The House in the Cerulean Sea(42)

“It’s important.”

He eyed her warily. “Why?”

Her wings fluttered behind her. Even though it was impossible, she appeared to grow until she towered above him. “I am the sprite of Marsyas. This is my island. You are here because I have allowed you to be. You would do well to remember that, Mr. Baker.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” he said hastily. “What I meant to say was, I will definitely come with you wherever you ask me to go.” He swallowed thickly. “Within reason.”

She snorted as she took a step back. “Your bravery knows no bounds.”

He bristled. “Now see here, just because—”

“Do you have other shoes?”

He looked down at his loafers. “Yes? But they’re pretty much the same. Why?”

She shrugged. “We’ll be walking through the forest.”

“Oh. Well. Perhaps we could postpone that for another day—”

But she had already turned and started walking away from him. He gave very serious consideration to ignoring her and going back to the relative safety of the main house, but then he remembered that she could banish him if she wanted to.

And part of him—albeit a small part—was curious about what she wanted to show him. It’d been a long time since he’d been curious about anything at all.

Besides, it was a perfectly lovely day. Perhaps it would do him some good to be outside in all this sunshine.



* * *



Ten minutes later, he wished for death.

If Talia had come to him with her shovel, he didn’t think he’d have stopped her.

If Lucy had stood above him, eyes blazing, fire burning, he would have welcomed him with open arms.

Anything to keep from hiking in the woods.

“I’m thinking,” he gasped, sweat pouring off his brow, “that a bit of a break is in order. How does that sound? Lovely, I believe.”

Ms. Chapelwhite glanced back at him, a frown on her face. She didn’t look winded in the slightest. “It’s not much farther.”

“Oh,” Linus managed to say. “Great. Great! That’s … great.” He tripped over a tree root, but managed to keep himself upright by the grace of God. “And I hope that measurements of distance and time are the same for sprites as they are for humans, meaning not much farther is exactly as it sounds.”

“You don’t get out much, do you?”

He wiped his brow with his sleeve. “I get out as much as is required of someone of my position.”

“Into nature, I mean.”

“Oh. Then, no. I prefer the comfort and dare I say safety of my home. I would rather sit in my chair and listen to my music, thank you very much.”

She held back a large tree limb for him. “You’ve always wanted to see the ocean.”

“Dreams are merely that—dreams. They’re meant to be flights of fancy. They’re not necessarily supposed to come true.”

“And yet, here you are by the sea, far from your chair and home.” She stopped and turned her face toward the sky. “There’s music everywhere, Mr. Baker. You just have to learn to listen for it.”

He followed her gaze. Above them, trees swayed, the wind rustling through the leaves. Branches creaked. Birds called. He thought he heard the chatter of squirrels. And underneath it all, the song of the ocean, waves against the shore, the scent of salt heavy in the air.

“It’s nice,” he admitted. “Not the hiking part. I could do without that, if I’m being honest. Rather uncomfortable for someone like me.”

“You’re wearing a tie in the middle of the woods.”

“I hadn’t planned on being in the middle of the woods,” he snapped. “In fact, I’m supposed to be in the house taking notes.”

She began to move again through the trees, her feet barely touching the ground. “For your investigation.”

“Yes, for my investigation. And if I find you’re hindering me in any way—”

“Does Mr. Parnassus get to read your reports before you send them?”

Linus narrowed his eyes as he stepped over a log overgrown with moss. Ahead, he could see flashes of white sand and the ocean. “Absolutely not. That would be improper. I would never—”

“Good,” she said.

That caused him to blink. “It is?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

She looked back at him. “Because you’ll want to include this in your report, and I don’t want him to know about it.” And with that, she stepped out onto the beach.

He stared after her for a moment before following.



* * *



Walking on the beach in loafers was not something Linus enjoyed. He gave brief thought to removing them and his socks and letting his toes dig into the sand, but it fell away when he saw what was waiting for them on the beach.

It was hastily built, the raft. It consisted of four planks of wood tied together with thick, yellow twine. There was a small mast, upon which fluttered what appeared to be a flag.

“What is it?” Linus asked, taking a step toward it, feet sinking into the wet sand. “Is there someone else on the island? That’s not big enough for a man or woman. Is it a child?”