Forever (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, #5)(62)

Nan started to tear up and nodded. “Yes! After weeks of nothing, we finally hear from her.”

“Does she want us to come back? Is it safe to bring Charlie home?” Brody glanced at Nan and then refocused on the road.

Nan peeked into the back seat where Charlie was fast asleep in what looked like a bed of comics. Mina could just make out a white bag with golden arches.

“No Brody, it’s not safe. It’s was a warning. He’s coming for us.”

“Well, what do we do? She must have given us some instructions other than that.”

Nan bit her lip and pulled out a map out of the glove compartment. “She studied it for a second. We need to get off of this exit here and take this interstate south. If we hurry, we can get there by tomorrow night.”

“Are you sure about this, Nan?” he reached out to cup her cheek. “You trust this message? It could be a trap.” The look he gave her was one of affection, and Mina only felt the slightest bit hurt.

Nan covered Brody’s hand against her face and threaded her fingers through his, bringing it down to her lap. “Positive. That was Mina. She even spoke in code. Not very good code, but there were enough clues that only she would have known. We’re going to San Francisco.”

“That’s hours away!”

“Then we better start driving.”

Brody adjusted the rearview mirror. “You’re sure we’re no longer safe?”

“Not on our own anymore. We need Mina.”

“Then we’ll go.” Gravel crunched under his tires as he pulled the car over. He waited for traffic to pass and then did a U-turn.

Nan gazed fondly at sleeping Charlie. “Did you hear that, bud?” she whispered. “We’re going to find your sister.”



***



Mina woke up to the swaying of the boat. Ever and Nix had left, and she was the only one sleeping. She carefully crawled out of the hammock and placed her feet on the floor. If she could believe her dreams, then Nan had gotten her message, and they were on their way. But how long before they made it here? It would help if she had a clue whether the dream was of the future or the past. She rubbed her temples to try to make sense of it.

Her stomach growled, and she realized it had been a while since she had eaten real food. She went above deck and saw that most of the sirens were diving off the ship into the water. Kino appeared to be hosting a contest.

Ever sat as judge, calling out scores for each of the participants. Kino went to the side rail and did a forward somersault.

“Nine!” Ever yelled.

Nix was up next. He crawled onto the railing, turned to face her, and blew her a kiss. He jumped and executed a backward tuck, his head just missing the railing.

Ever jumped up and cheered when he appeared above the water. “Ten, ten, ten!”

“Maybe I need to flirt with the judge more.” Kino laughed and flicked water at Nix.

A shadow passed over Mina.

“You’ve seen him, your brother, in your dreams,” Winona said from a few steps above her, her arm wrapped around Ternan’s waist. “I can tell. You seemed more relaxed.”

“Yes, they’re coming. I don’t know when, but they’re coming.”

Ternan answered, “Which means they may lead trouble right to us.”

“Well, what would you have me do?”

“Nothing,” Ternan said. “We wouldn’t have it any other way. We can handle trouble, but I think you need to start figuring out your gifts with your grandmother now, while I show these guppies how it’s done.” He grinned, pulled off his blue jacket, tossed the hat to the ground, and jumped up on the railing.

All of the jostling and cheering and calls stopped, everyone’s eyes on the King of the Sirens. Ternan raised his hands above his head, the scars even lighter than the siren tattoos on his tanned arms in the sunlight.

Mina let out a sound of surprise as the ship shifted on the water and rose high into the air, creating an even greater distance to the water.

Ternan rose to his tiptoes, bent his knees, and jumped into the air, doing a reverse three-and-a-half somersault with a half twist.

“Show off,” Winona chuckled and nudged Mina in the arm. “Do you want to have a try?”

Mina shook her head violently. “No, I’ve had enough of the water.”

Her grandmother frowned. “It seems you’ve been dark water bitten.”

“What?”

“It means you have a fear of deep water.”

“Well, you’re probably right. The last few times I’ve had to swim underwater have been traumatizing.”

“Maybe one day you’ll get over your fear.”

“Maybe.”

“So tell me what you’ve been experiencing or what you can do so far.”

“I’m not sure exactly what I’m able to do. Most of the things I’ve ever done have been on accident or tied to extreme heightened emotion. I caused a car accident, shifted or changed items, created the Grimoire, and took control of the mind of a giant. Charlie, who never spoke until Mom died, all of a sudden can open his mouth and cause mass destruction. My gifts seem to be a mess.”

“Well, the two of you have very different gifts—but important ones. Charlie’s gift is very rare—it’s known as the call. When angry or afraid, a siren who has this gift can open his mouth and destroy whole ships with the vibration of his vocal chords alone. We usually try not to have more than one calling siren in a group at any one time. For instance, Kino is the only siren on this ship that has the power to call. Any more than that, and if tempers flared, we’d be adrift at sea. Now, mind you, we are creatures of the sea, but we enjoy riding in a grand Fae vessel.”