“Same,” Vic groaned.
“Your battle skills have grown impressively,” Brother Al said.
“Had some time to practice, with all the undead hanging around lately,” Eddie said.
“We’ll have to go on patrols together soon,” Vic said.
“Dude, I could have used somebody with your skills months back,” Eddie said.
“All’s well that ends well, then,” Brother Al said.“I’ll go round the others up, do a tally on the other captives.We leave within the hour.”
And off we went again.The hydraulic mechanism on one part of their underwater system elevated itself, letting out a gasp of freshwater and releasing a hazy midday sun on those on deck.Eddie, myself, and John Steeley stared at the horizon.
“I found this earlier,” Eddie said.There was a grimace on his face.
“Fuck,” I said.
My camera.Correction: Bradford’s camera.The one I had to sign out.Water dripped from the lens when I opened it, and saltwater was leaking from the battery case.I groaned and turned it, trying to shake it out.Then the lens popped out.
Eddie and I stared at where it sat on the ground.
“All that footage,” I said, voice miserable.“And the repair fees.This camera’s probably busted.For good.”
“Maybe we can plunk it in some rice when we get back to shore,” Eddie said.
“Ugh,” I said.“I’m gonna get fired.”
“We’ll work it out,” Eddie said.“We’ll get something worked out, at least.And hey.Mission accomplished, at least.We found the missing ship—we’re on our way back to Chicago Harbor.We’re good.”
“You’re right,” I said.“I’m just keyed up and anxious for some reason.”
“What do you have to worry about?”Eddie asked.“Come on.Lay down with me on deck.Let’s get some sun while everyone else is sleeping.That’s one thing we can do together.”
“Yeah,” I said.
We sat and talked, mindlessly, until the sun crested directly overhead.It was so warm, and the gentle rocking of the boat on the lake water so comfortable, that I could feel myself falling directly asleep.
Chapter12
Ihad been here before.I had the sense of the place before I saw anything.It was a feeling deep in my bones, in the core of me, telling me that, wherever I was… I was home.
I opened my eyes and was on another deck—the top part of a vast ivory tower, a tower I felt trapped in.A woodland was spread out below—verdant, green, gnarled with the growth of ages.A crystal clear lake was across the way.
There was a cackle at my elbow, and an old woman stood suddenly near me.She was clothed in torn rags, her nose a crooked arch, a wart on her face.Her skin was lined from what looked like centuries of aging.A shock of gray and white hair streaked down her back, nearly to her feet.I jumped automatically, sliding backwards against the rim until my bottom touched the ledge of the tower.
“You return again,” she said and cackled hysterically.
“Who are you?”I asked.
“Ask not who I am, but who you are,” she cried.“The Maiden returns, the Maiden of the Moon, to her home—and now she is awake!Perhaps not fully—no—but the power returns to her.Creeping slowly… ever so slowly…”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“You have heard, have you not?The Prophecy of the Moon Kiss.”
“Seriously?Not this again,” I said.
“It was said in the Scrolls,” the old woman cried, rubbing her knobbly hands together.“Come, child.Come with me.I shall show you.Deep within the depths of this tower, there is a cauldron.There are the Scrolls.I can show you so many things… wonderful, terrible things…”
