“More about what?” a sharp voice asked.
Mrs. Gill stood by our table, her arms folded across her chest. “Bridey Corkill, does your mam know you’re here? I daresay she wouldn’t approve of the company you’re keeping.”
I clenched my hands on the edge of my seat, not daring to glance at Fynn. “Mam’s the one who suggested Fynn stay with us. We’re not the first family that’s hosted a tourist here, I might remind you. She trusts me to make my own decisions.”
“Well, I’m keeping an eye on you.” She spun on her heel and strode away.
I had an urge to chase her, to grab her bony shoulders and shake some sense into her head. But instead of drawing even more unwanted attention our way, I took another sip of ale to wet my bone-dry mouth.
Fynn scrubbed his hands through his hair and sighed. It seemed to have cost him a great effort not to shout at Mrs. Gill. When he finally looked at me again, he said in a soft voice, “Where were we?”
“We were talking about what brought you to the Isle. And the serpent.” A cold wave washed over me, sweeping away the warmth of the drink.
“Right.” Fynn grabbed the glass, pushing it back and forth between his hands. “I was hunting on land, and when I returned to the water with my catch”—he frowned at the look I gave him, and quickly amended—“with a girl, I encountered the serpent. It wanted my kill, and we fought.” Fynn ran a hand gingerly down his injured side. “Needless to say, the serpent won.”
Picturing Mam’s painting of the two beasts facing off over the drowned girl’s body, I frowned. “Had you ever fought a serpent before?”
“No. The ocean is vast, and I’ve never strayed far from these waters.” Fynn paused to take a sip. “I wonder why the serpent is keeping close to this island, anyway. The fossegrim is easier to explain. It likely followed the serpent here, picking off the remains of the larger beast’s meals. Or, if it’s the same one that murdered your grandfather, it may have remembered this spot as good hunting grounds. But serpents never stay in one place for long.”
I told the story of Morag’s foot and the half-blind serpent’s desire for revenge while Fynn drained his glass.
“Wish I knew why people drink this stuff.” He wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “It’s disgusting. And I wish I knew how we could get rid of the damned fossegrim before anyone else goes missing.”
“And the serpent, someday,” I added softly. It had to be stopped eventually, though until it started luring people into the water like the fossegrim, the fiddling monstrosity was our sole concern. “Morag reckons she may have found a way to be rid of the fossegrim. Piercing its heart with steel may kill it. How are you at stabbing?”
“Probably the same as you.”
“Hopeless, then.”
Fynn shook his head. “Not hopeless. You’re strong. Stronger than me, I’d wager, while I’m still healing.”
Maybe he was right. I did all that wood chopping for Mam. But I couldn’t take the life of a living being, even one as cruel as the monster who took my grandad away. I couldn’t even spear a single snig the day Morag sent me scouring the shore. Just thinking about killing gave me a feeling like spiders scuttling across my skin. “We’ll find a way.” I managed a smile. “At least, I hope so.”
“I know so.”
I was about to ask Fynn whether he’d ever encountered a fossegrim before this one when Ms. Katleen and her mam appeared at our table with our supper and our cake.
“Who ordered the lamb?” Ms. Elena asked.
“I did.” As I met her eyes, her waxy hands trembled so hard she nearly dropped the plate in my lap. She banged my dish on the table, and I took advantage of her nearness to whisper in her ear. “There’s something dangerous in the water, and you know it. No one wants to listen to me or Morag, but they might be willing to hear you, if you were to try.”
She flinched, and hastily straightened as much as her stiff back allowed. “I’m nearly deaf, young lady. I haven’t any idea what you said.” She gripped the table and frowned. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have bread in the oven.”
As she tottered off, Ms. Katleen bent down and whispered, “I’m sorry about Mrs. Gill. That woman …” She pressed her lips together as though biting back the sort of remark that would make Mam use my full name. “Let’s just say not everyone here jumps to conclusions just because someone thinks they saw something funny in the water, or because Thomase Boyd is flinging accusations faster than you can say unfair. You two are welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”
When Ms. Katleen left us to our meal, I lifted my fork and glanced at Fynn’s untouched fish. He stared at his plate as though it were laced with poison. “Eat,” I urged. “You’ll need your strength if we’re going to hunt a fossegrim and help with a wedding tomorrow.”