“Thirty-something years ago. Around the time my mother and I moved to the island.”
“And he gave you no other details?”
I shook my head. “Nothing, other than he seems to think they require my blood—or the blood of a du Sang—to trigger their growth. I didn’t think to ask him any more questions, like are the eggs then implanted into a host body? Or do they develop outside of a body, but still in a cluster, like amphibians? I have so many questions—”
“Female bodies, whether they’re magical or human, are my business, Calliope,” Rowan said. “There’s got to be another way to save these creatures without holding your blood hostage, and I want to help.”
We stood and hugged. She and Wes left together, and Ro threw a concerned look at me as she waved goodbye.
Christoph placed a shaking hand on my arm. “Give me your father’s rings,” he said. “Now. I need to go.” The thick bands, wedged on my little fingers, came off with a steady twist. I handed them to Christoph, and he was out the door before either Tanner or I could protest.
“Do you think he’s going to the marina?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. I wrapped my arms around Tanner’s waist and joined him in staring past the front door into the darkness of the night.
“Yes. That’s what I would do if I were in his position. I just hope he doesn’t get it in his head to try a one-man rescue mission.”
The rain that had started when I was aboard my makeshift boat switched into high gear, pounding at the roof and decks. Tanner closed all the windows and turned on the electric heat in my bedroom to help take the damp and chill out of the air. We were in my bed, eyelids leaden, when the front door slammed open, then shut, and heavy steps tromped down the hall to my door.
“Calli-lass, I need to talk to you.”
Tanner pulled on his sweatpants and opened the door. “Come in.”
Christoph’s drooping wings dripped water across the wood floor. His face was haggard, lit by a faint spark of hope. Tanner slipped behind him and returned with an armload of towels. He spread an old beach towel with a torn hem and faded stripes onto the floor, told Christoph to stand there, and draped two more over my grandfather’s wings.
“What did you find?”
Christoph extended his arm and uncurled his fingers. The outer surfaces of my father’s rings were alive with moving shapes. “There is no doubt in my mind that the man on the yacht is my son. The rings confirm it.” He fisted them again and pounded his heart. “I must get to him. There’s no way he’s on that boat willingly. No way.”
Rain on the roof. Water on my floor. Sorrow in Christoph’s every cell. An idea formed in my head. I explained the bare bones to Tanner and my grandfather and suggested we all get a couple hours of sleep.
Chapter 21
In the low gray light of dawn and a thick cloud cover provided by our skilled water witch, a trio of river otters escorted me back to Chocolate Beach along with a motivated wolf with amber eyes. The four of them helped me pull my kayak up the beach and into a wooded copse. They would come out of the hiding spot and intervene if it looked like Odilon would not follow as I predicted. One of them would retrieve my kayak later in the day.
Sliding Christoph’s newly acquired cell phone from the waterproof gear bag, I dialed the private number on the card Odilon had tucked into my clutch and said hello.
“Calliope du Sang, to what do I owe the honor of this unexpectedly early phone call?” he asked. The gravelly texture of his voice handed me my first victory of the day. I’d gotten the scion out of bed.
“A passing kayaker took pity on me and loaned me her cell phone,” I said. “Come and get me. Bring the yacht. And food and water. I’m right where you last saw me and you have thirty minutes.”
After I hung up, I put the phone back in the bag, sealed it watertight, and placed it carefully in Tanner’s mouth. I shooed the wolf and the otters to take up their places. Once I was convinced they couldn’t be seen from where I was standing, I walked into the water to soak the bottom of my dress and splash ocean water over my head. For this to work, I had to look as though I’d spent the entire night on this tiny spit of land, in the cold and the wet.
With my legs bare and my skin turning blue, it wasn’t all that hard to reach that state. Though I couldn’t seem to dampen the cold fire of determination burning in my chest.
Less than a half hour later, the bow of the Merry Widow cut through the fog. I stood my ground as Odilon steered the yacht, anchored, and settled himself in the tender. He was alone, clad in shorts, boat shoes, and a hooded, charcoal-gray rain slicker, one of the expensive kinds.
He motored in and I waited, refusing to help when he tossed the bow line toward me. He pulled the rope in, tossed it a second time, landing it within inches of my legs. I deigned to grab it and gave a half-hearted pull.
“What do you expect?” I asked, raising my voice and exaggerating the tremors that knocked my knees together and made it hard to extend my arms. “I’m thirsty and I’m hungry and I might be hypothermic.”
Odilon stepped out of the little boat and splashed through the shallow water toward the shore. He walked past me,
