An innocent sideways glance accompanied his next question. “No doubt you have some clever plan to fix everything, if you cannot find the answers through your exploration of the damaged areas near the trench where once my people swam so freely?”
He knew she did not. And when she once again began to doubt herself, and her ability to solve the problem, he would be there to console her, whispering his own clever suggestions in her ears.
Beka scratched her nose pensively. “Actually, I was thinking about that earlier, and I had an idea. It’s kind of a long shot, but I thought I would start doing some research on the kind of damage I’ve been finding on the plant and animal life, and some of the symptoms that have been showing up in the children and elderly sea people who have been affected by this poison.” She perked up again as she put her plan into words. “Maybe I can find records of similar instances, something that will give me a clue to what would cause this kind of mutation. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it before; I guess I was just so certain I’d be able to figure it out right away. Still, it gives me another avenue to follow, and that’s good, right?”
Kesh raised his glass to her. “You astonish me, my dear Baba,” he said with complete honesty, and no little irony. “I had no idea you had it in you.”
This was bad. Very, very bad. If she started looking in the right direction, it would not take her long to find the answers she sought. And that would be the ruination of all his careful plans. How very unfortunate indeed. Such a pity.
He reached into the basket of food he had packed so carefully for their romantic picnic on the beach and pulled one special container from underneath the extra black linen napkins folded into intricate, dainty shapes and the last unopened bottle of vintage California wine.
“We should celebrate,” Kesh said solemnly, placing the beautiful lacquered box on the blanket in front of Beka. He opened the lid with a flourish, displaying the glistening red fish that lay inside on a tranquil bed of light green seaweed salad. Together, they glowed like jewels under the rising moon. “I brought this especially for you. It is a delicacy prepared by my finest chefs.” He smiled almost as brightly as the moon itself. “I caught the fish myself, as a gift.”
Beka ducked her head, hiding her answering smile behind the golden fall of her long hair. “Thank you, Kesh. I’m honored.” She held out the box in his direction so he could take a piece.
“Oh no, darling Baba,” he said, soft as the whispering undertow that hid beneath the calmest surface. “I brought that for you. I would not think of depriving you of one precious morsel.” He leaned forward and plucked a delicate sliver of fish out of the container with slender, slightly webbed fingers. “I insist you eat every last piece,” he said, placing it into her mouth with tender care. “I promise you, it will change your life.”
* * *
BEKA CLOSED THE final collection bag carefully and placed it in the waterproof sack with the others in the bow of the dinghy. As she turned to sit down again, she took a moment to look across the small vessel at her companion. Marcus was so large, he seemed to take up most of the space in the tiny boat. Not that there was an extra ounce of fat on him, but between his height, wide shoulders, and broad chest, not to mention all those muscles, he took up a lot of room. The power of his personality only added to the impression.
Yet he was also amazingly graceful. She’d already seen him moving around the Wily Serpent in the carefully orchestrated dance of the fisherman, but underwater, he’d been a revelation. Although Marcus told her he hadn’t dived since he’d left home at eighteen, it was clear he hadn’t forgotten a thing. He’d gone down with her the first two times so she could show him the blighted patches of giant kelp, and other evidence of the poisoned area, and he’d had no trouble keeping up with her even when they dove to the very edge of the depths she could handle. As a Baba Yaga, that was very deep indeed.
Now they both sat and recovered from their efforts, Beka with her wet suit rolled down to her waist over a crimson one-piece suit, and Marcus in only tiny trunks that hugged his slim hips and lean bottom in a way that made it easy for Beka to wait for the Serpent to return from its rounds and fetch them on its way home. She glanced at him from beneath lowered lashes and surprised him looking back at her the same way. They both laughed, a little sheepishly.
“Thanks for all your help today,” she said, shifting carefully to sit across from him. “I’ve got enough new samples to make another start on some of the research I want to do, although I’ll definitely want to go back down again tomorrow if that’s okay with you.”