CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Nessa!” A deep voice reached my ears through the trees.
“I’m here,” I called, tilting my head toward the voice. “I’m here.”
Footsteps crashed through the trees. I panicked and moved away from them, scrambling on the ground.
“Nessa?” It was Caesar.
“I’m here.” A flashlight beam swung in my direction, illuminating the ground and blinding me.
“What happened?” Caesar rushed into the light, Juan waited behind him, holding a flashlight like the one I used to have. Caesar knelt beside me, grabbing one of my dirty hands. He brushed moss and dirt from my skin. His grey eyes were worried. “What happened?” he asked again when I didn’t answer.
“I…I don’t know. There was someone here.”
He reached out a large clean hand, gently touching my forehead. “You’re bleeding.”
I reached up to where Caesar had indicated. My hand felt something wet and warm. I pulled it away and found blood.
“Nessa! Thank God. We heard you screaming.” Colleen came running into the light, the large shadow of Kyle at her back. “You’re bleeding.”
I tried to smile. “So I heard.” They were all still looking at me like I was about to die. “I’m fine. Just help me up.” Colleen reached out the same time Caesar did. I didn't think about who I reached for, I just grabbed Caesar's stronger arm instinctively. Caesar pulled me off the ground with little effort. Colleen pulled her hand back, crossing her arms.
“That looks pretty bad,” Kyle, the huge orcie, ducked under a tree branch as he made his way over to me. He stripped off his sweatshirt and handed it to Colleen. Then, to my complete surprise, he took off his undershirt and handed it to me. “Use this to stop the bleeding until we get to camp and find the first-aid kit.”
I took the shirt from Kyle. It was as big as a blanket in my hand.
“Let me fold that,” Colleen said, taking the shirt from him. She pressed it gently to my forehead.
“Is it really that bad?” I asked, slightly dazed. It was probably a good thing Caesar was supporting me. I reached up to hold the shirt to my head when Colleen let go.
“We won’t know until we have better light. Can you walk?” Caesar wrapped an warm arm around me.
I nodded. I took a step and stumbled. “Maybe not.”
“Let me carry her.” Kyle stopped Caesar with a small gesture. “It’ll be easier for me to carry her.” In one smooth, sweeping motion he lifted me into his arms and began walking back to camp, the others walking along with us.
Colleen tilted her head upward, her face pale. “What happened? Kyle and I heard you scream and came as quickly as we could. Did you fall?”
“No.” I switched the hand I was holding the towel with. “No. I heard something in the woods. I was following the noise when something hit me.”
Kyle looked down at me, his broad, dark face furrowed. “Something hit you?”
“Someone attacked me. The hunter, it had to be”
“I’ll take a look around,” I heard Juan say in his distinctive accent. I couldn’t see him from my position in Kyle’s arms, but I heard his footsteps turn in the opposite direction before anyone could stop him.
Colleen shook her head. “You couldn’t have been attacked. The boundary would keep out the hunter, there’s no way he’s here. We’re the only people on the island, and everyone was at the fire—I’d just noticed you were gone when we heard the scream.”
I'd thought we were the only people on the island too, but I wasn't so sure anymore. “No. He was here. He knocked my flashlight from my hands. Oh—my flashlight.”
“Too late now,” Caesar said, walking on the other side of Kyle. “We can go back and look for it in the morning.”
“Could it have been an animal? A bird maybe?” Colleen sounded just like Amynta had earlier, when I’d heard noises in the trees. I sat up straighter in Kyle’s arm, clear-headedness slowly returning to me.
“No. An animal wouldn’t have attacked me. Not like that.”
“Well, did you see him?” Colleen asked.
I bit my lip, hating to admit the truth. “No. I didn’t see anything.”
“Because there’s nothing to see,” Colleen sounded exasperated. “I’m telling you, Nessa. We’re all telling you—the hunter can’t cross the boundary.”
“Well, if it wasn’t the hunter, then what was it?”
“The rum?”
“I’m not drunk.”
“You’re not exactly thinking straight either.”
“Just leave it, Colleen. She’s hurt, and she hit her head. She doesn’t need to be arguing with you.” Caesar reached up, giving me a comforting squeeze. Thankfully, Colleen listened.
