I lifted my wrapped ankle. “Need to see the nurse. I think it’s getting worse.”
She snapped her mouth shut.
“In fact, they might want to keep me for observation overnight,” I added with a stroke of inspiration. “So you can have the room to yourself.”
“Whatever. I’m going to have to open the windows and air this place out.” Samantha marched into the room and slammed the door behind her.
I breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced at the others. They nodded and followed me to the elevator.
It was already dark outside by the time we came out with the potion. I thought we’d fly to the beach, but Damian pointed out that security would be watching the skies, so I couldn’t pull the same trick twice. Fortunately, Erin had another plan. She had her own car on campus and offered us a ride.
The security guards would be watching for me to leave, so I had to crouch down on the floor next to the back seat. The car was messy, with clothing and other junk lying around. Erin draped a towel over me and said that I blended right in with the rest of her clutter. The crutches were harder to hide, though, so Damian tossed them in the bushes by the parking lot.
It was nasty. There was trash everywhere and bits of food ground into the carpet, and it strained my ankle to kneel. But I took shallow breaths through my mouth so I didn’t catch too much of the smell and tried to wait it out.
I couldn’t see what was happening as we drove toward the gate. We came to a stop, and I overheard Erin talking to the security guards. She told them that she was going out to dinner with Damian, implying the two of them were on a date. Damian played it up by flirting with her. The security guard warned them to be back by curfew and then we were through.
“Hang on another minute until we’re out of sight,” Erin whispered to me. “Then I’ll pull over and let you up.”
Thank goodness. My ankle felt like it was on fire. I hoped it wouldn’t affect my ability to swim.
Sure enough, the car crunched onto gravel and stopped. Damian hopped out and came around to the back to help me get up. He arranged me on the bench so I could stretch my leg out to one side and elevate the ankle. If I’d thought about it, I would’ve brought more ice to numb the pain, but at least I could rest for a few minutes. Then we went on.
Choosing the right beach had been tricky. Most were technically closed at sunset, and New Brighton’s ranger would see us at the gate. But Santa Cruz was full of beaches and not all of them were closely monitored. Some of them were just a patch of sand at the end of the street.
Twin Lakes was open until ten and allowed bonfires. It was an area where the road sloped down to sea level so we wouldn’t have to climb down cliffs in the dark. Next to the Santa Cruz Harbor, sometimes it was busy. But on a cloudy Wednesday night in mid-February, there weren’t any people except for a few other teens huddled around a roaring fire pit.
Erin found a parking spot on the ocean side of the road and stopped the car.
Heading for the beach, Erin led the way with the supplies, including a blanket to lay on, towels, and the transformation potion. She used her phone’s flashlight to show the ground, so no one tripped over a piece of driftwood or something. Damian carried me across the sand. We found a spot close to the water, far enough away from the bonfire that no one could hear our conversation.
“Better turn the light off,” I warned Erin. “I don’t know how obvious it will look when I change, but it’s better to be safe.”
“Wait, look at this first.” She handed me the bottle. “Is it the same potion?”
In my room, the potion had looked like a muddy mess of dirty water, leaves, and gritty sugar, with rocks at the bottom. But now the glass bottle was full of a translucent, blue-green liquid that shimmered in the light. When I unscrewed the lid and sniffed, I smelled the most tantalizing mixture of sweet and bitter, like a vanilla latte but better.
“What happened?” Damian whispered.
“Magic,” I said, like I’d expected it to happen. No wonder Loki had warned me not to strain anything out. Even the inedible objects had been transformed. This was more powerful than any tincture or poultice I’d ever seen Ms. Murphy concoct in her herbalism class. This magic looked more like…
“Your mom makes potions like this,” Damian pointed out, finishing my thought before I could speak it. “She throws all that nasty stuff into her pot on the stove, yet when it comes out, it tastes amazing.”
