Chapter 17
Nina
That evening, Dale was so anxious to get us to Norris on time that he was waiting on the dock next to our boat. He was wearing a suit that was much too big for him and frowned the moment we emerged from the cabin.
“You’re going to be late!”
“We have plenty of time,” Delmar said, lifting me from the boat to the dock. He didn’t need to, but I got a little thrill at how easy it was for him to pick me up.
Dale didn’t like Delmar’s lack of concern but didn’t respond.
Delmar shook his head. “I don’t get it.”
“Get what?” I asked.
“The way they keep treating me like a monster. Other magical creatures are wary of me, but not scared. Krakens are all about live and let live. You don’t bother us, then we won’t bother you.
A lot like bears, at least from what I've heard. The only bear I’ve seen in real life was a polar bear, and he was busy swimming from one ice floe to another. ”
“What about other Selkies?”
“I only interacted with a small colony back on the East Coast,” he said. “They let me fuel up and leave. They weren’t friendly, but they weren’t scared either.”
“I wonder why this colony is so afraid,” I said as Dale walked up the dock at a speed we refused to match. When he realized we weren’t following closely, he stopped and waited for us to catch up.
“The Boy and the Monster,” Dale said. We were finally at the car, and he hurried to open a door for me.
“What is that?” Delmar asked as he got in next to me.
“It’s a children's book Norris’s father wrote.
Everyone has a copy. You get it when you’re five years old.
It’s about a time when a kraken tried to eat his entire family.
He was very smart and defeated the kraken by luring it next to a cliff and having the rest of the colony heave a boulder over the edge. ”
“That feels fictional,” I said, looking over at Delmar. He looked mildly upset.
“I never heard of a kraken specifically targeting selkies,” he said. “But if it was my grandfather's generation, then I might not know about it,” he said.
“Old Mayor Norris’s book teaches us that krakens are the most dangerous monsters in the world, and by working together, a colony can overcome anything.”
I put my mouth to Delmar’s ear. “Cult vibes!”
He nodded, still looking unhappy. “Just to be safe, I’m going to stay away from cliffs.”
I snorted and put a hand on his thigh for comfort. It wasn’t long before we were pulling up to a two-story house with an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean. Still acting the part, Dale rushed to get out so he could open my door.
Norris stood in the open door of his house, smiling widely. He was wearing his usual suit and tie, without a hair out of place.
I waited for Delmar to come around the car, then we walked up together, holding hands. As usual, Norris ignored Delmar.
“It’s lovely to see you,” he said, leading us into the house and to a dining table. There were several men sitting at the table who stood up once we were there. Norris made introductions.
“This is Mark,” he said, indicating the elderly man wearing a suit that would’ve been stylish three decades ago. “He’s our eldest colony member and our records keeper.”
“It’s a delight to meet you,” Mark said.
“This other gentleman is his son, Rick,” Norris continued.
“Hi,” Rick said. He looked uncomfortable and wouldn’t meet my eyes. He’d probably been voluntold to be here, poor guy.
Hopefully this dinner would be short, and we could all leave soon.
“Did you bring it?” Mark asked the moment we were all seated. Several people bustled out of the kitchen to set plates full of food in front of us before I could answer. None of them looked me in the eye or spoke, and they were gone as quickly as they’d appeared.
Mark didn’t even seem to notice, he was still staring at me. “Well, did you?”
I was a little thrown, so it took me a moment to realize what he was asking me. I hadn’t thought to bring the necklace, but thankfully Delmar had come prepared.
“Here it is,” he said, pulling the small wooden box out of his pocket and setting it on the table in front of Mark.
The old man grabbed it but struggled to open it with his arthritic fingers. His son reached over and flipped the top up.
“Yes,” he murmured, stroking the necklace without concern. He looked up and smiled at Norris. “You were right, this is one of the four. I can't believe it was found. This is wonderful! Being in possession of this will make us the envy of every colony.”
I didn't like the sound of that, so I reached over and plucked it out of his grip. “This belongs to Delmar. You can talk to him about acquiring it.”
Mark scowled and banged the table. “Give that back. It was made by selkies, it belongs to us.”
I could tell he was used to getting his way, but I wasn't intimidated. I was a short, round woman, so I was used to men thinking I would fold after a few angry words.
“Lower your tone and tell me what it is.”
The surprised expression on Mark’s face made Delmar snort, but I was too busy staring him down to find it amusing.
“It's a spell,” he said.
“I know that,” I said. “What I need to find out is how it works. Did it steal someone else's seal and give it to me? Is there a selkie out there without their seal?”
“How would that even be possible?” Mark asked, his tone clearly saying he thought I was an idiot.
“I don’t know,” I said through gritted teeth. “That’s why I’m asking.”
“She doesn't understand what it really did,” Norris said. “What it means.”
Mark's aggression vanished, and he gave me a look I'd seen parents give children who asked why the sky was blue.
“During the 1600s, we lost many selkies to the fire,” Mark said.
“The fire?” I asked. “What fire?”
“The witchcraft trials,” Norris said.
Mark nodded. “They accused our men and women of witchcraft and burned them. Many of us fled to other places, but there was no safe place. All of Europe and its colonies were killing us as creatures of the devil. We were once a sign of good fortune, but we were suddenly seen as the devil’s work.
We all went into hiding and worked very hard to keep our secrets. ”
He sounded like a storyteller, and he had my full attention with the first line despite myself. I glanced over, and he had Delmar's interest also.
“Even after it was over, we suffered,” he continued. “We aren't like humans who breed children quickly. We couldn't make up our population without magical help, so four necklaces were created. It took many covens of druids to make, but the expense was worth it.”
