Hold Fast - Part Fifteen
This episode is part of a larger story, Soft Touch. If you haven’t yet, you can go back and read it from the beginning right here.
If anyone were watching from above, they’d see Moondancer doing an odd, zig-zagging dance down the inlet.
Darting ahead, sweeping out in wide arcs, occasionally slowing almost to a crawl, then flying forward again with a burst of renewed speed. We’ve got to avoid the submerged obstacles below, which in this weather seem to have confused even the machinery specifically designed to warn us about them. The only reason we’re making it through unscathed is Robin, who stands tall at the helm, facing it all down with agate eyes no longer afraid of anything.
What she’s doing feels like a dance, too. A second-nature one that she could do even with a clumsy partner stepping all over her feet, much less the agile and graceful Moondancer. Over the sound of the rain I catch her laughing once or twice when we gain some air on the bigger waves. At no point does the thought that she might not have things perfectly under control so much as cross my mind.
She’s a force, this one. It was obscured before, veiled by the haze of fear over Faith being missing. Now I can see it, and I can see even more clearly what a natural-born captain she is. She looks like the pillar of strength people would want to rally around in a crisis. Hard as nails, tough as iron, unshakeable, with her laughing, good-natured eyes full of strength and fire. Her mouth forming a natural slight smile that seems to say, don’t even worry. Everything is just fine. I’m sure of that.
Before I had the feeling that this was all in there, but now that the cloud of anxiety has lifted it shines out from Robin. It’s remarkably reassuring, especially because she’s so quick to joke around.
“Aiden looked pretty flustered when he came out of your cabin this morning,” she says confidentially to me, then laughs when my cheeks redden, slaps the wheel with her inky hand. “Oh, man. I love sailing with Irish boys. All of you blush like a rose at the slightest provocation.”
I let out a startled laugh, then smile fondly at Robin. It’s so good to see her restored like this. And it all traces back to the shy little pink-haired figure clinging tightly to the railing nearby.
“I thought you only came out as a girl right before your last expedition, Captain,” I answer, clinging tightly to a railing myself. “You were making the boys blush before that?”
Robin pulls a face at me. “Not on purpose, obviously, since I wasn’t interested, but yeah. You would be shocked at the way supposedly straight men start looking at an even vaguely feminine guy friend, halfway through a long stretch at sea without any girls.”
“No, I would not be shocked,” Aiden says flatly, drawing a giggle from Faith and an easy, cheerful laugh from Robin.
Aiden and I exchange a pleased grin behind her back. Happy to see her laugh like this.
But we’re not exactly out of the woods yet. Or the inlet, so to speak. We need to get our plan from Ralph, and hope that it goes much more smoothly than our plans usually do. If it goes smoothly at all, even for a couple of minutes, that’ll be a big improvement for us.
We’ve decided against mentioning that particular fact to Faith, but I do take the journey down the inlet to catch her up on some of Maggie’s story. Not the details about her family history or who she really is, but – I do think Faith should hear about Nigel’s involvement in Maggie’s kidnapping.
She listens quietly, but her eyes widen with horror at the explanation.
“What?” she stammers, aghast. “He did that? And that’s how Bruce got away with Maggie?”
I nod in confirmation, wincing apologetically. Faith stares at me with round eyes, her mouth slightly open.
“Hey,” Robin says, reaching behind herself without taking her eyes off of the water. “Angel. Come here.”
Faith dazedly, automatically gets up, comes over, and puts her hand in the one Robin has waiting for her. Robin takes her fingers and gently tugs her closer.
“You are not responsible for the things your dad does, alright?”
“But now he’s even messing up your life,” Faith rasps quietly, hanging her head. “And he already messed up Maggie’s so badly… he ruins everything he has anything to do with, and he has to do with me, and now I have to do with you…”
“He’s not gonna have anything to do with you for much longer,” Robin says, with complete firmness in her voice. “I’m done letting you suffer in silence about this shit. It’s high time we dealt with him, one way or another.”
Faith blinks hard at Robin, who’s still keeping her sharp brown eyes focused on the sea. Then she lowers her gaze thoughtfully to the deck, holding tight to Robin’s hand. Knowing how much she implicitly trusts Robin’s promises – and that’s what it felt like, the way Robin said it, a promise – I’m sure that’s a lot for her to process.
But I can also see twin, tiny fires beginning to spark in her gentle dark brown eyes. Flickers of rebellion.
She tightens her grasp on Robin’s fingers, then looks up to face the rainswept inlet.
We sent Will off to let Daisy know where we’re going, so it’s only me, Faith, and Aiden who venture out onto the foredeck to see what we’re getting into when we reach the campsite. It’s hard to see through the mist and rain, but the dock looms up out of it to reveal no new boats parked there.
Robin draws Moondancer up alongside it. Faith hops out with the rope and makes it fast with practiced speed, then blinks in surprise when Robin quickly pulls her right back on board.
“I don’t think we should let Bruce know we’ve got her back, do you?” she asks me and Aiden.
