The captain made his way below to the hold.
The guards straightened slightly when he entered.
"How is he?" the captain asked.
"Quiet," one of them said. "Hasn't done nothin'."
The captain nodded once and went to Sonder.
"Walk with me," he said.
It wasn't a request.
He didn't speak until they were clear of the hold.
Up the stairs and onto the deck and far enough from anyone else.
Only then did he stop. He looked out toward the dock and then back at her.
"I be thinkin' that they're the same as him," he said. "Whatever monster he be, they be. I don't know how many. Maybe all of 'em, or just some. But it ain't guesswork."
He looked at her. "I'm sure they be sort of... feeling him, or sensing him, in some way that his kind be doing. They didn't say it plain, but they didn't need to. Seems like we're not just stopping to resupply; they won't let us. We sailed into death."
He let that sit for a second.
"I don't know what to do," he said, an earnest description of his situation. "I just know how to run a ship. Not how to deal with monsters and vampires on some devil island. You're a wizard, aren't you? I don't know what, but there must be something you can do."
He rubbed his face. "I don't know what that is," he went on. "Magic, or somethin' else. But you ain't like the rest of us. That much I can see plain."
He looked back toward the dock again.
"I don't know if you care," he said. "About any of us. Maybe you don't. Maybe you ain't got reason to. But if you do, then you should do something. I don't know what. I ain't gonna pretend I do. Never been a smart fella. But you shouldn't be here when something happens to us. Leave the ship. Before they make their move. Slip off if you can, or however it is you do things. We can't go, but you could. If there's a way t' stop it, take it. If there ain't. Then don't get caught with us when it turns. Maybe go back to the mainland and tell the people to stay clear of this isle. And if it all goes bad, if there's nothing left to save, maybe teach these guys a lesson. You hear me? Don't let it end with us just dying for nothin'."
Sonder had no answer.
"I'm putting a lot on your shoulders. Aye. And I assume a lot. I do," the captain said, "but from my point of view, it's the only thing that I can do: ask you to do somethin'. And I think you've already decided. More like we ain't the ones who decide things. They do."
"You really want me to leave?"
"Aye. Now, it ain't abandoning us. I can see it in yer face that's what you're thinkin'. Its just that if you stay with us and you go down, that don't help no one."