Page 35 of Make Out With A Merman

Subtle, at first. Like a groan in the bedrock. A ripple of sound under my feet, not through the air but through theearth.

The water near the west dock ripples outward in a perfect circle.

No wind.

No splash.

Just motion.

And thenscreaming.

I’m running before the second note hits.

It’s coming from the south cove.

By the time I round the trail bend, two kids are huddled near the canoe rack, eyes wide, pointing.

“It wasinthe water!” one shouts. “Itlooked at me!”

I crouch fast, eye level. “What did you see?”

“A face,” the boy stammers. “Under the surface. Glowing eyes. Like green fire.”

The other nods, pale. “It smiled.”

I freeze.

Because I know what that means.

The Watcher.

The guardian that once lived near the trench’s edge before the fracture. It doesn’t smile.

Not unless it’s warning us.

Orwelcoming something worse.

Julie’s there in seconds, breath short from the sprint. “What happened?”

I answer for them. “The rift moved again. It’s watching now.”

She stiffens. “How close?”

I glance at the lake, the ripples still widening.

“Too close.”

And deep inside, something ancient unfurls in my chest.

The part of me that remembers the trench. The magic. The loss.

It’s awake now.

And it’s coming.

CHAPTER 13

CALLIE

---