Always Remembered (4 page)

“No. Ken kidnapped him. They were already
gone when we got there.”

Ula frowned. “Isn’t he the guy who financed
Evan’s internship?”

“Yes,” I said.

“I don’t understand.”

“I don’t either, but I’ll tell you what I
know.” I bit my lip, my thoughts still on my little cousin, Nico,
and my uncle and aunt. “Uncle Ren…they made it home okay? Do we
know?”

“They’re fine,” Ula said. She didn’t seem
worried at all.

“How can you be sure?” I persisted. It wasn’t
as though Selkies had phones or even email.

“You know my parents’ necklaces and how they
work?” she asked. I nodded. “Ren has a similar communication with
David. A silver chain they wear on their wrists. Have you seen
it?”

“Yeah, I guess.” I vaguely remembered seeing
a flash of silver at my dad’s wrist. It almost looked like a
watchband.

“All of us have one. They were gifts from our
parents, although Brigid, Paddy, and I don’t wear ours since we
live here. David keeps his on to communicate with Ren, and our
other brothers, Murdo and William.”

Murdo. William. I repeated the names silently
to myself. It was the first time I heard of them. Two more uncles I
hadn’t even met yet. I forgot that my dad once told me there were
seven children in his family. It was difficult to believe I went
from my mom being my only family to this large Selkie family. What
would Mom have thought? I guessed she would’ve liked them. I
blinked my eyes and forced myself to focus on something else.
Thinking about Mom always made me cry. My uncles…where did they
live? Did they rule clans like my dad? Did they have wives or kids?
I could ask Ula, but that would sidetrack us into a long
conversation about family. There would be time to talk about that
later. Right now, I needed to update her on what we learned at
Ken’s house. I took Ula’s book and marked her spot. After setting
it on the shelf, I offered my hand to pull her up. “C’mon, it’s
gorgeous outside. Let’s go for a walk.”

“Okay.” She smiled and grasped my hand. The
next thing I knew, we were standing on the shoreline and Ula was
beaming at me.

“You’re really getting good at transporting,”
I said. While she grinned, something nagged at the back of my mind.
“Ula, why is our family the only one in our clan with powers?”

“I don’t know. It’s always been that way.”
She gave me a curious look. “Why?”

“You’ve been practicing transporting, and
your abilities have grown stronger.” I paced, thinking about what I
wanted to say next. “Why couldn’t we try to teach the others? Maybe
they can do magic, and they just don’t know how.”

She bit her lip, mulling it over. Finally,
she consented. “It’s very possible, although David may not
agree.”

“Why not?” I asked. “He’s already agreed to
let Kieran and I train the clan on weapons and combat.”

Her eyes widened. “He has?”

“We’re holding a meeting tomorrow. He made me
promise not to force anyone, but those who want to be trained, will
be.”

“I didn’t know about it. Why didn’t you tell
me?” Ula frowned slightly. I didn’t mean for her to feel excluded
or unwanted. “Can I participate?”

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and
squeezed. “I just told you. Besides, you don’t even have to ask. Of
course you can participate.”

We walked along the shore. The nearness of
the water soothed and irritated me at the same time. I could taste
the brine. That small sip made me want more. I longed for the
freedom of the waves. My dad and aunt left this morning for the
strait. With any luck, they’d find Ken, rescue Evan, and put an end
to this. I couldn’t live my life in fear, and worrying about Evan
was giving me an ulcer.

“Will you?” Ula asked.

“Will I what?”

“Will you teach them magic?”

“I’d like to try.” The ability to change
forms, the most basic of Selkie magic, was in and of itself
wonderful. Yet, the other magic I could perform was
amazing—influencing the weather, conjuring items, transporting from
one location to another, blocking others from entering my mind, and
reading other people’s minds if I focused hard enough. I had more
abilities than most of my clan. On the other hand, the average
Selkie could only change form. If I could help them bring out even
a little magic, it would improve their lives and improve Ronac. The
island and fortress would be better protected if everyone could
defend it and not just Dad’s guard. Ula seemed worried though, and
I wondered why. “What’s the harm in teaching them?”

