The Deepest Blue(49)

She spotted one. Perfect.

“That one will do.” She began to climb toward it. It wasn’t far. Just above the high-water mark, it was a shadow about half her height and twice her width—they’d have to crawl inside. From here, she didn’t know how large it was. For all she could tell, it was a divot. Or it could be just right for two spirit sisters to hide for a month. She wouldn’t know until she looked—

“Mayara!” Roe cried.

She sensed the spirit at the same time as she heard Roe’s warning cry. Midreach, she froze as a spirit shot out of the cave she was aiming for. It was translucent, as if it were made of glass, and shaped like a bird with talons that were as long as its body.

Don’t see me.

Again, the command slipped out of her before she could stop it. She saw the glass bird wobble in the air, but then it kept flying straight out over the sea. She scrambled up the rest of the rocks into the cave.

It hadn’t looked back. But it had to have felt her thoughts. She saw it react. Did that mean it would return? Or that it would tell others?

Crawling into the cave, she strained to see. She sent her mind probing ahead into the darkness, looking for more spirits. She didn’t feel any, though she knew she wasn’t as good at sensing them as Roe. She inched farther inside. After the entrance, the cave widened enough that she could sit up.

Did the glass spirit live here?

She heard rocks tumble against each other outside and froze again. But it was Roe, hauling herself up the rocks to join her. Enough light sneaked in through the opening of the cave that Mayara could see her expression. She looked halfway between amused and exasperated. “So you see a spirit fly out of a hole and decide that’s where you want to be?”

“We’ll be out of sight.”

“Until the spirit comes back.”

“If it does . . . we kill it.” It was a lousy plan, light on details, but it was better than no plan. Inside the cave, they couldn’t be surprised. Unless an earth spirit comes through the rock . . . Or collapses the rock on top of us . . . Or . . .

Stop it, she told herself. This was the best she could do right now. Maybe it wasn’t going to be their permanent home, but Roe needed a place to hide while Mayara found the angel seaweed and other essential supplies.

Roe crawled farther into the cave and collapsed against the side. She winced as she positioned her leg in front of her. “Home, sweet home.”

“It’s above the high-water mark.” Mayara defended it. She missed Roe’s optimism. She supposed it had drowned in the cove. Or bled out of her leg.

“Until sea spirits create an extra-high wave just for us.” Then Roe sighed. “Sorry, Mayara. We’re not dead yet, so I guess that means we aren’t making terrible decisions. Maybe your idea to hide is a good one. Certainly, I haven’t done a great job in fighting them.”

She hoped Roe was right. “I’m going to find plants to help with your cuts.” She cast around, looking for a chunk of rock. She found one about fist size and handed it to Roe. “If that spirit comes back, bash it. Don’t use your power—that won’t kill it and using a command risks drawing others. If you hit it fast enough, it won’t have time to call for help.” She didn’t mention that she’d already used her power once. She hoped it was such a minor use that other spirits didn’t notice. Besides, she’d touched the mind of the spirit while she was outside the cave. With luck, no spirit would look inside. Roe should be safe enough. “I’ll return soon.”

“You sure you should go out there again?”

Enough light filtered in through the opening that she could see how ashen Roe’s face looked. She was holding her side, and every breath looked like it hurt her. She wore a permanent wince. “No.” But she was doing it anyway. Like she’d dived into narrow pools of water. “Keep that rock handy. Just don’t bash me when I come back.”

“Good advice. And if you don’t come back?”

Mayara tried to sound braver than she felt. “Then you’ll have outswum me.”





Chapter Twelve

Every second on the shore felt like tempting death. Mayara thought of Elorna’s favorite saying: “Death can’t catch you if you chase it.”

I still think that doesn’t make sense.

She was grateful for the thought and effort that Kelo had put into the outfit he’d made for her—it was water-resistant for swimming and tear-resistant for climbing. And he’d designed it to double as a makeshift carrier. She felt a breath-stealing pang when she thought of Kelo and firmly pushed the feeling away. I can’t afford to be distracted. Loosening the wrap, she created a sling from her shoulder to hip using the excess fabric. As she foraged on the rocks, she filled it as quickly as she could with everything useful she could find: angel seaweed (yes!), kelp (edible), winged kelp (also edible), bubble weed (barely edible). She found a sharp rock and used it to pry mussels and sea snails off rocks. She also found a few berries, though she wasn’t certain whether they were edible. She harvested them anyway.

When she’d gathered all that she quickly could, she knotted the sling closed and began climbing back over the rocky shore toward the cave where Roe was hiding.

Shelter, freshwater, and food, she thought. They had shelter, food, and medicine, in the form of the angel seaweed. On her next trip out, she’d venture off the shore and search for a freshwater stream. She thought she’d seen some probable areas up near the suka trees—they usually grew near water.