Page 88 of Oceansong
Which meant—
“I’m leaving Nick in charge of operations in the meantime.”
Angie gave him a halfhearted nod of assent. She planned to be as far away as possible from Nick until Bàba returned to work full time.
Thirty-Five
Furious waves crashed against tranquilrocks and shoreline reminding Angie of the ever-growing hostility between the humans and the mer. At first, she likened the waves to the humans assaulting the peaceful mer until they fought back. Now, she was no longer sure which side were the waves and which were the rocks and shore.
Both sides were right, yet they were both wrong.
Storm clouds churned overhead. Without an extra layer underneath her light jacket, a chill pierced Angie to her bones. But when she checked her weather app, it showed clear skies all day with a high of fifty-six degrees, the usual for early August. Which meant one thing. The meteorologists were horribly wrong, or the mer were up to something.
She didn’t like the latter thought, not one bit.
“Something’s brewing under the surface, isn’t there?” Beside her, Stefan leaned against the banister on the raised piece of land overlooking part of the shoreline.
“I hope you’re wrong, but this makes no sense otherwise.” Angie shook her head, her lips set in a grim line. “Didn’t think I’d see you at the docks today.”
“We had some leftover inventory in the store. Brought in a few extra pieces of diving equipment to see if it could help anyone here.” He chewed his lower lip. “You hear what’s been happening the last few days? Lot of accidents.”
“Unfortunately, yeah. Horrible.” Angie tightened her grip around the banister, the cold metal digging into her palms.
The ocean raged uncharacteristically in the past days, the tide pulling in ever closer.
“Did you hear about the teenager who drowned out here yesterday?”Stefan asked.
“I did.” Angie recalled hearing the news early this morning, of a sixteen-year-old boy who disappeared. It reminded her of Luke, and she hung her head, her muscles going rigid. “Did you know him?”
“He had just gotten certified with Ken and I earlier this summer. His name was Yize. He came by our shop yesterday, seemed upset about something, said he couldn’t talk to his parents about it.”
Angie straightened, turning toward Stefan. “What did he say?”
“That he got into a fight with his boyfriend. He couldn’t tell his parents because they don’t know about his relationship.” Stefan swallowed hard, his Adams apple bobbing. “So he confided in us. We talked a little bit about the sea, and he said that the crashing waves were his greatest source of calm.” His voice became thick. “Then yesterday, a dock worker said she saw the boy pulled underwater, and never came back up.”
“I’m so sorry, Stefan. And for his boyfriend, and parents.” And for all the loved ones, human and mer, of those who lost their lives. Another crash of sorrow hit her. He shuffled his feet across the ground. “Not to mention all those boats further down the coast sinking from violent riptides and the subsequent undertows. Luckily, some were empty, but others had people onboard. Now they’re all gone.”
“I heard about those boats, too,” Angie said softly.
Kaden’s warnings about his mother’s rage rang loud in Angie’s head.
“Hey.” Stefan nudged her shoulder with his, pointing to her left. “Look over there.”
She followed his pointer finger, and her breaths stilled. A series of waves rocked back and forth, building on each other off a small dock about three miles away, in the next town north, where empty cargo ships were docked. The waves stopped and the water receded from the shore. For an unnerving series of heartbeats, it was quiet. A large wave rose, reaching toward the sky.
Higher, higher, higher.
It raced for the port.
“A tsunami.” Her grip tightened around the banister.
“It can’t be.” Stefan’s voice broke.
The tsunami raced for the shore and shattered inland, smashing the structures caught beneath it. Swallowed the cargo ships whole.
In a blink, part of the dock was reduced to splinters and debris.
Stefan murmured a string of curses under his breath. “We have to get out of here.” He sounded breathless and tugged on her arm. “Tell Nick what happened.”
