Spark (Legends of the Shifters) (29 page)

She
nodded. “Yes, there is, but it's the cheap stuff. It's just to
hold people over until we get to the next stop.”

I
stood a chair back up on its four legs and sat down, crossing my
arms. “Then they'll just have to survive on that.”

She
smiled. “Well, I’m glad to have you on my side anyway,
seeing as you come from the Crescent Isle Conservatory.”

I
smiled at her. “How did you know that that’s where I came
from?”

“
Roland
told me,” she said. She batted her eyelashes, a knowing smile
on her face. “He’s very handsome, don’t you think?”

The
very thought of him made me blush and I tried not to seem too
obvious. “Um…I guess so,” I said with a shrug. I
suddenly became very fascinated with a strand of my hair.

She
noticed the strand of hair, which was coincidentally one of the ones
caked in blood.

“
Oh,
how could I not have seen that?” she asked, her eyes wide. “Why
haven’t I checked you over already? I should have guessed that
you had been hurt after being thrown against the wall like that.”
Sophia went to one of the cabinets and untied a piece of twine that
she had wrapped around the handles. It opened and she shuffled
through the things until she found what she was looking for: a clean
cloth and a wooden bowl.

She
went to the opposite side of the room where a barrel sat, secured
tightly to the wall and unharmed from the storm. She began to talk as
she lifted off the lid and scooped some water out. “This ship
is lucky that Burton had the foresight that he did. The storm was too
unexpected to tie anything else down. Whenever we sail in storm
season, the ship is tied up tighter than my uncle’s doublet.”

I
smiled as she went behind me, but my smile immediately faded when she
started to bathe my wound. I winced every time she dabbed. As she did
so, she continued to talk.

“
My
uncle has had one too many cakes. No, make that several. He has the
second form of a salmon, so I don’t know how he got to be a
banker. He must have had some important friends, because rightfully,
he should be a sailor like all of these men. Anyway, my sister and I
always laugh when we picture him flopping around on his trial day. I
was so worried that I'd suffer the same fate before my trial, so you
can imagine my relief when I just turned into a lop-eared rabbit.”

I
knew she was trying to distract me, and I was glad of it. It helped
me to concentrate on things other than the pain.

I was
surprised when she stopped talking for a moment, but it was only
seconds before she started up again. “I was talking about
something earlier before you got me sidetracked,” she said.
“What was it?”

I
shrugged.

“
Oh,
I remember,” she said suddenly, appearing in front of me with a
glint in her eye. “It was about Roland.”

She
went back behind me and continued to dab. “I was talking about
how handsome he is… And you know what? Seeing as you’re
on this long journey together, I would assume a relationship could
come naturally.” She waited for me to say something.

I
shifted uncomfortably.

She
laughed. “If you don’t take him, though, I will.”

I
looked back at her with a frown. “Where are you trying to go
with this conversation?” I asked.

She
smiled and turned my head back around gently. “I’m only
trying to find out whether or not you like him. And from what I’ve
seen, I think that you do.”

I
turned bright red, and I was glad that she'd turned me away from her.

“
And
if that assumption is true, I think he likes you, too.”

I
couldn’t hold back any longer. “Really?” I asked.

She
giggled. “I knew I could get something out of you!”

I
blushed again, but now that she knew something, I decided to
continue. “I...I can't see how it will work out,” I said
hesitantly.

She
snorted. “Of course it will. If two people love each other,
they’ll do anything to be together,” she stated
dramatically.

I
really didn’t know anything about relationships. In the
orphanage, relationships with anyone, let alone between boys and
girls, were discouraged. Thinking about that made my thoughts shift
to Ayon and how he thought that we could have that sort of a
relationship. I was instantly somber. I knew that my denial must have
hurt him, but after the changes in my life, that path would've given
me more obstacles to go through.

The
ship creaked loudly, more loudly than it would have before the storm.
Sophia heard it as well. “There is bound to be some damage. I'm
sure the crew are trying to fix everything right now.”

“
Have
you been through other storms?” I asked.

“
Many.
That’s how I came to be on this ship. The last ship I was
working on went through a bad one. Many people I knew died that
night.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. She took
in a deep breath before continuing. “Burton found me among the
wreckage and brought me on board, along with a handful of others that
managed to live.”

Roland
had said that many of the quests were overseas, meaning I’d be
on a ship more than most people, putting me in the danger of storms
like this one.

“
Do
y
ou
ever wish that you were a cook on land? In someone's house or
tavern?” I asked her.

She
dabbed my head a few more times and then placed the bowl on the
counter.

She
studied me seriously for a moment as she thought, but then she shook
her head. “If I were a cook on land, I’d have to work
every day. When I’m on a ship I get time off when we dock, and
I also get to see the world. This is the most adventurous a cook’s
life can get, so I’m taking it.”

