Don’t look, Thessalonike!
Up we went—up so fast through the briny water that it felt for a few horrible seconds as if we were sinking. I clung to Ramara as we approached the surface of the water. Fifty feet, twenty feet—ten feet! Two mermaids with gleaming green tails charged toward us from below, their faces the picture of hatred and revenge, claws extended, spears gleaming. As the distance between the sunken ship and us grew, the stronger I became. I clamped my hands over Ramara’s ears and screamed a few high notes of a dirge. It had the desired effect. I watched with satisfaction the mermaids’ painful response; the blood seeped out of their ears, and their faces contorted in pain. Then with an angry smile I watched them spiral back down. They weren’t dead, not by a long shot, but I had successfully reminded them that I was a siren and not some wimpy human girl.
With his hand wrapped around my waist, Ramara hoisted me above the water. I broke the water with unexpected force. We landed on the boat but didn’t hesitate. I ran to the other side of the ship to see Cruise and Kendra struggling. The smaller police launch was now the focus of Minerva’s attention. “Heliope! Help them!”
“There is nothing I can do! I can’t protect both boats!” she said in honest exasperation. She was drenched through and through and looked more frail then she had when we made our dive.
“Then we’ll have to bring them here!”
Ramara shouted, “No! They need to go back! The shifters are no match for a shimmer of angry mermaids—Heliope’s magic can’t protect them! They are out of their league here, Nik.” As if he agreed, Springer howled below us. Ramara hadn’t steered me wrong before, and now wasn’t the time to argue with him.
“Fine, let’s get them to shore!”
Kendra clung to Cruise as another wave rocked their boat. And for the first time, I didn’t feel ill, or jealous or bitchy. This was right! No matter what happened, Cruise would always be my friend, and he deserved to live and be happy. Even if that wasn’t with me. I glanced over my shoulder and gave Ramara an apologetic look as I plunged back in the water.
“No! Nik!” I heard him yell over the roar of the waves. There was a good twenty feet between us, not enough to be safe. It was totally possible that Minerva was trying to smash our boats together. Somewhere in the distance I heard a helicopter hovering, but with the constant barrage of ocean spray, I couldn’t tell where it was.
“Look! It’s Nik! Help me, Kendra!” Cruise tossed the ring toward me, but I didn’t grab it. I bobbed above the water and yelled at him.
“Go back to shore, Cruise! You can’t be here! I’ll protect you, but you won’t have long. Go!”
He leaned against the edge of the boat and yelled back at me, but I couldn’t discern the words. Kendra tugged at him with tears in her eyes, and for the first time since I’d met her, I could see that she was truly fearful. She was a smart girl—she should be afraid. Minerva’s green glow began to surround me, and I turned my attention to her, the mermaids swirling closer to me now. I dove down, hoping Cruise would actually listen for a change. I sang a few more notes, repelling the weaker mermaids easily. The older, stronger ones didn’t move back for long.
Please, Ramara! Stay out of the water, just for a few minutes!
I sang again and heard the police launch crank and putter away. As Minerva approached, I could hear her anger, feel it surround me in the green water. I sang a few more notes, but it wasn’t effective. Not at all. The luminous green water spread around me like a fog. Then I heard the splash. Ramara dove beside me, his face a mask of determination. He held my hand again, and I looked at him hopelessly. Now that he was here, I couldn’t sing. I could hurt him, or worse yet kill him. I’d already proved that my siren song had a horrible effect on him. Except when I was drunk.
Suddenly Ramara wasn’t Ramara anymore. He transformed into a mermaid with a glowing blue tail—and so did I. I gasped, and he grinned at me and gave me a thumbs-up.
Heliope glamor.
I grinned back and sent him a determined thought. Let’s do this! Hopefully Cruise and Kendra were safely out of the way.
We swam into the shimmer, and they accepted our presence without question, focused as they were on destroying me. Minerva hovered near us, and I shivered despite my newfound determination.
Find her, kill her. Revenge, kill, wound, scar!
