by R. L. Naquin
I whipped my head around in every direction, waiting for one of them to strike. The other two fins circled closer, but the big one was still under the surface. It pushed against me, dragging its body across my leg. It was slick as it slid past, but then my leg brushed it going the other direction. Scales scraped at my skin like sandpaper. I stopped moving, for fear of reminding it I was there, and my head sank below the water level.
I popped back up, spluttering. All three fins dipped below me. I couldn’t see where they were. I could only anticipate where and when the first ripping, tearing pain might come.
My fingers and toes curled, as if trying to protect themselves from being bitten off individually. In those last moments, I thought about Art and his stupid curse. He’d known all along I wasn’t the Aegis. He knew it was going to end in a gory, bloody mess for the sake of balance and arbitrary rules.
I took several breaths before I realized a few things. First, I was still alive. Second, my eyes were squeezed so tight, I was seeing little sparkles. And third, I was moving at a rapid pace toward the shore. In fact, I was moving toward the beach near my own house.
I was so numb from cold and fear, I couldn’t feel anything. I had a vague sense of something around my waist, holding me tight against something else between my legs. A huge snout submerged in front of me for a moment and went under.
Frannie. Somehow, Frannie and her baby had found me, and even a shark doesn’t mess with a sea serpent, especially one with a baby. I reached under the water and felt the slick skin of Frannie’s little one looped around me to keep me in place while her mother sped through the waves.
I was so grateful, warm tears ran down my frozen face. I was so tired. And so cold. The beach flew toward us as if I were on a jet ski. I braced myself for the impact, but she turned us at the last minute and brought me close to the rocks.
Frannie’s snakey nose slid from the water and nudged me. The little one released her grip.
My teeth chattered too much to thank my rescuers. I tried to dismount and my legs gave out, laying me flat in the shallow water.
And then Iris was there, enveloping me in his furry arms like I were a small child bundled in a blanket. He exchanged grunts with Frannie, then ran with me up the path to the house.
I’m not sure how I got inside. Maybe Iris took me in. To my knowledge, it’s possible for him to go inside, he just doesn’t do it. I know I took a hot shower before I crawled under the covers. The wet towel on the floor proved that the next morning.
In the end, all I knew was that I’d survived. And I’d done it without luck.
* * *
The pounding on the front door was what finally woke me Sunday morning. I threw on a robe and dragged myself to the living room to answer it.
Riley stood there, my purse and both of my shoes dangling from his hand, his eyes wild with worry.
I still wasn’t quite awake and didn’t understand the look on his face.
“Hey.” I blinked in the sunlight. “What time is it?”
He didn’t answer my inane question. Riley swept through the door, slammed it shut behind him with his foot, dropped my stuff on the floor, and grabbed me up in his arms. He held me so close, it felt like we were one person.
And then his lips were on me. On my neck, on my cheeks, on my eyelids—as if he needed to check every part of my face with his mouth to be sure I was whole and alive.
When he finally found my lips with his, it wasn’t the sweet caress I’d expected of our first kiss. It was a ferocious, needy thing that sent lightning through my nerve endings. My fingers reached up and twisted in his hair, and his hands pulled me tighter against him. He kissed the breath out of me before finally stepping back to look into my eyes.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I thought I was dead, too,” I said. As much as I enjoyed being wrapped up in his arms, I was aware of how unflattering the moment was. I’d gone to bed with wet hair, for one, and for another, I probably had morning breath. Also, fluffy pink and green robes are hardly sexy.
I pushed him toward the couch. “Sit. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I raced into my room, tossing clothes from my closet. With Maurice gone, there weren’t too many things still on hangers. I dug through the pile I’d left on the floor and found a clean tee shirt and jeans and threw them on. My hair, too thick and curly for me to ever get away with sleeping with it wet, was molded into a sort of sideways bouffant, like a red-headed Marge Simpson in a windstorm. In the bathroom, I brushed my teeth and pulled my hair up in a ponytail.
The entire process took less than three minutes, and then I was in the living room with Riley.
Sitting next to him, fully clothed, I felt awkward. I had a million questions to ask about the night before, and he probably had a million more, but all I could think about was leaping across his lap and kissing him again.
In the end, there was really only one question to ask, and we both asked it at the same time.
“What happened last night?”
My laugh was nervous.
“Okay, I’ll answer first. We got separated, I got knocked into the water, three sharks tried to eat me, and two sea serpents brought me home. Now you.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Do what?”
I ignored him. “Now you. What happened?”
He sighed, knowing I wasn’t going to give him details until he told me his story. “Apparently, the fire started in the kitchen. My guess is your pooka friend was in there getting a snack and whammied the cooks with phenomenal bad luck. The flames spread pretty fast into the main area. After I lost you, they started loading up the life boats. I stayed behind, trying to find you, but all I found were your shoes.”
I smiled. I loved those shoes. “Where’d my purse come from?”
