And I was not able to deny the connection I felt to Adam when he grabbed onto me in that dark room where I saw the vision. It was amazing—without being told, I knew who he was. Truly he was my soul mate. I knew that now. I saw our grave in the Cave of Machpela like the zebra girl spoke of. And in that cave our matriarch and patriarch, Abraham and Sarah were beside us. Being with Adam and the instigators of the belief in one God was the true splendor.
But, I knew I was unworthy of such holiness. I was bad and I knew it. I was the one who fed the apple to Adam in the garden. My desires for the serpent were stronger than any connection to God, Adam, the patriarchs and matriarchs and all that was pure. I was a curious creature who wanted to explore the bad even more than I wanted peace on Earth.
Just then I heard the door open to our room. It was Aver!
12
“Mealtime!” Aver called out as he entered the room, shutting the door behind him. He carried a huge bag over his shoulder like Santa Clause. When he opened it, thousands of colorful fish swam out in varying sizes.
He was in the form of a merman. His fish tale was green and his lean body looked fit and strong. His hair was in a wild mess that looked sexy as hell on him. Nobody was more attractive than Aver. He was physical perfection.
And of course, the music went wild and out of control in my mind. I won’t even tell you the kind of thoughts I was having. They even shocked me considering my romantic life had been the epitome of innocence. Becoming a josephine really put those hormones in full throttle!
But, more than anything, I was furious at myself for my attraction toward Aver. I hated him. He was entirely bad. But, no matter how much I tried to convince myself how unhappy I was to see him, I couldn’t. And this made me even angrier. I just wanted to kill him. Really. He deserved to die.
The colorful fish swam around everywhere now, but Goliath, the zebra girl, and that weird tiger fish still slept. This surprised me. Didn’t they want to eat? To me, I couldn’t imagine eating a live fish, but they were used to that sort of thing.
“Hey there, wild child,” Aver said as he swam gracefully by my cage. He was carrying another smaller bag with him.
Ignoring him, I wanted to rip his heart out, but he didn’t get close enough for me to try anything.
He swam around to the side of the tiger fish’s aquarium and lifted the lid. Immediately there was an enormously loud roar. The sound hurt my ears.
“Hungry there—aren’t you?” Aver said to the creature. He poured the contents of the bag into the aquarium. Big fat water moles swam around and the tiger fish gobbled them up at once.
Aver looked over at me and winked—probably just to annoy me. “You hear that music too, don’t you, wild child?”
“Let me out of this cage,” I demanded.
“Gladly,” he said. “But, you have to promise not to bite.” His eyes sparkled when he said, ‘bite.’
He put his hand on one of the bars of the cage and concentrated. I had no idea what he was doing. But, then this red light started exuding from his body. The bar started to shake. I saw letters in the water. They began to swirl around the bar. With that, he let go of the metal for a moment and smiled mischievously at me. Then, while the letters were still swirling around the bar, he bent the thick steel easily.
“There’s enough space for you now. Come on out.” He held his hand out to me.
I pushed him away and swam out. The giant grumbled in his sleep, but he didn’t wake up. And the zebra girl was still fast asleep with her head nestled between her knees on the floor of her cage.
“You’re a feisty one,” he said in a flirtatious voice that made my blood boil with hatred.
At once, I jumped on him and started scratching him anywhere I could get my fingernails into. But, he didn’t flinch and just grabbed me by the wrists and threw me over his shoulder.
“Let me down, let me down!” I screamed. My hair was tangled all around me.
I saw that the zebra girl was awake and bucking in her cage from the excitement. Then she stopped and whinnied loudly. Her eyes were wide with the spark of an internal thrill that I had only ever seen on the face of a crazy person.
Aver held my wrists firmly. “Settle down, hot stuff. We’re going on the adventure of our lives.”
“No! Let me go.” I struggled to get away, but my mermaid tale wasn’t a very good weapon. I wished I had my feet so I could have kicked him in the head.
