Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
“Follow me,” Sig says and waves over her shoulder, beckoning me forward.
My footsteps are heavy on the dark wooden boards as I rush to keep up with her, weaving through the bodies moving around the deck.
“We’re on the main deck. You already know where to get below.
” She gestures to the set of stairs in the middle of the deck that disappear into the ship, the same ones I climbed moments ago.
“Over there is the forecastle, and up the steps is the quarterdeck.” I swivel my head to keep up with her pointing, my gaze snagging on Weston as he stands with the boy who pulled him away from us.
His eyes flick to mine, assessing, probably trying to determine if I’m going to make another run for it.
Not just yet, Captain.
I glare back before turning coldly toward Sig to focus on what she’s saying.
She talks about the ship as if it is a second skin, pointing out every feature that I undoubtedly won’t need to know.
Masts tower high over the deck with the sails rolled and bound, and ropes stretching across the space.
I get slightly dizzy as I try to take in the crow’s nest, the sheer height reminding me of the deadly mountain path and the ground falling out from beneath me.
“Stay off those until you learn how to scale them properly. We don’t need any accidents,” Sig says, tilting her chin toward the masts.
I nod. I have no intention of scaling them, now or any time in the future.
There’s a break in the railing where the deck drops off into the open water, and I follow as she walks toward it. It’s the opposite side of the ship from where I tried to jump. If I would have realized there was a side without a rail, I would have just run that way instead.
“This is where we disembark. Much easier than just jumping off the side of the ship.” She smirks at me and crosses her arms as she leans on the rail next to the opening.
I step up to the edge of the deck and peer into the open water below. A strip of land parallels the ship, just far enough away that it would be a swim to reach it. Jumping to it would have been out of the question.
“How is this easier? There’s no way across,” I say.
“There’s a gangway, but you don’t have to worry about that yet. It won’t come out since I’m sure the ship knows you’ll take any opportunity to scurry back to Dane.”
I ignore her jab because she’s right, and I won’t give her the satisfaction. Looking at the surrounding landscape, I want to see where off the island the ship is anchored. The strip of land looks familiar, and I lean out over the side to get a closer look.
My eyes trail over the jagged black rock, all the way to the black sand beach it connects to, and the memory of Dane and I tangled up on a blanket flashes before my eyes.
It feels like a lifetime ago now, but the emotions come flooding back to me.
The only way to get through a week in the darkness of the prison below was to lock away all my feelings and harden myself, so the onslaught of the emotions returning is overwhelming.
I try to swallow them down again, knowing full well I can’t have them if I’m going to get through Weston’s inevitable mind games.
But looking at the beach, I can’t stop my cheeks from heating, not only with the memory of Dane’s hands on my body, but also with embarrassment as I stare at the clearly visible stretch of beach from a ship full of people.
“How…I…did…” I stammer, trying to process all the thoughts sprinting through my mind.
“One at a time,” Sig says. “I’ll answer whatever questions I’m allowed.”
A cool breeze off the water rustles my still damp hair, and I look up into the sky, trying to find the words for what I want to ask. The suns are on their way down, and the evening is coming quickly.
“We’re on a ship, in a cove on Dawnlin,” I say.
“That’s not really a question, but I’ll take it as one. Yes, we are.” She hasn’t moved, still leaning comfortably against the rail and watching me process everything.
“Why can’t we see it? It’s in plain sight.
Why couldn’t we see it?” I’m sure I sound ridiculous to her.
The shock of my voice in my own ears is foreign, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind about how none of us, none of the Voyagers for years, could see this giant ship anchored right in the middle of the bay.
She shrugs. “You’re gonna have to take that one up with Dawnlin. I don’t have an answer for you.”
Her response isn’t enough, but there are so many things about Dawnlin that we can’t explain. I’d just been a victim of the lack of explanation with the healing waters. My stomach turns at the memory, but there’s something bigger bothering me.
I don’t understand why the island is hiding the Castaways, protecting them from the eyes of the Voyagers, especially with Weston’s intent to steal the water.
“Don’t try screaming either,” she says, interrupting my thoughts. “No one on the island can hear anything from deck, unless they’re one of us.”
I look back at the beach, and remember the glowing waves I watched crash through this cove.
They rolled so smoothly, with no obstruction, only beauty, as the neon colors rippled and tumbled to the beach.
In reality, there was a giant ship sitting right in the middle of them, but the magic kept us from knowing.
What else is it hiding from us?
“How long has it been here?” I ask, my head snapping back toward her.
“A long time. I don’t have an exact amount of time, but since we needed it.”
“Great, but I mean, how long has it been here? In this spot.” I jab my finger into the wooden rail as my heart rate rises, the beats pounding in my ears and stifling her response.
Her eyes sparkle with understanding, like she knows exactly what I am asking.
“We haven’t moved for…a while.”
Oh gods.
I drop my head into my hands and lean over, resting my elbows on the railing, and let out a loud groan.
