I still hadn’t stopped shaking by the time I pulled into the Academy parking lot. What the hell had I done? Although the practical, human-centric part of my brain wanted to dwell on the fact that I’d kissed Oanen first thing in the morning without brushing my teeth, the bigger non-human issue won.
“I almost cooked my damn boyfriend,” I said under my breath. Who did that? What the hell was wrong with me?
Weeks ago, my mom had come to this place and registered me as a student. I’d seen the file Adira had on me. “Fury. Fourth Generation,” it had read. Although additional information had been almost non-existent, the note had been there. Made by Adira. Likely, the very person my mom had talked to. Maybe Adira knew more. But, would she be willing to share what she knew? Probably not. And that really pissed me off.
I got out of the car and slammed the door, the early morning noise startling the few birds still in the skeletal, late-fall trees. Their flight brought my attention to the roof.
Oanen stood at the edge, looking down at me. My pulse jumped at the sight of him.
Crap.
Another car pulled into the lot as we studied each other. I needed a way to distract him for a few minutes so he wouldn’t try to meet up with me in the hall. I really wanted to talk to Adira alone.
“I forgot my lunch again,” I called. “I hope you had time to pack me something good. And a brownie. I really could go for another one of those.”
“Yeah,” a guy said with a laugh. “Now we’re talking.”
I glanced back at the guy and girl crossing the parking lot.
“Heathen,” the girl said, giving me, then him, a glare.
“What?” he said. “Brownie wings are considered a delicacy by just about everyone. It’s not like the brownie dies. Why do you think so many of them don’t have wings?”
The guy winked as he passed me. The girl stomped ahead. I stood there in complete horrified shock. I would never be able to eat the chocolate dessert again.
Recalling Oanen and my request for the brownie, I looked up; but he was gone. Hopefully, on his way to get me lunch instead of wandering the halls.
Impatient to find Adira before Oanen found me, I jogged into school and headed toward her office. Oanen didn’t appear in the halls, and I reached Adira’s door without problem. Pausing for a moment, I took a deep breath to shake off some of my agitation before knocking.
“Come in,” she called.
I opened the door, relieved she was in early, and quickly took the seat across from her desk.
“Good morning, Megan,” she said, closing the folder in front of her. “You look upset. Is everything all right?”
“No.”
Now that I sat in front of her, I realized the stupidity of my action. Did I really want to admit I had a dream about making out with Oanen then woke up to find out I’d actually been making out with him and burned him in the process? No. I one hundred percent did not want to talk to her about that.
“What happened?” she asked when I remained quiet.
“I, uh, think I almost started a fire in my sleep.”
She smiled her usual, kind smile.
“There is absolutely nothing to worry about. Your house has been warded against fire, the same as the Academy, Roost, and any other public place. That means the structure and everything within it will never suffer any damage from flames created normally or magically.”
“Oh.” Her calm answer confirmed two things. She did know what I’d become because she hadn’t denied the possibility that I could start a fire. And, whatever I would become did indeed have the ability to burn things.
“You see?” she said. “You have nothing to worry about.”
Oh, I had plenty to worry about. If the house and everything inside of it was protected, then how had I managed to burn Oanen? Instead of demanding answers that I knew she’d be unlikely to give, I struggled to find a hole in her logic.
“How can I cook then? I mean, the stove is technically damaging everything I cook, isn’t it?”
“The flames aren’t damaging the food. They heat the pan which cooks the food. A loophole.”
Maybe Oanen was a loophole, too, somehow. I needed to know how to make him not a loophole.
A piece of what she’d said finally registered. Why ward all the public places against fire along with my home? And why point that out to me? Because whatever was happening was going to get worse?
“I’m worried I might accidently hurt someone because I have no idea what’s happening to me. But you do. And I’m struggling not to be completely pissed off that you’re not telling me what I need to know.” I met her steady gaze. “Not just what I am now but what I’ll become. My true form. And it must be pretty bad if you’ve warded most of the town against me.”
She folded her hands on the desk and leaned toward me with worry in her gaze.
“Not against you. From accidental fire. Megan, right now, you’re focusing on all the wrong things. You need to concentrate on what’s important.
“Continue to study the information in the library and perform your tasks as temporary liaison, which does require your attention. Ashlyn is due to visit the lake later this evening. She needs you to accompany her. I suggest you spend your time focusing on water dwelling creatures rather than a fruitless search about your lineage’s history.”
“So there’s nothing about furies in the Academy library?” I asked.
“No. Nothing useful. Shall I tell Ashlyn to expect you after the final bell?”
“Yeah. Sure,” I said, standing and moving toward the door, seeking escape before I did something really stupid.
