Surrendering (Swans Landing) Read online

  Not that we could actually see anything. It was dark and murky in the water. If the finfolk were under there somewhere, they could easily hide.

  A large swell washed over me, submerging me for a moment before I rose above the surface again. The water was too rough. I could barely keep myself from being carried back to shore.

  I had hoped to swim with Mara, since we hadn’t had a chance to swim together in the two days that I’d been back. But Lake had paired me with Dylan instead. Was he intentionally keeping Mara and me from spending too much time alone, or did he just like to torment his daughter’s boyfriend?

  The current tossed me toward shore again before I was able to fight against it and stay near the place where I had surfaced.

  “This is pointless,” I growled as I fought against the crashing waves. We couldn’t keep searching every inch of the ocean. I hadn’t even been out there long and I was already exhausted.

  I sighed as I scanned over the water again. Still nothing. I might as well join Dylan back on the sand.

  Not too far out from the shore, the current became strange. Water pushed at me from all sides, all directions. If I let myself go, I started to turn in a dizzying pattern. I panted as I struggled to get out of the swirling water.

  “Dylan!” I called out. I didn’t know if he could hear me, but I didn’t have time to wait for a rescue that might not come.

  I arced down into the water. The current was even stronger below and even more confusing as it pushed first one way and then another. I let myself drift with the water instead of fighting it, surrendering to the violent current.

  When the current pushed me to the left, I waited as long as I dared and then torpedoed out of the stream, flicking my tail fin hard and pumping my arms. I swam as far and as hard as I could, until finally my fingers brushed sand.

  I panted as I grabbed the beach towel I had left on shore and began drying myself in the cold wind. “Thanks for the help,” I muttered.

  Dylan rolled his eyes. “You won’t drown,” he reminded me. “So you weren’t in that much trouble.”

  “What was that anyway?” I asked.

  “It looked like a whirlpool.”

  “You ever seen one this close to the island?”

  “No,” Dylan said, frowning as he looked back at the water.

  “We should tell the others,” I said. “So they’ll know to stay away from it.”

  “Maybe if we’re lucky these finfolk will be caught up in it,” Dylan said.

  I shook water out of my ears. “Maybe. We don’t have any other options right now.”

  Dylan’s expression hardened. “If these people are as dangerous as you say they are, then we maybe we should take more extreme measures.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Like what?”

  “We have one of them here already,” Dylan said, his eyes narrowed. “Why don’t we find ways to make him talk? Tell us what he knows?”

  “Callum?” I shook my head. “I told you, Callum isn’t helping Domnall. He’s on our side. He doesn’t know any more than we do.”

  Dylan laughed, a short harsh sound. “That’s what you think right now. But how well do you really know this guy? He willingly took you and Sailor straight into danger. If he knew how bad these finfolk were, why did he even take you to them? He risked your lives, and you’re lucky you got out.”

  “He took us there because we asked him to,” I said. “Callum has helped us the whole time. He warned us not to let them know we were part human. He warned us not to trust them. He’s on our side.”

  “No one is ever on the side you think they are,” Dylan said. He glared at me, then turned toward the trees.

  I got dressed and then followed him down the narrow path through the trees, back to civilization. We walked in silence for a while, both of us keeping our distance from each other.

  “So what’s your real problem with Callum?” I asked finally.

  Dylan’s head whipped toward me, his light blue eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Do you distrust Callum because he’s from Hether Blether, or because Sailor likes him?”

  Dylan’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Sailor has been in love with you for years,” I said. “It’s funny that now that she’s found someone else, you get all jealous.”

  Dylan stopped, whirling around to face me. “I am not jealous of that creep. Sailor is my friend. I still feel the same way about her that I always have. But I don’t like him. I don’t see any reason I should believe he’s not just like the rest of his people.”

  “What is it then?” I asked. “You’re acting like you want to beat the hell out of him.”

