I gave him a weak smile. "I'll try." But the guilt would no doubt eat away at me. Even if there wasn't anything I could do about it.
Aaron opened his mouth to say more, but hurried footsteps stopped him. "I'm sorry," he mouthed as he faded away into thin air.
That was annoying. But I could understand why he'd done it. I wasn't ready for Erickson to know about Aaron's existence either. I didn't know why, but the deeper into this situation I got, the more I was learning to trust my gut instinct. There'd be a reason I felt this way, even if I didn't know what it was yet.
"We're good to go in," Erickson announced the moment he arrived at my stoop.
Shelbie shrunk back, hiding behind me. That was odd. I'd never noticed her reacting to the human-like that before. She'd not been overly friendly with him, but that didn't translate into dislike or fear. Not like this.
Something must have changed.
"Alright then. I'll show you the door."
Chapter Seventeen
The dimness of the warehouse was precisely the same as the previous evening. I jumped as the fire door slammed back into its frame behind us. We were already too loud, but Erickson didn't seem to care at all. Perhaps humans were just a little bit reckless. That fit with just about everything I'd learned about them so far.
"I'm going to go this way. You go that way?" Erickson pointed away from the room with the souls in it.
"That's not where..."
"I know. But we need to do the perimeter first. Otherwise, we might end up getting caught."
My eyes widened. How had I not thought about that? Especially when we'd been so close to being caught the night before. "Got it. What am I looking for?"
"Any evidence that there are people moving around. Guard centres, the like. Anything that looks dangerous to us."
"Okay." My voice shook. I shouldn't have started this mission. It had been foolhardy to put myself in such danger when so many more people would have been better suited to this than I was. I'd only just turned eighteen. I had no life experience, and it was showing. I hadn't even realised I needed to check I wouldn't get caught before doing something dangerous.
He nodded and went off in his own direction. No doubt to check on the front door again. I just about managed not to roll my eyes as I set off in the direction he'd sent me in. Maybe I was the one being foolish here. Perhaps I shouldn't be trusting him.
"Don't start second-guessing yourself now, Mari," I muttered to myself.
Cold air brushed against my back, and I managed to relax slightly. Aaron was here. That was reassuring, even if he wasn't visible to my naked eye. Something about him elicited a sensation of safety deep within. In this situation, it was incredibly welcome. I wanted it more than I would admit.
If anything, the warehouse seemed to be getting darker the further into it I went. "This is stupid," I muttered. "We should be going straight for the souls and worrying about how to get away with it after," I said to Shelbie. Well, and to Aaron, if he was listening. I hoped he was.
Maybe I'd have felt differently if we'd actually had a plan. But as far as I could tell, we were all just making it up as we went along.
The cold air rushed past me again. Taking it as agreement, I changed my heading. If Erickson didn't want to go straight for the souls, then that was his problem. I didn't have time to waste, nor did the people whose souls were trapped. It was my duty to make sure they were freed, even at the expense of a human's trust.
Shelbie followed behind me, demure in her stride. This wasn't like her at all, and I took that as a sign that I needed to be careful. Her instincts weren't to be messed with. Other than her initial instinct to attach herself to me. I was sure somewhere within, she was questioning that one.
The sirens in the soul ball called out to me again, their voices hooking into my heart and pulling me towards the room. There was no way I could ignore them now my ears were opened to them. Even if I'd wanted to. I stepped into the room, the soft blue glow from the soul ball lighting up my face. It seemed like the place was empty. I should make the most of it. There was no doubt in my mind that others would come into the room soon. That was what had happened when Aaron and I had come here the first time. I should learn from that and not hesitate this time.
I stepped up to the ball, studying it intently to try and work out how to free it. The light and the siren calls were almost too much for me to take, but I knew I needed to. This was important, and not just for me. The glass ball appeared to be hovering above something created by air, but there was nowhere I could see to turn it on and off.
"Aaron?" I asked, hoping he was listening even if he didn't take on his form. "Can you get between the ball and the air?"
Coldness brushed against my back once more. At least I'd been interpreting the touches correctly. That was something at least.
I placed my hands on either side of the ball, knowing that if Aaron managed to cut off the air holding it up, then I'd need to grab it. If I dropped it, all that would happen was that the air would buoy it up once more, defeating the point of the whole plan.
The moment Aaron did what I wanted him to, I could tell. The glass ball rested heavily in my hands, and I quickly pulled it towards me, hugging it to my chest even as I stumbled backwards from the weight. I began to wobble on my feet. I wasn't sure why, but I hadn't expected the thing to be as heavy as it was. Perhaps that was just due to the weight of the glass. Or maybe it was the souls themselves. I didn't feel any lighter without mine, but my body had changed with the addition of my legs anyway, so it would be hard to tell.
Steadying myself, I stared into the ball, unsure what to do now. The souls didn't have any fixed form. Instead, they swirled around, looking like the sea and everything that was beautiful about it. To me, it made complete sense that they looked that way. These were souls of mer and each would be calling out for the salt water of the oceans.
