25. Adrian
Adrian
T he water churned under the boat as Seth and David pulled to a stop over the traps. As David steadied the rudder and prepared the cranks, Adrian tightened the ropes. When they took to the water that morning, he had succumbed to the waves of intermittent anxiety that gripped him.
The humid air stuck to his lungs as they pulled farther away from the shore.
He breathed deeply, closing his eyes. All around him, he felt the surge and the power of the water. It was always the most intense on the ocean, as they bobbed on top of an expanse of an energy so massive it made him feel like a speck of dust. This was the Other . The swell of the water, the hum of the Earth, the crackle of the fire, and the speed of the wind.
The light of the stars.
Seth pulled up the first trap, and Adrian knew before they surveyed it that it wouldn’t amount to anything. He exchanged a look with his brother before their father stepped up next to the trap, his hands on his hips. Adrian released the hatch and counted.
One with eggs. Throw her back . One too small, throw him back .
He cursed at his calipers as each lobster measured just out of range to keep. He shook his head, adding the keepers to the pile, and it went up by only fifteen pounds.
His father kicked the side of the boat with frustration. Disappointment flooded his blood as Seth pulled the motor into gear and they made their way to the next set of traps. In times like this, Hannah would tell them to send out a prayer to the Mother. At least, that’s what she had always believed. He remembered lying in bed at night as a young boy, as his mother said his bedtime prayer.
We pray to the Mother, to guide our hand. We give thanks to the Giver for what we command. We bow to the Other, the soul of the land.
The Other had never been described to him as the collective magic of all other witches—until last night. Perhaps that’s what the prayer meant by the soul of the land .
If the prophecy meant the Other would weaken, would the magic in the water weaken as well? How could something that was infinitely older than humans and witches, something so indeterminable, be weakened?
If Cori was Celestial, then she pulled her energy from the stars. He had never considered that the entire universe itself had a magical energy, but then again, he had never met a Celestial witch before. His head was pounding as he considered the magic embedded in the universe.
Cori could see spirits. He shivered. She could feel people’s emotions. Adrian had held her hand and been transported to a different time and place.
If the universe we live in expanded all around us through time, was Cori able to take that energy and bend time and life itself with her magic? His chest tightened, and a lump settled in his throat as he stared out at the vastness of the water.
The heavy clopping of boots announced Seth’s presence beside him on the deck. “Those ropes aren’t going to tie themselves,” his brother grunted as he slapped him on the back.
He shook his head, tying the rope to the chain with determined perfectionism, immersing himself in the monotony of the task at hand as he cranked the chain.