If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.
- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
The rest of the trip down the cliffs passed faster than Leah expected, and soon she was curled on a lumpy mattress with stern orders to get some sleep.
Cassandra had been gone for over an hour now, and Danny was sitting quietly in the chair beside the bed, his silhouette streaked with yellow light from a streetlamp outside. Every time he looked towards her, Leah smashed her eyes shut, knowing he'd scold her for being awake, but sleep was proving evasive.
She could hear the rhythm of the waves against the sand, the creak of the boats swaying against the docks, and it sent feathers tickling against her ribcage.
She was going back. And she could feel it down to her bones.
A soft knock sent Leah bolting upright and Danny gave her a sidelong look before moving to the door and glancing through the peephole. When he swung it open, Cassandra hurried in, an agitated look on her face.
"I've found someone who'll take us," she said. "But we have to hurry. He's leaving at 4:30."
Leah glanced at the fluorescent 4:00am on the bedside table and jumped up. "Okay. Let's go."
"You need to take this," Cassandra said, dropping a gold necklace into Leah's palm.
Leah raised an eyebrow, examining the interlocking curls that branched towards a diamond teardrop pendent. Tiny inscriptions ran along its chain, delicate and flowing.
"Why do I need a necklace?" she asked.
"The sailor requested you take it back to the live world with you," Cassandra said with a shrug. "It seemed an odd thing to refuse. He said it doesn't belong here."
Leah eyed the necklace for a moment longer before clipping it around her neck and letting it dangle, cold against her collarbone.
When she looked up again, Cassandra was holding the door open, gesturing Leah and Danny outside.
The night was dark and still as they emerged, and when the pier came into sight, Leah's heart started pounding. The finality of what she was about to do was setting in and it made the air thicker around her, flooding her with the life she was leaving; with Alice and Zarah, with Jared.
The last name made Leah's stomach plummet and she glanced back at the cliffs, shadowed and ominous in the darkness. His absence felt the most significant, the most unbelievable. Her every thought of the live world had been entwined with thoughts of him.
She was drawn back to the present when they stepped onto the pier and a boat pulled up. Cassandra hurried forward, exchanging quick words with a burly man who'd emerged from the cabin and Leah glanced at Danny. He was examining the water below them, his jaw tense.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked. "I could find another way to get help."
"I'm sure," Danny said, and before she could reply, he followed Cassandra onto the boat.
Leah sighed and joined them, moving to the railing and trying to remain calm as the engine rumbled and they pulled away from the shore. She watched as the land grew smaller, as the swell crested and fell until it masked it completely.
She wasn't sure how much longer she stood there before Cassandra appeared beside her, leaning her forearms against the railing and looking out towards the ocean.
YOU ARE READING
Black Stars - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 1
Fantasy*WATTPAD FEATURED FEB 2018* *2018 FICTION AWARD WINNER IN SCI FI CATEGORY* Leah Azemar's soul has been sent to the world of the dead. She just doesn't know it. ... Leah Azemar has spent her life trapped in a town that moves slower than she does, hi...
