Current Impressions (18 page)

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
He sat across from me in his recliner chair. It was strange seeing
the furniture from our apartment here. Although I was glad he saved
it, it felt out of place, from another time, another life. “Did you
see Evan?”

“I did. I’m sure Kieran told you.” After
all, Kieran saw my dad more than I did. It annoyed me that he was
ignoring my question once again. Could he ever give me a straight
answer?

“He did,” he consented. “But I wanted to
hear it from you.”

“He’s good. The house is huge.” A thread
hung from one of the throw pillows. I wound it around my finger. It
was difficult to meet his eyes. Would he see that I was holding
back? Did he know that I saw Evan more than once?

“That’s all?” My dad leaned forward, resting
his arms on his legs.

“What else do you want to know? We talked. I
miss him.” In my nervous fumbling, I dropped the throw pillow and
bent to pick it up. His eyes trained on the top of my shirt, and
his brows drew together.

“Are you wearing a new necklace?” he asked.
Before I could answer, he reached over and lifted it in his hand.
He stiffened and said in a cold voice, “This was my mother’s.”

Crap! How did it fall out of my shirt? I
thought it was well hidden. “Yes, um… I found it.” I wasn’t going
to mention Ula’s involvement and definitely not Brigid’s. If I did,
I knew it would be the last time she ever helped me.

“Where did you find it?” He stood stiffly
before me.

“In a chamber,” my voice squeaked. “With a
fireplace.”

“My mother’s chamber.” He paced across the
room and back. “I take it that Evan has the other one?”

I watched him with wide eyes. Could I lie?
Would he know? Was he going to demand that I give them back? I
wouldn’t. I couldn’t. It was the only way that Evan and I could
communicate. I wasn’t going to lose it.

“Meara?” He took a deep breath and sat next
to me. “Tell me the truth. Does Evan have the other one?”

“Y-yes,” I stammered in a quiet voice. The
thread broke away from the pillow, leaving a small hole in its
wake.

He sighed and leaned back. “Very well.
What’s done is done.”

“Do I have to give them back?” I asked.
“It’s the only way we can communicate, Dad. My cell phone doesn’t
work. I can’t see him unless I have a chaperone—”

“You may keep them,” he interrupted, and I
breathed a sigh of relief. “My mother would’ve wanted you to have
them anyway, but you must not see Evan anymore.”

“What?” I turned and stared at him. “You’re
kidding, right?”

“I am not.” He shook his head. “You are not
to leave the island.”

“Are you grounding me? Is this because I
took the necklaces? I’m sorry; I didn’t know.”

Now it was his turn to face me. He took my
hands in his. “You misunderstand. I am not familiar with this
grounding, but from your other question, I assume you think you are
in trouble. You are not.”

“Then… why?” I looked down at our joined
hands. My dad’s fingers were long, but his hands were strong. There
was a quiet strength within him, but right now, he looked worried.
“What’s wrong?”

He stood and paced to the far wall where the
window faced the ocean. It was dark now, but the moon washed his
face in soft light. Everything about him spoke of tension, and
maybe even fear. “I don’t know, and that’s the problem. We lost two
of our clan.”

“Lost...?” Did he mean that they died?

“Two of my stronger guards. They were
patrolling our borders and went missing several days ago.”

“So they’re missing, not dead?”

My dad shook his head. “Their bodies washed
ashore. One yesterday, and the other today.”

Two Selkies were dead. A chill traveled down
my spine. What happened? “How’d they die?”

Leaning into the windowsill, he crossed his
arms and rested his forehead on them. “Hard to tell. The bodies
were almost unrecognizable.”

“I’m sorry, Dad. Is there anything I can
do?”

“Yes.” He lifted his head and turned to me.
His eyes burned into mine. “Stay here. Stay safe.” He crossed the
room and knelt before me. “Promise me this, Meara. I lost your
mother. I don’t want to lose you, too.”

“You won’t lose me.” He was being a little
overdramatic.

He took my hands and shook them. “Promise
me, Meara.”

“Okay. Okay. I promise,” I said with my
fingers crossed behind my back. So, it didn’t really count, did
it?

