“I am fine, Zef. Thank you for your concern.”
“Of course, Syleen.”
When he didn’t adjust his pace to either speed in front of us or fall behind, Syleen looked at him once more.“I would appreciate time to speak to Brett on our own, if that suits you.”Again I detected irritation in her tone, clear enough I was certain I wasn’t imagining things, but it could still be about Zef or myself.“Besides, if you are really curious about what we are speaking, you only need to listen. It is not as if Brett has learned to speak in the way of adults as of yet.”
Surprisingly, his eyes flicked back to me for a third time, as if asking if I was willing to be left alone with Syleen. I gave him a smile and nod in response, shoving my annoyance aside. It was actually kind of him to check on me after Syleen’s open hostility. Especially right in front of her.
Without any other acknowledgment, he swam away.
Syleen turned her back on Zef’s retreating from.“I believe we were discussing your bloodline.”
I watched Zef for a moment longer before turning back to Syleen. I felt that something important had just transpired, but I had no idea what it might be, or even what was between Syleen and Zef, Zef and me, or some combination of the three of us.
“Uhm, yeah, we were.”I tore my gaze from Zef, focusing once again on Syleen.“We can talk about what you were wondering, though. About other possibilities for my fire and such.”
“No. It is fine.”She offered a rare smile.“I suppose if I were less than a year into learning about who I truly am, I would be thinking similar thoughts as you.”She glanced around at the surrounding members of the tribe, each caught up in their own conversations or content to travel on their own.“I also suppose that if anyone is paying attention to our conversation, it could be beneficial, since these may be questions many of them have about your presence among us.”
I followed her gaze around the tribe. How long was it going to take before I learned to direct my thoughts? Exactly how far did our words travel? Were all members of the tribe able to listen in, or was it dependent on their proximity to us?
“I would stress again that my logic may be ill formed, as I have limited exposure to demons, as well as all races that reside on land. That said, from what I know, demons are evil with no exception, as are their offspring for abundant generations. From what Therin has relayed of his conversations with you, your mother was a half-demon.”
I nodded, unwilling to speak, a little overwhelmed by the scientific coolness to the nature of my birth as well as the thought of Therin reporting on all of our talks over those many weeks.
Syleen continued,“I take it then that you are made up a quarter human, a quarter demon, and a half mer. Is there any other heritage in your blood?”
I gave a laugh and gestured to my body.“As far as I know, that’s it. I can’t imagine any more mythical creatures mixed up in here. Maybe part Pegasus or something? Maybe that three-headed dog thing.”
She ignored my attitude. We really must be progressing if she was finally able to resist rising to the bait.“Given that bloodline, you should be driven insane by the evil urges and desires within you.”
I waited for her to bring up homosexuality as evidence that some of those features did indeed exist inside of me. She didn’t.
“Since you are obviously not insane or evil, the only explanation that I can arrive at is the effect of the majority of mer blood in your veins.”
Again I waited for the punch line.Obviously not insane or evil? Since when? I thought those were probably her two favorite terms to describe me.
“Are you considering my words, or should I take your silence as an expression of disagreement?”
“Oh! No, I was just… I suppose your logic makes as much sense as anything I could come up with. I can’t see any other explanation, actually.”My attention was once again drawn to the other mers around us.“So, if mer blood has the effect of neutralizing the negative effects of my demon blood, does that mean mers are the opposite? Intrinsically good, without exception?”
Her face darkened.“I am attempting to try to understand you to a greater degree before continuing to take offense at your words. In that vein, I inquire to your intention. Are you truly seeking clarification in this question, or is your intent to offend and offer mockery?”
I blanched.“No! I’m really asking. How was I being offensive? Why would I?”
Her eyes narrowed, her tail ceasing its swimming and bringing her into an upright position. I followed her example. The mers behind us quickly came upon us but passed us without pause.“It is obvious that mers are not perfect examples of purity and good intent. Your question seems poised to point out our lack of perfection.”
How did I get myself into these conversations?“No, it just makes sense that in order to combat the intrinsically evil nature of demons, mer blood must be the opposite.”
Her eyes still narrowed in inspection, and she cocked her head.“I would think that our imperfections would be abundantly apparent to you.”
“Why?”
Her expression shifted to one of exasperated astonishment.“Your own father mating with a demon would infer a shortage of perfection, it seems to me. In addition, my own lack of acceptance and welcome to you would be a sign of that shortcoming as well.”
Maybe I was reading into it too much, but that might be the closest thing to an apology I was ever going to get from Syleen. I didn’t know how to respond, so I avoided it entirely.“Then how do you think mer blood is able to counteract demon blood?”
“I know not, but it appears that the evidence of that is before my eyes. Until another more likely cause arises, I am not consumed by such arrogance that I believe I have to understand truth in order to recognize it.”
I think the only thing she could have said that would have shocked me more would be if she suggested Wrell and I play seven minutes in heaven buried in the sand somewhere.