“No,” Aiden agrees firmly. “Think you two should probably wait on the boat while we go call Ralph. Will you be okay here?”
The girls give us a nod of confirmation, so Aiden and I climb out onto the rain-drenched dock.
“Hey,” Robin calls, glancing in the direction of the cabins. “Keep a weather eye out.”
We give her a nod, then set off. Our rain jackets are doing a lot of work, but even still we’re getting misted as we trot up the dock to the wooded pathway. The weather as a whole seems to be murmuring angrily, the trees huffing with the wind, thunder grumbling off in the distance behind the mountains. It’s only afternoon, but it’s dark enough to look like dusk. Aiden, walking just ahead of me, is a single splash of pure warmth against a shifting landscape of dark green and dark blue.
My phone is the one with the waterproof case, so I slip it from my pocket as soon as we reach the campground sign. The usual burst of belated notifications comes in as my phone realizes it can connect. Stricken with a sudden, mounting sense of urgency, I blow right past all of them and call Ralph.
I’m not sure where this feeling came from. Maybe it’s the thickening storm, or the dark windows of the keeper’s cabin behind us. Maybe it’s from knowing that we’re running out of time on the clock Ralph gave us for Nigel’s estimated arrival.
I don’t think I’m the only one feeling it. Aiden looks increasingly worried, too.
“Think we’ll be able to stick to the plan this time?” he asks, as Ralph’s number begins to ring.
“Maybe!” I give him an encouraging smile. “First time for everything, right?”
Ralph answers the video call, and looks instantly relieved to see us.
I can’t say I feel the same. Quite the opposite, actually. I’m alarmed pretty much right away. There’s a lot of bustling activity going on around Ralph, but the call quality is too bad for me to make any of it out.
“Ralph, what the fuck is going on over th-?”
“Hey,” he says, not hearing me over the static caused by the weather. “What’s your status, field team?”
“Faith?” Noah asks hopefully, leaning down over Ralph’s shoulder.
Aiden breaks into a grin as he answers - “We’ve got her.”
Noah and Ralph exchange a swift grin, too. Noah straightens up and cups his hands around his mouth.
“They’ve got her!” he announces, to a chorus of wild, rowdy cheers from the off-screen Warlord’s Boys.
I narrowly suppress a laugh, feeling glad that we left Faith back on the boat. It would be difficult to explain why so many gang members are cheering in delight at the news of her rescue.
“Alright, move out!” Ralph shouts over the din, with a sharp gesture in the direction of his office door.
Instantly there’s a swarm of people in motion. All the bodies behind Ralph and Noah vanish off the edge of my phone screen.
“What are you guys doing, man?” Aiden asks in alarm.
“More importantly, what are we supposed to be doing?” I jump in anxiously.
“Get Maggie.” Ralph rises to his feet, reaching for his jacket. “Get her right now and get her on the boat. You’re taking her with you.”
“Will!” I call out softly.
He appears by my side, dusting golden ghost fur off of his sleeves, wearing the cheerful grin of a man who spent a good chunk of the morning watching bear cubs play.
“Could you go find Maggie, see where she is in there?” I ask, pointing at the keeper’s cabin. “We need to grab her and get going as soon as we’re off this call. Maybe let us know where Bruce is, too.”
Will quickly takes himself over to the cabin, and I turn back to Ralph. The video quality is steadily going down.
“Ralph, just give us the whole plan real fast!” Aiden says urgently, taking the phone. “The reception’s going in and out.”
Ralph starts speaking fast, shrugging his jacket on over his hoodie. “Okay, once you’ve got Maggie, c-”
The call disconnects, and a tiny exclamation point appears by the service bars on my phone.
“Oh, no!” I stare down at it in dismay, then look up at Aiden. “Does your phone-?”
I cut myself off as Will materializes by my side. His cheerful grin has vanished. His green eyes have gone wide with alarm.
“Maggie is gone!” he blurts out, sweeping a hand at the dark windows of the keeper’s cabin.
I stare at him blankly. “What do you mean, she’s g-?”
“She’s not in there, and there’s nothing left in her room, either! It’s just empty!”
My heart plummets, a spike of icy panic going through my chest. “Where’s Bruce?”
Will shakes his head, his eyes reflecting my panic back at me. “He’s gone, too.”
Aiden and I look at each other in shocked dismay. As one, we turn and rush back down the path towards Moondancer.
“Why didn’t she summon me if she was in trouble?” Will asks, racing after us. “We told her to!”
“A girl like Maggie will always take the self-reliant option if it’s available!” I shout back frantically, over the rising rain. “We should have known!”
Faith and Robin lean out from Moondancer to stare at us in confusion as we come bursting out onto the dock.
“Robin!” Aiden shouts, his deep voice cutting across the rain. “They’re both gone! Bruce and Maggie!”
“What?” Faith gasps, as Robin’s eyes go very wide.
“We need to get after them, who knows what kind of head start Bruce has!” I shout, skidding to a stop by the boat.
