by D. S. Murphy
“Worse than us. Not families, not clans. More like a network of trained assassins. They were an order of the church, with a powerful secret.”
When we got back to the house everybody was gone. My arms were fine now, so I grabbed a jacket and held onto the back of Ethan’s motorcycle as he drove to the hospital. We found everyone just as the doctor came out with an update.
“A combination of belladonna and skullcap in her system; herbs which usually just have a calming effect, but if the dose is high enough, can be fatal.”
“But she’ll be okay,” I prompted. “She has to be okay.”
“She should be fine,” the doctor said, making a note on Jackie’s file. “We pumped her stomach and are keeping her hydrated. She should feel good as new in a few days.”
“But how did this even happen?” I asked Ethan in a hushed voice. “I mean, someone had to drug her, right? Someone at the party. Maybe they put it in the wrong glass, and it was meant for me. I wasn’t careful with glasses, maybe I took hers by accident and she took mine—but even still, how did they get in? How did we not see it?”
“They could have poisoned some of the food, or a bottle before it even got in the house. Almost everybody brought some drinks. The doctor said it isn’t usually fatal. Maybe they weren’t really trying to kill you, maybe it was just a stupid prank. Maybe it was Brody, or Brianna—and they put too much in on accident.
“If that’s true,” I said, with fire in my eyes, “they’re going to pay for it.”
I peered through the window and saw Jackie’s parents, hovering over her bed. Aedan must have called them on the way to the hospital. Jackie looked so frail and helpless, lying in her hospital gown with an IV in her arm, her red hair spread out behind her. Derry and Patricia were in the room as well, but they came outside when they saw us. Patricia looked pissed. Derry took her arm and held her back, eyeing me warily.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” she asked, pointing at Ethan. “You’re a witch, aren’t you? Dark magic and shit. The toxicology report said skullcap and belladonna. Who would even use that anymore? You did something to her. You poisoned her drink. The kids at school were right about you, about your family. Hexes and spells. And the blood,” she said, turning towards me. “What the fuck was that? What kind of crazy voodoo were you trying to pull?”
“Your wrists—” Derry said suddenly, his eyes widening. “I saw you cut them. Saw the blood. But now…”
I held my arms up and turned them over. My skin was smooth and flawless.
“That’s impossible,” Patricia said, her anger dissipating.
“She was trying to help,” Ethan said. “Trying to save Jackie.”
“And Ethan didn’t do this,” I added. “It was someone else. Someone was after me, and Jackie got hurt. I’m so sorry, I would never put her in danger intentionally.”
“Why would anyone try and poison you? That doesn’t make any sense. And what does your blood have to do with anything? And how the hell is your arm perfectly fine now? Sorry doesn’t cut it this time,” Patricia said. “We need answers.”
Patricia was right. I’d tried to keep them out of it, to protect my friends—and they’d tried to cheer me up because they didn’t understand what was wrong. But Jackie could have died, without even knowing why. I couldn’t keep lying to them. Especially now, after what they’d seen. They needed to know the truth.
I looked at Ethan, pleading with my eyes. He nodded reluctantly.
“I tried to tell you earlier. I’ve wanted to tell you for so long.”
“Wait, let me guess, mermaids again?” Patricia glared at me and headed for the nearest exit. Ethan raised a hand and all the doors near us slammed shut, blowing a stack of papers off the counter.
“Hear her out,” Ethan said. Patricia’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, but she stayed silent.
“The attack on the beach were merrow, they were here for Sebastian. He’s merrow too… and so am I, at least partially. Ethan’s family are part of an ancient race that uses mermaid blood for magic—it can heal, and it has other properties. So they’re at war, but I made a deal with them recently. Sebastian went back to try and convince the merrow not to destroy civilization; the bonfire was nothing, they may actually try to wipe out the human race. We’re trying to stop that from happening. But Sebastian never came back. And tonight proves that someone is still out to get me.”
When I was done, Derry and Patricia glanced back and forth between Ethan and I, probably hoping this was some kind of perverse joke.
