Flicking on my flashlight, I set out along the marked trail that led to the river. That was the easy part. When I reached the river, I departed from the trail and plunged into the undergrowth.

I’d spent a lot of time playing along the river as a kid, but that had been years ago, and it seemed I’d lost the knack of moving effortlessly through nature. Twigs caught at my hair, and vines tangled my feet. I blundered underneath low-hanging branches and tripped over fallen logs.

By the time I reached my destination, a broad, secluded bend in the river, there were streaks of orange and pink in the sky, mirrored in the still surface of the water. A shy green heron took issue at my approach, tall-stepping carefully away into deeper cover among the reeds. Dragonflies were beginning to stir, darting about on translucent wings.

I took a moment to drink in the beauty and tranquillity of the place, then removed the string of pearls and broke it with a sharp yank, pouring the tiny iridescent beads into the palm of my hand.

“Sisters of the river!” I called. “I come bearing offerings!”

With that, I flung the pearls toward the river. They fell in a shimmering rain, pebbling the smooth surface of the water.

I didn’t have to wait long before the river roiled in answer, dozens of lithe figures flitting through the water in response to my summons: naiads with milk-white skin, undines with hair trailing like glassy kelp, quicksilver nixies darting like minnows. They dived deep into the green waters in pursuit of my offering. I’d never seen so many in one place, and the sheer loveliness of it made my heart ache a little. That lasted for as long as it took the head cheerleader of the aquatic mean girls to open her mouth and speak.

A naiad surfaced before me, her alabaster shoulders bobbing above the water, disdain on her beautiful face. “What manner of offering is this?” she demanded, holding up a bead between thumb and forefinger. “These are cultured pearls.”

Inwardly, I sighed.

“Forgive me, sister,” I said aloud in a humble tone. “They were the best I could obtain on short notice.” I gestured at an undine behind her who was threading pearl beads through her glimmering hair. “Do they not enhance your beauty?”

The naiad gave a sniff, her gaze skating over me and lingering pointedly on my white Keds. “What do you seek, halfling?”

“A young man drowned in the river the night before last,” I said. “I would know how.”

The naiad reared up in the water, baring a pair of coral-tipped breasts I had to reluctantly admit were pretty exquisite. Capable of luring a man to a watery doom? That, I couldn’t say. “Do you accuse us?”