Read Surrendering (Swans Landing) for Free Online

of duct tape and canned beans and mosquito repellent.
    Jim Moody stood behind the counter, his bushy arms crossed over his chest as he studied the crowd in the store. Maybe he was watching to make sure no one stole anything, or maybe he was just uncomfortable being around so many finfolk at once.
    It didn’t surprise me that most of the crowd in the store was finfolk. Only a few humans were actually friendly to finfolk—Mr. Moody; my guidance counselor from school, Mr. Richter; Mara’s friend Claire, who stayed close to Mara’s side; Mrs. Kinsey, the local lawyer; and a handful of others. Not enough. Not as many as we would need if we hoped to fight back against whatever army Domnall brought with him.
    “There are some people missing,” Mr. Moody said as he looked over the crowd. “More getting sick, I reckon.”
    I raised my eyebrows. “Sick?”
    His beard twitched as he pressed his lips together. “Strange symptoms, like Gale’s. Fatigue, confusion. Humans and finfolk both. Dr. Hanson can’t figure it out.”
    I frowned as this information sank in.
    “Go on, boy,” Mr. Moody told me, nodding his gray head. “I think that’s all that’s coming.”
    I exchanged a glance with Mara, who sat on a barstool next to her dad. Lake’s mouth was set in a firm, thin line. I was sure he had already heard some of the details from Mara.
    I cleared my throat, trying to get everyone’s attention. “Hello,” I called out.
    But the conversations continued and my voice became lost in the noise.
    “If I could have your attention,” I said.
    When the noise still didn’t settle down, Mara shouted, “Shut up and listen!”
    All conversation came to an abrupt end and dozens of eyes turned toward me.
    I wasn’t a public speaker. I had spent my life trying to be as invisible as possible. The urge to burrow into my big hoodie and disappear overwhelmed me, and I had to take a deep breath before going on.
    “If you don’t know me, I’m Josh Canavan,” I said, though the words were unnecessary. Everyone knew everyone else on the island, whether we wanted to or not.
    “Oliver’s boy,” someone said, though I didn’t see who.
    I nodded. “My dad loved the finfolk. He studied them and tried to learn everything he could about them.” I swallowed back the lump in my throat. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to get to know him. But I know if he was still alive, he would have made sure he was here tonight. There is danger coming to the island that will affect all of us, both finfolk and human.”
    For a second time that day, I told how Sailor and I had found our way to Hether Blether and met the finfolk there. I spoke about the things we had learned from them, the things we had seen with our own eyes and heard them say.
    “The king of the finfolk believes that his island is dying out because our ancestors left three hundred years ago,” I finished. “He believes that he can save the finfolk race by finding us. By taking over our home and our people, by forcing us to join him. Maybe it’s his duty to do what he thinks is best for his people, but it is our duty to protect our home from this invasion. We are not all finfolk here. Domnall knows how to use the finfolk songs against humans, even against those of us with a small amount of human blood. He will do whatever he has to in order to get what he wants.”
    The room fell silent when I stopped speaking. I looked around at the faces that stared back at me, waiting for someone to say something, to have an answer to help us.
    Mr. Richter straightened from where he was leaning against the wall. “Why does this Domnall think that coming here will save his people? What exactly is it he wants?”
    “He thinks that the mists that protect Hether Blether from the outside world are failing because the song has lost its power,” Callum spoke up. He stood, grimacing as he put weight on his wooden leg. We had left Sailor and her mother with Miss Gale, letting them all sleep