  “I’d like to beat the hell out of someone around here all right, and not just Callum.” Dylan sneered at me before turning and walking down the road.

  I laughed. “Me? Go ahead then. You’ve waited this long to do it, get it out. I’m sorry if you think I stole Mara from you, but as far as I know, she’s free to like anyone she wants. It just didn’t turn out to be you.”

  Dylan kicked at a crushed can on the street. “Yeah, too bad she has terrible taste in guys.”

  We didn’t talk for a few minutes. I walked a few steps behind him and he never looked back.

  “So what happened while I was gone?” I asked finally. “Did you make a move on Mara and she shot you down? Is that why you’re so pissed off these days?”

  Dylan’s eyes flashed as he glanced over his shoulder at me. “You’d love to hear that, wouldn’t you? What if I said I made a move and she didn’t turn me down?”

  My fists curled tight at my sides. He was trying to make me mad, I knew. Mara had already said nothing had happened and I trusted her.

  “What if she ended up in my bed again, only this time, she didn’t run away?” Dylan said with a sneer. “Maybe I gave her what you couldn’t.”

  I clenched my teeth, ignoring his words. “We could be friends, you know,” I said. “I have no issue with you. We’re both finfolk and we’re in this together. We should team up.”

  “Get lost,” Dylan said.

  “You just hate to lose, don’t you? You lost Mara and now you’re losing Sailor to Callum. Sorry the whole world doesn’t revolve around you, Waverly. It’s called free will. People can do what they want.”

  Now Dylan stopped and faced me, his neck reddening and his fists clenched at his sides. “You know what my problem with you is, Canavan? You make everyone lie to me. Mara sneaked around with you, even after spending the night in my bed. She went right back to you and never said a word to me, letting me think that maybe what had happened between us meant something. And you made Sailor lie to me for years. She knew exactly what you were and who you were, and she never said a thing to me about it.” He glared at me. “I don’t know what it is about you, but you cause trouble just by being around. I can’t trust anyone because of you.”

  I stepped toward him, but Dylan backed away. “Don’t,” he said, holding up his hands. “We did our job, now I’m done with you.”

  He left me standing there, watching as he disappeared down the sidewalk. We were on the edge of the town, near the shops that had never reopened for summer due to the lack of tourists. The darkened windows looked out at me, like ghosts watching my movements.

  A step behind me caught my attention and I spun around, my fists clenched and body rigid.

  “Oh,” I said, trying to push the tension out of my body. “You.”

  Elizabeth Connors stood nearby, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised. “Don’t sound so excited.”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  Elizabeth shrugged. “Free country. I can go where I want.” Her gaze drifted over my shoulder. “What were you and Dylan arguing about?”

  “Nothing that concerns you,” I snapped.

  Something passed across Elizabeth’s face. Disappointment or regret, something that made her mouth turn down quickly before it was replaced by her usua
l sneer.

  “I thought you weren’t talking to me,” I said.

  Elizabeth tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m sure he’s thrilled you’re back. Dylan probably hoped you’d disappear in the Bermuda Triangle, so he could have Mara all to himself. Don’t you think they were pretty cozy here, all alone without you and your little sister to keep them company? To keep watch over them?” She smiled wickedly. “What kind of trouble do you think Dylan might have gotten himself into during his summer vacation if you had never come back?”

  I wouldn’t let Elizabeth see what effect her words had on me. I knew her game. I had seen her play it too many times.

  “Why aren’t you calling him Fish Boy?” I asked.

  Elizabeth blinked quickly, her sneer wiped away. “What?”

  “I’ve never heard you call Dylan by his name,” I said, narrowing my eyes at her. “You never call any of the finfolk by their names.”

  Elizabeth glared at me, her hair whipping around her head in the breeze. Fallen leaves and bits of trash tumbled down the street around her as she glared at me.

  “You should have stayed gone,” she spat at me before turning and marching away.

