that was the best place to get their attention.

 

"HEY!" I shouted in my best underwater voice. The sound echoed in the darkness.

"I heard you guys are so polluted you're embarrassed to show your faces. Is that

true?"

 

A cold current rippled through the bay, churning up plumes of garbage and silt.

 

"I heard the East River is more toxic," I continued, "but the Hudson smells

worse. Or is it the other way around?"

 

The water shimmered. Something powerful and angry was watching me now. I could

sense its presence ... or maybe two presences.

 

I was afraid I'd miscalculated with the insults. What if they just blasted me

without showing themselves? But these were New York river gods. I figured their

instinct would be to get in my face.

 

Sure enough, two giant forms appeared in front of me. At first they were just

dark brown columns of silt, denser than the water around them. Then they grew

legs, arms, and scowling faces.

 

The creature on the left looked disturbingly like a telkhine. His face was

wolfish. His body was vaguely like a seal's — sleek black with flipper hands and

feet. His eyes glowed radiation green.