Drowned me?
And could I have done anything to stop him?
And would I?
I swallowed.
“How do you feel?” said Gran, watching me.
“I’m okay,” I assured her. “Thank you,” I told Sean. “You saved my life down there.”
“No problem.” Sean cleared his throat. “Well, I’ll let you two sort things out.” He hesitated, as if looking for something else to say. “Go ahead and keep the blanket,” he finally told me, and left.
Gran leaned over and rubbed my arms through the scratchy wool, in a brisk no-nonsense fashion. “At least now you know,” she muttered. “Part of it, anyhow.”
“Know what?” I squinted, watching Sean walk away.
Gran paused. “About Helen.”
My attention snapped back to Gran’s face.
“Your mother didn’t leave Trespass, Delia. She
escaped
.”
CHAPTER 6
R ight after they get hit on the head is never the best time to tell someone they’re trapped on an isolated island surrounded by sea monsters. Not that there’s ever a
good
time for that kind of thing.
“Seeing the Glaukos like that,” said Gran. “That must have been darned unsettling.”
“Unsettling?” I repeated. “It feels more like reality just got yanked out from under me and I’ve been tossed on my butt into the Twilight Zone.” I was back at Gran’s, lying in bed with an ice pack on my forehead. Maybe I wasn’t poisoned by a lethal tail spike, but my headache was so bad, I almost wished I had been. “How long has it been like this?”
“The First Ones have always been here,” she answered,striding around the room. She set a tray of toast and hot tea on the side table. “This island belongs to them.”
“And they’re demigods,” I said. “What is that exactly? Some kind of deity-lite?”
This was probably uncalled for, but at that point I felt kind of woozy and detached. How could sarcasm make things any worse? Besides, I truly wasn’t sure what it meant. The little mythology I knew had never had any practical application.
Hello? Isn’t that the whole point of mythology, not to have any practical application?
“They’re descended from Poseidon,” said Gran. “When he …,” Here she hesitated, pursing her lips with an oddly prim expression. “…
visited
a mortal woman, their offspring would be half mortal and half god. A few of their kind have survived through the ages, and live in these waters.”
Maybe it was the whack on the head or being nearly drowned, but I believed it. There was no way the things I’d seen today were anything natural or normal.
“Descended from Poseidon. Okay.” I thought of the strange symbols I’d seen carved in the village, and of Gran’s mysterious trip down to the beach last night. “So. Do you worship these First Ones?”
Gran tossed a napkin on the tray. “Worship them? Certainly not!” Color crept up her neck. “I’m a Christian woman.” She jerked a shoulder as if to shrug off the very idea. “But we live together, side by side. That’s how it’s always been here on Trespass.”
“Side by side, huh?” I raised an eyebrow, then lowered it because that hurt the tail-whack spot. “It sounds more like they call the shots.”
Gran looked uneasy. “It’s true, there are rules,” she admitted. “We don’t leave Trespass. A few of the fishermen have permission to bring their catches into Portland, buy certain things. But we have just about everything we need right here. The island is guarded by the fog you came through, and the reef. In other ways too. Like the Glaukos. But it’s just to keep the island safe from outsiders. The First Ones provide everything we need. They just ask for certain things in return.”
“What kind of things?”
“Loyalty,” said Gran after a second’s hesitation. “It’s an old-fashioned thing, and I know you won’t understand, not being raised here. But they stick to their side of the bargain, and we stick to ours.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “The Accord was struck hundreds
And could I have done anything to stop him?
And would I?
I swallowed.
“How do you feel?” said Gran, watching me.
“I’m okay,” I assured her. “Thank you,” I told Sean. “You saved my life down there.”
“No problem.” Sean cleared his throat. “Well, I’ll let you two sort things out.” He hesitated, as if looking for something else to say. “Go ahead and keep the blanket,” he finally told me, and left.
Gran leaned over and rubbed my arms through the scratchy wool, in a brisk no-nonsense fashion. “At least now you know,” she muttered. “Part of it, anyhow.”
“Know what?” I squinted, watching Sean walk away.
Gran paused. “About Helen.”
My attention snapped back to Gran’s face.
“Your mother didn’t leave Trespass, Delia. She
escaped
.”
CHAPTER 6
R ight after they get hit on the head is never the best time to tell someone they’re trapped on an isolated island surrounded by sea monsters. Not that there’s ever a
good
time for that kind of thing.
“Seeing the Glaukos like that,” said Gran. “That must have been darned unsettling.”
“Unsettling?” I repeated. “It feels more like reality just got yanked out from under me and I’ve been tossed on my butt into the Twilight Zone.” I was back at Gran’s, lying in bed with an ice pack on my forehead. Maybe I wasn’t poisoned by a lethal tail spike, but my headache was so bad, I almost wished I had been. “How long has it been like this?”
“The First Ones have always been here,” she answered,striding around the room. She set a tray of toast and hot tea on the side table. “This island belongs to them.”
“And they’re demigods,” I said. “What is that exactly? Some kind of deity-lite?”
This was probably uncalled for, but at that point I felt kind of woozy and detached. How could sarcasm make things any worse? Besides, I truly wasn’t sure what it meant. The little mythology I knew had never had any practical application.
Hello? Isn’t that the whole point of mythology, not to have any practical application?
“They’re descended from Poseidon,” said Gran. “When he …,” Here she hesitated, pursing her lips with an oddly prim expression. “…
visited
a mortal woman, their offspring would be half mortal and half god. A few of their kind have survived through the ages, and live in these waters.”
Maybe it was the whack on the head or being nearly drowned, but I believed it. There was no way the things I’d seen today were anything natural or normal.
“Descended from Poseidon. Okay.” I thought of the strange symbols I’d seen carved in the village, and of Gran’s mysterious trip down to the beach last night. “So. Do you worship these First Ones?”
Gran tossed a napkin on the tray. “Worship them? Certainly not!” Color crept up her neck. “I’m a Christian woman.” She jerked a shoulder as if to shrug off the very idea. “But we live together, side by side. That’s how it’s always been here on Trespass.”
“Side by side, huh?” I raised an eyebrow, then lowered it because that hurt the tail-whack spot. “It sounds more like they call the shots.”
Gran looked uneasy. “It’s true, there are rules,” she admitted. “We don’t leave Trespass. A few of the fishermen have permission to bring their catches into Portland, buy certain things. But we have just about everything we need right here. The island is guarded by the fog you came through, and the reef. In other ways too. Like the Glaukos. But it’s just to keep the island safe from outsiders. The First Ones provide everything we need. They just ask for certain things in return.”
“What kind of things?”
“Loyalty,” said Gran after a second’s hesitation. “It’s an old-fashioned thing, and I know you won’t understand, not being raised here. But they stick to their side of the bargain, and we stick to ours.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “The Accord was struck hundreds
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