Always Remembered (15 page)

“Blue Man Group? That’s a real thing?”

“It is.” Evan smirked a little at his own
choice of clothing.

She pointed. “And they’re blue like
that?”

“Well, they paint their skin blue, yes.”

She looked up at him, her expression puzzled.
“Why would they do that?”

“Part of their show. They’re performers.”

“Like me?” She seemed pleased by that.

“Like you,” Evan confirmed. Taking her hand,
he headed to the stairwell. They could talk and walk at the same
time. He was getting hungrier by the minute. “If I joined them, I
have a built-in costume.”

He meant to be funny, but it must’ve come out
bitter since Deanna made a dismayed noise. “I’ll help you get back
to your human form, Evan,” she said. “I know you’re not happy like
this.”

“It’s okay.” It was an automatic response,
but he realized that he meant it. Down here, it didn’t really
matter what color he was. Around him were beings of all colors and
shades. Some of the Blue Men chose to take forms that were more
human, others did not, but all the Sirens kept their soft pastel
coloring, even in human form.

They walked the rest of the way in silence,
lost in their own thoughts. When they reached the food court,
Deanna bought a salad and got Evan a personal pizza. He had no idea
how deep sea pizza would taste, but he found it tasted a lot like
the pies on land. Delicious.

“Can I ask you a question?” Evan asked after
he’d eaten half his meal and took the edge off his hunger.

“Of course,” Deanna said. “You don’t have to
ask for permission. I think we’re beyond that point in our
relationship, Evan.”

His heart jumped a little when she said
relationship. Was that what they were doing? In some ways, he knew
her intimately, but so much about her was a mystery. He realized
the question he was about to ask her made him nervous. Would she
read something into it? Did he want her to? With a sigh, he asked
it anyway. “Do Sirens ever live on land? I mean, if you wanted to,
could you?”

She gave him an appraising look before
answering. “Some have. A few Sirens have married humans, raised
families, and died on land. Most don’t though. The sea calls to
us.”

“Would you lose your essence the way Selkies
do?” He remembered Meara telling him about the strong pull of the
ocean. It was a rare Selkie that could give up the ocean to live on
land with a human. If they did, they gave up their powers and
essentially became human. That meant a much shorter life span too.
He wondered why Selkies were so limited when other species weren’t.
“I mean, why can’t they live with humans?”

A dark expression crossed Deanna’s face
before she changed it to something more neutral. “You’re thinking
about your ex-girlfriend, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Evan admitted. “Meara was told that if
she lives with humans for longer than a year, she’ll lose her
magic.”

“That’s my understanding, too,” Deanna said.
Her voice softened with sympathy. “Their magic is different than
ours. I don’t claim to understand it, but they live in groups. They
need their people. Somehow, each individual’s essence nourishes the
masses. And, like us, they are tied to the sea.”

“But they live on land,” Evan said,
confused.

“Yes,” Deanna said. “Like I told you, I don’t
understand it either.”

In some ways, Evan was relieved that he broke
up with Meara now that he understood how critical her clan was to
her. He couldn’t make her choose between her family and him. If
they stayed together, wouldn’t that have been the ultimate result?
Of course, now that he was one of the Blue Men…

“What about the Blue Men? Can we live on
land?”

Deanna quickly scanned the crowd and gave him
a nervous laugh. “You’re asking a lot of questions tonight.”

“I’m sorry. If you want me to stop—”

“It’s okay.” She covered his hand with hers.
Leaning across the table, she whispered in his ear. “I’m worried
that we’re being watched.”

She brushed a kiss on his lips, and then sat
back with a smile. If anyone were watching, they would only think
that they were a cute couple, exchanging a few words and
affectionate moments.

“Dee! Is that you?”

A young Siren with a bright purple pixie cut
ran over to their table. Following behind at a slower pace were two
Blue Men and another girl with long, curly red hair. The red was as
bright as a fire hydrant. Apparently, siren coloring was not
limited to pastels.

