Excerpt

Chapter One

Nix Normal

I ran away from the circus.

What a joke. Most teens want to run away to the circus, but not me. No, I could never do anything normal. Not with a name like Pearl of the sea Poseidon.

And yes, that is my real name. It's on my birth certificate. Even though the certificate is fake.

My heart hardened with past pain. I clenched my hands around the broom handle. I continued to sweep the walkway around the fake lagoon at the Kingdom of Atlantis Miniature Golf Course. Instead of focusing on my past, I watched a teen balancing on a two-inch-wide black rail like a tightrope walker, his arms out for balance.

Trapeze artist or boneheaded boy? Only with hours and hours of training could a trick like that be pulled off.

I knew. It takes a lot of practice not to die.

Even though I didn't want to be noticed, I had to say something. "That's a twelve foot drop into a shallow pool. You want to crack your head open?"

The guy, wearing a black hoodie, narrowed his dark eyes. He wavered on the peeling black iron rail that guarded the fake lagoon. "Who are you? The janitor?"

His group of friends laughed.

Heat flooded my face and I found it difficult to keep my head up. I remembered all the times kids had made fun of what I did or what I wore. These teens didn't realize the khaki shorts and T-shirt weren't the real me. Just a uniform—another costume.

I ignored their cruel jibes. "Get down."

My gaze searched for one of the workers dressed in mermaid costumes. Based on the designer's idea of the lost island of Atlantis, the course boasted running rivers and a huge waterfall cascading into a murky pool. A cheap plastic statue of the sea god watched over the kingdom.

Funny, how my name related.

"Ah." The hoodie guy glanced at a girl with purple streaks in her hair. "The janitor cares more about me than you do, babe." He tossed a phone in the air and caught it.

"My cell." The girl's high pitched squeal hurt my ears.

An obviously harassed mother squeezed by the little scene, pushing a stroller and dragging a small toddler behind her. The toddler scuffed his feet on the ground and smiled in my direction.

I smiled back but I didn't want to seem soft, so I changed my expression to a scowl and glared at hoodie guy. "Get down or I'll call a security guard. They'll kick all of you out of the entire Boardwalk park."

"Come on, Joe. Get down." The busty girl held out her hand to him. "We're supposed to have fun today."

Must be nice to have a fun day where you didn't have to worry about your next meal, your sleeping arrangements, or if you'd ever be discovered. If only...

The steel inside me wavered for a second. But just a second.

"Only cause you asked nicely, babe." Joe shook his dyed black bangs before jumping off the rail and onto the path. He wrapped his arm around his babe and then cocked his bushy eyebrows at me. "Janitor-Girl better watch her mouth. I'm not going to be bossed around by a wage slave."

The put down should've hurt, but I'd been called worse things. Telling a customer where to shove his attitude wouldn't be smart. I needed this job and didn't need any extra attention.

Or questions.

Joe tossed me a superior smirk before moving on to the next hole. Disaster diverted. I blew out a large breath and returned to sweeping the walkways.

"Mommy. Look. I'm a big boy." A bit further up, the sandy haired toddler stood on a railing of the bridge that arched over the water. Balancing like Joe.

The mother, holding a dirty diaper, turned toward her older child's voice. "Brandon, no!"

The toddler teetered, waving his arms in a lopsided-windmill fashion. His body leaned over the bridge railing toward the water. His sandaled foot slipped, and his extra-large eyes widened. He lost his balance, tumbling into a freefall. He plummeted into the pool below, landing on his back as he hit the water.

My heart plunged like the boy.

Water splashed. The mom screamed. The teens, the other families, the entire crowd in Kingdom of Atlantis went silent. People froze like they were watching an action scene in a movie. But this was no movie. No staged accident or stunt.

I dropped the broom, hopped over the railing, and peered into the dark waters of the fake lagoon. The murky water appeared about six feet deep. My mind trembled with varying scenarios. Diving in could expose my special abilities. Not diving in could lead to the boy's death.

No other thought required. I couldn't risk the child for my selfish reasons. I dove.

Submerging under the dirty water it should've been difficult to see, but I saw clearly in any depth. The icy water would make most people shiver, but the circus owners had loved that they didn't have to spend money heating the pools because cold water didn't bother me.

The boy, on the other hand, would become hypothermic. My talent could save him. If I hurried.

The narrow pool was for decoration and it wouldn't take long to cover every inch. My gaze scoured the water as I swam. Clumps of mud gathered at the bottom. Stains lined the walls like a disgusting bath tub. I bet the lagoon had never been cleaned. Sludge dragged my speed, but I still swam faster than the average swimmer.

Or, not so average.

I flicked around and spotted Brandon at the bottom. I swam deeper and grabbed hold of him, but his tiny body wouldn't budge. His stark expression broadcasted his fear and begged for help. His cherubic cheeks puffed with the water already inside. His arms and legs kicked and flayed. He understood the danger.

So did I. My body shuddered. I ran my finger down his soft cheek. Calm down. I'm here to help.

