was different than anywhere else I’d been. Neither cold nor warm, it felt—if it was possible—alive. I could recognize each molecule individually as it bumped and trembled along the length of my limbs. The humming made the water feel dry, as if a thin layer of air outlined my body.
The only disruption to the steady vibration was when Calder shot through the water and exploded in silver shards of light. I shielded my eyes, feeling shrapnel of pure energy penetrate my skin. When I dared to look, Calder was inches from my face.
His hand slipped behind my neck and he kissed me hard, crushing his lips to mine. Only then did I truly feel what he’d been trying to tell me before. To lose him now would be impossible to bear.
Calder pulled back from the kiss and unsheathed the dagger. He held it firmly in his hand and pulled me along beside him toward the source of the heat.
As we dove deeper, the water swirled into unnatural patterns of lilac and green, and then intensified by the fathom to violet and jade. As the color deepened, my skin burned. The vibrations burrowed deep into my flesh, making their way into my bloodstream and racing for my heart. What was this place? There were no underwater landmarks; the surface seemed miles away. The sun was nothing more than a pinprick from another galaxy, and still I had no need for air.
Calder led me on, nearing the lake floor, to a large boulder, which hummed like a beehive. As we closed in, Calder abruptly dropped my hand and put on the brakes, skittering backward a few strokes before hesitating and leaning forward again. He reached, hands trembling, toward the boulder.
It was black and lichen green with coppery flecks, oval in shape, like the deformed egg of some prehistoric bird. When his fingers met the boulder’s surface, he jerked his hand back and studied his fingers. He touched the boulder again, caressing it along its humped back. Then his shoulders slumped.
Calder let his hands gently follow the smooth surface, investigating all sides. He pressed both hands against it and pushed. It was as big as my twin bed, so I was surprised by how easily it rolled. Calder treated it gently, respectfully, letting it rest on its side. It was so light, so delicate, I wondered why it didn’t float.
Calder spread his arms wide, slid them under the boulder, and carried it to the surface. I followed him, quickly retracing the trail we’d taken down. When I emerged from the water, I sucked greedily at the air, taking my first breaths since leaving the boat. I didn’t even want to think about how long it had been.
Calder dropped the dagger onto the floor of the boat and rolled the boulder gently onto the swim deck. But it was no boulder. The boat barely acknowledged the extra weight.
Calder watched my face closely as I drew my finger over its porous surface. After only a few seconds of examination, I began to see the line of an arm, the curve of a knee, the turn of a face, although the features were long since lost. It was more human than animal, but more stone than human. Looking at it now, in this fetal position, curled like a sleeping giant, I knew it was ridiculous to think she could have ever been responsible for the attacks. Even in her dark stony corpse, I knew she was a peaceful thing.
“It’s her?” I whispered, afraid my voice would wake it.
“Yes.”
“Is she asleep?”
“No,” Calder said, and there was a deep mourning in his voice that was beyond even what I was feeling. “Maighdean Mara isn’t the killer. She didn’t leave the cave to fend for herself. She left the cave to die.”
“What killed her?” I asked.
“We all did,” Calder said, and tears welled in his eyes. “Neglect.”
“We need to put her back,” I said. “She belongs in the lake.”
I rolled her off the swim deck and into Calder’s arms. He returned her to her resting place while I climbed into the boat and retrieved Dr. Coyote’s pennies. I dropped them one by one into the water and watched as they chased Maighdean Mara all the way to the bottom.
34
DEFEAT
It was a quiet three hours back to Bayfield. There would be another attack, another body. What did it matter if it was someone I didn’t know? Whoever it was, it would be someone else’s best friend or neighbor, sister or