pulls me into a hug.
“I must be a dead man,” I say, because the vampire doesn’t hug.
“Not quite yet,” Fred says, eyeing Amada curiously. “But you will
be if you don’t get your folk out of my house.”
“They’re in your house?” My voice breaks. “I told Kai to bring
them here.”
Frederik tucks his black hair behind his ear. “In case you haven’t
noticed, the city has been evacuated because of the encroaching
hurricane, thanks to your kind. I couldn’t have them roaming the city.
Marty took one look at the blond merman and ushered them all into the
building.”
“I thought the Alliance was staying with you,” I point out.
Frederik nods coolly. “The space is big enough, but tempers will
get the best of our small army.”
I look up at the sky. Come on, Triton, as your descendant, do me a
solid. I reach for my shirt because it feels tight on my chest, and
then I realize I’m naked except for the scales that cover my goods.
Right, that’s what pressure feels like.
“Before we take care of the room and board for my small army, I
have to find Shelly.”
Frederik’s eyes widen. “She’s not in the park. Tonight’s a big
night for her. She won’t want to be disturbed.”
“What else do you need from her?” Thalia asks.
I wish telepathy came with the merman gig. If all fails, there are
always charades.
“I can’t say.” I put my hands on Frederik’s shoulders. He’s cold
as hell, even through the black T-shirt. “I need Shelly’s help. Can
you trust me?”
Frederik wants nothing more than to get the Sea Court out of Coney
Island. Ever since it arrived, our little strip on the Brooklyn beach
has been terrorized.
“Merrow!” Thalia wields her sword over her head.
Amada is faster, running across the boardwalk and onto the sand.
She shifts midair, jaw wide open. Her teeth sink into the creature’s
neck, reducing it to stinky black flesh. Amada makes a deep guttural
sound that’s a cross between a hairball and a growl. She sprints back
to the beach to get the taste out of her mouth.
“Shelly,” I say, pointing at the decomposing pile of flesh. “I
don’t care if she doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
“I’ll get Marty,” Frederik says. “Thalia, you and the-”
“Naga,” I offer.
“Right. You two patrol the beach. I’ll send help.”
Thalia positions herself on a lifeguard tower. My lifeguard tower.
The one Layla and I trade off on shifts. Just hold on a little longer,
Layla, I think.
“Come on, Sea Prince,” Frederik says. “You always know how to put
a smile on my face.”
“But you aren’t smiling,” I point out, following a few steps
behind him.
“Exactly.”
Frederik leads Marty, Kai, and me down a manhole on Bowery and
Jones Walk. The underground tunnels smell like cat vomit mixed with
laundry detergent.
“I must say, Tristan,” Kai says, “you do take me to the most
interesting places.”
“Don’t blame the Sea Prince,” Frederik says. “The invitation
requires us to enter in pairs. And the skeleton brothers prefer to see
a lovely face.”
Kai smirks but ignores the compliment. “You mean to say there are
creatures who live down here?”
“A lot of demons and solitary fairies call the sewers home,” Marty
says. “There’s plenty of room, and they’re mostly undisturbed by
humans.”
He shines an industrial flashlight on the ceiling, and tiny,
decrepit winged creatures scatter.
“I can’t believe I’ve lived here sixteen years and never knew this
existed.”
“There are entire worlds in the in-betweens of human cities,”
Frederik says.
“Not everyone can pass for human aboveground, you know,” Marty
says.
“Then what’s the point of coming here?” I ask. “If all you’ll ever
do is hide?”
Our feet splash in the trickle of water that seems to run down
every tunnel. Whispers and strange clucks echo around us, and every
now and then, heads peek out of their hiding places to get a look at
us before going back to their business.
“Some of these people-and I use the term lightly-come from
different war-torn dimensions. We call them demons because our world
has no name for them. The fairy courts have their own banished and
solitary fey. Runaway witches. Lone werewolves and vampires. They seek
refuge in the shadows of this city to try to make a new life.”
“What about you, Frederik?” Kai asks. “What were you seeking
refuge from?”
Then Frederik moves right beside her. “My job is to keep the
peace. That’s why the Thorne Hill Alliance exists.”
No one points out that he totally evaded the question.
Kai shakes her head. “I can’t imagine what keeping any sort of
peace is like when there are so many different folk.”
“I’m not saying it’s perfect,” Frederik says roughly. “Make a
right.”
We stop at a lightless tunnel. Even the flashlight is useless.
Frederik reaches out into the black wall. The doorbell sounds like
it’s announcing the end of a basketball game. A shape molds out of the
door, like it lives inside the metal. Filmy skin clings to the large
skull. It sniffs the air deeply. Then again. And again.
When it opens its mouth, a black tongue slithers out.
I whisper to Marty, “What. Is. That?”
The skeleton thing growls at first. It sucks its teeth, long
strings of saliva clinging to the lips like a cat’s cradle. “Ah,
Frederik. I’m so glad you’ve finally accepted our invitation. However,
I regret that we are about to begin.”
“I’m sorry, Qittar,” Frederik says, taking on his slow, friendly
tone, “but we’re here for Shelly. It’s a matter of life-”
The skeleton man sucks in his breath again, and this time he
chokes on it. “Why, Frederik, are you here to interrupt the sacred
ritual of Selene?”
“Not exactly-” I say.
The voice becomes huskier, deeper. “Do you think this is a trivial
thing? Some of our candidates only have a hundred years left before
they can no longer breed, and you have the gall to stop this from
happening?”
“Wait a minute, time-out,” I say. “Is this, like, a make-out
party?”
Qittar gulps down more air and pushes himself further out of the
solid door, bony hands against the black film that allows him to
protrude from the strange metal. “I smell something fishy.”
“That’s racist, bro.”
“Tristan,” Marty says, “now’s not the time to be charming.”
Though let’s face it, I’m always pretty charming.
I step between my friends. “Listen, Mr. Qittar. I’m sorry we’re
late. I really need to speak with Shelly. She’s important to our
cause.”
“I know you,” he says.
I’m not so sure what he means by that. “This is the first time
I’ve taken a stroll down this neck of the sewers.”
“No, I’ve heard your name. Yes, yes! You, the Sea Prince fighting
for the land he loves. For the girl he loves. You, betrayed by your
own blood. I have heard of you. What a delectable candidate.” Qittar
traces a bony finger along his jaw. When his white eyes settle on Kai,
he can barely get a sentence out. “I do…I do believe there’s still
time!”
A second figure pushes its way through the door. He has a small,
long skeletal head with pointed ears and two sharp front teeth. His
voice is high pitched as he shouts, “Qittar! We must begin while the
moon is in place!”