Uncharted Waters

"Idiot, she doesn't even have it."

"I was just told to get into the house and take her. Besides Catherine said there is no amulet."

"How do we even know Catherine was right about that? The man could have been lying to Link about the gem being destroyed."

"I know what I heard! The brat's father said something about the power being given to her."

Gigi cracked her eyes open ever so slightly, listening to the irate voices around her. She tried to make sense of what had happened and where she was. The last thing she remembered was waking up with Link. And then he had gone into the washroom and she had started trying to tame her bed rumpled curls...and then a man came through the window and had knocked her out cold before she could react. Fear and anger surged through her, along with the realization that her arguing abductors must be Link's former team. The woman, Catherine, had said his name.

"She was in Link's room?" someone was asking now, sounding disbelieving.

"They were together at the market too," someone else answered. "I don't know what sort of miracle that boy had to perform to get her attention. We should have started following him sooner. I knew the little weasel would try to cheat us. He was going to take off with her and keep the power all to himself."

"Oh, I'm not so sure that was Lincoln's intention at all."

Gigi felt people shift further away from her as a new voice interjected. The man sounded calm and polished and she let her eyes creep open a little more to see a tall, broad shouldered man in a finely tailored suit.

"I think our poor scholar developed something of a childish crush on our pretty prize here. He was likely trying to play the hero and protect her from us." He sounded amused.

"She doesn't have the amulet, Gavin," Catherine said, sounding apologetic and even slightly timid. "But I swear, I heard Link talking to her father. He said the amulet itself was destroyed but they were starting to suspect that maybe the power of it went into this girl. It sounds insane but-"

"It doesn't sound insane at all," Gavin interrupted. He sounded intrigued. "Though it's certainly not what I was expecting."

Another realization dawned on her, and Gigi's fear dissipated almost entirely, leaving behind nothing but indignant rage. Gavin was the man who had been trying to woo Madi. Gigi lashed out with her foot, kicking someone in the knee and sending them to the ground. She rolled and sprang to her feet before anyone had time to recover from their shock. She didn't have any of her weapons on her so she'd have to improvise. She pivoted and punched a man as he tried to grab her elbow. She ducked the next set of arms that came at her, punching him square in the diaphragm before scurrying out of the room they had had her in.

She bolted into the hall and realized it was the house Link had brought her to before. She tore down the stairs, curse words and thundering footsteps following behind her. She was almost to the front door when someone snaked an arm around her waist and shoved her against the wall.

"She's feisty," the man grumbled, binding her wrists while she squirmed. But she was pinned between his solid form and the wall. He spun her around after her wrists were tied up and she realized that he was the man who had leered at her at the market. He wiped some blood from his nose and she felt a glimmer of satisfaction that she had punched him.

Gavin approached her, his gray eyes locked intently on her face. Gigi resisted the urge to look away and stared defiantly back at him.

"How fascinating," he mused. "I never would have imagined that the power would be residing in a living vessel. And all this time we've been searching for a pretty rock."

"We still found something pretty." The man who had bound her wrists pulled her uncomfortably close, her back pressed against his chest. Gigi tensed, wanting to punch him again.

"Yes," Gavin agreed. "Even rumpled and barefoot. Let's get her to the ship. It won't take long for them to realize she's gone and Link will lead her family right to us. Be careful with her, Eric," he snapped as her captor swung her roughly toward the door.

Gigi's mind raced as they herded her out of the house. She had no weapons; she wasn't even wearing shoes. If she could get her hands free she could probably snag a knife or a gun from one of them and get away.

"Should one of us stay behind to give Link a nasty surprise?" Eric asked. "He was planning to betray us."

"That will only serve to waste time," Gavin said. "We have what we came for. Failing to keep her from us should serve as punishment enough for our gangly friend."

"What if he tries to follow us and give us trouble?"

"Then you may kill him."

Gigi's blood ran cold. She found herself hoping that Link would have no idea where they were taking her, because she knew he'd never leave her with these people. Eric kept an arm around her, all of them moving as hastily as they could while still trying to act casual. They reached the harbor and Gigi could see the Spirit. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. She may never see her family again. The ship that belonged to Gavin; named Challenger; was much smaller and sleeker than the Spirit, designed for luxury and speed for a small crew. Eric kept a tight grip on her as the others set about moving the ship out of the harbor and into the open water.

"Should we keep her tied up?" he asked Gavin.

"I don't think that will be necessary. Just put her in one of the rooms and make sure she stays there."

Eric nodded and fairly shoved her down the stairs leading away from the deck. He led her into a small bedroom before cutting the ropes around her wrists. She lunged away from him, spinning so that her back wasn't to him, and glowered. He smirked, leering at her a little longer before leaving and shutting the door. She didn't hear his footsteps retreating though and assumed he was standing guard outside.

Gigi sank onto the bed with a frustrated sigh. She didn't know what power these maniacs thought she had, but they were going to be very disappointed when they realized she didn't possess any sort of magic. Her head snapped up as the door opened again, this time to reveal a scowling Catherine.

