Alex swims up behind me and tells them, "She's with me." They step aside and open the gate allowing us to enter.
Alex stops in front of one of them and claims, "Actually, this is Ever Harding, Seamus's Great granddaughter, she should be granted access always."
The guard backs away with his hands up and hesitates, "Um, Mr. Raver, that is an order that must come directly from Seamus." Alex shakes his head angrily, grabs my hand and swims toward the castle.
Once we're inside I pull my hand away and tell him, "Really Alex, it's no big deal, I won't come here without you or Amber anyway."
He looks down and shakes his head. I stop in front of him and his beautiful green eyes meet mine. I look away. He places his finger under my chin and forces me to look at him. I can feel the warmth from him through the water. Feeling, really uncomfortable suddenly.
He tells me slowly, "Ever, this is your home now, you aren't just visiting anymore. You do realize that, don't you?"
I back away and look anywhere but those eyes, "I um, yes, it's just..."
He swims forth again and places his hands on my shoulders forcing me to look at him again, "You have to take this seriously. You must stay in the sea. You made this choice and the choice to fight with the Lior."
I feel as if something just slammed me right in my gut. Suddenly the nausea is rising again and I can't stop it. I swim the other way looking for somewhere that I can have privacy. The first room I approach is to the right of the door. I enter and quickly shut and lock the door behind me. It's a sort of sitting room. I wretch in the first corner I can find. All those apples I ate, gone... UGH! Not so good in the water, actually pretty disgusting.
I hear the handle jiggle and Alex pleading on the other side of the door, "Ever, come on, sorry, I really didn't mean to upset you."
Like it's his fault, I did this myself, obviously I have a hard time dealing with reality. I rush to the door slipping out, closing the door quickly behind me, "Ummm, I wouldn't go in there anytime soon, if I were you."
Alex looks down at me with pain in his eyes, "I really am sorry." I wave his apology away. Better to not face reality at the moment, I'm good at that. I swim to where the hallways meet, three different directions and look back at him. He glances at the middle hallway and I take off not looking to see if he's following me. Embarrassment will do that to you.
Chapter 9
James
I officially suck at shooting an arrow from a bow. We have been at it for the better part of an hour and I have hit not even close to our makeshift target.
Sara checks her watch and sighs, "It's 4:30, what time did you say your mom will be home?"
"She should be home soon, I think we should stop for the day." I can tell she's getting frustrated with me. My mom will be home so I decide to let her off the hook. Obviously this method of fighting isn't for me.
She turns to me with a serious look on her face, "You know we have to keep trying until we find the one you prefer."
I nod looking down, "I kinda figured, so no spear throwing, and no bows and arrows."
I take a deep breath and look into her beautiful eyes, "What's next?"
Her aqua eyes seem to glimmer as a smile spreads across her lips, "How about we try actual fighting next?"
I frown, "You mean like hand to hand combat? Who will train with me?"
She puts her hand on her hip and juts it out with a disappointed look as if I just completely insulted her.
Her frown changes into a look as if she has a secret, "You don't think I know how to fight."
Oh, she is just so gorgeous and spunky. Did I just call her spunky? Crap, what is wrong with me? I stammer, "Well it's not that, just look at you." I gesture with my hands out in front of me, "You're like tiny and small, and I'm tall and...a lot bigger than you."
She shakes her head gathering the bows and arrows. Then she stops, looking straight into my eyes as serious as I have seen her yet, "James Harding, I am a serious threat when it comes to fighting, you should remember that tomorrow, when I kick your ass." She grins a wide smile as she finishes her sentence.
Then she punches me in the arm playfully and laughs, "And just for your information I am 5'4, on land and not so small in either of our worlds. You're just... tall and... big... in both of our worlds."
I shrug my shoulders, I can't really argue with that. I am tall, 6'2 and bigger than many of the guys in my class. It just runs in the male part of my family, I guess. My mom and Ever definitely didn't end up with that gene, probably good for them though.
I walk her through the house to her car. After she loads the bows and arrows, she turns before she climbs in and tells me, "I'll see you in school tomorrow."
I nod and add smiling, "And after school... I'm really scared about that ass kicking."
She punches my arm again and gets in her car grinning. I watch her zoom off. That girl is something else, I have never met anyone like her before. I shake my head trying hard not to dwell on the feelings she makes me feel, and head back in the house to tackle the enormous amount of homework I have.
***
I'm still so glad to be waking up in my own bed. Now that I've been back a few days, I'm starting to feel like I don't want to go back to the water. It's actually really boring there. Yes, the swimming and 'wills' I have are amazing, but... I guess I'm just still more comfortable here.
A small knock on my door pulls me out of my thoughts, "Come in."
My mom walks in and sits on the edge of my bad. She turns toward me, "Honey, how are you doing? You know we are only giving you tough rules because we love you."
She always does this. She gets majorly upset, gives us a punishment and later feels bad about it.
I nod, "Yeah, mom I know." I assure her, "You know I pretty much deserved what I got."
"Well with everything that happened with Ever, we were afraid you were rebelling a little like she did."
I smile, "Maybe I was, but I know what I have here, it was stupid for me to go and try to join another band."
