Lilith (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} lilithilien) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} drabbleday, |
Nicholas was adamant that they leave England. "They already think you're a witch, Andromache. Next, they'll think Joseph is a djinn."
"If only I was," Joseph muttered bitterly, seeing the ruined state that Andromache, longing for their missing sister. "I would happily lay waste to this whole country."
With Andromache and Joseph safely hidden, Nicholas posed as a merchant from Genoa and made inquiries about the ship that transported Quynh. It wasn't long before his leads splintered and multiplied; there was little loyalty among the crews and deckhands took whatever wages available. They had soon searched every ship in Southampton.
*
Years of searching ensued, Andromache following every lead as if it were an oracle from the gods. And each time, they came up empty handed. The 16th century became the 17th, then the 18th, and then more; they became Joe and Nicky and Andy and they welcomed new members of their family. Shipping and diving equipment modernized, sonar transformed the ocean's mysteries, but it was to no avail. Quynh was still lost. And Andy with her. Booker and Nile never knew the Andy who had been tossed into the waves with Quynh, but Nicky and Joe mourned her every day.