by Tara West
A few of Mrs. Jenkens’s neighbors had also become alarmed. Following her lead, some had even started packing their belongings into wagons. However, most of Galveston seemed to congregate on the beach, “oohing” and “awing” at the magnificent sight of their island being battered.
The local weatherman’s brother, Isaac Cline, was driving a buggy up and down the street, calling to everyone to move to higher ground, but much of what he said was lost in the strengthening wind. Most people were too fascinated with the display to pay him any heed.
Safina lifted her skirts, sloshing through water and grit as she made her way toward the porch stairs. Gabriel kissed her on the cheek before going to help his brothers load the cart.
The dragon queen let out a shrill cry and raced down the steps, grabbing Safina in a fierce hug. She clutched Safina’s shoulders. “Daughter, I’ve been worried sick about you all morning.” She nodded toward the full cart. Gabriel’s brothers sat in the back, propping up the furniture to keep it from tumbling out. “You two get to Josef’s house and wait for us there.”
“Mother,” Safina said, “we still have many more houses to go to.” She regretted stopping by Mrs. Jenkens’s house, but she’d had to make sure her mother and friends were safe.
Mrs. Jenkens stomped up to Safina, waving her hands wildly. “Nonsense. Can’t you see Isaac Cline is warning everyone now?”
Safina fought the urge to roll her eyes. “He is just warning the people along the beach. Señor Cortez told Gabriel the surge will cover the entire island.”
Mother cupped Safina’s chin, giving a sad shake of the head. “You cannot save all of Galveston.”
Safina crossed her arms. “We can try.”
Despite the looming danger, Safina was elated to see her father come down the stairs and join her mother, though the dragon queen pinched her mouth and refused to look in his direction.
“Safina, listen. I have been through hurricanes before.” He gestured at the waves crashing on the shore. “The winds will pick up, and the flying debris will become dangerous. For your mother’s sake” he pleaded, “please return to Josef’s house.”
Safina was about open her mouth in protest when a breaker splintered a bathhouse to pieces, tossing the remnants on the beach before sweeping it back into the sea.
Safina’s shoulders slumped when she realized she’d been defeated. She only hoped Isaac Cline would carry his warning up the neighboring blocks and the people of Galveston would listen.
* * *
Safina wasn’t happy about the riding arrangements to Señor Cortez’s house. She’d wanted to walk with Gabriel, but her mother and Mrs. Jenkens insisted she accompany them in a cramped carriage. Moses sat up front, talking to the horses, while Safina squeezed in beside Abby.
When she leaned out the window and waved goodbye to Gabriel, he’d given her a sympathetic look. Her heart sank, not just because she couldn’t stand to be parted from him, but because she feared Mrs. Jenkens would make the ride unbearable.
“Safina MacQuoid, or is it Safina Cortez now?” The old woman’s eyes narrowed at Safina as she sat directly across from her. “I demand to know where you ran off to. We have all been worried sick, and your poor, dear mother has been beside herself over you.” She patted the dragon queen’s knee, but didn’t make any other attempt to comfort her.
Safina’s mother sat stoically, the wind from the open windows whipping strands of hair across her face. Her attention wasn’t on the conversation, but on the horizon. Safina was envious of her mother. She’d much rather watch the hurricane come in than be subjected to a barrage of nosy questions.
Safina suspected the real reason Mrs. Jenkens wanted to know where they’d been had less to do with concern over her safety and more to do with her need to spread the latest gossip.
“To answer your first question,” she said curtly as she turned up her nose, “it’s Safina MacQuoid-Cortez, and as for your second question, that is a private matter.” Safina decided it best not to tell Mrs. Jenkens about her other surname, Firesblood, knowing its magical sound would have the woman’s tongue wagging for sure.
Mrs. Jenkens’s eyes widened and her face fell as fast as that bathhouse crumbling into the sea. “Oh, the insolence!”
“Nana, please,” Abby grumbled. She held her bonnet down with one hand while the ties lashed against her face.
Mrs. Jenkens turned her scowl on her granddaughter. “Don’t come to her defense, Abby. This girl needs a good tongue lashing.” She pursed her lips, looking lost in thought before again glaring at Safina. “And how is it that Gabriel can walk again? What did you do?”
