Gesturing to the snake lady’s wake, she asks, “Shouldn’t you do something about that?”
“Yes!” I jump back, beaming. “Yes, we should.”
I stare at her, beyond thrilled that she has admitted to seeing the creature. And maybe that will mean she’s willing to accept her responsibility as a huntress. Then the three of us can be reunited as sisters, as the Key Generation, and we can roam the streets, tracking monsters together. We’ll figure out what the seal is all about and how we’re supposed to be making the world safer for—
“And that something would be . . . ?”
“Right,” I say, jerking myself back to the immediate situation. Tourists. Wharf. Sea-serpent lady. “First, we need to get her away from this crowd.”
“Um, we? And how do you suggest
“Oh, I’ve got an idea,” I say, a plan forming in my mind. A dangerous plan, true, but it’s the only one I’ve got. “You go down to the end of the pier, out of sight behind the building, where there won’t be any people.”
“And where will you be?”
I give her a shaky grin. “I’ll bring the monster.”
Greer looks unconvinced but heads off to the end of the pier. I turn and follow the sounds of grunts and thuds to where the snake-lady has almost made it off the pier and onto the mainland. I need to be fast. For a lot of reasons.
Catching up to her serpent tail, I take a deep breath, tell myself to be brave, and stomp my foot down on the scaly flesh as hard as I can.
Snake-lady howls in pain, spinning her torso around to face her attacker.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I say, with mock sincerity and even more mock courage. “Did that hurt?”
“A huntress,” she coos, a look of evil delight creasing her craggy features.
“You guessed it,” I retort. My hands are shaking so hard, I have to grasp the straps of my backpack to hide obvious signs of my fear. “And people say snakes are dumb.”
As she emits an earsplitting howl, her torso dives forward, the rest of her serpenty body coiling around for the strike. That’s my cue.
I turn and run, slipping through whatever space I can find in the crush of people, shoving into bodies left and right if they’re in my way. It’s a dash for my life at this point. Possibly for a lot of people’s lives. Maybe I shouldn’t have taunted the evil monster—the lure of the bounty might have been enough to get her attention—but I had to get her to follow me. And making her angry was the only way I came up with.
Now I know why a rabbit’s heart beats so fast when you catch it, because mine is fluttering in my chest like a butterfly on a sugar rush.
Finally, after what seems like forever, the crowd thins and I can sprint straight for the end of the pier. I skid around the corner, where Greer is waiting with a bored expression.
“She’s coming,” I pant. “Get ready!”
“Ready for what?” Greer asks, a sudden look of sheer panic on her face.
“To pounce.” I brace myself into a defensive stance. “Grab on and don’t let go no matter what.”
I’ve barely finished my command when snake-lady comes slithering around the corner. Her beady eyes focus on me, so she doesn’t see Greer standing next to the wall.
“Now!” I shout.
Without hesitation, Greer dives onto the serpent tail. I give her a little silent cheer. The creature twists to see what has landed on her tail. I take advantage and launch myself onto her back.
I have no idea where the hot spot on this creature is—I’m not even sure what the creature is called—but since I’m not interested in my first taste of monster, I’m hoping a single bite in the torso will do the trick. Since it’s a human torso, I’m going for close to the neck.
She’s not thrilled to have me as a passenger, that’s obvious, and as soon as I wrap my arms and legs around her, she starts thrashing around, trying to dislodge me. I squeeze tight and ride it out, hoping for an opportunity to bite her without knocking my teeth out in the process.
The world around me spins, everything a blur. I hear a big splash.
Oh no, what if she takes us into the Bay? She might be able to breathe underwater, but Greer and I would drown. I have to take a chance and get my fangs into her flesh fast.
Without further hesitation, I pull myself up a few inches, close my eyes, and bite. Thankfully, I feel my fangs pop out as my lips brush her flesh. I can only hope my venom is making its way into her bloodstream.
After a few more moments of holding on for dear life—only now accompanied by the eardrum-bursting screams of a monster in agony—suddenly my arms are wrapped around thin air. I fall several feet to the weathered boards of the pier, landing with a thud. My breath whooshes out of me. It takes a few seconds of painful effort to get my lungs working again.
“Holy goalie,” I gasp, rolling onto my back and staring up at the overcast sky. “We did it.”
When Greer doesn’t respond, I call her name. Nothing. I sit up and look around, afraid something awful has happened to her. But then . . .
I stifle a giggle.
“Uh . . .”
Well, she’s not dead. That’s something.
“Guess I know what that splash was, huh?”
“Apparently.”
Greer is standing about ten feet away, right at the edge of the pier, completely drenched. Her beautiful hair is hanging down in limp, dripping clumps. The gorgeous sequined tank and gray skirt have a slightly brownish tint. One of her shoes is missing.
“Oh Greer,” I say, scrambling to my feet. “I’m so—”
“Don’t.” Her eyes squeeze shut. She looks like she’s doing deep-breathing meditation or something.
“Can I help?” I offer. Slinging my backpack to one shoulder, I unzip the main compartment. “I have my gym clothes in here. They’re not exactly clean, but they’re dry.”
“This is
I jerk back, confused. “What? How? How is this my fault?”
“You were following me,” she accuses.
“Well, um . . . . kinda.”
“Well, um,” she says mockingly. “Then that creature must have climbed out of the Bay to find
“It didn’t,” I insist, even though I can’t really be sure of that. From everything Gretchen has said, I think that’s unlikely, but even she admits that things are changing right now.
“If you hadn’t shown up on my doorstep today,” she continues, “I would still be upstairs, enjoying exquisite shrimp scampi with Kyle and deciding whether he’s earned a goodnight kiss. I would still be blissfully ignorant, and monster sighting would just be an embarrassing childhood memory.”
“I’m sorry.” I don’t know what else to say.
“Instead, I’m drenched in stinky, fishy Bay water.” She looks like she wants to throw up but has too much class to do it. “I’m seeing mythological monsters again. I’ve lost a two-hundred-dollar shoe to the murky depths, and my favorite date outfit is completely ruined.”
I feel awful. Especially since my only side effects from the fight are a bad taste in my mouth and getting the wind knocked out of me for a few seconds.
“Maybe, if you take it to a dry cleaner . . .” I suggest.
She spears me with an annoyed look. A clump of seaweed drops off her head and onto her bare foot.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she says with a finality in her tone that worries me, “I need to go figure out how to retrieve my purse without my boyfriend—or anyone more than absolutely necessary, for that matter—seeing me in this state.”
“But Greer—”
“Good.” She turns on her one shoe and stomps lopsidedly away. “Bye.”
With sloshy up-and-down steps, she disappears around the corner. Okay, so she’s not thrilled. And I feel bad for her getting dunked in the Bay, I really do.
But I can’t help but be excited. She saw the snake-lady