Robin wrenches me on board, and Aiden hops on just after me, followed at lightning speed by Will. Faith is already busy undoing the rope keeping us to the dock.
“If my dad is the one sailing them, they could’ve gone far by now!” she pants, hauling the rope on board. “He’s a really good sailor, he prides himself on it!”
Robin starts up Moondancer’s engine with a shuddering roar.
“He’s not as good as me,” she says, pushing back the sleeves of her rain jacket, tossing her braid over her shoulder.
Reaching for the wheel, she glances out at the water, then stops abruptly, staring at something. The rest of us look at her in confusion, turn to follow her gaze, and freeze to the spot.
A boat is coming towards us out of the mist, approaching the dock from the direction of the ocean. We didn’t hear the engine over the waves and rain, but it’s a vessel bigger than Moondancer, and it looks much better equipped for this kind of weather. It’s a beast of a thing, hulking and wide for a yacht.
Faith shrinks back behind Robin as the new boat draws up to the dock. A man comes out of the cockpit onto the deck, where he stops, staring at us through the rain.
Based on how Faith shudders and sinks down further behind Robin, this must be Nigel.
Maggie’s description of him laid heavy emphasis on an unflattering assessment of his mustache and his taste in shirts. Quite honestly, I can see why. Those are the two things that strike me most powerfully as I stand there blinking at him in confusion. The kindest person in the world would at the very least describe the big, bristly, poorly-executed mustache as unfortunate. Something about the way it sticks out makes it look like it’s trying to get away from him. Or maybe like his razor was trying to get away from him.
And the shirt, my god. It’s a grease-stained bowling shirt, with a conglomeration of patterns that are actively engaged in ruthless battle with each other. In colors that call to mind a dangerously overripe fruit display.
I could honestly burst into laughter, trying to envision Maggie’s face when she saw this. No wonder she mentioned it three or four times when telling us about Nigel.
It’s immediately clear that Faith takes most of her features from her mother. The only thing about her that even vaguely resembles Nigel is the small, slightly upturned nose, and that one tiny resemblance is obliterated completely by the vast difference in their eyes. Where Faith’s are naturally embedded with a steady, gentle warmth, Nigel’s hold all the warmth of an iceberg in a blizzard.
He’s pale in the face, but also red-cheeked with rage, and glaring at us like he’s trying to make us all explode.
There’s only silence between the two boats for a moment. We just stare at each other across the dock, the stormy water.
“Hey, I know you,” Nigel says suddenly, narrowing his glaring eyes in on Robin. “You were the other one in the picture from the newspaper. The fiancée.”
There’s something incredibly mocking about the way he spits out that word, and Robin hears it. Her startled expression turns to one of such intense, concentrated rage that my fingers fly up to my mouth when I catch a glimpse of it. The usual fire in her eyes has turned up to blast-furnace force.
She lets go of the wheel and takes a step towards the edge of the deck, her hands balling into fists.
“You,” she says, in a seething voice. “I guess it wasn’t enough to make your own daughter’s life hell, huh? You had to help kidnap somebody else’s, too? We know you were the getaway driver.”
Nigel’s face drains of all color, then goes a sickly cabbage green, then turns red with rage again. He turns his scathing glare on Faith, who’s hovering just behind Robin.
“If you don’t want someone to get hurt,” he hisses, through gritted teeth, “Then get over here right now.”
Faith draws up in sudden defiance, catching Robin’s hand. “No!”
“You heard the lady,” Robin says, staring down Nigel with blazing eyes.
“You heard both of the ladies,” Aiden growls warningly, straightening up to his full, impressive height.
Nigel’s face is almost purple with swelling rage.
“Ladies?” he scoffs, turning to stare at me and Aiden. “And who the hell are you two?”
This is normally where I would jump in to try and calm things down, but Nigel is talking to us so scornfully and staring at his own daughter with such a nasty expression that I’m glaring at him just as hard as everyone else on the team.
“None o’ your flamin’ business, Nigel!” I hear myself snap, angry enough that a little Irish is sneaking into my voice.
Nigel’s voice is increasingly unraveled, his eyes growing increasingly wild as he turns back to Robin. “You don’t want to cross me! You’re all alone out here! What do you even think you’re gonna do?”
“Marry your daughter! Love her and take care of her and work hard to make her happy for the rest of my life! Watch me!”
Nigel lets out a snarl of derisive laughter. “I will never allow that to happen, do you hear me?”
“You know what, Nigel?” Robin shouts, drawing closer to the railing. “I know we only just met, but I’ve had enough of your shit!”
I realize with alarm that she seems to be gathering herself for action, like she’s about to bound out of Moondancer, across the dock, and straight onto Nigel’s boat.
“Wait, Robin!” I begin, grabbing her sleeve.
We all go perfectly motionless, hearing the sharp, metallic click-click of a shotgun being cocked.
Very slowly, everyone turns to look at the dock. Bruce is standing there in the rain, his shotgun leveled on everybody standing on Moondancer’s deck.
“Where is she?” he says, glaring at us down the barrel. “Where’s Maggie?”