“The same thing my mother does.” Safina shrugged and looked over the side of the carriage. Water was running into the street at an alarming rate, and children were playing in it. Little boys squealed as they watched their toy ships sail downstream, and little girls lifted the hems of their skirts while splashing through the current. Those poor souls had no idea what was in store for them.
“So you healed him and then ran off? Took a train to Houston, I suppose?” Mrs. Jenkens pressed, seemingly unaware of the activity outside.
Safina refused to acknowledge Mrs. Jenkens’s question continuing to stare at the bustle in the streets. The carriage had stopped, wedged between a horde of people trying to get to the beach. The adults laughed and shared greetings, talking about how the weather would spend itself by noon. Safina clenched her hands, wanting so badly to scream at them, but they’d probably think she’d gone insane.
“Very well,” Mrs. Jenkens huffed, crossing her arms, “keep your secrets to yourself, but I shall get to the bottom of this one way or another.”
Abby rolled her eyes at Nana and then chewed on her nails, her nervous gaze darting to the people in the crowd.
“You seem upset, Abby,” Safina asked. “Is everything okay?”
Abby frowned. “I have been trying to reach Charlotte for two days, and she has not returned my messages. I was supposed to host her party today, but of course, I had to cancel. Either she’s angry with me because of that, or she hasn’t received my messages. I’m worried she’ll show up at Nana’s house.” She waved outside. “I don’t want her out in this weather.”
“Nobody should be out in this weather,” Safina agreed. “What will you do?”
Abby pouted. “I must call on Charlotte once more and insist I be seen.”
Mrs. Jenkens stomped a foot. “Absolutely not.”
“Nana, please.” Abby clasped her hands together. “Charlotte’s life could be in danger.”
The old woman’s tone turned even more shrill than usual. “And so will yours be if you venture out in this.”
“I don’t care.” Abby pouted as the carriage lurched forward. “I will not let Charlotte risk her life.”
Mrs. Jenkens leaned forward, patting Abby on the knee. “She is probably not answering you, dearest, because she’s in labor.”
Abby’s jaw dropped. “Oh, do you think?”
“Of course,” Mrs. Jenkens said with a knowing smile.
Abby worried her bottom lip before pulling back her shoulders. “Even more reason to call on her.”
“Nonsense.” Mrs. Jenkens sat back with a huff. “Once we get to Señor Cortez’s house, you are not leaving until after the storm.”
“Nana,” Abby pleaded, “the women in Charlotte’s family all die during childbirth.”
The dragon queen jolted as if waking from a trance. “I will go with Abby.”
“Fiona, no,” Mrs. Jenkens groaned and turned to Mother. “I cannot allow you to risk your life.”
As if to prove Mrs. Jenkens’s point, a powerful gust of wind rocked the carriage. Abby and Mrs. Jenkens yelped, and Safina clutched her seat, her heart rate intensifying as they were hit with another blast that sent the carriage in the other direction.
Mother seemed undaunted as she eyed Mrs. Jenkens coolly. “I promised Abby I would help her friend with the birthing.” She winked at Abby. “Besides, Charl
otte’s house is on high ground, is it not?”
“Yes.” Abby eagerly nodded before warily looking outside. “The very center of town.”
“Good,” Mother said in a tone that defied Mrs. Jenkens to argue. “We shall set off as soon as we deliver your Nana and Safina to Josef.”
“I’m coming, too,” Safina blurted, knowing her mother would be displeased but not caring one bit. She would not let Abby and Mother venture out in this weather without her.
Mother’s expression hardened. “No you’re not, child. You’re staying where it’s safe.”
Safina’s back stiffened. “Mother, I’m a grown woman. I can make my own decisions.”
Mother heaved a resigned sigh. “Very well, Safina.”
She looked away, but not before Safina read the sadness in her eyes. She didn’t need to be tethered to her mother’s heart to know what the dragon queen was thinking. Safina was no longer her little girl. In a way the thought made Safina sad, too.
