A tear slid down my cheek.
I didn’t want to die.
I fumbled with my keys a few minutes only to discover that I’d actually left my house unlocked. Thankfully, Chancellor was a relatively safe town. When I clicked on the lights, I was surprised to see my backpack sitting inside the door. How had that gotten there?
Everything was just as I left it, my amber-colored medicine bottles lining the window ledge, my water cup sitting beside the oven. But then I noticed a piece of paper lying on the table. I sat down and picked it up. It was a note from Kate.
My hand trembled as I read it. I could only imagine the pain and frustration I had caused her when I hadn’t shown up. Clearly, she’d come by the house to see if I was there. Was she the one who’d left the backpack? Had she walked down the beach looking for me?
I crushed the note in my hand and pressed it against my forehead. My whole body shook with frustration. Such a beautiful woman, such a lovely spirit living inside her, and I had hurt her. I knew better. I’d just wanted something I couldn’t have.
I lay my head down on my arms and wept.
Chapter 12: Kate
I counted the room numbers as I walked down the hallway of the ICU. Twelve, eleven, ten, nine…there was eight. I took a deep breath and entered the room slowly, quietly, to find…no one.
“Oh, sorry, hun,” an aide told me as she stripped down the bed. “Are you looking for Mister McGuire?”
Was I? I didn’t even know his family name. His grandmother was a Pearl, but Cooper would have his father’s name. I didn’t even know what it was. “Cooper…”
“I took him down to the taxi a while ago,” she said then whispered, “the nurses are running behind tonight, slow about finishing up his discharge papers. They should have told you he’d already left.” She was about to say more but stopped abruptly when someone entered the room behind me.
“He’s gone already?” a woman asked.
“Sure is,” the aide said.
“But he’s still in the system. God, they’re so slow processing paperwork,” the woman behind me grumbled.
“Uh-huh,” the aide said in a know-it-all tone as she pulled the sheets off the bed.
“Are you a family member?” the woman asked me.
Feeling like my mind was pulling in a million different directions, I turned and looked at her. “Sorry?”
“Mister McGuire, are you a relative of his?”
I shook my head. “N-no, we’re friends.”
The woman tapped a manila envelope in the palm of her hand as she considered. “Well,” she said, looking at the envelope, “he was supposed to have these before he left. Seems like someone fouled up somewhere. I could mail them, but he should have them sooner. Will you be seeing him tomorrow? I know it’s late now.”
“I can take them to him,” I said. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew I wasn’t angry anymore. All I wanted was to see Cooper, to make sure he was all right.
“It’s not exactly protocol,” the woman said then, “but you promise you’ll get it to him?”
I nodded.
“You didn’t hear that, Deloris,” the woman said to the aide.
“Hear what, hun?”
The woman smiled. “Thank you,” she said, then handed the envelope to me and turned and walked away.
I looked at the return address. It was stamped with an address for the local hospice.
“Have a good night,” I called to the aide.
“You too,” she called.
I turned and exited the room, clutching the envelope tightly against my chest. I walked down the narrow halls of the hospital, feeling like a zombie, and rode the elevator back to the ground floor. I slid into the driver’s seat of my car, closing the door behind me. I stared at the envelope. It wasn’t sealed. Mermaids were inherently curious, but something deeper drove me. I needed to know.
I opened the envelope.
Inside, I saw Cooper’s name assigned to a hospice worker and details documenting the care he could expect in the coming days.
I wasn’t the only one who was dying.
I pulled my car into my driveway and clicked off the lights. It was three o’clock in the morning. Cooper would be sleeping. I left the envelope on the seat of my car and headed down the boardwalk to the beach.
There, the lake waters lapped lazily against the shoreline. I gazed up at the moon. It hung in the sky like a gem. I pulled off my clothes. I felt detached from my movements. It was like I was watching myself from above. I took everything off and walked, naked, to the shoreline. I didn’t pause like I usually did, to let the waves kiss my toes and nothing more, but I pressed into the water. The lake was cool. I pressed forward until the waves engulfed me up to my chin. It had been nearly three hundred years since I’d transformed into what I truly was.