“Megan,” she called before I could step out.
“Yeah?”
“Your hands are fisted. If you’ve sensed someone wicked, you need to tell me. We don’t want any more incidents like Trammer.”
“No. No one wicked,” I said. Just a crap ton of people being narrow-minded and getting on my nerves.
I left her office and went straight to the library.
For the next three hours, I learned what I could about hippocamp, naiads, mermaids, sirens, and many other water dwelling creatures. The scant details on how to identify them, what they liked to eat, and their preferred habitats didn’t amount to much. If it had all been in one book, it would have taken me thirty minutes to read.
By the time Oanen knocked, my frustration at the information in the library had pushed back thoughts of what had happened that morning. The way his intense gaze locked onto me the moment I opened the door, though, brought it all back. The skin along his neck didn’t look red anymore, but he’d gotten his hair cut closer to his head, a sure sign the hair hadn’t magically grown back. Guilt and fear kicked me in the gut. We were making a mistake pretending I could be what he wanted.
“Don’t,” he said, snagging the front of my shirt and tugging me the rest of the way from the room.
“Don’t what?”
“Run and hide. That’s not an option for either of us.”
Maybe not for him, but it seemed like a decent option to me.
“Did you bring me lunch?” I asked, needing to change the subject.
“Of course.”
We walked through the cafeteria and found two bags waiting in our normal spot.
“Brownies, as requested. The kind without wings,” he said, handing me one of the lunch bags.
“Thanks. Where’s Eliana?”
“Spending some time with Ashlyn, getting her ready to start attending school next week. Mom took them shopping outside Uttira. Eliana convinced Mom that humans skipped school all the time and a day away from Uttira would make Ashlyn feel better. How about you? Today going any better?”
The tension coiled inside me, along with the ever-present need to just hit something, made the answer pretty clear.
“Not really. Adira told me to quit trying to find anything about furies because it’s not there. So I’m reading about—”
The stupid spell kicked in, and I lost my voice. Rolling my eyes, I took a bite of my sandwich.
Oanen chuckled and started eating, too.
My break from the infuriating monotony of the library ended too quickly. After Oanen walked me back, I struggled to focus on the words on the pages before me.
A restlessness crawled under my skin, much like it had back when I lived in the city with Mom, so I gave up and lifted my hand from the book. As it slid neatly back into place, I collected my phone on the way out. I didn’t care that it was still the middle of the day.
I wanted to hurt something, and I didn’t want that to happen here, not with Oanen around. I sent him a quick text to let him know I was leaving early then drove home.
However, being home didn’t help my mood. I stood in the kitchen for one undecided moment then left again, on foot. While running in the city hadn’t been smart for me, running here posed much less of a problem. Especially with so many of my peers occupied at the Academy. So, I let loose and sprinted toward the barrier, the only other place I knew that wasn’t in town.
I didn’t stop running until the winding road straightened out, and I felt the tingle of magic on my skin and could smell the lingering odor of burnt hair. Not even winded, I turned around and headed back the way I’d come.
When I arrived home for the second time, I felt a little better and went for a shower.
Ashlyn walked out of her house as soon as I pulled up. She didn’t smile or wave as she walked toward my car and got in. Her eyes looked slightly red like she’d been crying. After a day of shopping, I would have thought she’d feel a little better.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah.” She buckled her seatbelt and faced straight ahead.
“Um…try again because I’m not buying that answer.”
She turned to look at me, tears welling in her eyes.
“I had fun today shopping with Eliana and Mrs. Quill.”
She said it like she was confessing to a crime. Since I didn’t want to punch her, I doubted any crimes were actually involved. So, I waited patiently for more information.
She sniffled and wiped at her eyes.
“My uncle just died, and I was eating at a mall and laughing. What kind of person am I?”
I considered her for a moment.
“A sane one,” I said. “I don’t know what death means for the people who are leaving us, but I know what it means for the people left behind. It means hurting. But, only at first. The pain starts to ease to let the memories in. The good ones. We’re meant to remember. To smile and laugh. It honors the one who has left us.
“People aren’t meant to live forever, Ashlyn. We will all die at some point. What we do in this life will influence how we’re remembered by those we leave behind. We’re supposed to keep living even as we say goodbye and remember those who have already departed. You did nothing wrong.”
She nodded and wiped her eyes again. Seeing that she was pulling herself together, I eased from the curb.
“You’ve lost someone?” she asked.
I paused, wondering how I’d known to say what I’d said.
“No, I’ve never had anyone to lose,” I said. “It must have been something I heard my mom say at some point.”
But I knew it wasn’t.