He carried me over his shoulder out the door and locked it shut. “You know, wild child. You are powerless against me. If you’re a good girl, I’ll let you down and you can swim beside me. But, if you insist on being naughty, then I’ll just have to carry you.”
“Ok, set me down,” I screamed. My hair was in my face and I couldn’t see anything.
“Remember, be good.”
I knew I should just succumb. It was clear to me that I was powerless against him. How could I hurt a serpent person? He was practically omnipotent.
“I’ll be good,” I said in a frustrated voice.
After that, he lifted me off of his shoulder and put me beside him.
Immediately, I swam away with all my speed. My body was so pumped with adrenaline that I felt like I might just explode. I made it past the warehouses and to the willows. But he swam after me.
“What are you going to do, wild child? Just swim away.
I tried to move as fast as I could, weaving in and out of the willows at great speed.
“I missed you,” he said in a sweet voice. “Don’t you know how much I need you?”
That infuriated me. I stopped at once in the middle of the forest. He stopped with me as if he had anticipated my move. We were face to face now. “Just leave me alone. I want Shaul, not you! Don’t you know that?”
I was surprised. His demeanor changed. He looked genuinely hurt, but he tried to cover. “Oh.” His eyes were glazed. “I could give you to Shaul if that’s what you want.”
I wanted to cry and throw myself into his arms. My feelings were crazy. Nothing made sense. I hated him. “Yes, that’s what I want.”
“Ok, then.” He cleared his throat. I’ll take you to him.
“Really?” I was surprised.
“Yeah.” The tone of his voice was serious. There was a softness to his vocals that threw me. Something about him seemed raw and genuine. That surprised me. It must be a trick.
“He’s in Azkelon.” His gorgeous face was expressionless, blank. “I’ll take you there. You’ll like it.”
I did want to go to Azkelon to find my father. I wanted that more than anything. “Ok, I’ll go.”
“You will?” His voice lifted as he smiled.
“What are you happy about? I’m going to see Shaul.”
“Right.” He paused, giving the impression that he was thinking. “At least I get to spend time with you on the way there.”
I rolled my eyes, wondering what sort of machinations he had planned.
“Take my hand,” he said, the dimples forming on his face.
“Why should I?”
“Believe me. You want to be in my arms when we swim into the light. The energy is so intense. It will be easier for you if I hold you in it.”
He was right. I was afraid of entering the light.
“These willows aren’t any fun to swim through. It’s so dark and gloomy in this forest. Climb on my back and I’ll get us through here quickly.”
I contorted my face. “That’s absurd. You want me to get on your back?”
“Yes. Come on. It’ll be exciting. You’ll see.”
I couldn’t straddle his back like riding a horse because I didn’t have legs right now. So, I went behind him and held onto his muscular shoulders.
“Hold tight,” he said. And he was off and swimming like a missile. It was fun. We were moving so fast, weaving in and out of the willows at such great speed, that it felt like I was on a very smooth battle coaster at the amusement park.
“Whoa! This is great,” I couldn’t
help but yell out in joy.
In no time, we were out of the forest and into clear water. I couldn’t see anything but bubbles and light because we were moving too fast.
He took a sharp dive downwards. The speed was so great it felt like free falling. I tried not to laugh because I didn’t want him to know what a thrilling time I was having.
“Now we’re just going to go right into the light and I’m going to hold you tight.”
I was terrified, remembering the last time I burnt up into nothing. But, before I had much chance to think about it, he pulled me up against his chest and held me securely.
“Now!” He screamed. And we shot into the light. I held him so tightly, but in no time, we were formless. There was nothing to hold. I felt his essence. Maybe it was his soul that I felt, if he even had one. But, it was an entirely pleasurable experience. It was like we were one. I knew him entirely and I loved him.
That must have been why he took me into the light. He must have known that the realness of the experience would attach me to him and it did. It’s difficult to explain the ethereal, but it is the only thing that is true. I was one with him. I was one with everything. There were no physical divisions of otherness. We were just us and everyone and that’s it.
