“You need to sleep,” she said, shooing me over.
I moved over for her and she laid down on top of the covers, facing me. She reached up and stroked my hair. It wasn’t skin contact, but I could still feel her pull my worry.
“Just until you fall asleep,” she said softly.
I closed my eyes and drifted off within minutes. My mind didn’t stop its tormented thoughts, though.
I searched through storm swept seas, looking for an island. What I found was something that made my chest squeeze with fear. A mountain made of red jagged glass rose up from the water. Waves crashed upon the spiked shards, and the water turned to blood. Without a choice, I drifted to the shores.
When I woke, I was alone and there was blood on my pillow. Enough to leave it more red than the cream color it had been when I’d gone to sleep. I hated that I didn’t know what I was becoming. It fed the rage that was building inside of me. Even alone, I wanted to strike out at something.
Staying quiet so as to not wake Eliana, I made my way downstairs and checked the time on my phone. Eliana’s alarm wouldn’t go off for another thirty minutes. Needing some time to myself, I went to the bathroom in hope that a shower would cool me off. However, I caught sight of my face in the mirror and only got hotter.
Dried blood flaked on my cheeks and crusted on the skin around my eyes.
“If I ever see my mom again, I’m going to throat punch her for taking off like she did. This is bullshit,” I said to myself in the bathroom mirror.
After a shower, which only made me feel marginally better, I dressed and went to make us breakfast. I slid the second omelet onto the plate just as Eliana came downstairs.
She smiled at me, looking much too chipper first thing in the morning.
“Morning,” she said.
I rolled my eyes at her and set our plates on the table.
“What? Didn’t you sleep well after I left?”
“Not really.”
“I’m sorry. I would have stayed longer, but it’s not safe for me to feed after I get really tired.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s just being away from Oanen. Sleeping is getting harder. My dreams are so weird. Last night, I was dreaming that I was already out on the water looking for the island. When I found it, it wasn’t what I expected. I was thinking a small bit of green land with sandy shores. What I found in my dreams was a mountain of glass covered in blood. I knew I had to go there and sacrifice myself to get the answers.”
Eliana paled. “I don’t like this.”
“It’s fine. It was just a dream,” I said.
“I’ve only been here a few years, but I’ve already caught on to something very important. Nothing is ‘just’ anything here. There’s hidden meanings, hidden agendas, hidden everything.”
“So you’re saying I should wear boots?”
She shook her head slowly.
“Your dream, if it is something, won’t be anything that obvious. Just be careful, and don’t be afraid to come back without answers.”
We finished up our breakfast and got to town to buy out their supply of vinegar with ten minutes to spare according to Eliana’s timetable.
“We need to get that boat loaded with salt, yet,” she said as she pulled out of the parking lot.
“The bags aren’t heavy. We’ll be fine.”
She gave me a worried glance.
“It was just a dream,” I said for the umpteenth time. “I shouldn’t have told you.”
“Yes, you should have. We’re friends, and we don’t keep things from each other, right?”
I thought of Fenris and felt a brief stab of guilt.
“Telling you only made you worry more. It didn’t change anything else. And seeing you worry now is making me feel like a jerk.”
“You aren’t a jerk. I would have worried no matter what. And it did change plans, remember? If we get to the lake and the mermaids are already stirring, you’re going to bail.”
“Right. But Ashlyn said they are never up this early. When Trammer tried taking her fishing at dawn, the fish folk had complained that their kids weren’t getting a fair chance. It’ll be fine.”
She exhaled hugely and nodded. However, she didn’t look any less settled when we pulled into the parking lot.
We worked in silence to unload the car and carry the supplies to the dock. The moon barely lit our path, and the brisk wind had Eliana shivering within minutes. She didn’t complain, and I didn’t try to tell her to wait in the car. When we had everything ready, we team lifted the boat and carried it to the water’s edge. The gentle waves lapped at the wood vessel, the sound seeming loud in the otherwise quiet, predawn light.
Eliana glanced at the water for a long moment. I did the same. Nothing moved.
Grabbing the first bag of salt, I carried it to the boat and ripped the top open. Bag by bag, we filled the bottom of the boat with almost four hundred pounds of salt.
“That doesn’t seem like enough,” Eliana said softly.
“It’ll be fine.”
She nodded and watched me put my bag with my clothes, food, water, and phone into the boat. When I finished, I turned to her. She was on me before I could blink, wrapping me in the tightest hug yet.
“Be safe and come back,” she said.
“I will. I promise.”
She released me and watched as I climbed into the boat. The salt crunched under my feet with each step, and the boat rocked slightly as I sat. The lapping noises of the water had us both looking out over the expanse.
We waited like that as orange slowly painted over the sky’s predawn blue. As soon as the sun broke the cusp of the horizon, Eliana stepped forward and put her hands on the bow.
“If you see anything, turn back,” she reminded me softly.
I nodded and eased the oars into their holders. She nudged me out into the water, careful not to step into the lake with her last push.
Carefully dipping the oars in the water, I gave my first experimental stroke to direct the boat backward. It was a little awkward the first go and Eliana chewed on her bottom lip as she watched me. But, the second one went much smoother. The sounds of oars softly slapping the surface and the slight thunk of the things holding the oars in place were carried away by the wind.
Eliana lifted her phone and glanced at the screen before giving me a thumbs-up. She was tracking me, and I wasn’t even ten feet from shore. I shook my head at her and glanced at the water around me.
The sight of a face just below the surface almost made me yip. The mermaid’s green hair drifted around her face as she smiled at me. Beneath the surface, something zipped toward us from her right. From the corner of my eye, I caught more movement to her left.
Instead of focusing on what it was, I looked up at Eliana and gave her a quick wave and smile, doing my best impression of a girl in a boat not surrounded by mermaids.
In three more strokes, I passed the end of the peer and headed out into open water.
Seventeen
My mind raced as I continued to place more distance between me and the shoreline. Eliana didn’t retreat to the car but watched me with a sharp eye. As did the mermaid circling just beneath the gentle waves.
Were the mermaids going to wait for me to reach the point where I’d be unable to swim back? If that was the case, they’d be disappointed. I swam well, and like any other physical activity I performed, I didn’t tire easily.
I glanced at the faces beneath the surface, again, then grinned at Eliana as if the waters were still clear. I didn’t want her freaking out and calling the Quills, or worse, Oanen. The threat of a few mermaids didn’t worry me. But the idea of Oanen finding out what I was up to and rushing back did. I couldn’t face him like I was. I couldn’t risk hurting him. No, this was better. I could face a few mermaids, no problem. I just wished I knew what they were waiting for.