“I know how it sounds,” I said. “I didn’t believe it at first either. Sebastian had to prove it to me.”
I went out and grabbed a can of coke from the vending machine in the hall, then place it upright on the table. I focused on it, feeling the liquid and salt inside. Since my lessons with Sebastian, I’d gotten much better at hydrokinesis—as long as it was salt water anyway. I tipped the can over and it rolled to the side of the counter, falling off the edge. I caught it before it hit the ground, and very carefully lifted it back up and placed it on the counter. All without touching it.
Derry waved his hand over the aluminum can, searching for invisible wires.
“Holy shit,” he said finally.
“That’s nothing,” I said. “You should see what Ethan or Sebastian can do.”
After a long pause, Patricia said with wide eyes.
“Mermaids are real? Like really real?”
Ethan nodded solemnly.
“And they want to kill us all.”
***
Jackie spent two days in the hospital. She woke up in the morning and said she was fine, but the doctors noticed some abnormalities and wanted to keep her another day. Somehow she seemed even more healthy than she had when she came in. Even some of her old scars had disappeared. We took turns bringing her homework, and Ethan stayed by her side most days, reading to her or telling her stories. I’m not sure whether he was doing it because he felt guilty, like I did… or if it was something else, something deeper.
Once she was awake, we told her everything. It was such a relief to finally tell her my secret. I cried because I was so sorry she’d gotten hurt, and she cried because she hadn’t believed me earlier, and for all the awful things she’d said to me. Even though it was a huge relief, however, to finally tell my friends, it also added some pressure.
They all wanted to know what happened next.
Who was after me? When would they strike again? Were the merrow still planning to attack? If so, what were they waiting for? And where was Sebastian? I had no answers for them. I felt like I was being toyed with. I wished whoever was after me would fight fairly. The only benefit to come from this latest attack was that I wasn’t afraid anymore. The worst had already happened. I tried to protect my friends, and I’d failed. Jackie could have died, because of me. I swore I was going to find out who did this and make sure they could never hurt me or anyone I cared about, ever again.
The day before Easter, Ethan stopped at my house and told me he’d be picking me up early the next morning.
“For what?” I asked.
“I talked to Morgan about your tattoo idea,” he said. “She was against it at first, but after what happened with Jackie, she agrees we should have a ceremony for you. A rite of passage. Most of us get them when we’re younger—it’s kind of a confirmation into the Tuatha Dé. An official welcome. The heads of each family have to swear a blood-oath to protect the children of each family. If one of the Tuatha Dé tried to poison you, initiating you into the Cael should make them think twice before trying it again. If they break their oath and try to harm you, they won’t be able to hide it.
“So I’m getting a tattoo?” I asked. “What should I get? And where?”
“It’s up to you,” Ethan said. “Something small and simple—we don’t even know if you’ll be able to use it the way we do. I don’t think a mennow has ever gotten one before.”
The next morning, Ethan picked me up at 4am and drove
me to Morgan’s. She made me change into a thin white garment and prepared me for the ceremony.
“Paul will act as your presenter,” she said, combing my hair into braids in front of an antique vanity desk with a round mirror. “It’s usually the father but an uncle is a common alternative.”
“What do I need to do?” I asked.
“Not much—there are a couple lines to repeat.”
“And then I’ll get the tattoo?”
“The ceremony is first, then the tattoo. It will take a few hours.”
When I was ready, we hiked up to the top of the hill, near where Ethan and I had our picnic. Candles in glass containers edged the trail leading to the clearing. I was surprised to see I wasn’t the only one wearing white—a younger girl with dark hair and green eyes was already waiting. She smiled at me, even though she looked as nervous as I felt. I trusted Morgan and Ethan, mostly. But it was also hard to forget that most of the men gathered here had executed Travis just a few months ago, and not that far away.
Dawn lightened the horizon, pushing the dark gray clouds aside and replacing them with strips of yellow and purple. Just as the sun crested over the ocean, Marcus raised his hands and began speaking. He was wearing a fancier robe this time, with purple lining around the hood and decorative ornamentation.
