Brightly (Flicker #2) (31 page)

Slowly, Alice rolled up her long sleeves and held her arms out.

Nasser heard a distant roaring sound in his ears, like the hollow howl of the sea. He felt all the breath rush from him. Instinctively, he reached for her. “Oh,
Alice
.”

The insides of her forearms were spotted with green-black bruises. He took one of her arms in his hands, gently. The discolored patches were a slightly different texture than the rest of her skin. Soon they would harden like scabs. “Do you have them anywhere else?”

“On my shoulders and my legs. I noticed a few days ago. It was just one, on my leg. I thought it was a bruise. Then the next day, there were more, and more on the day after that.”

“You should’ve told me.”

She lifted her chin. Her jaw was clenched tight, but he could see her fingers shaking. “There was nothing you could do but tie me up somewhere, and I…” She bit her lip. “I wasn’t ready for that. I’m still not ready for that, so I didn’t want to tell you. I know how incredibly stupid that is, but it’s how I felt.”

“But we know how to break the curse now,” he reminded her.

“That’s a long shot, and you know it.”

Nasser paused. “With the merfolk gone, the magic will start to disperse. That could—”

“That will stop anyone new from getting cursed,” Alice said numbly. “But it’s already got a hold of me. The curse feeds off the host’s energy. So the merfolk leaving won’t stop the progression of the people who are already cursed. It’ll keep going on its own. Right?”

Nasser pressed his mouth into a thin line. “Probably,” he admitted.

Alice squeezed her eyes shut. “When do you think you’ll have to start tying me up?”

He winced. “The merfolk won’t be singing anymore, so you don’t have to worry about that. But as the curse gets stronger, the singing isn’t needed. It could be a few weeks until you get to that point. It could be less than that. Everyone is affected a little differently. It seems to be hitting you pretty hard.”

“It’s just that I don’t—” Alice took a tremulous breath and whispered, “Nasser, I don’t want to turn into something else.”

“You’re not going to.”

When she looked up at him, he could see the doubt in her eyes.

Henry led Filo to a tiny cove, enclosed on both sides by sandstone walls. A narrow gap between the walls let the sea in and out. They must’ve been near the cliffs. The water looked calm here.

“Is this it?” Filo asked.

“Not quite,” Henry said. “You’ll see.”

He took off the backpack he’d brought from the tree house and pulled a blanket from it, which he spread over the sand. Then he started untying his shoelaces. For a moment, Filo just watched him, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

“You, too,” Henry said. “And you should probably roll your pants up, too, unless you want them to get wet.”

Filo glanced toward the water, feeling his insides clench. Henry waded into the cove with an ease that Filo could only imagine. When he stood knee-deep in the water, Henry looked back to the beach.

“Those merfolk are gone,” Henry reminded him. “They wouldn’t like it here anyway. It’s too shallow. Even selkies don’t come around here. It’s just us.”

Somewhat reluctantly, Filo pulled off his boots and socks. He set them down on the edge of the blanket and rolled his jeans up twice. Then he approached the water, stopping when the soft waves lapping the sand washed over his feet.

An amused smile hovered at the corners of Henry’s mouth. “That’ll do for now, I guess.”

Bending, Henry swirled his hand through the calm water. A brilliant blue-green glow flared in the water where Henry disturbed it, a bloom of light.

Leaning forward a little, Filo asked, “What is that?”

“Dinoflagellates,” Henry said happily. “Tiny marine organisms. They’re bioluminescent. They create light through chemical reactions, like fireflies or glowworms.” He beckoned with his hand. “Come see.”

Filo hesitated. Then he waded out to meet Henry. Some of the day’s warmth lingered in the shallow water, he noticed, and as he trailed his fingers through it, his eyes widened at the shimmering glow that followed. “This is amazing.”

“I would’ve brought you sooner, but there hasn’t really been a good time,” Henry said. “I kept remembering this place, how beautiful it is, and I kept thinking of you. I thought you’d like it, anyway,” he added quickly.

“You did?” Filo looked down at the water again.

With every swirl and splash, the water glowed like a trapped aurora. Filo thought he would never tire of watching it, nor of the way Henry seemed endlessly amazed by the light. After a while, the luminescence grew weaker with each disturbance.

“They’re getting worn out,” Henry explained. “We should give them a break.”

The two of them returned to the beach. Henry gathered a few pieces of driftwood and built a fire next to the blanket. They sat in silence for a long time, looking out across the water where the little cove opened into the sea. It had never looked so peaceful, Filo thought, like a sleeping animal that could wake and bite at any moment.

“Does it still bother you?” Henry asked. “The sea?”

“Not as much.” Sitting on the beach didn’t make Filo light-headed anymore, as his magic was adjusting to the constant presence of the sea, but he still remembered the sear of salt water in his lungs, the feeling of helplessness as he was drawn deeper and deeper. “I can still feel it pulling at my magic, but most of the time, I can ignore it. It’s easier.”

“The water’s still pretty warm,” Henry mused. “It’s definitely not cold. It’s a nice night.”

“So?”

“Night swimming is great. Night swimming
here
is the best.” Standing, Henry pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the blanket. The firelight flickered over the smooth, brown plane of his back, over the slopes of his shoulder blades. “Want to give it a try?”

“I thought we’d established that I can’t swim.”

“I can teach you.”

The sound that escaped Filo’s mouth was something between a scoff and a laugh. “Right now? Are you serious?”

“Maybe not tonight,” Henry allowed. “But it wouldn’t kill you to get your face wet.”

“It might,” Filo said, leaning back on his elbows.

Henry gave a little huffing laugh. “Well, I won’t let it. I bet I can teach you to float in a few minutes. You’d feel better around the water if you knew how.”

