Mermaid Spring (Mermaid Series Book 2)

by Dan Glover

  "I want to go with you."

  "You do not wish to see your husband, sweet Ginger, or the father of your child?"

  "He chose my mother over us. I must honor this choice. No, I do not wish to see Kāne again."

  Her heart was pounding uncomfortably loud in her chest making so much noise Ginger was sure it would waken Joshua. She couldn’t remember the last time she cried... it was something forbidden... only little girls cried. Still, when they started she couldn’t seem to stifle the sobs.

  He would forget about her... in fact, he probably already had. She would have rather died giving birth to her son than to live with the knowledge that she wasn’t good enough for Kāne... that he preferred the company of someone else... her own mother.

  Unlike the girls of the People, mother Lauren didn’t attempt to quell Ginger's tears by mouthing platitudes... instead, she sat close to her grandson softly cooing a lullaby that Ginger thought she had heard before but couldn’t remember where or when.

  "What's that song you're singing, mother Lauren? It's so beautiful!"

  "It's the same tune I hummed while you were being born, darling Ginger... do you remember?"

  "I don’t recall being born, mother Lauren, but I've heard that song before. I just don’t remember where or when."

  "It's an old song, sweet Ginger... while we lived beneath the waters of Lake Baikal it wasn’t sung out loud as I do now but it was still the same tune."

  "What do the words mean?"

  "Whatever you wish them to mean, my precious Ginger. The song tailors itself to the listener. The song isn’t composed of words so much as it is made of feelings. To me, the words denote a solitary existence only occasionally broken by all too brief friendships and loves. To you, it may mean something else."

  "It makes me sad, mother Lauren, but at the same time it lifts my spirits too. Thank you for coming with us today."

  Chapter 77—Howls in the Night

  Alpin awakened to pain.

  He was lying beside the road. His motorcycle was scrap and both his arms were swollen from hands to elbows like balloons with the skin pressing tight and purple against the tape and the splints causing them to itch relentlessly. Night was coming on and there was no shelter in sight. He felt hungry and thirsty and had no idea where he was.

  He knew he was on his way back to Orchardton Hall. The fall from his motorcycle had scrambled his brains, however, and he didn’t recall how far his journey had taken him or what time he left.

  He wrenched his body from the dirt feeling the scream of every bruised and battered muscle. The skin on his legs was lacerated. Blood caked his blue jeans so that they made it feel as if he was wearing concrete overalls. He reasoned that the bleeding must have stopped on its own; otherwise his pants would still be wet.

  The sun was a red ball on the horizon. For just a moment he told himself he had slept through the night and a new day was dawning. The reverse soon became apparent.

  Each step sent shivers of misery through his body. He was sure he had a fever. Though sweat beaded his forehead from both the act of walking and the numbing pain in his arms, he was chilled. His teeth chattered incessantly and the trembling of his limbs only added to the despair creeping into his mind.

  He imagined he was somewhere in the Grampians. The desolate landscape took on sinister shadows of gray in the deepening twilight. On his way north, these mountains looked so regal and inviting he stopped to spend a few days camping here.

  He remembered finding a cabin. It dawned on him that the cabin could be nearby but he doubted the veracity of his memory. Still, the path he was on seemed familiar. As he stumbled along the night ratcheted up its sounds until a cacophony of cries, growls, grunts, and chirps surrounded him.

  A giant yellow moon loomed up out of the horizon illuminating the forest in silver and gold. Packs of nearby wolves howled to its image or perhaps they'd caught scent of his bloodied and broken body and were coming for him. The sound of a woman screaming pierced through the howls. He knew there was no woman in these mountains but rather a mountain lion welcoming the night and perhaps a meal.

  His head was spinning and he was running out of breath. Though he knew if he sat he would not be able to rise again, he had no choice. His legs gave out; conscious of his injured wrists he purposely sat down rather than falling forward.