The question startles me into answering. “She’s not with you?”
“I’m not playing around,” Bruce answers, in a deadly serious voice. “Send her out right now. And you.” He flashes a scathing look at Faith. “Get on the other boat. Move.”
Robin leans over the side of the boat, meeting Bruce’s gaze down the barrel.
“You think you scare me?” she asks softly, her agate eyes blazing.
Bruce opens his mouth to answer, and a huge, deep growl cuts him off.
I recognize it from when it terrified us last night. Only now it sounds twice as enormous. Twice as powerful. It rolls over the inlet like thunder, or like a mythic dragon angry to be roused from its sleep.
Everyone on or around the dock slowly turns to stare out at the water.
Only now does it strike me that we hadn’t seen Daisy’s second form yet. I was so terrified of her first form that I assumed it was the scary one. I was wrong.
The golden bear standing on the surface of the water is so massive that she’s looking down on our boats, despite being on all four paws. She stands taller than the trees on the banks, absolutely towering over us.
Her eyes are wide and blank, empty of any expression. Her jaw is hanging open to reveal enormous, vicious fangs. She’s drooling visibly, like she knows something delicious is right in front of her, and panting like she can barely wait to pounce.
Bruce and Nigel stare up at her in slack-jawed astonishment, the shotgun hanging loosely in Bruce’s hands.
Daisy stands up on her hind legs, and roars. The sound packs the shock and force of thunder cracking directly above our heads.
Several things happen, all at the same time. Nigel staggers backwards until he hits the helm station. Bruce throws himself onto their new boat, clutching at his shotgun. And Robin bolts to the helm of Moondancer. The waiting engine gives off a purring roar of its own as she takes the wheel.
“Hold onto something!” she shouts.
Feeling around wildly, my hands land on the railing and seize hold of it about one second before Moondancer makes a sudden, tight sweep around the dock, moving so fast that she sends up a splashing wall of seawater at the other boat. I hear the sharp crack of the shotgun being fired and let out a frightened gasp, but the resulting explosion bursts up from the water behind Moondancer. Bruce missed, or else he was aiming for Daisy.
I straighten up by the railing just in time to see Nigel at the helm of the other boat, pulling it away from the dock. Daisy, who’s much farther back down the inlet, drops down to a low crouch. Then she springs forward, running straight for Bruce and Nigel’s boat. Chasing them.
Just like that, both boats are tearing down the stormy inlet towards the sea, flying along at a speed that I’m sure would see our boat instantly wrecked in the hands of a less capable captain.
“Thank god for Daisy!” Robin shouts. “I didn’t know what we were gonna do about the shotgun situation!”
“You didn’t have a plan?” Aiden shouts back, aghast. “You went in front of it like you knew it wasn’t gonna go off or something, you didn’t look scared at all!”
I’m guessing the ability to pull off looking so completely unafraid is a skill that gets expertly honed after years spent as a sea captain. Honed along with other skills, because we’re soaring down the storm-tossed inlet as if there aren’t countless potential problems lurking just below the surface.
“Wait a second, but what about Maggie?” I shout, catching Faith’s arm as she leans out of the cockpit to stare agog at the massive golden bear chasing her screaming father down the inlet. “Maggie, we can’t leave without Maggie!”
“Hey!” someone shouts.
Everyone besides Robin looks sharply to the starboard side. There, on the bank of the inlet, is a little figure in movement. Sprinting out from the trees, waving her arms at us.
“Aiden, Jamie!” she shouts. “¡Estoy aquí!”
We stare at her in astonishment, then all begin shouting at once, rushing over to the railing.
“Robin, it’s Maggie, she’s right there!” Aiden bellows over all the noise. “Up ahead of us!”
Robin tosses her soaked bangs out of her eyes, twisting the wheel. “Hold on!”
Moondancer swerves off to one side, drawing closer to the shoreline, then suddenly slipping past it in a way that seems like it should be impossible. It turns out there’s a narrow channel of deep water between a sandy embankment and the actual edge of the inlet. Taking it lets us get right up close to where the land begins again. Robin slows us down a little as Maggie comes up to sprint along beside us, less than a foot away from the boat.
She slips off the backpack she’s wearing and throws it onto Moondancer. I rush to grab it before it can slide right off of the wet deck, and Aiden leans over the railing, reaching out for Maggie.
“Aiden!” Robin calls warningly, pointing at a wall of craggy rocks jutting out of the water directly up ahead of us.
Maggie throws her arms out, her hands reaching for Aiden’s. He ignores them and seizes her by her waist instead. She gasps as her running feet are lifted off of the ground. Thank god for those ridiculous Aiden Callahan biceps, because somehow he manages to pull her right up over the railing.
Faith catches a panting, gasping Maggie as she and Aiden stagger backwards onto Moondancer, and Robin twists the wheel at the very last moment, just before we can slam into the rock formation. Sending up a slice of sparkling seawater, we curve and fly back out into the center of the inlet.
Maggie straightens up, glowing with excited laughter.
