Not All Who Wander are Lost (14 page)

T
hey were a solemn group as Finn eased the boat out of the marina. It was a small boat, just 18 feet, with an open pilothouse. It was the one thing Kate had bought with the insurance money from his parent’s deaths. Kate had always known that Finn would need a connection to the sea. He loved the boat. He loved guiding it through the waves, feeling the sea around him.

Kate held on to Mariah’s ashes for fear life. She had been quiet since her trip to identify the body, speaking really only when spoken too. Finn noticed the lines on her face for the first time. He had never really thought of Kate as old, but she looked it now. Mariah’s death had taken quite a toll on her.

Crimson was wrapped in an old wool coat of Finn’s trying to stay warm. Watching Finn at the controls of the boat, she could see that he loved it. He should have been a fisherman like his father. Life has a way of going on, no matter how far away it strays from what you intended, Crimson thought to herself.

As they reached the spot, Finn cut the engine and dropped the anchor. They gathered in the stern of the boat. “Katie, did you want to say something?” Finn asked.

Kate moved to the rail. “Ah, baby girl, I’ll miss you. I hope you can fly free where you are. You always deserved to be happy. I only wish it could have been here. I hope you are happy where you are. I love you.” Kate opened the box and dumped it into the waves. When the last of the ashes disappeared, Kate turned and buried her face in Finn’s chest. Tears streamed down both of their faces as they said their last goodbyes.

All that as left to do was head back and get ready for the next shoe to drop. After much discussion, they had decided to go the High Court after Mariah’s burial. They were all packed and ready to go. Crimson had spent hours talking to Finn about her home and preparing him. While he wasn’t Human, his life pretty had been, and some of the things he would be seeing may be hard to take in. Finn had never realized how many different types of people and creatures there were in the other realms. Kate had told him some things, but not everything to be sure.

With Finn at the helm and Kate off in her own world, Crimson had time to think. She stared out at the waves, wondering what was to come. She only hoped that she would be strong enough to defeat Amiee. The idea that she was probably going to have to kill her was giving her some trouble. In all her years as a Guardian, Crimson had never had to kill anyone. She’d been a personal guard, or a member of a larger guard, and she had protected her charges against everything from jealous family members to would be assassins, but she’d never been in a battle that hadn’t resulted in victory. She knew she was strong and well trained. She had always ranked high when her skills were tested. But this was different. It was life and death, and she was afraid she just wouldn’t measure up.

Lost in thought, she hadn’t noticed that the sky had started to darken and the temperature had dropped. When the first ice cold drops of rain hit her face, Crimson looked up, startled. The sky looked angry. The wind picked up and the boat was soon rocking perilously in the heavy seas. Finn called them under the roof of the pilothouse to get out of the rain, but it was almost as if the sky had opened up. There was no escaping the downpour. The waves kept getting larger and larger.

Finn had been out in rough seas before, but this storm had come out of nowhere and it was getting bad. He scanned the horizon. They should have been just a few miles from shore. He should be able to see Tillamook Light soon, he hoped. The waves were breaking higher and higher. He made sure that Crimson was wearing a lifejacket and put one on himself. He knew he’d never get Katie in one, but then, if something happened, she was the best prepared of all of them. She’d only have to put on her pelt and swim ashore. It might be rough, but she was stronger than she looked, especially with her pelt on.

Finn tried the radio, but all he got was static. When the first wave broke over the bow, he knew they were sunk. He cut the engine and they held on as long as they could, but they were soon swamped and the boat was going to go down soon, there was no stopping it. “I’ll bring help! Stay in the boat as long as you can.” Kate shouted above the din of the storm, and she put on her pelt and disappeared over the side. Finn was truly afraid of the sea for the first time in his life. Most of all, he was afraid for Crimson. He was a strong swimmer, and alone he could probably make it, but he didn’t know how he was going to get them both to shore safely.