When the carriage came to a stop in front of Señor Cortez’s house, Mother helped Mrs. Jenkens out of the carriage, ignoring the woman as she fretted and blustered about like the wind gusts that shook the carriage.
Gabriel, his brothers, and Safina’s father were already unloading Mrs. Jenkens’s things from the cart and hauling them up the stairs.
Built around the house was a fortress of sorts—sand bags stacked like a brick wall. Safina recognized the bags from the cart when Gabriel’s family had brought them back from the beach, and knew his brothers had to have made several trips to have gathered so many. Safina assumed they were to keep the home from floating away. None of Señor Cortez’s neighbors had such reinforcements. In fact, many of the neighbor children were outside, splashing in the rain, laughing as they chased the rising tributaries that ran through their yards.
“Josef,” Mother said to the stooped old man, ignoring Mrs. Jenkens. “We are going to Broadway Street. We shall return shortly.”
Before Mrs. Jenkens could stop them, Mother asked Moses to take them to the home of Charlotte Carter and hopped back in the carriage. Safina cringed when she saw Gabriel’s wide-eyed expression as he gaped at her from the porch. She blew a kiss to him, hoping he wouldn’t be upset with her for leaving.
* * *
When they arrived at Charlotte’s grand home, Abby had decided it would be best if she faced Charlotte alone. She alone was responsible for her friend losing faith in her, and she alone needed to fix it. Of course, if Charlotte was indeed in labor, she promised Miss Fiona she would come back for her straight away.
Abby rang Charlotte’s door chime with a heavy heart. She suspected Charlotte wasn’t in labor. Why else would her servant, Josiah, have told Abby that Charlotte was sleeping every time she either called upon or rang her? And why had Charlotte never responded?
When Josiah answered the door, Abby didn’t give him a chance to refuse her. She ducked under his arm, racing toward Charlotte’s parlor.
“Miss Abby, wait!” Josiah called.
Abby didn’t look back as she slid inside the parlor and shut the door. No surprise, Charlotte was sitting by herself, stitching something probably far superior to anything Abby could ever make. She set down her stitch work with a gasp when she saw Abby.
No doubt Lydia and Irene had gotten to Charlotte, for her dearest friend didn’t look pleased to see her. Abby didn’t wait for Charlotte’s rebuke. She strode up to her and knelt at her side, clasping her hands. “Charlotte, thank goodness you’re okay.”
Charlotte jerked away from Abby as if she had a case of the plague. “Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Abby was not to be deterred. “I’ve been trying to reach you for two days. There’s a storm coming, so I’ve had to postpone the party.”
Charlotte scowled. “So I’ve heard.”
“Please believe me,” Abby begged, “whatever Lydia and Irene said isn’t true.”
Charlotte pinched her lips together, her vacant stare cold and void of emotion. It was a look Abby had never seen before. “I find it too odd for my liking that after abusing me for almost a year”—Charlotte’s voice cracked as she fisted her hands—“you suddenly have to cancel the party. The papers said the hurricane has already hit Florida and is traveling up the east coast. It won’t come anywhere near here.”
Abby placed a hand on her chest, her breaths coming in shallow gasps. She had to make Charlotte believe her. “No, Charlotte. It’s here.” She gestured at the tall window in front of them, which rattled as the wind beat against it. “Can’t you see it?”
Charlotte rolled her eyes, another first for her. “What I see is a windy day. Teddy says it will all blow over.”
Abby’s heart beat so fast, she feared her chest would implode. “He’s wrong. Señor Cortez predicted the hurricane. Nana says he’s never wrong about such things. I promise, after the hurricane passes, I will host another party.”
“No need.” Charlotte turned up her nose as she rubbed her swollen belly. “Lydia is having one for me today at her house.”
Abby froze, her racing heart coming to a sudden stop. “Lydia?”
“Yes. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get ready.” Charlotte heaved herself from the sofa.
Abby jumped up, blocking Charlotte’s path. “You can’t go.” Her heart pounded like a drum in her ears, so hard, it made her head spin. “Her house is on low ground. You’ll be in danger.”
“Good day, Abby.”
Charlotte tried to step around her, but Abby dug her fingers into her arm, refusing to let go.