“I hear a gun go off!” she says breathlessly, then realizes that it’s Faith whose arms she’s stumbled into. Her emerald eyes light up in surprise and delight. “Oh! It’s you! You’re alright!”
“You’re alright!” Faith blurts out happily. “Oh, I’m so glad!”
They give each other a fast hug, both of them laughing with relief.
“I thought you would be okay, because I told them to rescue you,” Maggie says brightly, drawing back to hold Faith by her forearms. “But you know, sometimes you give someone an order, the simplest order, and you’d think – but not your woman, and your friends!” She turns a beaming smile of approval on me, Aiden, and Robin. “They are warriors and an artist, that’s why!”
I don’t know why – maybe because Maggie pointed to me when she said artist – but I can’t help myself. I lean closer to her, keeping tight hold of her backpack, and blurt out: “Maggie, Nigel’s shirt!”
“Oh!” She widens her eyes at me as if to say she thought she’d seen it all, before that shirt. “Didn’t I tell you? It is an outrage! I want to know who is responsible!”
“What the hell happened, Maggie?” Aiden shouts over the rain and the engine noise. He snatches the backpack from me and tosses it below decks so I’m free to hold the railing again. “We told you how to contact us if you were in trouble!”
“I was not in trouble!” Maggie protests, surprised at the idea. “I had it under control! Nigel came back, and my pig-man father says we’re going with him. So I throw my coffee in his face, and kick a chair at him-”
“Good girl,” Robin approves laughingly, as Faith puts her fingers to her cheeks, quite shocked.
“-then I grab my bag, and run into the forest to wait for you.” Maggie flashes me an appreciative smile. “Good thing I already had my necklaces packed up! I thought-”
She breaks off, her eyes widening as the wind sweeps away enough mist that she notices what’s going on behind us. Bruce and Nigel frantically flying down the inlet after us in their boat, with Daisy hot on their heels.
“What…?” Maggie breathes, staring up at Daisy with enormous eyes. “What is that?”
“Spirit of these woods!” Robin shouts back. “And your dad pissed her off!”
This immediately snaps Maggie out of her thunderstruck daze. She stares at Robin, stunned, then lets out a sharp laugh.
“Really? Oh, my god!” She catches hold of the railing and leans out to shout in the direction of Bruce and Nigel’s boat, cupping her hand around her mouth. “Do you hear that? Que palerma! You piss everyone off, even the spirits!”
Daisy roars as if to agree with her, and Maggie falls back a step, laughing and excited. Faith – thoroughly scandalized, but also giggling – catches her arm and pulls her back into the shelter of the cockpit.
Daisy isn’t running as fast as she could, presumably because as a ghost illusion there’s nothing she can do if she actually does catch up. But like any bear, she’s very good at bluff charges. She comes up just close enough to convincingly swipe a paw at them, or snap her jaws right at the tail of their boat. I can vaguely hear Bruce screaming panicked, ignored instructions at Nigel, who’s hanging onto the wheel for dear life, screaming back, somehow managing to avoid crashing. Going almost just as fast as we are, although Daisy is slowing him down, forcing him to zig-zag.
Robin has us soaring, and steadily picking up more speed. Moondancer’s engine can’t be as powerful as the one on Bruce and Nigel’s boat, but at full throttle she’s light and fast enough to really fly.
“Everyone aboard?” Robin shouts, to a chorus of confirmation. “Then I’d say it’s time we get the fuck out of here, what do you all think?”
The roar of agreement is instantly followed by the roar of the engine. Robin seems to lock into high gear, all of her attention focused on our path down the inlet.
I remember suddenly that she and Faith have won races with Moondancer. I’m powerfully reminded of that now, because that’s what this feels like. A race. We’re trying to outrun Bruce and Nigel, who are trying to outrun Daisy.
I may know very little about sailing, but I get the sense that both Nigel and Robin are displaying an incredibly high level of skill right now merely by keeping us all alive. Against all odds we’re still rushing forward through the rain and waves, keeping just ahead of our pursuers.
It feels like a miracle when I spot the black stone cliffs at the opening of the inlet, where the water rushes out to join the open sea. We’re almost there.
I gasp and seize hold of Aiden’s arm as Daisy races up to sprint on the water alongside us. She lowers her enormous head until her great golden eye is even with us, and winks.
Then she veers off of the water, bounding onto land and up onto the cliffs at the mouth of the inlet. Standing framed against the stormy sky, she lifts her head and roars again, right as Moondancer and the other boat both come flying out onto the open ocean. The thundering sound rolls across the sky as both boats steady out, then go back into full speed again.
Except for Robin, the team stands still for a second, staring up at the massive bear in breathtaken awe. Then she’s swallowed up by the cliffs as we curve around them, and the last echo of her roar is swallowed up by the roar of the stormy sea.
For an instant I’m overwhelmed with relief. We made it safely out of the inlet’s notoriously treacherous waters. But Bruce and Nigel are still right behind us, and now that we’ve left Daisy’s territory, no one is chasing them. It seems like they’re both realizing that. Bruce has recovered his shotgun, too.