The music called us and our minds directed our consciousness toward it. This was where we had to be. We didn’t have a choice any longer. At once, we shot through a port hole. It was like a long tunnel with scenery at the end like a beautiful, clear vision in a dream.
Suddenly, we landed in physical form and we were in Azkelon. I couldn’t believe my eyes!
13
As we entered Azkelon through the porthole, I was still in Aver’s arms. We were chest to chest.
Before our eyes was a heavenly world. Azkelon was golden, sparkling and grand. Magnificent castles lined the purple mountains. Treasure chests of gold and jewels lay open on the underwater streets. Beautiful hanging gardens with Roman pillars and stone arches accentuated the lush park to our right. And intricately carved terraces overlooked views of mesmerizing canyons to our left.
The scenery was so impressive, I nearly cried. I definitely wanted to live here. But, not in a million years was I going to let Aver know how much I liked what I saw.
“You can let go now,” I said sternly, trying to cover my awe for this enchanting world. I didn’t want him to know how happy I was to be here.
“Ah, come on.” His eyes were wide with wonder. “You have to admit you like feeling my heartbeat against yours in this amazing city.” He released me and I slapped him with my red mermaid tale. I think that surprised him.
“Hey, you really are a feisty one.” The dimples formed on his cheeks as he smiled wryly at me. “What do you think of Azkelon?”
“It’s alright,” I said shrugging my shoulders. The music was romantic in my mind, but I tried to ignore it.
He laughed. “Just alright, wild child?”
“That’s what I said.” My voice was sharp.
“Ok.” He laughed again. “We are going to have the time of our lives here.”
“We?” My focus on him was piercing. “What about Shaul?”
He raised an eyebrow. “What about him?”
“Where is he?” I demanded. “You said he was here.”
His face took a serious expression. “I thought he was.” He looked around. “Azkelon is a big place. Don’t worry—we’ll find him.”
“You mean you don’t even know where he is?”
“Well…” he paused. “Not exactly, but I know he’s here and he shouldn’t be hard to find.”
“It feels like we are in saltwater.” My voice was melancholy.
“We are. That porthole took us to the Ocean of Tropics.
When I heard mention of the ocean, memories of my regular nightly swims off the Los Angeles Coast flooded back into my mind. For a moment I thought about living on the island with Patravia before I met Shaul. He must have known she was a serpent person. In truth, he and Aver must have assigned her to me. Her duty was merely to watch over me, preserve me for their mission of bringing hell on Earth when the time was ripe.
My heart ached at the thought of their betrayals. Maybe if I just talked to Shaul, he could explain it all to me. He must have had good intentions. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. Or would he?
“Come on,” Aver said. “I’ll show you where we are going to go first.”
He held out his hand, and in my sadness, I took it. His touch sent my pulse racing which angered me immensely, but I still held to him because the feeling was too pleasurable to let go. I wanted him even though my mind told me I shouldn’t. It was an unreasonable desire.
Together, we swam past the hanging gardens and up toward the purple mountains. Bubbles trailed behind us twinkling in light.
As we moved ahead, I asked, “Where is everyone? Aren’t there supposed to be mermaids here?”
“Yes, there are. It’s just that everyone is at the festivity today.”
I couldn’t help but peek at the attractive muscles on his lean body as he swam. He looked so strong and powerful.
“What is the occasion?” I noticed that the colors were so vibrant here. All the flowers and greenery seemed so alive. The floral scents mesmerized my senses.
“It’s just a regular day, but Azkelon is a land of endless festivals and revelry. Every day, the creatures of Azkelon throw fantastic parties and most everyone swims from bash to bash. So, usually they are all wherever the celebrations are. Sometimes the events are here, but today they are at other enchanting sites.
“Have you been here before?” I was noticing how his hair shined in the warm sunlight.
He laughed. “Many times.”
“Oh.” My voiced dropped a note. I wondered what he had done here the other times. From what the zebra girl and giant said, it sounded like he and Shaul controlled both Azkelon and Aurora Springs. “When was the last time you were here?”
