Current Impressions (5 page)

He peered around her, and his mouth fell
open in shock. A few feet in front of them, a fissure spewed foul,
bitter liquid into the clear water. Along the length of the fissure
was death—skeletons of plants and fish alike.

Meara watched him. Her eyes were filled with
sadness and something else. She was trying to give him a message,
but what? What was she trying to say?

Ula told me that I’d find Brigid by the cove
and sure enough, she was there. She stood with her back to me. Her
long, black hair swayed in the breeze, her arms wrapped around her
waist. She looked vulnerable until she turned, and her purple eyes
pierced mine.

“You’re late.”

“Sorry.” Although I apologized, I couldn’t
see how I was late. There were no clocks here, and my phone was in
storage in Halifax along with my other belongings. My dad told me
to leave it, so I did, even though I was hoping it could be a link
to Evan. I missed our daily text exchanges. I missed hearing his
voice. I’d asked my dad how I would reach my friends without my
phone, and he laughed. He told me there was no reception on the
island. When I said that I couldn’t go all summer without talking
to Evan and my best friend, Kim, he relented. I could travel to
Scotland and call them from there, but not until I had my powers
and could protect myself. I didn’t see why I was in need of all
this protection. It seemed safe here so far.

Brigid broke my reverie. “Are you ready to
get started?”

“What are you teaching me?” I asked. Ula
said nothing except that my first lesson was with Brigid.

“To shield your mind from other Selkies.”
She said it like I should know this already. “We are born with this
ability, but you, it seems, must learn it.”

“How—?”

“Ula told me about her experiment in
Canada.” Brigid smiled at me, but there was nothing friendly about
it. “She was able to influence you.”

It annoyed me that Ula told her. A few
months ago, I met another Selkie named Kieran. We kissed in a dance
club. It was something I never intended to happen, so I worried
that he seduced me. To test whether I was susceptible to Selkies,
Ula entered my mind and projected an image of glowing orbs. Because
she was able to do this, it confirmed I was vulnerable. After that,
I wore the charm bracelet my dad enchanted to keep my thoughts and
feelings protected.

“Could I have gained the ability to shield
once I Changed?” I felt different now. Stronger and more attuned to
my environment, and I’d only been a Selkie for a little over three
days.

She lifted one slim, black eyebrow. “Hand me
your bracelet.”

I unclasped the bracelet, and she took it.
That was the last thing I saw before darkness closed around me. I
was blind, deaf, and dumb. I couldn’t even feel the ground beneath
my feet. I floated in nothingness. Panic rose in my throat, and I
felt myself scream. In a blink, I was back on the cliff, standing
next to my aunt. She crossed her arms and asked in a voice filled
with triumph, “Now, are you ready to begin?”

Humbled, I could only nod.

She seemed pleased by my response. She
brushed her hands down the length of her midnight blue, velvet
dress, cleared her throat, and then held her hands out, palms up.
“Place your hands on mine.”

I did as she said. Her hands were cool and
dry. My skin tingled where it touched hers. For the first time, she
gave me a real smile. “You have great power, Meara. I can feel so
much untapped potential.”

“Uh. Thanks?”

Her smile vanished. She must have realized
that she paid me a compliment. Her brows knit together. “Do you
know why I’m the first one to teach you? Why I was chosen to show
you protection?”

“No.”

“I am the strongest shielder here. No one
can enter my mind unless I want them to, and I never do. I can show
you how to block your thoughts. I can show you how to read
another’s. It’s simply a matter of reversing the process. Do you
want to learn?”

I was scared, but it didn’t stop me from
responding. “Yes.”

“Good. Close your eyes and picture your
brain. Picture the fluid in your head that coats your brain and
runs down your spine, protecting your thoughts. Now, imagine that
fluid becoming liquid metal, a flowing shield. Do you see it?”

“I do.” My voice sounded far away. I
concentrated on the image before me. In my mind, my shield glowed
bright silver. It was beautiful to behold, a calming presence and a
protective force at the same time. I heard Brigid’s breath rapidly
increase, but I didn’t open my eyes until she let out a loud
whoosh.

She looked pale and a little out of breath.
I hadn’t seen shock on her face before, but if I had to guess at
the emotion, that would be it.

“I blocked you, didn’t I?” I didn’t mean to
sound smug, but it came out that way.

Her expression soured, and then she
relented. “You did. It was quite… good for your first time.”

I knew it cost her to say the words. She was
being almost nice to me. If she kept this up, she’d ruin her
reputation.

“I will not!” she snapped. Anger darkened
her eyes.

“You read my thoughts?” I didn’t know why it
surprised me, but it did. Shouldn’t I be able to feel her presence
if she was in my mind?

“I did.” She shrugged like it was no big
deal. “I told you that you simply reverse the process.” I stared at
her. I had no idea what she meant. She sighed as though I was slow.
“You take your shield and you project it into another’s brain.”

I was bracing to try it when she dropped my
right hand and held up two fingers. “Before you begin, you must
know two things. First, when you project your shield out, you are
vulnerable yourself, and second, you can only see the other’s
immediate thoughts. Nothing in the past, nothing in the future. If
they’re strong-willed and focus on—let’s say—a rock. Well, then a
rock is all you’ll see. Understand?”

“Yes.” As I spoke the word, I projected into
her mind, hoping to catch her off guard. It worked.

