Treasure Tides Part 17

To demonstrate his sensitivity to Landon's paranoia, Kurt was always very careful to make a point of stepping on deck with his left foot first.

Of course, he made sure Landon was watching.

In a whirlwind of fury, Joanna stomped up the stairs. She had clearly overheard Landon spouting superst.i.tion like an old sailor.

"Yes, Wolf," she said scathingly with blue sparks shooting out of her eyes. "A woman is on board."

Royce, who had been engrossed in reading his maps, not really paying attention to the conversation, knew that shooting blue sparks were a bad sign.

"Kurt, what is it they say about a dog being near fis.h.i.+ng tackle?"

Joanna asked with heavy sarcasm. "You might want to move it to the other side of the boat," she suggested to Landon.

Stepping closer to Joanna, Landon goaded, "A fully clothed woman is bad luck, but a naked one can turn the tide. How far are you willing to go to see this mission succeed, JO--anna?"

Oh, this was going to be an entertaining day all around. Kurt glanced toward Royce to see how he was going to react to the latest comment from Landon, but he wasn't paying all that much attention to the spatting couple. After all, Joanna was easily capable of holding her own without interference from big brother.

"I'm sure that line of s.h.i.+t was dreamed up by a man who had trouble getting laid, which explains why you know so much about it." Royce decided now would be a good time to intervene before Joanna lost all control and turned Landon into a goat or something far worse. "Jo," Royce said catching her arm before she decided to use it for evil. "Landon's on our side. Where are your manners?"

"He started it," Joanna complained as she wrenched her arm away from Royce.

"I'm finis.h.i.+ng it," Royce declared. "Enough!"

Joanna knew when to retreat and just what to say to get Royce off her a.s.s. "Sorry, I'm just uptight today. PMS."

Kurt inwardly groaned. Deja vu. He knew entirely too much about a woman's temperament in conjunction with her cycle. At one point there had been four girls, including Becki under his roof. He had never known what he was walking in to.

Royce, on the other hand, called her out, "Nice try, Jo, but I'm not buying what you're selling."

d.a.m.n! Joanna rolled her eyes and turned to go below deck without another word.

Kurt frowned remembering a recent conversation with Becki.... "We need to talk," Royce insisted dragging her to the front of the boat where they could have some privacy.

"What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you? You're antagonizing someone who is trying to help us. In case you don't get it, there's a Wolf just under the surface! For G.o.d's sake, Joanna, get your s.h.i.+t under control."

"A lot has happened in the last few years, Royce. Let's just say I'm somewhat off men right now. I'm a little touchy," Joanna explained rubbing a stress knot that had formed in her shoulder. "Sorry, I'll tone it down."

"What do you mean a lot has happened, Jo? What happened?" Royce knew that it took something major to rattle his sister. What the h.e.l.l had happened while he was MIA?

Joanna smiled at her brother and patted his chest. "Nothing I couldn't handle. I'm fine; I'll even apologize to the Wolf," she said as she walked back toward the group.

"This discussion is not over, Joanna. We'll put it on the shelf for now, but you and I are going to talk," Royce a.s.sured her as she walked away.

"She's a Witch!" Landon whispered as soon as Royce and his sister had moved away from them.

Kurt laughed and said, "What? Just because she didn't fall at your feet, you result to name-calling?"

"No," Landon explained slowly, "I mean she's a real Witch. Black heart... crooked teeth... wart... that kind of Witch!"

"He's right."

s.h.i.+t! Landon had forgotten all about Sean!

"Well, except for the black heart and crooked teeth part," Sean grinned. "I'm pretty sure she doesn't have warts either."

Kurt clapped Landon on the back, "Way to go, buddy." "Joanna's mother is a former council member; she's also a pure-bred Witch. The bloodline is very strong. It was only slightly diluted in Joanna even though her father was not of pure-blood. Her powers are every bit as strong as her mother's now, so don't p.i.s.s her off," Sean warned Landon. "I think it's a little late for that bit of advice," Landon reminded him as he watched Joanna rub tension out of her neck and shoulder. "Look, can you give her a break? She got into a-- situation a few years ago, and she's doing the best she can. Royce doesn't know about it, and I won't be the one telling him. Let's just say she's been through some s.h.i.+t and leave it at that. Jo's temper sometimes gets the better of her. She always feels bad later," Sean promised.

