would come back and we would leave together. We’d travel far away from Dòchas and the Cailleach. Far from misery and persecution. We’d be together forever. This thought made me want to shout and rejoice. I’d finally be free. Free and totally bound to Anna.

Something splashing off the end of the pier caught my eye. Perhaps it was a seal trying to break into the lobster pen.

I ran down the steps, ready to shoo the creature off, but stopped short about halfway down the pier. It was a girl about my age. She appeared to be unable to swim, clinging desperately to the wire pen.

“Hang on,” I called. “I’ll help you.”

I grabbed a long-handled net from the rack and sprinted to the end of the pier.

By this time, she had made her way down the side of the pen and was close to the barnacle-covered piling.

“Wait,” I said. “Stay there. The piling will cut you.”

She froze, still clinging to the pen. In the morning darkness and murky water, it was hard to tell for certain, but it appeared she was naked. The water was cold year-round. Cold enough to induce hypothermia if someone were in it long enough. I had to get her out right away. Her lips were tinged with blue.

“I’m going to put the net in the water; hang on to it and I’ll pull you to the stairs.”

She nodded and grabbed the net I extended. As I pulled her along the pier to the stairs, her body rose to the surface. She was indeed naked.

“Francine!” I shouted toward the store. “Francine, I need your help!”

When the girl reached the stairs, she released the net and climbed out of the water, shivering. I ripped my shirt off and pulled it over her. “We need to warm you up,” I said. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. At least she hadn’t gone into shock yet.

“Can you walk?”

She shook her head and I caught her just as her knees gave way. “Francine!” With one arm, I couldn’t carry her. I had to warm her up. I sat and pulled her against me, rubbing her frigid skin. “Francine!”

Finally, she burst from the store. “What in heaven’s name?” When she reached us, her jaw dropped. “Where did she come from?”

“I don’t know. I found her in the water.”

“Help me get her inside,” she said, pulling the barely conscious girl to her feet. We balanced her between us and made it to the sofa in the store.

“Take off your pants and lie down,” Francine ordered, holding the girl in an upright position.

“What?”

“Do as I say.”

I slipped out of my jeans and lay on the sofa and Francine pulled my shirt off the girl and pushed her against me from head to toe.

“Wrap your legs over her. We need as much skin-to-skin contact as possible. We have to raise her core temperature.”

When I hesitated, she shouted, “Do it!”

After covering us with a blanket, she put the kettle on the stove and pulled out two red rubber water bottles from under the sink cabinet. The poor girl in my arms shuddered and quaked to where it felt like her bones would rattle apart.

“Shhh,” I whispered in her ear. “You’re going to be okay now. Relax.”
ax.”

She muttered something through her chattering teeth that sounded like “Liam,” but I was certain it had been my imagination.

Francine filled the water bottles and placed one against the girl’s chest. “Hold this,” she said. “For heaven’s sake, lad. Hold it.” She placed my hand over the bottle, then gathered the girl’s hands and put them under mine. They were as cold as ice. She put the other bottle on the bottom of her feet and rubbed her toes.

“She’s lucky you found her. Any longer in the water and she might not have made it. She must have been out there awhile. She should have known better.”

“Known better?”

Francine shook her head. “Never mind. I’m just rambling.”

“Do you know her, Francine?”

“No.”

The girl shifted slightly, and my heart stuttered. “Where do you suppose she came from?”

Francine frowned. “No telling. I have my suspicions, but let’s wait and see what she has to say.”

“What are your suspicions?” The girl made a moaning sound and pushed even harder against me.

“Lad, I’ve lived long enough to learn not to speculate out loud.” She placed the water bottle between the girl’s knees and continued rubbing her feet.

The bell on the door chimed. Francine got to her feet. “I’ll be right back.”

Somehow, my situation seemed more peculiar without Francine in the room. “Liam,” the girl said as plain as day. “My Liam . . .”

“I’m here,” I responded, sounding anything but comforting. Panicked was more like it. I was lying with a naked girl I knew nothing about who knew my name. I was certain my situation couldn’t get any stranger, but I was wrong. At that moment, Brigid Ronan entered the room.

She squatted down in front of us and studied the girl’s face. “Open your eyes,” she said. I couldn’t see her face but felt her eyelashes flutter against my arm.

Miss Ronan nodded. “I’ll take her to Taibhreamh until we can piece her story together.”

“Wait. You can’t just walk in and take her away,” I said.

“Exactly what had you planned to do with her, Mr. MacGregor?” she asked, pushing to her feet. “You will have access to her since Miss Leighton commanded me to allow you to stay at the mansion. Unfettered access. Will that not be sufficient?”