“You had a spell created to make more selkies?” I asked. “That’s not ethical at all. How would you feel if I created something that turned you into a human?”
“That's not the same,” Norris said. “Let Mark finish explaining.”
He gave Norris a thankful look, then continued. “The necklaces don't create selkies, they reveal them.”
“What?” Delmar and I said together.
Mark nodded. “Only someone with a selkie inside them would be drawn to the necklace.
If you had been entirely human, or some other creature, the spell wouldn't have affected you.
There is selkie in your ancestry. All the spell did was pull it out.
You've always been a selkie, it was simply being diluted by human blood.”
Out of everything they could've said, that hadn't been something I'd considered. “No, that can't be. My dad is terrified of water, and my mom can barely dog paddle. No one in my family has ever been anything but human.”
“Neither of your parents can shift, but that doesn’t mean they might not have selkie ancestry themselves,” Mark explained.
“You were blessed to have enough selkie in you to be turned by the necklace. If you breed with one of our males, then your children will be blessed with almost pure selkie blood.”
“So you're telling me that I always had a seal, and the spell brought her out?” I asked.
“Yes, exactly,” Mark said.
Relief made me feel dizzy. I hadn’t stolen anyone's seal. I could keep her without causing someone else pain. That was great.
“Can this spell be reversed?” I asked.
Norris laughed. “That would defeat the purpose of the spell.”
As much as I was relieved by his words, I was still infuriated. This entire spell took away people's choice. It would be one thing to offer to help someone recover their selkie, but it's a whole other thing to force someone to be a shifter.
“You can’t have the necklace,” I said, my voice surprisingly even despite my rage.
“That belongs to us,” Norris said. “It was created by selkies. Think of all the new people we could bring into the colony with it!”
The thought of people being turned without a gentle and caring Delmar to help them transition made me shutter.
“No,” I said, then gave Norris my best shark smile.
“If you have someone come to you desperate to bring out their selkie, you can contact me and request access. But I interview the person first and make sure they understand what they’re getting.
I will also demand that they be given the right to not join the colony if they don’t want to. ”
“That’s unacceptable,” Norris said, all good humor gone.
“You must hand that over,” Mark said.
“No is a complete sentence," I said, standing up. Delmar stood up with me.
“I can’t believe you won’t accept your place in our colony or give us the necklace,” Norris said with a genuinely regretful look. “I was afraid of this.”
Those words should've made me wary, but I was in a rush to leave. Except when I turned with Delmar, the men who'd served us a little while ago rushed up to block our exit.
“Move,” Delmar said, standing tall and letting several of his tentacles slither out from under his shirt. “Or I'll move you.”
The men looked nervous, but they both brought their right hands up and blew a white powder into Delmar's face.
At the same time Delmar gasped and staggered, Norris and Rick jumped up and grabbed me.
“Delmar!” I cried out as he dropped to his knees. I pulled away from the hands holding me and grabbed him as he slumped over. He was heavy, but I was strong. I was able to ease him to the ground. His eyes were open, but they were unfocused.
“What did you do?” I shouted.
“Neutralized him,” Norris said as he grabbed me again. Without a second thought, I balled up my fist and punched him in the crotch. The impact felt good and had the immediate effect. He dropped to his knees with a loud cry of pain.
Rick froze, unsure what to do now that Norris was on the ground groaning.
“Stay back,” I snarled as I grabbed my purse. “Or I’ll put you on your knees too.”
His eyes went wide, and he stepped back as I pulled out my phone to call 911. One of the servers grabbed my phone before I could even unlock it.
Getting my legs under me, I drove my shoulder into the server with my phone. We went down in a tangle of limbs, and my phone went skittering across the floor.
It was then that I realized that I needed to get out of here. If I stayed, they’d overwhelm me, and I wouldn’t be able to get Delmar help.
Moving my eyes from the phone to the front door, I scrambled off the server who was trying to remember how to breathe. I didn’t get far. Someone tackled me from behind and rode me to the floor.
This time it was my turn to lose my breath. My arms were jerked behind me, and I felt something like a zip tie being wrapped around my wrists and tightened.
Whoever did that kept a knee pressed on my back so I couldn’t move. Despite that, I thrashed and cursed.
Norris’s shoes appeared in my field of vision.
“I’m sorry it had to be this way,” Norris said. “I’d hoped you’d agree to join us voluntarily after you spent some time in the town. But I can see that your life with the humans has blinded you to your true duty as a woman. I’m sure your seal will help you adjust to your role within our colony.”
Ignoring the pain in my shoulders, I lifted my head up enough to look him in the face. “You’ll regret this.”
The asshole had the audacity to laugh.
“I don’t see how,” he said. “I have you, and I’ll go down in our history as the second selkie to defeat a kraken.”
He looked at the man kneeling on me. “Take her to the basement and stay with her until her future husband arrives to collect her.”
“Who is that going to be?” Rick asked.
“I decided to give her to Frank’s son, Cliff. He’s the only selkie in the colony prepared to make her obey. It’s all been arranged. The only thing left to do is dispose of this monster.”
Panic made me push back my anger. “Hey! Norris!”
He crouched down, putting a finger under my chin. “Yes?”
“Let Delmar go,” I said. “I’ll stay and whatever, but don’t hurt Delmar.”
Norris shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let him live.”
Deep rage roared back to life. “I'll end you!”
I went back to thrashing and even managed to buck off the guy on my back. Then two of them were grabbing me, and the last thing I saw was Delmar, still frozen and helpless on the floor.
No, this couldn’t be how it all ended for us!