"Sounds like someone else I know, huh, Landon?" Kurt observed.

"Like the kid said, give her a break. You might be surprised." "Um, yea, I'll have to take your word for that," Landon said pessimistically.

"I'm sorry for my behavior earlier," Joanna said as she approached. "I'll just claim jet lag if you'll allow it. My mother would be appalled at my behavior," she confided.

"I'm Royce's spoiled baby sister, Joanna," she said, extending her hand to Landon. "And you are?"

The smile that accompanied her apology went straight to his heart. He was honest enough to admit that he had antagonized her more than he should have. His only excuse was her eyes; they were a beautiful shade of blue that actually sparked when she was angry. She was, without a doubt, the most glorious woman he had ever encountered.

"Landon Smith," he responded as he reached for Joanna's hand. With his trademark charm firmly in place, he brought her hand to his lips. "I'm pleased to meet you, Joanna."

A blush swept across her face. To the untrained observer, it would have appeared to be a flush resulting from the attention of an attractive man. To Royce, who was accustomed to Joanna's temperament, recognized the warning signs immediately. All h.e.l.l was about to break loose. Royce inserted himself between Landon and Joanna. Grasping her shoulders, he gave her a slight shake. "Jo, we have a job to do here," he reminded her sternly.

Joanna shook off his hold and stomped back down the stairs. Everyone went back to their business except Landon. He watched as she disappeared below deck wondering what he had done wrong this time.

The last thing he saw was her middle finger pointing straight into the air above her head.

Landon chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm telling you, don't bait her. She can be one wicked Witch," Royce cautioned.

"Wicked?" Landon smiled. "Sounds like fun. I can do wicked." Royce gritted, "Need I remind you that we're talking about my baby sister? And while we're on the subject, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't use words like naked when referring to her in my presence. I won't allow you to toy with her, Wolf or not. Clear?"

"Crystal," Landon acknowledged.

Joanna was beautiful, bright, and fearless. Royce needn't worry; it appeared that she was quite capable of taking care of herself. Landon glanced toward the pa.s.sageway to the cabin below and muttered, "I'm probably the one at risk here."

No matter how quietly it was uttered, Kurt heard Landon's statement, loud and clear. Smiling, he pondered the impending fall of the mighty Landon Smith. Kurt wondered how long it would take for his friend to realize that trying to charm Joanna was the equivalent of waiving a red flag in front of the proverbial bull. Considering the confused look on his friend's face at this moment, it might take him a good while. "Look alive mates. Land ho!" Kurt said. He was suddenly in an extraordinarily jovial mood.

As the Battery drew closer, Seth and Joanna finished up below and then wondered around the deck.

"What is that place?" Joanna asked, pointing to an overgrown structure situated on an island resting in the middle of Charleston Harbor.

Landon answered "That's Castle Pinckney. The government built it in 1810. During the Civil War it was used as a prisoner of war camp and after that an artillery position. It's built in the shape of a horseshoe. The Ghosts of Castle Pinckney was written by a guy who grew up out there, E.P.

McClellan. He had some great stories. Everyone still talks about the ghosts there."

Unable to hold back a s.h.i.+ver, Joanna reached out to touch Landon's forearm as he leaned on boat's railing next to her. "You need to stay away from that island, Landon. It's not for your kind. There is something-- I'm not sure..." she paused unable to identify the feelings a.s.sailing her. "Just stay away," she urged as she turned and walked away. Landon glanced meaningfully at Kurt, who smiled and shrugged.

Talk about a red flag in front of a bull, Joanna would have been better off to keep that last part to herself. As it was, she just guaranteed Kurt and Landon a trip to Castle Pinckney in the near future.

"We'll drop anchor here," Kurt said. "Sean, where do we start?" Sean pointed to several different areas on the map, "I've marked the areas that are inconsistent with the digital copies. There is no way we will get them all checked out today, but if we split up, we can make more headway."