We drove in silence only interrupted by Ashlyn’s quiet directions to whatever lake we were going to. The term “lake” did not correctly describe our destination. I saw it through the trees as I made the last turn. The enormous body of water shimmered in the evening sunlight.
The road ended with a gravel parking area, a portion of the space sloping directly into the lake’s edge. A slim trail led to a pier that extended at least twenty feet into the water. A bench beckoned at the end of it.
“Wow. It’s pretty out here,” I said, pulling to a stop.
“Yeah. I guess.”
Ashlyn got out and started walking. I followed, wondering at her tone.
At the end of the pier, a fishing pole and tackle box waited on the bench. She picked up the pole, added a fake lure, and gave an impressive cast. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected her to do, but fishing hadn’t even come close.
“I’ve never been fishing,” I said, sitting on the bench. “Is it hard?”
“I don’t think what I’m doing qualifies as fishing,” Ashlyn said.
“What are you doing then?”
“Letting the lake people know I’m here, I guess.”
I looked out over the still waters and thought of all the creatures likely in its depths.
“Why?”
“Some of them can’t or won’t come to the Roost for practice. So I come here. They learn how to avoid the hooks that fishermen cast out, and they attempt to lure me into the waters.”
“How do they do that?”
“Sometimes they sing. Sometimes they try to trick me.”
“Have they ever gotten you into the water?”
“If they had, I wouldn’t be standing here. My uncle was good at keeping me safe.”
A twinge of pity rose for Ashlyn. This was something the Council had forced her to do. Something she’d always done with her uncle. They hadn’t even given her a week to grieve before sending her back out again. This time with me.
The restless feeling I’d thought I’d exercised away returned, and my mind raced to find a topic that would distract us both.
“What did you think of shopping with Eliana? Was she picking out crazy outfits for you to try on?”
Ashlyn snorted a laugh.
“Yep. It was pretty weird. She kept picking out little girl type clothes for herself but handing me clothes that would make a prostitute blush,” she said.
I chuckled.
“She did the same to me. Did you find anything interesting?”
She glanced back at me with a smile.
“Lots of stuff. Wanna see a picture?”
With one hand, she held the pole. With the other, she reached for the phone in her pocket. The device caught on her shirt and tumbled from her fingers toward the water.
Time slowed as she grabbed for the falling phone.
I started to stand to tell her to leave it as a green-grey arm rose from the water. The webbed fingers clamped around Ashlyn’s arm and tugged. Ashlyn, already leaning forward, lost her balance and crashed into the water with a splash.
Without a thought, I dove in after her.
In the murky depths of the lake, I saw Ashlyn’s struggling form caught by a creature with a tail and a mass of green hair. I grabbed a fist full of the floating tendrils and pulled hard.
The creature screeched, the sound hurting my ears even under water. Releasing Ashlyn, it turned and swiped at me. Its nails raked over the skin covering my ribs, just below my left breast. Pain ignited, burning me from the inside.
As I choked on rage and water, an orange light grew before me, illuminating enough that I could vaguely see the shape of a face through the hair. I drew back my fist and hit hard, the water barely slowing me.
The creature’s head snapped back. Her whipping tail stilled, and she slowly sank. Not taking a chance, I gave her face an extra kick.
Whirling toward the tug on my arm, I drew back, ready for more until I saw Ashlyn. As soon as I faced her, she started toward the surface. I followed, breaking through seconds after her.
“Get out, quick,” I said, pushing her toward a ladder fixed to the end of the pier.
She scrambled up and flopped onto the deck, staring at the sky as she gasped, coughed, and sputtered.
“Are you all right?” I asked, kneeling beside her.
“Fine,” she rasped. “Damn phone.”
I stood.
“I want that phone found and returned now,” I shouted at the lake.
A minute later the device came soaring out of the water, straight for my head. I caught it easily and glared at the placid surface. I wanted to jump back in and beat the shit out of anyone I could find.
“Does it still work?” Ashlyn asked, sounding a bit better.
I looked at the phone, saw the lit screen, and handed it to her.
Her expression grew a little wary as I held it out.
“What?”
She flinched a little at my tone. I hadn’t been able to keep the anger out of it.
“I’m not mad at you,” I said.
She nodded and tentatively accepted the phone.
“I figured. I’ve just never seen your eyes do that.”
“Do what?”
“Glow with flames.”
“That makes two of us. I think we’re done here. I’ll drive you home.”
I helped her to her feet and, ignoring the pain in my ribs, returned her to town.
Once I was alone in the car, I lifted my shirt and looked at the three cuts marring my skin and oozing a dark green slime.
“Fucking mermaids.”
