Current Impressions (21 page)

Glancing at his watch, Dr. Tenuis said,
“Four o’clock. We wanted to get some food in you, but then you’re
free to leave. I already called Ted. He’s picking you up in an
hour.”

“I’ve been unconscious for eight hours?”
Evan pushed the tray aside, the last few bites forgotten.

“No, no.” Was it his imagination or did Dr.
Tenuis look a bit nervous? He glanced at the doorway, and then back
at Evan. “You were only out for about four hours. The rest of the
time, you were awake. You really don’t remember any of this?”

Evan shook his head. How did he forget four
hours of the day when he was supposedly awake and responsive? The
idea freaked him out, but he’d worry about it later. Right now, he
wanted answers. “Did the tests show anything?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Dr.
Tenuis flipped through a few papers. “Your physical makeup is fine.
Nothing’s wrong with your brain.” He looked up and smiled at Evan.
It didn’t reassure him. How could nothing be wrong with his brain,
yet he didn’t remember half the day?

“We did discover something in your blood
work... ” Dr. Tenuis hesitated.

“What?” Evan sat up straighter and turned to
the doctor. His pulse quickened. What was wrong with him?

“A strain of bacteria,” Dr. Tenuis said.
“Easily treatable with an antibiotic.” He held up a syringe filled
with an aqua-blue liquid for Evan to see. “Are you ready?”

“That’s it? One shot and my headaches will
go away?” Evan eyed the needle dubiously. He wasn’t a fan of
needles, doctors, or hospitals, and in the last twenty-four hours,
he’d experienced all three.

“One shot, and you’ll be right as rain.” The
doctor turned his head and the light caught his eyes. For a moment,
they were bright turquoise like the medicine. Before Evan could
react, the needle sunk into his arm.

The impact was immediate. Evan felt the
liquid burn through his veins. It didn’t burn like fire. Icy cold,
it was more like frostbite working its way through his body.
Nauseated, he lowered his head to his hands as his senses
overloaded. Children screamed, their tortured cries piercing his
ears. Behind his closed lids, broken bodies writhed in a massive
pile of pain, their blood pooling into a red lake. The smell of tar
and smoke filled his nostrils, and his tongue thickened while he
struggled to breath. He barely registered the other prick in his
arm before he succumbed to darkness.

After Kieran showed me the strategy room and
the faces of our enemies, I couldn’t fall asleep. As it was I got
to bed ridiculously late, and I knew I’ve suffer the next day. Sure
enough, I did. My lesson with Aunt Brigid was horrible. She didn’t
need to lecture me. I knew how badly I performed. Then, when I
collapsed in my bed that night and tried to contact Evan, he didn’t
respond. All I heard was static. Was he wearing the necklace or was
that what it sounded like when he took it off? If he removed it,
why? Before I could think about it more, my mind shut down from
sheer exhaustion.

I woke early and tried Evan again. Nothing.
Images of monsters played through my head the entire time I trained
with Kieran. What if one of them got Evan while he was diving?
Kieran would tease me if I asked him, but my father would know if
Evan was safe. I wanted answers, which is why I found myself
standing outside of Dad’s room after he didn’t show at dinner. I
slammed open the door to his suite and stomped inside, only to be
disappointed. He wasn’t there either. I stood for a moment and
wondered what I should do now. I could wait for him, but when was
he coming back?

A loud crack exploded down the hall. Someone
dropped something heavy. The sound came from Angus’ room. Would he
give me answers that my dad wasn’t willing to? It was worth a
shot.

I knocked on his door and waited. Shuffling
footsteps drew close before the door was yanked open. “Who’s there?
What do you want?”

I stared into my great uncle’s stormy eyes.
They softened slightly when he saw me. “Oh. It’s you. Been
wondering when you’d pay me a visit.” He stepped back and waved me
inside. “Ula told you then?”

“Told me what?” I asked.