“If you give them power, they may try to
overthrow your dad.”

“Nonsense.” I paused in my pacing and faced
her. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“No,” she answered quickly. “My brother is a
fair ruler. There is no reason to overthrow him.”

“Exactly.” My initial thoughts were of Arren
and the other teen Selkies. They were harmless as puppies. I could
teach them to fight and protect themselves. It wouldn’t hurt to
explain about human life, too. Their ignorance made me wince. Which
reminded me… “How was the concert?”

I missed the first concert that Arren and his
band held at the last Selkie celebration. Given the costumes they
were wearing, I could only imagine the probable mashup of songs
from Madonna and the Beastie Boys. Not pretty. I wasn’t sorry that
I missed it, although it might’ve been entertaining.

Ula shuddered. “As bad as you thought it was
going to be. I told you my ears bled the first time I heard them.
This wasn’t any better. Thanks again for leaving me there.”

“Sorry, Ula.” I ruined my apology by
laughing. The teenage Selkies really had no clue about humans. If I
educated them on humanity while teaching defense, we might not have
to hide so much. We could blend and, therefore, interact. We
certainly wouldn’t be just sitting here, waiting for someone or
something to attack.

“Meara?” Ula’s hand on my arm brought me back
to the present. “You were going to tell me something. Was that it?
Teaching Selkies magic?”

“You know I went to rescue Evan.” When she
nodded, I said, “Kieran came with me.” Her eyes narrowed, but she
didn’t interrupt. “We went to the house, but it was too late. They
left in a hurry, but everyone was gone. All, except one.”

“Who?”

“Evan’s professor, Ted Nolan. He was beaten
and locked in a cell.”

Ula’s hands covered her mouth. “Is he
okay?”

I shook my head. “He’s dead. He died in front
of us.”

Ula gasped and squeezed my arm. “No! How
awful!”

“It was. He looked horrible.” Clearing my
throat, I added, “He was one of the Blue Men, Ula. He changed
before he died to show us.”

“What?” Her reaction reminded me of my dad’s.
She paled in shock and swayed on her feet. “How is that even
possible? They can take human form?”

“Clearly, they can,” I said. “Ted is the one
who told us that Ken has Evan. Ted also said Ken is the leader of
the Blue Men.”

“Oh, Meara.” Ula stopped walking and turned
to face me. She searched my face, her eyes full of sympathy. “What
are you going to do?”

I shrugged. “What can I do? Dad and Brigid
are in the Minch right now. I promised him I wouldn’t leave the
island. I’m going to do the only thing I can.”

“Which is…?” She raised one eyebrow and
waited.

“Train the hell out of everyone and build an
army.” My resolve was set. I would arm our people for success. “The
Blue Men won’t know what hit them.”

“You’re
here.”

Deanna sounded surprised. Evan sat up and
rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time
he took such a long nap, well, one that wasn’t induced by someone
drugging him. He felt refreshed. Giving her a wry smile, he asked,
“Can I leave? And if I could, where would I go? It’s not like I
know my way around the ocean.” He glanced down at his blue arms.
“And I certainly won’t be accepted on land, looking like this.”

She ignored his questions and asked, “Are you
hungry again?”

“I could eat.”

“Good.” The tense expression left her face,
and she held the door open. “Let
’
s go get
some food.”

They swam toward the ocean floor. Evan was
surprised at how easy it was to swim as one of the Blue Men.
Although his form was still humanoid, the longer limbs and clawed
hands cut through the water with ease. He had no trouble keeping
pace with Deanna. The only time he came up short was out of
surprise when they approached the entrance to a large cave. The
brightly lit interior showed it was full of activity. To Evan’s
amusement, it looked like an underwater cafeteria, complete with
trays, buckets of silverware, and bins of various foods.