“Krystal and Melody!” Deanna stood and hugged
them. “I thought you were working tonight.”

The girls shook their heads in unison. “Ken
sent us home early. He was holding a private celebration and didn’t
want any of us there.”

A private party without women? It didn’t
sound fun to Evan. What was Ken up to? Evan wanted to ask, but he
didn’t know these people. Luckily, Deanna asked for him, “What kind
of party?”

The girls glanced over at their dates, who
had walked away to stand in line for food. When the women started
talking, they stared at Evan as if considering.

“He’s safe, Krystal,” Deanna said
quickly.

“Blue Men only,” Krystal reluctantly answered
in a whisper. “It had something to do with capturing two more
Selkies.”

Deanna met Evan’s eyes. Hers were filled with
sympathy and something more… a warning?

“Two more?” Evan asked before he could help
himself. “How many does he already have?”

Krystal’s eyes grew round. “You’re familiar
with Selkies? I thought you only recently found out about your
heritage. Weren’t you living as a human?”

“I was,” Evan said, catching himself before
he said ‘I am.’ He still thought of himself as mostly human after
all. “I was dating a Selkie, though.”

“You dated a Selkie?” The redhead, who Evan
deduced was Melody, asked this question. She barely got it out
before erupting into a fit of giggles. Krystal joined in. Deanna
didn’t laugh, but she seemed amused.

“What’s so funny?” Evan looked at the three
women. He was obviously missing something.

“They’re so ugly,” Krystal managed between
her snickers. “They turn into seals, for goodness sake.”

“Yeah, and you are part fish,” Evan bit back
before realizing that he shouldn’t have said anything. The girls
stopped laughing and stared at him.

“Careful,” Krystal drawled with an
undercurrent of steel in her tone.

“You’re lovely, of course,” Evan said. “I
just don’t think it’s nice to make fun of another species. It’s not
like they can help who they are or what they turn into.”

“Well said, Evan.” Deanna looked at her
friends with reproach. They sobered up and cleared their throats.
At least they had the decency to look a little embarrassed.

The guys returned, their trays piled with
food. They sat down and started eating, not offering anything to
their dates. Evan found this rather rude.

“Would either of you like anything to eat or
drink?” he asked the Sirens, giving the men a look of reproach. It
was wasted, since they didn’t even acknowledge him. Of course, when
the women shook their heads, Evan sighed with relief. If they had
said yes, he would need to borrow money from Deanna again. Ken
hadn’t paid him anything yet.

Evan sat in silence while the girls gossiped
and the guys ate. He wanted to hear more about the captive Selkies,
but he wasn’t sure if it was a safe topic with this group. He
glanced around the food court and realized there was a rather
noticeable absence of Blue Men tonight. The only ones here were the
two at their table. Were these two left behind as guards? Out on a
date? Or was there another reason that they couldn’t attend the
celebration?

Who could Ken have captured? Evan’s gut told
him that it wasn’t Meara, but it could be someone from her family
or Kieran.
Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing
, Evan
thought before chastising himself for being cruel. Just because
Kieran liked Meara and was probably pursuing her right now didn’t
mean Evan needed to wish bad things upon the Selkie.

“You’re quiet,” Deanna said, moving her chair
closer to rest her hand on his arm. “Did you want to leave? I know
you have to go to work early tomorrow.”

When she asked the question, she nudged his
foot with her own. Funny that underwater, the nudge was still the
universal sign between a couple that it was time to go. He faked a
yawn and stretched, irrationally pleased to see Krystal and Melody
eye his body with interest while Deanna’s face flashed with
jealousy. “You’re right. I didn’t sleep well last night. I better
get some rest tonight or work will be brutal.”

The guy with black hair and a considerable
amount of facial piercings looked closer at Evan. “I didn’t catch
your name.”

“It’s Evan.”

