Spark (Legends of the Shifters) (27 page)

Matilda
laughed. “Don't worry. I have plenty of blankets, and a nice
feather pillow we've just gotten with Burton's extra wages,”
she added with a wink.

I
jumped when the door opened. Burton walked in, wiping his feet on the
rug in front of the entryway.

Matilda
looked up at him. “It's about time that you came home. I can't
entertain company and cook at the same time.”

Burton
looked up for the first time and noticed us. “So now you've
come to bother my wife, eh, Roland?”

Before
Roland could answer, Matilda said, “Actually, I invited them
in. They weren't even going to say hello to me. Can you believe
that?”

“
I
sure can!” Burton said jokingly. “I didn't even want to
come inside myself.”

Matilda
scolded him.

Burton
looked at me, and I fought the urge to shrink back. He smiled. “Well,
I suppose we're officially friends now that you've been invited to my
home.” He stuck out his hand. “So what's your name,
lass?” he asked.

We
shook hands as I answered, “Ivy.”

He
seemed surprised at the name. He took me in more carefully, and
looked at Matilda.

Matilda
nodded.

Burton
crossed his arms. “Or maybe we were already friends...”

I
looked over at Roland. He was glancing back and forth between me and
Burton, his face contorted in confusion.

I
smiled warily at Burton. “Yes, perhaps a past life?”

Burton
chuckled. “No such thing,” he said.

Matilda
cleared her throat. “Dinner will be ready in a few hours, so
h0w about you all play a game of cards before then?” she
suggested, changing the subject.

I was
grateful for the diversion. Matilda went over to the bookcase and
brought some out. I was hopelessly bad at the game, having never
played cards before. Roland and Burton talked nonstop, occasionally
bringing me into the conversation before continuing along with their
endless banter.

When
dinner was finally ready, I helped her set the table. Right as I was
about to dig in to the delicious smelling stew, Matilda said,
“Burton, will you please say grace?”

I
hurriedly set my spoon back down, and took the outstretched hands of
Burton and Roland. This wasn't something we did at the orphanage, but
I'd seen people pray together in taverns.

“
Lord,
we thank you for this food, we pray that you bless it and nourish it
to our bodies. I thank you for the hands that made it,” Matilda
squeezed his hand. “...and I thank you that we can have Roland
and Ivy at our table today. Amen.”

“
Amen,”
said Matilda, patting his hand, before picking up her spoon.

I was
thinking the entire time I ate, and too soon, the bowl was empty. I
helped Matilda clean up afterward, and we pulled my cot out of a
closet. Matilda went back to her bedroom and came out with three
blankets. “It's probably going to be a cold night,” she
said. “You'll need all of these.”

“
Thank
you,” I replied as we laid out all the blankets on the cot.

We
laid down the last blanket, and Matilda sighed tiredly. “We'd
better get to bed. Burton likes to leave early to get a head start on
the day.”

I sat
down on the cot. She sat next to me and hugged me. “You are so
like your mother,” she said. “Both quiet, both kind, and
both beautiful.”

I
smiled and hugged her back. “Thank you,” I said.

She
stood up again, and made her way to her bedroom. “Goodnight,”
she called back.

“
Good
night,” I replied.

As
Matilda went into her room, Roland came out, his hands full of quilts
and the one feather pillow that Matilda had promised. He laid them
out on the floor a few paces away, near the wood stove.

I
slipped under the covers and faced away from him. I stayed up longer
than I wanted, listening to see if Roland was asleep or not. When I
at last heard his steady breathing, I was finally able to drift off.

When
I woke up, the bridge of my nose was throbbing from the accident the
day before. The throbbing lessened a little as I woke up more. I
heard voices talking behind me, at the table. Roland and Burton.

“
We
won’t have any trouble with pirates will we?” asked
Roland.

“
Not
likely,” Burton answered. “Pirates like to stick to the
southern coast of Pira, Onwin, and Leviatha. I’ve never heard
of one coming as far as Kislow and definitely not Nalla.”

“
Then
we have nothing to worry about?”

“
I
wouldn’t say that. There are still the dangers of storms, but
they don’t happen very often this time of year. In the spring,
however, a sailor would be an idiot to go out into the open sea.”

I
threw off my covers and stretched. The cold, gray light of dawn
shimmered through the frosted window.

Burton
looked over at me. “Hey, there, Roland! Your lass is up.”

I
made sure to glare at the statement—which resulted in a grin
from Burton—before saying, “Are we going to be leaving
soon?”

“
We
were just about to wake you up, but you saved us the trouble. We’ll
be leaving as soon as you’re ready.”

I
went over to the changing screen and changed back into my comfortable
half-form clothes. I combed my fingers through my hair before I came
back out.

“
I’m
ready,” I said.

“
Then
let’s go,” Burton replied.

I
didn’t take the first step before Matilda’s frantic voice
came ringing from the other room. “Hang on a second! I’ve
got something I want to give to Ivy!”