I dunked my head below the waves and felt the lake embrace me. It enveloped my hair, my ears, hugging me like a long-lost friend. I swam, stretching out my arms in the cool water, kicking my legs. A little more. A little more. Underwater, I opened my eyes, letting my human vision, which saw only the darkness of the deep, fade away. Slowly, my eyesight reformed into the vision of a mermaid’s. Light and color flashed so brightly that it nearly startled me. The black water crystalized into a haze of color and light. The massive lake fish swam close to me, curious to find me below the waves. The iridescent colors of their scales shimmered like rainbows.
I opened my mouth and inhaled deeply, letting the lake water filter into my lungs and with it, the oxygen that was the breath of life. The small gills behind my ears opened, and I inhaled and exhaled the water, becoming one with the lake once more.
I turned in the water then and looked at my legs. Kicking the long limbs one last time, I closed my eyes and felt the swirl of mana magic surround me. A soft caress, like my legs had been wound with a scarf, enveloped me. My legs tingled, a prickly—but not painful—feeling like electricity flooded the lower half of my body.
When I opened my eyes again, my legs were gone. In their place was my emerald-colored tail, the tips trimmed with glimmering gold.
I laughed, the sound bubbling upward. Overhead, the stars and glimmering moon looked distorted against the water’s surface, casting long shimmering streaks of silver. Wondrous.
I opened my arms wide, feeling the water surround me, then turned and dove deep, searching for the lake bottom. I’d forgotten how fast I was, my tail pushing me powerfully forward, driving me through the waves. I swam over rises and around boulders. I spotted a sunken ship in the distance, a remnant of the great war between the Europeans, now covered in algae and zebra mussels. I swam deep, the bottom of the lake calling me. There, long fingers of tall seaweed grew from the bottom of the lake. I darted around them, laughing as I passed a massive old turtle who looked surprised to see me. They, like us, had lives that spanned decades. Did he remember my kind? Was I the first mermaid he’d seen in years?
I swam toward the rocky crevice that ran just north of Chancellor. As I moved along, I saw the crevice was full of beach glass. Hundreds of shimmering pieces lay there waiting to be tossed up and washed to the rocky shoreline. There were heaps of pieces, blues, greens, purples, ambers, white, and more red than a jewelry maker could ever dream of. I swished my tail hard and passed it by, pushing out deeper into the lake, gliding toward the surface. I leapt out of the water, catapulted by my long tail. I danced with the waves, diving in and out of the water, as I moved quickly toward my destination.
It didn’t take me long to reach the island. As I neared the shore I slowed and looked, being careful to keep my body hidden under the waves. The island was quiet. It was clear that people had been there. The college had posted a sign at the head of the island declaring it theirs. There was some sort of plastic equipment shed near the sign. The brush had been mowed low. I circled the island, looking for any sign or sound of humans, but there was nothing.
Slowly, I swam toward shore. I stopped when my tail touched the roc
ky bottom of the lake then closed my eyes, willing myself back to human form. Again, I was treated with that same warm feeling. It didn’t take long before I felt the swish of water between my legs.
Having been human for so long, I was conscious of the fact that I was naked as I walked toward the shore. I hoped the professor and his crew hadn’t decided to camp out all night. They’d be in for quite a sight…and Alice would no doubt accuse me of throwing myself at her new mark. But there was no boat. There was no one.
When I reached the shoreline, I had to pause. It was the same place, but so many years had passed. The trees were taller, the banks eroded from so many hard winters. Taking a deep breath, I crossed the shore and walked up the narrow slope onto the island. A path to the old settlement had been cleared. It amused me to think that the scientists were following the exact path we’d used. It was almost like the island had told them where to go. I followed the path to its end.