Kyle pushed through the trees to the orange, fire lit campsite. Both Colleen and Caesar fell silent. Everyone looked up at us in anticipation—the dancing sea nymphs, the card playing Tiderunner’s, and the psychic merfolk—but most of them kept their distance. Had I really screamed that loudly?
Telmath walked up to us, his voice deep and gravelly. “Are you alright?”
“Yes. Yeah. I’m fine. There was someone out there, something...it hit me.”
“She thinks it was the hunter.” Colleen crossed her arms. “Tell her it’s impossible for anything human to cross the boundary.”
Telmath frowned, wrinkling his algae and barnacle covered face. “Impossible is a big word. Either way, you do not have the strength of a vodiani to protect yourself with, Nessa. Maybe you shouldn’t wander alone in the night.” He grabbed one of my arms as Kyle lowered me to the ground. Telmath helped me hobble over to a log bench as Kyle disappeared to get the first-aid kit.
“Don’t worry, she won’t go anywhere alone again.” Caesar stood over me, arms crossed. He looked furious, worried, and absolutely gorgeous in the firelight. His dark hair was hanging over his eyes. His lips were pursed. I wanted to kiss him for finding me, but I wasn’t about to do it with Colleen standing over us like a disapproving principal. “Let me take a look at your head.”
“Thanks for your help, Telmath,” I said as the voidiani headed over to re-join the dancing sea nymphs.
Juan returned. He shrugged apologetically, tucking his hands into the pockets of his faded black jeans. “I didn’t find anyone, Nessa. I’m sorry.”
“Thanks for checking,” Caesar said, kneeling in front of me. His warm hand overlapped mine as he took over holding Kyle's shirt to my wound.
“Are you sure you didn’t have too much to drink?” Colleen asked, arms crossed.
I sighed with frustration. “I know what you're thinking, but there was someone there, I'm sure of it.”
“But you didn’t see him?”
I narrowed my eyes. “It was dark, I heard something, I turned on my flashlight and there was a bright reflection. So I went into the woods to check it out. A few seconds later someone hit me.”
“So you didn't see an actual person?”
“No.” I relented.
“It was probably an animal. Look, you're a city kid, obviously you’re not used to the sounds of nature. It's perfectly safe here, Nessa. There's nothing to be afraid of. I bet you a caramel latte it was only an owl or something that you heard. You have to have faith that your grandmother’s spells protect us. Sea-witches have been setting up boundaries for millennia.”
“And I just did this to myself, did I?” I pointed angrily at my head, glaring at Colleen. “What if the hunter found a way to get through the boundary?”
“That’s impossible,” Colleen said.
“Nothing’s impossible.”
“Colleen, enough!” Caesar said, gently taking the bloody T-shirt away from me, peeling it from my forehead. “Nessa doesn’t need you telling her what happened, or who she should be friends with for that matter.”
“You know–”
“Colleen, could you please go get me a drink, hot chocolate or something? I’m really thirsty.” I interrupted her in haste; she didn’t need any
more reasons to hate pirates.
Colleen glared at Caesar, then gave me a small smile. “Sure, I’ll be right back.” Colleen left for the drink table.
I sighed. “Maybe she's right. Maybe I did just trip on my own two feet—not that she needs to know that. Maybe it was just an animal. I've been wrong about a lot lately.”
Caesar handed the bloody shirt to a silent Juan behind him. “It’s not as bad as it looked in the forest.” Caesar held my head firmly between his hands, leaning closer. My face was inches from his. I inhaled his comforting, forest-like scent. “I guess what they say about head wounds bleeding a lot is true.”
“Uh huh,” I replied, tongue-tied by his nearness, overwhelmed by the feel of his warm hands on my skin.
Caesar looked down at me, catching me staring at him. Our eyes met. I moved infinitesimally closer to him, studying the smooth curve of his lips.
“Here you go,” Kyle returned from his tent, thrusting toward us a blue bag with white writing labelling it the First-Aid Kit. Caesar pulled away. I turned my head, looking back at the dancing sea nymphs, pretending that nothing had almost happened.
Caesar took the kit from Kyle. “What else have you been wrong about?”
