Predator Girl (A Paranormal Romance) Read Free Page A

the damn forest on fire.”
    “Jeez, sorry.” Harney huffed, flicking down the stick and grinding the orange ember into the ground with his sneaker.
    Harney was a big dude, a wannabe body builder. If Hunters High had a wrestling team, he’d be on it. I’d never admit it aloud, but Harney was the kind of guy that made me nervous, and it wasn’t just because he could pick me up with one hand. Harney was reckless, as he clearly just demonstrated.
    Beside him, a lanky guy with a ponytail gave a bored sigh. Eli was a hippy—or so we called him. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll: that’s all he lived for. He didn’t even care that he had the Sight, that he was a Finder. Eli was after a good time with the nymphs. He didn’t normally hang with us; at school he barely threw a wave when we met in the halls. I didn’t like him much and tried to pretend he wasn’t there.
    The moon lit the way down the path. I could see the lake glittering through the trees. We were quiet tonight, unlike us. Usually we cracked jokes or innuendos. Maybe I wasn’t the only one feeling unnerved about returning to the lake. What if the nymphs had changed their minds about us?
    The trees thinned. We scaled the metal fence. Peter and Harney took the first steps out onto the pebbly beach. A cool wind rolled off the water, ruffling our hair. It smelled like salt and fish and drowned carnage. PIU must’ve been there recently, delivering dinner to the nymphs. This was good. Hopefully, they’d be less hungry. Maybe. We hung back as Peter scouted it out. Throwing an arm over his head, he gave us the okay.
    I left the bushes, and the others followed. While the boys hovered at the water’s edge, kicking the narrow tides, I slipped off my sneakers and headed out to the dock. The planks squeaked, lurching underfoot. The dock was old. So old, most wouldn’t take the risk and walk on it. Several boards were broken or missing already, but it would hold me up.
    I knew, because it held the nymphs.
    Something slimy soaked through my sock. I shivered, seeing a shiny coat of mermaid gunk on my foot. It was all over the end of the dock, a chemical that sea folk have to block the cold from their skin. It comes off when they’re out of the water for long periods of time; it has a pudding-like consistency. Oval scales in all shades of green and blue were strewn across the planks. Like snakes, mermaids shed their tails at least once a year, except that it doesn’t come off in one clean sheet. It comes off in pieces.
    The activity in the water intensified. Bubbles came shooting to the surface. Something green splashed out in the lake’s middle. They had heard us. Shadows appeared, forming a black stream toward the guys who sat near the tides. Now they cracked their jokes and made innuendos.
    I stiffened. A gentle breath hit my neck, heat rolling toward me from another body. Slowly, I tilted my head.
    She had left the water silently, just like last time. Fins traded for somewhat human feet, she stood before me with a smile on her pale blue face, white locks curling to her thighs. “Jared,” she purred.
    “Nilydra,” I greeted casually, but didn’t feel so calm.
    “I wondered if you’d come back.” She eyed my jacket. Her fingernails, yellow and broken, tugged on the zipper. “It’s been weeks. We thought you might be too afraid to return.”
    “What do I have to be afraid of?” It was a stupid question, even for a Finder. You should never test an Otherworlder. They don’t like arrogance, especially the predatory kind. They take it as a challenge. Any sign of pigheadedness may literally cost you an arm and leg.
    But Nilydra laughed. It was an odd noise, sort of like a dolphin’s. “Ah, yes, great Finder. What do you have to be afraid of indeed.” She worked loose my jacket, going in for the button-up flannel I had underneath.
    My skin twitched all over, but I didn’t stop her. She pressed her slick, chilly body up against my front. “You have everything