Page 27 of Blood of the Sirens
“Very well, off with you,” boomed my father, waving us away. Barrett and I didn’t wait to be told twice.
We swam up above them, skimming along the uppermost part of the mountain top, weaving in and out of the vegetation. Once we reached the top, we stopped to enjoy the view.
This week it looked much different than normal. Below us, nearly a hundred mers partook in their breakfast, all from different clans. A glance up showed the shimmering surface, only a few hundred feet away. The mers below looked like tiny crabs swimming here and there.
“So, what’s the deal?” Barrett asked. “You don’t suddenly have an interest in hunting. I know you. I’m surprised your father even bought it.”
I wouldn’t tell him about Jesse. I couldn’t.
“I feel bad for any female who catches Aris’s eye,” I muttered darkly instead.
Barrett laughed. “Ah, so you fancy yourself a protector of the siren born? How gallant! Or you just want to thwart him? Either works for me.”
His teasing rankled me, but I didn’t let it show. If that’s what he wanted to think, then thatwas fine with me.
He rolled his eyes, apparently seeing that I wasn’t in the mood to play. “Fine then, we might as well go now. The more time I have between you and the other group I’m taking, the better.”
Barrett pushed off the rock and launched himself toward the surface. I followed, nervous and excited at the same time.
We swam in silence, following the mountain range until it rose above the surface, and a large shoal took its place. We followed the line of the shoal north east, finally emerging above the waves in front of a small piece of land.
Both of us took a moment to let our bodies adjust, coughing and gagging slightly as the transition to lungs was never smooth. Barrett cleared his throat and pointed to the land mass ahead.
“That’s Bald Head Island. There’s a tiny clan of humans here, and it’s my home base. Come on.”
We swam in silence toward the shore, circling around to the east side of the island. A large sandbar rose in front of us, a sad, dilapidated wooden shack, the only thing on it aside from a few tufts of grass. The main shore of the island was about a mile inland.
I followed Barrett as he hefted himself ashore, dragging himself across the sand until he was out of the water. The moment our tails had faded away into legs, he stood gracefully and walked to the shack. It took me a few moments of stumbling to catch up.
Inside the shack looked worse than the outside, if that was even possible. Rotted wood and the stink of stagnant water filled my nose, and I drew back. “What is—”
“Keep your voice down. Above the water, sound carries quickly across it. The humans could hear us, even though the shore is far away.” Barrett finished chastising me and headed toward a latch of some kind on the floor. “Found this yearsago. It must have been a hiding spot humans used once upon a time.”
To my astonishment, the latch was attached to a door that was lifted. It was made of the same material as the floorboards. If you didn’t know it was there, you would never have found it. How clever.
“Come on.” Barrett jumped down into the hole, disappearing from view.
Alarmed, I swung my feet over the edge and squinted into the darkness.
“It’s fine! It’s not a large drop. Just keep your feet under you, and bend your legs. Don’t keep them rigid. Broken leg bones aren’t fun,” he said.
I sincerely hoped he wasn’t speaking from experience and pushed myself off the ledge.
A quick moment of terror passed quickly as I landed in a crouch, my feet jarring from the impact, but otherwise I was unhurt.
There was a clicking sound, and the hole filled with light.
“Electricity is what it’s called. It’s how humans make all the lights at night. Deadly when mixed with water, though. I still think I like our lights better,” he scoffed.
I agreed. Our lights were softly pulsating orbs, made with injections of bioluminescence collected from plants and fish. The lights of the surface world were harsh and unforgiving.
He gestured. “This is where I hide my stuff. You’re welcome to anything if you need it.”
Once my eyes adjusted, I realized the hole was filled with . . . well … stuff. Barrett had several chests filled with human clothing, piled haphazardly on top of each other.
“Shoes are over there, shirts, pants …whatever you want. Find something and then stuff it in this.” He held up a large, brightly colored human satchel. I frowned at mine. His would make me blend in more. I turned my attention to the heaping mass of clothing.
“Where did you get all this?” I asked, overwhelmed.
