But she nearly fell off the bike when they drove past an open expanse of brown water and she spotted an enormous blue-green horse’s head curved over the surface. The horse tossed its head, slinging a spray of water from its iridescent blue mane. Its long serpentine tail flicked over the water, propelling it forward, toward the road.

“Was that a sea horse monster?” Dani yelled.

“Yep! A hippocampus. They’re an old Phoenician creature, liked to swim alongside the boats to give the sailors protection. That one swam all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and then forged his way upriver. Determined little bastard.”

“He’s hardly little,” Dani shot back. “That thing is bigger than my car.”

Zed laughed and picked up his speed. She wondered whether she’d passed some sort of test to provoke him out of his granny-driving, proving that she wouldn’t flop off the bike when surprised. The increase in miles per hour was delightful, zooming down the surprisingly smooth blacktop past trees overgrown with Spanish moss and waterways haunted by the otherworldly. The air in Mystic Bayou was considerably more pleasant than the “Devil’s Armpit” area Dani had to drive through to get to Mystic Parish. The air she now inhaled was a mix of honeysuckle, pine and growth—the green, earthy scent of living. If Dani could burn a candle that smelled like that, she might never feel tired.

She was feeling more than a little tired at the moment. She often felt drained by calls from her mother, which was why she sought out a meditation spot al fresco. Susan’s number popped up on Dani’s satellite phone while she was making breakfast that morning, and for a moment, Dani considered ignoring the call. But considering that she hadn’t spoken to her mother in eight months, morbid curiosity had her hitting “accept.”

“Hello, mother,” Dani said, spreading strawberry jam on her toast while balancing her phone on her shoulder.

“Danica, hello. How are you?”

“Just fine, thank you. And you?”

“I’m well, thank you. My research is progressing at a satisfactory rate.”

It felt like the sort of conversation prisoners had when they knew the warden was listening in, stilted, cold, and uncomfortable. How had this careful, controlled woman managed to catch her wayward father’s attention, much less make the irresponsible choices that led to an unplanned pregnancy? Dani had long suspected there were pot brownies involved, but she was afraid to ask. There were some mental images that could never be unseen.

“I’m calling to wish you a happy birthday.”

Dani pressed her lips together to keep the annoyed grunt behind her teeth. “Thanks, mother. Only three months late this year.”