"Don't worry, I'm going to send you home. I just need to work out how to free you," I whispered to the ball.
"Don't do it!" Erickson cried as he ran into the room.
"What?" I looked up at him, confusion creasing my brow.
"Don't you dare smash that ball," he warned.
"It's what we came here to do?" I returned. It didn't make any sense to then backtrack and not go through with it.
He held out his hand, something blue glowing there. Something a lot like...
I gasped. He had a soul. But why? And whose?
"If you smash that ball, then I'll destroy your soul," he threatened.
A lead weight dropped in my stomach. Had I just heard him right? How long had he had my soul? Had he just found it without telling me? Or was this something more sinister than that? Had he had it all along? Unbidden thoughts swam through my head, refusing to come into any sense of order. The biggest question was the loudest though...what did I do now?
Chapter Eighteen
Erickson stepped toward me, and it took everything I had not to shrink back. I couldn't let him know how much his betrayal stung. It wasn't worth the satisfaction I somehow knew he'd feel.
"How long have you had that?" My voice sounded a lot stronger than I'd expected. I'd have thought my nerves and disgust would have shone through a little bit more. This was for the better though. I didn't want him to know how much he'd gotten to me.
"The entire time." He shrugged and brought himself within touching distance. "How do you think you lost your soul in the first place?"
I sucked in a breath. All of Aaron's mistrust, all of the unease Shelbie was feeling, every moment of doubt I'd had myself. It all made sense.
"But why?"
"We need mer souls to power the city. It's nothing personal." He smirked. "It's not like you need it. You're still walking and talking without it."
"I don't need it for now," I snapped. "I need it for when the final judgement comes."
"You don't seriously believe in that, do you?" He laughed. Actually laughed. As if my entire people's misfortune was something to b
e found funny. If he thought I was going to be okay with this, then he had another thing coming. I wasn't at all interested in debating philosophy.
"It doesn't matter what I believe. That soul belongs to me. No one else. Just me."
"And the ones in your hand?"
"They belong to the people they were stolen from," I threw back. "They deserve to be reunited with those bodies."
"And what would they do with them?" He smirked.
I ignored his question. Answering it would just end up with the two of us going around in circles over what was right and what wasn't. "You still haven't told me why."
"I told you, to power the city."
"That's not what I want to know. Why bother helping me if you already had what you needed from me?"
"Curiosity." His expression grew more serious, convincing me that he was telling the truth. Though that wasn't all that reassuring in the circumstances. "I've never seen a mermaid on land before. I hadn't even realised you could do that."
"It's not normal," I pointed out as I shifted the glass ball to make it more comfortable. I should just smash it now. The souls would escape, and I would have done what I came here to do. Even if I had to lose my soul forever in the process, it would be worth it.
"Exactly. And here was the perfect chance for me to study a mermaid. I'm a scientist first and foremost, even if I have to do most of the fieldwork of collecting souls. I need to learn."
I shuddered, the glass ball slipping through my fingers a little accidentally.
Erickson lurched forward, as if to try and catch it. He really was worried about what would happen if the souls got free. And it really did seem like it would be as easy as smashing the damn thing.
"If you give me the souls, I'll return yours to you." There was a real note of concern in his voice. He definitely feared losing the ball and what that might mean for him. Maybe he'd get punished for it. That was all I could really hope for. I didn't want to have to hurt anyone.
"I'm sorry. That deal isn't good enough."
I watched as my words sunk in. Even though I meant them, and was happy to sacrifice my soul for something so important, a part of me still wanted to hold back. I knew what I was giving up. And it was hard.
"Mari..." Aaron stood behind Erickson, now almost corporal. He gave me a longing look, as if wishing that I didn't have to make this choice.
Erickson spun around. "Who are you?"
"Someone whose soul was stolen," Aaron replied sharply.
"I don't recognise you." Erickson sounded put out, like he thought he should.
"Do you remember the faces of everyone you steal from?" I spat out. "I hope they haunt your dreams."
He peered around at me quickly, before turning his attention back to Aaron.
"My soul was stolen long before you were born."
Wait. What did that mean? Was Aaron mer?
"This is what happens to mer whose souls have been stolen. It's torture, being stuck between the land of the living and the land of the dead." Aaron stepped forward, cowing Erickson who nearly crashed into me.
I sidestepped.
"Rest in peace, Aaron," I whispered, our eyes locking as I threw the ball of souls away from me. I might not have known him for very long, but the connection to him now made so much sense. And if I could finally offer him closure by forfeiting my own soul, then so be it. He deserved that. All he'd done was help me.
"NO!" Erickson cried, reaching out for the glass ball even as it smashed, spilling souls all over the floor.
They zipped around the room, making the place smell comfortingly of salt water. I closed my eyes and breathed it in. If I was going to be cursed for life, then I would take every moment given to me and enjoy it for what it was.
"How dare you," Erickson's voice shook with rage. "Do you know what you've done?"