  He told himself if he stayed still none of the predators of the forest would find him. He knew it was untrue. Even now his bloody scent trail was alerting wild beasts of all kinds to his presence here. He would not last the night.

  Looking up at the moon, a feeling of peace invaded his mind. It was so brilliant that it blotted out all but the brightest of stars in the sky. He remembered the day Ena was born and how beautiful she was. Even then, he knew they were made for one another.

  He thought of her looking up at this same moon. Had she given birth to their baby yet? His mind would not form numbers. He had no reckoning of time passing. He felt as if he had been here forever, struggling through these horrid hills with tortured torment following in his wake.

  There was something stalking him.

  He saw a flicker in the darkness, moonlight reflecting off enormous green retinas. Certain a big cat was out there, most likely the one he heard screaming like a woman. The night was suddenly deathly still... so quiet that he heard insects scuttling through the undergrowth of rotting leaves and tangled vines.

  A bent blade of grass alerted him to the presence of something enormous close by.

  There was a panting sound that told him the big cat had discovered his blood scent. He knew its mouth was hanging open as it huffed the night air the way big cats always did in an attempt to locate something good to eat. Catching sight of movement through a tree-tangled moonbeam he saw it was a tiger, but not a normal sized one. This beast was gargantuan.

  It seemed curious to see lights floating in the forest.

  He wondered if this was a sign of his impending death. Fascinated, he had read stories about the old days of how people used to die of illness and old age. These folk spoke of seeing a tunnel and a bright light. He was in a tunnel now. He sensed the edges of his vision slowly going dark until he peered out of a tube of black. Perhaps the light was coming to take him back to wherever it was he came from.

  The lights were moving.

  He was sure there were two of them yet it was also true that his vision was doubling up everything he saw. Perhaps he hit his head harder than he thought. He tried rubbing one eye on his right shoulder and the other on his left but the vision of two lights persisted.

  There was a sound now.

  He knew well the rumble of diesel engines having ridden to Lake Baikal many times in the back of a bus. Whatever was coming through the trees was being propelled forward by a diesel engine. Why on earth would anyone be here in the middle of the mountains driving a diesel truck?

  It was his beacon.

  Before he left, Lady Lauren insisted he bring along an emergency beacon. Attached to his motorcycle, it was set to go off should he take a spill... a tiny glass cylinder of mercury would break upon impact completing the connection and triggering a transponder.

  "I'll feel so much better knowing you are safe, sweet Alpin. If something happens, we will know of it and send help."

  He wanted to refuse to carry the device but she was adamant. Still, he nearly discarded the cumbersome thing a mile down the road. It took up too much room. His knee hit upon it each time he rounded a hard corner. He wasn't going to have an accident. Carrying something like a beacon was a waste of time and space.

  Now, he realized when he crashed the motorcycle the emergency transponder began beeping. It would send a signal for twelve hours, long enough that someone might be able to track his whereabouts.

  As the diesel rumble grew closer he tried to stand but couldn't. He attempted to raise his arms but the pain nearly caused him to pass out. Black spots swarmed around the center of his vision as the tunnel grew ever deeper. The lights wer
e going to miss him here. He knew he had wandered too far off the road.

  "Over here."

  His voice was non-existent, a croak in the dark, not even a whisper. Trying to wet his lips to call out once again he could find no spit. His tongue was a dead slug stuck to the roof of his mouth.

  The lights were passing him by a hundred meters to his right.

  He could no longer find the strength to sit. Easing down to the ground he laid back, exhaustion washing over him like moonlight. His arms had stopped hurting. Looking to his right he saw the tiger sitting close beside him like a guardian. It couldn’t be more than ten feet away now.

  He wondered vaguely if that was a good thing as he sank into the morass opening beneath him.

  Chapter 78—Jealousy

  The gnus were running.

  Chester leapt from the ship while they were still a kilometer from shore. He had nothing to eat for the last two days but for the fish they were able to snare in nets. The store of dried food was gone and Chester did not do fruit.

