The Ship Beyond Time (The Girl from Everywhere #2)

 

 

I sprang toward Mr. Hart. “Run!”

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

 

 

As soon as Blake and Kash were out of sight, I regretted letting them go without me. Parting was neither sweet nor sorrow, but a deep unease riven with fear. But it was the only rational choice—I knew that. And I had my own job to do.

 

I raced from the ship to the castle. Overhead, the sky was a faultless blue, but inside me . . . a storm. My feet pounded, my heart raced, my thoughts churned. Breathless, agitated, I slowed only when I reached the suites and heard my father’s hearty laughter behind the door. It was so incongruous that it gave me pause. I entered the parlor as it faded, and all eyes turned to me.

 

Then I stopped on the threshold. The crew was sitting there by the fire, and Crowhurst and Dahut were with them.

 

“Ah, Nix!” Crowhurst stood; I took a step back involuntarily. “Seems like the dog ate quickly.”

 

“The dog?” I tried to catch my breath, to slow my heart, all while a little voice screamed in the back of my head. Here before me, my unmaking. I stared into the abyss of his eyes. “The dog. Right. Yes.”

 

Crowhurst cocked his head. “I came to apologize,” he said then. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you on the docks. Please forgive me.”

 

“Sure. Of course.” I took a deep breath and reminded myself to blink. “I shouldn’t have taken your yacht.”

 

“It’s quite all right, really. I borrowed a car or two when I was young.” There was a twinkle in his eye, and he glanced at Slate then. “Your father was just telling us a story about your last time on a powerboat.”

 

“Remember, Nixie?” Slate still had tears in his eyes, and his face was split in an easy grin. He was sprawled back on the chaise like a great cat, his head in my mother’s lap; I had never seen him so relaxed. “You were, like, ten, and so small the Coast Guard cap was slipping down over your forehead. I still don’t know why I agreed to let you drive.”

 

“Because you knew she’d be good at it,” Bee said.

 

“And I was right!” Slate laughed again. “Too bad about that buoy, though!”

 

Crowhurst chuckled along with him, and my nerves jangled like a broken bell. But I tried to return their smiles, to slow my heart, to keep my fists from clenching. Thinking back to that day helped; the memory was calming. That had been just before Bruce was bumped to dispatch for drinking on the job. “I didn’t run anything over this time,” I said, which was only barely true. I glanced at Dahut, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

 

“Just a little joyride, I’m sure. But you seemed troubled at the docks,” Crowhurst added. “It was only on the walk back that I realized why. I know you’re worried about the myth playing out.”

 

Rotgut raised an eyebrow. “The myth?”

 

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Crowhurst said. “But I’ll keep a closer eye on Dahut in the future. I’m wearing the key to the gates now.” He reached up and tapped his chest; beside the flask, the key hung around his neck. “She won’t get hold of it again. Will you, Dahut?”

 

She looked up from her hands then, and my heart sank. Her eyes were glassy—all recognition gone. “No, Father.”

 

“Right.” The word barely made it past my lips; I cleared my throat. “Are you okay, Dahut?”

 

Her brows furrowed. She looked to Crowhurst for an answer, which he gave. “Unfortunately, she’s had another of her spells. I think the exertion aboard the boat did her in.”

 

“I see.” I tried to school my expression, but he was still watching me. So was Lin, I realized with a start; when I met her gaze, she raised an eyebrow very slightly and sipped her tea.

 

“One more thing,” Crowhurst added then. “This may be an odd question, but you wouldn’t have seen a little book with a red cover, would you? It might help her remember things.”

 

I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t think of a lie. Crowhurst narrowed his eyes. “I . . . I saw it on the yacht,” I blurted out. “On the bench. She left it there.”

 

“Strange. I didn’t see it.”

 

“Maybe in the cockpit? I can’t remember. But I did see it on the yacht.”

 

“Well. I’ll send down to the harbor. She hates being without it.” He rocked a little on his heels, his gaze steady, piercing. Inside my boots, my toes curled. Then he and I both looked over at Lin’s sharp intake of breath. She curled her arms around her belly and bent her head, wincing.

 

Slate sat bolt upright. “Lin, baby, you okay?”

 

“Apologies,” she said then, her voice breathless. “I think I need to rest,” she said, turning to Crowhurst. “Do you mind?”

 

“No, certainly not.” Now he was the one who looked flustered. He took Dahut’s arm and went to the door. “Shall I have the servants bring anything?”

 

Lin only shook her head, her expression pained. But when Crowhurst left the room, her brow smoothed. She straightened up and brushed back her hair.