The Girl in the Water

Chapter 13

At about 1 in the morning, a slight rustling sound made my eyes flutter open.

I was lying on the sunken couch of Seamus' computer room, and the soft blue glow that emanated from the screens draped everything like moonlight. A ratty green blanket had been thrown over top of me, and I looked around to see that Eisla was sleeping on the floor beside me. She was using her satchel as a pillow, but despite that, she looked surprisingly comfortable; her eyelids were lavender and still as she slept.

I sat up and looked behind me into the kitchen. Roan was in one of the rickety chairs, his neck bent at an awkward angle where it draped over the back and his mouth wide open as he snored. Bono was curled up in his lap, just a ball of fur as he slept. I smiled softly at the sight of them.

Our conversation in the trees seemed so far away, but it had only been a day or so. I thought of what he'd told me; how his parents had vanished, and how he'd grown up an orphan. I thought of his brother, and his mysterious death. I couldn't see any of that pain in his face now as he dreamt; Roan was relaxed and peaceful and beautiful.

"I didn't mean to wake you."

I turned sharply at the voice to find Seamus sitting on the floor by the door, his strange rectangle of buttons on his lap. His green eyes shone in the light from the monitors, and he looked back at me expressionlessly.

"Oh, it's fine." I pulled myself further up, pulling the blanket around my knees. "You couldn't sleep?"

Seamus shrugged, his fingers beginning to dance over the buttons again; the rustling sound that had woken me turned out to be a series of clicking. "I'm nervous." He said simply, his face as straight as ever.

I paused, thinking of the plan he, Roan and Eisla had come up with the evening before. The thought of it filled me with my own unease – when morning came, their crazy plan would take effect.

"I'm sure it will be fine." I told him weakly.

Seamus didn't reply, his eyes on one of his monitors. I followed his gaze to see that the screen he was looking at was filling up with line after line of a jumble of numbers and letters. I flirted with the idea of asking him about it before abandoning it; I was sure his answer would just warrant more questions.

I looked back at him, taking in his pale skin and inky hair. The man was the key to so many answers, and yet he was such a mystery.

"Tell me about Dionysus." I said softly, making sure I didn't wake the other two.

His slender fingers paused, and green eyes flashed in the dimness. "What do you want to know?"

I shrugged, crossing my arms and leaning my head against the back of the couch as I looked at him. "I don't know, anything. We're risking a lot to break him out tomorrow, so I'd like to know why he's so important to you."

Seamus stared at me, tilting his head slightly as he did. "Who said he was important to me?"

"We're literally breaking him out for you – "

"Yes." Seamus replied shortly. "I never said he was important to me though."

I stared at him in confusion, wondering where he was going with this. "You didn't have to." I said slowly. "I could just tell."

We stared at each other for so long it quickly became uncomfortable. Seamus was like a stone, both his countenance and his body frozen and still where he sat on the floor. I wondered if I'd touched a nerve with him – maybe the topic of Dionysus was off limits.