WaterMage Rising

Chapter 14

"Ah, Miss Mendelson, do come in." With a beckoning wave, Cunningham gestured for Selena to enter the Captain's Bridge. Selena couldn't help but admire the smooth, fluid grace of his movements. No wonder Father was so enamored of him, professionally speaking.

Stepping inside, Selena swept her gaze over the room as the heavy oak door swung shut behind her with a thud. She drank in every detail, from the large windows that offered a panoramic view of the ocean's murky depths, to the interactive map hanging from one wall displaying in a trail of neon green light the ship's position relative to their itinerary, to the shelves full of what appeared to be sunken treasure and nautical artifacts. The bridge lacked a navigation console, or so it seemed to Selena, but she supposed it could be part of the map.

"Selena, over here!" Adam grinned and patted the hard wooden chair beside him on the opposite side of the conference table from her. "I saved you a seat."

Selena pretended she hadn't heard, murmured a, "Thank you," to Cunningham, and took an available seat as far as possible from Adam. After last night, she had no desire to talk to him just yet. The guy didn't know when to quit, and she did not need him harping on her joining the team when she had to figure out for herself what she wanted to do. Apart from Father's plans for her, and now Cunningham's plans for her, not to mention Adam, what did she want?

She hoped this meeting could provide some insight.

A few stragglers arrived and hastily took their seats around the oval mahogany conference table that dominated the center of the room. It occurred to Selena to wonder why they were using the Captain's Bridge when the captain himself was not present until he strode into the room and locked the door behind him with a decisive click. He followed this simple security measure with a strong, flowing current of water magic that engulfed the door. Selena arched an eyebrow. A deceptively innocent shield, but it could encase an intruder in a thin, skintight barrier capable of drowning anyone foolish enough to try spying on this meeting.

Selena knew Cunningham took his security seriously, but it made Selena wonder why he had so willingly invited her to attend. For that matter, what was the captain doing here, when as far as she knew, he was not part of the Bureau?

Selena's insides turned to ice as she wondered what sort of magic Cunningham might use to guarantee the silence of those who worked with him on the project. Mr. Parker had mentioned that Cunningham had ways of getting people to toe the line. Not for the first time, Selena wondered what he meant.

To find out the answer to this question, she might end up like Uncle Franklin if she weren't careful.

"Apologies for running late," the captain said, seating himself at one head of the table opposite Cunningham. "I was reviewing the safety inspection report from the repairs Miss Mendelson and Mr. McAllister effected at last night's unfortunate submersion ceremony. You'll all be happy to know the repairs have held, with some minor strengthening by the maintenance crew, and we were still on course."

Cunningham nodded his approval. He leaned forward and leaned his elbows on the table with his fingers steepled and a predatory gleam in his eyes. "Thank you for keeping us on track, and for adjusting your itinerary to fit our needs, Sullivan."

Selena studied Cunningham's reaction. Whatever he wanted at the various ports of call, she felt certain it had to do with the lost relics of Oberon.

Father had mentioned Singapore as one of the stops, and Selena suspected the other stops may harbor clues regarding the true nature of the relics, if they indeed existed. She still had no idea what to believe, but given all of Cunningham's bluster, he needed to present a viable "defense weapon" at the conference when he formally announced the project to win the public's approval.