Chapter 253: A Spirit Or A Ghost
Donovan shifted, frowning at the cluttered spreadsheet spread across the table.
Beside him, Leonardo eyed the pile of parchment, already suspicious. The mess of charts and inventory list looked as dreary as he had expected, like a tedious busywork he knew too well. He had assisted Cora in marking the trench of Mariana, and the memory alone was enough to make his shoulders ache with boredom.
This sort of task was a job meant for idle deckhands, not them. Still, Esme’s gaze lingered just a little too long, as if daring him to refuse.
At last, he let out a soft grunt: "Fine, but just this once."
Esme’s smile deepened, satisfied before turning to Donovan who was still staring at the charts spread before him. Leonardo glanced at him as though he just realized his brother shouldn’t be here but resting instead. He couldn’t resist adding:
"Is it okay for him to be up already? I can work on the charts on my own since I’m already familiar with the process."
"I’m fine," Donovan cut in, crossing his arms over his chest with stubborn finality as he says, "Besides, I can’t afford to let you make any mistakes."
Leonardo’s lips parted in quiet disbelief. The retort he planned to deliver got stuck in his throat, as he could not bring himself to say it. In the end, he could only cast a glaring side-eye at his brother.
Neither brothers caught the faint glimmer in Esme’s eyes, or the silent prayer threading through her thoughts that her carefully laid plan to draw them together would not unravel so easily.
She gave them both a quick thumbs up and was already halfway to the door. "I’ll leave you two to it then. Remember, teamwork makes the ship run smoother."
As the door closed behind them, Leonardo exhaled as if he’d been holding his breath and dropped to the nearest chair, the old wood creaking under his weight. He scrubbed a hand over his face before glancing at Donovan.
"Well... what do you think?" his voice carried a tired edge as he asked. "I managed to clear out the ones that slipped onboard last night. You don’t think there are more still lurking out there, do you?"
"Maybe not sirens," Donovan replied evenly, though his frown betrayed little confidence. His mood ever since he woke up felt strange, and his aura had dulled in a way even Leonardo picked it up as odd. He wanted to know what was going on in his head, but his brother would never rely on him, he never once did, regardless of how many times he’s proven he’ll always be there for him no matter what.
Donovan, who was oblivious to his brother’s concern for him, was more focused on the sheets on the table. His pinning gaze raked and charts and endless logs on the parchments before he exhaled and said:
"Diverting our route is still the safest option, and it seems we’re in a bit of luck, if I can even call it that. That lady... Cora... she knows her stuff. She mapped out three different passages leading toward Mariana, and we’ve already navigated one of them. The third passage should be the least dangerous, because if there are monsters in Mariana, then it’ll take longer for them to rampage through the second to the third, so we’ll aim for that direction in the meantime. The last passage should be close, considering we somehow missed the second passage. Based on what I see, we should be in Mariana by tonight."
Leonardo couldn’t hold back a scowl. Esme literally said they should work on this together, but his brother was already flipping through the charts and making conclusions on his own. If he doesn’t contribute to the topic soon, he might end up doing the inventory log by himself, and that was a boring activity he refused to be saddled with.
"When you say monsters..." he began in a skeptical tone, "you mean demons, right? And what are we going to do about the dark waters?"
"Avoid it," was Donovan’s clipped reply. "The true bearer is once again ahead of us. We have no idea what we might encounter on the other side of Mariana, so we have to be prepared for anything."
"Is that the reason you faltered yesterday?"
Donovan didn’t respond. Leonardo wasn’t stunned either. He knew his brother was the type to seal his lips shut rather than give anyone the satisfaction of a reply, but at least he tried his luck anyway.
"Anyway..." Leonardo shifted the subject with an easy shrug, his tone casual but his eyes watchful. "Hey... that ring you bought for Esme. I haven’t seen it on her hand yet. I figured you’d have given it to her by now. What’s with the delay?"
His question landed like a stone tossed into water. Donovan’s hand stilled mid-marking, the pen hovering over the chart for the briefest moment before continuing as if nothing had happened. His voice, when it came, sounded cool and clipped.
"It seems you enjoy prying into matters that don’t concern you. Since you clearly have nothing useful to add, work on the inventory log instead."
Leonardo opened his mouth to defend himself, but his brother’s gaze was back to the charts. His behavior today seemed to be much colder, and there was this strange dimness in his eyes when he mentioned the ring as well.
Was something wrong?
His brother couldn’t be losing feeling for Esme...no?
He shook his head at the thought.
That wasn’t possible. That wasn’t even questionable. So why did he sound irritated already? Or maybe he shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.
His harmless curiosity, however, had given Donovan the opportunity to shove the stack of inventory log his way.
With a reluctant sigh, he brought his chair closer so he could work on the papers.
Donovan, however, seemed to falter suddenly, as if reconsidering his earlier tone. He knew he had spoken a bit harshly to Leonardo, but his thoughts hadn’t been steady since the night before. The memory of the little girl with silver-white hair clawed at his memory as he remembered seeing her standing there in the moments before he lost consciousness.
She hadn’t been an illusion. She couldn’t have been. Yet, no one else had seen her standing there. That also explains why all this time, no one else besides him has met this strange girl before.
Could she be a spirit...a ghost?
And if so... could a ghost even be killed?
The question filled his chest with unease, making his attempts to focus fruitless. Whatever answer lay hidden in her pale gaze, it left him certain of one thing; after what she had shown him, Esme would not be receiving a ring from him anytime soon.
Perhaps not at all...