Seabound (Seabound Chronicles Book 1) (19 page)

She wanted to
argue with what was happening, to lash out. Everything had suddenly gone so
very wrong.

“Neal would be in
the tower in a storm like this. They should be able to get him. His radio
equipment is in good shape.”

“This is the most
powerful storm we’ve seen in years,” David said, as if she didn’t know that.

Esther held on
against the movements of the ship. Her foot throbbed. She had to do something.
I hope my dad is all right.
She didn’t
dare follow that line of thought.

“Can I stay here
and wait for news?” she asked.

David and Reuben
exchanged glances. “It’s not going to help.”

“I need to know.”

Reuben shrugged
and scratched at his left ear. “Suit yourself.”

“You can go back
to whatever it is you do now,” Esther said to David.

Had they really
been wrapped up together just a few hours ago? How had she let this happen? The
adrenaline had begun to drain from her body as if it were escaping through the
hatch in the floor. She felt tired and confused.

David looked at
her through his broken glasses. “No, I’ll stay with you. You might need me.”

“I doubt it.”

“Come on, Esther,”
he said, “I’m trying to help. I’m not the bad guy here.”

Esther didn’t
answer. She shouldn’t be cruel to him, but she was angry. She had let down her
guard, made herself vulnerable, even enjoyed herself.
Then look what happened
. She folded her arms around her ankle as if
she could fend off the pain in her foot, shifting awkwardly in the tight skirt.
David didn’t say anything more either, just sat beside her, frowning, as the
wind howled around the tower and static crackled through the radio.

As the hours
passed, Esther fought to keep her head up. If only she’d been more rested, she
might not have fallen asleep in David’s arms. She could be back on the
Catalina
by now, helping them weather the storm.

A fog had begun to
settle over Esther’s brain when Reuben’s voice cut through it, chisel sharp.
“What’s that,
Emerald
? Copy. Copy. Thanks for that. Yep, we’re okay
here. We’ll see you at the rendezvous. Good news on the
Catalina
.”
Esther’s head jolted up. “They made a clean break with the
Emerald
. Got
the bridge up and everything. They knew enough to hightail it out of here.”

“Are they still
afloat?” Esther hobbled over to stand by Reuben’s chair.

“No word on that.
Still haven’t established radio contact. We’ll try and get them on the
satellite when the storm is over.”

“Our satellite
links are still pretty rudimentary, but Neal will get them up and running. He’s
been learning about Marianna’s system.”

Esther looked out
of the windows. The waves crashed across the deck below them. The sky whirled
in a torrent of black and gray. She thought she saw the glow of another ship
far out to sea, but otherwise they were alone.

“What did you say
about a rendezvous?”

“We have an emergency
plan in place. All the
Galaxy
ships head to designated coordinates after
an event like this. Usually, we break apart well in advance of the storms and
we’re all back together within twenty-four hours. In a killer like this,
though, all the captains worth their salt will have gotten pretty far away from
everyone else to avoid collisions, so it could take a few days for everyone to
join up.”

“Did anyone inform
the
Catalina
of the rendezvous coordinates?” Esther asked, her heart
sinking into her stomach.

Reuben glanced
over at David. “That’s not my business.”

David’s voice was
suddenly very formal, as it had been the first day they met. His back
straightened perceptibly.

“No,” he said.
“The captains wouldn’t risk sharing our contingency plans.”

Esther looked at
him levelly, willed herself not to think about the way he’d made her feel last
night. The lightning stabbed across his broken glasses. She made her voice as
cold as ice in a whiskey glass.

“Well, we’re just
going to have to establish contact with them soon then. They’re low on water,
really low. We can’t let them float for long.”

Chapter 19—The
Galaxy
Mist

When the waves finally
calmed, it looked like twilight, though it must have been after ten in the
morning. They were utterly alone. After more than a week spent amidst the towering
ships of the
Flotilla
and the buzzing
of the water taxis, it was strange to be on a solitary sea again. It seemed an
eternity before the clouds broke at the horizon and the sun started forcing its
way through.

Esther tortured
herself with thoughts of everything that could have gone wrong on the
Catalina
, of the danger her people were in
.
Her father. The friends who had become their family over the last sixteen
years. Even Judith. They must be low on fuel after running from the
Flotilla
in the storm. What if something
went wrong with the engines? She feared the temporary engine crew wouldn’t be
able to fix them as well as she could. She knew Cally couldn’t handle any major
breaks.

She prayed Cally
was safe, that she hadn’t made the same mistake Esther had the night before.

The rocking of the
ship had slowed.

“Esther?” David
put a hand on her arm. She shrugged off his touch. “Esther, there’s nothing we
can do from here. I think you should get someone to look at your foot.”

“I need to talk to
them as soon as we make radio contact,” Esther said. “I’ve got to check on the
engines . . . and find out the condition of our water supply.”

