“Same question,” he said as he looked out to the waves. “After this one, Ava, we swim for it.” They took one last breath and let go.
The water was dark as they pushed through it, Cale following close behind Ava. She knew he would get there faster if he went ahead, but there was no way he’d leave her behind, so she hadn’t bothered to bring it up before they went under.
She couldn’t tell where they were going or how far it was until they left the cave and moved up to the surface. She swam until her lungs burned, until all her brain could process was the need for oxygen. Up, it told her. Go up. Find air.
She gulped it in once she surfaced. They were in a narrow passage, just tall enough for their heads to bob above the water. The waves tried to tug them under as they struggled to stay up.
“The current’s too strong,” Ava said. “We can’t stay here.”
“But we can’t see where we’re going,” Cale coughed into the air.
“Don’t you have…dragon lights or something?”
“I’m not a car, Ava.” He spewed out more seawater as he spoke. “I don’t have headlights.”
They fought against the wave that pulled them under again. “I can do it,” she gasped, breaking upward again.
“But it hurts you.”
“It isn’t that bad, Cale,” she lied to him.
Cale nodded. He didn’t want her to use her will, even if brought him free bacon. He didn’t understand it all, but he knew, somehow, changing things with her will hurt her. He could remember Ima’s words. Exquisite pain. But if they didn’t find some way to see where they were going, they’d drown. And he couldn’t let that happen either.
Another large breath before they let the waves pull them down into the depths again. Cale watched as Ava’s skin glowed golden. She was beautiful like that—a goddess as she streamed through the water. And he could only imagine the subtle ripple of her muscles beneath her skin, the strength of her shoulders as she worked.
And then, when he finally let his gaze leave her, he felt the throb in his gut that meant all wasn’t well. He thought perhaps it was because the water was so deep and the swim so strenuous. Until he saw them.
Eyes.
A dozen pairs of white eyes looming in the dark of the water. They were wide, round, unblinking, unmoving eyes. With the help of Ava’s glow he began to see their forms. Long, languid bodies, all of them bare-chested, save for the tangled mess of sea-torn clothes a few had wrestled from the corpses of fallen fishermen. Their mertails swayed in the currents, their webbed fingers tipped with razored claws.
Cale reached forward and clutched Ava’s shirt, pulling her to him. But she needed to keep going. She needed air. He knew that. He felt his own lungs convulse with her desperation.
He held her still until at last, she saw the merfolk around them. More came, their numbers growing as they watched the two that were about to die—by drowning or by their greed-stricken hands.
One of the sirens—showing himself to be the leader of the merfolk clan—opened a mouth that was too wide, and from it came the cry of a tortured soul. Luminescent fangs as long as a hand’s length protruded, and his clan echoed him. Dozens of fangs. Dozens of haunted faces set in gray-blue flesh and framed in iridescent, floating nests of violet hair.
They attacked. So fast that Cale hardly had time to wrap Ava in his arms. He knew he and his rider would fight. That was who they were. But they wouldn’t win. The merfolk were too quick in the water, their bodies tailored to slither through the currents in an instant.
A flurry and a hollowed spiraling scream as the leader of the clan halted. Through his right shoulder, a spear protruded. But despite his silence, the rest of his clan pushed forward. Until another spear tore through his neck. A flash through the water, and something tackled the injured mefolk, ripping his head clean off his body.
The rest of the merfolk stopped, bobbing in the water, before they turned and swam away, their tails an eerie swarm of ghoulish light as they disappeared.
Cale took hold of Ava’s wrists and moved. He used every muscle he could to swim until he made it out of the siren-infested cave. Ava held on to the side of a dock and coughed until she couldn’t see straight. She knew she should have been able to give herself air with her will, but she couldn’t make it happen. Not while she was giving Cale light at the same time. Maybe I can’t do anything. Maybe I’m not that powerful after all.
“You okay?” Cale asked, climbing up onto the wooden dock and offering her his hand.
