When I returned to the base, without Everleigh, everyone was asleep except for Alexander who opened the hatch for me. It had been a while since I’d had a chance to catch up with Alex, and I really missed him. But I was seeing double again, and I wasn’t even drunk anymore. I knew I needed sleep so I could travel uninhibited, have a proper think on everything I’d learned recently, figure out my next steps, and function through whatever was to come. Not to mention, I was expecting an answer from Faust, and if Sebastian was with Rhian and they were due back soon, things were about to get hairy.
“Good thing you’ve become a permanent fixture around here,” I said. “This mystical hatch business is a bit of a gamble, isn’t it?”
Alexander chuckled and we hugged briefly.
The hatch closed above us.
My bag was bulging with the books for Adeline and Strauss, and they were feeling heavier by the second.
“Can I pour you a drink?” Alex asked.
There was a vague, hopeful energy about his question, and like I said, it’d been a while since we’d had a chance to catch up, so—
“Aye, sure. Thanks, mate.” We wandered over to the bar where I sat after setting my bag down on the ground and rolling out my shoulder. “How’ve you been?”
Alexander shrugged. “You know how it is.”
It was quiet for moment while Alexander finished mixing my Piglet. I hadn’t had a Piglet in a minute.
“And how have you been, Feargus?” he asked.
“You know how it is.”
Alexander nodded, too, sliding the drink across the bar before joining me on the other side. I raised my glass, took a sip, and swiveled sideways to face him.
“Have you spoken to Everleigh recently?” he asked.
“Aye, I was with her tonight. How come?”
Alexander scratched his meticulously groomed beard. “Has she told you anything interesting?”
“It’s Everleigh, so she’s usually pretty quiet.” I paused for a sip. “What exactly are you fishing for?”
Alex began packing his pipe. “I was wondering if she’s mentioned her concert.”
“Not to me directly, but Strauss said something about it.”
Focusing on his task for a time, it went quiet again. When the pipe was ready, Alex lit it with his mind as he tended to do, and took a deep haul. “That should be interesting, shouldn’t it?” he asked after exhaling.
“Uh—I guess,” I answered. “Mate, what aren’t you saying?”
“If you don’t already know, I fear she’d never forgive me if I divulged. We’ve only just reconciled.”
“Have you? Well, that’s great news.” Frankly, I was fine not knowing whatever it was Everleigh and Alexander were hiding. But even in my sorry, sleepless state, I was reminded of a conversation she and I had where she’d told me she had a big plan for something, but that she couldn’t talk about it at the time. I wondered if that had anything to do with her concert, and then I—
“Feargus,” Alex said.
I blinked my eyes open. Wait, were they closed? Aye, I guess they had to have been.
“When was the last time you slept?” he asked.
I waved my drink hand around dismissively before tossing the remainder back. “I had a nap… sometime.”
Alex inclined his head, holding it there for a pause before nodding. He then gave me a few pats on the back, telling me to get some sleep without telling me to get some sleep.
With that, I tossed my friend a two-finger salute, and dragged my bag behind me while I made my way out of the sitting room.
Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness in the bunk room, I spotted two lumps in their own beds. It had to have been Adeline, and—well, Everleigh had relinquished the second master bedroom to Evelyn, and Everleigh herself wasn’t home. As far as I knew, Michael was still in Oskari. Strauss, Rhian, and Teeth had their own room, so—Jakob?
What did it even matter?
I shrugged to myself and made my way across the room to the desk.
Firstly, I found a piece of paper in my bag, and what I thought was a pencil but turned out to be a cinnamon stick. I wasn’t even sure how that got there, but I wasn’t offended. I popped it in my mouth while I fished around for an actual pencil.
Before leaving the library, I’d had a chance to peek at Adeline’s books. One was a science book on the subject of electricity, and the second one appeared to be an engineering book of some fashion, probably related, but even the pictures didn’t mean much to me.
I wasn’t sure what to write in my note. Not for a lack of words actually, but if Everleigh didn’t want me telling anybody the books came from her, then I had to say they came from me. And not only was that a bit delicate, because I didn’t want to confuse Addie by giving her a gift, but I didn’t feel right taking credit for something so kind that I had absolutely nothing to do with. Mates, the last thing I wanted to do at the moment was orchestrate more plans, especially over something like delivering books. But there I was.
