Page 27
“Soon.”
He nods and I reluctantly step out of his orbit and to the back door, stopping to turn and steal one more look at him. “I’ll see you around, Caspian-like-the-sea.”
Down on the beach, I head straight over to the sea lions. They’re nestled together in a dugout patch of sand. The biggest of the lot, not much bigger than Caspian’s goat, lifts its head, dark eyes assessing me.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” I say, holding up a hand. It snorts then dips its head and returns to basking in the morning sun. “You care to tell me why you’re here?”
I don’t get a response, not that I expected to. These creatures are supernatural, I can sense it, but they don’t appear to talk. Partially shifting, so that I have my claws to help me, I dig deep into the sand in the shadow of the lighthouse. I push it aside into small mounds of earth. It turns from a damp grey to a darker charcoal the deeper I get. I had the idea to dig when I saw the sea lions doing it, figuring there was something about the sand itself that brought them here.
It’s when my hand goes deeper, hitting a patch of strange marbled blue sand that my body tenses. A sharp sting radiates up my arm, and the world grows noisy. A voice echoes in my head, but I can’t make out what it’s saying and then there’s a pain in my chest. Fierce and piercing, stealing my breath. I pull my hand from the ground, shaking out the tingling sensation left behind. The biggest sea lion has left the huddle, sidling up next to me. She uses her head to push a mound of sand into the hole I’ve just dug.
“You know what this is,” I say. “It’s why you’re here.” I look at the sea lions. “Are you protecting the sand?” Crossing my legs beneath me, I study the mound. The blue slowly seeping back into the earth until none of it remains on the surface. I also note an unusual stench of rotting fruit emanating from the spot. “What the actual hell?” I look up at the lighthouse, the one whose pulse of distress brought me to Newbridge in the first place.
“You have something to do with this?”
The pulse grows steady in my chest, like a bolt of electricity around my heart, before it fades away again and I’m left with a million questions. One thing, though, sticks out and fills me with dread – I’ve seen this sand before.
FIFTEEN
CASPIAN
“You flirted with him? You?” Kiernan asks, a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Oh, fuck you, Kee.”
He laughs and returns to removing croissants from the baking tray and placing them behind the glass shelf at the front of the bakery.
“I’m sorry. I just can’t picture it. We are talking about the super hot new guy that Mrs L was telling us about?”
“I guess he’s the same guy. He’s a marine biologist visiting Newbridge to study the sea lions.”
Kiernan hands me the now empty baking tray.
“Wait. You let a stranger onto the beach?”
“He’s not a stranger. Pops invited him…before.”
Kiernan nods. “Okay. Right. So, what happened? After the flirting?”
A young girl and her mum come up to the counter then and I ignore Kiernan’s question to serve them. They order two scones to go, which I box up for them, with little pots of cream and jam, while Kiernan rings them up on the till.
When they leave the store, and we’re alone again, I turn to my friend.
“Then I cooked him breakfast. Which he didn’t eat.”
“Oh God, please tell me you didn’t try poaching eggs again?” He chuckles and places two firm hands on my shoulders. “My friend, you are the best baker in the world. Your angel cakes are fucking orgasmic, but you cannot cook to save your life.”
I pout, trying to hide my smile, but it’s near on impossible because I’m feeling really good again today. I slept well last night. I had that same dream about running through the woods and waking up in my bed. The dream felt so real this time, like I was somehow trapped in the space between reality and dreamland. And I had this sense that someone was watching me, but it didn’t scare me.
I was safe.
And the encounter I had with a certain newcomer yesterday has only added to my good mood.
Kiernan squeezes my shoulders then lets me go.
“You’re blushing, boss.”
“I am not.” My cheeks burn, and the heat spreads to my ears. “Fuck off, Kee.”
