by Amber Garr
“But he was doing better this morning! He even got out of bed to say goodbye,” I challenged.
“I think that’s part of the reason why he’s not doing well. It drained him pretty bad and after you left, he fell asleep for several hours.”
I pushed past Daniel briefly realizing that I’d have to apologize later, but right now only one man mattered to me. Brendan was lying on the bed, crumpled in a heap on one side. The fresh bandages indicated that he’d bled through the other ones and my suspicions were confirmed when I glanced at the small hotel trash can near the side of the bed. I reached forward to touch his head and nearly gasped at the sight of his skin. He looked pale and dehydrated and I would say that his color was bordering on green. I’d only ever seen one person look this bad before and he had died at Cotillion.
Falling to my knees beside the bed, I decided that I would drive to Baltimore tonight. I didn’t know exactly how I was going to find the selkies, but I would just have to figure it out. Brendan didn’t have much time left.
“Eviana?” Kain called from the doorway. “We’re going to get a room here for the night. Do you want me to bring you something to eat?”
I cleared my throat and wiped the tears away from my eyes before standing to greet him at the door. “No, I’m okay. I don’t want to go anywhere right now.”
Kain nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. I had a few hours before dusk and even less time to come up with a plan. My hand suddenly became very warm and I looked down to see the water bottle still in my grip. Abhainn. Maybe he’d be able to help me find the selkies.
I set the bottle down on the table and ran to the bathroom to begin filling up the sink. I didn’t know much about water sprites since we’d been told they disappeared many years ago. Now I had one in an old water bottle that I was getting ready to release into my home. I briefly thought about whether or not I could play mind control games with him if necessary, but quickly discarded that idea and vowed to never think of it again.
When the sink was done filling up, I grabbed Abhainn’s plastic home and poured the contents into the water. I didn’t really know what to expect so I just stood there and waited. Right before I decided that I killed him, his tiny form grew from the white porcelain sink into a foot-high sprite.
“Aye, lassie. Thank ye for freein’ me. That was a most uncomfortable ride.” He continued to brush himself off as his figure emerged from the water and took its appropriate shape. “Couldn’t ‘elp but overhear, but it seems like ye’ve got a wee bit of a problem, no?”
I was thankful that I didn’t need to repeat everything to the sprite. “Yes, and I have a favor to ask you.” He twirled his hand asking me to continue. “Are you able to find people? Well, selkies in particular?”
“The ones that stole the skin?”
“Yes. They might be somewhere on the outskirts of Baltimore. I have to find them. Brendan won’t survive much longer, and if I know where I’m going, then I can leave tonight.” I sat down on the toilet and looked up at Abhainn’s somewhat disturbing fairy face. “Is that even something that your kind can do?”
He tsked at me and waved his hand. “Do? That is one of the things we are so good at.”
Relief flowed through my body and for the first time in several days, I thought that perhaps we could get out of this mess. “Okay, so can you do it?”
“Aye.”
“Can you do it now?” I asked, perhaps a little too harshly.
“Aye. But once I leave here, I will need to find ye again.”
I wanted to ask how he was going to leave and then find his way to Baltimore, but my mind was too full of odd scenarios and unexpected events today. “Well, what if I meet you at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge? Can you get there?”
“Aye, ‘n that sounds like a splendid idea.” He tilted his head up toward the ceiling and closed his eyes. “I will need a few hours. What time is it now?”
I peeked out into the living room to see the bedside clock and Brendan’s dying body next to it. “Just after one.”
“All right then. Meet me at the east end of the bridge at eight ‘n I will let ye know where to find yer dogs.”
“Seals,” I corrected.
“Same thing. Now, please send me away.”
I looked at him in confusion and he pointed to the sink below his feet.
“Pull the drain!”
“Oh, okay.” I stood and reached for the metal drain plug behind the faucet. “You’re not going to stand me up are you?” I asked.
“Nah. Ye saved me ‘n now I will help ye. It is the way of our kind.”
