Fear the Drowning Deep(14)

“Just a few more steps and you’re there,” Cat said through gritted teeth, tugging on my hands.

I dug my heels into the soft dirt. “I’ll watch from here. Besides, if something walks out of the water and grabs you, someone will need to run for help.”

“Bri-dey.” Cat puffed out her lower lip and exhaled. “Even if we don’t find anything …” She paused, turning to the ocean, and then back to me. “I know you’re curious. You want to find what that noise was as much as we do.”

“Nothing’s going to hurt you,” Lugh added. “Not with us right beside you.” He stretched his arms, beckoning me forward while Cat pulled again on my hands.

“Come on,” Cat urged. “Nothing interesting ever happens in Port Coire. Ever. And now the one time something mysterious happens, you’d rather be home doing chores.”

She had a point. Washing clothes for Mam sounded much more appealing than going anywhere near the treacherous sea.

But if there was even the slightest hint of danger here, I needed to expose it. I couldn’t let my sisters wind up like the drowned girl or wake to find they’d vanished in the night like Nessa Daley. Mally, Liss, and Grayse were more precious to me than the largest pearl, than the heaps of gold rumored to be buried with sunken ships off the coast.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped onto the sand; the grains beneath my feet sent a ripple of shock through me. My friends clapped and cheered as I tried to stop my knees from knocking together. I lowered my gaze, hoping Cat wouldn’t see me blush as we approached Lugh.

“Here we are,” he said, drawing me from my thoughts as he placed a warm hand on my shoulder. He didn’t seem to notice my frown. “Let’s start the hunt!”

“For what?” I didn’t want to pick my way between tide pools. With my luck, I’d fall in. No, I needed to stay as far from the water as possible.

“Just look for anything unusual,” Cat suggested. She danced around me as she spoke, kicking up sand. “Where’s your sense of adventure, Bry?”

I frowned harder. “Back on solid ground.”

The mirth left Cat’s face. “This is important, though,” she said softly. “What if the sound we heard last night was someone’s boat hitting the rocks? There could be another body, or someone too injured to shout for help.”

“You’re right.” I grabbed Cat’s hand, thinking of the mysterious girl’s wet hair spread across the sand, and then of my sisters. But not even Cat’s closeness could stop my legs from turning into jelly as we walked.

“I ran into Eveleen Kinry, from the tailor’s shop, on my way to the bakery earlier,” Cat murmured. “She insists it was a shipwreck. But she looked so troubled, I’m not sure she believed it herself. Some people think it was whales fighting.”

“Mmm.” I glanced over my shoulder. Lugh was crouching in a damp patch of sand, combing through a bed of shells. Not even his kisses could convince me to get that close to the water. “Maybe Eveleen saw something we didn’t. Shame you didn’t ask her what she really thinks it was.”

“Nothing good, I’m certain.” Cat knelt beside a large boulder. “Maybe there’s blood on one of these.” She narrowed her eyes, as if closer scrutiny would reveal a crimson river running down the stone. Then she glanced at me expectantly.

I crossed my arms. “Oh, no. I am not crawling around the rocks looking for bloodstains. Not even for you.”

Dipping her hand in a tide pool, Cat murmured, “You’d think by now Mr. Gill would have—”

Lugh shouted, and we turned toward him.

“Found something?” Cat asked.

But it wasn’t a cry of triumph. I ran down to the waterline, trying to ignore the fist that clenched around my lungs every time I caught sight of the crashing waves, leaving Cat to scramble after me.

Lugh sat just shy of the water, his face contorted as he clutched his right foot.

“What happened?” I demanded, dropping to my knees beside him. He groaned.

Pushing my hair out of my eyes, I peered at the sole of his foot. A large white shard, probably a shell fragment, was embedded deep in the center. I wasn’t sure I could tug it free, but someone had to try. With a mostly steady hand, I reached for the giant splinter.

“Wh-what are you doing?” All color had left Lugh’s face.

“Just taking a closer look,” I answered. “I’ll be quick.” He nodded, and I yanked the shard of shell from his foot. It dropped into the sand as Lugh hissed and jerked away.

“Dammit, Bry! That stung.” He craned his neck to inspect the blood oozing thickly from his sole, then met my eyes. “But thank you.”

I started ripping a piece off the bottom of my skirt for him to use as a bandage.

“Don’t ruin your—”

“This skirt’s destined for the rubbish heap anyway. I wore it to Morag’s.” I handed him the scrap of fabric.

“What got you, Lugh?” Cat rushed toward us, frowning.

“Not sure. Piece of glass, maybe, or …” He trailed off as he scoured the area for the splinter. It was easy to find, smeared with red. “Looks like a shark’s tooth, a big one.” He rolled it between his fingers. “What do you think, Bry?”