He spent the morning performing routine maintenance on equipment that would be ready when spring brought the massive freighters back to Duluth's harbor.Honest work that provided legitimate income and respectable cover for activities that served purposes beyond mere employment.But beneath the familiar rhythms of shipyard labor, his mind remained focused on the restored connection to Lake Superior's voice and the guidance it would provide for work that was about to resume.
Agent Rivers had proven herself formidable.She'd identified one killer where others had seen only accidents, had survived an encounter that should have been fatal, and had demonstrated analytical abilities that made her genuinely dangerous to anyone operating outside legal boundaries.
But the lake had chosen her as an instrument of its will once, using her investigation to cleanse the corruption that had threatened the sacred work.If she continued pursuing patterns that led toward truths that required protection, the lake might choose her for a different purpose entirely.
The thought followed him through the day's routine maintenance tasks, a possibility that felt more like a promise than a threat.Agent Isla Rivers had eliminated the pretender who'd contaminated his relationship with Lake Superior.If she became a threat to that relationship's restoration, the lake would provide opportunities to transform her from investigator into the most meaningful sacrifice of his career.
For now, though, she remained an inadvertent ally.Someone whose work had served the lake's purposes without understanding the forces she'd been serving.The irony was perfect, and perfectly temporary.
Patience,Superior whispered through the wind that carried the scent of snow and possibility across the frozen harbor.The sacred work endures.The lake provides everything necessary, including the timing to act and the wisdom to wait.
The Shipwrecker listened, and understood, and prepared for whatever guidance the restored voice would provide.Agent Rivers had given him back his purpose.If she threatened to take it away again, the lake would show him exactly how to preserve what mattered most.
The frozen expanse of Lake Superior stretched endlessly beyond the shipyard's boundaries, patient and eternal and hungry for whatever offerings the coming months would bring.And he would be ready to provide them, guided by the voice that had never failed him when he'd had the wisdom to listen.
The lake's whispers had returned.His world was complete again.
