She broke into a huge smile and gave a small laugh at his words. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of her softened beauty.
“Down here, my guy.”
Kai walked around the toolbox between the woman and him and glanced at the ground near her feet. Standing on two stick-like, three-toed feet, was a small white bird wearing a woolen cap. The seagull raised its wings and lifted from the ground a few inches before landing a little closer to him.
It opened its beak and explained, “I’m Bertie, short for Roberta, and this is Hollyn Oates. Baba Yaga said you were a pilot for hire willing to take us somewhere with no questions.”
“Hollyn Oates? Like the band?”
“No. Like the person. First name Hollyn. Last name Oates.”
“You need a pilot? Why? You’re a bird. You can fly yourself wherever you want to go.”
The gull swiveled its head back toward the woman. “But she can’t.”
Kai’s gaze lifted to meet the beautiful woman whose smile was now wiped from her face. She smelled like a soft ocean breeze mixed with a floral scent he didn’t quite recognize but was so familiar to him.
“I seem to recall Baba Yaga asking if I might be up for a charter to an island chain in the Atlantic. I don’t do anything unless I get paid upfront.” And he knew better than to trust the Baba Yaga. She was known to make sure everything worked out according toherplans.
Unexpectedly, the woman flipped something to him. He caught it in one hand. When he opened his hand and examined the coin, he had to admit he was impressed. “What are you? Some kind of treasure hunter?”
“My dude! This woman is not just some kind of treasure hunter, she could find a miniature gold needle in a stack of gold needles.”
“I’m not going to lie, talking to a bird the entire trip sounds like a shit job. Do you speak English?” He directed his question toward the woman.
She nodded. He was intrigued. Why did he find her silence so mysterious?
“I thought Baba Yaga was going to mention that she’s mute. She hears fine but doesn’t speak.”
“That’s fucking weird.”
“You’re freaking weird, and you have a foul mouth.”
Kai couldn’t even be mad. He had to give a nod of respect to the little guy. He might have little-man syndrome, but at least he didn’t just take shit without giving a little back. Still, this seemed like a waste of Kai’s time, and he didn’t like to waste his time.
He needed to get back to his own mission. When you didn’t know who you were or where you came from, it tended to be on your mind quite often. The only clue he had was the symbol on the seashell hanging on the circle of smaller shells around his neck that he never went anywhere without. He’d like to know what it meant and who had given it to him when he was an infant abandoned on the beach. That’s where his adoptive parents found him, and they raised him as their own, but with so many unanswered questions about his origins, he really didn’t need to take on someone else’s problems right now.
“Sorry. I think I’ll pass this time.”
A moment of doubt hit him as the woman’s eyebrows pulled together, emphasizing the fiery electric blue of her eyes, and betraying her disappointment. Maybe he could take a small side trip.
No! He couldn’t waste any more time. He reached up and gripped the seashell that rested at the hollow of his throat before turning and walking back toward his work.
“Good luck to you. I’m sure you can see your way out.”
“Hollyn, you need to sing.”
Sing?As in a song? What the hell did that have to do with anything? Did they really think he was looking for entertainment? The woman might be attractive, but these two were loony. The sooner they were gone, the better.
Out of nowhere, he felt a light touch on his elbow. He turned and grabbed her by her upper arms, hindering any attack she might try. She fell into his chest, and he tightened his arms around her in a protective hug, her hands lay flat against him as her chin lifted and their gazes met.
Her widened eyes as she released a small gasp, and her slack mouth set him at ease once more. He knew he’d jumped the gun, so to speak, but some kind of strange energy passed between them. It was strange and thrilling and oh, so, forbidden. With a clearing of his throat, he dropped his hands like he’d been burned. She stumbled slightly but righted herself a second later.
“Sorry. I don’t do well with people sneaking up behind me.”
She stared up at him, and he couldn’t do anything but stare right back into her ocean-color eyes. Mesmerizing. He shook his head as she pulled a book from her bag he just noticed was in her hands. She flipped through the pages until she stopped on one and began pointing at a picture drawn there.
He took the book from her hands and stared at the image. He looked down in the direction of his necklace, but he didn’t need to see it to know that the image matched the symbol imprinted on the shell dangling there. The image in the book was of a heart-shaped amulet with a glowing red ruby with the familiar symbol carved carefully into the gem. It was different from his, but the picture imprinted on both his shell and the medallion linked them somehow.
