Whole by E.A. Rohler

Author:E.A. Rohler [Rohler, E.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-01-04T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

I can see the fishing boats as I approach, hundreds of them floating in the water in straight, even lines, all brightly colored like lollipops. A few people mill about, tending to their boats or unloading fish, and I walk up and down the docks searching for someone who might fit the description of Etienne. I don’t have much to go on, other than he’s old, male, and French, which really could be any of these fishermen. I reach the end of one dock and turn back, checking the boats on the other side as I go. Nothing jumps out at me, so I head down to the second dock, and just as I’m about to step onto it, my ring begins to vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out and turn my back to the dock as I investigate what’s up. I try tapping the stone and twisting the golden circle, but the vibrating doesn’t stop. There’s no message coming through, and I’m not calling a portal, so I assume it must be malfunctioning. I try shaking it and smacking it against the palm of my hand, but it won’t stop. I’m seconds from cursing at the thing and throwing it into the water when a voice behind me begins to speak.

“As-tu besoin d'aide pour ça?” it says.

I spin around to find an older gentleman standing there on the dock, lifting a bucket full of fish out of his boat. He’s slight in build but looks exceedingly in shape given his age. His skin is noticeably tanned, indicating he might spend long hours in the sun. I quickly shove the ring back into my pocket, but that seems to upset it more because it starts vibrating faster, so forcefully that I can literally hear the vibrations coming from my jeans. Could it be trying to tell me this is my designate? “Je suis désolé, je ne parle pas français,” I say in broken French. This is one of the only phrases I bothered to look up before coming here, and now I wish I had studied more.

“Do you need help with that?” he repeats himself, slowly, in a heavy French accent. Thank god. Convincing a stranger to come with me to a parallel universe is hard enough without a language barrier.

“Oh, no,” I say flippantly, pressing my hand over my pocket to quiet the noise. “It’s just my step tracker acting up.”

“I see,” he says, giving me a knowing look that leaves me a little unsettled.

“Beautiful boats,” I say, trying to steer the conversation away from my magic ring. “Is this one yours?” I tilt my head to read the name painted on the side of the boat in bright, curly script. Emilie.

“It is,” he responds. “I am Etienne Laurent. A fishmonger in the market in town.”

My ring is really going berserk now, threatening to rip a hole in my pants. I press my palm down more firmly to tame the beast.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Mara” I say, speeding up my words so I can hightail it out of there.

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