I sighed heavily and wrote:
Adeline,
I’ll explain later.
Feargus
I tucked the note into the front of the first book, shuffled over to her bed, and left the pair on her nightstand. Following that, I took the four books meant for Strauss and brought them to his room, tiptoeing in and leaving them on his nightstand as well.
Before heading back to the bunks for bed, I made a quick trip to the loo, even if I didn’t have to go. If I had it my way, I was going to be dead to the world for a while, and I didn’t want to wake up having to tinkle. I did what I could, and finally, rest was in sight.
Before climbing into bed, I got undressed, kissed my fingers, pressed them to V’s basket, and promised myself I wouldn’t wake up this time—not for anything or anyone.
I remember counting to seventy-seven before I fell asleep.
I was awake, but I wasn’t, and the voices bobbed and weaved around in my head.
But whose voices were they?
“…—city this afternoon?”
“Why.”
“I have a date, and—…to wake him up—…”
“—date. Who.”
“—avelin.”
“Why.”
“—nice, and I—…”
“Okay, but I thought you—…”
“…—complicated.”
I hadn’t realized Adeline’s next date with Kavelin would be so soon, but I supposed it made sense. Nothing was guaranteed, and especially not time. Both of them had to know whatever they were doing wouldn’t sustain long-term, unless they wanted to live like Rhydian and Evelyn, and that sounded quite bleak, didn’t it? Aye, good on them for making the best of—
Mid-thought, I drifted back to sleep.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
I woke up to more voices.
“…—made a miscalculation…—to destroy the brothers.”
But the voices weren’t real, even if what they were saying was incredibly real. Zack had become family and I loved him so much, secondary only to my sister, I reckoned. So the idea that he might—
I fell back asleep.
A small, gentle hand shook my shoulder. I opened an eye tentatively.
It was Evelyn.
“I’m preparing breakfast for the others, love. Are you hungry?”
“I’m all right, thanks,” I said, although I reckon it came out of my mouth a lot more like, “Nfptpfwblaaahhhh.”
“I’ll be sure to keep you something,” Evelyn answered.
“Blrrrp.”
She patted my shoulder softly and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Ten, twenty, thirty-seven and I was asleep again.
I sat up quickly at the sound of another voice. If I were any taller, I'd have smacked my head on the bunk above me.
But again, the voice wasn't real even though it was.
“…—way to inform us before you do anything that directly involves Palisade…—all intents and purposes, you are me.”
I laid back down, turned over, and buried my head under my pillow.
Ten, twelve, seventeen seconds…
Despite my best efforts, I had to wee. With my eyes still crusted together, I rolled out of bed and dragged my feet down the hall. Or at least, I was about to until my path was interrupted by a wolf darting down the corridor. Teeth picked up the stick in her teeth, and ran back down in the other direction where Jakob was standing. He retrieved the stick and tossed it again, and I watched Teeth make another run for it, collect the stick, and return it to Jakob. Timing my next move carefully, I scampered down the hall quickly and into the bathroom. I had a tinkle, and then after dodging the wolf again, I returned to my bunk, hoping to get back to sleep before my brain decided otherwise. Aye, back to sleep—
Except, when I returned to my room, Strauss was there waiting for me.
I looked at him through bleary eyes.
“’Ey, Strauss,” I said.
“Finlay,” he answered. “I don’t know how you—or where you—but I—well, I don’t honestly know how to thank you.”
“It’s all good, mate,” I said. “But how about a hug?”
I’d been dying to sneak one of those out of Strauss for ages.
To my surprise, he obliged.
Granted, it was stiff and awkward—probably in part because I was basically naked, and in part because it was Strauss. But I gave him a good, long overdue squeeze.
He left shortly afterward, and I went back to sleep.
I wasn’t exactly sure what did it that time, but I woke up startled again and with only one thing on my mind: Adeline’s date was today.
Adeline’s. Date. Was. Today.
In what felt like one fluid motion, I scrambled out of bed and stepped into my trousers.
Finally, I slid a shirt over my head, kissed my fingers, touched them to V’s basket, and darted out of the bunk room.