I heard her thinking,
She’s more skilled
than I thought
, before she blocked me with an image of the sky.
The cloud she pictured looked like a floating duck. A sharp pain
pierced my forehead. She’d pushed me all the way out.

Panting, she said. “That’s enough for
today.”

She turned and walked back to the fortress.
Her back was rigid, her shoulders straight, but I noticed a little
unevenness in her step. I had unnerved her. Instead of feeling
pleased, I was scared. This was only my first lesson. What else was
I going to learn?

I sat on the ground and let my feet dangle
over the short cliff that overlooked the cove. The soft moss
tickled my forearms when I leaned back. I stared into a bright blue
sky and let the sun warm my face. My eyes closed, and the sound of
waves grew louder. Gulls cried around me.

Footsteps told me someone approached. By the
light sound of them, I guessed it was Ula. My guess was confirmed
when her shadow blocked the sun as she leaned over me.

“Want to go for a swim?” Her grin was
infectious.

“Can we?” I wanted to play in the water. My
first time changing had been all business—just a means to get here.
I’d yet to just enjoy my new form. I reached down to unclasp my
bracelet and realized Brigid still had it. No matter, I could get
it back from her later.

My anklet thrummed, sending tingles up my
leg. “How do I Change? Do I have to dive in first?”

Ula shook her head. “Just like you turned
back into your human form, you visualize it. See yourself as a seal
and you’ll be one.”

I closed my eyes and did as she said. The
world shrunk and reshaped. When I opened my eyes, Ula towered above
me. I barked impatiently, and she laughed.

“I’m coming!”

The image of Ula as a girl blurred and
shifted until a small seal with red fur lay before me. I thought
I’d never seen her in Selkie form before, but I was wrong. I
spotted her several times when I lived in Peggy’s Cove. I just
didn’t know it was her.

She turned and scampered across the rocks,
sliding into the water with grace. I followed close behind, clunky
and unsteady. Gracefulness must come with time. Or not. I sure
didn’t have it in my human form.

The light filtered through the water and
highlighted the ocean floor. With my enhanced vision, I didn’t need
it. The underwater world shone crystal clear. All my senses
excelled here. Schools of fish swam by, and I caught the subtle
nuances in their coloring. A crab scuttled along the sand, and I
heard the click of his claws. With air, scents came through smell.
Under water, they were experienced through taste. My senses picked
up fish, kelp, and other things I couldn’t yet identify. Each scent
was sharp and unique.

Ula rolled as she passed me, a shimmer of
bubbles in her wake. I mimicked her moves. The awkwardness I
experienced on land vanished here. I cut through the water with
smooth, strong movements. The rightness of it settled in my heart.
I flowed with the tides.

We played for a while, twirling and flipping
with weightless delight until the cold hand of fear gripped me.
What was wrong? I sought Ula. With relief, I spotted her just a few
feet away. It took a moment to really notice her though. She was
frozen in fear. It wasn’t my emotions I felt—it was hers. Why was
she afraid?

I had my answer a second later when a large
shadow passed by me in a blur. It moved fast, but I caught the
flash of white underbelly topped by dead, gray skin. A shark!

The shark ignored me and went for Ula, the
smaller seal. If she didn’t move, she would be shark bait in
seconds. My heart skipped as her panic bled into me. She couldn’t
move; she was too scared.

I had to save her. I swam for the shark and
butted its side with my head. Skimming around its tail, I sped away
before its jaws could catch me. I made it angry. It pursued me,
closing the distance. While the water was clear, I didn’t know the
landscape yet. Were there places to hide like underwater caves? I
discarded the thought as quick as it came. Too late for that. The
beast was almost upon me.

I tensed and prepared for the impact, but
instead of the shark, I was pushed aside by another seal. Obviously
male, it was at least twice my size and light gray. It wasn’t my
dad. I knew what he looked like. Who was it? My uncle Padraic?

The seal attacked the shark head-on. He
slapped it hard with his tail and rammed into its underbelly. The
shark moved to strike again, but before it could, the seal rammed
it, rolling it over. The shark paused for a moment, and then swam
away. Apparently, we were not a dinner worth fighting for.

The seal stood guard until the shark
vanished into the distant darkness. Only then, did he turn and swim
to me. I had the strangest feeling that I knew him. He motioned for
me to follow, and we swam back to where I left Ula. She was no
longer there. Had she gotten out of the water or had there been
another shark? Praying she was safe, I swam toward the surface.

When my flippers touched dry land, I
visualized my human form. My human form in jeans and a tank top.
While grateful to the male Selkie for saving my life, I wasn’t
giving him a peep show as payment.

“Ula?”

I saw her small figure huddled up against a
small boulder. Her wet hair hung down her back, and her head rested
on her arms. Her body trembled. Was she okay?

I crouched by her side and touched her arm.
“Are you hurt?”

She shook her head, but she didn’t raise
it.

“What’s wrong?”

She lifted her head, and her eyes met mine.
The misery in hers pierced my heart. What happened down there?

“I failed you,” she said and looked away.
“You could’ve been killed.”

“I’m fine.” I held my arms out to her. “See?
No scratches.”

I smiled. Her expression didn’t change.
Fresh tears rolled down her freckled cheeks. She looked behind me
and paled. Before I could turn and see what startled her, she
jumped up.

“I’ve got to go!”

She ran like the devil was after her. I
called her name. She didn’t turn back. As I watched her go, my
blood turned to ice. What was behind me?