Filo shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Suit yourself,” Henry shrugged. He unbuttoned his shorts and dropped them with his shirt, leaving him just in his dark blue boxers. Then he waded out again. Around him, the water swirled blue and green, leaving a sparkling trail on the smooth black surface, before he dived in.

As Filo watched Henry swim, followed by streaks of light, he thought of that early morning on a different beach, everything clear and shining instead of dark and velvety. It had looked so simple. Henry moved in the sea like it had never hurt him.

Henry started treading water, looking toward the beach. “You can’t possibly be having any fun over there.”

“It’s more fun than drowning,” Filo said, loud enough for his voice to carry.

Laughing, Henry called, “It’s just floating, Filo! It’s literally
doing nothing
.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Don’t you trust me?” Henry’s voice echoed across the water. In the bioluminescent glow, Filo could see him smiling. “Even a little?”

For a moment, Filo didn’t answer. The sea had too much power over him, he thought. He wanted to take some of that power away. Without giving himself time to over-think it, he got up. Filo peeled off his shirt and stepped out of his jeans, leaving them in a heap on the blanket. He heard Henry give a triumphant little whoop, followed by a splash.

Acutely aware of the slight buffet of each wave as it rolled ashore, Filo waded into the sea, step by careful step, until the water lapped his chest. His heart thumped and his breath came a little faster, but the bottom of the cove was solid beneath his feet.

Henry swam in to meet him and stood. “Do you feel okay?”

“I feel weird.” Now that he was standing in the sea, Filo could feel its magic coursing around him. His own magic was shivering inside him, exerting its own pressure. He could feel it like an itch under his skin. “Weird, but okay.”

“So we’re doing this?”

“I guess so.”

“Go ahead and submerge yourself first,” Henry suggested. “Just for a second. You’ll be more relaxed once you’re not worried about getting wet.”

Filo gave him a dubious look.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to,” Henry said. “If you feel freaked out—”

“No,” Filo said, shaking his head. “No, I want to.”

“Okay.” Henry smiled reassuringly, but Filo didn’t feel much better. “You can hold your nose, if that’s easier. Just duck under. Don’t think about it too much.”

Filo sucked in a breath, clamped his hand over his nose and bent his knees, letting the water close over his head. For a moment, nothing existed but the swirling sea. Loud rushing filled his ears, covering the sound of his heartbeat. He kept his eyes squeezed shut until he straightened and broke the surface.

As he blinked the water from his eyes, the air felt cold against his wet skin. It was bracing, a pleasant shock. His heart was beating faster, but not from panic. Around him, the water glowed.

“Better, right?” Henry said.

Filo nodded, a little surprised. “Better.”

“See? What’d I tell you?” Henry said happily. “We should probably get started.”

“Probably.”

Crossing his arms behind his back like he was beginning a lecture, Henry said, “Here’s the deal. Your body wants to float. It does it all by itself. The only thing that can keep you from floating is your own uncertainty. Once you let go of that, it’ll happen automatically. You won’t even have to think about it. Look.”

Henry demonstrated a few times, showing Filo how to lie on his back and keep his chin tilted up, how to position his arms and legs. As always, he looked impossibly at ease in the water. He made it look simple.

Each time Filo lowered himself into the water, the sensation of sinking made him startle, flounder and bolt upright. Attempt after attempt, he got nowhere.

“Just
relax
,” Henry said, for the umpteenth time. “It won’t work otherwise. You’re going to sink a little before you float. That’s okay. It only lasts a second. You just have to let go.”

“What does that even
mean
?” Filo asked, wiping water from his stinging eyes.

Exasperated, Henry said, “Here. Let me.”

Henry sidled closer and placed one hand between Filo’s shoulder blades and the other on his arm. Filo stiffened at the unfamiliar feeling of hands against his skin. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched him like that—so close, so easy. Maybe no one ever had.

It was a moment before he could disengage himself enough to let Henry guide him gently backward, until he was almost lying on his back. He kept his head lifted above the water, his arms close to his sides, and his feet firmly anchored against the ground.

“It’s okay,” Henry said, moving so he stood behind Filo’s head, looking down at him. “You can let go. I’ve got you. I promise.”

Little by little, Filo forced himself to lower his head. Water lapped above his ears; the sensation made his whole body tense. Though he knew the water was shallow, he thought he could feel all the vastness of the sea beneath him, all its strange life, about to swallow him.

If Henry said anything, Filo couldn’t hear him over the rushing of water, but he felt Henry’s hands slide under his shoulders—not lifting, just holding. Just a reminder that he was there. He felt his shoulders loosen a little, as well as his neck.

Reluctantly, Filo lifted his feet from the bottom, and was surprised when he felt the water buoy him. When he let his arms drift out from his sides, the water held them up, too. It felt unreal.

He felt his body moving gently with the slow roll of waves. He didn’t sink; he just drifted with it, moving when it moved. Suddenly he understood what Henry had said: If he trusted the water to carry him, it would. If he expected to sink, he’d do that, too.

It was a long moment before he realized that Henry wasn’t touching him anymore. He felt himself stiffen slightly for a second before his certainty returned. He didn’t stand up for a while. He just let the sea hold him.

At last, he straightened, scrubbing one hand over his face. He was laughing, loud and astonished, and it felt good, better than he remembered.

Henry grinned. “See? I knew you could.”

“Well, I didn’t,” Filo muttered, but he was smiling too.

When they returned to the beach, Henry dug through his backpack again and came up with two towels. He tossed one to Filo and started to dry himself off. While Henry slipped his shirt over his head, Filo scooped up his jeans and pulled them on. He turned, looking for his shirt. As he reached for it, Henry’s voice stopped him.

“What happened here?” Henry asked. Filo tensed when he felt the light brush of Henry’s fingertips along his spine.