Always Remembered (31 page)

She had a point. Evan was surprised that
Deanna hadn’t contacted him yet. Ken must know by now that they
were gone.

“We need to train together,” she said. “And
you need to see what our people have learned.”

David looked like he was going to protest,
but Angus stood and moved to Meara’s side, placing his hand on her
shoulder. “Listen to her, David. Meara has been guiding our people
in your absence. You owe it to her to see what she has done.”

“Very well,” David relented with a small
smile.

If Evan had to guess, Meara’s father was
humoring her. If she thought so too, she did a good job ignoring
it. She turned to address the room. The Selkies watched her
expectantly.

“It is time to train,” she said. “But first,
I would like for you to demonstrate your skills to David. Let us go
to the shore for practice.”

The crowd filed out of the room. Meara
followed them, so Evan and the others followed her. Angus walked
alongside David. Evan couldn’t hear what the old man was saying,
but he assumed Angus counseled David on what happened while he was
gone.

When they got outside, the Selkies were in
the water, wading no more than waist deep.

“What is this?” David asked. “I forbade
swimming.”

“They’re not swimming.” Meara’s voice was
calm as she reasoned with her father. “We discovered that a few
minutes in the water restores our energy levels and helps with
training. They’ll be out soon.”

David studied his daughter thoughtfully. Evan
could guess why. How was it that Meara, who spent most of her life
as a human, discovered something about Selkies that no one else
knew before? Sure enough, a few minutes later the Selkies returned
to land. They lined up in a neat formation. It was obvious that
they had been practicing.

“What should we demonstrate first?” Meara
asked Kieran.

“Hand combat,” he answered immediately.

“Very good.” She faced the crowd. “We’ll
begin with hand combat. Pair off.”

The Selkies spread out in pairs. They fought
with skill and grace. Their moves were a mixture of martial arts
and kickboxing. David walked through the training area, observing
his people. By the expression on his face, Evan thought he was
impressed.

“Stop!” Meara called and the teams halted,
bowing respectfully to each other. “Switch partners.”

They switched and resumed fighting. This
happened three more times. Meara clearly wanted to prove their
skill and show that they could fight more than one opponent. After
almost an hour of training, the Selkies were not even winded.

“Take a break,” Meara told them. “Weapons
next.”

The Selkies returned to the water, again
going no further than their waists. When they came out, they
bounced around energetically. The water appeared to restore their
strength and vitality.

Meara and Kieran held hands and closed their
eyes. A buzz of magical energy filled the air, causing the hairs on
Evan’s arms to rise. What were they doing? He found out a moment
later when a pile of weapons appeared in front of them.

“Choose your weapon and begin,” Meara
commanded.

The fighting seemed chaotic at first, but
then Evan saw what was happening. The Selkies were divided into
reds and blues. The fight mimicked a true battle, so rather than
one on one, the ratio was often one to several. They handled the
weapons well. How had Meara taught them to fight like this in such
a short amount of time? Where had she learned these moves?

“Stop!” David’s voice rose above the clatter.
“I have seen enough for now. Your skill is impressive and rivals
that of my guard.”

Meara stepped forward and bowed to her
father. Such a formal show of respect was out of character for her.
“Dad, if you please, I would like to show you one more thing.”

“We really should be moving along,” he
said.

“Please?” She fixed him with a challenging
gaze, and her jaw was set. “It’s important.”

“Very well,” he relented and stepped back
again.

With a grin, Meara turned back to the group.
“It’s time,” she called. “Show David what you’ve got.”

The Selkies set down their weapons and held
their hands in front of them, palms up. To Evan, it looked like
they were getting ready to meditate or pray. Then, one by one, a
ball of light appeared, floating above their open hands. Each
Selkie seemed to have its own unique color.

“What the—?” David sputtered. “How is this
possible?”

“All Selkies can do magic.” Kieran smiled
proudly at Meara. “They just needed someone to show them how.”

