Chapter 3

The next morning, Carla's scream rang through the house.

I pushed open the door and saw Dean and Carla standing beside Nico's bed, their eyes wide with disbelief.

With trembling hands, Carla untied the red bandanna.

The six pearls, no bigger than ordinary pearls the night before, had grown to the size of grapes.

Dean snatched one up and weighed it in his palm, trembling with excitement.

"We're rich! We're really rich this time!"

He took the pearls into town and returned before noon with a huge stack of cash.

The whole family erupted into celebration.

Dean bought an enormous flat-screen TV, while Carla came home with bags full of steaks and seafood.

But a rash of tiny red bumps had broken out across Nico's belly.

The spots were dark red, and some had already turned a bluish black. Up close, they gave off a faint, fishy smell.

Carla rubbed his belly sympathetically, drove to the pharmacy in town, and bought a tube of anti-itch cream. She casually smeared some over the rash and thought nothing more of it.

Dean carried the new television into the living room and plugged it in.

Just then, someone began pounding violently on the front gate.

Annoyed, Dean yanked the door open.

The blind man stood outside.

The old man grabbed Dean's arm, his voice shrill and desperate.

"That money is going to get you all killed! Those aren't pearls! The Siren is using your greed to incubate her eggs! When they hatch, there won't be a single bone left of any of you!"

Dean's expression darkened instantly, and he violently wrenched his arm free.

"You blind bastard! I beat you up yesterday, and you still have the nerve to come back here and wish us dead?"