“Grabbed that before we left the table.” He winked at me and grinned. “Don’t think I’ll make a habit of carrying your purse around for you at the mall.”
I put on my most stern, serious face. “No, of course not.”
“Two guys were running around yelling ‘woman overboard’ and looking frantic. With everything that’s been going on with you, I knew if anybody fell into the water, it would have to be you.”
“Did one of them have on a pair of glasses?”
“Yeah. One lens was broken.”
“Ah, that’s a shame. Ted can’t see a thing without them. Or Brian. I can’t remember which was which.”
“Once the Coast Guard got there, I made them look for you. I was a wreck.”
I took his hand and squeezed it. “Thank you for looking.”
“It was my fault. I still had your rock. I should have given it back the second the pooka was gone. So thoughtless.”
“You got my purse and shoes. I’d say that was incredibly thoughtful. Did the boat sink?”
“They got it stabilized once the fire was under control. It looks like hell, and it’s limping, but they saved it.”
“Was anybody hurt?”
“There were a few scrapes and bumps. You were the only casualty.”
“I wasn’t hurt.”
He touched my cheek. “Looks like you took a good one to the face on the way over the rail.”
I reached my hand up to feel the knot there and winced. “Coffee table. I covered the bruise with makeup last night. I guess the salt water cleaned it all off.” I pulled a few escaped curls away from the cut on my temple. It hadn’t been as bad as I’d thought. “That was on the way over.”
Riley’s anger came through thick and heavy, coating me in a protective fog. “How many other knocks have you taken since I came back? How much has Art made you go through?”
I shrugged. “Flat tires. Broken heels. Nothing major. Most of it’s probably got more to do with how clumsy I am.”
“Clumsy didn’t knock you off the boat last night and nearly get you eaten by sharks.”
“No, that was Brian. Or Ted. I can’t remember. Where is Art, now that you mention him? Is he out in his car, clicking his damn pen and taking notes?”
“No, he’s at my house, waiting to hear if you’re dead. The real trial here is to see if I can keep from killing that guy for two whole weeks.”
“Murder is not likely to get you off probation.”
“No, but so worth it.”
A wicked thought crossed my mind, and I laughed. “Can I borrow your phone? I think he should hear the good news from me.”
Riley dialed and handed over his phone. It rang twice before Art answered.
“Find the body yet?” he asked in a clipped tone.
“Hi, Art! Yes, yes, he did find my body.” I heard him breathing on the other end. “You still there, Art?”
“It seems your luck is holding, Miss Donovan. My congratulations. It’s only going to get worse, you know.”
“I’m sure you believe that, Art. But I have a way of landing on my feet.”
“However did you manage this time, I wonder. I hear there are sharks in the vicinity.”
“Did you arrange that little surprise?”
“I don’t have that much pull, unfortunately.”
“Well, guess what, you annoying little bucket of pus, my sea serpents trump your great whites. You and your Board of Hidden Whatsits can just think about that for a little while. I’ve had enough. I’m not dying, and I’m not going to be your damn Aegis, either. Leave me the hell alone.”
When I hung up, I was trembling. Riley stared at me, his shoulders shaking. It took me a minute to pull myself together.
“Stop laughing.” Pouting wasn’t a good look on me, but I couldn’t help it.
“Annoying little bucket of pus? Art’s probably going to be dead of heart failure when I get home.”
“One can hope.”
His face became serious. “Zoey, do you know how unlikely it is for a sea serpent to show up like that and save you?”
I shrugged. “Not very. She was in the area. I helped her give birth last week in my swimming pool.”
“Oh, Zoey.” He shook his head, bemused. “You’re not seeing it, are you?”
I took a step back and crossed my arms. “I guess not.”
“There’s no way you’re not an Aegis. They come to you for help. All of them. And they’ll do anything for you.”
“You need to not say that. Seriously. I’m not this Aegis thing. I’m just me.”
He nodded, as if agreeing with me. “Exactly. You’re just you. The choices you make, the compassion you show, and the love the Hidden gladly give you, that’s what makes you an Aegis.”
I stood up, my heart racing. “Being an Aegis means I lose everything, Riley. Everything. I don’t know how to make you understand how much I cannot let that happen. It was different for you. You made a trade—you work for the Board because they saved your sister. This is not a trade that they’re offering me. I either die, or they take away my life and give me a new one. That’s bullshit.” My voice cracked with emotion. I thumped myself in the chest with the palm of my hand. “I decide, Riley. I decide who I help, where I help them, and who I get to tell about it. The Board can go to hell. I’m not their Aegis.” I paused and took a calming breath. Both of my hands hung at my sides in tight fists. I wasn’t angry at Riley, but he was too much a part of all this. I needed time to think. To reevaluate. My voice softened. “I think I need you to go now.”
His movements were slow and reluctant, but he rose and moved to the door. “You’re special, Zoey, whether you want to be or not.”
I watched him leave and stared at the closed door for a long time. My purse and shoes were the only things left behind to prove he’d been there. That, and the lump in my throat.