"Sounds like a good plan," Royce acknowledged.

"Jo, you stay here on the boat and see if you can catch a signal. The coin hasn't beaconed in several months, so it's unlikely. However, you won't have as much background interference on the water which should work in our favor. Landon and I will take this area," Sean said, tapping one of the highlighted areas on the map. "Royce and Kurt will take this section," he said, pointing to another area close by.

Kurt took over the conversation, "We'll use a jackstay search pattern.

I've stowed the anchors in the rear compartment and ropes are already attached. We'll drop the anchors at opposite ends on the eastern most side of our a.s.signed sections. Follow the rope from one anchor to the other. Stay together and let the rope slide through your fingers. When you get to one end, move the anchor a few feet to the west and then swim back to the opposite anchor. It's a tedious process, but if something is down there, we should find it."

"Put these on, guys," Joanna appeared holding up tiny ear buds. Landon looked at her like she was crazy. "We won't need to listen to music down there, Joanna."

"Smart a.s.s, they are not going to be connected to an Ipod. They will let me keep track of you down there and let me communicate with you in case of an emergency. As soon as you put them in your ear, they will conform to the shape of your ear ca.n.a.l and become waterproof," she explained. She handed them a second gadget which closely resembled a wrist watch. "Put these on, too. They will allow you to communicate with me as well as each other. It works just like texting," she said, typing something on her laptop.

Landon's wrist vibrated and he looked at the screen. Jacka.s.s displayed on the backlit screen. "Nice," he said, responding with a text of his own. n ur dreams wolf boy Joanna countered via her keyboard.

He turned his gaze toward Joanna and continued to wait patiently until she looked at him. She finally turned her head in his direction almost against her will.

"Count on it," Landon a.s.sured her.

Joanna's eyes were glued to the screen in front of her, monitoring both teams of divers as they scoured the bottom of the harbor. She had taken a break from trying to figure out how to lift the cloaking spell on the coin. She had made very little headway, and the process was draining. However, there were still some things she wanted to try.

Landon had turned out to be an unexpected pain in her a.s.s. He was clearly used to brainless twits fawning all over him. "Count on it," he had said. Unfortunately, Joanna had learned long ago that the only thing she could count on from a man was pain and heartache.

Leaving the computer set in "alert" mode, she walked to the railing where she and Landon had stood a short while ago. As soon as she touched him, she had felt a premonition of sorts. It was fuzzy and unclear, but she sensed danger.

Castle Pinckney sat in the distance while Joanna tried to imagine it as it had once been. Suddenly, she felt as if someone or something was trying to communicate with her. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on searching for whatever was out there. It was an elusive sort; she couldn't quite push close enough to mentally connect. As she concentrated more intently, blocking out the world around her, she felt herself being drawn toward something unexplainable. Smack! Joanna felt as if she had physically run into a wall of concrete.

Someone needed her. They were trying to tell her something important, but there was an invisible force blocking the communication in some way. She pulled on all of her energy searching for a way around the roadblock.

Yes ! There it was-- a trail as thin and fragile as a spider's web. She followed the trail deeper and deeper. Tackling this sort of thing alone was dangerous and exhausting. Joanna knew she should pull back, but could not bring herself to sever the thin connection. Deeper and deeper she ventured, further and further away, searching, seeking.

" Beep--Beep!" Joanna's laptop startled her out of the trance-like state she had fallen into. Dropping her head onto the railing, she took a moment to gather her strength. So tired. "Beep--Beep!" She knew the sound would not stop until she checked it. Sighing, she forced herself to push off of the railing and make her way to the computer. She felt a splash on her forearm and saw a drop of bright red blood. Great! Could one more thing p.i.s.s her off? Grabbing a tissue from beneath a bench seat, she focused on the screen.

"Tunnel found, section three." Royce and Landon had found a secret tunnel! Where did it lead?

"c u @ boat," Sean had responded. They were returning to talk about the find and decide how to proceed.

