Page 53 of Found at Sea

17

Fletcher

In my nineteen years, few things had ever truly terrified me: the thought of being thrown back out on the streets after Ned had told me he couldn’t afford to keep me around, learning Kellan really was as awful as the legends said, and being in the presence of the woman in black.

But the fear rooted in me right then was a whole new level of terror.

The woman in the black veil pointed at me, and even though I hadn’t heard what was said at the table, I knew by the expression on Kellan’s face that it wasn’t anything good. I hid more behind Alek, wishing this moment would hurry and end so we could return to the ship where I knew it was safe.

I wasn’t expecting what happened next.

In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of us, and I couldn’t contain my shriek. That close, the veil only hid so much, and I saw the black holes around her milky eyes and the decaying flesh around her mouth.

Dax grabbed my arm and yanked me backward, but Alek wasn’t as fortunate.

“He demands a taste,” she hissed at my friend before snatching his arm.

The dagger appeared in her hand and she sliced it across Alek’s palm. As the blood oozed from the open wound and gathered in the crease of his palm, she brought the blade to her lips and tasted it.

Instead of the clacking sound she’d been making earlier, a different noise tore through her throat; a deep guttural wailing. The stiletto fell to the ground, clanking against the rock, and she lolled forward.

One heartbeat of silence. Then two.

Kellan had hurried over and stood behind the woman. I caught his eye, and we exchanged a worried glance.

“Can you help him?” Kellan asked.

She slightly turned her head at his voice before looking back at my friend.

“You’ve been touched by shadow, Aleksander of Black Hallows,” the woman said, rolling her head from side to side. Her voice echoed—and whispered—all around us. “The shadow has shielded you from those who seek you. The time is nigh, young one, for with the coming of your eighteenth year, the shadow will flee. And those who wish to find you shall.”

“Who wishes to find me?” Alek asked. “The hunters?”

The woman snapped her head forward, and the veil flew back from her face.

My insides coiled and although I wanted nothing more than to flee that cave, I was frozen in place. She was even more horrifying than I imagined. Cracks broke her skin in several places and the black around her eyes made her white irises look even more frightening.

“No, child,” she said before a sinister smile stretched her rotten lips. “The darkness.”

All of the candles then lost their flame.

In the few seconds of pitch black, the woman started humming again. It sounded as if she were right next to me, inches from my ear. My eyes watered as fear took me over. After what seemed like hours, the candles flared to life once more.

The woman was gone.

Alek stood in front of me, even paler than he’d been earlier. Kellan had moved closer and regarded my friend with concern.

“Alek?” he asked, reaching to touch him.

Alek shook his head before focusing on the captain. “We need to leave.”

It was then that I saw the woman, standing at the back of the room and facing the altar again. Her back was toward us.

“Good idea,” Dax said before grabbing me and shoving me toward the passageway.

Once outside, I breathed in the air like it’d been years since I did. My mind was struggling to process everything that had just happened. Sure, I’d heard stories about such beings of prophecy, but until that day I’d never believed them to be true. Just like with the mermaids.

“Are you well?” Kellan asked me, touching my arm. “Fletcher?”