“You’ll see.” He chuckled as I entered his
room, and my mouth fell open in shock. It looked like a modern
apartment. He had a flat-screen TV, Blu-ray player, and tower
speakers faced by a curving, leather couch. A kitchenette to the
left housed modern appliances, including a microwave.

“Where,” I asked, “did you get all this
stuff?”

“I have a small obsession with human
luxuries.” His cheeks tinged pink as he stroked his beard and
looked around his room, not meeting my eyes.

“Does it all work?”

“I can make it work,” he said. “Except I
don’t get any signals of course. The Blu-ray is strictly for
movies. No scraping with your friends.”

“I think you mean Skyping,” I said. “Which
reminds me, why can’t we have phones or internet access?”

“If we’re on the grid,” he said, “we can be
found. Do you understand?”

I did understand. After what Kieran told me,
I knew there were definitely creatures that we didn’t want to find
us.

“You’re interested in humans?” I asked.
“Most Selkies don’t seem to be.”

“I’m not like most Selkies.” He moved to the
kitchenette and filled a teakettle. “I’m going to have some hot
chocolate. Would you like some?”

“Yes, please.”

He motioned for me to sit in one of the two
kitchen chairs. I watched with humor as he took a box of Swiss Miss
from the cabinet and emptied a packet into each mug. When the
kettle whistled, he filled the cups and gave one to me before
picking up his own and joining me at the table.

“I know you’re wondering why I have all this
stuff.” He moved his arm to indicate the room at large.

“I am,” I admitted. “It’s a little
unusual.”

“Not when you consider that I’m half human.”
His eyes twinkled at my intake of breath, and he leaned back in his
chair with satisfaction. “I knew I could trust that urchin, Ula, to
keep my secrets.”

“How—? Who?” I stumbled over my questions as
my words clung to my throat. Angus chuckled and reached across to
squeeze my hand.

“I’m quite old, Meara, even by Selkie
standards. I have lived as Selkie for many centuries, but I was
born and raised as a human the first fifteen years of my life.”

His eyes grew distant. He absently blew on
his hot chocolate to cool it, although he put the cup back down
without taking a sip.

“I grew up in the Scottish highlands. My
father was human, a farmer, and an occasional fisherman. It was on
one of those fishing excursions that he met my mother, trapped her
in his nets to be precise. Imagine his surprise when he goes to
check his catch and sees it’s a beautiful woman.”

“He caught your mother like a fish?” I
couldn’t imagine it. The hot chocolate was cool enough to drink
now, so I took a few tentative sips.

Angus laughed and wiped a few tears from his
eyes. “That he did, Meara. That he did. Not only did he catch her
in his net, he caught her heart as well. They married, and they had
me.”

“So quickly?”

His gaze locked on mine. “Things happened
fast in those days. Humans lived much shorter lives. It wasn’t
uncommon for people to wed in their teens and have children shortly
after.”

“Did your mother stay?” My dad told me that
after living with humans for a straight year, a Selkie’s powers
disappeared. Had Angus’ mother chosen to become human?

“She tried. She stayed with him until after
I was born. I wasn’t even a month old, though, and she was gone.”
Angus stared into his mug, swirling the steaming liquid with a
spoon. “My dad raised me.”

His mom was like my dad. Were there others
like us? Half-Selkies who didn’t even know what they were? “Did you
ever see her again?” I asked.

“I did,” he said. “Which is how I ended up
at Ronac. She came back for me when I was fifteen. She brought me
here and taught me the Selkie ways.”

“And your father was left alone?”

“Not alone, no.” Angus nodded toward my mug.
“Are you finished?”

I drank the last bit and handed the mug to
him. “I am now.”

He stood and took our cups to the sink. He
hadn’t touched his, but I didn’t say anything. With his back
turned, he continued his story. “Dad remarried while I was still a
babe. I had two half brothers and three half sisters. When my
mother came back for me, he encouraged me to go with her. He was a
good man. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.”

His voice cracked, and I looked up in alarm.
I couldn’t see if he was crying.

“I’m sorry, Uncle Angus,” I said. “He sounds
like a great father.”