Meara looked uncertain as she watched her
father’s reaction. She gasped in surprise when he picked her up and
spun her around. “I underestimated you,” he said once he placed her
back on her feet. “I was impressed with the combat and weaponry,
but this. This is truly amazing. How did you know?”

“I didn’t.” She shrugged. “I took a
chance.”

Evan started when he realized Vesh was at his
side. “You broke up with her?” Vesh asked.

“Yeah.”

“You’re an idiot.” Vesh threw his arm around
Evan’s shoulder. “But you’re a lucky idiot, since you managed to
snag Deanna on the rebound.”

“I think she caught me,” Evan said,
remembering how strongly Deanna came onto him at first.

“Like I said, you’re lucky.” Vesh turned Evan
slightly, angling his head toward the petite redhead. “What do you
know about her?”

“Ula?” Evan asked. He was surprised Vesh was
asking. After seeing Vesh with the Sirens, Ula didn’t seem like his
type.

“Yeah. She’s spunky. I like that.”

“Ula is great,” Evan said. “She’s good
friends with Meara. She also happens to be David’s youngest
sister.”

“Ah.” Vesh pulled on the ring in his brow and
bit his lip. Then, his mouth broke into a wide grin. Evan knew he
loved a challenge. “Tread lightly, then?”

“Up to you.” Evan shrugged. “But I
would.”

David called them over. “We need to train
together. You’ve seen what our people can do. What’s the best way
to proceed?”

“I can explain some things about our kind,”
Vesh offered. “If you like.”

“Please,” David said. “We need all the
knowledge we can get.” He motioned that Vesh had the floor.

“The Blue Men of the Minch are not a violent
people.” Vesh raised his voice and addressed the crowd. His
statement was met with murmurs of disbelief. “It’s true. When our
mother, our queen, was alive, we lived in peaceful isolation. This
peaceful existence ended when a Selkie entered our territory. Some
of my brethren believe that he killed our queen. They are poisoned
with anger and vengeance.”

“Which Selkie was it?” a man yelled.

At the same time, a female voice asked, “Did
he?”

Arren’s voice was the loudest. “Did the
Selkie kill your queen?”

“No.” Meara moved beside Vesh and spoke
before he could. “The queen mother’s name was Azuria. She contacted
me and showed me the truth. Azuria and Zane were in love. He died
when she tried to turn him so that they could be together. She
killed herself because she was overcome with grief.”

The crowd was silent. Meara squeezed Vesh’s
arm reassuringly, and then stepped back next to Kieran. He put his
arm around her and pulled her close. Evan had to give the Selkie
credit. Kieran took care of Meara. It was obvious that he loved
her.

Vesh broke the silence and continued, “Ken,
my eldest brother, is in charge. He bends the will of those who
don’t agree with him. Most of the Blue Men are under his control,
as are many of the Sirens. Evan can tell you about Ken’s plans.
Evan?”

Vesh looked at him expectantly, as did almost
one hundred other pairs of eyes. Evan hated public speaking.
Already, he was breaking out in a cold sweat. The only thing that
propelled him to the front of the group was the fact that this
information was necessary. The Selkies needed to know what they
would be facing.

“There is a mantle plume off the northern
coast of Scotland. Ken is feeding his power into the volcanic
activity, causing it to fissure and grow. He is moving the fault
toward your island. His goal is to sink your home and burn you all
in a fiery bath of lava.”

“Meara and I have seen the destruction,”
Kieran said. “The damage must be contained.”

“This sounds hopeless,” a young woman
shouted. “What do you expect us to do?”

“Fight,” Vesh said. “Protect your home. We
are going to show you how to defeat our kind. To do this, we must
change. Do not be alarmed.”

Vesh, Dex, and Slate transformed into their
blue state. Evan couldn’t. It was one thing to transform his hand,
another to change completely. He was too worried that he would be
stuck again. Vesh gave him a look of disappointment, but otherwise
ignored him.