My dad calmed down after that, and we talked
for a while. He asked about my training, and I filled in some of
the details that Kieran and Brigid left out, or, in Brigid’s case,
corrected some of the details she provided. I asked him more about
what he was doing, why he was gone so much, but he refused to tell
me. “It’s not your worry,” he said.

“Maybe it should be,” I argued, but he
didn’t budge. The old resentment rose inside me. When was he going
to trust me? Would he ever see me as grown up? When I realized that
he was not going to say another word on the subject, I excused
myself, kissed his cheek, and left. How could I love someone who
irritated the hell out of me at the same time?

****

“Meara? Is that you?”

Ula’s door was ajar. She beckoned me in.
“Close the door behind you.”

I dropped into the closest beanbag. Her room
really was comfy.

“What’s up?” I asked, knowing perfectly well
what she wanted to know.

“The necklaces,” she hissed. “Did they
work?” I grinned, and she bounced in her chair. “They did.
Excellent! Are you going to see him again?”

I couldn’t tell her that I saw him last
night. She’d freak. Instead, I said, “Dad just told me that I can’t
leave the island. He’s worried about my safety.”

She frowned. “He told you about Malcolm and
Henry then.”

“Well, I didn’t know their names…” The names
weren’t familiar at all. I must not have met them. “But yeah. He
told me they’re dead.”

“Dead!” She scoffed. “They were murdered. He
knows it, too.”

I didn’t argue with her, having got that
impression when he told me. I twirled my necklace. “Why does he
treat me like a child? Why won’t he tell me anything?”

Ula leaned forward and patted my knee. “You
are a child.” Before I could object, she added, “More than that,
you’re
his
child, and he just got you back. Give him time,
Meara.”

“If he loves me so much, why do I hardly see
him?”

“You know the answer to that,” she
admonished, but her tone was gentle.

I stood and walked to the window. In the
early moonlight, the ground below appeared gray, the ocean silver.
“He makes time for Kieran and for Brigid. Even Angus. Why not
me?”

She came behind me and rested her hand on my
shoulder. When I looked back at her, her eyes were full of
sympathy. “He conducts business with them. They are not meeting for
pleasure. He wants to see you more. I know it.”

“How do you know?” I asked bitterly. My
throat constricted, although my eyes were dry.

“He told me.” She wrapped her arms around
me. “He loves you, Meara. Once he ensures our safety, he’ll make
time for you. I promise.”

“Funny thing about promises,” I said,
thinking of the one I made to him earlier. “They’re easily
broken.”

Ula wanted me to stay and talk to her. I
made a flimsy excuse about being tired and left. I was eager to
contact Evan. Luckily, I encountered no one else on my way to my
room. I closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

Would my dad check on me during the night?
So far, people only came by in the morning, not during the night.
If I was back before sunrise, would I be able to safely escape? I
crossed to my window and stared at the moon. I was getting better
at reading its position. I deduced that dinner, my conversation
with my dad, and my visit with Ula took about two hours. Evan would
be home. Hopefully, he was alone.

You there?
I asked.

Always,
came his immediate reply.
And I’m alone. You can come.

I closed my eyes and pictured Evan in his
room. It was easier this time since I’d been there before. When I
blinked them open, he sat before me on the edge of his bed,
grinning.

“Amazing.” He pulled me forward and into his
lap. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing you do that.”

I returned his smile. “I’m glad you like
it.”

“Not as much as I like this.” He wrapped his
arms around my waist and kissed me. When we pulled apart, we were
both breathless.

“Wow. Someone’s feeling better.”

Apprehension flitted across his face before
his smile returned. “It was just a headache. No big deal.”

I scrambled out of his lap and stood before
him. “It wasn’t just a headache, Evan,” I said. “You were sweating
and delirious. What’s going on? Has this happened before?”

He shrugged. “A few times. I take some
Advil. It goes away. I’m fine.”

“How long have you been having them?”

“Jesus, Meara.” He raked his fingers through
his hair, leaving it disheveled. “Are you my mother now?”

“As your girlfriend, as someone who loves
you, I can’t be concerned?” I tried to keep my voice calm. He was
clearly defensive, which made me think the headaches were worse
than he was letting on. “Have you seen a doctor?”