I felt completely cornered. Not only was I pinned in physically by the girl, I was trapped by my own words. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Could I offer you some tea, Brigid?” Francine asked.

“No. I only came to drop off Miss Leighton’s letter before the boat arrived. She asked me to do it the day her friends left, but I forgot about it.” She dropped an envelope on the kitchen counter. “Mr. MacGregor can bring the girl when he comes to Taibhreamh this evening. Deirdre will enjoy having a companion . . . that is, if Mr. MacGregor is willing to share her.” Stiffly, she turned and marched out of the room.

“I don’t care for that woman,” I said as the bell jingled.

“I think it’s mutual.” Francine patted me on the shoulder. “The girl’s color looks good. We need to get her moving around. Ling arouet’s see if she is warmed up enough to sit up and drink some tea.” She pulled her to upright by the shoulders. “Here you go, lass. Let’s have a nice cup of tea, now. Oh, my.” Francine grabbed her apron from the oven handle, put it over the girl’s head, and tied it around her back. “Well, there you go,” she said. “Can you talk?”

The girl nodded.

“Can I get up now?” I asked. The girl turned her face to me and I was stunned. Her long, blond hair was matted with seawater and her skin was now a healthy golden hue. The eyes, though, seemed out of place with the rest of her—enormous, round, and very dark.

I realized that if I moved, it would shift the blanket and expose her, so I just remained still. “Never mind.”

Francine handed the girl a cup of tea she had loaded with sugar. She took it but seemed completely confused. Maybe she hadn’t recovered as much as I’d thought. Francine raised the cup to her lips and the girl took a sip. She grinned and gulped the rest of the tea in only a few swallows. “Good thing it was cooled off a bit,” Francine said. “Now you’ll be coming with me. We need to put you in a shower and get you warm and clean. Can you walk?”

“Yes,” she said. Her voice matched her eyes: dark and rich.

Francine pulled off her bathrobe and wrapped it around the girl. The girl touched a flower on Francine’s nightgown. “Pretty,” she said.

“Yes, well. Let’s get you up the stairs, then.” Francine helped her to her feet and together, they climbed the stairs to Francine’s apartment.

I slipped on my jeans and pulled my now-wet T-shirt over my head. The envelope Miss Ronan had delivered caught my eye.
Nicholas Emery
and an address were on the front with several colorful stamps. It was unsealed. I turned it over in my hand several times.

This was a private message from Anna to Nicholas. I would not invade her personal business.

“There are no secrets between lovers,” Francine had said. There should not be. I would not hide anything from Anna. She would be welcome to read anything I wrote.

Still . . .

Leaving it unopened, I put it back on the counter and headed out to the pier, where I set about moving the lobsters from the holding pen to the plastic bins for transport to the mainland. They were marked with colored bands around their claws that indicated sizes for sorting. It was easy, mindless work, which was what I needed.

Every fiber of my being ached for Anna, and the appearance of the new girl made it worse somehow. It was as though I were being teased or tormented by the Otherworld.

“Haven’t I suffered enough?” I shouted to no one. For some reason, my emotion surged and I was overcome. For the first time since I was a small child, I wept for my own condition. My loneliness. My misery. Myself.

* * *

After the woman named Francine helped Muireann shower, she gave her a gown with flowers on it just like the one she was wearing.

Muireann wanted to look pretty for her Liam.

Life as a human was different. She could move on land far better than she could in her seal form, but the water was terrifying. After she shed her pelt and hid it, her human form felt like a stone trying to pull her to the bottom. And she was cold. So cold.

But not now. Now, she smelled like her Liam and looked like his female in a pretty dress.

“Are you hungry?” Francine asked.

“Yes!”

“Liam! Come in for lunch,” Francine shouted from the window overlooking the harbor.

She opened a can and it smelled heavenly. After mixing something up in a bowl, she spread it on a roll and put it in front of Muireann.

Hands were convenient. She didn’t have to bite the food off the plate. She could pick it up and nibble like she’d watched humans do at the dock. She knew a lot about the human world because of the stories told by her relatives who had returned to the sea after shedding their pelts. It was fascinating to experience it firsthand. She could identify most human objects.

Her Liam came in from the back door and she got a funny feeling in her chest. Her human form was strange indeed.

“Her name is Muireann,” Francine said. “She doesn’t know how she got here, nor does she remember anything from her past.”

Liam washed his hands at the sink and sat opposite her at the table.

“Hi, Muireann. I’m Liam.”

Her face felt hot. Being human was confusing. “I know.”

“Sometimes traumatic experiences keep us from remembering things,” Francine said, serving her a second canned tuna sandwich. “Maybe your memory will return with time.”