Page 75 of Echo and the Homicidal Sea Panda

“Don’t. Let it go,” Echo whispered.

Mael relaxed, but only by a fraction.

Echo followed Mael when he turned and walked toward the end of the boat. When he glanced over his shoulder, he thought he saw remorse in Storm’s eyes.

Mael continued to glare at Storm as he put on his gear. The others returned as well. None of them said a word for a few seconds.

“Storm’s got a bit of a point, though,” Ravage said, breaking the silence.

Mael’s angry gaze whipped to Ravage.

Ravage lifted his palms to Mael. “I just mean… two of us mated to dolphins? What are the odds?”

“About the same as all of us being queer,” Tempest said.

“Wait… you’reallqueer?” Echo asked.

“Lesbian,” Tempest said, pointing at herself. She then pointed to Storm and Ravage. “Bi.” She pointed to Mael. “Bi, I guess, though we thought he was straight until you.”

“I already told you I’m an Echosexual,” Mael said.

An Echosexual?Echo chuckled to himself.

At first.

Until he realized it was once again Maelstrom deflecting. He still hadn’t come to terms with his sexuality and wouldn’t be labeled as queer.

“Whatever you say,” Tempest said to Mael before she turned back to Echo. “Havoc’s gay. Gale was, too.”

Echo’s gaze flicked to Mael at the mention of the unfamiliar name, assuming that was the brother Maelstrom had fought. When Mael’s expression shifted and seemed to grow mournful, he was sure of it.

“So yeah. All queer. We joke our mother and say she’s got a rainbow womb,” Tempest continued. “Now that Mael has entered the alphabet mafia, she’s six for six.”

Echo’s gaze once again whipped to Mael when Tempest had called him queer, but there seemed no notice or response. “Six littlequeerhellions.”

Mael lifted his gaze and met Echo’s.

“Indeed. I like that,” Tempest said. “Six queer little hellions. We should get that on a t-shirt for the next reunion.”

“Are we getting in the water or what?” Mael asked. “Or are we gonna run our mouths all day?”

Mael’s earlier good mood had disappeared, but then why wouldn’t it? He’d had beef with one brother, been reminded of a tragedy with another, and had his self-image shaken in a matter of minutes.

“Maelstrom said you have a map,” Ravage said to Echo. He lifted his gaze to Mael. “I’d like to know where y’all are going before you dive.”

“Yep, I do,” Echo replied, pulling it out of his backpack. After lowering the lid for the cargo box, he spread it out over the top and pointed out the spots of note from the last dive. “I think we should start near here—where I noticed the air pocket. I placed a flag. Hopefully it’s still there.”

He used a couple of small weights he’d brought to hold down the corners of the map. “There was a right angle, so I suspect it might be manmade and possibly a chamber. We couldn’t find a way in last weekend, so we’re looking for an opening or tunnel of some kind, though it’s likely filled in with sediment. Might be packed after all these years. We need to comb the five to ten feet around that flag first.”

“Echo’s echolocation can go a few feet into the seabed, so if you find anything unusual, wave him over,” Mael said. “He’ll likely be able to see if there’s anything there better than any of us.”

“Also remember that Echo can’t half-shift, so if there’s an emergency and we have to move fast, whoever’s closest, grab him and swim,” Tempest said. “He’ll be fully human down there.”

“Idoswim faster than humans in this form,” Echo argued.

“Not faster than a white,” Mael said. “And there’s still one out there who attacked you.”

“I doubt he’s coming around with all of us in the water,” Storm said.

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