She took it, making sure she didn’t hesitate. “What were those… things?”
“Merfolk.” He shook his head, forcing water out of his ear. “We must have stumbled upon a hunting clan. I’ve heard they can be vicious, but I haven’t faced one before.”
“I never thought there was anything worse than nightfolk and werefolk. But those things…they were so fast. I didn’t even have time to move.”
“We’re slower under water. But, rumor has it that Cameron fought off a whole hunting clan all by himself. Just ripped them to shreds.” He looked around, noticing the bustle of people walking by on the street a few feet from the marina. At the rise of the buildings and the flutter of pigeons and seagulls. The place felt so familiar. “We’re in Dublin.”
“Why would Shiloh take us here?”
“You can’t find what you’re looking for unless you’re meant to.” The voice came from behind them. The boy, no older than twelve, sat on the dock with his legs dangling in the water, not more than a few yards from where Cale and Ava had surfaced.
“What did you just say?” Ava asked.
But the boy just stared at them with wide blue eyes. He was soaking wet, his dark, shoulder-length hair stringy and tangled, his clothes worn and tattered despite being saturated. He wore no shoes, and the bottoms of his feet were black and blistered, even though the rest of his skin was a sweet almond.
“Hey,” Cale said, wiping the saltwater from his eyes and hoping the boy didn’t think it was strange that they’d come flailing up onto the dock out of nowhere. “Have you seen a pretty blonde girl and a guy who looks like he’s wearing a crazy Zorro of the dead costume walking around here?”
“You are asking me if I have seen other people appear from nowhere? No, I have seen only you.”
The boy, his accent decidedly of Asian construct, continued to stare at them, his expression unreadable. “You are not allowed to swim in the marina. It’s dangerous….” He paused. “You could be struck by a boat.”
Ava wrung out her hair as she spoke. “Yeah, well trust me, kid, boats are not about to top my list of things to be afraid of.” And then to Cale, “Maybe we should find this friend of your mom’s. Heading straight through the door didn’t work, seeing that we almost drowned and there was no door in sight. I’m sure we’ll meet up with the others. Besides, it’d be easier to talk to this person without Shiloh freaking out whoever it is.”
Cale nodded. He and Ava began walking, their bodies heavy with the weight of wet clothes. He paused beside the boy for a moment before they left and squatted down so they were at the same eye level. The boy stared with a curious intensity.
“Where are your parents?” Cale asked. It was a personal question, but one he felt he had to ask.
“We have no relationship,” he answered bluntly. He didn’t look sad when he said it.
Cale nodded. “Okay. Do you need something to eat?”
“I’m not hungry.”
Cale nodded again. “If you change your mind, just hang out around here. We’ll stop by later tonight, and if you want something, we’ll see what we can do. Sound good?”
The boy’s eyes studied Cale. “I’m quite sure you can be of no assistance to me. That won’t be necessary.”
And he looked away, as if the conversation was over.
Cale sighed as he walked away with Ava. “Big cities like this make it hard to help kids with no parents, especially when they’re too proud to admit they need them.”
Cale pretended he didn’t understand what she moved deeper into the city, drying off in the setting sun, parting their way through the crowds of people who were going their own ways.
An hour later, Cale stood before a simple flat with white-washed walls and a knocker in the shape of a horse. He used it to make as much ruckus as possible, threatening to take the whole thing off its hinges.
“Maybe no one’s home,” Ava said, grabbing at his arm. “You’re going to break it.”
He double checked the address on the smeared piece of paper Karma had given him. “Someone’s home. I can tell. They’re just refusing to come to the door.”
“Maybe they’re not up to being helpful. It is already night time.”
Cale had tried calling the number that belonged to the address a few times from a payphone, but it just rang out.
“Since when do you want me to back down, Ava?” Cale asked in between pounding.
“I don’t. I’m just saying…I can probably get us in there.”
Cale stopped. “You think you can do that?”