"Gavin requests you have dinner with him," she said in a clipped voice. She threw a dress at Gigi, followed by a pair of shoes flung at her feet. Gigi stared.

"I don't want to have dinner with him," she said flatly.

"Well no one here cares about what you do or don't want, princess. Gavin wants to have dinner with you and he likes his dinner guests to be well dressed. So get cleaned up and put the stupid outfit on."

Catherine was practically snarling at her and Gigi got the impression that she didn't like other women having Gavin's attention. Huffing, Gigi went into the small washroom adjacent to the bedroom and washed her face and got her hair mostly under control before returning to the bedroom. Catherine was still there, looking more and more annoyed as she helped Gigi into the dark lavender dress; nearly crushing her ribs when she cinched the corset. Gigi fought back a wince, not wanting to give her the satisfaction.

"Come on," Catherine grumbled. Gigi followed her reluctantly out of the bedroom and back to the deck. Catherine flung open a door to reveal a dining room, Gavin already inside and pouring two glasses of wine. He glanced up as the door banged against the wall. He didn't leer crudely at Gigi like the other men did, instead inspecting her with an appreciative sort of fascination; but it didn't make her feel any better about being ogled.

"Please, Miss Griffith, take a seat."

She sat stiffly, ignoring the wine as he set it in front of her. He sat down across from her, eyes still studying her face as he addressed Catherine.

"You can go now," he said mildly. Catherine scowled again before practically slamming the door and marching away. Gavin didn't seem to notice.

"So you're after the magical immortality-granting amulet," Gigi said flippantly. "I have bad news for you, then. It no longer exists."

Gavin leaned back in his chair, looking amused. "So Catherine has told me. Your parents were in possession of it for a time, were they?"

"Yes. They found it, were bound to it, had me, destroyed it. The power wasn't working properly anymore anyway."

"I see. It began going haywire when they conceived you?"

Gigi pursed her lips and nodded.

"That does make some sense," he said slowly. "And then the gem was destroyed. How?"

"The entire island crumbled in on itself. So, you see, you're out of luck. You wasted all this time and money for nothing. Now take me home, and if you're quick about it my parents might not kill you."

Gavin chuckled. Not the reaction Gigi had been hoping for. He didn't seem concerned at all about the fact that the magic gem was gone.

"Lincoln may have been the team's designated academic, Miss Griffith, but I know a thing or two myself about this magical trinket. The power is far more than the vessel chosen to house it. The amulet was merely a place for the magic to be stored. The magic would have found another place to go in light of the amulet being destroyed."

She stared at him, dread starting to creep in and overpower her skepticism. If Gavin had assembled a crew to find this power, then of course he knew enough about it to know it wasn't a legend. If he was so confident that the magic could live on without the amulet then it must be true.

"I don't see what this has to do with me," she said finally.

"It has everything to do with you. Based upon my own knowledge of this power, combined with what Catherine overhead yesterday, it seems quite certain that you are the new vessel the magic chose after the gemstone was lost."

Gigi stared at him for a long time, not even looking away when one of the others came into the room and placed plates of food in front of them.

"You're crazy," she said finally, tone icy. "That's impossible."

"Is it? Who can really say what is or isn't possible when dealing with an ancient magic that grants immortality?" Gavin chuckled again. "It was bound to your mother, which means it shared its gifts with her. In turn, you were conceived and grew with this magic essentially in your veins. It only makes sense then, doesn't it, that when the magic sensed its current vessel was on the brink of no longer existing that it would transfer every remaining trace of itself into you? It was withdrawing its power from all others bound to it because it was being channeled into you."

"Even if that were true, I have no access to it," Gigi said, stamping down her growing panic. "I can't grant you eternal life, or anything else."

"The power remains dormant until called upon," Gavin replied calmly, sipping his wine. "It's inside of you, of that I'm sure. It's just a matter of waking it up."

"I wouldn't know how to call on it even if I wanted to," Gigi spat. "And you're going to regret kidnapping me like this. My family will stop at nothing to get me back."

"This ship is much faster than the one your parents have," he said dismissively. "We'll reach my estate in New York long before they can catch up, assuming they can find their way there."

"They'll find it. This isn't the first time I've been abducted. It didn't end well for the first guy who tried it."

She had the pleasure of seeing Gavin actually look surprised by this bit of information. But then he shrugged, picking up his knife and fork and starting to eat.

"Like I said, this ship is much faster and we have a sizable head start. I have my own research on this subject in New York. I feel confident that I can have your power unlocked well before they can find you. And then of course, even if they do find me it won't matter, will it?" He smiled. "Your dinner is getting cold," he added.

As if her dinner was her biggest concern right now. Gigi looked out the window, seeing nothing but open sea as the ship zoomed along. Port Aris was no longer visible on the horizon at all. She was alone, with no idea where she was headed or what was going to happen to her when she got there.