That made sense. My mom had studied in a witchcraft school as an adult, but some of her magic came straight from the same teacher I had—Loki. “I guess she gets it from my fairy godfather.” Despite my fear, a laugh escaped me. I’d actually done magic right! Even without tasting it, I could feel the power flowing into me from the bottle, just waiting to transform me. This was going to work.
“Hold on,” Erin said, taking the bottle from me and screwing the cap back on. “Didn’t you say you needed to be in the water before you drank it?”
I shivered and nodded. I wasn’t looking forward to getting into that dark, cold water, but Loki had warned that the transformation was fast. “And I think these clothes might get in the way. I’ve never watched Gabriella when she changes, but she always undresses first.”
Damian gave me a nudge. “You mean you’ve never peeked?”
“No, because I’m not a perv.” I waved to both of them. “Speaking of which, could you turn around?”
“Woo-hoo, take it off!” Damian said, giving a quiet wolf-whistle, but he turned around. Erin switched off her phone and handed me a towel before doing the same.
I unpeeled my layers of clothing, stripping down to the two-piece bathing suit I’d put on earlier to prepare. I wasn’t going into the water totally naked but I wasn’t sure what would happen to the bottom half. The wind cut right through the thin fabric, making my teeth chatter. I wrapped the towel tightly around myself but it didn’t help much.
Tonight was colder than any early morning swim practice I’d been to, and I didn’t have a heated pool to slip into. That potion had better work as fast as Loki said, or else I’d be catching hypothermia the minute I got in the water.
“Ready,” I told the others between clenched teeth.
Damian picked me up again and Erin brought the potion. They took me down to the edge of the surf.
“Are you sure about this?” Damian said, still holding me. “Maybe I should go with you. Is there enough potion for two?”
I shook my head. “This is my mistake to fix. I don’t want you guys to risk more than I already have.”
“So you want us to wait here?” Erin said.
“As long as you can, but the beach closes at ten, and I don’t want you to get in trouble for missing curfew.” I glanced around for a landmark and saw the lighthouse at the entrance to the harbor nearby. “If I take too long, then leave my clothes and stuff by the lighthouse. I’ll find my own way back.”
Damian opened his mouth to protest, but I shook my head again. Still, I knew he would try to stay out all night waiting for me. I’d just have to make sure I came back before then. It would help if I had a waterproof watch, but I’d never seen a mermaid wearing one and I didn’t want anything that would make me stand out.
Damian sighed and bent forward. “Here we go.”
I hissed as my legs and butt hit the wet sand. A wave slid up the beach and brushed my toes, turning them to ice. “Quick, give it to me!” I said through clenched teeth, holding my hand out to Erin.
She handed me the bottle and took the towel. Then both of my friends took a step back.
I opened the bottle and gulped down the potion. It was thick and syrupy, coating my throat, but underneath the sweet flavor, the bitterness made me cough. I threw the bottle behind me as my whole body convulsed.
The water retreated, then a larger wave crashed into me, almost knocking me flat. But this time it didn’t feel as cold—it wasn’t warm either, but it was like the cold didn’t touch me. Had I gone numb already?
But w
hen the water swept back again, I saw a faint glow where my legs used to be. The dim light glinted off of cobalt blue fish scales, the same color as the sea glass I’d mixed into the potion. I had a tail!
I flexed the tail experimentally. It moved as a part of my body, sort of like both of my legs fused together, except I couldn’t feel the pain from my twisted ankle anymore. And it was so flexible. I stared in fascination as the fin wiggled back and forth. So cool!
I looked back over my shoulder, but my friends were gesturing frantically, pointing at the surf. I turned forward again and saw the wave just before it hit me full in the face.
But instead of gasping for breath, I felt the water enter my lungs as easily as if it were air. This was just like when Gabriella shared her magic with me. I lunged, feeling the powerful tail propel me into the wave, and let the sea pull me out into its depths.
When I was free of the wave, I bobbed up to the surface and looked back at the shore. I couldn’t believe how far I’d come already. I could barely make out my friends’ faces in the darkness. Lifting my hand in a wave, I tried to reassure them that everything was fine. They waved back.