“Aiden!” I blurt out, seizing his wrist. “This is the worst any of our plans has ever gone! We didn’t even get to hear what the plan was!”
“Well, Ralph said to get Maggie on board, and we’ve got her!” Aiden shouts back, warily watching the shotgun. “Do we need to worry about Bruce firing that?”
“It won’t be great from that range, and my hope is he won’t want to risk hitting Maggie! Ralph said she’s the only card he has left to play!”
“What?” Maggie sputters, affronted. “I am nobody’s card!”
Aiden turns around, shaking rain and saltwater off of his face. “Robin! Are we gonna be alright?”
“We’re not exactly following the Coast Guard safety checklist, or any racing protocols, and we might be violating some boating laws by riding this dangerously, but sure!” she shouts back, then pats Moondancer’s wheel. “She can take it, but where the fuck are we going?”
“I don’t know!” I blurt out desperately. “Our call with Ralph got cut off, and then Will showed up and – wait a second, where’s Will? Holy shit, how long has he been gone?”
The second I get the word out, Will appears beside me, all out of breath.
“Thank god someone summoned me back, I couldn’t find you!”
“Where were you?” I shout, hunching my shoulders against the rain.
“With Ralph, he summoned me! He said I should tell you to bring Maggie and Faith to Seagrass Marina!”
I relay this to Aiden, who’s stowed the ghost glasses safely below decks.
“What was Ralph doing?” he asks worriedly.
“He was headed to the marina himself. He sent out a group of his people ahead of him, and…” Will trails off, evidently trying to decide whether or not to relay the rest of his information. “He’s bringing along what strikes me as the materials to start a fire.”
Aiden stares at me in blank dismay when I relay that.
“Did he tell you what the fuck he’s doing, or what the hell the plan is?” he asks weakly.
“He did not,” Will says apologetically, with me repeating for him. “I got the sense he didn’t want to risk laying out his plans in so many words, when they’re practically already in motion.”
I look up at Aiden through the rain. “Guess… we just have to do our part of the plan and trust your brothers with the rest?”
“Think so. I got no problem doing that.” He turns around, careful not to let go of the railing. “Robin! Have you heard of Seagrass Marina?”
“Sure, of course!” she calls back, darting him a quick look. “It’s attached to the harbor at the farthest end, right where we left from!”
“We need to go there right now!” I blurt out.
I expect there to be some questions about this, but Robin is clearly past the point of asking. She gives me a single nod of confirmation, and makes Moondancer fly.
I turn my gaze to Maggie and Faith, who have sat down with each other in the lounge area. They’re holding onto each other, both of them wide-eyed. Maggie looking elated, Faith looking frightened, but both of them excited and hopeful beneath it all.
Robin looks at them, too, then sets her jaw and gets her eyes back on the water.
Again, it starts to feel like a dance. Moondancer darting, leaping, and springing ahead while the boat behind us roars and tramples over the waves in great lunges after us. Sometimes Bruce and Nigel draw closer to us, and sometimes they lose ground as Moondancer slips through gaps in rock formations they can’t fit through. Robin sends up a heavy wake that forces them back every time they start to get too close, which happens more often than I think any of us would like.
All in all, though – Robin is right. She’s the better sailor. Despite having the better engine, no matter what Nigel does, no matter how fast they seem to be closing in, Moondancer always springs free at the last moment.
But the more expensive engine is a real factor. Our vessel has proven herself to be one hell of a workhorse, but hours have passed now of this chase. As dusk begins to fall, Moondancer begins to slow down.
“I don’t want to overheat the engine,” Robin explains, when we all look at her anxiously. “That’s how we end up stranded. It’s okay, we’re almost there!”
I can tell. The storm isn’t nearly as bad here, so the visibility is much better. And there are the harbor lights in the mist, growing closer and closer to us with each passing second. I can almost make out the docks.
Something tells me that Bruce and Nigel have realized how close we are, too. I can hear the distinct sound of another shouted argument happening as they slowly gain on us, this time with a distinct note of rising panic and desperation in both of their voices.
“This is sort of shotgun range, now, Robin!” I call out warningly, watching their approach with mounting alarm. “Might want to speed all the way up again!”
“I thought we agreed that he won’t risk hitting Maggie-”
Robin cuts herself off in shock as there’s a sharp crack, then a small explosion of saltwater droplets from the ocean by Moondancer’s hull. Maggie springs to her feet with a gasp, her emerald eyes opening wide with outrage.
“¡Bastardo!” she shouts, her voice blazing with wildfire fury. “He shot at us! He tried to kill us!”
Bruce lowers the smoking shotgun, panting wildly. The rest of us are all looking around at each other, making sure everyone is still in one piece.
We all are, except one. Moondancer’s engine makes a deep coughing sound, then a choking gasp.