“Thank you, Abhainn,” I said with all of my feelings at the surface as I pushed down on the drain. Abhainn tipped his tiny liquid hat toward me and dove into the water off through the septic system.
I hoped he’d be able to make it to the bay, because right now, all of my optimism was resting on his success.
I needed to sleep and eat, and not necessarily in that order. As the evening approached, I tried to draft a plan that included finding a way to steal back Brendan’s skin without getting caught. I didn’t really come up with much. Since I needed to wait on Abhainn for more information, the most I could accomplish was trying to convince Daniel to stay with Brendan while I went out on some secret mission. He was reluctant at first, not because he didn’t want to do it, but because I told him that he wasn’t allowed to tell the others. It had been made quite clear that Kain and Carissa wouldn’t be spending a bunch of extra time with me, so it shouldn’t have been too difficult to understand why Daniel would be the only one invited to my room.
“Why won’t you tell me where you’re going?” Daniel asked for at least the hundredth time. “I hope you’re not thinking about going after those selkies on your own.”
“That would be idiotic,” I replied from the bathroom while trying to discretely pack a small bag of extra clothes. I didn’t know how long I’d be gone, and I wanted to be prepared in case I had to shift.
Daniel made a small noise that led me to think he didn’t believe a word I said. It didn’t really matter though. As long as he didn’t tell the others, especially Brendan, then maybe I could slip out undetected. I walked past the two boys on the bed and looked at them. Daniel sat on top of the covers with ankles crossed, flipping through the channels while biting his nails. Brendan wasn’t moving much at all. He hadn’t come out of his sleep for more than a few minutes at a time, and although I hated to leave him, I knew his time was quickly running out. I had no other option at this point.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a little bit.” Daniel looked at me suspiciously and I had to turn my head toward the floor to hide the guilt and my fear. “Thanks again for helping, Daniel. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“Just hurry back, all right?”
I smiled at him and quickly left the room. Dusk was upon us although it seemed the night already arrived since the sky was covered with a layer of thick, dark clouds. I silently walked to our car seeing no one else in the parking lot. But just as I unlocked the doors, two mysterious shadows appeared, blocking me against the driver’s side.
“And just where do you think you’re going?” Carissa asked.
“I think she’s going to try to take on an army of selkies alone,” Kain replied.
“Now why would she do such a stupid thing?” Carissa continued.
“Probably because she thinks that there is no other way to handle this situation.”
“Oh for God’s sake. I’m standing right here!” I snapped. Turning to face them, I leaned against the side of the car and crossed my arms over my chest. “There’s nothing you guys can say that will stop me from going.”
Kain nodded. “We figured as much.” He suddenly yanked the keys out of my hand and held them above his head when I tried to grab them back. “You’re not going.”
I attempted to jump and reach his hand, but he was one step ahead of me. This wasn’t happening now. I got so angry that I let out a
scream of frustration, pushing against his chest and forcing him to take a few steps backward.
“I have to go. Brendan is dying and this is all my fault!”
“No, you misunderstood. You’re not going alone,” he corrected.
I looked back and forth between the two of them, taking a second to put it together. “No. You guys can’t come.” Shaking my head, I began to pace along the length of the car. “I can’t let you do that. It’s too dangerous.”
Kain laughed this time as he pushed past me and opened the driver’s side door. “You don’t have a choice.” He slid in behind the wheel and Carissa jumped in the backseat. I stood there like a statue in awe of what my friends were doing for me. They’d already risked so much, and now they were probably risking their lives for a selkie boy they didn’t even know or like. Kain started the car and waved me inside with an urgent look. Stunned and overwhelmed, I climbed in.
“Where to?” he asked while backing out of the parking spot.
“The Chesapeake Bay Bridge. And we need to be on the east end by eight.”
He glanced at me but didn’t ask any more questions. In fact, no one said a word. It took us nearly an hour to get to our destination and almost as long before anyone asked me why we were meeting at this location.