“Well, I probably can’t move us. That would take a lot out of me.” And then I’d die and leave you again. “But I bet….”she held up her hand. “Hang on.”
She closed her eyes and held out her hand until a small metal key appeared in her palm.
Cale grinned at her. “Not as impressive as the bacon.”
The little apartment was neat, orderly, but lined with shelves of books. There were so many that the wall was nearly painted with their spines. They were dusty, worn, and faded, a rainbow of maroon, brown, and black in the dim light.
“Hello?” Ava asked, stepping forward over the threshold of the door.
Cale reached into his pocket and removed his dragonblade, a wisp of smoke leaving his mouth. Ava didn’t have to look into his eyes to know they’d turned to golden slivers. There was trouble coming.
She pulled out her own dragonblade, pressing the gem as the sword grew in length. It felt good in her hands, like her palm had changed shape to match it over time.
“There,” she said, pointing to the kitchen. The light was dim, but she swore she’d seen something move. “Nightfolk?”
Cale shook his dark head. No, he knew nightfolk. And this was nothing like that. Much more dangerous. He motioned for his rider to stay back. She moved forward with him anyway.
It flew at her. A thin stream of water so forceful that it slit her arm as it whizzed by. She hissed, grabbing at the bleeding and ducking as another stream zoomed in. It came from the kitchen. Razors of water.
Cale dodged them, taking in a cloud of air, letting it fill his lungs so that he could force out a wave of fire. It bellowed through the flat and toward the kitchen, and whoever it was who attacked them, leaped and rolled, sprinting in their direction and sending hard shots of water—the size of cannons—at the red dragon pair.
The thing could have been a man, if it wasn’t for the bluish green tint of his skin, the sharp fins along his arms and backs of his legs, and the gray film over his eyes.
“What is that thing?” Ava asked, hiding behind an old armchair from the onslaught.
Cale didn’t have to look long at the creature’s lean limbs and iridescent scales to figure it out. “Truce,” he called out in blue tongue, as loud as he could. “We were sent by a friend.”
The thing stopped, blinking so that the layer of film over his eyes receded. He darted away, returning moments later in brown slacks and a sweater. A man. Dark haired and blue-eyed. Quite solemn with his five o’clock shadow and his brooding features. He rubbed a hand towel against the back of his neck and over his charming but damp hair.
“What is going on here?” Ava asked, still crouched behind her chair. Where did the creature go?
“I assume you eventually plan to tell me which friend sent you.” The man had a soft English accent, his voice surprisingly gentle.
Cale stood up and pocketed his blade. “Karma Anders. She gave us your number, but you didn’t pick up.”
The man stood very still, almost like he was made of stone. Thinking.
A blue dragon. Ava couldn’t believe she’d never seen one in second form. No wonder he stopped his attack when Cale spoke to him in his own tongue.
“I took you to be invaders, since you picked my locks. You must excuse my abrasiveness.”
“You didn’t hear us pounding on your door?”
“I was meditating.” The man nodded his head, just barely, to where Ava squatted. “Is she planning to hide there for the duration of our encounter?”
Ava stood up, still holding her blade. “I’m just going to keep this here, with me. In case.”
The man didn’t seem to care. He turned back to Cale, blue eyes soaking in everything he could. “If you are not here for hostilities, what is your purpose? I cannot deduce why she would direct you to me. We are not on speaking terms.”
“Really?” Ava asked, relaxing her arm a little. “Why not? What’d you do to her?”
The blue dragon should have expressed offense, even surprise, but he barely moved. “You assume I am in the wrong. Such assumptions are faulty. In fact, it is Carmella who asked that I refrain from making contact.”
“Carmella?” Cale wrinkled his nose. “That’s not her name.”
At that, the blue dragon grew even more somber, a flash of anger in his stony eyes. “You shouldn’t speak when you are uncertain of the truth, dragonling. Of all people, I know her name best.”
Cale crossed his arms. “Well, I think I can speak with a little authority. I’m pretty sure I know my own mother’s name.”