“Abby,” Charlotte growled, trying to shake out of her grip. “You’re hurting me!”
“No, Charlotte,” Abby cried as tears streamed down her face. “Please believe me.”
They both jumped at a loud bang. Abby released Charlotte and spun around to see a very irate Teddy Carter bearing down on them.
“Miss Jenkens!” He jutted a finger toward the door. “I must ask you to leave my property at once.”
“Teddy, please.” Abby clasped her hands together in a prayer pose. “A hurricane is coming. I swear it.”
His eyes narrowed as he spoke through clenched teeth. “I will not ask you again.”
Abby’s shoulders fell as she left Charlotte Carter’s house with slow steps, feeling as if she were marching to the beat of her best friend’s funeral procession. When she alighted in the carriage, she fell into Miss Fiona’s embrace in a heap of sobs.
“You did your best, dearest,” Miss Fiona cooed in her ear.
“But it wasn’t good enough,” she wailed, soaking Miss Fiona’s collar.
“They are having the party at Lydia’s house. Charlotte will drown!”
“Don’t fret, child. I’m sure she’ll come to her senses,” Miss Fiona said as she stroked Abby’s back.
Abby wasn’t convinced, and she couldn’t help but cry harder.
The wind shook the carriage all the way home. After they stepped onto the sidewalk in front of Señor Cortez’s house, they were pelted with hard rain. Heavy, ominous clouds had rolled in, and Abby knew without a doubt Señor Cortez was not crazy. She only hoped her friends realized the truth before it was too late.
Chapter Eighteen
Gabriel stood on the porch with his papi while the storm rolled in. They called to everyone who passed, warning them a hurricane was approaching. At first, they shook their heads and walked away, but as the wind picked up and the water continued to rise, people started to heed their warnings, grabbing their families and a few possessions, and seeking higher ground.
The water had already risen above the sandbags and continued to rise at an alarming rate. Soon their porch steps would be buried.
Gabriel looked over his shoulder at Safina and her mother, kneeling beside the sofa, trying to soothe a frayed Mrs. Jenkens. His brothers and Safina’s father were busy moving their furniture and possessions to the second floor. Gabriel wanted to help them, but Papi said he had a more important task for him.
Papi stood at the end of the porch, not flinching as the biting wind and rain pelted him. “Come, niño.” He spoke loudly to be heard above the din of the whistling wind. “It is time for your lessons.”
Gabriel shielded his face as he walked over to his papi. “Lessons?”
The old man arched a bushy brow. “Do not tell me you survived three days at sea because of luck, niño.”
Gabriel swallowed a lump of regret. He didn’t like to be reminded his magic was feeble. “I tried to summon a wave to carry us, but I’m not good at it.”
Josef raised his hands in the air, catching raindrops on his fingertips. “Do you think I was born knowing how to speak to the elements?” he said as the wind plastered thin strands of hair to his head. “You must practice your powers if you are to get better.”
Gabriel’s skin flamed at the thought of failing again. “I try, Papi.” He raised his voice as the whistling wind began to howl. “I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong.”
Josef narrowed his eyes. “Let me see,” he ordered. “Shift the wind away from our house.”
Reluctantly, Gabriel raised his hands, putting all his energy into fighting back the wind. The current seemed to push even harder, and he had to wedge his heels against the uneven wood planks to keep from being knocked back. “See? I told you I’m no good.”
Josef turned his back on the storm, shaking his head. “I think the problem is that you are fighting the wind.”
Gabriel threw up his hands. “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”
“No,” Josef yelled as the wind flattened his clothes against him. “You must become one with the elements.”
He turned into the onslaught and lifted his arms to the sky. Closing his eyes, he leaned into the storm, so far over the edge of the porch, Gabriel feared the old man would tumble down the stairs. And then something remarkable happened. Gabriel could literally see a break in the current. The wind split at Josef’s fingertips, arching around the old man and away from the house. The air became surprisingly calm and the din from the storm died to a whisper. The rain and wind stopped battering his burning flesh. Though the storm raged around them, the house suddenly felt as secure as a baby in a mother’s arms.