I looked across the fire at Shia. She was playing a strange silent game with the other merfolk. From what I could tell, it consisted of them having one of their silent conversations for a few minutes before suddenly all lunging for one of five unique objects on the table, one person being left with nothing each time. I thought about how I’d been jealous of her, of how wrong I’d been to think Caesar liked her. Of course, that didn’t mean she didn’t like him.
“Well, for one, I'm pretty sure I failed that quiz yesterday,” I tried to smile but lifting my lips hurt the side of my face where I'd been cut.
Caesar bent over the blue kit, opening it up and digging through it. “Can you shine the light over here?” he asked Juan, who quietly complied. “Did you black out when you hit your head?”
I shook my head. “No. Something hit me and I fell down, or…I ran into something, I guess.”
Kyle laughed, his whole body shook. “You're just a bit of a klutz. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” He looked over his shoulder at the game of cards being played by his cousins. “If you don't need any more help, I'm going to go sit down.”
Caesar nodded at Kyle who left for the other side of the fire. “Well, it's good you don't have a concussion; if you did, we'd have to take you back to your grandma.”
“Even if I did have a concussion, I wouldn't let you. I'm enjoying my night away from her too much.”
Caesar ripped open a small square package and began wiping my wound.
“Ow.” Pain burnt down the side of my face.
“Don't be such a baby. You're a sea-witch. Hasn't anyone told you Neptunians don't cry?”
“I thought it’d only be natural to cry once in a while—you know—salt water and all that.” I gripped the bark of the tree trunk I was sitting on and focused on holding my tears back.
Caesar turned back to the kit, pulling out a dressing. He folded a bit of gauze underneath white tape and stuck it to my head. “You might be right, but I’m already done and look—no tears shed. It doesn’t look pretty, but it isn’t bleeding anymore. You're lucky I didn't have to give you stitches.
I reached up, gingerly touching my head. “Better Bride of Frankenstein than dead, right?”
Caesar nodded. “I'd better put this back.” He stood up and left, Juan following loyally behind him. The moment Caesar was gone, Colleen was there, holding a cup full of cold hot chocolate. I used my sea-witch powers to heat it up.
“Are you alright?” she asked. “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, I just–”
“It’s fine.” I waved off her apology. “I guess there’s a reason I don’t watch horror movies; I’d think there was a monster in every closet.”
“Well, I promise there are no monsters out here, just merfolk, vodiani, and other fantastical and wonderful creatures.” She glanced over her shoulder at the Tiderunner's. “Speaking of which, I'd better get back to the game. Zeke's not very good at playing my hand for me. Since I went to find you in the woods, I've been losing terribly. Do you want to come sit with us?”
I shook my head slowly. “No, thanks. I think I’ll just sit by the fire for a bit, maybe I’ll even join in the dancing.” I indicated to the sea nymphs who were waving their arms about as they moved to the music. Rainbow—the only sea nymph who was in a fully human form—was currently trying to breakdance in the grass and spinning on her head of short, spikey white and blue hair.
Colleen left and I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. I looked briefly for Amynta, but didn’t find her.
A few minutes later, Caesar came back with a bulky black sweater in his hands. He draped it around my shoulders. I didn't know if it was the gesture or the hit on the head, but suddenly I was teary eyed. “Thanks.” I pulled the sweater tighter around my shoulders. It smelled just like him.
“Why did you leave?” he asked me, sitting down at my side, his knee grazing mine.
“I went for a walk on the beach. I...wanted to get away.”
He raised one eyebrow but said nothing.
“Anyway.” I shook my head of loose red hair. I was getting colder now that I was still. I reached into my pocket for my toque. It wasn't there. “Oh no.”
“What?”
“My toque, I must have dropped it when I fell.”
Caesar reached behind me, raising the hood of my sweater. “I guess that's another thing we'll have to try and find tomorrow.”
“Thanks, I should have thought of that.”
Caesar found my eyes with his. “Why did you go walking alone? I'm your friend, I would have gone with you if you’d asked me.”
My heart thumped in my chest. “Because–”
“Caesar, come and teach me more guitar!” I looked over at Shia; she was waving him over to her. I took a contemplative sip of my hot chocolate, almost scorching my tongue. I put it down on the ground to cool off.