Suddenly, the deck listed far to the starboard. He heard Crimson scream as she fell, hard, into the instrument panel. Finn reached to catch her, but missed and she hit her head. Finn reached her finally as she dropped to the deck, unconscious. He checked her head, it was bleeding slightly, but there didn’t appear to be any major damage. She was breathing steady and her pulse was strong. He tried the radio one last time, to no avail. The deck was almost completely flooded. He knew they couldn’t stay aboard much longer. They would have to abandon the boat and try to get as far away as possible so that the boat sinking would not pull them down with it. They had to take their chances with the sea.

Finn checked the straps on Crimson’s life vest. She was starting to stir, but she was still groggy. He kissed her cheeked and picked her up, then leapt into the waves. Just before they hit the water, he prayed for a miracle. They went in and down, but their life vests soon brought them to the surface. Finn felt an odd sensation in his legs. They were starting to tingle and felt almost itchy. Suddenly, he wasn’t cold anymore. The freezing water no longer numbed his skin, instead, it felt almost pleasant. He tried to kick his feet, but they seemed like they were tangled together.

He reached one arm down under the water to see if something was caught on his legs, but there it was, what he had never thought he would have, a tail. He fought it for a moment, trying to figure out how to swim with it, but after a few futile efforts, he lay back in the water to rest and think. Once he was relaxed, he found that it was easy to move the tail, it just wasn’t the same as kicking with feet. The life vest was getting in his way, though, so careful not to let Crimson go, he released the clasps and took it off and put it on her over the one she was already wearing.

Crimson was shivering in the freezing cold water. Finn knew he had to get her out of the water soon. She was awake, her eye was swelling and she would have a gnarly shiner, but otherwise seemed to be holding up fine. “Relax and float on your back. The life vest will keep you up. I’m going to tow you.” Finn shouted. Crimson nodded her head quickly so he knew she understood.

Crimson lay back and Finn began to swim. It was amazing! He had been the fastest swimmer in the Seaside High record books, but this was something else entirely. It was like flying through the water. The only thing slowing him down was occasionally checking on Crimson. As for Crimson, if it hadn’t been so cold, she would have almost enjoyed the ride. There was something thrilling about being pulled through the water at high speeds.

In almost no time, Finn could see Tillamook light looming up ahead of them. The old lighthouse was no longer functional and not manned, but he knew if they could get ashore without being smashed on the treacherous rocks, they could get inside and at least get out of the weather and get warm. The lighthouse was only a mile offshore, and he could have easily swum it, but Finn didn’t think Crimson would make it much longer. He needed to get her out of the water and warm her up.

He swam for the rocks, approaching from the back side of the rock where it was level. Despite the rough surf, He was able to find a soft spot to get out of the water. Crimson stumbled when he pushed her out of the water and onto the rock. Finn felt the tingling again and knew this time that it was his tail disappearing. It took a minute or so before his feet felt free, but as soon as they were, he kicked hard and pulled himself up onto the rock next to Crimson. She reached for him and they clung together for a moment, but Finn knew they had to keep going.

He pulled Crimson to her feet and held her to him as they climbed the rocks. It wasn’t far to the landing area. The place was deserted, but the light keeper’s quarters were kept as a museum and guesthouse of sorts for wealthy tourists who could afford the helicopter trip out in the summer. The storm doors were secured, but Finn was able to get them open and he pulled Crimson inside out of the storm, shutting the storm door again. Finn wasted no time stripping Crimson’s sodden clothes off her and ensconcing her under the heavy down coverlet on the king sized bed that took up most of the bedroom off the main room. As soon as Crimson was comfortable, he went out to see if the radio or the phone were working.

The phone was dead, but the radio had good batteries.  He tried to reach the coast guard, but just got static. He looked around to see what resources were available. He found the guest manual on the counter in the small kitchen. Following the instructions, he managed to start the generator and was pleased with himself when the lights came on and the furnace kicked in. There was plenty of bottled water for drinking, and with the storm, he knew the rain water tanks would be full for bathing. There wasn’t much in the way of provisions, as the guesthouse was used mostly in the summer and it was too early for visitors, especially with the heavy storm season they’d had, but there was some canned food and other staples as well as coffee and an assortment of expensive herbal teas.