No disasters had befallen me since I got home, except for me opening my big mouth, so I had to assume Silas was somewhere in the house. Probably sleeping. I checked my purse and found Riley had slipped my gargoyle rock in there. I took it out and put it on the mantle.
Feeling dejected, depressed, and ridiculously stupid, I wandered from room to room. I missed Maurice. I missed having a mother. Moms were supposed to be around for stuff like this.
There had to be somebody who could tell me if my mother had been an Aegis. Were there records? Aggie didn’t know anything, though I found that strange. Maybe I needed to go back and pry it out of her.
Unless.
Art said if I were an Aegis, I’d be taken away for training and reassignment. The gears in my head were turning slowly, but they were turning.
Maybe they took Mom away and sent somebody in to wipe some of our memories. Dad had never been right after she left. Aggie was okay, but maybe she had pieces missing, too. I was only eight when my mom left. I had less to wipe, so the missing pieces were bigger. That would explain the holes Jason had seen.
So, where was she now? I imagined her bundled in furs on a mountain in Tibet, giving grief counseling to a yeti. I saw her in a little cottage in Wales, splinting a tiny fairy wing. I pictured her in a remote village in Mexico, coaxing a chupacabra down from a tree. She could be anywhere. Or she could be dead. But I couldn’t accept that. For the first time in twenty years, I had real hope that she was alive.
Also, I was pissed.
Once this little trial was over, The Board of Hidden Affairs was going to answer some questions, whether they wanted to or not.
Chapter Eleven
Sara had an appointment Monday morning, so I was the first one at the office. No, that’s not exactly true. Somebody got there first. When I arrived, they were waiting for me.
The Leprechaun Mafia of two leaned against my door, looking as casual as a person possibly could while dressed in expensive suits. I tried to ignore them, but they effectively blocked my way.
I nodded to them. “Gentlemen.”
O’Doyle gave me his enormous fake smile. “Good to see you again, Miss Donovan. I believe we have an appointment this morning.”
I grunted. “Can I get the door open, please?”
They vacated the doorway. I unlocked the door, and they followed me in. Fargo repeated what he did at Andrew’s, poking into things, lifting paperweights to examine them, shaking boxes.
I dropped my keys and purse on my desk and sat, waving at the loveseat across from me. “Sit. I’m sure you’re expecting to talk. We might as well get it over with.”
He settled in while his flunky continued to prod and nose his way around my office. I chose to ignore him. After everything I’d been through recently, a couple of thugs neither scared me nor pissed me off anymore. I think my attitude unnerved the boss leprechaun. He was probably accustomed to a certain level of fear. Sorry, buddy. I’m all out. Maybe try me next week.
He cleared his throat and cracked his knuckles, and I had to stifle a smirk. Seriously cliché.
“As we discussed, Miss Donovan, it has come to the attention of our organization that you are—” he stopped and checked notes he had on his phone, then tucked it in his pocket, “—an empath. You may not be aware of this, but your town is very dangerous to people like you.”
I snorted. “Buddy, you have no idea.”
“We’re in a position...”
I stood up. “Yes, I know. To offer me a measure of protection for a small fee. Seriously, do you have any clue what’s really been going on around here?”
He made blustery noises and got to his feet. I still towered over him. He shifted from side to side and stood straighter. If I made him uncomfortable, I didn’t mind it one bit.
“I can assure you, Miss Donovan, we’re acutely aware of the goings-on in this town. That’s why we’re concerned. Things have been terribly unlucky aroun
d here as of late, and without our help, it’s likely you’ll find it getting worse.”
I laughed in his face. “What do you know about luck?”
“Luck is my job. I know more than you can imagine.”
“Really.” I thrust my left hand under his nose. “Can you see this?”
He stared at the back of my hand, his eyes wide. “Where did you get that?”
“It was a gift from the Board of Hidden Affairs.”
“That is problematic.”
“You think?”
He walked into my storage room, dragging Fargo behind him. I could hear them whispering, but I tried to ignore them by doing paperwork. Maybe if I didn’t acknowledge them, they’d go away.
O’Doyle made a phone call and spent about ten minutes in terse conversation with someone on the other end. They came out of their huddle and returned to my desk.
“The offer still stands. You have until tomorrow to decide whether to cooperate with us or not. The same deal as your friend up the street: a magical item or ten thousand dollars.”
“You said five thousand and three days with Andrew.” I was still unimpressed. I knew there wasn’t a damn thing they could do to worsen my luck problems. And they knew it, too.
“Your circumstances make it more crucial that you accept our assistance.”
“You think if I paid you, you could go up against the Board?”
“Heavens, no. Nobody goes against the Board.”
“I do. And your help is not necessary. Thank you, gentlemen. You can see yourselves out.”
O’Doyle stopped halfway to the door. “I don’t think you understand. Just because your personal situation makes you untouchable for the time being, it doesn’t mean others around you don’t need protection.”