“Oh, shit,” Robin breathes, listening to those sounds, swiftly decoding them with her practiced ear. “Oh, no, come on, baby…”
Moondancer’s engine groans like it’s in agonizing pain. Robin hesitates, breathing hard, staring down at the wheel. She looks back over her shoulder at the swiftly-approaching boat, where Bruce is reloading his shotgun.
Maggie is still standing at the back of our boat in a blazing rage. Without warning, she produces her tent stake, then flings it at Bruce. It spins through the air and hits him flatly in the chest, startling him into dropping the shotgun. It doesn’t go off, but Bruce crashes to the deck trying to catch it. Nigel snarls something at him, starts to bear down on us with his boat -
And abruptly turns it aside as another, third boat sweeps out of the mist directly in front of him with a snap of white sails and dancing rigging.
I had grabbed hold of Aiden with one hand and Faith with the other, frozen with fear. The sight of Kendrick and Kaden and Xavier on their boat, shouting for us, waving at us – hits me with a burst of tremendous, instant answering relief.
Once again, Robin was right. Christian does much better when the boat has sails. That maneuver he just smoothly pulled off forced Nigel to turn his boat all the way around. Demir is standing at his shoulder, grinning and impressed.
I tear my eyes away from them to face the situation on our own boat. Robin is doing something to Moondancer’s controls, but for now we’re pretty much helpless. And an angry wave is coming right for us, clearly about to slap against the port side.
“Everybody hold on!” Robin shouts. “HOLD ON!”
That’s the last thing I hear before the wave crashes over our boat, with a violence that knocks my feet right out from under me. My hand loses its grasp on the railing. With cold horror, I feel myself lifted by the full force of the wave, and thrown.
I expect to be smashed against Moondancer’s deck, so for a moment it’s strangely a relief to hit the surface of the ocean instead. Then I realize I’m out in the stormy ocean, just – out in it.
I surface gasping, fling my hair out of my eyes, and swipe the seawater out of them. Moondancer is already being swept away from me on the waves, and – I’m not the only one who got thrown overboard. Aiden surfaces in the water a few yards away from me.
Or – did he jump in after me?
I don’t know, but he’s swimming right for me, and soon enough he’s got hold of my wrist.
“What do we do?” I shout frantically.
The question answers itself. There’s a muffled engine roar, and then – a Sea-Doo bursts over the crest of a nearby wave, with a cheer of excitement.
I stare at it in stunned disbelief, then throw my hands up above my head.
“RIPLEY!” I shout, still not quite believing my eyes. “OVER HERE!”
The Sea-Doo turns in the water. A second one appears from the waves behind it, along with a flash of piercings and an eyeful of tattoos.
Aiden puts his arm up, and Noah slows down to catch it. I gratefully seize hold of Ripley’s hand, then haul myself up, cramming myself into the seat right behind him.
“Who said we didn’t need to steal a Sea-Doo?” Noah laughs, his silver eyes sparkling with adrenaline as he drags Aiden up. “Who said?”
“Shut up!” Aiden roars, and both Sea-Doos lunge into motion.
“Ripley!” I groan in dismay. “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t worry, my Sea-Dood, it’s all part of the plan!” he shouts cheerfully over his shoulder. “Hold on tight, I only just learned how to drive this thing, and it’s not made for two!”
“Oh, my god!” I wail, then give up on saying anything else.
We pull up alongside a dock that reaches out from the harbor. It’s soaked from the drizzling rain, and mercifully empty of people. Aiden disembarks from Noah’s ride. I scramble out onto the dock beside him, still trying to catch my breath.
“Head down all the way to the end!” Ripley shouts, already pulling away again. “Hurry up!”
“What-?” I begin, then break off as Noah and Ripley go soaring out towards the boats. “Oh, shit, Aiden – the girls – we left them all alone!”
Panting, Aiden turns to stare at the three boats out on the water. Robin is somehow managing to control Moondancer, which can only limp along, and Christian is in the process of making a sweeping turn so he can race up alongside Nigel’s boat again. But Nigel’s boat is bearing down swiftly on Moondancer, who just can’t get away.
Maggie is standing at the stern, letting out a torrent of shouted insults at Bruce. He reaches out as the boat gets close, and snatches her right off of the deck.
Aiden and I both gasp in horror, but Maggie isn’t one to let something like that happen without a vicious fight. She starts kicking hard at Bruce, and Faith suddenly darts forward to smash her breakfast plate over Bruce’s head.
Bruce staggers backwards, lets go of Maggie right as the boats separate again. Maggie tumbles right into the ocean.
Christian’s boat sails up alongside her. Kaden, who was standing by the swim step, throws himself flat on his stomach and holds his cane out to her. Maggie seizes hold of it, uses it to wrench herself towards him. As soon as he can reach her, Kaden seizes her jacket and pulls her the rest of the way on board. She falls straight into his arms, and the two of them go tumbling backwards onto the deck.
Maggie briskly springs back to her feet, then rushes towards the hatch leading down to the cabins, asking Kaden something over her shoulder. He follows her down below decks, clearly alarmed by the question.