"Freed people who should never have been captive." My eyes snapped open, and I stared him down. Did he really think I was going to be easily scared when I'd just made my peace with losing my soul for all eternity? Right now, I wasn't someone to be messed with.
"I will destroy you..." He rushed forward even as he left his threat hanging.
I stood still. He could do whatever he wanted to me at this point. I didn't even care. I'd done what I came here for. If that meant I would lose my life, then at least I'd done what I'd vowed I would. Maybe my people would never hear about what I did. But that was okay too. I hadn't done any of this for fame. It was the right thing to do, and I could rest easy knowing I'd done it. Soul or no soul. Just because I had nothing to face the final judgement with, didn't mean I shouldn't live a good life. Not that I knew what the final judgement even was. It was only ever spoken about in vague terms I didn't understand.
The hand without my soul ball in reached out like a claw. I swallowed, not wanting to admit to being scared, even if I was. I wished Aaron was still here, even though I knew freeing his soul would no doubt have released him too. If only I'd had time to say goodbye properly. A part of me missed him already.
Erickson's hand was about to clasp around my neck when he fell right in front of me. I watched as the tiny ball containing my soul bounced away from him.
"You little..." He shook his fist, but not at me.
Frowning, I followed his gaze to find a smug looking Shelbie sat cleaning her paws. I snorted. She was a good friend.
"Thank you," I whispered to her, even if I wasn't too sure what I was thanking her for.
"We're not quite done yet," Aaron's voice added, a little more real sounding than it had been before.
I whipped my head around to find a very solid looking man stood a couple of metres away, a blue soul filled ball in front of him.
"This way, we can both have our souls." He stamped down on it, sending the tendrils of blue soul out into the room once more.
This time, it was different. The smell of the sea was different, but there was a faint call in the background too. Something talking to me specifically and not to any of the others here.
The soul rushed towards me and I braced myself. Not knowing what to expect. When it had been removed, there'd been nothing but pain. Maybe that would be the case again. Aaron himself had recovered quickly from being reunited with his soul. More than that, Aaron was alive again. I'd have to ask him about that once the soul had reunited with me and I wasn't so focused on that.
Everything flashed blue as the tendrils reached me. I closed my eyes, trying to stop the light from hurting them, but it didn't work. It had been foolish of me to even try. This was a soul, it wasn't visible like other things were.
My senses faded as the two parts of me recombined. I hoped Shelbie and Aaron were taking care of Erickson and the rest of the warehouse, because I wasn't in the least bit aware of what was going on around me.
Chapter Nineteen
Once the blue light faded, everything was different and yet the same. One look around told me I was still in the warehouse. Everyone was still where I'd left them too, which probably meant what had felt like an age to me was nothing more than a couple of minutes at the most.
A second look told me that the warehouse was pretty much destroyed. The big ball of souls must have ripped it apart when they'd escaped. It was almost a relief. This much destruction would take them a good while to rebuild. And if they were busy doing that...
"Mari, we need to go," Aaron insisted, a worried note in his voice.
I nodded my agreement. It was better that we got out of here before Erickson got any backup. It surprised me that there wasn't any here already. Maybe he hadn't brought any with him to begin with.
I tried to take a step forward, but failed, overbalancing and falling to the floor. Moving my legs back and forth, I tried to work out how to get them moving but came up with nothing. It was almost like...
"Aaron..." My voice quivered in combined concern and pain as my legs knitted back together into a tail. There was no denying that was what was happening. I could sense it with every fibre of my being.
"Yes, oh." Fear filled me completely. If I couldn't walk, then I couldn't get out of here and getting my soul back might have all been for nothing.
He scooped me up into his arms, the heat of his skin where it hit mine entirely welcome. Being touched by him felt as good as I'd expected it to. Not that I should be surprised. There must have been a reason I was yearning for his touch before. If he was really mer, then that could explain why. Though he didn't seem to be affected by the same tail problem that I was. I shouldn't think on that too much in case I end up freaking myself out. Or in case I accidentally made my tail problem catch. The last thing we needed was the two of us stuck on land with people after us for destroying their economy.
Oops. When I thought about it like that, they had every right to be angry with us. We really had messed things up for them.
Aaron's legs pumped beneath us as he ran away from the warehouse and towards the water, Shelbie snapping at his heels the entire time. None of us made a noise save for our breathing, we were too focused on the task at hand. I didn't even know if the other two would be able to just come back into the water with me. Or why recombining with my soul had made it so my mer features took hold again. I supposed that in some ways, it didn't matter too much. My intention had always been to return home, and doing that I was.
The city seemed much bigger than when we'd walked across it. Maybe because I kept glancing over Aaron's shoulder to check Erickson wasn't chasing us to the water's edge. Even though I was reassuring myself constantly, I was still confused about why he wasn't doing just that. He'd not been particularly incapacitated. Just winded. He should be able to chase after us if he wanted to.
I didn't relax until the sea was in front of us.
"I'm just going to throw you in," Aaron told me.
I nodded. There were probably some more elegant ways, but I didn't care about them. "Are you coming?"
"When I figure out how," he responded.
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