Girls Day Out: A Syrena Legacy Story Read Online Free Page B

left The Enchantment behind, and also since we’ve spoken to each other. Still, Rayna is my only way back to shore. In a timely manner, that is. I’m sure Galen and Toraf would come looking for me eventually, but after today’s ordeal, I’m exhausted and just want to take a shower and go to bed.
    We approach the belly of a fishing vessel, which means we’re getting closer to shore. Rayna stops and turns to face me. “We could still salvage the day with that boat over there.”
    “What do you mean?” I’m wary that our definition of “salvage” is vastly different. Along with our views on life in general.
    “I’ll show you.” Coming from Rayna, those words scare me. “But first, you might want to help your friends over there.”
    A large school of sizeable amberjack under the boat circles, obviously flirting with the idea of going after the big chunk of meat dangling from a not-so-invisible fishing line. “Swim away,” I call to them. “Danger! Swim away.” They scatter in all directions, and a few of them come to inspect me and Rayna. One of the trio bumps into my shoulder.
    “I’m not food,” I tell it. “Go away.”
    But it’s Rayna who swims away first, toward the vessel. She skims the ocean floor on the way, dredging her hand through the sand, stirring up all kinds of muck.
    “What are you doing?” I say when I catch up to her.
    “Help me find a stick or something.” Then her eyes rest on a sunken bed of seaweed a few feet away from us. “That will do, actually.” She digs up an armful of it and swims over to the vessel. Meticulously, she wraps the seaweed around and around the fishing line, covering the hook completely. “You’ve got to be careful not to tug on the line,” she explains. “They’ll pull it up early and then there’ll be no fun.”
    I nod because what else am I supposed do?
    When she’s used all the seaweed, she inspects the end of the line where the hook used to be visible. Softly, she presses into the seaweed blob and finds the point of it. “The seaweed is to help you grip,” she says. “You don’t want the hook slipping around in your hands. There’s a second point here on the inside of it that you’ve got to watch out for.” With her thumb, she delicately rubs where she thinks the second point is. “If you pull too hard, you’ll hook yourself. I’ve done it before. I thought Toraf would pass out.”
    And I’ve got nothing.
    Wrapping one hand around the hook like a handle, she gives it a sharp tug. The line gives, allowing her several feet of slack. Almost instantly though, a tug responds in kind, and the line starts pulling her closer to the boat. She giggles. “Watch,” she says, delighted.
    Then she starts swimming in the opposite direction, pulling the hook behind her as if to drag the vessel along with her. She actually makes some headway before a tug-of-war ensues. “Can you imagine what they’re thinking?” she snickers. “Whoa.”
    Suddenly, she’s jerked back and pulled toward the boat. “Let go!” I scream.
    “Why? You want a turn?”
    The word “exasperation” was invented for just this situation. “Rayna, stop messing around. What if they catch you?”
    Even in the distance, I see her roll her eyes. “What do you and Galen do for fun? No, don’t tell me. I’ll fall asleep.” Still holding the line, she puts a halt to the fisherman’s progress and starts swimming under the boat. “Let’s see what they think about this.”
    After a few minutes of this, the fishermen obviously make their way to the other side of the vessel where Rayna is swimming madly toward Europe. I can’t help but grin at the sight of her. She looks so young and innocent thrashing around in the water, wrenching the hook this way and that. I wonder if this is a game often played by Syrena; I doubt it. They have strict rules about interacting with humans.
    Rules that Rayna might as well use as toilet paper.
    I swim closer to the boat and listen. There’s a