The two of them come hurrying back out right as Nigel tries to close in on Moondancer again, this time with his eyes on Faith. Faith starts backing up towards Robin, frantically saying something to her.
“What is Maggie doing?” I ask in alarm, realizing she’s got something in her hands.
Aiden and I watch in disbelief as she opens a bottle of vodka, dumps a generous amount over a dishcloth, and jams the cloth down into the still mostly-full bottle.
“No way,” Aiden stammers.
Yes, way. Apparently. Maggie lights up her Molotov cocktail, and – with a smile that says she’s always wanted to do something like this – hurls it directly at Bruce and Nigel’s boat.
It smashes against the side and bursts into flames. Bruce staggers backwards, gasping, and Nigel lets go of the wheel to spin around and stare at it, mouth agape. He’s still staring at the spreading fire when a huge, angry wave punches into the side of their boat.
It hits Moondancer, too, but Robin managed to turn her so that she merely lifts and falls lightly over it. Nigel’s burning boat, on the other hand, spins out of control so fast that Bruce is tossed directly into the ocean, shotgun and all. Nigel gasps, dives for the wheel, and slips. He staggers over the side and disappears as well. The empty boat is pushed away by the waves, beginning to burn in earnest.
“Holy shit!” I blurt out, seizing Aiden’s hand. “Oh, my god. Aiden?”
But both Bruce and Nigel surface in the grey water, choking and bewildered.
“We need to go, like Ripples said!” Aiden catches my hand, starts pulling me down the dock. “Come on! Clearly the girls don’t need our help!”
No, but Bruce and Nigel clearly need help, and it arrives in the unexpected form of Noah and Ripley. I watch in confusion as Aiden and I race through the slackening rain down the dock. Bruce is pulled up onto the back of Noah’s Sea-Doo, and Nigel is helped onto the back of Ripley’s.
“What…?” I begin, then break off, looking at the harbor, even more confused than I was before.
This place was busy and bustling the last time we were here, but today it’s completely empty of people. Not just the little marina section where Ralph told us to go. The whole place is silent, no one moving on either the moored ships or the piers.
Which makes it incredibly easy to spot Ralph standing there. He’s waiting for us on the broad lane that runs the length of the harbor, where all the docks begin. We step off of the wooden dock and rush over to join him.
He’s got his hood up against the rain, and Shawn at his shoulder. A cluster of Warlord’s Boys are hanging around one of the bait shops, keeping an eye on things from a distance. Tycho is standing at Ralph’s feet, watching all the excitement with wide eyes.
“Ralph!” I gasp, as we crash to a stop before him, soaked and panting. “Oh my god, are we happy to see you!”
“I don’t remember telling anyone to throw a Molotov,” Ralph points out, arching a blonde eyebrow. “Guess you guys improvised the rest of the plan?”
“Yeah, you could say that,” I stammer, pushing my drenched hair back. “What are we-?”
I break off and turn around, hearing a boat gliding into the harbor behind us. Christian’s boat. Robin, Faith, and Maggie jump off of it, dropping down onto the dock. Christian calls something to them and points at Moondancer, afloat by herself just outside of the harbor. Robin gives Christian an appreciative look as he pulls his boat away. Then she catches Faith’s arm and begins to lead her down the dock towards us.
“Is that Faith?” Ralph asks, visibly relieved.
“Yep!”
“And that must be…”
Ralph pauses, catching a glimpse of Maggie bounding after Faith and Robin.
His sage green eyes grow bright, and his tensed jaw relaxes. He lets out a delighted little laugh, clasping mine and Aiden’s shoulders.
“Holy shit. You guys did it.” He turns to look down at the ocean as the girls come to a panting stop beside us. “Oh, and here come the stragglers.”
Noah, pulling up to us on his Sea-Doo, turns to Bruce with a wide grin on his face. The rain is dying down, and the wind and waves are much less dramatic in the harbor, so I can clearly hear him say:
“Hey, Bruce! Did you know I was hoping I’d get to personally deliver you to a very bad day?”
“What?” Bruce asks, but Noah has just pulled up even with the dock.
He shoves Bruce off of the Sea-Doo and onto the harbor platform. Ripley does the same with Nigel.
“Have fun!” Noah calls, with one of his wicked, wild laughs.
He and Ripley pull away, leaving a soaked, sputtering Bruce and Nigel on the concrete in front of us.
“Wow.” Ralph grins widely, glancing at Shawn over his shoulder. “Four of four. All here.”
“Francesco should like that,” Shawn says, returning the grin.
Bruce, who was starting to get to his knees, looks up with an ice-white face at the name Francesco.
Ralph meets his eyes and smiles coldly, then straightens up as a very sleek black SUV turns into the deliveries area at the end of the marina. It pauses for a second, then begins to roll deliberately down the harbor platform towards us.
“No,” Bruce breathes, staring at the car. “No, it – it can’t be…”
Ralph smiles at Maggie, who’s staring curiously at the car as it rolls to a stop just a few feet away from us.
“Ready to meet your uncle?” he asks her.
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