The
Emerald
’s
hospitality team had been sharing water with the
Catalina
, but she
doubted they’d stored enough to survive for long. She wished she’d taken
inventory of the tanks before leaving the day before. Everyone had been distracted
by the
Flotilla
. They’d become
careless. Now she could imagine what was happening there. Rationing would kick
in immediately. Growing thirst would lead to thin tempers. People would argue.
Tension would descend on the ship like a power outage. Judith wasn’t very good
at calming tension. Esther’s father was the one with that gift. She hoped he
was safe.

David tried again.
“There’s nothing coming from the
Catalina
. Let’s give them some time to
sort out their communications. I have to get to work. We’ll need to get the
residents together to reassure them about the situation.”

“I’ll stay here.”

Esther hugged her
legs tighter. Half her body was numb from sitting on the floor, but her heel
still throbbed.

David frowned, the
tic visible in his jaw again. “You can’t do anything from here. And you won’t
help anyone if your foot gets infected.”

Reuben leaned back
in his chair and smiled sadly at her. “When we hear from the
Catalina
,
you’ll be the first to know.”

She looked between
him and David. She felt chilled and stiff. “Okay, fine. Thank you. Um, David? I
need you to help me down.”

Esther refused to
make eye contact as David half carried her from the bridge.

At the bottom,
Esther allowed David to support her as they made their way down to the emergency
medical clinic taking shape in the dinner theater. His arm was warm and solid
around her, and once again she pushed away the memory of what they’d done the
previous night.

 
The fanciful mood of the previous
evening had been replaced with pragmatism. Volunteers jumped at the orders of
nurses, who were busy treating scrapes, twisted ankles, and a few nasty gashes.
The room was alive with conversation as people tried to account for their
friends and family and sort out what had happened. The storm had caught
everyone completely off guard. It wasn’t unheard of for freak storms to rise
without warning, but they’d grown complacent as their weather-monitoring technology
improved. Some said it was like “the bad old days.” Still, there was a definite
sense of purpose to everyone’s actions, a marked change from the indolent
theater audience of the night before.

Esther’s injury
was mild compared to the ones some of the others had. A heavyset nurse with
translucent blue eyes threaded five stitches through her heel, tying them off
with practiced hands. Esther gritted her teeth against each pierce and pull of
the needle. The nurse discarded David’s bloodied T-shirt in a growing pile of
ruined clothing.

“You won’t throw
that away, will you?” Esther asked the nurse.

“Course not,
honey. We don’t waste anything around here.” She patted her on the arm. “You’re
a brave one. Not a single squeal out of you.”

She bustled off to
help her colleague set a broken wrist.

Esther looked
around for David, but he had disappeared. She felt a twinge of disappointment,
then stamped it down immediately. She hated feeling that she should rely on
him, but she was in unfamiliar territory. The
Galaxy
residents drifted around her, talking over her head,
exclaiming, crying. She didn’t know a single one. Eyes slid over her as soon as
people registered she wasn’t a friend or even an acquaintance. She felt like a
ghost, a remnant of the
Catalina
. A
bone-deep weariness pulled at her, almost overwhelming her worry. She curled up
on a plush red couch and succumbed to the fatigue.

When Esther awoke,
the atmosphere in the theater had calmed. She felt as stiff as a salt-washed
pair of jeans, and her foot still throbbed. She looked around. Many of the
other patients had made nests on the low red couches. Some talked quietly over
tables that had been emptied of the dinnerware from the night before. A soft
moan drifted from a patient laid out near the stage.

Esther was
surprised to see Paris Morgan carrying a bag filled with water bottles around
the room. He still wore his glittering gold vest, hanging open now, and his
gray curls were bedraggled. She sat up when he reached her.

“And here’s some
water for you. Food’ll be around soon,” he said, his voice almost as energetic
as the night before.

“Thank you, um,
Paris?”

He turned back.
“Oh, it’s you! You were with Norman at the performance last night. Ella, is
it?”

“Esther.”

“That’s right.
Lovely name. What are you still doing on the
Mist
? Bit of sour luck?” He
leaned against the table and set his bag down heavily.

“More of a rotten
decision last night.” She rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair
a few times to smooth it down.

“We’ve all been
there, darling.” Paris surveyed the theater turned emergency clinic.

“Do you know where
Marianna is?” Esther asked. “I need to get in touch with the
Catalina
as
soon as possible.”

“She’ll be back
home on the
Crystal
, I expect. I was caught unawares on the
Mist
myself last night. I figured I’d lend a hand.”

“When will we meet
up with the
Crystal
?”

“Probably not till
morning,” Paris answered. “It’s a bit of a hike to the rendezvous point. Do you
have somewhere to stay?”

Esther looked down
at the red couch and thought of David’s stateroom the night before, of the
feeling of his warm head resting on her chest. “I—”

A voice rang
across the theater, interrupting her: “Everyone, could I have your attention
please?”

