Deep Betrayal Page 0,21

usual,” I said. I opened my closet door to see if Calder was hiding inside, but it was empty save for a musty cardboard box full of vintage band T-shirts. I noticed that someone had pulled my Lady of Shalott dress off its hanger and thrown it in the wastebasket. Apparently, the dress raised too many painful memories for Calder. As much as I wanted to keep it, and as much as I didn’t like people telling me what to do, I left it where it lay. It was a small price to pay.

“It’s been coming on slowly all year,” Gabby said. “Dad was pissed enough when Jack didn’t go on to college last fall … spending all day on the lake … but the last couple of months have been bad. At first, I thought it was because all his friends had moved on while he stayed back. But that was his choice, right? That shouldn’t make him act so crazy. Then I thought it was because you left. I thought maybe he liked you even more than I thought.”

“Yeah, that’s not it,” I said. “He’s just being stupid.”

“No, I know it’s not you now,” Gabby said. “It’s this mermaid obsession. It used to be kind of quirky. Now it’s getting embarrassing. Did you hear my dad say that Jack went to the police?”

“What for?”

“He told them the town needed to set up a night-watch group.” She paused, waiting for me to catch up, but I was already two steps ahead.

“An armed patrol.” She lowered her voice. “He’s telling anyone who will listen that mermaids are killing people out on the lake.”

That’s rich, I thought. Apparently he’s forgotten that the last kill on the lake was at his hands. I got down on my knees and looked under the bed.

“Jack refused to leave the station until someone took him seriously. They had to call my dad to come down and get him. Chief Eaton is one of my dad’s best friends. Super embarrassing. What are you looking for?”

“Oh, um, I lost something,” I said. “An earring.”

“Let me help you. Was it special?”

“Very,” I said, noticing for the first time that the screen was off the window.

Later that night, rain splattered against my open windowsill. Calder was out there somewhere. I wondered if he was cold. I wondered if he’d found shelter for the night. Dad came into my darkened room and stood by the side of my bed. I pretended to be asleep, but he knew I was faking.

“Lily, we need to talk to you.”

We? I turned over quickly to find Calder standing in the dark, behind my dad’s shoulder, staring down at me with serious eyes. I pulled the blankets tight around me.

“I’m going to give this a go,” Dad said. “See if there’s any truth to what you’ve told me.”

“Yeah, Dad. Okay.”

“Tonight,” he said.

“Wait? What? Without me?”

“Lily,” Calder said, drawing closer. “Is that really something you want to watch?”

When he said it like that, when I thought about all that a transformation would require, I cringed. No. He was right. I didn’t need to see that.

“Our first step,” Calder said, “is to see if Jason can, in fact, transform.”

So it’s Jason now?

He glanced at my dad. “If he can—and I don’t doubt that for a second—then we’ll have to start training right away. He needs to know how to scramble his thoughts if Maris and Pavati can hear him, and he needs to know how to defend himself if they can’t. Well, he should really know how to do that either way. He’s not going to be able to stay out of the water—like you are.” He looked at me hard to remind me of my promise. “So we’re going to start training immediately.”

“Train?” My voice was a whisper. “How long will you be gone?” I asked, dreading where this was going. The feeling of abandonment trickled through my chest, and I braced myself against their answer.

Dad paced back and forth at the end of my bed. “I can’t stand it any longer, not knowing. I’ve got to stretch my … I’ve got to go. For just a little while.”

“Tell me how long you’re going to be gone,” I demanded.

“It’s just for a little while,” Calder said.

“But I haven’t seen you in over a month!” I hated how hysterical I sounded, but I couldn’t help it. This was unfair, and Calder didn’t seem to care at all.

“Lil,” he said, bowing his head.

Dad stepped closer again. “I told