Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

AQUA

River assured me that he'd be fine to walk the short distance to the house, but I keep a close eye on him anyway. It's not a hardship—he's very nice to look at, with his messy black curls and pretty brown eyes in a tanned face. He seems to be worried about something, and while I might not know what it is, I know I like him and that his work is important. No wonder the ocean wanted me to save him—he's one of the people on our side as we struggle to prevent humanity from wiping themselves out and taking the planet with them.

Nobody wants Perry to have to decide to let humans annihilate themselves. It might save Earth in the long run, but it's devastating for him every time. And us. We haven't spent the last few hundred thousand years rescuing humanity only to have to say goodbye after all. Even if some of them do deserve it.

Not River, though. River's special. He's helping to make the oceans safer and stronger and healthier for its inhabitants, and that will have carry-on effects for a lot of land stuff too. So if River's worried about something, I'm worried about it too, whether that's a nitrogen bubble or his boat or me being a merman.

I grin. A merman. How ridiculous. Everyone knows they have a tail instead of legs.

"Here we are," I say, pointing to the house. We've been walking on the beach side of the road, so I check carefully for traffic before ushering River across. "If Zephyr's not home, someone will know where he is, and we can get him back here quickly."

"I don't want to inconvenience anyone," River protests, though it sounds like he's trying not to laugh. "It's probably a tumor instead of a nitrogen bubble anyway."

That makes me frown. A tumor? Those are bad for humans. "I don't know if Zeph would be able to tell, but Aether will," I assure him. "Don't worry. We'll make sure you're okay. Then I'll come with you to take your boat back and you can have dinner with us while we talk about your research."

He sighs wistfully. "That sounds perfect. Like a dream… or hallucination."

I'm not sure what he's talking about, but he seems to like my plan, and that's what matters. I lead him up onto the front deck, and while he turns around to admire the view of the ocean, I fling open the front door. "Zeph! Zephyr, I need you!"

The sound of voices stops, and a second later, George and Perry come out of the living room.

"What's wrong?" Perry looks me up and down. "Did you get caught in a fishing net again?"

I scowl. "Those things are gross , dude. And those men shouldn't have been fishing in the reserve anyway—it's a protected area. I didn't ‘get caught.' I ‘caught it.'"

George scoffs. "Whatever, you came home wrapped in a fishing net and we had to cut you loose. But I don't see one this time. So what's up?"

"River might have a nitrogen bubble and needs Zephyr to check," I explain.

They exchange glances. "There might be nitrogen in the river?" Perry asks. "What river? Did you smoke this morning before you went out?"

Why would I do that? Weed is to take the edge off being on land. I don't need it when I'll be in the water. "Of course not. River is…" I look around. River's not in the house with me, so I turn and go back onto the deck, where he's still admiring the view. "Hey, come and meet the guys." I take his hand and draw him inside. "This is River," I announce.

Perry's jaw drops, and George makes a weird face. He might be trying not to laugh. Or he could be constipated again. I keep telling him he needs more water in his diet to flush his system.

"Please tell me he didn't steal a diver," Perry mutters, then raises his voice and smiles. "Hi… River, is it? I'm Perry. How did you meet Aqua?"

George makes a sound like he's choking.

"I'm honestly not sure," River says. "I was diving, and then he was there and my air was low. I might be hallucinating or have a brain tumor."

George's laugh explodes out of him, racking his body so hard, he bends over and braces his hands on his knees. Perry, on the other hand, nods sympathetically.

"Oh, man, I get that. Trust me, it will not get less fucked-up from here."

They're ignoring the important stuff. "Where's Zephyr?" I demand. "We need him to check River for the nitrogen bubble."

"He's on the roof," Perry says, since George is still wheezing with laughter. "Aether's with him—hold on." He pulls out his phone and sends a text, and a few seconds later, gets one back. "They're coming down." Putting his phone into his pocket, he studies River. "So… I'm guessing something went wrong on the dive?"

River shrugs. "I think my equipment failed. I should have had another hour of air, at least, and if there was less, my dive computer should have alerted me. I thought everything was fine, and then suddenly A-Aqua"—his face does this weird twitching thing when he says my name—"was beside me making all these strange gestures. He finally got me to look at my gauge, and when I saw how little air was left, I… panicked."

"Came to the surface too fast?" George asks, sobering. "Any aches or pains?"

River shakes his head. "No."

"Dizziness, nausea?"

"Nothing like that. It's just…" He looks sideways at me. "Uh…"

Understanding flashes across George's and Perry's faces, but I don't get it.

"It's just that a guy in a flamingo swimsuit with no dive gear appeared beside you at depths no human should be able to breathe at, helped you to the surface, and has been…" Perry pauses. "Let's say ‘unique' ever since."

I preen. I am unique.

River nods in relief. "Something like that. Plus the boat thing."