She gets up and smiles, "Have a good day today at school. Are you all caught up?"
I nod, "Just about." As an afterthought I add, "Hey, have you heard from Ever?"
I figure maybe she really is at my Gam-aw's, where my parents think she is. If that's the case maybe I can try this traveling thing to see her.
A cloud rolls across my mom's face and she frowns, " Um no, Gam-aw says she is good, she's coming home soon."
I think there is more to this based on the look on her face. Maybe I'll go see Gam-aw anyway. I haven't talked to her about his whole thing yet. Maybe she can help.
***
Lunch is interesting today. Garrett let the cat out of the bag about Sara so everyone at our table is harassing me. I glance around the lunch room trying to ignore them and spot her at a small table in the corner, reading a book. This is the first time I've seen her during lunch. She glances up as I spot her and smiles at me. I feel someone's arm move across my shoulders and her lips nuzzle my neck. I glance over and notice it's Jessica. We hooked up once after one of my band's gigs. She's cute but I'm not in the mood right now. I shrug her arm off of me.
She pouts, "Aw James come on, you aren't seriously into that chick over there, she is so not your type." I glare at her and get up to move away.
As I make my way around the table, Gabbi, my sister's best friend, steps in front of me.
She has a really uneasy look on her face, "Can I, um talk to you?"
I nod and follow her across the room. I feel eyes on me and turn to see Sara staring at me with a questioning look. I turn and follow Gabbi out the door.
We sit on a bench in the courtyard.
I ask, "What's up?"
She gets up and starts pacing in front of me. This is not typical Gabbi behavior. She is usually a free spirit and rarely lets things bother her. My sister on the other hand is bothered by everything, overly emotional.
When a few minutes pass and she hasn't said anything I a
sk, "Gabbi, is everything alright?"
She stops to look at me then starts pacing again, "James, I really don't know..."
She stops again, "Have you heard from Ever?"
Oh so that's what this is about.
"No I haven't but my mom just told me this morning that she's good. She's at my Gam-aw's in Chicago. I guess she'll be home soon."
She starts shaking her head and pacing again, "No, she won't."
"What do you mean, my mom just said this morning that she'll be back soon."
"No James, you don't understand..." She collapses beside me on the bench and puts her face in her hands. "I talked her into going after him....it's been over a week...she's not back...."
I'm confused at this point, what in the world is she talking about.
I rub her arm to comfort her, "Gabbi, I don't understand."
She looks up with tears running down her cheeks, great I can't take emotional girls. I keep rubbing her arm, "Why don't you explain it to me."
She breathes slowly, "I...told Ever she should go after Jack, he...left...he went..."
Now it's all starting to fall into place. Ever must have told Gabbi about the sea. I smirk, it figures, that girl can't keep a secret if her life depended on it.
I stop rubbing her arm and tell her, "Hey Gabbs, it's okay, I know about the sea stuff."
She looks up surprised, "You...you... do?"
I chuckle, "Yes, unfortunately what happened to Ever, well it happened to me too."
Her eyes grow wide, "You mean you' re a...mer...person too."
I laugh, "Yeah, me too. So, you're the one who told her to go back."
She shrugs her shoulders and smiles, "I guess so...she never took my advice before. I'm surprised she listened this time."
"Then really I don't know when she'll be back. My mom thinks soon. Wait, did you say she went to see Jack?"
She slowly nods as she wipes at the last of her tears.
This can't be a good thing. I just saw Jack and there was no sign of Ever. I glance over at Gabbi, she must have been feeling so guilty this whole week. I decide not to share that Jack and Ever aren't really together. I need to get some questions answered and I think I know exactly who will answer them.
I glance up toward the lunch room and spot Sara staring at me through the window.
Chapter 10
Ever
When we get to the training cave, I make the decision to take it all in, one thing at a time. When I start to look at the big picture, I lose it. Amber and Alex don't deserve my breakdowns every time they say something that freaks me out. I continue my mantra, Commit and deal, Ever, Commit and deal.
Alex swims up beside me with the bow and arrow. I smile and grab at it but he moves it out of my reach.
I frown, about to protest but he looks at me seriously and tells me, "Ever first I wanted to apologize for earlier, I really didn't mean to upset you..." I interrupt and grab for the bow again, "No big deal," He moves it again. "Come on Alex, I just want to train."
"I like this sudden change in your outlook on training."
I look away trying to hide the blush spreading across my cheeks. Who would have thought you could still blush under water.
"Ever, I'm not draining the water today, so it's going to feel a little different."
I plead, "Okay, hand it over already."
He hands me the quiver of arrows. I place the strap around me while I tread water. Then he hands me the bow but keeps his hand on it, "It's also going to be harder at first because the force needed to travel through the water is greater." He lets go.
I swim over and aim at the target mer-person across the room. I release the arrow and it falls short of the target, Nuts.
I take another arrow out, latch it in and pull back farther. I can tell this one will go further as I release it. I cover my eyes with my hand afraid to look.
I hear Alex laughing, "You really should have more confidence in yourself." I open my eyes to look, it hit dead center in the bulls-eye on the head.
