Fear the Drowning Deep(81)
“What did she want?” I tried to keep my voice neutral despite the pang in my chest.
“Same as usual. She asked about Liss’s leg. And told me to remind you that your job’s waiting whenever you’re ready to go back.” Da shook his head. “She said if you’d like, you can be the boss, and she’ll be your apprentice. She misses you, bird.”
“I know.” I missed her, too.
Morag’s cottage would forever remind me of summer, of Fynn. Still, the absence of Morag’s sharp-tongued remarks and pungent teas smarted like a toothache. And I couldn’t delay my return much longer when more serpents and other monsters yet swam the depths. Whenever they reached our shore, Morag and I needed to be ready to fight them. Together.
My hand strayed to the Bollan Cross around my neck, rubbing the worn bone between my thumb and forefinger. “Did you invite her for supper like Mam wanted?”
“I would have, but Danell Gill stepped outside to work in his garden, and old Morag limped off before I could get another word past my lips. I’ve never seen her move so fast. Almost like magic.”
Da grew quiet, humming gently under his breath while we waited for hapless fish to swim near the boat. Neither he, nor Liss, nor I had breathed a word of Fynn or our encounter with the serpent to anyone in Port Coire. The arrangement suited us well. And though Liss’s doctor asked a great number of questions, though Mr. Gill continued to press us for news of Fynn’s whereabouts, we kept our silence. I got the impression Da had explained everything to Mam, though, because she hardly let me out of her sight now.
When Da finished the last line of his sea chanty, he offered me a tin. “Kippers?”
I shook my head, carefully balancing the net handle as I reached for the oilskin pouch holding my bread and cheese. “Thank you, but I packed my own lunch.”
“I never thought you’d come out here with me,” he remarked, a smile in his voice. He wasn’t the only one. In a few short weeks, I had gone from being a gossiped-about witch’s apprentice to a gossiped-about lass who went out fishing with the men. And, as before, I didn’t care.
I pulled a wedge of cheese from my sack. “That makes two of us.”
Da grinned. “Now it’s only a matter of time until you’re begging to try some fresh fish. One day we’ll catch something so delicious, you won’t be able to resist.”
“Not a chance, Da.” I held up the tart cheese and licked my lips. “Some things will never change.” Like Grayse’s love of every creature finned and feathered. Or my slowly mending friendship with Cat and Lugh, who both somehow understood that I wasn’t ready to talk about what happened, even though I’d never said as much.
The kipper tin hit the floor of the boat with a clatter, startling me. “We’ve got a bite!” Da sprang to his feet. “Help me reel ’er in!”
I threw down my net, unable to stop my heart from giving a hopeful leap. The only other time I had assisted Da with reeling in a line, there had been a baby shark on the end. Perhaps today, we’d see a dark, rounded fin and a pair of familiar cobalt eyes.
My heart sank as sharp, dusky gray fins and a white belly appeared. Together, with much groaning and swearing, Da and I heaved a thrashing shark onto the boat. It wasn’t more than three feet long, but it jerked hard enough to rock our vessel. Panting, I wiped my grimy fingers on my shirt and sat back to watch Da subdue the struggling creature.
“This is a handsome one. Should fetch a nice price.” Da glanced over his shoulder, a huge smile splitting his face. Without the serpent hunting in our waters, fish were once again plentiful. We caught so many crabs and lobsters that we’d been making weekly trips to Peel to sell our surplus in their larger market.
“Sounds like we’ll be able to buy some more cloth then. You ought to ask Mam to make you a new shirt.” Now that we could afford fine cloths, Mam had been sewing dresses and skirts. She even sold some at the market. She’d lost all desire to paint, but she wasn’t plagued by headaches and nightmares anymore.
“She should make a few more dresses for you girls first,” Da said at last. He poked his calloused fingers through a hole in the side of his shirt and wiggled them. “This has room for another hole or three.” I smiled as he bent over to check on the shark.
“By God! Look!” Da lifted something from beside the shark’s head.
Heart in my throat, I hurried to his side.
A glimmer of silver-pink flashed between Da’s fingers as he polished the object on his shirt. “This was in the shark’s mouth!” His gleeful expression warmed my insides, banishing thoughts of monsters.
“What—?” The question died in my throat as my trembling fingers closed around a massive pearl swirled with silver and pink.
“Keep it, bird. Consider it payment for being my first mate,” Da said. He must have mistaken my watery gaze for one of deep gratitude. I nodded my thanks, gripping the pearl. “Now, do you want to head to shore? Or see if our luck holds farther out?”
I shrugged, swallowing around a lump in my throat. Not long ago, I would have given anything to leave the Isle, with its brine and wind and blue-green waters, far behind. Now, I rode the waves like I truly belonged. Like there was a place for me here. Perhaps there had been all along. And now, some stubborn part of me, the same part that clung to a wild hope that Fynn had survived, vowed to stay put until I saw him again.