Chapter Six

The day was long. 

The ship sailed smoothly and passing vessels made no sign of seeing it but deftly avoided a collision as though a field radiated from it, making sure no harm came to those who didn't owe the ocean a payment.

Lloyd watched sadly as the waves rose and fell, no sign of land in sight, just empty blueness, home to the whale and not of the human.

Now and again a fish would approach the surface, barely more than a shadow in the sapphire, taking what it needed before sinking beneath again.

Thomas offered small talk, the odd jape to try and ease his tension but little worked. Depression and resignment had settled and nothing would lift it unless he found the answers he needed. 

"How long are we going to be sailing?" Lloyd asked eventually, tiring of gazing at the nothingness. 

Thomas shrugged. "It depends. We move faster than others at sea, we're in-between times and worlds. But we're still reliant on weather and suc