Linksshifter II

A Path Between The Waves - ~~~~~

The way the dream ended, the fear and the black eyes and the open jaw in the cold water, that was a shock that made Sonali glad that she didn't remember her dreams. She'd thrashed awake when the seal's fangs had crushed her shell, and she was lying flat in a sudden shock, only slowly realizing that she didn't have even the shadow of that crab any more. No crab. Dying as a crab, eaten by a seal in that cave. No. This wasn't a coincidence. Whatever reason she had for coming on shore, she was here, and Sonali had about as long as would take her to change her skin to get over, stop her, and try to get an explanation. She chained on the trilobite amulet, swiped a brush through her hair a couple times to get it to lie straight, then pulled together her third-best trackie and jammed her feet into her trainers on the way downstairs, not even bothering to tie the laces.

Baba was standing in the door, holding up the Press and Journal on the front step; why they took delivery on this paper instead of just taking one out of the stack in the shop at wholesale never made sense to Sonali, but it hadn't ever made any difference until now. She flattened herself out against the wall and tried to slide past through the doorframe. "Sorry-baba-I've-got-to-go-out-it's-real-important-promise-I'll-take-care-back-quick" but it was no use, and he managed to grab her by the arm before she'd gotten out of reach, all the way down the steps.

"Sonali! What on earth are you doing, going out at this hour, looking like that, in such a hurry? Are you going behind my back to do sport? Did I not make myself clear at your club?"

Sonali shook her arm, trying to break free. "Baba, no – I promise I'm not training with the club, nor anyone – my boots are still up in my room where they've ay been since then – I can't train like this. But baba, you've got to let me go – I've got to go – this is well important, and it can't wait a bare second."

"No – that is ridiculous. There is nothing in this world that can be so important that you need to be running out of the house in a tracksuit at this hour of the morning. I forbid it. Whatever this thing is that you want to do, you can do it at a civilized time looking like a civilized young woman, not some bloody ned on her way to go on Jeremy Kyle."

Sonali threw her arm down in disgust, and the shock tore it free from her father's grasp. "Aye, an having a screaming fight on the step as the bin men go up an down, that's well civilized – that's your ned for you. If I don't go, there's some as might die, some that won't see their family again. If you can put that in a schedule then aye, come ahead an stop me. An if no, then awa' an bile your heid for dal; maybe it's today's the last ye'll see of me." Sonali clattered down the last steps, cracked the key through the lock on her bike before her father could react, and dropped the lock to the ground as she jumped on, pedaling off as fast as she could manage.

"Sonali! Sonali!" Baba was yelling from the close, but Sonali wasn't listening. The only thing that mattered was the road ahead, the flow of the traffic, the feel from the trilobite; the crab was dead, but not quite gone, the magic not quite dissipated, and there was still something there, something still alive in that place.

It was feelings she was getting, not even thoughts but feelings – if the crab was in the selkie's gut, that made a kind of sense, maybe. A sense of insecurity and uncertainty – maybe she had noticed the ID out of place and had to check through the cavern to be sure there weren't any other traps. Maybe she smelled the strange magic and was moving slowly, not certain what else might have a spell on it. But she was moving slowly, regardless; being careful to hide the skin better, being careful to shed the smell she half-suspected might be on her clothes. She was being careful – but she wasn't running away. Whatever she was here for, she had to go through with it, even if she might have been discovered, might be about to be discovered. And that made her not a skittish predator, a wolf of the sea, but definitely a woman, a real thinking being, and she could be reasoned with, if Sonali could get her to stop and talk.