She hadn’t been home in ages and was unsure what she was going to find. She jumped from the small dingy and sloshed through the water, pulling the tug line over her shoulder.

Everybody she had cared for had left the island, long ago. Who was left? After pulling the dingy out of the water, she took her time in walking up the dock, noticing the well cared for atmosphere. It seemed that the island had done well for itself after they had left. Maybe she had been a curse on the island, just like all the elders had said.

No matter, she wasn’t staying long.

Turning away from the bustle of the booming docks, she searched out the main road and found her way home again.

Her mother’s grave marker still stood, albeit overgrown, but still there. She knelt and ran her hand over the rough surface. How she missed her mother. Her strength and pride. Squinting, she looked out over the massive ocean that nearly swallowed the island. The sun reflected off the waves and danced in the trees. A cool wind blew, lifting her hair from her shoulders.

Home.

But not really.

Standing again, she sought the old hut that the two of them had shared after her father had disappeared. It hadn’t been much, more than most, but less than what she was now used to.

It was no longer there, only the frame remaining to proclaim its existence. It had only been a decade since she’d been here last, but vandals had taken their toll. She felt a pang in her heart, but stepped over the stones and closed her eyes.

Here had been the front room, and there the dining room. Out back, the kitchen had stood just out of fire’s reach, but to the left of the kitchen had been her own bedroom, beside her parents’. She drew out a water worn book and flipped the pages to a familiar map.

The ink was faded after all these years, but she could remember what was missing. After all, she’d grown up on this island, in this hut. Grinning, feeling connected, she marched through the dense weeds to her old room and knelt.

A few planks still held the floor together and she began counting. At the ninth one she set aside the book and slammed her fist through the rotted wood. It splintered and crumbled and revealed its treasure.

She grinned and pulled the box from under the debris.

She should have known that her father would leave some loot with his family. Not that the loot mattered to her. Merely the fact that her father had touched this, had gifted it to her through his journal. She hugged the small chest to her and turned to leave the remains.

She froze as she discovered that she was being watched. After a moment, she smiled.

“What do you do here, in this lonesome place?”

The young man’s lips tightened and he leaned against a pole still standing.

“This place has been empty for years. What do you do here, stranger?”

She brushed past him. “Reliving old memories.”

The man suddenly turned on her, grasping her forearm. “You’re Rik’s daughter, aren’t you?”

Shock coursed through her as she turned purple eyes on the man. He was tall, taller than her, with short choppy green/blue hair. His eyes were dark, nearly black but with a hint of a lighter color she couldn’t identify in the shade.

“How do you know my father?”

“They say that criminals always return to the scene of the crime.” His eyes flicked to the hut’s remains.

“You’ve not answered me.”

“I work for him.”

“Work? He died years ago, before I was much older than a cygent.”

The man turned fully toward her and stuck out his hand. “I’m called Serik.”

She arched a brow. “Serik?”

“Named after your father. I was given the chance to choose my own name. I chose his.”

She frowned and bared her teeth. “What do you want with me?”

He smiled a slow smile and began walking away in that familiar stroll that all sailors acquired. “I was put on this island for one purpose. I was to await your return, no matter how long it took. Creation is vast and nearly impossible to find a single person who travels as much as you.”

“Why are you here, Serik?”

“Why don’t you come and meet the crew? They’d love to meet you, the daughter of our Rik.”

Stalking after him, she said, “To what purpose?”

He paused and turned to face her, that slow smile still on his lips. “To reunite you with your father, Rik Sari.”

Sari chewed her lip as she considered her options. She didn’t really believe her father was alive. Not after all these years. He would have come back for her, right? He would have made some other effort to be with his wife and daughter long before this, wouldn’t he?

She followed Serik, her violet eyes full of distrust. In her hand, she hugged her father’s journal to her side. For years, this had been her only memento of him. Would all that change? She shook her head. He was dead. She would discover who this imposter was and unmask him.

Serik lead her to the warehouses littering the docks, then to one in particular. He glanced back at her before opening the door and waving her in.

“You first, please,” She said. Serik nodded and entered.

It was dark inside, and took Sari a moment to let her eyes adjust. Even before she could see, she could tell that there were four others in the room, three men and one woman. They had all paused in their actions when the two of them entered and Serik held up his hand in greeting. They relaxed, but kept their distrustful eyes on Sari. She smiled thinly at them, following Serik up a set of wooden stairs and into a closed off office.

“What’s this?”

Serik sat at the desk, propping his boots on the desk, unmindful of the dirt. “Surely you didn’t think we would just sit here, all this time? I’ve had my people set up shop here. Now we’re known as the richest merchants on Dortagi.”

Sari sat on the chair opposite Serik. “Where’s Rik?”

“You don’t think he’s really alive, do you?” He dropped his feet to the floor and rifled through the papers he’d smeared with dirt. “I’ve a letter he wrote to you. Somewhere in this mess.” He smiled, ruefully.

Sari folded her arms and waited as he searched. Finally he produced the letter and held it up for her inspection. Quick as lightening, she snatched it from his hands, ignoring his wide eyed look of surprise. She silently cursed herself for letting even that little bit slip.

The letter was old and yellowed. Water had stained it in some spots, but the words were still legible.

“Daughter, Sari,

"Forgive the time I have spent away from you and your mother. I can only hope that you will understand the trials I have witnessed these years and the pain I have suffered, being lost to my loved ones.

"The time has come for me to face the mistakes of my past, and to put to rest the troubles I have no doubt warranted with my escapades as a pirate. For years I have been hunted across the breath of Creation, and now I have finally found freedom from those that would do me ill. I have returned home, without danger following on my footsteps for the first time in ages, to find that your mother had passed on and you gone missing. Again I left, this time in search of you, my child. Rumors of your plight at the hands of the Dynasts I followed.

"Do you find this letter before I find you, I plead that you are well, that no harm has come to you by their foul hands. Serik is to be trusted to help you to me. I beg that you allow him to help.

"Your loving father,

"Rik"

Sari frowned as she read the letter. Rumors were vile things and never to be trusted. How could he believe what he’d heard?

But then again, what was the other option? Tell him the truth?

She looked up at Serik and decided then and there to let him take her on this merry chase. “How will you find him?”

“I’ve a special jewel that will lead to the one he carries. We’ll find him in no time at all.” He tilted his head to one side, his eyes twinkling with something Sari couldn’t, wouldn’t, read. “Any other questions?”

Sari stood and tucked the letter into her belt. “Yeah, when do we leave?”