  Lily stood amidships watching the big cat swim. She loved the way his whole body swayed in motion right down to his tail.

  "He'll be okay, right Lady Lily?"

  "I'm sure he'll be fine, sweet Kirk. He's hungry, that's all. The poor thing had nothing to eat since yesterday and even then he only received a morsel."

  "Do you think he'll come back? How will he know where we are?"

  "Chester has senses we do not, darling Kirk. He found Maon, Sileas, Ena, and Amanda after we looked for them more than a month. He swam right to their camp and waited for us He was protecting them. I don’t know if he smelled them or if he used one of his other senses. Chester will be back... and if he's not, we'll go looking for him."

  Lily couldn't help but marvel at the changes this trip wrought upon Kirk. Prior to sailing to old America, she couldn’t stand being around the man. She never understood why Nate became fast friends with him. She felt it must have been a sign of her husband's failing mental health, his dementia and lack of discerning judgment.

  Now, she realized Kirk was a man to be trusted. The little boy and the sullen man he grew into were no longer part of his persona. Perhaps Delilah had that affect upon him, or perhaps the gathering of years living beside the Ladies had instilled within him a wisdom otherwise lacking.

  "There is only room for six people in the skiff. We'll have to go ashore in shifts. How about I take the women ashore first... darling Ena? Are you ready to go home?"

  "I've never been more ready, Grandfather Nate. Little Catan will finally get to meet the rest of his family."

  Nate lowered the small craft that served as a landing vessel into the undulating sea while Kirk dropped anchor. Lily thought how Orchardton Hall had never looked so inviting. Its sandstone walls sparkled as if tiny diamonds were embedded within its walls. She noticed the People rushing down to the wharf to greet the Nautilus. Lady Lauren was among them.

  Karen stepped forward. At first, she thought she was getting in line to board the skiff but instead Karen gently tugged Lily's arm motioning for her to go first.

  "I see it in your eyes, Lady Lily... you are in love. Go to Lady Lauren... I'll wait here till Nate returns."

  Lily gratefully boarded the skiff with Ena, little Catan, Delilah, Sileas, Amanda, and Natalia. As the shoreline grew closer she saw a look of consternation wrinkling Lady Lauren's brow. Something was amiss here.

  "You have no idea how much I missed you, my darling Lily! Please tell me we will never again part for so long. The year we were apart seemed like ten thousand years."

  Lily felt her lover tremble in her arms as they hugged one another close.

  "Oh my sweet Lauren... I've made you cry. I am so sorry, my darling. I promise I will never leave you like this again. In the future, should a need arise to travel to a distant port, you must come with me. Otherwise I will not go."

  "I am worried about Alpin, my precious Lily. He was traveling in the north. This morning, the beacon on his motorcycle began sending distress signals. Despite his misgivings I made him take it along in case he had an accident. I fear the worst. I have his location... he has not moved all day long. He may be hurt."

  "We must go to him, my wonderful Lauren. As soon as Nate has finished ferrying the rest of the crew ashore, we must make him take us there. Come... let us prepare a meal to bring along."

  Walking to the castle Lily met and greeted many of the People who came out and welcomed her home but she did not see Kāne. She thought of him often, not as an old lover, but as a trusted friend. Standing alone in the kitchen she queried Lauren on what she saw and what she did not see.

  "Tell me, my darling Lauren... where is your precious son Kāne? Why has he not come to greet us?"

  "Kāne makes his home in Edinburgh Castle, my precious Lily. He went of his own accord. This is a good thing so far as Nate's mental health is concerned, although according to her he does not honor his wife the way a male of our species should. This causes my heart to ache, not for Kāne so much as for the girl involved."

  "His wife? Is Kāne married now?"

  Though she told herself the man had every right to take a mate, deep inside her hearts Lily still clung to the notion that they might one day rekindle their long lost love for one another. Now she felt that dream dying.