“Aye, that he was.” My uncle turned and gave
me a shaky smile. “But you didn’t come here to listen to the
ramblings of an old man. What can I help you with, my dear?”

“I was actually looking for my dad—”

“He left with Brigid yesterday. They’re
meeting with the Icelandia clan in the north, hoping to find
answers about the deaths.” Angus shook his head and sat back down.
“Such wasted lives. Do you know it has been decades since a Ronac
Selkie died?”

I had no idea. Death was such a regular
occurrence in human life. I never considered how infrequently
Selkies lost one of their own. His question seemed rhetorical, so I
cleared my throat and continued. “I wanted to ask him about our
enemies. I know so little, and I don’t want to put myself and
others at risk from my ignorance.”

“Your father has not tutored you about our
enemies? What has he been doing?” Angus’ roar filled the room. He
thumped his hands on the table and pushed himself up, practically
overturning it in the process.

While Angus glared, I swallowed nervously. I
knew his anger wasn’t directed at me, yet it was scary to behold.
“He hasn’t been teaching me,” I said in a meek voice. “I haven’t
seen much of him. He ordered Aunt Brigid and Kieran to help me
learn my powers and defense.”

Angus lowered himself back into the chair
and leaned on his arm, looking thoughtful. “Good choices for
tutors. At least he’s not completely hopeless.” His gaze sharpened
on me. “I trust you’ve been learning and practicing?”

“Yes,” I said. “Every day.”

He stroked his beard and seemed to consider
me. I waited, growing impatient. Finally, he spoke. “I can teach
you about our enemies. David’s reasons be damned. You need to
know.”

He stood and crossed the room to open an
old, black chest. It sat in a corner where I hadn’t noticed it. He
pulled out a bundle wrapped in faded velvet. The folded bits showed
that the fabric used to be black. Now a mottled, dark gray, the
velvet shined in places where the soft texture rubbed away. Angus
placed the package on the table and unfolded it. He held up a
polished, silver dagger, its handle heavily inlaid with coral and
gemstones that were smoothed from years of use. For such worn
wrapping, the weapon was meticulously cared for.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

He held the handle out to me. “It was my
mother’s. Now, I want you to have it.” When I made no move toward
it, he said. “Go ahead and take it.”

I wrapped my hand around the polished gems
and felt warmth travel up my arm. The weight of the knife balanced
in my grip. It was surprisingly light for a weapon that looked so
substantial.

“I’ll teach you to use it,” he said. “That
dagger tasted the blood of many an enemy. It’s a powerful weapon.
Keep it safe, and you’ll be able to summon it when needed.”

I twisted my wrist and watched the light
reflect off the blade. I had no idea what to do with it, but I felt
stronger with it in my hand.

“You have a firm grip,” he said. “That’s
useful. Does it feel comfortable in your hand?”

“It does,” I said. “Like a part of my
arm.”

“As I thought.” He nodded with approval. “It
was meant to be yours. Of course, a blade is only useful in human
form. Call it to you, and it will appear in your hand in the heat
of battle.”

“Cool.” My eyes locked on the blade,
mesmerized by the intricate carvings and gem work. Angus gently
pushed on my wrist until the knife lowered to the table. With his
other hand, he raised my chin until my eyes met his.

“Did you father explain your vulnerabilities
in human form?”

I frowned. “I don’t think so.”

“Idiot,” Angus muttered and huffed out an
irritated breath. “Your seal skin is an anklet, correct?”

“Yes.” The leather band circled around my
right ankle three times.

“That’s a good form to choose. Inconspicuous
and easily carried. I sometimes wonder what my niece was thinking
when she chose hers.”

“Ula?” I wondered. Brigid’s choker wasn’t
too different from my anklet, but Ula’s backpack was unique.
“What’s wrong with hers?”

“Something easily stolen or lost.” He shook
his head with disgust. “If your skin’s destroyed, you will no
longer be a Selkie. You live as a human and age as one, too.”