The Girl in the Water

Chapter 14

"I'll tie him up before he wakes."

Behind her, Dionysus and Seamus were locked in a tender embrace. They were like night and day, Dionysus with his sunny countenance and Seamus with his dark hair and pale skin, but somehow they looked good together. Their arms were around each other, but they simply stared at each other silently. Somehow, the moment was even more intimate than if they were kissing, and I made myself look away.

Roan was close beside me. "Are you alright?" He wasn't anxious anymore - his beautiful face was relaxed now that we were far from Wistoniya.

"I'm okay." I told him, mentally going over my body to see if anything hurt. "Everything went wrong down there though."

"Yeah, Seamus could tell right away." Roan rubbed his temple, and I wondered if his head was hurting. "The magic stripping barrier must have been a new thing. All the info he'd used to research for this was from last month."

"Almost cost us our lives." Eisla grumbled from where she was tying up the faerie.

"I did my best." Seamus snapped, breaking from his reverie with Dionysus.

"Now, now." Dionysus pulled away from him, smiling indulgently around our loose circle. "The important thing is that we all came out unscathed. I will forever be in your debt, the lot of you."

The last part was directed at me with a somber and sincere face, and I squirmed uncomfortably. He smiled at me before looking at Roan. "How did he get you to do this, Ryker?"

"Don't worry about it." Seamus touched the solstae's hand. "We can clear everything up later, just get back up to the sky before you get any weaker - "

"I'm sorry, but I have to postpone your trip up a little longer." Roan stepped forward, his face and voice firm. Seamus shot him a scathing look, but he ignored him. "We need info from you. It's urgent."

"You can wait a day or so, Ryker." Seamus said darkly.

"I can't." Roan snapped, and I stared at him in surprise. I'd never seen him get so irritable with anyone. Even with that disgusting Smeeg, he had stayed polite and in control. Now though, he couldn't keep up his usual cheer.

Seamus looked like he was going to retort again, but Dionysus squeezed his hand. He looked between Roan and I curiously. "What is it? If I have the info, I'll give it to you. It's the least I can do for that botched prison break." He laughed dryly.

"I know you have the info." Roan told him. He walked up until he was right in front of the solstae, ignoring the venomous glares Seamus was directing at him. "Seamus has a note from you in his system. The 30th of January 1985 ring any bells?"

Dionysus stared back at Roan, his brows furrowed in a slight frown. "1985..." He paused, his mind working. I watched as his indigo eyes widened, and a glowing hand shot out to grab Roan's arm. "You found him?"

Roan blinked in surprise. "Who, Heifer? Bloke's been dead for a while,Di - "

But the solstae shook his head impatiently. "I don't give a damn about that lecherous bastard. I'm talking about Greyfire - did you find him?"

There was a long silence where nothing moved except the gently swaying crops that grew around us. 

"He found us." Roan said after a long moment. "He found Emery, to be exact." His golden eyes slid to mine before returning to Dionysus. "We want to know what you found out about him."

Dionysus looked at me, his eyes bright with something I couldn't understand, before he suddenly swayed against Seamus' side. Seamus held him up easily, his face stricken with worry.