“You can pick what you want to eat.” Deanna
handed Evan a tray before taking one for herself. “Ask me if you
want to know what anything is.” She wrinkled her nose slightly in a
way Evan found cute. “It’s all mostly okay tasting. I tend to stick
to the fruits and vegetables.”

Evan gestured to the line in front of them.
“By all means, lead the way then. I’ll mimic what you do.”

Deanna seemed startled at first, but she
quickly recovered. As they moved through the line, she explained
the oddly shaped and colored items to him. He saw the xi fruit he
tried earlier. A green, prickly bulb with bright purple flesh
looked interesting. He pointed to it and raised an eyebrow.

“Rylotta.” Deanna took one and placed it on
her plate. “They’re yummy when they’re ripe and bitter if they’re
not. These look good.”

Evan took one, avoiding the long, needle-like
spikes. Opening it would be an adventure. He’d watch Deanna eat
hers first.

The next section was fish and shellfish. Most
were raw and reminded him of sashimi. He took several pieces before
nodding to Deanna that he was ready to go. She led them to a table
in the back corner. As they passed other Sirens and Blue Men, a few
gave them curious glances. No one stopped to talk or introduce
themselves. Evan didn’t mind. He wasn’t feeling very sociable,
especially since no one looked particularly friendly.

He wanted to ask Deanna more about his
circumstances. Was he still a prisoner? She didn’t answer him
earlier, although she did say she was surprised to find him in his
room. Did that mean he could’ve left if he wanted to?

Something told him not to ask her here. He
let her carry the dinner conversation, which led to numerous
questions about life on land, high school, college, and hockey.
Hockey was an easy subject, and he enjoyed explaining the game to
her. Deanna was fascinated by the idea of a sport played on ice
with sticks and a puck. Every time he tried to breeze over a rule
or position in the game, she would stop him to ask for
clarification. It surprised him how much he liked talking to her.
He was pleased by her interest in hockey, too, especially since he
loved it. Meara came to several of his games last year, but he got
the impression she only tolerated the sport.

When the food was gone, they took their trays
to the front of the cave. He couldn’t shake the cafeteria vibe. It
made him want to laugh, but he didn’t want to offend Deanna.
Instead, he asked, “Do you always eat here?”

“A few times a week,” she said. “Why? Do you
prefer to hunt?”

“I prefer McDonald’s,” he answered and
laughed.

She looked at him quizzically. “Who’s Mac
Donald?”

“McDonald’s is a fast food restaurant. You
know, hamburgers, fries…” He tapered off when he realized she had
no clue what he was saying. “Don’t you ever go anywhere else on
land besides that club?”

“Not many places.” She tilted her head and
studied him, her pale green hair floating in a halo around her
head. Although it partially hid her expression, he could see she
looked uncomfortable again. He wished he knew what topics were
taboo.

Never mind
, he thought,
better to
just drop it and move on
. “What do you do here?”

“What do you mean?” Her voice sounded
guarded.

“Do you have hobbies or interests?” He looked
back into the cavern, which was now half empty. “When everybody
finishes eating, what do they do?”

“Whatever they want.” Her eyebrows drew
together in confusion. “Do you want to see the rest of the city
now?”

Evan gave up. She didn’t understand what he
was asking. He wondered how many of the Sirens or Blue Men had
never even been on land. Did they all have limited exposure to
humans? He shouldn’t criticize. He had no experience with sea life.
He was just as naïve about ocean creatures as Deanna was about
land. With any luck, her tour of their settlement would clue him
into the underwater lifestyle. Deanna cleared her throat, and he
realized she was waiting for an answer.

“Sure,” he said. “I’d love to see the
city.”

Her smile lit her face
. She’s really
pretty,
Evan thought before he could help himself. With a shake
of his head, he followed her out of the cavern.