Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 103 – What’s Lurking Below?

It took us a little while to get to the lighthouse as Ava did her best to support Cattleya. The stark contrast from how she was before when leading us there to now, where she was now limping along, doing her best just to take another step, was not lost on me, yet at the same time, it didn’t feel entirely out of place.

Once we had finally arrived, the sun had almost made it all the way across the sky, not quite a sunset, but not far from it either, as the sun grazed the horizon. The old man came out to greet us with a smile as we approached, although he did become quite worried after seeing the state Cattleya was in. But once she assured him that she was fine, all he did was offer her some water… which Ava made sure she drank before helping her go any further.

Once Ava was satisfied, we made our way inside, heading straight for the staircase. Climbing the stairs seemed to have its own new set of challenges for Cattleya, as Ava struggled to support her as she had been doing so far, so instead, after trying to guide Cattleya up the first few steps, she confidently lifted her into a princess carry and continued walking.

At first, I would have assumed that a piggyback would have been a much more convenient option, but after thinking about it for a little bit as we walked up, I realised that it probably wouldn’t be very comfortable to have someone on your back when you already have wings there.

When we were about halfway up, however, a voice came through my pendant, immediately pulling me away from those thoughts.

‘Kierra!’ Ovia shouted, ‘Your time is up! It was actually up a while ago, but I lost track of time while I was-… Are you okay? Did Ellaria ask you too many questions? I did ask her to let you do what you were wanting to today, but I know that she can get a little out of hand when it comes to certain things.’

I actually had to pause for a moment to process everything she had just said, or asked me. It wasn’t like her to just blurt out so much all at once like this.

‘Y-yes, I’m okay.’ I replied, trying to address the most important question first.

As I continued to walk up the stairs, I took the opportunity to explain everything that had happened while Ovia wasn’t watching, only making sure to exclude any details about the outfit I had picked out for her so it would stay a surprise.

Our conversation continued until we finally reached the top of the lighthouse. I opened the door to the outside and was immediately hit by the same salty wind as the last time I was up here. However, unlike the last time, there was something unusual that stuck out to me as I stepped through the doorway.

It was a feeling that wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to me. I could feel someone’s eyes on me again, although this time I knew for sure that it wasn’t Cattleya, and it likely wasn’t Ellaria, as it wasn’t accompanied by any kind of warmth like when she had first noticed me. This was something different… but only subtly; to the extent that it was quite likely that I might have just been imagining it, as Ava carried Cattleya past me without reacting at all.

“Alright, let’s get you set down so you can actually get the rest you need,” Ava said as she carefully knelt down and propped Cattleya up against a wall.

“But I need to-” Cattleya tried to speak up.

“But nothing. The ship isn’t even here yet, there’s no need for you to be up and running around, hanging over the railing just waiting for it to show up,” Ava interrupted, “Kierra is who you want watching the ship anyway, so you can just sit back and leave it to her for now.”

As the two of them had their back and forth, I just made my way over to the railing and looked out at the sea… But, even as I did, I just couldn’t shake that feeling; in fact, it only got worse the more I tried to ignore it. The sensation was more than just being looked at; it was more like a presence. Someone or something that was nearby, but couldn’t be seen. One moment it felt like it was behind me, yet the next it was in front of me, fading in and out of wherever I thought it was.

For some reason, I instinctively clutched at the pendant hanging around my neck.

After a short while of the incessant teasing, I gave in and turned around to check if there really was something there, yet, as I did, my eyes saw nothing, even though something deep inside of me was telling me that there was something. This time, though, I clearly wasn’t the only one to notice what was going on, as beneath my cloak, there was a slight shuffling.

Looking inside, I could see Umbra’s head poking out of the darkness, looking around the place just like I was. Although this didn’t last for too long, as after a few minutes they dived back into the shadow inside my cloak. What they had done didn’t answer any of my questions, but at least it told me that I wasn’t just imagining things… not entirely, anyway.

But then, all of a sudden, that feeling just completely disappeared, and then, by what could only be a coincidence, the ship we had come here to watch finally came into view over the horizon.

…

I decided not to say anything about it as it was still off in the distance. Given the situation, I was sure that’s what Ava would have preferred me to do, especially with how much effort she has put into making sure Cattleya got some rest.

It was only once the ship was close enough that I could just about make out the people running back and forth on the deck that I turned around.

“It’s here,” I said quietly, pointing out towards the ship.

