Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,103

the pier? Or the water?” he asked with serious eyes.

“Don’t worry about me! I’ll stay on the beach,” I smiled wryly, “I’m pretty sure they can’t flop themselves onto the sand to get me.”

We both laughed at the thought, and Ethan took my face between his hands and kissed me. I blushed, embarrassed with all the people around, watching him head out into the ocean with his surfboard. I looked over to see the girls staring at me with their mouths hanging open.

I wished I’d thought to bring a book.

I focused all my attention on the surfers. The waves at this beach were much bigger than where I’d had my surfing lesson, and there were some spectacular rides. I fought an overpowering urge to be out there, rising and falling with the ocean swells. I saw a girl surfing that looked like Shayla, and she was really good. I felt another twinge of jealousy and wished even more that I could be out on the sea with them. I could imagine how it felt and smelled and tasted. I closed my eyes and visualized the water rushing by.

My daydreams were interrupted by the sounds of giggles and I looked up to see one of the girls mimicking me to the great amusement of the rest. Heather was the only one I knew, but I recognized a few others from school. I tried my best to ignore them. I focused on watching Ethan surf and was impressed by his obvious skill. He was clearly better than everyone else; I could see why they all treated him with respect.

I could hear the girls making fun of my boots, and had to admit they were out of place on a beach. I wished I could put my toes in the sand, or better yet, the sea. I couldn’t stop thinking about surfing. My mouth went dry and I started to feel lightheaded. I rubbed my eyes to clear the fog, eliciting a fresh round of laughter from the girls. I gritted my teeth, realizing I had to get out of there before I lost control and snapped at them.

I decided to walk down the beach a little bit. My feet still hurt, but if I walked slowly it wasn’t too bad. I got far enough away to where I couldn’t hear them, but I could still keep an eye on Ethan. I was focused, watching his every move when I heard a little cry. It sounded like an infant, and I looked down to see the most adorable baby sea lion. It looked up at me with its liquid eyes, and let out another plaintive bawl.

“Do you want your mother?” I asked it, looking around.

It wailed again, a heartbreaking sound that made me want to scoop it up and cradle it. There were no other sea lions on the sand, but I could make out some shiny black heads bobbing in the surf. I bent to pick it up and it cried again, exposing its sharp little teeth. I decided against touching it, and tried to usher it back into the water, waving my arms and shooing it towards the surf.

The little guy started moving, humping his way across the dry sand towards where the foamy waves began. I heard another, louder bark and looked up to see several large sea lions had circled around behind me, cutting me off from the beach. They hissed and showed their teeth menacingly. At first I thought they were defending their baby, but I turned to see the little one had disappeared into the sea. More, and much larger, sea lions appeared to join their ranks, advancing on me.

I was being herded.

I tried screaming at them, waving my arms, but they kept creeping towards me. Within a minute they were in a semicircle two deep, making it impossible for me to run past them to get back to land. All I could see were flashing teeth; their barks drowned out the roar of the surf. I knew with a terrible certainty that the mermaids had put them up to this. I remembered Lorelei commanding them and felt the sting of betrayal.

My courage rose along with my anger and I stood my ground, kicking at them. Now they started shoving me, throwing their massive bulk into my legs and knocking me down onto the sand. Each time I stood up I was a little closer to the surf. Soon my boots were wet and the waves were