Moontide

*Hi Monsters! Just getting back to this scene outside of the lighthouse museum. A lot happened in the previous post ICYMI, here’s the link. Now settle in, while Cindy tries to get some explanations from the good captain. ;)

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The water was still churning. What had happened in that shed had shaken them both. And the woman… Ronan’s gut clenched. He’d nearly lost her to the underworld. One moment longer and… he shook his head at the thought. He squeezed Cindy’s hand clutched in his own. It was so soft and delicate. It was hard to believe that this little mortal might hold the key to his getting through this whole ordeal alive.

She shuddered beside him so he pulled her to him. When her body had been underneath his that morning he’d immediately felt his strength return. He had refused to believe that a curse of the gods could be neutralized by merely touching her. Soon it had become clear though, that somehow, she had the power to restore him. Whenever they parted, Thema’s curse came back worse than the time before it. It appeared that, until he came up with a plan to reopen the Tides, he would just have to remain in contact with her… close physical contact.

A smile tugged at his lips. He could live with that. The smile disappeared as soon as it had come though when he thought of the shed. She was right, she needed answers about who he was. He blew out a breath.

“How well do you know your fairy tales?” he asked.

Her eyes widened then her brow drew into a scowl.

“Do you mean like princesses and fairy godmothers?”

Her tone and the look on her face said that she was not amused. He shook his head.

“I speak of the gods of legend.”

Her eyebrows shot up at this. He went on.

“What if I were to tell you that I don’t live here?”

She shrugged but stayed looking at him. At least the wind had died down.

“I don’t live here either. I’m here to find my friend, end of story. Anyway, most people down here are tourists. I’d have been more surprised if you’d told me you were a local.”

She was sounding surly again, but he knew she was upset. Who wouldn’t be in her situation?

“I mean here as in Earth, cara. What if I told you I’m from another time… another world altogether?”

He brushed a wet strand of hair from her forehead, searching her face. She looked at him with disbelief in her eyes, but he trudged on ahead now that he’d started.

“They really do exist, the gods and worlds beyond this world, Cindy, all of it.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you’re a… a… what? A god?”

“No,” he rushed to halt that notion, “I’m human. Or, at least, I was once. I’m not quite sure what I am now. What I do know is I haven’t lived in the human realm for quite some time. But now I’m trapped here and expiring. There’s been a weakness coming over me since the dawn came this morning. It’s a curse of the gods for staying in the earth realm too long. My life force is being drained away the longer I’m here. But when I touch you…”

“Your strength returns.” She finished for him.

She reached up to touch his cheek, as if trying to prove to herself he was real and not some figment of her imagination. He nodded.

“What about the tool shed? You said something about some…” she shook her head, “... veil thing. How did any of that happen?”

“The shell was enchanted. It opened a water veil, a gateway into another realm.”

Cindy blinked, her head surely reeling with everything he was telling her.

“Who… what was that thing that grabbed me? It looked just like Kay, b-but then it wasn’t. Like, really wasn’t.”

All things considered, he thought she was taking this rather well. Her need for answers proved that she had strength, despite how terrifying this all must be for her.

“That wasn’t your friend, cara,” Ronan explained. “She may have been here at some point, but I’m sorry to say she’s most likely long gone by now.”

Her head started to shake again at his words, but he went on.

“What you saw was part desire and part underworld evil. You want to find your friend. The creature pulled that desire from you to create half of her likeness while the other half was pure demon. As I said, it was a trick. The one you met in the water veil is called Melinoe, a demoness who lures the hopeful into the underworld, then sends a malevolent spirit in their place.”

Cindy shuddered.

“But you pulled me away. We’d lost contact, how did you have the strength?”

“I was weakened, it’s true, but I wasn’t just going to stand by as you were sucked into the dark realms.”

She stayed quiet a while. Maybe he’d said too much. She had no knowledge of the otherworld, perhaps it was more than her earthly mind could take in. He needed her to understand though. He also wanted her acceptance, he frowned. Needing the physical connection with her to stay alive should have been a burdensome thing to him. He found that he didn’t want to let her go though. Beyond that, some buried part of him was starting to hope she felt the same. He couldn’t let that feeling go any further. His only concern should be for her safety.

“Hm,” she said, finally. He worried she might be cracking from all he’d revealed.

“What is it, cara mía? Tell me.”

She shook her head side to side.

“Leave it to me to fall in with some alien man who’s in league with mythical creatures and keeps fading in and out of his own mortality.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “You’re cute, but I mean, let’s face it, you’ve got issues!”

*Yup, we’ve all got issues. Lol. Some more than others. Poor Ronan, having to explain everything to her on the fly. How do you think he’s doing so far? What would you be thinking in her situation?

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To read Moontide from the beginning, go here.