Finn lit the stove and put on a pot of coffee. While it was brewing, he tried the radio again. This time, he was finally able to raise the Coast Guard. They told him that Kate had reported a radio call about the wreck, but with the storm so bad, they hadn’t been able to dispatch a rescue crew yet. Finn assured them they were safe at the lighthouse and were fine to ride out the storm there. The coast guard assured him that as soon as there was a break in the storm, they would send a helicopter for them, but according to the weather service, it might be a few days before it cleared up enough for that.

The coffee pot was perking as he put down the mike. He poured himself a cup and one for Crimson. He found sugar and some powdered coffee creamer that he wouldn’t dream of drinking, but he thought Crimson might like. He found he huddled beneath the covers. She was starting to warm up on her own, but welcomed the coffee and the company. “This should help you warm up. Looks like we’re stuck here for at least a couple of days until the storm is over. This rock is almost impossible to land on in high winds and rough seas. You up for a little vacation?” Finn smiled, handing her the coffee.

“I don’t know, I’m not sure I can handle all of this hardship. I mean, the sheets are only 500 thread count.” Crimson giggled, still shivering.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t afford to stay here on the up and up, but I really don’t think that the owners will mind as long as we don’t trash the place and lock up when we leave. Anyway, drink your coffee. I’m going to see what I can put together for dinner. How do you feel about canned chili?”

“Anything warm and marginally edible will work for me right now.”

“Just relax. Get warm. Sleep if you want. I’ll wake you when it’s ready.”

“Finn?” Crimson said dreamily as she snuggled back down into the covers.

“What?” he answered.

“I love you. And I think your tail is pretty hot too.” She said saucily.

Finn grinned. “I love you too,” he said as he closed the door and went in search of food.

Amiee’s fist crashed down, causing the water in the scrying pool to splash everywhere. “You failed!” she said, her face contorted with anger. “Your little storm didn’t even slow them down.”

“It should have worked,” Kieran said, cowering. “As long as I’ve been watching him, he’s never been able to manifest a tail. I don’t understand it.”

“Obviously, I should have known better than to trust a fool like you to do my dirty work. I will just have to handle this on my own.”

“We had a deal!” Kieran whined. “I help you get rid of my brother’s whelp and after you take control of the other realms, I get to rule all of the sea going folk. You are not getting rid of me that easy.”

“You failed me this time, don’t do it again.”

“My ships are at your command, dear lady. We shall not fail again.” Kieran bowed and then scurried out of the room. As the ripples cleared, Aimee looked again to the scying pool.

Her fury simmered just below the surface as she watched the happy couple for a few minutes more. Her jealousy of her happiness surprised her. It had been so long since she had felt anything other than an almost mindless ambition. She tried to remember if she had ever been truly happy. She knew she must have been happy once, but the spell had burned it out of her. Now that the spell was fading, she was starting to feel a lot of things she hadn’t felt in an age, things like sadness. The sadness made her even angrier. She shouldn’t be feeling these things.

She was also feeling weak. Her power was still fading. She had to come up with a plan to get rid of that baby before she lost it all. She had hoped the storm would work. She should have known that it was too easy, but she wasn’t really thinking very clearly anymore. As her body grew weaker, so did her mind. She found it hard to concentrate. Even simple things seemed cloudy.

Kieran may be a witless toady, but they shared a common goal. He needed to get rid of the boy in order to keep his throne. She needed him out of the way, so that she could deal with her daughter one on one. With Kieran’s ships, and her Dark Hunter mercenaries, they may be able to mount an assault on the High Council again, but it would be much more difficult this time. They wouldn’t have the element of surprise this time, and the High Council was on their guard now.

They needed something big. Amiee wracked her brain trying to think of something she hadn’t tried. Killing Mariah had made her feel better, but it hadn’t helped the cause at all. She needed an advantage. She needed a hostage. An eerie smile crept over her face. Kieran could be of use to her after all.