Burton
huffed in annoyance, and steered Roland toward the door. “We’ll
be waitin’ outside,” he called to me.

Matilda
came out of the room holding something that was wrapped in a satin
cloth. She pulled the fabric away, exposing a white case, which she
opened. I gasped at what was inside. It was a necklace, but this
necklace had a bird on it. A bird with flames.

“
It
was your mother’s,” she said. “We went to your
house after we heard of the fire, and found this in the remains. I
don’t know why she had it. Perhaps she somehow already knew
what you were.”

I
took the necklace in my hands just to stare at it. It was crafted so
well for such a small little jewel. When I looked closely, I saw the
carvings of the feathers.

“
I
want you to take it with you, but you shouldn’t wear it. With
your clothing and this necklace combined, people will start to assume
things.”

I
nodded. My half-form outfit had pockets underneath the talon belt and
I slipped it in there.

Matilda
hugged me one last time. “It’s so nice to know that a
part of Olivia is alive and well…” She pulled back and
smiled at me. “Keep it that way.”

I
returned her smile. “I will try.”

She
came with me to the door and watched as I started the walk with
Roland and Burton to the docks. “Come back to visit!” she
shouted.

I
looked back and waved. “I will!”

Our
walk was shorter than I wished it would’ve been. Although I was
eager to get this quest over with, I had never sailed before, and I
wasn’t sure if I would like it. I’ve heard of sailors in
love with the briny deep only to be betrayed by their mistress. They
sink and drown, and a few days or weeks later, you might find their
body bloated on the sand. I didn’t want to be one of those
bodies.

Burton’s
ship was docked out the furthest. I studied it as we walked up the
ramp. It was old. It had survived many years, but it was well taken
care of. Some of the others ships were filthy, but Burton’s
ship was well-scrubbed. His sails were white and his ropes were new.
One thing I did notice was the figurehead. It was a sea serpent like
Roland. Or I should say that it had been. Most of its face had broken
off and all that was left were its eyes.

Burton’s
yelling jerked my attention away from it. “Raise the anchor!
Hoist the sails!”

Several
men snapped to attention and started running around to their
positions. Roland went to help, and I started to follow, but a hand
on my shoulder stopped me.

“
No,
Ivy. You won’t be doing the men’s work,” Burton
said. I was glad. I had no idea what I would be doing. “You
can, however, help in the kitchen.” He gestured to the doors at
the aft of the ship.

I
started toward them, but stopped to balance myself. I wasn’t
used to the bobbing of the ship yet. I entered the doors and studied
the room. Everything was put into order, just like it had been on the
deck.

A
woman stood in front of a stove, stirring a boiling concoction. She
looked up when I came in. “Another woman on board?” she
said, beaming. She looked only a few years older than I. “This
is something that doesn’t happen very often.”

“
Hello,”
I said with a tentative smile.

She
switched the spoon to her left hand and extended her right one. “My
name’s Sophia.”

I
came closer and shook her hand. “I’m Ivy.”

“
I’m
so glad you’re here!” she said excitedly. “You have
no idea how hard it is for one person to make a meal for twenty
people. And on a ship, no less.”

“
I
don’t know much about cooking, but I hope that I can be of
help,” I replied.

“
Don’t
worry. I’ll give you the simpler tasks.”

She
set me down on a chair in front of three buckets. One had potatoes in
it and the other two were empty. She placed a knife in my hand. “I'll
leave you to figure out what to do,” she said with a smile.

I
nodded. Elna had done this very thing to me before. The peelings go
in one bucket and the finished potatoes go in the other. Sophia
rushed back to the pot to stir it.

I
sighed as I peeled the potato. The next few days would definitely
test my patience. I wanted to just fly the whole way, but I knew that
I wouldn’t be able to cover that whole distance. Not safely,
anyway.

I
found that I liked to work with Sophia. She was cheerful and
energetic, and it took my mind off the motion of the ship.

*****

The
next day, things got worse. I woke up with nausea and was barely able
to think a complete thought. I went up on the decks to see if it
would make me feel better, but the sea smelled especially fishy, or
else my sickness picked up on that the most.

My
knees felt weak and my vision was foggy. Roland appeared in front of
me. “Ivy, you don’t look so good. Your face is as white
as a sheet.”

I
didn’t fully comprehend what he was saying. Instead, I raced to
the edge of the ship as fast as my feeble legs could take me and
spewed over the side. Roland caught me after I was done and lifted me
in his arms. My head spun as he took me back below decks and into the
bunk that I’d been given the day before.

“
Thank
you,” I said faintly as he left.

I
wasn’t sure if he heard me. My eyes were already closed by then
as I fell asleep.

I
faded in and out of consciousness. Someone had placed a bucket next
to me and I must have used it at least two more times before I
started to feel better. When I woke up once again, Sophia was sitting
next to me. She had set a tray next to my bedside.