Always Remembered Read Online Free Page B

“No! How
awful!”
    “It was. He looked horrible.” Clearing my
throat, I added, “He was one of the Blue Men, Ula. He changed
before he died to show us.”
    “What?” Her reaction reminded me of my dad’s.
She paled in shock and swayed on her feet. “How is that even
possible? They can take human form?”
    “Clearly, they can,” I said. “Ted is the one
who told us that Ken has Evan. Ted also said Ken is the leader of
the Blue Men.”
    “Oh, Meara.” Ula stopped walking and turned
to face me. She searched my face, her eyes full of sympathy. “What
are you going to do?”
    I shrugged. “What can I do? Dad and Brigid
are in the Minch right now. I promised him I wouldn’t leave the
island. I’m going to do the only thing I can.”
    “Which is…?” She raised one eyebrow and
waited.
    “Train the hell out of everyone and build an
army.” My resolve was set. I would arm our people for success. “The
Blue Men won’t know what hit them.”

 
     

    “You’re
here.”
    Deanna sounded surprised. Evan sat up and
rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time
he took such a long nap, well, one that wasn’t induced by someone
drugging him. He felt refreshed. Giving her a wry smile, he asked,
“Can I leave? And if I could, where would I go? It’s not like I
know my way around the ocean.” He glanced down at his blue arms.
“And I certainly won’t be accepted on land, looking like this.”
    She ignored his questions and asked, “Are you
hungry again?”
    “I could eat.”
    “Good.” The tense expression left her face,
and she held the door open. “Let ’ s go get
some food.”
    They swam toward the ocean floor. Evan was
surprised at how easy it was to swim as one of the Blue Men.
Although his form was still humanoid, the longer limbs and clawed
hands cut through the water with ease. He had no trouble keeping
pace with Deanna. The only time he came up short was out of
surprise when they approached the entrance to a large cave. The
brightly lit interior showed it was full of activity. To Evan’s
amusement, it looked like an underwater cafeteria, complete with
trays, buckets of silverware, and bins of various foods.
    “You can pick what you want to eat.” Deanna
handed Evan a tray before taking one for herself. “Ask me if you
want to know what anything is.” She wrinkled her nose slightly in a
way Evan found cute. “It’s all mostly okay tasting. I tend to stick
to the fruits and vegetables.”
    Evan gestured to the line in front of them.
“By all means, lead the way then. I’ll mimic what you do.”
    Deanna seemed startled at first, but she
quickly recovered. As they moved through the line, she explained
the oddly shaped and colored items to him. He saw the xi fruit he
tried earlier. A green, prickly bulb with bright purple flesh
looked interesting. He pointed to it and raised an eyebrow.
    “Rylotta.” Deanna took one and placed it on
her plate. “They’re yummy when they’re ripe and bitter if they’re
not. These look good.”
    Evan took one, avoiding the long, needle-like
spikes. Opening it would be an adventure. He’d watch Deanna eat
hers first.
    The next section was fish and shellfish. Most
were raw and reminded him of sashimi. He took several pieces before
nodding to Deanna that he was ready to go. She led them to a table
in the back corner. As they passed other Sirens and Blue Men, a few
gave them curious glances. No one stopped to talk or introduce
themselves. Evan didn’t mind. He wasn’t feeling very sociable,
especially since no one looked particularly friendly.
    He wanted to ask Deanna more about his
circumstances. Was he still a prisoner? She didn’t answer him
earlier, although she did say she was surprised to find him in his
room. Did that mean he could’ve left if he wanted to?
    Something told him not to ask her here. He
let her carry the dinner conversation, which led to numerous
questions about life on land, high school, college, and