Chapter 10
Delmar
It was only because my mate needed answers and Norris possibly had them, that I didn't let my tentacles pick him up and toss him out the nearest window.
I could only hope that this sheriff wouldn't be as speciest as the mayor.
We followed him outside and without looking back, he turned right and began striding quickly uphill. My mate tried to keep up, but Archer was almost as tall as I was, and Nina would've had to break into a run to stay close.
I stopped, pulling Nina close.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Smiling down at her, I nodded my head at the sheriff. “I'm waiting for him to realize we aren't there. It feels more effective than shouting.”
She giggled and waited with me. The sheriff had almost crested the hill before he noticed we weren't behind him. Turning around, he looked confused at first, then embarrassed. He got a lot of points from me for rushing back down to us with an apologetic expression.
“Sorry, I tend to walk fast when I have a lot on my mind. There's a small park with a nice view of the town at the top. Can you walk up there, or should I take us some place closer?” His expression lit up. “If you wait here, I can get my cruiser and drive you.”
“I can walk up the hill,” Nina said. “But I'd rather not have to run.”
“You should go ahead of me and set the pace,” he said, stepping off the sidewalk to let us pass. Nina nodded, and we started moving.
I could tell Nina was enjoying the walk. She liked being active and being off the ship probably felt good.
“Your town is pretty,” she said over her shoulder. She wasn't wrong. The houses we could see were all well-maintained, and the streets were lined with trimmed trees. All that was missing were kids on bicycles and families walking dogs.
No, that wasn't exactly right. The more I looked around, the more I saw abnormalities.
Everything was a little too clean and perfect.
The quiet was also a bit disturbing. It was Sunday, so there should be people out shopping, talking, laughing, and doing all the things you did on a weekend.
Not only did this place lack foot traffic, but there weren't even cars.
Places like this thrived of tourism, where was everyone?
“Our colony works hard to keep the town nice,” he agreed.
“Nice but empty,” I said.
Nina tensed up, and I knew she was ready to verbally slap the sheriff if he was rude to me.
Unlike the mayor, the sheriff didn't have a fake smile. In fact, he hadn't stopped frowning since we'd met. His expressions seemed to vary between a severity of frowns.
He gave me a medium frown. “We only open the town up for tourists on select weeks.
Dad wants to keep outside influence at a minimum, but we need to make enough money to survive.
We'll be opening up tomorrow for a week. Jace runs our social media accounts and does an amazing job of drawing crowds during the open weeks.”
“Dad?” I asked.
“The mayor is his dad,” Nina said.
“Oh,” I said, looking down at Nina who didn't look surprised. “You knew?”
“They have the same eyes,” Nina said with a little shrug, then pointed to Archer's chest. “And they have the same last name.”
Now that she pointed all that out, I felt a little foolish for not noticing earlier. My mate patted my shoulder.
“Don't feel bad, you were busy protecting me,” she said. “It was so romantic when you put yourself between me and danger.”
Her admiration made my tentacles want to come out and pick up heavy things to show off.
“It's my privilege,” I murmured. “I'll never hesitate to do anything necessary to keep you safe and happy.”
“Remember that the next time I pick a strange hobby,” she said with a grin. “I’ve been thinking of trying out knife throwing.”
We were cresting the hill, and I saw the park Archer had talked about. We walked toward the benches at the edge of the park set up to face the ocean but also giving us a view of the main street and harbor. There was almost no activity going on in the streets below.
“I need to ask you a few questions first,” Archer said as we all sat.
“Ask, but I might not answer,” Nina warned.
“Are you being abused by your former colony?” he asked.
“I don't have a former colony,” Nina said with a little shake of her head. A cold ocean breeze started up, making her press against my side. I draped an arm over her shoulders and snuggled her close.
“You don't?” Archer asked, looking shocked. “Were your parents ostracized?"
“I guess the gossip mill is faulty in this town,” she said and looked up at me. “Could you explain this time?”
I nodded, and Archer met my gaze with no animosity or derision. It was a nice change from his father. I told him the story of finding the necklace, thinking it was a cursed object, my disastrous decision to bring it to the surface, and Nina touching it.
I ended the story with his father refusing to tell us what he knew and demanding we stay in town before he'd reveal anything.
“I'm sorry," Archer said. “If I knew anything, I'd tell you. Only colony leaders have access to the histories.”
“What are the histories?” Nina asked.
“Originally, there were oral laws, histories, traditions, and stories passed down from leader to leader,” Archer explained. “When the printing presses became widespread, they were made into books that were passed down instead. Only my father has access to them.”
