Chapter Four
Theyleftearlythenextmorning,oratleastearlyforFlorian—hisdayusuallydidn'tstartuntilclosertoten,buttheywereontheroadwellbeforenine.JerahandKadehadsleptinthelivingroom;JerahonthecouchandKadeonthefloor.Jerahtoldhimtopacksomeclothesandtowearsomethinghecouldhikein,sohehadshovedsomeclothesandtoiletriesintoabackpackthentriedtosleep,largelywithoutsuccess.Thestrangerevelationsofthedaykeptplayingoverandoverinhishead,andwhenhedidfinallysleep,hisdreamswerestrange—filledwithwitchesandfaeandablinding,burninglight.
August shoved a sealed to-go cup full of fresh coffee into his hand as they left, and he gratefully sipped it as they began the two hour car ride to the ferry at Dana Point. But between the early start and his lack of sleep, Florian still ended up dozing through most of the drive. The next thing he knew, Jerah was gently shaking him awake. He realized that they had parked, and after carefully peeling himself away from the passenger door that he had been leaning against, Florian felt more alert.
“Is the car gonna be okay?” he asked, glancing back over at it as they walked out of the parking lot.
“It's a rental,” Jerah replied, waving a hand dismissively as if that was answer enough. Florian had no idea what that meant, but he didn’t press the issue.
“So there's no portal that's easier to get to?” he asked instead, only half-complaining, as he followed the two figures toward the ferry.
“Not anymore,” Kade said flatly, but Jerah glanced over his shoulder at Florian before elaborating.
“If they were too easy to get to, humans might find them,” he said. “Well, they wouldn't be able to pass through, but their attention would certainly be unwelcome all the same.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Florian said, glancing away. “So humans can't go through at all?”
Jerah gave a pointed look to the small crowd milling about the ferry station. “I'll explain more when we're there.”
Of course, it only made sense that he wouldn't want to talk about it here, around other humans. It was still strange to think that they weren't human—thathewasn't human—if any of what they said was true, which he would find out soon enough, he supposed.
Jerah bought their tickets, and it was only a short wait before they were boarding the ferry. It would take about an hour to get to the island, and Jerah had told him that they would need to hike to the “curtain,” but he didn't say how long that might take. Either way, it sounded like they would be hiking right around the middle of the day, so he was glad he had brought sunscreen.
There was room to walk around the ferry, but Jerah and Kade both sat down once they were on board, seemingly having no interest in doing anything but waiting. He hesitated, wondering if he should sit down next to them, but they both seemed entirely disinterested in what he did. Jerah pulled a small book out of his pocket, and Kade sat directly behind him with his arms folded across his chest and his eyes closed, as if he were napping. Florian wondered if Kade had fallen asleep in the car too—somehow he doubted it. He looked far too serious all the time to be napping so late in the day, even if he had slept on the floor.
Florian had lived in Coral Shore all his life and never gone far out of town, so this would be his first time to Catalina. He didn’t want to waste the opportunity, so he decided that instead of sitting awkwardly next to them, he would go stand on the deck and watch the water rush by as the ferry sailed toward the island.
But he had only a moment to himself, looking out on the horizon, until he caught someone approaching out of the corner of his eye. Kade loomed over him from just a few feet away. Florian flushed as soon as he realized who it was and glanced away quickly.
“Your dad wanted me to keep an eye on you,” the other man said flatly, folding his arms across his chest as he stood next to Florian.
“Great,” he muttered, keeping his eyes firmly on the water. Even hearing the words “your dad” made him unsettled. He certainly didn't need a babysitter, but he couldn't bring himself to say as much. Instead, they stood in awkward silence for a few minutes, and he tried to enjoy the scenery, before giving up with a sigh. “I'm gonna go sit back down.”
Kade followed him without a word, as he meandered back to the middle of the boat. Florian sat down two seats from Jerah, not quite comfortable enough to sit right next to him; Kade once more took a spot directly behind him. Jerah still had the same small book in his hand, but Florian could feel his father's eyes watchinghim for a long moment before returning his attention to his book.
In his pocket, his phone buzzed. Florian pulled it out quickly, thankful for the distraction, but his heart sank all over again when he saw it was Nadia calling him.
“Shit,” he muttered under his breath. What would he tell her? Whatcouldhe tell her? He hesitated for a moment, then answered. “Hello?”
“Hey!” her voice came, cheerful but with an underlying concern that he could discern even through the phone. “I hadn't heard from you, everything okay?”
“Um, yeah,” he said quickly, shooting a nervous glance over at Jerah. It didn't look like the man was watching him, but his sunglasses made it hard to tell. His attention seemed to be with his book for now, at least. “Yeah, I'm, um, I'm actually gonna be out of town for a few days.”
“What? Really?” she asked, surprised. “Where are you headed?”
“Jeez, how do I explain this?” he muttered to himself before continuing, “Um, this is gonna sound crazy, but I was talking with my, uh, my dad and we're going on, like, a little day trip to Catalina.”
“Oh,” Nadia said, and for a long moment they were both silent as she seemed to absorb the information. “Wow. Well, that's... good, right? I'm glad you could work stuff out after all.” She hesitated, and he could tell from her tone that she wanted to say more. “Are, um, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Florian replied, unable to stop himself from chuckling at the blatant shock in her voice. “Yeah, things took kind of a weird turn, I guess. And it's sort of last minute. But... I don't know. I guess I just freaked out at first. But I'm feeling better about everything now, I guess.”
“Well, good,” Nadia said, though he could tell from her tone she still wasn't entirely convinced. It wasn't like her to press an issue, though, and true to form she paused before continuing in a chirpy tone, “Well, I hope you have fun on your trip. I actually haven't been to Catalina before.”
“Me neither,” Florian laughed. “I'll tell you how it is. I don't think I'll have very good cell service, but I'll try.”
“No worries. Let me know once you're back,” she said. “Anyway, I'm about to leave for work, so I'll talk to you later.”
“Later,” Florian agreed. He put his phone away and saw that Jerah was definitely looking at him now.
