Page 34 of Sea of Evil and Desire (The Deep Saga #1)

32

Morgana

I t was time Granddad answered some questions.

I hurried up the slick street, past the other stone buildings, their whitewashed walls tinted indigo in the early morning light. The lights were on in my grandfather’s house. Good, he was awake.

“Morgana?” he croaked as I burst through the door.

In the dim light of dawn, the hallway seemed to stretch longer than usual.

He emerged from the living room and blocked my path. “Why are you . . . wet?” His eyes fell on the droplets welling at my feet on the wooden floor.

“How long have I been gone?” I scanned his face, searching for any recognition of what I might have been through.

“What—you don’t know?” Fear clouded his eyes.

“No, I don’t. How long?” I glared at him. My shoulders squared, tension rippling through my muscles.

“It’s been two days. Barry said you’ve not been at work. He’s given your job to someone else. What happened to your face?” Questions were exploding from him, but first, he needed to answer mine.

“Tell me about Iona.” My voice wavered, but I straightened to my full height.

“I’m glad you’re safe. I’m going out.” Granddad reached for his jacket, which was hanging on the rack beside me.

I put my hand on top of his and remained in his path.

“Where did this coat come from?” I gestured to the sopping-wet fur.

“I told you, it belonged to your grandmother.” He sighed, and his guilt washed over me.

I was right.

“But she didn’t get to wear it much, did she?” I rounded on him. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you never let her wear it at all! ”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Granddad stammered, but he walked away from me, back through the living room, toward the kitchen’s light. I pursued him to make sure he didn’t slip out the back door but found him sitting at the dining table. He was crying.

“I’m sorry. I know you loved her,” I said more gently, sliding onto one of the wooden chairs beside him. “I know she had a magic that bewitched you in a way I can never understand. Please tell me how you met her. It’s important.” I took his calloused hand in mine. The big wooden clock ticked away on the wall behind us.

“I’ve never spoken o’ this to anyone before, not even your mother,” he croaked, shaking his head.

“I think it’s best that you keep it that way, but I need to know,” I whispered, leaning toward him.

Dawn was pervading the kitchen now, making the yellow glow from the light above us obsolete. I wondered if my grandmother was watching as we sat in the very room in which she had lost her life.

Granddad sighed and stared at his tough hands, which lay on the faded white tablecloth. “I first saw Iona when I was naught but seventeen. I wasn’t popular as a lad and often went fishing alone on the islands. I remember the day I first saw her like yesterday: a cold autumn morning like this one.” He waved a weather-beaten hand. “My father had been yelling at me about chores the night before, and I went out early to avoid him. The sun had not yet risen as I rowed away from the shore. It was blowing a gale, and my fingers were stiff from its iciness. Still, it beat cleaning my room or helping my father gut fish. The sun’s rays were only breaching the horizon as I hauled my boat onto the rocky shore o’ my favorite island.” He ran a hand through his gray hair, his eyes returning to the floor beside the sink where he had found my grandmother’s body.

“I began clattering around with my tackle, and there she was, the bonniest lass I had ever seen. She stood waist-deep in the sea, watching me.

“At first, I was frozen. I couldn’t take my eyes off her large brown ones. Her long black hair was half-wet and falling across her body, but I could still make out her naked breasts and dark nipples.” Embarrassed, he glanced at me, but I bid him to continue. I knew the desire my grandmother had inspired was necessary for the tale.

“Then I realized that she could die out there, naked in the icy water, so I rushed out to save her. But when I reached her, she stood there, not shivering, watching me with those big dark eyes.”

I had seen pictures of Granddad as a youth in his cotton shirt and overalls. He’d been handsome back then. That was how I pictured him, splashing through the water toward my grandmother.

“I led her to the shore and gave her my jacket. She sat on the wet sand and watched me, so I told her my name and asked for her own. She managed Iona , but no other conversation could be had with her. She was fascinated by me; she touched my clothes and sat close to me. I remember seeing the wee dark heads o’ seals watching us from the waves. She smiled at them, but I paid them no mind. I only saw her .

“When it was time for me to return home, I begged her to come with me and tried to pull her into the boat. She resisted, so I had no choice but to let her go and leave for home.

“She was in my dreams that night, and I returned to the island the next day, looking for her, but she wasn’t there. I asked the neighbors, the grocer, and about the pub, but no one knew her. I recall one old man saying, ‘You’re in love with a Selkie, lad. It’s best to leave it alone.’

“I didn’t believe in such things, but still, I didn’t see Iona for another month. One evening, as I was about to push my wee boat out, I saw the strangest sight. A group o’ seals were resting on the nearby rocks; I could see their silhouettes against the darkening sky. Then, one o’ them grew. Its skin seemed to peel away. Where there had been simply rock and sky and the wee dumpy shapes o’ seals, there was now the profile of a woman. I knew it was her.

“I ran clumsily toward her, calling her name. She looked up and saw me. This time, alarm filled those inky eyes. She grabbed her skin and dived into the water. The other seals shuffled off the rocks at my approach. I was left alone, searching the darkening horizon.

“On my return home, I decided to find out all I could about Selkies. It was only a matter of time before I discovered that stealing her skin would bind her to me, making her unable to return to the sea.

“I didn’t see her again until I was nineteen and fishing on the same isle. This time, I was careful. I kept myself hidden. She’d left her seal skin unguarded and was dancing on the sand, her dark hair moving with her. Now and then, she would dip and trace her fingers along the tide’s edge. It was easy for me to creep up behind her and wrap the soft folds of her skin into my chest. I stowed it in my cool box.

“She came home with me that evening, and that year, we were married. I taught her English and made her a home. Folk wondered at my outlandish bride, but I never cared for gossip. After fifteen years, she fell pregnant with your mother.”

He sighed. I could see how this tale brought him back to life yet simultaneously broke his heart.

“On our sixteenth wedding anniversary, I made her skin into a coat for her. She had your mother and seemed happy with me. She’d developed a passion for traveling the world, which appeared to bring her joy. I was going to give her the coat as a surprise. She didn’t age the same way I did, and I thought if I were to die first, at least let her have the sea.

“On the night o’ the anniversary, I remembered the old tales of Selkie wives leaving everything to return to the sea, never to be seen again. I got cold feet. I took the coat and locked it back away in storage. I wish now that I had never seen her. As I got older, I began to notice her sadness. She would sing softly o’ the sea to your mother while staring out the window. I knew I had done her wrong but couldn’t let her go.”

He was crying again. I reached for his leathery hand and held it tight. “I have seen her world,” I whispered.

He looked up and smiled, like a wet piece of paper crinkling up. “She would have liked that.”

We sat silently for a moment, the milky glow of dawn softening our faces, and then I asked the next question that had been churning within me.

“My father, did you know him?”

“Aye, I knew him,” Granddad exhaled.

I chewed on my lip, staring out the kitchen window.

“Rory was a good man, and he loved your mother and you, even though he was taken before he got to know you,” he continued, as if he could read my thoughts.

I nodded, unable to speak as tears stung the corners of my eyes.