“This is our normal form,” Vesh said. “We
have incredible strength and endurance. We can breathe on land and
under water. Our nails are sharp like daggers, as are our teeth.
Avoid both in battle. Our skin is tough and difficult to penetrate,
however, if you strike here—” He pointed to a spot on Slate below
his ribs on the right side. “Front or back, the blow will be
lethal. Remember, it must be on the right side.”

He turned to Dex and tilted his head,
exposing the gills on the side of Dex’s neck. “You can also stab
through the gills. It is not fatal, but the pain is debilitating.
Because it takes weeks for us to recover from this injury, it’s an
effective way to neutralize us.”

With a frown, Vesh glanced at the Selkies
before him. “I have just told you our two greatest weaknesses. I
trust you not to attack the four of us as we stand with you. When
possible, I would prefer that you neutralize the Blue Men and not
kill them. As I said, many are not in control of their own
will.”

Somewhere in the back, a Selkie started to
clap, others joined in, and soon, they were all cheering.

“Thank you,” David said, patting Vesh on the
back. “You are a true friend.”

An icy dagger of pain pierced Evan’s skull.
The Selkies’ cheers became muffled noise in the background. He was
aware of dropping to his knees, and Dex and Meara rushing to his
side.

My son.
Ken’s angry voice thundered
through his head, increasing the pain tenfold. Evan whimpered and
fell to his side.
Your betrayal will be your death.

Evan saw an army of Blue Men swimming toward
the island with Ken in the lead. They were close. Too close. Evan
took a ragged breath and sat up. The pain vanished, but not the
vision. The island was split in half, the ground stained red and
strewn with the slaughtered bodies of Selkies. He knew his face
must reflect the horror he felt. Staring into Meara’s bewildered
eyes, he reached for her hand, clasping it between his own.

“We are out of time,” he rasped. “They’re
coming.”

My heart froze at Evan’s words. It was really happening. Ken and
his minions were on their way to destroy us. While Dex helped Evan
to his feet, I ran to tell my dad.

“Go to the highest point on the cliff,” he
said, addressing Kieran, Uncle Angus, Ula, and me. “As soon as you
see something, contact me.”

He crossed to Aunt Brigid and a few of his
guard, presumably to strategize. A moment later, he ordered
everyone back to the fortress. “It will be easier to spot our
attackers from high ground,” he said. “Surround the castle and keep
a lookout. I don’t want to be caught off guard.”

“Sir.” Vesh stepped forward and bowed
slightly. “With all due respect, won’t your wards keep the island
hidden?”

“They should,” Dad consented. “But I don’t
trust them in this situation. The wards were not meant to block out
natural elements. If the fissure from the mantle plume has been
directed at us, Ken and his followers will be able to track it,
effectively neutralizing our defenses.”

At those words, chaos broke out around us as
the terrified clan raced to follow my dad’s orders. Faces were
stricken with panic and fear.

This is it,
I said to Kieran.
Are
you ready?

He warmed my ice-cold fingers between his
hands. I calmed at his strong and steady touch.
As ready as I
can be,
he said
.

Wrapping my arms around his waist, I rested
my head against his chest. I needed this moment of sanity even as
all hell was breaking loose. His heartbeat was fast, but steady.
When I raised my head, he brushed my lips with a tender kiss.

I love you, Meara. We’ll get through
this
.

I prayed he was right, but all I said was
I love you, too
. With a sigh, I stepped back and took his
hand.
We should get into position.

We transported to the top of the cliffs.
Uncle Angus and Ula were already there, searching the white-capped
waves for a sign of anything unusual. From our vantage point, I
could see Dad and Aunt Brigid leading the ranks. They calmed the
masses. Brigid’s commanding voice could be heard on the wind,
motivating the meekest of the fighters. The guard and four Blue Men
would provide protection around the exterior, which allowed the
less-skilled fighters to stay in the middle of the pack for
protection.