“You flushed Abhainn down the drain?” Carissa asked in dismay.
“It’s not like I flushed him down the toilet. It was the bathroom sink and it was his idea.” A ball of nerves twisted up in my stomach washing over me in a wave of panic. I really hoped the water sprite would be here. He was the only semblance of hope I could cling to right now.
“Do you think he can find them?” Kain asked softly.
I turned to look out the window. “I hope so,” I whispered.
We finally made it to the beginning of the bridge and instead of paying the toll we pulled off the road and into the visitor’s center parking lot. I jumped out of the car and ran toward the first pillar, right where the land ended and the waves fought against their impeding barrier.
I heard Carissa and Kain walk up behind me, although they chose to stay a few feet away. Maybe they were giving me privacy, or maybe they were apprehensive about all of the creatures we now knew may be waiting under the surface.
“What time is it?” I yelled back to whoever would answer.
“Five after eight,” Kain briskly replied.
Great. Abhainn was late and all of the hope I’d been hanging on to started to seep from my bones like melting ice. Brendan was going to die and it was because I didn’t protect him. I’d relied on him for so much of everything I’d done, and the one time he needed me, I failed.
My shallow breaths were a sign of an oncoming panic attack, and I tried to control my breathing so I wouldn’t lose it in front of my friends. Kain started to walk closer toward me, but I quickly retreated to the water’s edge. He didn’t need to see me crying.
“Thought I forgot, eh?” a raspy, accented voice called to me. Turning my head quickly, I tried to find the source. “Over here, lassie.”
In the darkened shadows of one bridge piling stood a lean man in a long trench coat and a bowler’s hat. Using the leg propped up against the side, he gracefully pushed away from the structure and glided toward me.
“Abhainn?” I asked. “How…?” If I wouldn’t have known any better, I would have passed him off as a mere human. Albeit, an oddly dressed one.
“Ye like?” he asked. With arms spread, he turned in a circle several times, allowing me to take note of his solid and non-aqueous body. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to do this.” He smiled broadly and pulled down on his jacket.
“You creatures can do that?” Carissa tactlessly asked.
Abhainn shot her a glare. “I am no more creature than ye. And yes, when we’ve had our fill, the magic is stronger and more useful.” He waved his hand toward the closing visitor center. “I’ve spent the last half hour wandering amongst those things. Not a one suspected I was anything but a curious tourist.”
“What do you mean by having your fill?” Kain questioned.
I looked up at his face and noticed suspicion written all over it. Abhainn’s laugh sent shivers down my spine. He slowly sauntered over to us, feigning picking something out of his teeth. With his new body, he reached eye level with Kain but my friend didn’t give up any ground. I, on the other hand, unwillingly stepped back at the sudden change in the sprite’s demeanor.
“I think ye know what I’m referring to, lad.” The two stood in silence, locked in a bitter stare.
Carissa came up behind the other side of Kain and slapped Abhainn lightly on the shoulder. “Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about, so would you please enlighten us?” She attempted to break the tension.
Abhainn took one step away and looked between Carissa and me several times before he let out a laugh. “Ye really don’t know, do ye? What are they teaching ye sirens nowadays? Are we no more than a fairy tale?”
“Abhainn…” I pleaded. “What helps strengthen your magic?”
A wicked grin appeared on his face and for an instance, I thought I saw his bone structure elongate slightly before flashing back to the non-threatening human façade. “Well, lassie. All we need is a good meal to keep the body strong.”
“A meal?”
“He means a human, Eviana.” Kain turned his head toward me. “He ate a human.”
“Two actually,” Abhainn chimed in.
I looked at the water sprite with a new sense of disgust and fear. There were stories about the water fairies and their desire to consume human flesh, but we were never told this was how they survived. Then again, we were told that no more of their kind existed. I thought back to the naiad in the lake and wondered how many human hikers she’d consumed over the years.
