Shattered by the Sea Lord - Starla Night Page 0,53
squids.”
Angie shook her head, hands on her grass dress-clad hips. “We hadn’t either.”
“There are some species,” Konomelu said. “But, yes, this is rare.”
The kids frolicked through the mess and tossed beached fish into the surf.
Dannika drained out the last of her water, finished coughing, and wiped her face. She asked Angie, “Does that happen often?”
“All the time,” Angie said.
Bex, sniffling from her shift, nodded.
“This is why, as nice as it would be to discover secret powers, I doubt it will ever be possible because my daughter can’t even enter the water.”
Chapter Twenty
They tried all morning to get Meg in the shallows, but the squids were too agitated. They even took a lunch break, and at the first attempt in the afternoon, Dannika managed to wade in unmolested and put up her shield. Meg snuck in, and the shield held okay.
Then the squids turned on Dannika, pinching and biting her, and the morning’s frustration repeated all over again.
The kids gave up in boredom and went their own ways on the island. Konomelu and Itime retired to a quieter section of the reef to hunt the evening’s dinner. The women did beach duty.
Meg collapsed on the white sand, chest heaving, tears and saltwater streaming sideways down her face, the flailing corpses of insistent squid-suiciders flopping around her.
“Why me?” she asked the cloudless white sky. “What did I ever do to you? Why am I the first sea horseman of the squidocalypse?”
Ciran had remained near. He flipped squids back into the surf, comfortably nude. “It is a mark of your power. If it was not so strong, you would not call them so fiercely.”
“Oh my God. You mean, that’s my queen power? I can summon a cloud of squids to attack me?”
“No.” He snorted. “What an odd power.”
“Hey, you’re the one telling me. I’m just Meg of the Squids over here.”
“Yes. What I meant was that you have a strong resonance. The other queens have an affinity for some sea creatures, but their connection is not as intense as yours. Once you control this and can swim in the water unmolested, we will discover which of the three powers you possess.”
“But we can’t find out because I can’t even get in the water. Argh.”
Dannika tossed in another wriggly rubber squid, doing her part to clean the beach. If she could just make a big enough shield to cover herself as well as Meg, this wouldn’t happen.
But she needed practice.
A lot of practice.
“Is there somewhere else we can go?” Dannika asked. “Somewhere that’s far from prying eyes and tentacles? Where we can get centered and explore our powers without fear?”
The trio of women looked at each other.
Bex stretched and straightened. “There is.”
“I’ll just stay here with Val and prepare dinner.” Angie brushed down her grass dress and retied her fashionable box-shaped hat.
“Mom,” Meg said in warning. “If I can brave squids, you can do this.”
“Of course, but someone should check on Val.”
“I’ll be fine.” Val waved. “Have fun.”
“See?” Meg grabbed Angie’s hand. “Come on.”
Angie let herself be dragged. “I’ll just be in everyone’s way.”
“Whine, whine, whine. You’d think the island would collapse if you didn’t plan four courses.”
“Well, I take my hostess duties seriously.”
“What about your duty to rescue Prince Ankena and Luk? Come on.”
Angie surrendered and walked away from the beach with only a few long-suffering sighs and a small, “You can’t complain if dinner isn’t up to its usual standard…”
“No one will complain if we have to eat squid jerky and sashimi. This is important. Let’s go.”
Dannika and Ciran followed the group up the headland trail back to the cavern lagoon.
Of course. What a perfect place to practice.
Ciran divested his clothes and dove in with a tiny splash.
Bex dropped her wrap and stepped off the ledge, disappearing into the water with a much bigger crash. Angie and Meg did the same. Meg had no hesitations, which just proved that she was afraid of the squids, not the water. Dannika took the longest tugging off her damp clothes, and then she splashed in.
Shifting was rough as ever. Dannika choked through it.
Bex paddled to Ciran. “Did you check the boulder?”
“It is in place.”
The women floated, ready to learn.
“The first step in developing your powers is to fully shift into mer.” Ciran swam back and forth in front of the four women, his long fins dangling in the quiet, shallow lagoon. “Can you transform?”
“We can make fins?” Angie squinted. “Just like the men?”
“Yes. What is your greatest level of transformation?”