Well, this was it. There was no turning back now. I dove into the sea.
22
My eyes adjusted to the darkness under the water better than I had expected. Although there was no moonlight from the cloudy sky, there was a faint glow coming from no particular direction, reminding me of the twilit world of Faerie. I saw the deep channel leading into the harbor in one direction, the posts of a nearby wharf in another. But in front of me, there was only the gentle slope of sand and rocks that led into the deeper water. Crabs crawled in the rocks and a flounder scooted away at my approach, rippling across the bottom. Everything was clear to me.
It felt incredible to swim with a tail, like when I put on rubber flippers and doubled my speed in the pool, but even better. My whole lower body moved up and down smoothly in the water, more graceful than the dolphin kick I used when swimming butterfly. I couldn’t resist trying it out a few tricks. A somersault, then a corkscrew dive, then shooting up to the surface and breeching—I soared several feet above the surface before crashing back into the water. It was everything I’d ever dreamed of and more.
I sensed the movement of the surrounding water and found a current, which carried me faster. The beach disappeared behind me. I didn’t know where I was going, so I followed the sea floor.
If I went north or west, I’d reach the open ocean quickly, since Santa Cruz was on the upper tip of the bay. I followed the curve of the land in a direction that I hoped was more southeast, toward the middle of Monterey Bay.
Gabriella had shown me some of this area when we swam together, but she’d been avoiding other merfolk at the time. Through little hints she’d dropped, I’d guessed that she lived somewhere in the middle. Not too far south, because the aquarium researchers went out from Moss Landing. Gabriella had complained that the water was murkier there from mud and silt washing out of Elkhorn Slough. But far enough from the fishing boats and most other human traffic on the surface.
Giant kelp grew all over the place, making it hard to see very far. I saw sea otters sleeping at the surface with kelp wrapped around their middles, linking their paws together so they didn’t float away. Some fishes were sleeping underwater, tucked into crevices in the rocks, while nocturnal predators poked their heads into the holes to find anything that wasn’t well-hidden. I was bigger than anything else down here, though, even the leopard sharks, so they darted away when I get close.
One time when I was little, my parents had taken me to an overnight slumber party at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were allowed to set up our sleeping bags on the floor underneath our favorite exhibit. I’d stayed up to watch the tank long after lights-out. But that was nothing compared to this. I was so much closer, feeling the same water where they swam flowing over my own skin. Life and death were playing out around me in a hundred different miniature dramas.
I saw an octopus pull a crab out from its hiding place and tear its legs off, stuffing them into its mouth. The scent of the flesh drifted toward me in the water and I found myself salivating. I shook my head and sped away quickly, trying to ignore it.
But I’d skipped dinner—and I had a mermaid’s instincts to hunt and eat fish. The thought of seafood normally disgusted me, but now my stomach rumbled with hunger.
I tore off a few blades of kelp and stuffed them into my mouth. It was less than satisfying. Well, I’d just have to restrain myself until I could get back on land and find normal human food. I wasn’t used to eating raw fish, and I was afraid of how my stomach would react to it, especially after I changed back.
Another scent came to me on the current—sweet and musky. It seemed familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d smelled it before.
My lips tingled, and I brushed them with my fingertips. The memory came rushing back to me. Kissing Gabriella—of course! This is what she tasted like. But there were other scents and flavors mixed in with hers, strange to me. Other merfolk? I must be getting close to their underwater city!
I breathed in the scent in the water, swimming back and forth until I found the right current, then I followed it deeper. I crested a rise on the ocean floor and suddenly I saw it stretched out below me.
A giant kelp forest grew on top of a coral reef, hiding the structures from the surface. But my magically enhanced mermaid vision could pick out the details along the bottom. The coral and rocks here didn’t form naturally, they were shaped into low buildings, evenly spaced with streets laid out between them. Bioluminescent lanterns were posted on the corners, marking the layout. It was more like a small town than a full-blown city, but it was unmistakably the home of the merfolk.