  "Not in the sense that you mean, darling Lily. I spoke metaphorically. He took up with Ginger right after you sailed. Theirs was not a long lived affair, however. The girl came home alone not long after they made their home in Edinburgh. Kāne remains there yet."

  "Is that why I saw Ginger on the wharf? She has a child."

  "Yes... he is my grandchild. His name is Joshua."

  "I did not know our kind could produce offspring with human beings."

  "Nor did I, my darling Lily. I believe it must be on account of our close proximity with one another over the last century. Perhaps our good doctor Karen can help shed more light on this anomaly.

  "Why would Kāne prefer Edinburgh to our home here, darling Lauren?"

  "Ginger tells me he is in love with her mother Mindy."

  "But lovely Lauren... this doesn’t seem like a problem."

  "Among the People, it seems as if much jealousy arises when one's mate interacts with someone outside of marriage. I attempted to explain this propensity of ours toward loving multiple partners to Ginger but her feelings are strong in this matter. Perhaps it is the ill will she bears toward her mother.

  "Maybe if these People live another ten thousand years they will come to see the futility of committing oneself to just one person... we have love enough to share and time has no meaning in the face of eternity."

  "Yes, lovely Lily... we do indeed have plenty of love to share. Time to us is non-existent. The People still consider the passage of time as something of importance. Once they learn time has no meaning their outlook upon love and life will change for the better."

  "I hurt you, my precious Lauren... and I am sorry."

  "But you are home now, darling Lily... there is no need for sorrow."

  "No, that's not what I mean. I went behind your back to be with your son, my wondrous Lauren. I knew you would not approve. It was all my fault that he was pulled away from us... from you. If we had not been in that part of the Lake it never would have happened. I am sorry."

  "I wanted you for my own, my precious Lily... it is I who should be apologizing for my actions, not you. We always act so morally superior to the girls of the People when it comes to sharing our love yet we too become jealous at the most inopportune of times. I should have welcomed you into my family instead of pushing you away."

  "Kiss me, my love, and let us make amends for all the wrongs we have inadvertently heaped upon one another."

  Chapter 79—On the Prowl

  "Is that Chester?"

  Nate and Kirk were driving along what once served as a road but currently was little more than a grassy weed-strewn path through the mountains. Only a smattering of asphalt informed t
hem that they were in fact on the old highway that once led up the coast to the north of old Scotland.

  The coordinates of Alpin's beacon had led them straight into the Grampians. Driving in Nate's dual-wheeled pick up truck decked out with floodlight so as to see in the darkness was the only reason they were able to navigate the deteriorating path fast going back to the forest from which it was once cut.

  Knowing they were close to their destination, Nate was driving slowly while Kirk kept a watch from the passenger side. The sound of the night sent shudders up Kirk's spine as he recalled the time he was trapped atop the shack by a mother tiger and her cubs.

  Out of the corner of his eyes he caught a glimpse of something big sitting back off the pathway. He couldn't be certain, but normal tigers were not as large as Chester. He knew it could be a bear, perhaps, or even a male lion.

  He was worried about the big cat. Though he doubted any creature in old Scotland was his match he wondered if Chester might become disorientated and lost in the strange land so far from his old home in old America.

  Though he didn’t like to admit it, he was more than fond of Chester. His father always taught Kirk that animals were only for food or for kicking. Getting to know Chester had changed his outlook, however. Though the big cat terrified his dreams on occasions, Kirk was enamored with him too.

  Chester had become a part of his extended family. Kirk didn’t understand how it happened or why, but over the last couple years he had built relationships with others at Orchardton Hall which he never before thought possible.

  He was finally part of something bigger than himself. For the majority of his life, Kirk had wallowed in self pity, telling everyone who would listen that he had gotten the shitty end of the stick what with his alcoholic father who made him the object of his fury and his whore of a mother who never so far as he could remember had ever expressed anything but hatred towards him.