How was it possible that I could hear her? Had Heliope’s transformation worked that well? That was definitely a change for the better. Ramara and I nodded at each other and charged toward two of the weaker mermaids, using our tails to thrash them in the abdomen. I swirled around the stunned mermaid and hit her again. She tumbled head over tail a few feet and then was joined by her sister. Ramara and I plunged down below the green water and reemerged together, targeting two new mermaids. These were stronger, but they had not witnessed our earlier attack and had no idea what hit them. I got cocky with this attack and ended the tail slap with a punch in the face.
Evidently the mermaids were crying out to Minerva, for she changed direction and came toward us.
Intruder! Enemy! Daughters! Minerva screeched in anger and raised her hand as if she were about to blast us with her green-tinted energy. However, the mermaid queen hesitated, unsure who had hurt her daughters.
Feeling some rage of my own, I launched myself against the nearest mermaid, slapping her and punching her. No more hiding! No more running! You want me? Here I am!
I grabbed a second stunned mermaid and pressed my lips against her ear. I blasted a note and watched her rock with pain. Minerva saw me now. The glamor magic faded, and Ramara and I reverted to our true forms.
As quick as lightning, Minerva launched her power at us, the green water shooting in a stream and striking me in the chest with as much force as any tidal wave could have. I tumbled, my chest burned and my heart pumped faster. Ramara raced after me, putting himself between me and the queen of the mermaids. A boom shook the water, the soul-shaking boom. The shimmer gathered around her as they approached, grinning and gathering tighter and tighter. I didn’t have any idea what they had planned, but whatever it was wouldn’t be good. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
Ramara took my hand, but I caught my second wind. I was ready to end this! He shook his head and grabbed me, flying us to the boat. He too was injured, and for the first time I could see that he was bleeding from the ear. Obviously he hadn’t escaped my siren’s song. The boat shook, and the water around us turned green. The skies had darkened; whether by some magic or just bad weather, I could not tell. I tried to catch my breath, and Heliope hugged me as tightly as she could.
I hugged her back and said, “Thank you for what you did.”
She patted my shoulder. “It’s not over, I’m afraid. Here she comes, above the water now. I’m sorry, Thessalonike. I tried.”
“I know you did, Heliope.”
“Grab a flare gun!” Ramara shouted at me, but I didn’t budge. It was me she wanted. I’d have to surrender. I had to make a deal. Springer barked again, and I felt my heart break.
“Take care of my dog, Heliope.” I clutched her hand, ready to launch myself off the boat again, when Springer burst out of the cabin and ran on deck. As he ran toward me, his image blurred as if he were a hologram.
Then Springer wasn’t Springer anymore. He was Meri!
Wait a minute. Springer is Meri?
Meri threw herself overboard and into the crashing water. Suddenly the waves became still and the green cloud of water became less bright. Minerva lingered, but she’d spotted her daughter—her now-human daughter. Meri didn’t stay down long; she bobbed back up gasping for air. The green water completely dissipated now, and the shimmer of mermaids disappeared into the depths. There was no one left but Meri. She had no tail, no Oceanid powers. She was drowning.
“Oh no! Meri!” I dove in and swam beneath my friend. Sliding my arms under hers, I dragged her back to the surface. She gasped and choked, but her face was the picture of abject sadness. Not relief. Not joy at
seeing me. I knew why. Minerva had nearly wiped out the island to find her, but after she saw that Meri was now human, by some weird magic, she completely rejected her. No words had to be spoken between us to know what had just happened.
As we climbed back up the ladder and onto the boat, one mermaid returned. She was a petite blonde, like Meri. I’d wounded her earlier, but she didn’t care about my presence. She came to see her sister. To say goodbye.
Her head bobbed above the water for a minute; the two stared at one another sadly, and if any words were spoken, I didn’t hear them. The mermaid raised a pale hand above the water and waved once to Meri. She returned the gesture and watched her sister disappear below the surface of the now-still water. For a long time, the four of us sat on the boat trying to catch our breath and get our bearings. Heliope was exhausted; her glamor magic had finally faded. Ramara had more than a few bruises. Meri seemed lost.