For a moment his thoughts seemed to drift in contemplation. “I haven’t been here sense the music started playing in my mind.”
We swam through a coral palace past the treasure of pearls and gems, past the amphitheater where lovely mermaids watched a flashy play with red fans, phosphorescent jelly fish, and dancing sea horses.
“Why aren’t those beauties at the festivals?”
“That theater show is part of the revelry. You will see as we swim. Parties line the streets, the mountains, the outsides of dance clubs.”
After living in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles and after being locked away in a dungeon, this land seemed like paradise. It was heavenly. I never wanted to leave.
We continued onward, hand in hand, past the library of heroic legends, past the salon of flashing mirrors, past the royal museum of silk and satin, and into the underwater butterfly garden.
“This place reminds me of you, wild child” Aver said as he looked at me with dreamy eyes.
The butterflies fluttered in dynamic colors around us, their bodies lit up in twinkle and flash.
“Well, if any pretty insects do fly out of me, you won’t know it here. There are so many little charms before our eyes.”
“Come on,” he said, pulling me forward.
“Woah!” I hollered out, letting my fears and worries go. At the moment, I couldn’t be angry. I was having too much fun.
We saw glowing bulbs rolling through colorful seaweed fields ahead.
“Where are those magnificent bulbs going to?” I asked, wondering aloud.
His eyes flashed with fire. “I don’t know. Let’s find out!”
In delightful curiosity, we swam after the lit bulbs, drawn to them and the beautiful, alluring music ahead.
“The music we hear beyond is the same song as in my mind. Is it the same for you?” I asked as I pushed my wild long hair out of my face.
“Yes! The music is both inside of me and now outside of me in this wondrous place.” His excitement was infectious.
The bulbs rolled faste
r and faster. It took my full strength to keep up with them. The music got louder and louder, more entrancing and mystical by the moment. Suddenly, we found ourselves being projected upwards in a loud musical burst of brilliant sound and light along with the bulbs. There were sprays and flashes of light like fireworks layered atop each other in splendor. My body filled with bliss.
“Hey, this is great,” Aver hollered in delight.
We came up and out of an underwater sparkling water fountain. It was so funny—we sat on top of the water geyser within an ornately tiled pool. Together, we were bouncing up and down with the gushes of water that lifted us. I couldn’t stop laughing. And Aver was laughing too.
The music was everywhere now—inside us and out, all around. Somehow we made our way out of the geyser and into the pool. I looked around and there was an orchestra of mermaids and mermen surrounding the pool. They were playing all sorts of unusual instruments and singing the most beautiful siren songs.
The mermaids had long and flowing hair with beautiful seashell ornaments placed attractively around the crowns of their heads. Precious stones and conch shells lined their necks. And delicate gold chains decorated with charms tied around their waists.
The mermen were less adorned, but they were no less attractive. They had perfectly sculpted bodies of varying sizes and handsome tales of masculine colors.
The music was as glorious as I could have imagined. And I noticed that as my moods fluctuated ever so slightly so the orchestra accommodated. It was connected to us as if it were us.
“Brilliant,” Aver said. His face was glowing. He really looked happy. “This is where we belong. I couldn’t want anything else.” He smiled at me then and I felt that he was being entirely genuine.
“I feel the same way. I can’t help it. I do. How could I ever leave this land? It is perfect.” I couldn’t stop smiling. No matter what I did. I just couldn’t stop smiling.
But, then I thought of Shaul and I don’t know what happened. I just started crying. I missed him terribly and I felt so guilty being in Azkelon without him. If I was going to live in paradise, it should be with Shaul, even if he was entirely bad. I should have experienced the core of the music for the first time with Shaul, not with Aver. I had been through so much with Shaul. I couldn’t live without him. Even if we weren’t soul mates under God, as far as I was concerned, he was me, I was him, we were one.
Girl Enchanted (Book 2 of The Girl Trilogy) Page 9