Page 160 of Bewitched By the Sea Monster
“You should sit down,” Melany cooed.
“No.”
“Before you fall down,” Sarah added.
“No! I—” The glass slid from my numb fingers and shattered all over the ground in several big, bloodstained pieces.
Marvin flattened his ears as he shimmied away from the shards.
“I-I have to stop them.” I ran a hand through my hair, biting my lip at the pain. “They can’t hunt Alistair. He hasn’tdoneanything!”
“Alistair?” Melany and Sarah echoed.
“That’s his name,” Marvin told them.
“He’s myfriend!” I exclaimed. “I…They can’t hunt him. He didn’t take me, I?—”
“They already are hunting him,” Sarah said.
I blanched.
“They suspended the ferry off the isle. As soon as it arrived to pick us up, they took it. Because the tour ship wasn’t big enough to hold everyone, and people wanted to see…” She stopped and sucked her lips between her teeth.
“What?” I asked. “Wanted to seewhat?”
“Well, Jackson’s lie was convincing. Very. And Rune Bloodworth got concerned the magic containing the beast might have failed.”
“They wanted to re-brand him,” Melany said tentatively.
“No.No. No. No. No.” I shrugged away from them, shaking so hard my teeth clanked.
And at that moment I didn’t see Melany and Sarah. All I saw was an image—an awful, heartbreaking image of poor, gentle, goofy Alistair bellowing in pain as more of those malicious runes were seared into his skin.
“They can’t do this!” I yelled.
“Theyaredoing it,” Melany said. “I’m sorry, Pippi, I—” She glanced down at Marvin as he skulked around, his eyes fixed onme. “Marvin told us you had a relationship with the Loch Ness Monster…you really do, don’t you? You care about him?”
I love him.
“Yes,” I said. “I need to stop them. Alistair is…he’sinnocent.”
“Well now I’m wondering”—Sarah crossed her arms over her stomach—“is he being attacked because lover boy found out about your relationship with him?”
Guilt tasted like rotted eggs. “Yes.”
Sarah harrumphed. “So he’s one ofthosebastards, huh? Gets all prideful and spitting spite if his girl dares to look elsewhere.”
“I could’ve handled it better.”
“He still would’ve gone to an extreme,” Sarah said. “If he’s that type. Well now, you’re in a real spot of trouble, hun. No way to sugar coat that. Luckily for you, the captain ofValiantabandoned his ship.”
“Caleb?” I asked, remembering the kindly man who’d given me the peppermint balm on the ride over.
“That his name? He didn’t seem like he cared for Rune too much and wanted no partof this hunt. When Rune insisted on taking the ship, the captain stepped off. I don’t know how muchhelphe’s going to be, but he might be all we have. You feel steady enough to walk?”
No.
But I gritted my teeth around a “yes.”
