Where was Celian?
Agatha felt like she had only been swimming for a few minutes without making headway, but when she tried to turn back, she nearly sank in the water then and there. The beach was so far away, the cliffs only made a thin line above the choppy water. She would need to start swimming back if she was going to make it at all.
Agatha only felt a slight pulling sensation under the water, and then the wave unfolded behind her, swallowing her whole head. Agatha flailed frantically to get above it, only to feel the pull again, stronger, as yet another wave followed close behind the one that had almost drowned her. The tide moved swiftly further out to sea, and Agatha had already worn out her arms with as far as she had gone. The current pulled at her ankles, and with the rolling of the third wave, Agatha pulled hard at the water, but could not regain the surface. Deeper she sank, watching the light fade as her lungs burned within her.
Sweeping her arms stalled her in place for a bit, but she didn't have enough air to coax her body upward.
The light shifted. She blinked open her eyes as a large, oblong shape with a trailing tail circled above her. She had never seen its pale likeness before, but as it loomed closer to her, she panicked. Precious air escaped her mouth as Agatha tried everything she could to both stave off the creature and reach the surface. She closed her eyes, wishing the nightmare away—and a soft, flabby tentacle curled around her arm.
Agatha's eyes flew open. The creature hovered right in front of her! Another tentacle snaked toward her waist. She used her free hand to shove hard against its soft body. The massive eyes on either side of the bulbous head blinked at her as the monster's grip never slacked. Agatha kicked and pulled, but to no avail. The creature dragged her along with it, to some unknown destination. Its thick, pliable tentacles held her firmly as its powerful tail propelled them through the water. Agatha stopped struggling briefly, but only to gather what little strength she had for one last wrench. She stretched out her foot—
And her toes met the sand. Secure footing welcomed her as her head broke the surface and she gasped fresh air, taking in a lungful of water along with it. She coughed and spluttered, still within the clutches of the creature. Her hands scrabbled at the sand as she fought to heave her quavering body out of its flopping grasp. The tentacles slipped off easy, and the creature gave a little jerk. With bleary, waterlogged eyes, Agatha fancied she saw the creature's body shifting and shrinking. It still held her ankle with one tentacle, but then she noticed that the tentacle looked more like a hand. Her eyes raced up the human-like arm to the still-shifting face of the man she knew as Celian. A strange, swirling tattoo stood out blackly against his naked skin. He panted heavily as he watched her with the same eyes she had just seen on the nightmarish sea monster.
"No..." she gasped. "No!"
Celian struggled up to leaning on his elbows, his lower half still mostly buried in the sand. "Agatha—" he reached out to her, holding his hand up. "Please wait for me!" He dove back into the water, swimming the other direction down the beach, where the crashing waves reached the cliffs.
When he emerged, wearing the suit of clothes Madi Grove had left for him in the cove, Agatha had retrieved her rain-soaked, wrinkled clothes and now struggled up the dune that would deposit her onto the path back into the village.
"Agatha!" In a few long strides, Celian nearly overtook her. "Wait! I can explain!"
Agatha whirled around and lashed out with her hands when she felt the brush of his long fingers. "No!" She screamed. "Don't touch me!"
He halted, blinking at her outburst. Agatha trembled as sobs clogged her throat and tears welled in her eyes. "WHAT ARE YOU?" She howled above the still-raging storm. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE!"
Celian tried to step toward her. "I will tell you. Just listen—"
"No!" With the mound of clothes as her battering ram, Agatha lunged forward and threw all her weight into a mighty shove. Celian stumbled backward, the steep slope of the dune preventing him from recovering his balance till he reached the bottom. By the time he got to the top again, Agatha had slipped into her dress and was now halfway down the lane toward Dalton House. She did not look back.
Chapter 12
Ashley Grove studied the board closely. The array of red and black before him definitely seemed daunting, but he knew better.
Across the table, Madi wasn't even looking at him. She stared out the window as she had all morning.
Ashley made his move.
"That's one, two, three pieces captured," he said, placing his checker on her side of the board, "and Crown me!"
Madi didn't move. Ash reached over and took her hand. "Madeline?"
She saw the slight form marching up the dune. With the brief downpour of rain they'd just had, she had half expected the pair to retreat sooner.
"Here they come," Madi murmured, sliding off her chair and away from the forgotten game.
Ashley leaned back in his chair. He'd done his best to try and reconnect with his daughter, but though she did not push him away now, the outcome of Celian's final trip to the beach with Miss Agatha fairly usurped her focus.
Madeline watched the lone figure pass by. Agatha Dalton, looking far more waterlogged than she ought have, trudged down the road in unlaced boots. Madi clapped