David had taken
the stage. He’d had time to dress properly and comb his hair. He looked sleek
and distant again, like a stranger. Still, she wanted him to look at her, to
meet her eyes. He scanned the crowd and said, “I’ve just made an announcement
on deck, but I wanted to make sure you are all informed down here. I know
everyone has had a terrible night, but let me reassure you that everything is
under control. We are speeding toward the rendezvous point, and you will be
reunited with your friends and family soon. I’m happy to report that all of the
Galaxy
cruise ships made it through the storm.”

“What about the
smaller ships and the crews on the cargo vessels?” a man shouted from the other
side of the room.

David handled the
interruption smoothly.

“All members of
the
Galaxy Flotilla
will be doing their very best to return to the fold.
I’ve been in touch with the captains and can personally assure you that they
have acted in the interest of the entire
Galaxy
community throughout the
crisis. Soon, we will repair the damage, learn from this experience, and in a
short time our community will thrive again.”

“That young man is
too eloquent for his own good,” Paris mumbled.

David leapt
lightly from the stage and came straight toward them. Whispers followed in his
wake.

“Esther, glad to
see you’re looking better,” David said. “Paris.” He nodded to the older man.

“I see you know
our young Catalinan. I was just inquiring as to whether she had a place to
stay.” Paris turned to look at Esther. “We have space to rest behind the stage.
It’s more private than these theater seats, if you’d like.”

“I thought Esther
could stay in my cabin for the time being,” David said. “It’ll be more
comfortable than the powder room, I’m sure.”

Paris raised a
shapely eyebrow and opened his mouth.

Esther broke in.
“I don’t need to stay anywhere.” She was not going to let him decide where she
stayed. It didn’t matter how nice he was about it. She’d let her guard down
once. She wouldn’t do it again. “You talked to the other ships. What news of
the
Catalina
?”

David frowned.
“I’m sorry. No one has heard from them yet.”

“Well, what are
you doing about it? Can we send a search party for them? They can’t have gone
too far.”

“The captains
aren’t likely to agree to that,” David answered. He lowered his voice. “We’ve
lost a number of the smaller vessels already, and the
Luxe
is in bad
shape. She may not make it.”

Esther raised an
eyebrow. “You just said everything was fine.”

David looked
around, frustrated. “I don’t want people to panic, okay? Things are bad enough
with all the injuries.”

“You just stood up
there and lied to everyone!” Esther said.

“I didn’t lie
exactly. I need to keep people calm. It’s my job.”

“Did you even talk
to the captains?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Then I want to
talk to them too,” Esther said. “I need you to get me a meeting with them so I
can make sure someone is going after the
Catalina
.”

She stood, and
pain sliced through her foot, catching and intensifying around the stitches.
She balanced on one leg.

“It won’t work,”
Paris put in, studying his fingernails. “They’re a bunch of heartless
bastards.”

“Hawthorne?”
Esther said.

David sighed.
There was a tightness around his eyes that hadn’t been there the night before.
“Paris is right, after a fashion. They’re unlikely to do anything to jeopardize
any member of the
Flotilla
to help a
stranger ship.”

Blood rushed into
Esther’s face. “But you’ve all been entertaining us for weeks! What about all
this hospitality and ‘we’ll give you anything you need’ business? The
Catalina
sure as hell needs help now.”

Even if they got a
message through, the
Catalina
might
not have enough fuel left to get back to the
Galaxy
. They were worse off now than after the desal system blew.

“It’s not that
simple,” David said.

“Make it simple. I
want to talk to the captains.”

“I can’t do that,
Esther.”

“You spread their
lies for them. You won’t at least let me see them?”

She couldn’t
believe him. He should be taking her side.

“It won’t work.”

“I’ll risk it,”
Esther snapped.

“They’ll say no.”
David finally looked her in the eye, all emotion gone from his voice. “I know
what they’re like. I’m their spokesman, remember?”

Esther’s hands
were shaking. She wanted to scream at him. “Are you going to help me or not?”

“I can’t—”

“Then we’re done
talking. I won’t let my friends die of dehydration when I’m surrounded by more
food, fuel, and water than you need here.”

Esther pushed past
him and started hobbling down the aisle of the theater. She clenched her jaw
against the pain shooting through her foot.

“Darling, I’m not
saying Hawthorne’s right,” Paris said, easily keeping pace with her, “but
you’ll at least need to wait until we reach the rendezvous. I happen to know
that the
Mist
’s Captain Philippe was on the
Crown
last night. He
stays in his rooms there whenever we have a performance because he doesn’t like
the crowds.”

She stopped,
balanced on one foot, and studied him for a moment. Even if she couldn’t talk
to the captains now, there were other things she could do. And she
didn’t
need David Hawthorne.

“Paris, can you
help me get some food and then get me down to your supply hold? I need to look
for something.”