He smiled, motioned for me to come aboard, and then he disappeared back into the ship.
The steel rail felt cold beneath my hand. I turned and looked back once more toward the town. There, above the town on the Point, I saw the figure of a man. He seemed to lean back into an archer’s pose. He shot a shadow arrow that burned like a shooting star across the night’s sky. I took a deep breath and boarded the ship.
Chapter 23
I was met on board by the smiles of the people I had come to love.
Jamie fought his way through the crowd and grabbed me, nearly crushing me. “You’re pressing my throwing daggers into my back,” I whispered to him.
He let go with a chuckle and looked down at me.
“I’m sorry,” I said rapidly, the words falling too loudly and somewhat broken from my mouth.
“No, no, it’s okay. I’m sorry too. I understand,” he said, kissing the top of my head.
I pressed my cheek against his chest. I opened my eyes to see Ian looking at us. He looked away.
“Why did you change your mind?” Jamie asked. He took my hand and led me toward the railing. The boat had turned and was now gliding across the lake. The town was no longer in sight.
“Well, I needed a vacation. I hear the HarpWind is nice.”
Jamie smiled wryly. “Seriously,” he whispered.
I turned and looked back toward the Captain’s deck of the yacht. Therein I could see the heads of our new benefactors moving about. “I’m not wrong, and I haven’t changed my mind,” I said.
He looked up at the deck as well. “Yeah, well, we’ll see, won’t we?”
It took about three hours to cross the lake in the swift yacht. Soon, the lights of the HarpWind Grand Hotel appeared on the horizon. The place was dimly lit; they were using candles and lanterns. The hotel’s lights appeared like ghostly shadows on the water, breaking amongst the waves.
The captain of the boat sounded the horn.
It was met by the clang of a cast-iron triangle at the end of the hotel’s pier.
Jamie and I exchanged glances.
When we arrived, a number of people were there to greet us. Many were other survivors who shook our hands and asked us from where we’d come. They were a mixed group coming from small towns and cities scattered all around the Great Lakes. Amongst them were hotel proprietors who helped us make our way up the path to the opulent HarpWind Grand Hotel.
“I need to go help Ian,” Jamie whispered to me.
I nodded and then, dodging through the crowd, I found Frenchie. I picked up Susan and set her onto my shoulders. She laughed. “It’s beautiful,” she said, looking at the hotel.
She was right. It was beautiful. The hotel was five stories in height and stretched long. It curved with the shape of the land, making the hotel crescent shaped. I remembered that the word Enita, the name of the island, meant moon; I’d see it in the documentary. The first two floors of the hotel were stone, the upper floors were New England style shingle sided. As we walked toward the massive structure, I could see the chandelier in the foyer was alive with candle-light. The crystals sparkled.
Frenchie took my hand. “Thank you,” she whispered.
We were led into the main foyer. A massive stone fireplace burned cheerfully. It stemmed off the cool chill in the air.
A pale looking girl with long black hair and flashing pale blue eyes introduced herself as Matilda. She began handing out room keys and taking names. The more I looked at her, the more I realized I recognized her as the face I had seen amongst the crowd on New Year’s Eve. When she got to me and Frenchie, she paused. She looked thoughtfully at me. I looked back with a hard gaze.
“The man there said that you, the girl with the sword,” she said, looking at the weapon hanging from my belt, “are roomed with him: 415,” she said smiling sweetly as she handed me a key.
I took the key but shot Jamie an inquisitive look. He smiled bashfully and shrugged.
“And you are?” she said, looking at Frenchie.
“Frenchie Davis, and this is Kira and Susan,” she introduced, but I squeezed Frenchie’s hand hard, and she said no more.
“Aw, how cute,” Matilda said, looking at Kira and Susan. The expression on her face told me she thought they were anything but cute.
“She needs a room beside mine,” I told Matilda.
Matilda turned to look at me, and I noticed that same odd movement about her I had seen in Corbin. She stared at me for a moment. “I’m sorry, I have nothing available, but I do have 313 for you, Ms. Davis. There are two beds in that room,” she replied and handed Frenchie a key.
After she had gone, I joined Jamie and Ian. Jamie was standing at the back of Ian’s wheelchair.
“Where are you?” I asked Ian. He was holding a key in his hand.
“They put me on the ground floor near the infirmary: room 195. I guess the doctor will be able to see me right away. I’m going now,” Ian said.
I took Jamie’s bag from his shoulder. “I got this.”
Jamie nodded. “I’ll be up in a few.”