Nina and I exchanged a look, and I knew exactly what she was thinking. If Norris didn’t tell us what we wanted to know, we’d find those books and look for ourselves.
“Your father…” Nina paused, then wrinkled her nose. “What’s your father’s first name?”
Archer’s frown became neutral. Was that his version of a smile? “Anthony. He hates to be called Andy.”
Nina smirked. “Good to know. Anyway, Andy said he’d tell me about the spell after I stayed for three days.”
“That sounds like my father,” Archer said with a sigh.
“He’s desperate to bring more selkie women into the colony.
I keep telling him that the best way to do that would be to give the women of the colony autonomy equal to the men, but he’s stubborn.
Even though every negotiation with other colonies to exchange people has failed because of that, he refuses to listen to me. ”
Nina’s eyes narrowed. “You definitely have an autonomy issue! Dale down at the docks said I couldn’t talk to your father myself because of my gender. No woman is going to willingly live in a place where she’s property again.”
“What if someone realizes they’re gay, bi, trans, or simply don’t want to fit into the gender norm?” I asked.
Archer looked uncomfortable. “They conform or they leave.”
Nina gasped. “That’s abominable."
Archer shrugged. “I don’t agree with it, but I’m not in charge. It might be hard on some people, but we’re the largest and most stable colony in the world right now.”
“I’m not sure that’s worth the price,” Nina murmured.
“Not for you,” he agreed. “You’re a confident female and probably successful out in the world. You also have this guy to protect you, so there isn’t much you need to worry about. Other selkies might struggle without a colony to protect them.”
Dale came rushing up to us while Archer was talking. He was flushed and sweating, probably both from running up the hill but also because he looked terrified.
“Um, Mayor Norris said I’m supposed to be your guide,” he said, trying to talk to Nina, but his eyes kept moving to me.
“You’re safe, Dale,” Archer assured him. “Delmar isn’t going to do anything to you.” He looked at us. “Can I assume you’re going to stay on your boat?”
“Yes,” Nina said.
Archer nodded and turned his gaze back to Dale. “Why don’t you take them to the grocery store so they can get some supplies for their stay?”
“Right, yeah, okay,” the kid said, nodding like a bobblehead.
Standing up, Archer faced us. “If Dad doesn’t tell you what you need to know at the end of the three days, I’ll…
” he paused, glanced at Dale, then back at us.
“I’ll help you. In the meantime, enjoy the town.
There might be laws and rules I don’t agree with, but there are some really good people here.
I’d like you to know that so you’re not tempted to do anything rash. ”
Those words were delivered directly to me. I nodded my head, and Archer turned and walked off, leaving Dale nervously shifting from foot to foot.
“I…we…or…” Dale had three failed attempts at starting a sentence before I let go of Nina’s hand to hold up my hands, palms out.
“I've never eaten a selkie,” I said. “I've never eaten a sea mammal. Not even that orca that was being obnoxiously curious. I know there are a lot of legends and stories out there, but I promise that most of them aren't true and none of them apply to me.”
Dale stared at me, as if debating the truth of my words. “What if you saw something you didn't like?”
I tilted my head to the side, thinking it out before answering. “That’s a broad question, so I guess it would depend on what I saw. If someone was trying to hurt someone else, then I'd separate them. If someone was sick, I'd try to get them where they could be helped.”
That must've been the right answer because Dale nodded and relaxed a little.
“I want you to know that my family is happy and content. Some selkies, like the sheriff, don’t agree with Mayor Norris, but he's always treated us well.
Last year, when Dad's fishing boat caught fire and the insurance didn't pay enough to replace it, Mayor Norris gave us the difference.
Without him, Dad wouldn't be able to fish.
He's said that if he couldn’t fish, he wouldn't know what to do with himself.
I think, in a way, Mayor Norris saved Dad's life.”
I nodded. “I understand. I'm not going to judge anyone or cause any trouble unless someone messes with Nina.”
Dale beamed at me. “That's good. That's very good. Sheriff Norris said to take you to the grocery store, it's this way.”
Looking far more relaxed, Dale turned and walked away. When he got to the edge of the park, he stopped and waited for us with an expectant expression..
“I guess we're going grocery shopping,” Nina said with a little chuckle.
“It’s not a bad idea to stock up,” I said, standing up and holding out my hand.
She accepted it, and we followed Dale back down the hill. Hopefully the next three days wouldn't be too painful, then we would find out if Norris was going to hold up his end of the deal or if we were going to need to talk to Archer.
It felt good to know he was in our corner. Although I wasn't sure how helpful he’d be. If the mayor decided to be petty, Archer might not be prepared to stand up to him.
We could only hope everyone did the right thing.