Book 3: Chapter 23: Hooked

Book 3: Chapter 23: Hooked

As with every other cultivator, Roger and Sharon were fast learners when it came to knots. Their fingers deftly tied the thin lengths of line together, easily replicating my movements.

“How does this look?” Sharon asked, holding up her paternoster rig.

“Perfect, Mom!” Maria gave her a wide grin. “You’re a natural.”

“Yours is expertly done too, Roger,” I added, earning a mild grunt in response. “Usually, I’d say we should catch some bait, but we’re already got way too much.”

We’d been catching plenty of eels, storing them in buckets of brine to preserve the meat. Wanting to give Roger and Sharon the best experience possible, I went for a bucket marked with a yellow ribbon; it contained the pungent monkeyface variety. Though the brine did a wonderful job of keeping the eels intact, it did nothing to remove the smell.

As soon as I removed it from the salty solution, Sharon covered her nose. “Gods above—is that really okay to use for bait?”

“The smellier it is, the better it is as bait.” Not wanting to subject her to the scent for too long, I swiftly cut it into small chunks and threw the excess pieces back into the bucket. “I can put the bait on the hook if you’d like?”

Sharon shook her head. “No. We want the full experience, even if it’s the worst thing I’ve ever smelled.”

“Even worse than that time Dad accidentally cooked a rotten hunk of meat for eight hours?”

“Okay,” Sharon conceded. “Even if it’s the second worst thing I’ve ever smelled.”

Color rose to Roger’s cheeks, and he scowled at the two women he loved most.

I raised an eyebrow at Maria, but decided to ask her about it later when Roger wasn’t around to hear.

“Okay, gang. Follow along.” I grabbed a piece of eel and slid it onto the hook.

They easily did so, Roger still flushing, Sharon trying to hide a smile.

With all of our rods ready to go, I faced the east.

The tip of the sun was just starting to breach the horizon, shining a reddish light over us. Fergus and Duncan had both won the battle versus their respective fish. Either of the creatures would have made a good meal, yet they let them go, the men sharing a high-five before washing their hands in the waves. A cold breeze blew from behind me, ruffling my clothes and tickling my skin. Though a shiver ran down my back, it was a pleasant sensation, the modicum of wrath coming from the sun enough to take the sting from it.

I turned to take in Maria and her parents, finding them also enjoying the view. Even Roger had a small smile, though it quickly morphed into a frown upon noticing my attention. I led them up the rockwall, waving at the smiths as I passed.

“Did you guys already have brekkie?” I asked. “Those were the perfect size for a meal!”

Duncan grinned up at me. “We’re waiting for a larger version to come along!”

“The mature ones taste better anyway,” Fergus added, giving us a nod that froze when he caught sight of Roger and Sharon. “You’re finally trying fishing!” He bellowed a laugh. “Enjoy!”

“We will!” Sharon called over her shoulder.

We strode to the end of the rockwall, stopping only when there was no more path to traverse. I held my rod forward, flicking the reel open. “Put it in this position to cast. Hold your finger on the line so it doesn’t unspool, then let go as you cast the rod forward. Like so...”

I sent my sinker out. It arced over the ocean, landing with a soft plop not far away.Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)

Maria repeated the same action, letting them observe it twice. I watched their faces intently, noticing how focused they were on our actions.

“Ready, dear?” Sharon asked.

“Mhmm,” Roger replied, stepping forward, his eyes roaming the small waves between us and the horizon.

They flicked their reels forward, held their fingers to the lines, and cast out. They mimicked our movements perfectly, their bait flying at the perfect angle and splashing down into the bay. They reeled in the slack line just as we had, then rested a fingertip to their lines, waiting for the telltale bump of a fish nibbling their bait.

Though I always found the wait for a bite thrilling, I couldn’t help but steal glances at Sharon and Roger—especially the latter. I was entirely too invested in him and his potential enjoyment of fishing. The longer I watched him, the more sure I became.

Roger was enjoying himself.

“Big bloody fish,” I replied, still averting my eyes. “I think it was a new species based on how it fought. Never seen anything like it.”

Roger finished winding in his line. It had snapped below his leader, the sinker remaining but the hook nowhere to be seen. He watched it for a long moment, contemplative.

“Would you have been able to catch that, Maria?”

“Well, I mean maybe, but only because of my fishing level. Even then—”

“Maria,” he interrupted. “Don’t honey your words, young lady.”

I blew air from my lips at the way he addressed her like a misbehaving child, but resumed whistling and looking literally anywhere else when they both shot me a look.

“Lovely day, isn’t it, Sharon?”

She just laughed at me, shaking her head.

Maria sighed. “Yeah. I probably would have caught it, Dad. You made a lot of mistakes. They were why the line snapped.”

“Okay.” He nodded to himself, chewing his cheek. “I can accept that. I didn’t think that it required any level of skill, if I’m being honest.”

Focused as I may have been on the conversation, I couldn’t miss my line going tight.

“Whoa! Fish on!”

The blue fish on the end of my line took off, wasting no time in trying to escape.

“Me too!” Maria yelled, setting her hook.

“Oh!” Sharon said, her rod also bent in half.

I shot Roger a quick grin. “Watch what Maria and I do—you too, Sharon!”

My fish swam to the north, and I reeled it in with exaggerated movement, letting line out whenever it took a large run. When it darted to the left and headed toward the shore, I ran along the rocks, keeping my line just tight enough with each step.

“Keep your rod like this!” Maria yelled, also running along the boulders to my right, dipping under Sharon’s line. “If it’s at a forty-five degree angle, the wood can flex when the fish shakes its head!”

On command, the creature on the end of her line thrashed around, making the tip bounce and absorb the vast majority of the force.

Not wanting to make my fish fight for too long, I ended my exaggerated movements, bringing it in toward the rocks. It was a juvenile blue fish, but one of the biggest ones I’d ever seen, likely only days or weeks from becoming the mature version. Though I was happy with its size, I didn’t need any more food. I removed it from the hook and dipped it back underwater, watching as it disappeared with a mighty kick of its silvery tail.

Maria pulled hers up on the rocks too. It was much smaller than mine, so after freeing it, she lobbed it back into the water.

“Bye, fishy!” she called, giving it a wave.

Sharon was still fighting hers, mimicking what we’d done to land ours.

I turned to check on Roger, but he was nowhere to be seen. Raising an eyebrow, I scanned the rockwall, finding him hunched over a tackle box. He was tying another hook in place with rapid movements, darting looks back towards Sharon to check on her progress.

I took a deep breath, sighing it out as I glanced at the water.

“Mission successful,” Maria snickered, also sneaking looks back toward her father.

I shot her a wink, nodding. “We’ve hooked him.”

“I can hear you!” he yelled, making us both cackle with laughter.