He stared at Cale for too long. “You’re her son?”
“Yes. No.” he scratched his head. “Sort of.”
“You resemble your brother very scantily.”
Cale dropped his arms. “Wait? You know my brother?”
The man thought again, then turned to his kitchen. “I’m sure you are in need of refreshments, seeing that you carry a dragonblade, as a red dragon would. And I will fetch a first aid kit for your companion.”
“My rider,” Cale corrected. It was almost an insult for someone to say she was anything less.
The man came back with glasses of water and a pouch filled with bandages and ointments. He set it on his coffee table and stepped back, watching, no doubt, so he could take mental notes on how they ate and drank, on who bandaged who.
“Tell me how you know my family,” Cale said, not bothering to take the drink, even though he was beyond thirsty.
“Tell me why you broke into my house.”
“Fair enough.” Cale rolled his shoulders. The situation was more tense than he anticipated. He wished his mother had warned him that they were going to see a blue dragon who didn’t want to hear from her. “My mother—well, she was my mother, but I was exiled by my father, so now she’s just a dragon I know—she said we could come to you. We need to find my brother, and of course, no one knows where the monastery is. She said you’d get us there.”
“It seems that Mac Anders has managed to destroy even the things he took to make himself happy.” Somehow, the blue dragon seemed pleased at that. He sat down and crossed his legs, his long fingers propped beneath his chin, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “And Cameron has gone to the monastery? I always knew he would. I hope he thrives there. Anything will be better for him than where he was.”
“You mean the blue dragon academy?” Cale asked. “Is that where you met?”
“Yes. The academy is where everything begins, it seems. I still teach there, on occasion, though not by choice. Professor Rodrick Declan.”
“So you were Cam’s professor. And my mother’s as well.”
Declan chuckled. He was versed in red dragon and human mannerisms such as laughing, nodding, smiling. Many were not so well-adjusted.
“I was certainly not Carmella’s teacher. If anything
she was mine. We were students together. We were—” he stopped, cleared his throat before he began again. “Time is between us now. Even more so than distance. But you didn’t come here to find out who I am. You came here to find the monastery.”
“Yes, we need to make sure Cameron’s okay.”
“Is that all? You worry for his wellbeing?”
“Well…no. We need his help too.”
Declan poured himself a cup of tea. He added two scoops of sugar and stirred, the silver spoon clinking against the side of the cup. “And you brought others with you, I see. My senses are quite heightened after my evening meditation.”
Cale and Ava swiveled to see Myra’s blonde bangs peeking above the hedges outside the window. She tried to scamper away before anyone saw her, but Ava rushed to the door and opened it. “Myra, what are you doing here? How did you find us?”
She sighed, stumbling out of the bushes and pulling a few twigs and leaves from her hair and shoes. “Those two are so intense, I couldn’t take it anymore. So I made Shiloh track you down. Besides, I wanted to see who you were meeting with. Maybe…I don’t know…I thought you’d run into Cam or something.”
Ava pointed at their uninviting host. “No, just this Declan dude shooting water daggers at us and then offering us tea.”
Myra’s eyes widened. “Declan?” She stepped inside and hurried over to him. “You’re Professor Declan? May I ask you a question?”
“Yes, I am.” The professor looked her over. “I have no idea who you are though, so no, you may not ask me.”
“Oh, you don’t know me,” she said, actually blushing a little. “I…uh…Cameron and I….”
“Ah. You’re Cameron’s sexual partner.” He gave a knowing nod. “Quite easy to deduce. I can tell by your—”
Myra waved a hand to stop him. “You don’t have to expound. I get it. You’re a genius and you can tell what I had for breakfast by looking at me. But, seriously, I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re probably the only person I’ve ever heard Cameron admire before.”
“Admiration, you say? I highly doubt that. Perhaps gratitude is the word you are searching for.”
“Sure, gratitude.” Myra was still flustered, a bit sticky from hiding in his shrubbery. “Thank you, Declan, for what you did.”
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