"What boat thing?" I say, bewildered. "The boat was good!" I turn to George. "Driving a boat is so much easier than driving a car. You should have taught me that way. It would have been faster and had less yelling."

George looks like he wants to say something, but Zeph and Aether come down the hallway before he can.

"Hey!" Aether sweeps Perry into his arms and kisses him. They do that a lot, but we all get it. It's not like they get to spend a lot of time together—and usually things aren't good when they do. They're fated mates, the opposite sides of existence, and Perry only gets born when the world's in serious trouble. "I missed you."

Perry pats his chest. "Missed you too, babe. Even if you were only on the roof, and only for an hour."

"Um, excuse me, sorry, but… is he about to get struck by lightning?" The horror in River's voice has me turning sharply. He's staring at Zeph with stark fear. "You need to get on the ground," he orders, then spins to stare out the door. "Wait… clear sky. And… we're inside?" Screwing his eyes shut, he whispers, "This brain tumor is not being fun anymore. Why is his hair floating ?"

"Is he okay?" Aether asks with concern. "Also, who is he?"

"We're not sure exactly. His name is River. Aqua brought him home for Zeph to check if he has decompression sickness," George explains, and Zephyr smiles.

"I'm happy to help."

A little eddy of air swirls around us, kissing my skin and making River's eyes pop open in shock, and then Zeph says, "No problems at all. Oxygen and nitrogen levels are well within normal ranges for humans. No nitrogen bubbles anywhere."

To my surprise, River doesn't seem relieved. If anything, he looks… skeptical.

Oh! He's worried about the tumor! "Aether, can you check and see if he has a tumor? He thought that might be a problem, too."

"I'll bet he did," Perry mutters to George. "I think you need to get the vodka."

"Why?" George mutters back. "We're not keeping him."

"No tumors," Aether announces happily. "You're very healthy, and you have a beautiful soul. No wonder Aqua likes you!"

River stares at Aether blankly, then looks at Perry. "If my tumor hallucination tells me I don't have a tumor, doesn't that mean he should disappear?"

"I'll get the vodka," George announces.

"Not for me, thank you," River says politely. "I have to return my boat… and go to a hospital."

What? No! "But you're fine," I remind him. "Zephyr and Aether said so. We can take your boat back, and then you're having dinner with us, remember? We have to talk about your research." I turn back to my friends. "River's doing super important work on migratory epidemics and their impact on the ocean environment."

"Ohhhhh," George says. "Marine biologist? That makes so much sense. Sure, you should stay for dinner. We're all keen conservationists, and we'd love to hear more."

"That's very kind of you," River says, but his voice is flat and he doesn't seem to be here. All the River-ness is missing.

It makes me sad.

"But I can't stay. I need to return my boat and go to the ER."

I open my mouth to explain again that he doesn't need a hospital, but Perry interrupts.

"That's a solid plan. You shouldn't go alone, though, so I'll come with you. I used to work for a law firm, so I'm really good at cutting through bureaucratic bullshit and red tape. No need to be sitting around the ER all night." Perry stands on tiptoe to kiss Aether's cheek, then strides determinedly forward and takes River's arm. "So, your boat's with Jeff, right? Where are we taking it?"

"Ah… Krills pier. But you don't need to come wi?—"

"Easy as pie. I'm licensed to drive any boat that can be operated by a sole person, so you can get your stuff sorted while I take us back, and then we'll be on our way before you know it." Perry already has River out the door and halfway across the deck, and I start after them.

George catches hold of me. "Oh, no, you don't. Let Perry handle this. He'll bring your friend back when he's calmer."

"He's not calm?" Oh no! "What happened? Did I do something?"

"Yes, but not on purpose. Aether, call Flame and get him to pick up dinner, will you? I need to talk to Aqua."

"Soup?" I ask pitifully, half my mind on the perfect man currently being taken away from me.

George rolls his eyes. "Fine. Soup. But make mine something with meat in it."

"Soup is so wet," Zephyr says in his dreamy way. "We should get?—"

"No," we all chorus. Zeph's choices always leave us hungry… and gassy.

"What do we need to talk about?" I ask George as he steers me into the living room and sits with me on the couch. "I should be with River. He needs me."

"Maybe he does," George concedes, "but right now he's a little freaked out by… everything. It can be scary for humans when they think they might have brain damage."

I nod. "They need their brains."

"Right. And they're not used to seeing people who can breathe underwater, so you startled him a little and made him wonder if his brain might not be working right."

"Ohhhhhhh." I get it now. "That's why he asked if I was a merman."

George stares at me. "Probably. Uh… when you were driving the boat?—"

"It's super easy, George! I just asked the water to bring us to Jeff, and it did! So much better than a car."

"Yeah." He swallows, nodding. "That's what I thought. Can… Can you see how that might have been confusing for a human who doesn't have the ability to communicate with water?"

I blink at him. Confusing? "Not really."