  * * *

  Since I was already out in town, I walked farther north along Heron Avenue to the squat blue building that served as the Sand Dollar Restaurant and Inn.

  The sign was turned to the OPEN side, so I pushed on the glass paneled door and stepped inside the dimly lit room. Large windows lined the walls, but the sky outside was so gray and cloudy that there wasn’t much sunlight filtering into the dining room. There were no customers at the tables, so the bell on the door jingled in the silent room as I entered.

  The swinging door to the kitchen opened and my former boss, Mr. Jasper, strode into the room. He was a older man, with thick gray hair and deep lines in his face. Those lines deepened as he spotted me, his mouth turned into a frown.

  “What’re you doing here?” he growled, his dark eyes looking me up and down.

  “I came back yesterday,” I said.

  “So I heard.” Mr. Jasper crossed his arms. “We’re not hiring, so don’t think you can get your job back.”

  I didn’t expect to. I had left without notice, and I had figured that bridge was long burned.

  “I didn’t come for my job,” I said. “I came to talk to you.”

  Mr. Jasper turned toward the kitchen. “I have nothing to say to you,” he growled as he disappeared through the door. It swung back and forth a few times, making a soft swishing sound in the silence.

  I couldn’t say I was surprised at this reaction. Mr. Jasper was never a very warm person, and I knew that he didn’t like finfolk very much. Now that he knew what I was, he would never welcome me with open arms.

  The kitchen was cold and quiet when I stepped through the door. My sneakers squeaked on the tiled floor. Usually, the kitchen at the Sand Dollar was full of activity, pots and pans cooking on stoves and chefs dashing back and forth. But today, it was still. The only person in the room was Luis, the head chef who usually worked alone only during the off-season. For the summer, there should have been at least four cooks with him, helping to manage the rush of tourists.

  Luis lifted his head from a magazine spread open on the counter in front of him. He studied me, but didn’t speak.

  “Hi,” I said at last. “Bet you didn’t expect to see me again.”

  Luis shrugged. “I figured you’d come back eventually. Mr. Jasper hoped otherwise, I think.”

  I glanced at the door in the corner that led to the offices, where Mr. Jasper had probably escaped to avoid me. “I see he hasn’t changed much since I’ve been gone,” I said.

  “What did you expect?” Luis asked. “You disappeared without notice. You not only left your mother, but you left your job. And then Mr. Jasper heard what people were saying about you, about what you really are. You lied to him, for a long time. He had respected you, Josh. You were a hard worker, a good young man. Now he doesn’t know who you are.”

  “I’m still the same person I’ve always been,” I said. “Finfolk or human, I’m still me.”

  Luis looked at me for a moment. Then he pressed his lips together in a straight line and shook his head. “I don’t know if that’s true.”

  I sighed. I didn’t come here to argue with anyone or defend what I’d done five months ago. There were more important things to worry about.

  “Have you heard what’s going on?” I asked. “What’s coming?”

  “Those creatures that people say are coming?” He nodded curtly and snapped his magazine shut. “I’ve heard.”

  Luis wasn’t a native Swanser. He had grown up in Texas and had only moved to Swans Landing about three years ago. Until now, I wasn’t even sure that he knew about finfolk. It wasn’t something that people talked often about with outsiders. Even though he’d been here for a while now, Luis would always be a Woodser, an outsider, in most people’s eyes.

  “You need to listen to it and take it seriously,” I told him. “These people aren’t going to care who they have to hurt to get what they want. They’re dangerous and they know how to do things that you can’t fight against.”

  Luis narrowed his eyes. “If these people are finfolk, like you, then why are you warning me about them? Shouldn’t you stick with your own kind?”

  My lip curled in disgust. “They are not my kind. These people are completely different from the finfolk here in Swans Landing. I’m not like them.”

  Luis stood, his eyebrows raised. “You lie, you hurt people. Seems that you’re not that much different.”

  I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t deny what Luis had said. I had lied, to a lot of people. And I had hurt more people than I’d ever wanted to.