The excavation site had been marked off. Moonlight cast enough glow that I could see opened graves which were covered with a tarp. The wind whipped across the island, chilling my skin as my wet hair dripped down my back. Shivering, I walked over to the unearthed grave and pulled the tarp back. They had uncovered two bodies.
From the way the arms were arranged, I recognized Merlilium’s body at once, her bracelet taken from her. To her side was the body of an orphaned mermaid, Kisla, who’d adored my sister. I’d laid her to rest at my sister’s side, wanting her to go into the afterlife with someone she loved. Still buried, on the other side of my sister, was Kadan.
Grief wracked me, and I fell to my knees. Tears threatened, but I drowned them. A terrible moan escaped my lips. It echoed into the night’s sky. I lay down on the earth, pressing my cheek against the dirt, imagining I was lying once more in my Kadan’s arms. I was supposed to die with them. I’d been meant to die with them. I shouldn’t have lived. I shouldn’t have survived. I dug my hands into the earth, clutching soil and grass as I moaned in heart-wrenching agony. I could die right then. I could end it all, let the last tear fall, let the spark of life leave me. I opened my eyes and looked at my sister’s skeleton. She was my younger sister, taken before she’d ever loved, or had children, or had even lived a life…much like Cooper.
I closed my eyes and listened to the waves lap onto the shore. I didn’t want to live anymore. I didn’t belong to this world. My world was long forgotten. With certainty in my heart, I knew it was time to end it.
But there was one thing I needed to do first.
I turned and kissed the earth, kissing my Kadan, then rose.
Walking back to the shore, I dove under the waves and headed toward Chancellor.
Chapter 13: Cooper
A knock on the door woke me. I hadn’t even bothered to crawl into bed. I’d crashed on Gran’s couch, too miserable to move. When I opened my eyes, waves of nausea hit me.
There was a knock again.
I inhaled deeply, trying to push the sickness back inside me. It wasn’t even dawn yet. Who in the world could it be?
Rising on wobbling knees, I went to the door. In the dim light, I saw the silhouette of a woman standing there. I opened the door.
“Kate?” Her hair was dripping wet and she had an envelope clenched in her hand. She pushed the envelope toward me.
“I went to the hospital…” she began then paused. When she looked at me, the light in the kitchen caught the deep sapphire hues in her eyes. She looked sad. No, she looked something beyond sad. She had the strangest expression on her face. She looked at the envelope.
I took it from her, seeing the name of the hospice on the envelope. I slid the papers out, seeing what she, no doubt, had already discovered.
“Will you come with me?” she asked.
“You’re all wet,” I stammered.
She smiled, dug into her pocket, and pulled out something, handing it to me.
I opened my hand.
Placing her hand in mine, she set something in my palm.
I opened my hand to see that it was filled with red beach glass. “I thought you said it was rare,” I stammered stupidly.
“Not if you know where to look.”
I set the envelope and beach glass on the table. I turned to grab my jacket, but the nausea wracked me. Uncontrollably, I rushed to throw up into the sink. My hands clutched the side of the white porcelain basin as I wretched over and over again. If I hadn’t felt so miserable, I probably would have died from embarrassment.
With my eyes closed, I heard the refrigerator door open followed by a snap as she opened a can of soda. I then heard the cupboard.
“Here,” she said, after my vomiting had subsided.
I opened my eyes to see her standing with a glass of ginger ale in one hand and a napkin in the other. I took the soda from her and sipped slowly, wiping my mouth.
“Will any of these help?” she asked, picking up the medicine bottles.
I pointed to the one on the end.
She handed it to me.
She wore a very strange, almost serene, expression on her face. What in the world was going on with her?
“Kate?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
She motioned to the bottle.
I took two pills, swallowed, and washed it down with the soda. There was a small bottle of mouthwash sitting beside the sink. I picked it up and cleaned my mouth. How humiliating. I turned and smiled abashedly at her.
Kate nodded affirmatively then reached out for me.
I slipped on my boots and followed her outside.
