“I can"t say. We need to get closer and take a look but … to take Sheerwater any nearer…”
“She stays here; I"ll not risk her.”
Mac Lir looked away, back into the fog. “Very well. The only way is to go into the water then. Do you swim well Captain? We"ll see them long before they see us.”
He hesitated. He took a short knife from his belt and cut off the end of the knotted rope he still held in his hand, casting the small piece overboard. The wind calmed immediately. Everything became quiet, nothing moving. Even Sheerwater stopped creaking and breathing for a moment.
“No. I … won"t swim.”
Mac Lir looked back, surprised for the first time.
Quirk smiled slightly. “I mean, I don"t swim.”
“Indeed?” Mac Lir looked fascinated, a little amused. “Yet you make your living on the sea, s
