Rhodoreef

16. The Swooping Phantom

The invitation electrified the atmosphere. Everyone oohed and aahed. Dea could only goggle at his face, her mouth ajar. The world appeared to recede into the distance—as did the babble of voices.

A simulation of the banquet started autoplaying in her mind, complete with magic and sparkles. This is it! I can unveil my true nature at this grand event! The ramifications of humans discovering merpeople exceeded her processing capacity at that moment, but she knew it would usher forth a new pro-human era. She fast-forwarded to a mesmerizing montage of possibilities.

"Aney, that's very nice of you, Mr. Goonewardane," Shiromi said next to him. "But Dea's been separated from her family. The police found her wandering alone near a shanty neighborhood just this afternoon."

"Oh." Dilip's face displayed total confusion. "What exactly happened?"

"I've been waiting to hear the story myself." The matron turned to Dea. "Didn't you say you needed to meet someone? Your family must be worried."

It's like I'm Burpy. Dea beamed at her and reached for her ogi. "Everything's fine. Thank you for helping me! I accept the invitation."

"Well, I understand you'd want to go, dear." She sighed. "An hour or two won't hurt, I believe."

"It's settled then." Dilip got to his feet. "I look forward to seeing you again. I can arrange transport as well."

Dea blinked. "That's kind of you. I'd need a big vehicle though."

"Right." His eyes roved over the Cypod. "I'll send an SUV. The driver will stow it away at the back."

"Actually, I'd need something bigger then, because I don't want to get out of my Cypod."

A child's sneeze was all that greeted her statement.

Mihiri poked her and hissed, "Are you asking him to send you a truck?"

Dea straightened up and tapped out a message. "I prefer to use the bus."

"Very well then," Dilip said, breaking the awkwardness. "It's not far from here. Let me know if you change your mind."

One of the men gave her a slip of paper with the address. It was the same address she had in her possession.

After Dilip Goonewardane left, the girls burst into excited babble. Merlingo failed to translate most of the colloquial words, some of which sounded like "marai" and "shok". Dea couldn't help grinning, her face feeling warmer than Gramma's heating pad.

"You're so lucky!" Jee bounced on the balls of her feet.

A child no older than twelve pouted grumpily, prompting Mihiri to poke her. "Don't be jealous, you."

Shiromi called out over the laughter, "Now, children, let Dea get some rest. So much excitement today—and now this event tonight as well."

Soon afterwards, Dea found herself in a ground floor dormitory that was apparently occupied by four teens. Her eyes skimmed over bunk beds and tables that barely left any space to move. Two windows, fortified with grilles, looked out onto a patch of sky, now lit up in the prismatic colors of sunset. Orange beams spilled in and cast long shadows.

After failed attempts to get her to divulge information, the matron left to help the cook with dinner preparations.

Mihiri and Jee flung themselves onto a bed and started whacking each other with a pillow. Dea laughed, wishing she could slide out of the Cypod. My butt would probably need massaging after this is all over. Why does it have to ache already?

"Yo," a bored voice called from the top bunk. "Don't mess up the bed. Husie's going to come after you."

Dea craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the human sprawled on the top bunk.