He shrugged.“I’m not sure, Captain. I was told by a number of people that agroup of men came and sailed it down shore in the middle of thenight. But I can’t confirm that.”
“Ye ken whowould definitely confirm that?” Finn blurted out after taking amassive swig from a pint mug. His brow raised in wait as heeyeballed Henry.
At my side,Henry stiffened and sat up straight. “No, not yet.”
“What?” Iasked him, and he sighed tiredly. “If someone can help us findMaria then I think it’s worth a try.”
“It’sWallace,” he told me with reluctance in his tone. “Wallace alwaysknows everything that happens, every boat and person that comes andgoes from the port. But we can’t go there just yet. Yes, it mayhelp, but it would most definitely deter us from the mission. Wesimply don’t have time for that if you wish to save yourmother.”
“Well, then,”Finn cut in and slammed his mug down on the table in front of us.“There’s only one thing left to do.”
Four sets ofeyes slowly turned and fell on me. I moaned inwardly. “Thewish.”
“Aye, just doit, Lassie,” Finn urged. “We know Maria’s been here. And she hasn’tleft.”
Lottie gentlytouched my shoulder and gave a sympathetic look. She knew myworries. “Look, if you wish to find Maria and it doesn’t work, thenwe still have Wallace as a backup plan. We can go there for help.Not all will be lost, and you will still have one remainingpearl.”
Lottie alwaysmade sense to me. She could say things in such a simple way,stripping down the problem to its basic core. Making me seeclearly. I nodded. “You’re right. She’s here. That’s all I waswaiting to find out.” I inhaled deeply through my nose. “It’s all Ineed. I’ll use the next pearl first thing in the morning, and we’llget this done so we can finally go home.”
“Aye!” Finnsaid loudly and raised his mug of what I assumed was ale. “I’lldrink to that.”
“I’ll go seeabout getting us some food,” Henry told me and stood to leave,kissing the top of my head before he walked away.
“Where’s theboys?” I asked, thinking of Charlie, Seamus, and John. “They mustbe famished.”
Gus and Finnexchanged a playful glance and Finn chuckled. “Famished, yes. Butfor a bitta harmless trouble, Ireckon. They got cleaned up and headed out hours ago.”
The thought ofyoung Charlie finally getting the chance to have some fun warmed myheart. “That’s wonderful. They’re good boys. They deserve somefun.”
“Did you getsome sleep?” Lottie asked me.
I nodded. “ButI’m still tired. I think it’s the baby.”
“Everythingalright?” She had a pained look of concern.
“Oh, yes,” Iassured her and glanced down at my stomach with a smile. “Making aperson is just hard work, I guess. I just need a good meal.”
I barely hadthe words out of my mouth when Henry came from behind, balancingtwo plates in his hands. The smell that wafted from them seepedinto my nose and made my mouth fill with warm saliva. I hadn’trealized just how hungry I was until that moment.
The final fewweeks of our journey consisted of dried goods, salted fish, andrabbit jerky. He laid a plate in my lap. A heap of Sheppard’s pieand a freshly baked bun. I took the bun and ripped it in half,dipping it in the filling of the pie and scooping it into my mouthlike someone who’d been starved for days. Weeks, even. It washeavenly.
“Fork?” Henryasked, and I spotted the utensil he cheekily offered.
My friendsplayfully laughed at my expense as I took the fork from his graspand continued shoveling the foodinto my mouth. We sat like that for a while. How long? I had noidea. But it certainly felt nice to bask in the comforts of generalchit-chat and good food. A sense of coziness that was clearlyenjoyed in any era. The fire in front of us raged on, safelycontained in its stone cage. I sat back and adored my small circleof friends as I let the warmth soak into my skin and wished I couldmake this moment last forever.
But, ofcourse, like any good feeling, there’s always the logical brainstanding by, ready to whisk it away. I had the concrete ability tomake such a silly wish. I could. If I truly wanted to. But I knewthat’d be a colossal waste of the rare gift that was given to me.No, I had other things to wish for. A responsibility to my crew, tomy mother. Even if I never decide to actually see her. So, I satthere, smiling, lapping up my friends’ laughter and cheerful voicesinstead of heading to bed. For the morning brought with it apromise of something unknown. Something potentially… dark.
I was going towish to find my sister.
Chapter Three
I wasn’t sure what really woke me from my sleep; thethick cold sweat that suddenly covered my body or the realisticnightmare that I was constantly falling. Nothing else. Nolandscape, no dialogue, no other people. Just me, free fallingthrough space and time, no destination in sight or mind. I couldn’tmake it stop. So, now I just laid there in bed in a sort ofstunned, motionless silence as I attempted to regain my breath.
Finally, Ipeeled the damp sheets from my slick body and stole a glance overto Henry who’s sleeping more soundly than I ever witnessed himbefore. Must have been the two pints of strong ale that Finninsisted he down. Nevertheless, Henry deserved to have a drink ortwo after the journey we had. He deserved even more than that.
So muchmore.
Henry shouldhave the life he’s always wanted. The one that was so barbaricallytaken from him. The quaint little house by the ocean, a small farmand a boat to catch fish. A place where kids could run and play.Then a thought flashed through my mind. I knew a place just likethat. But it was over three hundred years in the future. I wonderedthen… my final wish. If tomorrow leads us to Maria before she killsour