To think, Meri had been with me all this time, and I had never known it. How stupid I was! We’d probably never know how it all happened unless Faydra told us, for Meri still couldn’t speak. And now she could not share her emotions as she used to. We hugged, and I held her for a long time as we finally turned the boat back to the island. I could see the police launch safely back at the marina, thankfully. Cruise and Kendra anxiously waited for us.
Kendra gave us a ride home in the police car, and Meri sat in the back seat and stared at the ocean. I wondered if she regretted her choice or if she’d ever even had one.
Did any of us where the Order was concerned? Although we’d won the day, they hadn’t helped us. Despite my five hundred years of faithful service to this island and the gate. And Meri had been by my side the entire time. What had she gained from all that devotion?
I couldn’t help but feel that soon a day of reckoning would be upon us. Choices would have to be made. Hard choices.
What else would we lose?
Epilogue—Nike
Sparklers
Juggling bags of groceries, I kicked lightly on the bottom of the screen door to get Meri’s attention. I could see her foraging through the cabinet. Her hair was in a short ponytail, and her clothing—well, my clothing—was mismatched with her shirt on backwards. At least she answered the door more quickly than she had yesterday when it had been raining and I couldn’t find my key. I didn’t realize she’d never heard a knock at the door before or even been inside a house until I stood banging on the door while she banged back. In typical Meri fashion, even the smallest thing turned out to be a fun game. At least for her. From the appearance of her heavily painted face in the window of the door, I could see she had discovered my small albeit expensive makeup stash. I’d have to show her how to apply eye makeup and lipstick without looking like a clown reject. For now I smiled and said, “Please open the door, Meri. Turn the handle to the right.”
With a nod and a goofy grin, she rolled her eyes and did just that. At least she helped me bring in the groceries and put them away. She knew all about protecting the food. Meri loved human food. Once in a while, she’d come shake the dog food bag at me and frown miserably to remind me that she didn’t appreciate my Top Dog food selection. I got the picture: if she was ever a dog again, I’d buy a different brand.
I hoped Heliope would help me integrate Meri into local human society, but so far no luck. Faydra’s spell had sapped the goddess of her beauty, and it was all Heliope could do to keep it together. For example, I no longer needed an alarm clock to wake me up in the morning—I had Heliope weeping and wailing every time she woke up and looked in the mirror. I had no idea what to say to her except, “It will be okay—you’re still beautiful.” She didn’t appreciate the platitudes, so I eventually gave up. Every morning she’d spend hours trying to cast a glamor spell on herself, but it always failed. That seemed to be part of Faydra’s enchantment. Heliope sent a plea to the Order asking them to repeal the cruel spell. No word ever came; in fact, there were rumblings of major problems at the Secret Temple. I didn’t ask for details. The less I knew, the better.
I poured a glass of soda and offered one to Meri. “Any calls from Heliope? She usually calls around lunch.”
She shook her head sadly, looking as if she would cry at any moment. “It’s not your fault, Meri. Don’t blame yourself. Hey—want to help me pick out something for my date tonight?”
She put the glass down and raised her hands, signaling for me to wait. I laughed and agreed, taking a seat in the wooden kitchen chair as if I were about to view a fashion show. Heaven knew what I was about to see, but with Meri it would surely be a hoot. She came back modeling her first wardrobe suggestion, which was of course completely inappropriate: a skimpy purple lingerie top that I had forgotten about, paired with a pair of black spandex shorts.
“Um, too casual. Let’s try something that doesn’t show as much skin.”
She stood with her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Trust me on this. What else you got?” She skipped off down the hall, and I sighed thinking about what my bedroom probably looked like. A minute or two later, she came back wearing a pink halter dress with polka-dot rain boots and a bright purple belt.
“That’s better. Maybe the dress. Definitely not the boots. For a dress like that, open-toe shoes or maybe sandals.” With a snap of her fingers, she bolted again, and I decided I needed to prepare lunch for us. We couldn’t order french fries every day. I began washing lettuce and assorted vegetables for our lunch. Meri wasn’t much of a vegetable person, but she’d have to make an effort.
Who was I kidding? I hated them too, but I wanted to look good for Ramara. I couldn’t believe he’d asked me out, or I’d asked him. I couldn’t remember now how it had all happened. But our first date was five hours away.
