“I can’t come with you,” he said. “But I can help you leave, if you decide to go.”
I searched his face. My heart swelled when I found the brother who’d disappeared from my life so long ago.
“Promise me one thing,” I said.
“Yes. I’ll come with you to Eriana Kwai after. To Mama and Papa.”
I smiled.
We finished making my crossbow and bolts, and I fired a few test shots into a stone face. It took me three shots before I got the aim right.
“Uh, not bad,” said Nilus with forced casualness.
I cast him a sideways grin as I lined up the fourth. “Don’t tell me I picked it up faster than you.”
He said nothing.
The weapon fired with surprising force considering the water resistance. My fifth bolt shattered into pieces on impact.
I slung my crossbow over my back and stuffed the pile of bolts into a quiver. Nilus made me take all of them, assuring me he would make himself more tomorrow.
I went to rescue an exasperated Lysi from Galene.
“You must get this all the time, but you have beautiful eyes, Lysithea.”
I stopped behind Galene. “Can I borrow my girlfriend, please?”
They turned, Lysi giving off a definite air of relief. She followed me without a word.
I pulled her into a divot between two boulders, glancing around to make sure no one was near.
“So,” I whispered. “How are we gonna get there?”
Lysi stared blankly. Then, slowly, her frown turned into a hint of a smile. “North is quickest.”
“Through the Arctic?”
Lysi nodded.
I imagined all the ice floes, blizzards, oil rigs, and gigantic creatures we’d have to face.
“You sure?”
She shrugged. “That’s how everyone got here from the Atlantic in the first place.”
I chewed my lip. I wasn’t trying to be difficult, but I wasn’t sure about crossing the Northwest Passage. I’d spent a unit of social studies learning how treacherous that was. Granted, that was for humans, not mermaids, but it still didn’t sound fun.
“Could we go south?”
“Medusa’s in the North Atlantic. Going around South America would take too long.”
“What about the Panama Canal?”
“You mean that man-made channel between North and South America? I’m sure that’ll go over well, a couple of sea demons gliding through. We’ll just ask nicely if they can let us pass and hope they don’t shoot us in the face.”
“All right, all right.”
“Besides, American vessels are waiting to blow us to pieces if we go south or west.”