I slowed down as I approached. Mermen cruised around the border, patrolling the waters with spears that looked like they were carved from whale bones. I waved to one like I recognized him, without getting close enough for him to get a good look at my face, and he nodded back. I hurried into the town before he changed his mind.
It couldn’t be this easy. Sure, I looked like a mermaid, but no one would recognize me and it seemed like a pretty small community. Particularly if they were hiding because their presence wasn’t allowed in this area, they should be way more careful about letting in strangers. But I’d just swam right in without even giving my name. After the heavy security of the witch academy, I’d expected to be turned away at the gate or whatever.
But as I glided through the town, I didn’t see anything that looked like dangerous merfolk plotting the downfall of witches or the Fae courts. Warmth radiated out from their homes from some kind of magical heating system to combat the winter chill. The streets were empty, but lights shone from their windows.
I stopped and peered inside an open window. A family sat around a table, sharing dinner. The parents listened with intent smiles as their children told a story with animated hand movements. It looked like any happy home I’d seen on land.
It didn’t make sense. This was what Loki was so afraid of? Families eating dinner? They seemed content and peaceful. Even if they had to leave for a few months out of the year, wasn’t that like a vacation? Other than Gabriella’s stealing and trying to drown me to cover it up, I didn’t see any evidence that they were hurting anyone.
There had to be more to the story. But as I explored more, peeking in windows and checking the nearby buildings, I didn’t see anything more threatening.
Then I caught Gabriella’s scent, strong and unmistakable, coming from a dark building at the edge of town. I swam up carefully, checking all around me, but there was no sign of anyone. One more thing that didn’t make sense—Gabriella had mentioned her family before, yet this place was so small that she must live alone.
But I shouldn’t be surprised that she’d lied. With a final glance over my shoulder, I swam into the opening and peered around.
Water rippled behind me, followed by a heavy crash. I spun around and found a boulder blocki
ng the entrance. I was trapped!
I rushed to the boulder and pushed my shoulder against it, trying to shove it out of the way. But it was too heavy. Even Damian wouldn’t be able to move something this big by himself.
“I can’t believe it,” Gabriella’s voice echoed in the pitch black room behind me.
I turned around. “Are you in here? Show yourself!”
A light flickered on—another one of the bioluminescent lanterns, shaped like a jellyfish and hanging from the ceiling. Gabriella came slowly toward me with a smirk on her face, looking me up and down. “You make a half-decent mermaid,” she said, nodding her approval. “When I saw you swimming up to my house, I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. There’s no way a newbie witch like you could pull off such an advanced spell. But someone must have helped you, right? Those damn Fae are always trying to mess with us.”
I lifted my chin with pride. “I brewed this potion myself.”
She chuckled. “Maybe you did, but someone told you what to do. You still stink like the Fae. The same one who marked you, if I’m not mistaken.”
Okay, so I wasn’t going to fool her into thinking I was a more powerful witch than I really was. She’d seen enough of my magic to know what I was actually capable of. But maybe I could scare her with the thought that I had outside help. “Yeah, and he knows that I’m here. So do my friends. I’ve got more witches waiting on the beach, and if I’m not back in a few hours, they’ll bring down all the authorities on you. Fae and human.”
“I see.” Gabriella folded her arms and cocked her head to one side. “If you have all these powerful people helping you, why did you come down here alone?”
“To give you one last chance.” I held out my hand, empty palm up. “Give me the school charter than you stole, and I’ll make sure your people can leave here peacefully. But if we have to fight you for it, the consequences will be much, much worse for all of you.”
Gabriella threw back her head and laughed. “You think the Fae will spare us if we cooperate?” She pulled out an oilskin tube, dangled it from a leather strap on her finger. “This is the only leverage we have. If I give it up, they’ll banish us back to the overcrowded colonies in Mexico or somewhere else.”
The Reluctant Witch: Year One (Santa Cruz Witch Academy Book 1) Page 19