A smile creeps over my lips and I go again.
***
We practice for a good part of the day. By the time we decide to finish I am completely out of energy. I did after all throw up my whole breakfast.
Alex leads us to the kitchen of the castle. The spread placed out on the table is incredible. Every fruit I can imagine along with many different kinds of fish. I grab a peach and start eating.
Curiousity gets me, "Alex, what's with the fish and fruit? I mean, why do you, eat your neighbors." I chuckle at my stupid joke.
He laughs, "Neighbors, huh, I never thought of it that way. But I guess that would ring true for living on land too, eating cows and chickens."
I smirk, "Touche'."
Then I add, "But why the fruit, it comes from land so isn't it harder to get?"
He nods, "Yes, it is but that is one thing Seamus won't give up. He has farms on land to supply the fruit under the sea."
I am completely surprised at this, "You mean like mer-people live on land to grow fruit for the sea?"
"You could say that, or more like some of the places on land are owned by Seamus."
"But I thought he forbids mer-people from going on land." I'm so confused.
"He does but we still need supplies. That's why some of us are allowed on land, to do our jobs. Look at it like this, your country doesn't get everything they need from your country. They buy and trade with other countries, right?"
I nod following along.
"It's the same here, some things we need, so we have connections on land to get them. Seamus doesn't want our species mixing to create a different race of people. That is why he forbids most of our population from going on land. If everyone were allowed it would undoubtedly happen and the new race would make ours obsolete."
This is almost more information than I've ever been given. I try for more, "This battle that is to come, it's not the only one to come about because of the races mixing issue, is it?"
He shakes his head and takes a bite of an apple, "No, there have been many over the past five hundred years. Before that we were all Lior but there were still battles with other civilizations."
Whoa! What? Civilizations, what in the world is he talking about?
He laughs after looking at my face, "You didn't think this city here off the coast of California is the only population of mer-people did you?"
I nod and then shake my head, completely not having a clue. I grab another peach. I have a bad taste for apples at the moment.
"Ever, you still have a lot to learn don't you? There are many civilizations of mer-people all over the world. Our city is one of probably about twenty-five, not sure now because they seem to be splitting like ours did with the Lior and Erebus."
I ask, "So other civilizations are going through the same race issue as ours is?"
He looks for more fruit and chooses a peach, "They are all in different stages of it right now, but yes. Most though, kind of look at our city, and Seamus as a model. He is pretty powerful, probably the most because of his background."
I'm astonished at this, "But why would they accept him if him coming to the sea from the land is what they are fighting against?"
"Well many of the battles fought previously between our civilization and theirs happened because of Seamus. From what I've heard, most of the leaders were scared of him, like he was an anomoly. Later they decided he was on their side trying to prevent it from happening again. Generally they are all on the same page now."
I ask, "Until the cities started dividing into Lior and Erebus?"
He grins, "You're catching on, yes, that is the current issue and has been for a while. I don't think the Erebus have ever been as powerful as they are now."
He adds and points playfully, "Which makes you so important."
Oh great here we go...I was just enjoying listening to the history. Why did he have to go and bring me in and ruin it? My stomach is flip- flopping again. I silently curse myself and
recite, commit and deal, commit and deal, commit and deal.
It doesn't seem to be working, the nausea is rising.
"Ever, are you alright? Would you like some fresh water?"
I nod. He gets up and swims into the next room. I take a deep sea breath and swallow the knot forming in my throat resting my head down on my crossed arms.
Out of the corner of my eye I see someone enter the room. Something glimmery catches my eye. I turn to meet the eyes of Metea. Her neck is swimming with jewels. She swims in and grabs a bunch of grapes from the table and stops by the table where I am sitting.
She glares down at me and winces, "If it were up to me I would throw you back. You don't deserve to be here."
My mouth drops open. What is she saying? Isn't she related to me in some far out way?
Before I can say anything Alex enters the room, takes one look at me and swims at Metea, "Leave her alone, she doesn't need any harassment from you."
Metea lifts her head up and pushes her shoulders back, "Watch the way you speak to me Alex, I am the queen here." And she swims out the door.
Alex sinks down next to me placing his arm around me, "Sorry, she is always so negative and bitter."
I let my head fall into my arms, now I wish for a fainting spell, anything to just take me away from this, for a few minutes, this closing in on me reality. Of course, it doesn't come. Instead I feel tears brimming out of both of my eyes.
Chapter 11
James
I end up catching a ride with Garrett after school. I looked for Sara but her car was gone from the lot. I guess she left early.
As I climb in the car, he lays into me again, "Dude, what's up with you and this chick? I've never seen you turn any girl down as fast as you turned Jessica down at lunch today."
I try to ignore him but he keeps at it.
"What's her name? Are you falling for this chick? I thought we made a pact, bro."
I knew it would come up. The summer before this year the three of us, Garrett, Davis and I started our band, Allgood. We were sitting around drinking and talking about the band and how things might end up. We had a little too much to drink probably, but all three of us decided that the girls we would get out of this would be for fun. We made the pact to ensure that the band comes first before any girl. Now Garrett has decided to remind me of this.
Barely Breathing (Just Breathe) Page 4