“What? No! I’m fine.”

“Evan, I just lost my mom to cancer.” I took
his hand and sat next to him. Could I help him the way my dad
helped my mom ease her pain? I’d have to ask Ula and find out. When
he looked at me, I said, “Will you at least see your doctor when
you get home?”

He rested his forehead against mine and
closed his eyes. “Yes,” he relented.

I put my hand to his cheek and kissed him
softly. “Thank you.”

“You didn’t come here to talk about my
health, did you?”

He was teasing again, so that was a good
sign. Unfortunately, I had to bring the mood back down. “I almost
didn’t come at all,” I said.

“Why not? You were that upset about my
headache?” His voice rose in confusion.

“No,” I said. “My dad doesn’t want me
leaving the island. Two Selkies were found dead. He’s worried.”

“Were they murdered?”

“He doesn’t know.” Goose bumps broke out
across my skin. Evan pulled me back into his lap and kissed my
neck. “I’ve never seen him like this.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t come back.” Evan’s
voice was quiet, but firm.

I drew back and stared at him. “How can you
say that? We only have a few weeks as it is.”

“This isn’t about us.” He looked resigned.
“If your life is in danger, I won’t risk it.”

“It takes me seconds to get here. No one
knows that I can transport myself this far. What danger am I
in?”

“I don’t know, Meara. I bet those other
Selkies didn’t think they were in danger either. Why would anyone
want to kill them?” Evan held me tighter. “I know little about what
you are now and less about your enemies.”

“Do you think we really have enemies?” I
shuddered. “Why would anyone want to harm us? We pretty much keep
to ourselves.”

“Should we see if we can find anything? I
brought my books with me.” Evan set me to the side and crouched to
pull his suitcase out.

As he lifted the books onto the bed, I
resisted the urge to laugh. “You brought books with you?”

“Why not? I reference them often.” He paged
through the thickest book. With his free hand, he pushed another
tome toward me. “You look through this one.”

I sighed and flipped the book open. This
could take all night.

****

“I found something!” Evan slid his book
toward me. I blinked rapidly to clear my vision. I may have dozed
off. We’d been at this for hours, and I was exhausted.

“What’d you find?”

“Aumakuas,” he said proudly.

“Amawhatis?” I had no idea what he was
talking about. Was he delirious?

“Ow ma ku as,” he pronounced slowly. “Shark
people.”

“Shark people?”

“What?” He laughed. “You’re seal people. Why
not shark people?”

“I guess.” I thought about the shark I
encountered in the cove when I was swimming with Ula. “Sharks are
scary enough.”

“You’re right,” he said. “It says a seal’s
natural enemies are also a Selkie’s, so sharks and killer whales
are two of the bigger ones.”

I pulled the book closer and read the
paragraph. “It makes sense, but if a shark or whale attacked those
men, wouldn’t their bodies be gone? I mean, not to be gross, but
the sharks would’ve eaten them, right?”

Evan nodded. “Exactly. That’s why the
Aumakuas are more plausible. Perhaps they’re planning an attack of
your island.”

“Why?” There wasn’t much in the book on
them, but I didn’t see anything that would explain why they hated
Selkies, only that they saw them as a food source. I didn’t hate
cows, but I’d been known to eat a hamburger.

“That’s what we have to find out.” Evan
closed the book. “But enough for tonight.” He set the books on the
floor and lay on his side. He patted the space in front of him, and
I stretched out to face him. His fingers raked slowly through my
hair and down my side. “I was supposed to ask you to dinner.”

What he said was so unexpected that I didn’t
even comprehend it. “What?”

“Ken, the man who owns this house,” he
explained. “He wants you to come to dinner. And, he wants you to
bring Kieran, too.”

I frowned at him, trying to make sense of
it. Why did this man want to meet me?

“He recommended Saturday, if you’re free.”
Evan said it lightly, as if he were joking. “I’ll make up some
excuse why you can’t make it.”

“Let me check with Kieran—”

“Are you crazy? No! Until we figure out
who’s after you, you shouldn’t come back here. I only told you
about it because I promised Ken that I would.” He lifted my chin
until our eyes met. “You’re not coming. David’s right. You need to
be safe.”