“Spirits of the East, West, North and South. Families of the stone, spear, sword and cauldron. We are gathered to welcome new members into our community. Who presents us with these requests?”
“I do,” a man standing behind the young girl spoke first. “This is my daughter Piritta. Of the tribe of the cauldron.”
“Will you teach her the ways of the Tuatha Dé, guide her and protect her from harm, and make sure she stays on the path of light?”
“I will,” the man said.
“And you child, will you dedicate yourself to the virtues of the cauldron—to keep the hearth lit and the table full, to ensure that every member of our community never goes hungry?”
“I will,” the girl said, in a quiet but firm voice.
“Do you promise to keep the secrets of the Tuatha Dé, to be ever vigilant against enemies, and if necessary, to fight to defend us?”
“I will,” she said again.
“And you, the leaders of the twelve families, do you accept this new member into our fold, promise to protect her and teach her the ways of the Cael, and prevent her from falling astray?”
“We do,” the gathering said in unison.
Marcus held up a pin and pricked his own finger.
“Then let us seal this promise with our blood, shared freely to demonstrate the conviction of our bond.”
One by one, the twelve heads of the Tuatha Dé stepped forward and let Marcus poke them with the pin. The archmagus caught the drops of blood in a hand-carved, wooden cup, and added some fresh water from a tall crystal vase. He dipped his fingers into the vessel, then marked a symbol I didn’t recognize onto Piritta’s forehead.
“Then as the sun rises on this new day, may you shine brightly and renew our community with your light and love.” Piritta stepped back and took her father’s hand. Then Marcus beckoned me forward. My turn.
“Who gives away this girl into the community?”
“I do,” Paul said. “This is my niece, Clara. Of the tribe of the spear.”
“Will you teach her the ways of the Tuatha Dé, guide her and protect her from harm, and make sure she stays on the path of light?”
“I will.”
“And you child, will you dedicate yourself to the virtues of the spear—to keep your senses sharp, your weapon ready, and defend the community from all harm, both from within or without? To protect those weaker than yourself, and, if need be, to die so that they might live?”
That last sentence made me hesitate. They expected me to sacrifice myself so the Tuatha Dé could live? How was that any different from what they did to Trevor? I glanced at Ethan, and saw him nod slightly.
“I will,” I said.
“Do you promise to keep the secrets of the Tuatha Dé, to be ever vigilant against enemies, and if necessary, to fight to defend us?”
“I will.”
“And you, the leaders of the twelve families, do you accept this new member into our fold, promise to protect her and teach her the ways of the Cael, and prevent her from falling astray?”
“We will,” the crowd answered. It may have been my imagination, but it sounded quieter this time. I scanned the faces around me. More than a few looked less than thrilled, but nobody refused to come forward and finish the ritual. Marcus marked a symbol on my forehead with the blood of the Cael. It tingled and I hoped my skin wasn’t sparkling like it did in the salt water.
“Then as the sun rises on this new day, may you shine brightly and renew our community with your light and love.”
Just then, the sun broke through the clouds on the horizon and bathed us in light. I had to squint my eyes against the brightness. When it was over, people lined up to hug Piritta or pat her head, while her father shook hands with the clan leaders. I was less popular. I stood to one side, with Paul, Morgan and Ethan. Marcus was the first to approach me.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “You did well. The others will come around. Obviously this is controversial—initiating a merrow into our community, after thousands of year of war. But Morgan is right; if you’re Colin’s son, a descendant of the spear, you belong here. Plus, the blood oath protects both sides. Morgan told me about the recent attack on you. If one of the Tuatha Dé are disobeying the commands of the Cael, we need to know. Lawlessness benefits no one. And now that you’ve sworn to protect and serve us, the peace treaty you negotiated earlier is more binding. You cannot betray us.”
There was something icy in his demeanor, a smug smile that put me on edge.
“If you don’t trust me, why did you agree to this?” I asked.