From where I am standing, I can look out and see the exact spot Dane and I stood looking at the glowing animals in the rocks, where the waves crashed over us, soaking us to the bone.
With just a little lean, I can see where we eventually went to the beach, back to the fire, and spent the rest of the evening before the thunder chased us back to camp.
My heart pounds in my chest as I gather the courage to ask the question I really want the answer to.
“Did anyone see…” I trail off, sheer horror and embarrassment at what all the Castaways could have witnessed preventing me from uttering the words.
“Yep,” she pops the last sound. “We saw.”
As if my time on this ship isn’t already going to be repulsive, now I have to deal with the Castaways having seen me vulnerable and exposed. I don’t need another challenge to overcome while I’m here.
“Well, that is mortifying,” I say, letting out a long breath.
“You getting intimate with Dane? Nah. It was nothing most of us haven’t seen or done before, though not with him, of course. But it made it real easy to see why he has you wrapped around his finger.”
“No one has me wrapped around anything,” I snap, my face still hot with humiliation. “But it doesn’t matter what goes on between all of you. It doesn’t mean I want everyone watching me.”
“Relax. Cap made everyone go below before they could see too much.”
I can’t stop the look of surprise that comes over my face. Why would he do that? Why wouldn’t he revel in something he could hold over me, especially when he seems to love making me feel as uncomfortable as possible?
“He’s not a monster, you know.”
I scoff. “Forgive me if I don’t believe you,” I say as I push off the railing.
“It’s fine. There’s nothing I can do about it.
Just finish the tour.” The words came out more like a command than a statement, and it feels like I am back in the castle, short-tempered with Brynne.
If Sig notices, she says nothing, only pushes off the rail and heads into the belly of the ship, not acknowledging me at all, just expecting me to follow.
The wooden steps creak under our feet as we descend onto the first level. Torches line the walls, casting the space in a warm glow. They stay lit in the main hallways, but just like back at camp, they light whenever we enter otherwise empty rooms, following us as we move through the ship.
“There are three levels, which you should know after your little escapade earlier. You were in the hold on the bottom. This is the first level, which is the crew’s quarters.
Cap’s is that way,” she says, pointing toward the back of the ship where a single door stands at the end of the hallway.
“The rest of us are this way. There are bunks and a couple of shared rooms. I have my own. If you need me, I’m in here. ”
She knocks on a small door on the opposite side of the hall, just before the room for the rest of the crew.
I peer inside and see an array of different beds, hammocks hanging from the ceiling, furniture pushed against the walls.
Clothes hang haphazardly out of drawers, and swords and weapons litter almost every surface.
I make a mental note to grab one and hide it when I can.
“This way,” Sig says, leading me back down the hallway.
We take the next set of stairs to the second floor, which is nothing like the first. It is wide and open and could easily fit everyone I saw on deck yesterday.
She points to a doorway on the back end of the ship.
“That’s the galley and mess where we eat.
You can get food there any time of day. That door there is the infirmary if you ever get hurt.
Armory is there. Don’t even think about it.
” She eyes me over her shoulder and I roll my eyes, eliciting a smirk.
“You’ll get there. I have no doubt.” She spins to face the opposite side of the stairs. “Alright, over on this side is the lounge, and the bathrooms are right through there. Third floor is the brig, which you know well, and the hold. Any questions?”
I shake my head. Everything is straightforward, and just like camp, it has everything they need to live comfortably. Now that I’ve seen it all, instead of sprinting past everything, the size of the ship is deceiving.
Never having been on one back in our world to compare, it feels like the magic doesn’t only hide the ship from the outside.
The space below doesn’t at all feel like we are shoved into the belly of a ship, but instead feels almost as big as if we were walking through the halls of the castle in Blackwood.
“Great. Everyone should come in for dinner in a few minutes. Feel free to head to the mess. I’ll be in behind you.”
Gurgles erupt from my stomach at the mention of food, and I don’t fight Sig’s suggestion.
Now that I know they aren’t poisoning me, and they’re having me eat with the rest of them, I’m not afraid to have a meal.
So much of my strength vanished in the last week, so I’ll have to do what I can to build it back up if I want to have a chance of getting out.
That means eating regularly, starting now.
As I start off toward the mess, I can’t help but feel a sliver of doubt in my mind. Am I going about this the wrong way?
Weston wants to convert every captive Voyager to his side, and while I thought I had his methods figured out, it is clear that I don’t. One thing is apparent though: they want me to trust them.
Instead of outright fighting at every turn, making them believe I trust them might, in turn, make them trust me.
If I can pretend, and truly lead them to believe they are growing on me, and that I am converting to their side, no one will be suspicious.
I will be able to do whatever I want, and can leave unscathed and unassuming.
But I can’t change my behavior too quickly.
Weston would pick up on that immediately.
I have to play the game, letting them think I’ve changed.
They have to believe I’ve softened to their cause, and that their mind tricks are working, and then I can bring everything I know about them straight back to the Voyagers.
It might take a long time, but fortunately and unfortunately for me, on Dawnlin, time is on my side.