Descendant (Nichole Giles) by Nichole Giles

Author:Nichole Giles
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing
Published: 2013-04-27T05:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

Mermaids and Symbols

“Yes, and he called me Raina,” I say. “He’s obviously confused.”

Kye squeezes his eyes closed and takes a deep breath. “You know what? We have enough to worry about. Right now, we should concentrate on tracking down that Key.”

Part of me wants to pursue his thoughts, find out why he looks so devastated, but instinct tells me to let it drop for now. He’s right about needing to focus on the task at hand. Finding the remaining Keys is starting to feel like a race.

The cab drops us at Battery Park, where Kye gets us tickets for the next ferry. We have thirty minutes to wander the park, hunched against a chilly breeze that’s blowing off the river. We have our picture taken with a person dressed as the Statue of Liberty, and I buy two “I ♥ NY” T-shirts. It would be a crime to leave here without one for each of us, and I want tangible proof of where we’ve been, what we’ve done. Something to prove that this experience was real. We run onto the ferry, laughing, and elbow our way to the front, dropping our bags at our feet.

Kye stands behind me, arms braced on either side of my waist, hands on the rails. The wind sends my hair flying, so he catches it and tucks it in the neck of my coat, leaning his chin on my shoulder while we watch the great American icon growing larger. My eyes drift closed as I breathe in the salty air. Kye breathes too, but his nose is in my neck. I cringe, realizing I haven’t showered since yesterday. He doesn’t seem to mind, though, and replaces his nose with his lips for a too-short second.

Before long, I’m aware of an eerie ringing that sounds almost melodic. At first I think it’s a police siren, but then the pitch changes. It reminds me of the faerie song we heard in the forest.

“What is that?”

“There must be mermaids in the river.”

We’re surrounded by people, but none of them act like they hear anything unusual. On our right, something resembling a fin catches my eye. “Look.”

Kye grins. “Shall we see if they’ll wave?”

“Is that a good idea?”

His breath is warm on my neck. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“All these people. Don’t you think it would be kind of a big deal if the general public were to see a mermaid? The story would be headlined for weeks.”

He presses closer, wrapping his arms around my middle. “Unless they’ve eaten faery food or have a specialized Gift, they can’t see her. Only those who possess certain magics can see magical creatures—well, most of them. Our eyes have an extra sensitivity that others don’t.” He pauses, and I think about Finn stopping the bus in Yellowstone. How no one noticed him. I thought that was Mr. Akers’s doing, but maybe not.

Kye cups his hands around his mouth and makes a strange, deep-throated noise to answer the mermaid’s song. Something blue bobs in the water.

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