Tangled Tides (The Sea Monster Memoirs) by Karen Amanda Hooper
Authors: Karen Amanda Hooper
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my duty as Treygan. I'm the only merperson who can access the plants."
"Oh, of course." She mockingly bowed. "You're like the kingpin of the mer world."
I took another puff and blew smoke in her direction, hoping she might inhale some. "Kingfin? What is that?"
"King
pin
, not fin. Forget it. I'm tired of explaining things to you." She walked back into the house.
I snickered.
She
was tired of explaining things to
me
? Surely she was joking. I stayed outside the doorway, assessing the water on the floor.
She turned around and looked me up and down. "Aw jeez, are we like vampires or something? Do you have to be invited in?"
"No," I laughed. "However, I do have manners. It's polite to wait for an invitation."
She almost smiled. "Whatever. Come in." For the first time since she awoke from her transformation, the tension seemed to ease between us. "You should laugh more. It makes you less monsterish."
I took one last drag from my joint, put it out on the doorframe, brushed away the ashes and replaced it in my armband. I stepped aside to clear a path. Flexing my fingers and reaching my hands in front of me, I guided all of the water across the floor and out the doorway. Within fifteen seconds the house was no longer flooded.
"Holy crap!" Yara yelled, her eyes wide with astonishment. "How'd you do that?"
I had forgotten how impressive our abilities might seem to someone who had never seen them. "Controlling water is one of our gifts."
"Teach me how to do it."
"Not now, Yara. We need to get back."
She flopped her hands at her sides. "Something finally seems cool about being mer, and you won't show me how to do it?"
I had to admit that part of me wanted to show off, but there was my promise to the Violets. I couldn't interfere in Yara's learning process. "You don't possess the ability to control water yet. Let's get you back in the ocean so you can strengthen your mer traits."
"Please, Treygan, I'm exhausted and I want to sleep—here, in my house. Not underwater."
Daylight was fading with each passing minute. She needed to get to a resting pool. "Sleep isn't necessary for you anymore."
"Don't tell me you people don't sleep," she said, taking her boots off. "You have to rest at some point."
"Rest, yes, but not sleep. Only one half of our brain rests at a time. The other half stays conscious. We're similar to dolphins that way."
Her nose crinkled as she rubbed her eyes. "How do you dream if you never sleep?"
"We have ambitions and goals. We don't need sleep for that."
"Not those kinds of dreams. Dreams like flying through candy-filled skies, or being a beautiful princess. You know, amazing, unexplainable things that stay with you after you wake up."
"I'm not fond of sweets, and why would I want to be a princess?" I asked, following her into the living room.
"Oh, shut up. You know what I mean." She flipped a light switch but nothing happened. The storm must have caused a power outage.
"We can daydream, but even that seems like a waste of valuable time."
"Forget it. We are obviously way too different to understand each other." She stretched out on the sofa, resting her head on a pillow and yawning. "My body feels weak."
I should have insisted she smoke. How could I have been so careless? "Why didn't you say that before? You need weed."
She crinkled her nose again. "I'm not a stoner."
I went rigid. Did she know what I was? No, she couldn't possibly. She had to mean something else. "What's a stoner?"
Her mouth twisted into a sneer. "Um, a drug addict. Man, what rock have you been living under?" She propped herself up on one elbow. "That weed you smoke, we call it drugs here in Humanville. It's illegal and kills brain cells."
We couldn't be talking about the same thing. "C-weed does not kill brain cells. And it would be useless to humans. Eventually, you will have to smoke it—unless you're suicidal." And if that was the case, I had a different proposition for her.
She rummaged through the coffee table drawers.
"Oh, of course." She mockingly bowed. "You're like the kingpin of the mer world."
I took another puff and blew smoke in her direction, hoping she might inhale some. "Kingfin? What is that?"
"King
pin
, not fin. Forget it. I'm tired of explaining things to you." She walked back into the house.
I snickered.
She
was tired of explaining things to
me
? Surely she was joking. I stayed outside the doorway, assessing the water on the floor.
She turned around and looked me up and down. "Aw jeez, are we like vampires or something? Do you have to be invited in?"
"No," I laughed. "However, I do have manners. It's polite to wait for an invitation."
She almost smiled. "Whatever. Come in." For the first time since she awoke from her transformation, the tension seemed to ease between us. "You should laugh more. It makes you less monsterish."
I took one last drag from my joint, put it out on the doorframe, brushed away the ashes and replaced it in my armband. I stepped aside to clear a path. Flexing my fingers and reaching my hands in front of me, I guided all of the water across the floor and out the doorway. Within fifteen seconds the house was no longer flooded.
"Holy crap!" Yara yelled, her eyes wide with astonishment. "How'd you do that?"
I had forgotten how impressive our abilities might seem to someone who had never seen them. "Controlling water is one of our gifts."
"Teach me how to do it."
"Not now, Yara. We need to get back."
She flopped her hands at her sides. "Something finally seems cool about being mer, and you won't show me how to do it?"
I had to admit that part of me wanted to show off, but there was my promise to the Violets. I couldn't interfere in Yara's learning process. "You don't possess the ability to control water yet. Let's get you back in the ocean so you can strengthen your mer traits."
"Please, Treygan, I'm exhausted and I want to sleep—here, in my house. Not underwater."
Daylight was fading with each passing minute. She needed to get to a resting pool. "Sleep isn't necessary for you anymore."
"Don't tell me you people don't sleep," she said, taking her boots off. "You have to rest at some point."
"Rest, yes, but not sleep. Only one half of our brain rests at a time. The other half stays conscious. We're similar to dolphins that way."
Her nose crinkled as she rubbed her eyes. "How do you dream if you never sleep?"
"We have ambitions and goals. We don't need sleep for that."
"Not those kinds of dreams. Dreams like flying through candy-filled skies, or being a beautiful princess. You know, amazing, unexplainable things that stay with you after you wake up."
"I'm not fond of sweets, and why would I want to be a princess?" I asked, following her into the living room.
"Oh, shut up. You know what I mean." She flipped a light switch but nothing happened. The storm must have caused a power outage.
"We can daydream, but even that seems like a waste of valuable time."
"Forget it. We are obviously way too different to understand each other." She stretched out on the sofa, resting her head on a pillow and yawning. "My body feels weak."
I should have insisted she smoke. How could I have been so careless? "Why didn't you say that before? You need weed."
She crinkled her nose again. "I'm not a stoner."
I went rigid. Did she know what I was? No, she couldn't possibly. She had to mean something else. "What's a stoner?"
Her mouth twisted into a sneer. "Um, a drug addict. Man, what rock have you been living under?" She propped herself up on one elbow. "That weed you smoke, we call it drugs here in Humanville. It's illegal and kills brain cells."
We couldn't be talking about the same thing. "C-weed does not kill brain cells. And it would be useless to humans. Eventually, you will have to smoke it—unless you're suicidal." And if that was the case, I had a different proposition for her.
She rummaged through the coffee table drawers.
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