It was still dark outside, but you could feel dawn on the horizon. Taking my hand in hers, she led me through the woods toward the shore.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To the lake.”
“Why?”
“For the sunrise.”
“Kate?”
“No questions, Cooper,” she said, squeezing my hand.
She led us through the dark and soon we emerged on the rocky shoreline. With my stomach empty, the medicine worked fast, dispelling my nausea. But still, my body felt weak and pain lingered in my stomach. My organs were beginning to fail. My end was nearly here. I could feel it.
When we reached the lakeshore, we stood hand-in-hand looking out at the water. Kate eyed the horizon, her blue eyes wide, then she turned and smiled at me. Standing with her back facing the lake, she then did something very unexpected. Kate pulled off her white T-shirt, revealing her full, naked breasts. She then slid off her shorts to reveal she was naked underneath. I looked away.
“Don’t,” she said. “Look at me. All of me,” she whispered.
Turning back, I let my eyes slide down her beautiful body. She was perfect, large breasts above a trim waist, her legs and arms athletic. I let my eyes slide down her waist, down below her bellybutton, to her secret feminine parts. She was so beautiful.
“Now you,” she said.
“Me?” For a brief moment, a flicker of embarrassment flashed through my mind. I was already aroused. What would she think about that? But then I realized, if she was that brave, then I had to be brave too.
I pulled off my clothes, feeling the cold air surrounding me. It nipped horribly at my ears and toes. When I pulled down my jeans, then my boxers, I felt shy for a moment. But then I saw Kate’s large eyes on me, smiling, that strange wistful expression on her face as if she were holding back tears.
“Let’s go,” she said then, grabbing my hand, pulling me toward the water.
“But…but its freezing,” I protested.
“What’s the worst that can happen?” she asked.
The sharp poignancy of her reply wasn’t lost on me.
“Come on,” she said then led me into the water, splashing me as I followed after her.
I couldn’t help but laugh in spite of myself. I chased her into the waves, feeling nothing but joy. She kicked water at me, laughing and squealing as I grabbed her, tumbling us both into the water.
Without thinking, I presse
d my mouth against hers. I swooned as I felt a dizzying sensation. Her warm lips pressed against mine. I held her wet, naked skin, feeling her warmth as she leaned against me. I felt her heart beating quickly and the grit of sand on her fingers as she ran her hand across my back. A moment later, however, she pulled away.
“Come on,” she said, then dove under the waves. I watched the water where she disappeared then saw a strange golden light.
“Kate?” I said, stepping forward into the chest-high water. She didn’t come back to the surface. Light glimmered under the waves. It seemed to move like it was alive. “Kate?” I called again. The light moved toward me, and a moment later, Kate broke the surface of the water, her head and neck just above the waves.
“The sun is about to come up,” she said as she looked over my shoulder toward land. “Will you carry me to shore?”
“Carry you?” Was she hurt? Surely she knew I was in no condition to carry anyone.
She nodded then swam toward me, that golden light trailing behind her. She put her arms around my neck then pressed her body against me. When she did, something felt odd, but warm and soft like silk.
“Carry me,” she whispered again.
I reached under the water and slid my hand down her back but something felt strange.
Kate giggled.
“What? What is this?” I asked as I slowly made my way back toward shore. As I did so, the golden light around Kate began to glow brighter and brighter and soon I could see what felt so different. “Kate,” I whispered aghast as I stared down at the bundle in my arms. I had gone into the lake with the loveliest woman I’d ever met in my life, but was returning to shore with…a mermaid.
“Take me to shore, please,” she whispered.
I looked at the horizon. The sky was illuminated gray with the first edges of pink lining the skyline. What I was seeing was a miracle. I was being shown a miracle.
I carried the lovely creature in my arms and set her down on the shoreline beside me. Her long emerald-colored tail stretched out on the shore. I stared at her in amazement.
The Chancellor Fairy Tales Boxed Set: Books 1-3 Page 5