“Because I’m looking towards the future,” Marcus said. “The others are satisfied with the last sacrifice—it’s more merrow blood than they’ve ever seen. They think it’s enough. I, however, do not. Especially if the merrow are planning to attack us again, as you say. So let’s call this a gamble; I’m gambling on your ability to fulfill your promise. You’re gambling on us not turning on you and your friends. It’s a risk for both of us. But we do live in exciting times.”
Ethan told me by joining the Cael officially, I’d be protecting myself. But I couldn’t help wondering whether he’d miscalculated. I might be safe, for now, but if Sebastian didn’t return soon, I had no idea how I was going to get the merrow blood I’d promised them. And I was sure now, that Marcus would collect.
45
Six more weeks passed with no sign of Sebastian. No note, no message, nothing. There’d also been a total absence of missing girls or unexplained shark attacks. I tried to embrace my new normal and accept that Sebastian wasn’t coming back. I was Tuatha Dé. They were my family now. Maybe the merrow decided to hide out on the bottom of the ocean for another thousand years. With time the sharp, ice-pick-through-the-heart pain faded into a dull throbbing.
In class I admired the new tattoo on the inside of my left wrist: a crescent moon made with Celtic knots. I loved that it also looked like a dolphin’s tail. After my initiation, Ethan’s family had gone back to Morgan’s estate for a welcoming party. Ethan’s mother, Kate, had sandy hair and a quiet charm that made me feel comfortable right away. I picked her brain about Tuatha Dé history. She was enthusiastic, and eager to share everything she’d read, but couldn’t offer anything concrete in regards to the legendary relics I was hoping to use against the merrow. Not that it mattered anymore. I was beginning to feel like the merrow, Sebastian included, were just some kind of crazy dream. One I couldn’t get out of my head.
When Sebastian was here, my world had felt small. It was just him, and me, and the ocean. The touch of his skin, the warmth of his body next to mine, each delicious minute we were together became an eternity in my memory. He was my anchor, m
y mooring. Without him, the world seemed too large again. My human life, school and homework, paled compared to my new life of magic with the Tuatha Dé. And while those two worlds were already more than enough, the same two worlds that Ethan had juggled all his life, I alone had a third: because part of me was merrow. I was the monster the Tuatha Dé were training to defeat. That world was unfathomable to me, as deep and terrifying as the ocean. I tried to keep locked up, in the darkness, where it belonged. But sometimes I felt it reaching up, wanting out. Knocking on the door of my soul from the other side of my being, reminding me that it was in there, squeezed away. And it wouldn’t stay hidden forever.
I couldn’t share these thoughts with Ethan, or Aedan, or anybody. Sebastian was the only one who would understand. But he was gone. So I poured them into my typewriter. The typewriter that I got with my dad, who was not my father, when I was a child. The typewriter that had come to symbolize all the things I would never become.
I took out some of my frustration in gym class. I was now easily the best in the class at any sport. Punching a slow-moving leather ball was a lot easier than sparring with Ethan. My skin didn’t sparkle in the chlorinated pool, so I’d even started attending swim class again. Miss Baxter was surprised to see me, and a little stunned when I did ten laps faster than her top swimmers.
I trained hard. By myself sometimes. Ethan was getting sick of me, but I enjoyed the pain, the struggle. I made dozens of water animals in the cave pool—horses that ran around me in circles, elephants that balanced on top of each other, even stampeding buffalos. Knowing that it was all useless. At the end of the day, hydrokinesis wasn’t one of my more useful powers. Tossing water at the merrow wouldn’t do anything but make them stronger, and it wasn’t likely to cause any damage to human enemies either. But it took concentration, and it left me exhausted, which is all I could ask for. Otherwise I’d drive myself crazy, wondering where Sebastian was.
I quit choir class for good. My voice was just too powerful. Even when I was holding back, sometimes I’d catch Mrs. Tierney zoning out. So I stopped going. Sometimes I’d listen outside the door and mouth along with the words. At night I went up to Dunluce Castle, when nobody was around, and sang my heartache into the wind. I sang for Sebastian, for my parents, for myself. Typing wasn’t enough anymore. There was too much inside me, raging to get out. I needed to unburden myself into the dark night at the top of my lungs.