“Was that really necessary?” Carissa asked jokingly, although I heard the nerves fluttering amongst her words.
Abhainn rubbed his hands over his belly and groaned. “I probably could have done without that last one. He was a bit pudgy ‘n I fear I may ‘ave over indulged.” He was enjoying this way too much. “But alas, I needed my strength. It’s been far too long since I’ve had a decent meal.”
I wanted to ask about this lifestyle. Whether it was fascination or just morbid curiosity, I wanted to know more about him and his kind. But my thoughts were cut short when Kain asked Abhainn what we really needed to know.
“Did you find them?”
“Aye.”
“And….?” I prodded after a few seconds of silence.
Abhainn sighed and walked nearer to the water’s edge. I followed closely behind, with Kain and Carissa staying back where we’d stopped.
“There are seven of them ‘n they’re holed up in a dump just outside of the town of Severna Park.”
“Did you see them? Do you know if they have Brendan’s skin?”
Abhainn placed a hand on my shoulder for comfort. “No, I didn’t see them. An…acquaintance reported back to me about their location.”
I pushed his arm away. “Well, how do you know your acquaintance is telling the truth or that they even know who you’re looking for?” My voice screeched. The tightness in my chest came back again and I struggled to breathe.
“I’m confident in her assessment. She could identify a selkie from a mile away.”
“Did you find them?” Kain asked. He must have heard my panicked cry and decided he didn’t care if this was a private conversation anymore.
I looked at Abhainn again, wondering if I could believe a sprite that ate humans and who outsourced his obligations.
“As I was telling your friend, aye. But I don’t know if they ‘ave the skin or if it is the group being controlled,” he continued. “Since yer selkie seems to believe living in a group is rare, then we deduced this must be the selkies you’re looking for.”
“Who’s ‘we’?” Kain asked.
“His acquaintance,” I snapped.
Abhainn looked at me with little
patience and much annoyance. “She’s to be trusted,” he stated as though that was the end of the conversation. “You’ll find them at this address.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tightly folded piece of paper. But before we could make the exchange, a sickening sound pulled our attention back to Carissa. The ominous crunch of a soft body being beaten and the thump it makes when it falls to the ground was unmistakable. The bridge lights from above cast an eerie shadow over our meeting place and I saw that Carissa now lay in a heap at the foot of a large man. His silhouette revealed a long object dangling from his hand that appeared to be a bat or baton of some sort.
“Carissa!” Kain cried and darted over to her. The man that had knocked her out raised the bat and pointed it at Kain.
“Not another step or the next hit will meet her skull.”
Kain froze and I stepped up beside him. “Did you kill her?” I cried out.
He looked down at Carissa and used his right foot to push her over onto her back. The way her body moved like a rag doll caused my stomach to drop. She couldn’t be dead. Not this way. Not because of me.
“She’ll live,” the man stated coolly.
Three more figures made their way into the light. From where we were positioned, tourists and drivers wouldn’t be able to see us. The land sloped slightly down to the water, and right now we could either run up the hill past our assailants or used the water as our escape.
“Don’t even think of it,” a female sneered at me. “We’ve covered that area as well.”
As one, Kain, Abhainn, and I turned toward the bridge and the dark waters splashing underneath. At first I didn’t see anything, but when Abhainn inhaled a sharp breath, I followed his gaze to the first piling. Twenty tiny heads popped up at once and began to swim toward us. Their synchronized movement caused a large wave to form, and the sound of the rolling water was nearly overwhelmed by the cackling and laughing coming from the sharp toothed creatures.
Large wings sprouted on a few of the approaching bodies and they took to the air like it was as natural as the need to breathe. In an instant, our escape to the sea was blocked by six human-like figures. At least as tall as Kain, I couldn’t tell if the leathery bodies were male or female. Each one had long hair that hid their slightly slanted eyes, an elongated crooked nose, and fangs that were too large to be concealed. Although naked, their bodies were anatomically indistinct from one another. And they also smelled. Bad.