Page 93 of The Secret of Drulea Cottage
The selkie pushed himself up and strode over. His steps were heavy against the dirt, pounding like Briony’s nervous heart. “Where have you been?”
His tone told her she better be truthful or else…I don’ want to know what that “or else” might be, but there’s no way I can tell him the truth. Na when I’ve been plotting to stop him with the very man who killed my father.
“I told you I had to get my sealskin. ’Twas in a place where no one would look fer it.” She went inside the cottage and ducked behind the door. “Wait a moment.”
When she was certain Niall wasn’t going to enter, she removed the sealskin from under her skirts and stepped back into the doorway. “Here ’tis.”
But the joy she’d thought she would see on his face wasn’t there; instead, all that shone forth was disappointment.
She pasted a smile on her face. “You don’ seem pleased, but I don’ understand why. Now we can leave this place and only return once I can control my powers.”
Niall said nothing for a long time, neither entering the cottage nor moving to depart. Briony was about to speak again when his mouth suddenly twisted into a scowl and he shouted, “Do you think me daft? Stop pretending yer going anywhere with me. I know you don’ plan to leave. I saw where you went when you left.”
“What are you—Did you follow me?!” Briony checked behind him as surreptitiously as she could, but Mr. McLaren hadn’t arrived yet.Now would be a great time fer you to get here!
Niall, who was so angry he hadn’t noticed her looking past him, made short work of the space between them and stopped only when their faces were mere inches apart. Briony could feel the heat radiating off him just as her own body temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.
“Aye, I followed you. Right to that whalp’s[25]house! There’s no way yer skin would be there, na in a thousand years! Yer planning something with him, aren’ you? What are you up to?”
Niall’s hands were clenched into fists, and Briony felt sure that at any moment he would take a swing at her.
He knows where I went, but he must na have heard our conversation; otherwise, he’d be at the beach getting his sealskin already.
“Choose yer next words wisely. Don’ try any charms on me. ’Tis much harder to use them on another selkie unless there’s already some trust between the two o’ them, and right now I don’ have a grain[26]o’ trust in you.”
Briony’s breath came in short bursts as her lungs struggled to take in enough air.Niall is unpredictable, and if he directs his violence toward me… I don’ know how far away Mr. McLaren is either. Maybe Niall can still be reasoned with if I’m honest with him.
“I—Yer right, I lied to you. It may na make sense, but the truth is, I don’ want to destroy the town. ’Tis still my home, and I’ve no wish to leave it.”
A gleam of vicious triumph glimmered in the man’s eyes at her confession, but just as quickly, sorrow flooded his face. He took a few steps back until he was outside again. “I suppose I already knew that deep down. My hopes and wishes were just clouding my eyes and stopping up my ears. ’Twas obvious when I saw how you looked athim. The way yer eyes followed him every time he was near…” Niall broke off with a huff.
“Niall, who are you—”
He shook his head. “A being so far beneath us, so weak and pathetic… How could you ever care fer someone likeMr. Mendes?But I should have expected it, with you growing up surrounded by thesehumansall the time. And with a mother who would have done anything to be one too. That’s even worse than being human vermin. She knew real power, yet she hid yer heritage from you, kept you from yer birthright so the two o’ you could pretend to be something you weren’.
“But ’tis na like she’s the first selkie to do that. I told you before that my mum and sister died from illness, but that’s na what really happened. My stupid, naïve sister made the mistake o’ falling fer a human and running away to be with him. Then, when we finally found her and my mum tried to get her to come home, they both ended up dying. All because Elene thought she could throw away who she truly was.
“And now you’ve turned out the same way.” Niall was practically spitting as his rage continued to escalate.
Briony could hear the lightning crackling outside as power welled up within Niall, power like what she’d experienced when she’d attacked the commodore’s ship. But this was far stronger than what she’d held in her fingertips. She’d come close to losing all control, close to succumbing to the ocean’s darkest urges, but this was beyond that.
“Niall, don’ do this!”
But Niall didn’t seem to hear her. The black swirls of his eyes were darker than ever, filled with a malice she’d never seen before.
“Please stop this!” Despite her fear, she forced her legs to propel her body forward until she stood right before him, toward the danger all her instincts told her to flee from. She grabbed his arm and shook it, trying to wake him from the trance he seemed to have fallen under.
Niall grasped her shoulder and shoved her away from the cottage, pushing her several feet down the hill, where she landed face-first in the dirt.
“The ocean gives life, and the ocean takes it away. And this town has taken advantage o’ the ocean’s generosity fer far too long.”
Lightning was striking all around Niall now, over and over with fearsome heat. Briony flipped over and stood with shaky legs.
The monster before her still looked human, but Briony didn’t know if he could even be reached now. She might be too late to stop him from achieving his horrendous purpose.What have I done?
He smiled. “Everton’s day o’ reckoning has arrived.”
Over the Edge
