"Where is Markus?"

Rory looked around. It was a mystery to him how Rogier could distinguish shapes through the thick mist surrounding them.

"Was he with us?" Rory wondered. He couldn't remember. This was strange—at first, he was very aware of Markus's menacing presence wherever he went. Since Rogier had flogged him, Rory hadn't been bothered by him anymore. Rory couldn't imagine that Markus had now accepted him in their midst, but apparently, he respected his captain enough not to say anything about it.

"Yes," Rogier grumbled. He sighed. "Markus!"

There was no response.

"He was the last in line," someone said. "Maybe he went back."

Rogier muttered something unintelligible. "We're going back."

"But... the plants..."

"We can't see a damn thing," Rogier snapped.

Rory abruptly shut his mouth. The man had never snapped at him before. It was obvious that he didn't feel comfortable. Something Rory could agree with, even though Rogier made him feel safe.

"We have to wait until the mist clears."

Rory didn't think it would clear. He looked around, peering through the swirling mist. Over there... he saw the outlines of something. He had no basis for it, yet he felt he needed to go there. "I think we're almost there..."

"No." Rogier placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him around roughly. "They're close. I can feel them."

"I think I saw him!" one of the other men shouted.

"The Soul Eaters are close. They're showing us what we want to see." He drew his sword and looked around warily.

In a fluid motion, Rory also took his daggers in his hands. How do you find something on an island where deadly creatures could play tricks with your mind? His courage sank.

"We're going back," Rogier said. "And we'll come up with something else."

There was no arguing with that—nothing outweighed the captain's words. Rory could only hope that North and Lee had more success.

With the feeling that they were being watched from all sides, they returned to the coast. They climbed down the rocky path with difficulty, where the mist was less thick. From the corner of his eye, Rory looked at Rogier. It was clear that he saw this as a defeat.

"You've brought us farther than anyone else could have," Rory said with an encouraging smile.

Rogier said nothing, and Rory concentrated on the climb with a heavy feeling in his chest.

Markus was on the ship, claiming he had lost sight of them. Rogier listened to his excuses with a grim face. When he turned away with obvious annoyance, Rory caught Markus' stare. The man looked at him with a nasty grin. As he walked away, the shadow he cast on the deck seemed darker than it should—and more lively, somehow.

Rory watched the man thoughtfully. Something had happened... He was hiding something from the captain. Should he tell Rogier? Everyone knew he didn't like Markus. He didn't want it to look like he was only trying to badmouth that jerk.

Rogier will draw his own conclusions. He's observant enough.

Rory turned his attention to the island and leaned on the railing. There was a tight feeling inside him. He didn't think North would give up, not if this was the only way Finn would get his memories back. If necessary, he would wander through that suffocating mist for days.

It didn't take days, but it was well past midnight when Rory spotted torches at the edge of the island. The cold had seeped into his bones. He had gone to the galley to get a meal, then returned to his spot by the railing. He didn't like being here while his friends risked their lives, and several times he had considered taking the dinghy back to the island.

He didn't know what had stopped him.

Maybe that strange shadow of Markus. Or the fact that Rogier had been so grim and might keelhaul him for insubordination. He might share the captain's bed, but Rogier hadn't become a feared captain by being gentle. He had also flogged the man who had once been his best friend. 

And Rory didn't even know if Rogier and he were together at all. Maybe he was just... well, someone that warmed his bed. He still couldn't believe that Rogier would see anything else in him.

His gloomy thoughts cleared when he saw the rowing boat approach. Rory walked to the ship's bell to ring it and then returned to the railing.

A huge wave of relief washed over him when Lee and Captain North climbed aboard unharmed. Lee grinned from ear to ear, yet Rory noticed that his eyes didn't sparkle. "Did you find it?"

The doctor nodded. His gaze rested on North for a moment before he hurried to the stairs. "I'll prepare it immediately."

Something about his demeanor made Rory follow him to the galley, where he began heating the water.

"What happened?" Rory asked. "Your... Your shoulders are so tense. Your eyes aren't sparkling."

Lee sighed and peeked around. "The captain paid a heavy price to get the Kiss of Death."

Rory shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "What price?"

"Something only love-struck idiots can do," he grumbled as he began pulling the leaves from the branches. "He traded his soul for Finn's memories."

A shiver ran down Rory's spine. "After his death, he can't enter the afterlife?"

"Exactly." Lee grimaced. "And not just that. There's a shadow dwelling inside him. A shadow that will grow and grow until nothing of him is left. North believes he can tame that shadow, that he can control it, but..." Lee sighed deeply and shook his head. "He would be the first."

"If anyone can control such a shadow, it's our captain."

"Let's hope so."

Rory did hope so. With all his heart.

At the moment, however, it was a different shadow that worried him.