He stopped kicking and I pulled harder. His yellow jacket stuck to the bottom of the pool. I pushed the windbreaker aside revealing the filter cover at the bottom.

The six-inch-by-four-inch metal cover was slimy and old, and Brandon's body stuck like glue. Suction pulled at him as the drain sucked water to be recycled in the waterfall flowing at the top of the lagoon. The strong force held the boy in place.

I reached for the zipper and pulled the tab. Jammed. The zipper was broken and the jacket was too tight to pull over his head.

The boy reached out and touched my arm. His eyes gleamed with hope. He totally trusted me.

But time ticked away. I gritted my teeth trying to smile, to show reassurance and confidence. Inside my tummy twisted and my muscles tightened. I needed to hurry.

His eyelids flickered and rolled backwards. His lids closed. He reached out again and then went limp. His skin was cold to the touch. Way too cold.

Panic prickled through my veins at the possibility of loss. My chest burned and I found it hard to breathe. Like hyperventilating, but only with water instead of air. The concern wasn't for me. I could stay underwater for indeterminate lengths of time. But the boy, if he didn't get oxygen soon he'd die.

My nerves rattled. Indecision wavered like the surface above. No one could see this deep in the dirty pool. No one had jumped in to help. No one would know. I placed my fingers in between the lines of the cover and tugged on the metal. The thick grate bent.

Another one of my weird powers that had been taken advantage of—super strength underwater.

"See the strongest girl in the world. See how long she can hold her breath. See her break diving and swimming records." The master of ceremonies hawked night after night after night. I'd never forget his exploitive voice.

Shivering at the memory, I jerked myself out of the past and into the present. No time for day-nightmaring.

I yanked on the metal grate again. The six screws holding the cover in place popped out and sucked into the hole temporarily breaking the suction. I yanked the toddler away, tucking him under my arm like a football. I fought against the current to a position a few feet away but stayed under the water to conceal my next move.

The kid had been under water too long. If he wasn't already dead, he'd have substantial brain injuries. I needed to take proactive action. And fast.

I settled my mouth over his and breathed into him. His lungs inflated and his heart calmed. Another trick I'd learned in my other life—performing CPR worked better in the water, at least for me.

He opened his mouth. The boy didn't choke on the water but inhaled it like air. His eyelids reopened with a new brightness. He didn't look scared anymore. He was going to be okay, like he'd just fallen in, instead of being underwater for minutes.

A loud splash sounded a few feet away. A guy with longish brown hair swam underwater toward us. His shirt and shorts dragged. Panic jolted my core. Had he witnessed my lifesaving breath?

The guy held out his strong hand. He wanted to help pull me up. With Brandon tucked under my arm, I put my hand in his. Together, we kicked to the surface.

People clapped when we broke through the water. A crowd surrounded the lagoon. I gasped for air, not because I'd been underwater but because the people and the clapping circled me, closed me in. My body flushed and grew clammy at the same time. Claustrophobia knotted my stomach. I hated applause directed at me. I'd left that life behind.

I searched the audience. Fear cascaded down my back like the waterfall behind me. No one here could discover my talents.

"You okay?" The guy wrapped an arm around the metal ladder built into the side of the lagoon. His wavy brown hair almost covered the concern in his blue eyes.

"Yeah."

"Hand him to me." His striped manager's polo shirt was covered in mud and his khaki shorts were half hidden by the dirty water.

I'd never seen him around Mermaid Beach Boardwalk before. But I'd only worked here a couple of days and it was a big place with hundreds of part-time seasonal employees.

I handed him my valuable cargo. "Where's his mother?"

"Up top. Ambulance is on the way." His blue gaze pierced me. "Sure you're okay? You were under for awhile." His caring attitude threatened my anonymity.

I nodded and glanced away, avoiding his penetrating stare.

The guy climbed the ladder and laid the boy on the Astroturf grass near the fake palm trees. He rolled the toddler on his side and cleared his airway of debris. "He's breathing."

Of course he is. The guy didn't even need to take precautions. My breath was a lifesaving guarantee.

The mom rushed to her son's side.

I went up the ladder and climbed over the railing. Searching out the mother, I mouthed, "He's going to be okay." There was no doubt in my mind. I'd seen it all before.

Her eyes, bright from tears, sparkled. "Thank you."

A gaggle of girls dressed in worker mermaid costumes rushed forward toward the Astroturf where the gorgeous guy kneeled by Brandon. The show of concern on their faces appeared genuine, but focused on the guy. Not the small boy.

"Are you okay?" a red-headed girl who worked the snack shack cooed.

"You're a hero," a bleached blonde mermaid gushed.

"Save me next time." A brunette shot him a flirty smile. "I'll definitely need mouth-to-mouth."

A disgusted snort shot out from between my lips. Sure, now the other workers showed up. Female workers.

Compared to the mermaids, I probably looked like a drowned Floridian rat. My clothes dripped like I'd been caught in a storm. I smelled like sewer. My long blonde hair in its once-neat ponytail shed water like a dog's tail.

And because of the rescue, my newest home might be my last.