“
Do
you think that you’ll ever settle down with someone?” I
queried.

She
raised her eyebrows, smiling mischievously. “Well, now. That
depends on whether or not you take Roland.”

I
blushed again, but pretended to be carefree. “If he doesn’t
take me, you can have him.”

Sophia
laughed and grasped the broom handle once again. I helped her as much
as I could while she told more stories about her ridiculous Uncle
Gene and her garish Aunt Ruby.

That
whole day, we worked hard to restore the ship back to normal. Several
sails had been ripped to shreds, there was a leak below decks, and
the mast was leaning to one side.

I
propped my elbows on the rail next to Burton. It was the first time I
had seen him taking a break since he'd been well enough to get up.
The ocean expanded as far as the eye could see. Icebergs that had
only just started to appear were visible here and there.

I
looked over at Burton. His face was grim. I’d noticed that he
hadn’t smiled the whole day.

“
What’s
wrong?” I asked.

He
glanced at me and I could tell he was trying not to look so forlorn.
“We don’t have the money to repair the ship...and we
won’t for a long time.”

“
We’re
trying to fix it up, though,” I said, attempting to be
optimistic.

He
gave me a half-smile. “We’re doing as much we can, but it
won’t be enough to fix her completely. She’ll be slower
than she was.”

I
frowned. I opened my mouth to say something, but I was cut off from a
cry coming from the fore. “Shipwreck!”

The
cry startled me and I craned my neck to peer beyond the fore of the
ship. Far ahead, I could see something. It was a shadow against the
expansion of ice and shimmery water. We slowly got closer, and then,
I could see the entire wreckage. The ship was ripped apart, the
inside exposed as if the storm had pried it open with its dark claws.
The exposed part was tilted upward, so I couldn’t see into it.
I didn’t want to. There may be dead bodies. I could see the
mast, but it was broken in two. Then I saw something that I
recognized. Floating in the water was the carved face of a mermaid,
her eyes blankly staring up at the sky.

“
Hello!”
Burton yelled.

There
was no answer.

“
HELLOOO!”
he yelled louder. Still no answer.

Burton
clenched his jaw. “Drop the anchor!” he called. “Ready
the boat!”

The
crew hurried to complete the tasks. I watched as Burton’s crew
piled into the boat. Burton stepped away from me and hurried to join
them and I noticed that Roland was among them, too. I followed, but
he shook his head. “No. Stay on board.”

I was
very willing to comply. I watched as they scoured over the area,
searching through the planks of wood and the floating barrels. As
they went around to the other side of the ship, I waited and
listened. Everything was silent for a moment. Then, all of a sudden,
there was a shout. More shouts rang out, but I didn't hear any
distinct words.

I
wanted to change form so that I could see what was happening, but I
remembered that the headmaster had told me to keep hidden. All I
could do was wait impatiently.

It
was ten minutes before the boat came back around. I squinted my eyes,
trying to see better. The sailors were all seated at the edges of the
boat and there was a bundle between them. I knew that it had to be
someone. I just hoped that they were alive.

I
watched the bundle for some time, but I saw no movement. The little
boat came to the side of the ship, and I looked over to see Burton
hooking the boat up to some pulleys. A few men that had stayed on
board helped pull them up.

I
hesitantly peered at the bundle. It was a man. He was pale and and
his lips were blue. The scars on the side of his face were even paler
than his skin.

Kuris.

By
how still he was, I knew that he had to be lifeless. My heart filled
with dread. Tears welled up in my eyes. My brother—the one that
I had only just discovered—was gone.

Roland
noticed my tears apparently. As soon as he could climb out of the
boat, he went to me.

“
Ivy,
don’t worry. Everything is all right. Kurt is alive.”

Relief
flooded me from head to toe. I hurriedly brushed my tears away,
ashamed of myself, and quickly regained my composure. I smiled at
Roland. “Oh, thank goodness,” I said. Kuris was brought
on board and I hurried to my brother’s side.

Burton
smiled at me, knowing the truth about Kurt and I. “Don’t
worry. He’ll live,” he said. “He’s
unconscious now, but I know him. He’ll be fine in a day’s
time.”

I
smiled weakly. “You found no one else?” I asked.

His
face turned dark again. “We found a lot of people, but none of
them were alive except for Kuri—uh, Kurt.”

I
shivered, glad that I hadn’t been on the boat with the rest of
the crew. That was something that I would never forget.

Roland
came up behind me. “I’m surprised that Kurt was even on
that boat. I thought that he was supposed to be back at the school,
as a guard.”

I
hadn’t even thought about why he was here, I was just grateful
he was alive, but since Roland brought that up, I began to question
his random appearance.

Why
had he followed us? So far Roland and I had survived every obstacle
that had befallen us. Now, rather than us,
Kurt
was on the verge of death.