Cattleya reacted immediately, trying to jump to her feet and stumbling in the process, almost landing on her face, but thankfully, instead, she managed to fall back against the wall through a stroke of luck.

“You just had to wait a second for me to get up,” Ava said as she dusted herself off and extended her hand.

“But this is important.”

“I’m sure it seems that way to you, but I can assure you that no matter what it is, it’s not more important than you are.”

Cattleya didn’t have a retort for that, instead hesitating for a second before taking Ava’s hand and being guided over to the railing. However, once they were there, Ava didn’t let go, making sure that Cattleya was supported whether she wanted to be or not.

“Oh wait! There is something I was wanting to try!” Cattleya said as she suddenly jerked towards me, “Can you put some of your mana in front of my eyes? I want to know if looking through it will let me see the same things you do.”

…

“… I’ll try.”

There wasn’t any good reason for me to refuse, and I was a little curious myself, so I decided to give it a go, quickly condensing my mana and shaping it into a small panel much like those Ovia and Aria use, only this was nothing more than a dark grey sheet lazily floating in the air.

“Hmm… this…” She muttered to herself as she looked at the panel.

Ava did the same… and I just couldn’t resist the temptation to join in, looking through the panel at the approaching ship.

…

…

“I cannot see anything through this…” Cattleya eventually admitted, “It is much too dark.”

It is?

It does make things look a little darker, but I can see through it just fine.

I looked over at Ava, but she simply shook her head.

“That… is a shame,” Cattleya said, although she quickly perked back up… well as much as she could given her situation, “But it does not matter. The original plan was for Kierra to watch the ships in the first place; this was just to… satisfy my own curiosity.”

From that point on, our collective focus shifted entirely to the ship, well, mine and Cattleya’s at the least. We watched on as it inched closer and closer to the rocks that claimed the prior vessel. This ship was moving noticeably slower than the last few that came in, probably having been informed of what had been going on in one way or another. However, that didn’t seem to matter much, as it wasn’t long before everything started dancing around like before; with people on the deck appearing, then disappearing, rocks dancing through the water as if they were alive, threatening to sink them at the slightest bad decision.

Despite all of that, the ship didn’t change its course, moving ahead ever so carefully and ultimately avoiding the rocks down below. As they did, however, whatever I was seeing seemed to change, almost as if it was getting more desperate. The crew on deck grew erratic, the ship itself appearing to teleport at times, waves appearing from still water. But it didn’t matter as the ship continued to approach the pier.

But then, out of nowhere, it just stopped, as if whatever was trying to interfere had finally given up.

Almost immediately, I turned my head in order to explain what I had seen to Cattleya, but as soon as I did, I quickly realised that there was something else that had changed from the last time. When things stopped last time, I thought I noticed something leaving, but this time…

…

Hesitantly, I turned back to check, and that’s when I saw it.

A large, dark shadow in the water below rapidly approached the ship, a single dorsal fin breaching the surface of the water.

I clearly wasn’t the only person to notice this as the ship began to turn, the crew clearly in a panic, as their screaming was loud enough to reach my ears. But even with this sudden manoeuvre, they just weren’t moving fast enough to get out of the way; the shadow was going to catch up to them long before they could do anything. The shadow itself quickly climbed up out of the water as it got closer, its colossal body coming into view. It must have been no less than the size of a whale, but that wasn’t all, as it seemed to only grow larger as more of its body emerged. Then, with only a few fleeting moments left before impact, its head lifted up, and its jaw opened, revealing row upon row of teeth.

Then right as it was about to bite down-

*Crash*

The side of the ship had been impaled by the pier they were originally trying to dock at, and the large ‘shark’ or whatever it was, was nowhere to be seen.

…

…

I was honestly left speechless by the whole thing; it had all happened over the course of only a few seconds. This giant creature just appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared as if it was never there in the first place… and that’s all, ignoring the fact that I didn’t even notice how close to the pier they were the whole time. Trying to piece it all together was surprisingly disorienting.

It was as if I had been sucked into a lie, my mind believing it wholeheartedly… even though I had already seen the truth of what happened.

But even then, after everything that had already happened, I wasn’t given any time to process it before something else happened. From the breach in the hull, I saw a number of crates fall down into the water, splashing down before simply vanishing.

…

…

How do I… even try to explain this?…

I turned my head slowly this time, just in case something else even more unexpected happened, but thankfully, that seemed to be the end of it.