Page 38 of Broken Veil
Duncan slammed on the brakes and turned to growl at Wade, but before he could even speak, the old man had yanked the door open, climbed over Godrik, and jumped out of the van.
“What the hell?” Duncan looked furious.
Godrik said, “I have no idea.”
The strange man was halfway toward a long, straight river that shone silver in the moonlight before he turned and yelled, “Meet me at Shipp’s Inn tomorrow night.”
Then in a blink, Wade walked into the river, sank beneath the surface, and disappeared.
Laura leaned toward the window. “Did he just gointhe river?”
Cadell was staring. “Mm-hmm.”
“I believe he did,” Lachlan said.
“He’s not…” Laura frowned. “He’s not coming up.”
“Do you thinkhe’san eel?” Carys asked. “And he studies them because he’s just like a really giant eel? Are there eel shifters?”
No one in the van answered, probably since Carys was talking nonsense because she’d been awake for over twenty-four hours.
Lachlan asked, “Did he tell us to meet him at Shipp’s Inn tomorrow night?”
Godrik nodded. “Yes.”
“Does anyone have any idea where this Shipp’s Inn could be?”
Laura raised her hand. “Do any of us have any reason to follow the instructions of a weird guy from Temris who talks to rain?” she asked. “Because I feel like that’s the more important question.”
Lachlan said, “He told us that Carys needed to go to Yorkshire with him. That she is the hero.”
“And?” Laura shrugged. “Who the hell is?—”
“Fine!” Naida sighed from the far back row. “He’s a sea god.”
Every eye turned toward her.
“He asked me not to say anything, but this is ridiculous.” She closed her eyes and muttered, “Wade is Wada. He’s a sea god.”
Godrik’s eyes went wide. “Thatwas Wada?”
Naida nodded slightly.
Godrik started muttering something under his breath in what sounded like an incantation.
“That man” —Duncan pointed at the river— “is a god?”
“Yes, one of the oldest gods in Britain,” Naida said. “So we should probably meet him tomorrow like he asked.”
Cadell nodded slowly. “So he is not an eel after all.”
That meant a god had told Carys she was a hero.
That was… something. She was too tired to think about what, but it was definitely something.
“Gods don’t always look how you think they might look,” Naida said softly. “Especially in the Brightlands. What did you think a sea god looked like? Long hair tangled in weeds and a fish tail?”
If Carys was honest with herself, that was kind of what she’d pictured in her mind. Probably because of Disney movies.