“Ken’s son.” The guy shook his head almost
sadly. “He’s got you working on that mantle plume. That’s brutal,
man. I don’t envy you.”

Evan didn’t know what to say. Luckily, the
dark-haired man reached across the table and offered Evan his hand.
“I’m Vesh.”

“Vesh?” It wasn’t a name Evan heard
before.

“Short for Veshian, but yeah, everyone calls
me Vesh. This is Slate.” He nudged the other guy in the shoulder.
Slate grunted in reply, not looking up from the last of his
food.

“Nice to meet you both.” Evan stood,
following Deanna’s lead. “Well, see you around.”

Vesh gave him a cheery smile. “We’re usually
here, so you’ll know where to find us.”

I paced
in Uncle Angus’ room while he and Kieran played chess. The silence
and waiting was killing me. I couldn’t take it any longer. “How can
you two sit there so calmly? It’s been two weeks since Dad
contacted me, and we’ve heard nothing else.”

I knew this for a fact. Every morning, I
watched the sun rise while wading in the surf. I prayed my dad
would contact me again so I could have some news. Any news. My
prayers had yet to be answered.

“What can we do, Meara?” Uncle Angus looked
at me with sympathy. I’d been getting that look a lot lately. I was
a wreck. I couldn’t sit still, barely ate, and woke up several
times at night. Each day that passed with no news made me lose a
little hope that we would find them. If we didn’t rescue my dad and
aunt, then how would we ever save Evan? Ken could be torturing Evan
right now. Would he hate me when, or if, I did find him?

Now both men were watching me pace, the game
momentarily forgotten, concern on their faces. I didn’t want them
to worry about me, and I certainly didn’t want their sympathy. I
wanted my uncle to believe in me and let me go rescue them.

“How much longer do we wait?” I asked,
stealing a glance at Kieran. He was unusually quiet and averted his
eyes to analyze the chessboard. It wasn’t like him to stay out of a
conversation. Did he agree with my uncle? “You told me two
weeks.”

Uncle Angus heaved a great sigh and sat back
in his chair. He stroked his beard while he studied me. “So, I did,
Meara. So I did. You feel that you can succeed where two of your
father’s best guard did not?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “They were
completely unprepared, Uncle. Ask Kieran!”

“She’s right,” Kieran said. I was relieved
that he decided to speak. “We trained them for a few hours, but it
was certainly not enough to prepare them.”

“Why don’t Ronac Selkies know how to fight?”
I asked. “Kieran does. Dad and Aunt Brigid do. Why wasn’t Dad’s
guard trained properly?”

Uncle Angus shook his head sadly and with a
grunt, rose from his chair. “I’m getting a drink. Can I get you
anything?”

He was avoiding my questions. Sometimes, my
great uncle needed a little time to formulate his thoughts. I could
let him have that. At least it meant he was considering my
questions. “I’ll have a Diet Coke,” I said.

“Nothing for me,” Kieran replied.

I waited while my uncle went to the fridge
and got two cans. He chose a ginger ale. Handing me my drink, he
said, “You must understand. Your grandparents died over a hundred
years ago, Meara. We battled the Blue Men, but we had to retreat.
We lost many of our strongest fighters in that battle, including my
mother.” His eyes grew distant, filling with sadness. “Before we
could regroup and try again, the Blue Men simply disappeared. We’ve
lived peacefully since then. I believe your father thought the
threat had passed.” He patted my hand and sat back down. “The last
eighteen years, your dad’s been preoccupied in his search for you
and your mom. Not that you are to blame in any of this,” he quickly
added.

As far as explanations go, it felt weak. In a
matter of months, I’d learned to fight, and, in turn, train the
majority of our people to defend themselves, too. I preferred not
to go to war or risk innocent lives, but I also knew that we were
heading toward a battle with the Blue Men. It was ignorant to think
that we were safe on this island. Dad should have known better.