  But I was not like Domnall. I knew that deep in my gut. I would never be like him. I would never hurt people the way he did to get what I wanted.

  “I should go,” I said.

  Luis nodded. “You probably should.”

  At the door, I paused, my hand on the painted wood. I looked back at Luis, who was now polishing utensils by the stove.

  “Please just be careful,” I said. “And keep an eye on Mr. Jasper.”

  Then I pushed the door open and left the kitchen, walking across the silent dining room to the front door of the Sand Dollar. I had done what I could to help the humans of Swans Landing, but I hoped it would be enough.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Sailor inspected a jar of pickles and then tossed it into the basket she had set on the floor by her feet. “Do you like olives?” she asked me.

  “Not really.” I leaned against the shelf of ketchup and other condiments and sighed. “Sailor, are you even listening to me?”

  “No,” she said, sticking her tongue out at me. She nudged the basket with her foot, moving it down the aisle to the display of rice and pasta. The basket was already nearly overflowing and it didn’t look like she was done shopping yet. The cabinets at Miss Gale’s house were looking pretty empty, most likely due to the fact that Miss Gale hadn’t left her house in months.

  “You need to talk to Dylan,” I told her again. “He’s upset about you bringing Callum back with you. I think you should go talk to him about it.”

  Sailor shrugged. “It’s not my problem if he’s jealous now. He didn’t care to take notice of me all these years. I moved on and found someone else. If he doesn’t like it, whatever. I don’t care.” But the edge to her voice told me she did care, even as she scowled at a bag of white rice before tossing it into the basket too.

  “Look,” I said, “it’s not my business who you want to be with. If it’s Dylan or Callum, that’s up to you. I’m not getting into the middle of your relationships. But there’s something bigger at stake here, and we all need to work together if we want to survive. So you need to talk to Dylan and get him to trust that Callum is on our side. I’m afraid of what might happen if we start fighting with each other.”

  Sailor sighed. “I’ll try to talk to hi
m. But I can’t make any promises that he’ll listen. Dylan can be stubborn sometimes, when he wants to be.”

  “Tell me about it,” I muttered. “You’re not the one who had to go out on watch with him this morning. I’m glad Lake agreed to let me go alone next time.”

  “When are you on duty again?” Sailor asked.

  I looked up at the dusty old clock hanging over the door of Moody’s Variety Store. “Half an hour,” I said. “I’ll be there until tonight. So you don’t have to worry about me for dinner.”

  Sailor frowned. “I’m not worried about feeding you. You’re welcome to what we have. Jim told me to take what we need.”

  “It’s all right,” I said. “I’m used to not eating much. I can survive on peanut butter sandwiches, remember?”

  Sailor made a face and I laughed. She had probably had enough peanut butter sandwiches while we were in Scotland to last her the next year.

  The bell over the door jingled and we both turned to see who had come in. Mr. Connors stood in the doorway, his dark eyes locked on us.

  “Tell me Elizabeth’s not with him,” Sailor muttered, turning back toward the shelf in front of her.

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “But he’s bad enough by himself.”

  I hoped Mr. Connors would go on about his business, but his heavy footsteps on the wooden floor sounded as if they were coming straight for us. He stopped only a few steps away and I felt his eyes scanning the two of us.

  “Shopping?” Mr. Connors said. “I thought your kind liked to just steal the catches right out of my crab pots. Easy dinner for you, right?”

  Ignore him, I thought, trying to send a silent message to Sailor. She seemed to be unusually interested in a jar of spaghetti sauce.

  “I got a visitor this morning,” Mr. Connors said. “That fool guidance counselor from your school. Seems you all brain-washed him into believing your stories about bad finfolk coming to take over. He tried to tell me not to go out on my boat anymore. Like I have a choice. I don’t fish, my family ain’t got no food. Not that it matters, with your kind stealing my catches anyway.”