“You need to practice what I already taught you,” Caesar called back. Then he turned his attention back to me. “You were saying?”
“It really sucks that Colleen doesn’t like you. If I was Shia, hanging out with you wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Nessa–”
“Wait. I…I’ve been thinking about this all night.” I’d been thinking about it non-stop actually, and now, finally, I knew what I wanted. “I want to be friends with Colleen—but I want you in my life too. I know you’ll try with Colleen, because you care about me. So I’m going to hope she feels the same way.”
Caesar looked at me quizzically. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I want to be more than your friend. And I don’t want it to be a secret.”
Caesar’s eyes reflected the firelight, exploding like fireworks. He smiled. “I knew you couldn’t resist me.”
“You're horrible. Absolutely horrible.” I moved forward until my body pressed right up again Caesar's. I reached up, taking his head in my hands just like he’d held mine when he was cleaning my cut. Then I closed my eyes and kissed him.
His arms encircled my waist, pulling me even closer. His lips were soft and velvety against mine.
It was the best kiss I'd ever shared.
After a few long moments he pulled away. The campsite was practically silent. The moment I turned my head, everyone began whistling and catcalling, led on by Markus. Everyone but Colleen, who stood up, threw down her cards, and marched over to our tent.
“I'll be right back,” I told Caesar, slowly untangling myself from him so I could chase after Colleen. “Wait,” I called.
“Go away, Nessa.”
“Colleen, I'm sorry. He's a good guy just–“
“No. If Kyle can't convince me pirates are good, you definitely can't. I'm not friends with pirates. I'm not friends with girls who kiss them e
ither.” Colleen ripped open the tent and dove in.
“But–“
“Don't. There's nothing you can say. I saw everything with my own eyes. You like him. Fine. You can sleep somewhere else tonight.” Colleen threw my backpack and my still rolled sleeping bag out of the tent.
“Colleen, just because I like Caesar doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”
“Yes it does–”
“No it–”
“He hung me up in a net, Nessa. His dad’s the reason that my dad’s missing. How can we be friends if you’re dating the guy who practically killed my dad? If you want to hang out with him, then we’re done.”
Gently, someone grabbed my arm. I looked over at Amynta. She was shaking her head. “Just let her be angry.” Amynta pulled on my arm, guiding me over to her tent. She threw my bags inside. “If she wants to be your friend, she'll get over it. You can bunk with me tonight.”
I looked back at the small tent Colleen had zipped herself in. I wrapped my arms around myself. “Do you think?”
Amynta tilted her head, her clear green eyes meeting mine. “I can't promise anything; but I'm your friend...and so is Caesar.”
The way she said Caesar made me shiver and smile and feel guilty and good all at the same time.
“I think he's waiting for you.”
I looked back over at the fire where the sea nymphs and vodiani were dancing to music. The orcies and merfolk had combined forces to play a new game. Caesar was still sitting on the log, alone, waiting for me to come back.
“You make a cute couple,” Amynta said, interlacing her arm with mine as we walked.
“Speaking of couples, what’s up with you and Markus?”
“We’re officially boyfriend and girlfriend. So, you and Caesar?”
“Well, I did tell him that I want to be more than friends.” I leaned over, resting my head on her shoulder. “And then we kissed, so I’m pretty sure he’s my boyfriend.”
Amynta giggled and almost squealed. Amazingly enough, I felt like squealing along with her. Caesar was my boyfriend—and we’d kissed. Colleen could sulk in her tent all she wanted, I was going to enjoy my first night as Caesar’s girlfriend—it was just something she was going to have to get used to. Amynta went to join the dancers, leaving Caesar and I alone to talk.
Caesar turned his granite-grey eyes toward me. “I see she didn’t come out of her tent. Are you okay?”
I stopped, tilted my head, and then stepped closer, wrapping my arms around his waist. “She’ll come around eventually. So, until then...” I let my voice trail off seductively.
“Until then?” Caesar leaned closer.
My breath was shallow, my nerves excited electrons buzzing around in the night. “I’ll have to hang out with you.”
“Good.” He kissed me. I could kiss him all night.