It has to be the same ship.
She’d found it. Fright churned in her stomach making her wish she hadn’t succeeded.
Save for the man, the sight was exactly as she’d seen it the first time, months ago when she’d convinced herself she’d imagined it. If a man could stand on the wreck, she could too. She swallowed against her rebelling stomach.
Grace studied the way before her. Dead trees wove a nearly impenetrable wall. She peered through the tiny gaps between the deadwood. The ship was still there, but it faded as she watched. Shielding her eyes, she gazed skyward. The sun had sunk halfway below the horizon. Even if she left now, she might not get back toSweet Dreamsbefore dark.
I have the dogs to help guide me.
“C’mon Mars, Mercury. We’ll have to head home now.”
They whined a bit.
“We’ll come back. I promise.”
With a sigh, Grace reversed direction and—one dog ahead, one behind—hurried down the path she’d found earlier. The trail took them around the deepest part of the forest, fading to nothing as theSweet Dreamsdrive came into sight. They arrived home as the last glimmer of light winked out. A waning crescent moon reigned over the dusk, providing scarcely enough light for her to enter the house and switch on the electric lights.
I did not imagine that ship. She considered the possibilities while she fed the dogs and the cat. Perhaps she was only seeing what she wished to see. Grace had no solid proof she could show to anyone, even herself. That collection of driftwood and broken boards had not looked like a ship. How did it all get there, and was there something beyond the barrier—or not?
Probably boards and branches alike had been dumped by a hurricane. A completely logical, if disappointing, explanation. A hurricane was much simpler than anything else she could think of. Even though the bayou at that area had been fairly wide, it was probably still too shallow for any ship the size of a clipper to have navigated that far from the river. Still, logical or not, Grace wanted to believe what she’d seen.
“I’ll have to go back,” she said to the moon as she finished her sandwich.
She sighed, exhausted with the idea of another trip through all those obstacles. Hiking all day in the heat had left her physically tired, but too many questions swirled in her head for her to rest. The questions churned and eddied like a murmuration of starlings denying her the peace usually found during her nightly visits to the dock. Animal sounds, heat, difficult terrain, and mental illusions had dominated her day. Grace resented their intrusion now. She wanted cool and quiet, time to let her mind wander over all she’d seen. However, the unanswered questions would not leave her be.
If only Luc were here. She could tell him what she’d seen. He’d confirm that she was imagining things, and she could let this nonsense go.
***
Luc waited, just out of sight from where Grace sat on the dock with the dogs. Sighting his ship today had her highly agitated.
Tonight, she wasn’t looking at the half moon. Nor did the bayou calm her nearly perpetual emotional turmoil. Tonight, all her defenses were up. With one arm, she hugged her knees, resting her chin between them and staring into space. Her other hand picked idly at the threads of a worn spot on one knee of her trousers. Below her furrowed brow, her mouth frowned.
Clearly, she was troubled.
Were the moon full he would go to her, hold her, comfort her, perhaps crack a joke and make her laugh. However, the waxing crescent moon prevented any contact. If Luc tried to hold her, his arms would pass right through her. To anyone just looking, he appeared to be corporeal, but without a full moon, his ephemeral state remained. Along with the painful push-pull of his existence, his spectral abilities increased or faded day to day, according to the moon phase which tied him to the spirit world. With a new moon, he’d have all the abilities and all the drawbacks of a specter. By the time of a full moon, he was completely corporeal. However, some spectral abilities remained. Distracting Grace when she sighted him on theOnly Lovehad taken a great deal out of him.
She’d come dangerously close to finding the ship. All his psychic strength had been required to close the gaps in the deadwood that she could have crossed to get near the vessel.
How had she seen him?
Full sunlight should’ve made seeing him impossible. Yet, there had been a moment, when she’d stared off to one side of the lowering sun. In that moment, Grace obviously had seen his silhouette. The moon hadn’t risen, neither had the light been direct from the sun. No one else had ever caught sight of him during the day. Moonlight, even partial moonlight, was essential to reveal him. Or, so Luc had thought. The rules of his curse were as complex as the cycles of the moon, but he’d believed them immutable. Grace was the first indication that anything about his curse might change, ever.
I have to know precisely what she saw today.
He must be certain that his curse held true, and if not, he must learn the cause.’Tis the only means to ensure my safety and survival.
Was revealing himself now worth the risk?
If she never touched him, all would be fine. Luc sent an inaudible order for the dogs to hunt for rabbits. When they left, he drifted closer to the dock, where the tree shadows faded and moonlight ruled. “Hello Grace.”
Her head lifted, like a deer scenting danger. However, when she glanced over her shoulder, she smiled.
“Hello, Luc. I’ve been thinking about you.”
“I’ve been thinking about you as well.” He smiled back.
She gazed out over the bayou. “Th…that’s nice.”