Five hours, twenty minutes and a few seconds. But who’s counting?
I heard Meri slamming drawers, but I didn’t yell at her. I had my friend back. It was really a miracle. Heliope had come through for me, even though her wonky magic had brought Meri back as a dog. At least she’d brought her back. To think, Heliope and I were actually friends now. How weird was that? I thought about calling her, but if she was busy with customers I’d just be a pain. When Heliope wasn’t selling seashell keychains or some other tchotchkes to the rare fall tourists, she hawked her spells and potions to the island’s supernaturate crowd. They politely thanked her and wisely never mentioned her current appearance. She was a natural saleswoman and could sell just about anything to anyone. Without the use of glamor magic.
She spent all her free time in the stock room of the souvenir shop trying to whip up a potion that would help her. She was obsessed with trying new concoctions, even wacky ones she found on the internet. I had to intervene a few times to make clear to her that radioactive material was illegal.
Despite the deeper lines and the gray hair, Heliope was still a beautiful woman, although she didn’t believe it. Jolly sure thought so, but because of the smack to her pride, she rebuffed his every advance. Sometimes politely. “Stella needs to get her groove back first,” as she put it to me.
She quoted movies all the time now, but at least she wasn’t trying to cook—not lately, anyway. Between having one friend acting like an excited teenager and the other going through some kind of supernatural menopause, I was more than ready for my date. I smiled as Meri walked back in the room, still wearing the pink halter dress now with mismatched shoes and a bright orange head wrap. At least she had gotten the belt right. The thin brown leather belt was just the right touch.
I put the lettuce in the bowl and clapped my hands. “Meri, you did a great job! I love this and this. Let’s get rid of those shoes and the head wrap. I think this is the outfit!” I hugged her as she bounced up and down happily. I wished she could speak to me, tell me what she thought about life here on land, but it wasn’t to be. Mermaids never spoke, not in water or on land, but she was as always very expressive.
“Friend is so happy you are here, Meri. Friend misse
d you.” She paused for a moment in my arms, stopped the bouncing and sighed deeply. She got very still and curled into my shoulder. I pulled back and said, “I never got a chance to thank you. Thank you, Meri, for saving my life.”
She drew back and stared into my face. Her eyes were full of supernaturally luminous tears that slid down her cheeks. She wiped them away, staring at them and giving me a questioning look.
“It’s okay. When your human heart feels certain emotions, it causes these—they call them tears. They will pass.” She smiled at me and hugged me again. “All right, we’ve got to plan this date thing. I know it’s going to be hard, but you have to hang out with Heliope this evening at the shop, okay? Jolly says he will come by and bring you both some ice cream.” She looked at me questioningly and somehow I knew what she was asking. “No, you’ll come home tonight, Meri. This is your home now. You’ll only be gone for just a few hours.” She clapped and spun around in circles.
Five hours later, Meri was leading me blindfolded outside and I was trying not to trip in my ridiculously high cork wedges. I rarely wore heels, but Ramara was tall so I thought I could pull it off. “Wait!” I said with a laugh. I stepped down the back stairs and could hear music playing softly in the kitchen window. I didn’t know the song, but it sounded like a sweet country song about long-awaited love. Seemed appropriate.
Suddenly the blindfold was off and standing in front of me was Ramara, in a neat blue shirt and dressy blue jeans. He didn’t bring flowers, but he had a bottle of expensive wine, which Meri took from him with a delighted smile. His hair was still damp and tucked behind his ears, and he looked nervous. It was sweet to see him so unsure of himself. That was a big change.
Meri had been busy while I took my shower and dressed. She’d strung my white Christmas tree lights all over the back porch and placed every candle I owned on my picnic table. The flames flickered in the breeze that blew up the hill from the shore below. The sun set in the distance. The air was cool, but I felt the blood rush to my face. We stood awkwardly facing one another for a few seconds. Meri zipped around the edge of the porch with a lighter. Somehow, some way, she’d managed to poke about two dozen sparklers in the sand and was busy lighting them. With all this light, I was afraid one of the offshore vessels would think the island was on fire. But it was the thought that counted.
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