40. Adrian
Adrian
Bramwell and I went back to the cafe and he laid a book out in front of me. “Look at this,” he said, opening to a page and showing me a map.
It wasn’t a real map, it was an illustrated one. Nothing was in the right place, the continent lines were all wrong, islands that existed were missing.
But right in the center was an island labeled “Lestia.”
“This is fictional,” I said with confusion.
“I know,” he said. “But it’s the spot, the one the necklace leads to.”
I stared at it. “So you think… the necklace leads to somewhere that doesn’t exist?”
He huffed. “No I think it leads to somewhere that once existed.”
“Lestia isn’t real.”
“You’re the one who said to follow the fairy tales,” he said.
It was true, but Lestia was a fictional island, its story of vast treasure told to everyone who grew up near a port, giving them hope of a great treasure they could acquire one day.
“I mean for references, not for entire existences.”
“But it tracks,” he continued. “If Lestia was real, it was obvious someone went to great lengths to hide it. Enough that it was turned into a fictional story. But someone was getting too close. Maybe the sirens protect it, since it sunk. I don’t know.
What I do know is that this is basically the location, and I can’t think that’s a coincidence. ”
“And it would keep it far from the ocean,” I said, finally starting to grasp what he was saying. Could it be true? It sounded so… out there, but all the places together made sense.
“Speaking of which, where is she?”
“At the tavern,” I said. “We had a bit of a… disagreement.”
“You fuck up, Cap?”
I gasped. “Why do you think it was me?”
“It’s always you,” he said.
I sighed. “It was me, you’re right.”
“What did you do?”
I told him everything about the disastrous trip to see Maralda.
“So, you lied to us all?” he asked once I was done.
“I didn’t mean to,” I tried to defend. But who was I kidding? “But yeah.”
“I don’t get it,” Bramwell said after a few moments. “You’ve never lied to us, why this time?”
I took a steadying breath. “The person I got the job from said he could tell me what happened to Tungesten.”
Bramwell’s look of shock mirrored my own when I’d first been told. “Why didn’t you tie him up and bring him back to the ship? I’m sure Connie could have got it out of him.”
“We’re not like that,” I reminded him. “And it seemed like an easy operation. And then everything… happened.”
“And now you won’t get the necklace off, not unless you hand her over.”
“Never,” I growled quickly.
“We wouldn’t let you,” he assured. “I think if you took away my tailor I’d drown you myself.”
“But now she’s upset, and rightfully so. I just hope after some time to cool down, she’ll forgive me.”
“Only time will tell,” he said. “But I think she will.”
I only nodded.
“But we should go tell her,” Bramwell said. “She’ll want to know.”
“You’re right.”
We went outside and towards the inn.
It was a bit rowdier today, definitely harder to find someone. After some fruitless searching, I asked the barkeep if Sage had gotten a room upstairs. Maybe she was sick of how loud it was.
“The woman you were with last nigh’?” He asked. “Yeah she was here, but she left.”
“Left?” I parroted.
He nodded. “A bit ago, with some blonde man.”
My heart was in my throat. I knew she wouldn’t leave with just anyone. “Did she want to go?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t let anyone walk out of my bar if they looked uncomfortable,” he asserted. “She went on her own.”
I started spiraling. Where could she have gone? With who?
“Adrian,” Bramwell said. “Pull it together. We have to find her.”
“Did you see which way they went?”
He shook his head. “But they were talking about the tavern up the street. About five doors down.”
We were out of there in a flash, making our way to the next tavern quickly. This one was way less busy, and it was obvious she wasn’t here.
I approached one of the barmaids. “Have you seen a blonde man and woman in here recently? She’s in a black dress.”
“No one like that tonight,” she said.
She walked away and I turned to Bramwell, feeling helpless. “She wasn’t here.”
Worry finally fell to him too. “We’ll find her,” he assured.
I knew we would, we had to. I wasn’t sure what I would do otherwise.
“I’ll go back to the ship, anyone who isn’t absolutely necessary will look. You go the other way and make sure she isn’t up the road more.”
“You sound more like the captain than I do right now,” I said. I should be the one making plans to find her.
“That’s why you have a crew,” he said. “To fill in the gaps when you need it.”
That was another Tungestenism, and it was nice to hear right now.
“I’ll meet you back on the dock if you don’t find her,” he said.
“Deal.”
I was quick, looking around every corner, down every alley.
I didn’t care if I had to tear this entire town apart.
I would find her.