Joanna had hoped for a little more time to rejuvenate before Royce came back on board. She hoped he didn't notice the dark circles that now stood out beneath her eyes. At least her nose had stopped bleeding. She quickly stashed the b.l.o.o.d.y tissue in her bikini top.

As the men surfaced they ripped the regulators out of their mouths and celebrated. High-fives all around! Joanna had to laugh at their excitement.

"Nice going, guys," Joanna called before hurrying below. She really needed to rest for just a moment longer. She slid into one of the benches surrounding the table and cradled her head on folded arms. She kept one ear tuned to the activity topside. If someone came down the stairs, she would jet into the head pretending she needed to use the girls' room.

"Where's Jo?" Sean asked stowing their gear. He grabbed a cold bottle of water and savored a long pull.

"I think she went below to bring up our lunch," Royce said, knowing that it would be a cold day in h.e.l.l when that happened. Joanna didn't wait on anyone.

"Right, I'm sure that's it," Sean chimed in sarcastically.

Kurt dropped onto the deck, lying flat on his back to study the clouds in the sky. "Good work today guys. These old bones are worn out."

"You are such a senior citizen," Landon agreed heading below deck to grab some sandwiches. Diving was hungry work, and they were growing men.

Looking forward to continuing his conversation with the s.e.xy Witch, Landon took the stairs two at a time. The smile on his lips slipped as he saw Joanna slumped over the table. He leaped from the stairs landing beside her. She was barely breathing, and a steady flow of blood trickled from her nose.

"My G.o.d," He said scooping her into his arms to carry her to one of the bed rooms. "Royce!" he bellowed as he placed her gently on top of the comforter. "Royce, get down here!"

"The kids are at it again," Royce groaned as he worked up the energy to move from the comfortable chair he had just landed in. Surely they could get along for five minutes unsupervised.

Landon didn't know much about Witches, but he knew this was serious. "Joanna is unconscious and bleeding from the nose."

"Son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h," Royce said as he lunged from his chair and hit the stairs at a run.

Sean followed closely on Royce's heels while Kurt raced toward the captain's chair. In a matter of seconds, they were headed back to the marina at full speed.

Joanna moaned as she opened her eyes. Three men hovered over her; panic reflected in each of their expressions. Covering her face with her hands, she tried to hide tears of exhaustion as they rolled down her face.

"I'm sorry, Royce," she mumbled. "I'm sorry. I'm so embarra--"

"You're going to be more than sorry," Royce jumped on her with both feet. "I've had it, Jo. If you can't use some common sense, I'll call in Tammy." Royce's fear manifested in rage. "I'm not going to risk you pus.h.i.+ng your limitations. I'll call her right now if I can't trust you to use your head and not--"

Landon stepped in front of Royce placing his palm solidly in the middle of Royce's chest. "Back off," he growled.

Royce lifted a sardonic eyebrow and looked pointedly at Landon. His hand applied enough pressure to force Royce to move back a step.

"She is sick," Landon said softly. "Now is not the time."

Joanna couldn't believe Landon had intervened to stop Royce from verbally taking a piece out of her. She was too tired to give it much consideration as she slipped quietly into a deep sleep.

Taking a step back, Royce scrubbed his face with both hands. What the h.e.l.l had happened? He looked at his sister lying deathly still, her face frighteningly pale and streaked with blood and tears.

Several minutes had pa.s.sed. Both men silently watched Joanna, as if to confirm that she was indeed still breathing.

"Her heart rate has returned to normal. It was very sporadic for a while. And her body temperature has risen substantially. Its ninetyseven degrees right now but still on the rise," Landon reported.

"How do you know all that?" Royce asked. Mystified by what he had just heard.

Landon shrugged. "Heightened senses-- I'm a Wolf, remember?" he said with small grin.

"Oh, yea, that," Royce nodded. "I was out of line earlier. I, uh-appreciate you stepping in, although I was tempted to kick your a.s.s for it."

"Again," Landon began drearily, "I'm a Wolf, remember?"

Royce laughed. "Don't you worry; I've got ways to deal with that," he a.s.sured Landon.