Free Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) by Percival Constantine Page A

for a moment but then nodded and held up two fingers. “Two days, that’s it. Deal?”
    Erin offered her hand. “Deal.”
    Koji smirked and they shook on it.

CHAPTER 6

    Koji chose to stay behind and relax, but Erin took time to explore the town square. The sun was setting and she wandered around as people milled about. Some people avoided her as she walked around, but a few gave her half-hearted smiles.
    She wasn’t sure why everyone was so scared of her and Koji. She knew the rumors about Vanguard online, but she never expected there were people who actually believed that Vanguard was out to cause trouble for them. Persecuting their own kind, why would anyone think they were capable of that? All they’d ever done was stand up to specials who were endangering innocent lives.  
    Erin tried not to focus too much on it. She found herself wandering from town and out onto the shores. She saw a woman standing waist-deep in the water and Erin approached the waves. Erin started to wade into the water herself and called out.
    “Hey there.”
    The woman turned and Erin nearly gasped in surprise when she saw the gills on the woman’s neck. She dove beneath the water and Erin saw a tail splash above the surface.  
    “Wait!”
    Erin moved deeper into the ocean, treading out until the water level reached her neck. She looked around but could find no sign of the woman. And then she heard something behind her. Erin turned and the woman’s head poked out of the water. “Sorry if I scared you.”
    The mermaid just stared at her, not offering any response.
    “Are you okay?” asked Erin.  
    “You’re one of them .”
    “Them? Them what?” asked Erin. “You mean Vanguard?”
    The mermaid gave a nod. “You attacked other specials. Hunted them down for the government.”
    “No, it wasn’t like that,” said Erin. “We just tried to stop bad specials from hurting people. From putting themselves above the rest of us.”
    “So you weren’t working for the government?”
    “It’s—it’s not that simple,” said Erin. “Look, can we just go back to shore and I can explain things?”
    “You can’t even answer a simple question, how do you expect to explain anything?”
    “No, it’s just—” Erin sighed. “Look, there are just some things I can’t talk about. I wish I could, but I can’t.”
    “And you want me to trust you?” The mermaid swam out a little bit more. Her tail broke the surface and slammed back down, splashing water into Erin’s face. The young special wiped the water from her eyes and the mermaid was gone.  
    Erin sighed, treading water all alone. She couldn’t see any sign of that mermaid again. Why did so many specials hate them? She had hoped that Arcadia would be a place where they could be among their own kind.  
    She swam back to shore. Koji had agreed to stay a few days here but now she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to stay that long. Already she began to feel just as out of place as she felt back in Madison.
    ***
    Tuwa stepped into the building that served as the meeting room for the Council of Arcadia that included both the Exemplar and the Ferryman. But she was surprised to see a third man with a gray beard and a bald head sitting at the table.  
    The Exemplar closed the door behind Tuwa and led her to a seat, but she never took her eyes off the new arrival. “What’s he doing here?”
    “Animus came to tell us about the current mood of the island,” said the Exemplar.
    “And what can he tell us?” asked Tuwa as she sat at the table.
    Animus rested his elbows on the table, his fingers interlocked. “I think you’re playing with fire, my friends. Word is spreading fast among the populace. They know about your two new Vanguard friends and the fear is dripping off them.”
    “Maybe it’s not such a good idea for them to be here,” said the Ferryman. “Say the word and I’ll take them back where they came from.”
    “That’s a bit rash, isn’t it?” asked Tuwa.