Ripples (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 2)

by Rauscher, Meaghan

  “Okay,” I said, even though dread for what was coming began to form a pit in my stomach.

  “The war has escalated,” she said calmly, “In the past two weeks there have been parties of Hyven soldiers paroling the oceans which have attacked us. More than anything, there’s been lots of confrontation. Nothing as bad as death, but the infirmary is getting rather crowded.” I nodded, silently urging her to continue. I had spent some time in the infirmary myself after my rescue from Hyvar.

  “Last week a group of Lathmorian mermaids were out patrolling. They shouldn’t have gone so far, and that’s their fault, but still, they were attacked by Hyven soldiers and three of them were killed. The only one to survive, barely made it back due to the gashes taken out of her arms and fins.

  “She told us what happened as soon as she arrived,” here Kryssa paused and pursed her lips. “Apparently, there is a new Hyven leader.” My eyebrows went up. “Well, he’s not the leader, but more like right hand man. We’ve always known this to be Bolrock, but it wasn’t him.”

  This was getting dangerously close to what I suspected, but I didn’t want to know the truth. Kryssa continued.

  “The mermaid who was attacked knew what Bolrock looked like and she said that this was a different merman. It was dark, so she never saw his face, but she said he was unlike any merman she’d ever seen. He was faster and quicker than the other mermen, and relentless. The other Hyven held him back from killing all the mermaids, because the plan was to leave a few alive to tell the tale, but he wanted to murder them all.” Kryssa shivered in the darkness. “Sorry, you didn’t hear her tell the story. It was terrible.”

  I sat there horrified; I knew who she was talking about. I’d seen the gaze of the warrior, the hardness in his eyes was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. It sent chills over my body just thinking about it now.

  “Tunder sent out a group of Lathmorian soldiers in response and they captured one of the Hyven soldiers. They got him to talk and we found out Morven isn’t done with you.” She let the words hang in the air, and I accepted them easily.

  Somehow I had always known he would come back for me. Ever since seeing what he had created, seeing the proof of his power before my very eyes the night before, I had suspected something like this. Morven wasn’t finished with me. It had been too easy for me to leave the merfolk world behind. All day I had wrestled with the notion of whether or not this was part of Morven’s plan, and in the end I knew it was true. Somewhere, Morven was gloating about what he had done to Patrick, and for the time being lay in wait before he could get to me. It was the calm before the storm.

  “The Hyven soldier asked to see you.” She pressed on. “When Tunder refused, the merman gave him a message. His last words were a warning, you had to be prepared. And he said,” she quoted the man in a deep voice, “‘Zale will find her.’”

  Kryssa shivered again with fear in her eyes and the room fell silent. Her words were weighted with great meaning, but for some reason I wasn’t worried. I knew that I should be, but there was something about the way this warrior was when I saw him last night. I knew he was capable of great power, and I’d seen the hardness of his gaze, but I remembered the way I felt when he said he wouldn’t kill me. Emotionally, he had torn my heart apart which was worse than any physical pain, but it was the way he had shown up and left that made me feel safe. If Morven had wanted me, wouldn’t Zale have taken me with him last night?

  “Don’t you understand?” Kryssa pulled me from my thoughts and shook my shoulder. “Zale is the new merman Morven has created. He’s his warrior just like Pat—” She trailed off leaving me to fill in the blanks.

  “I get it,” I said, dully.

  “You have to understand this warrior is a monster,” she said.

  My eyes flashed at her in reflexive anger. Did she think I wasn’t trying to deal with this? She had no idea what I knew about this warrior. He was worse than what she described. If she saw his face and realized the true horror of what Morven had done to Patrick, then she would truly understand how I felt.

  “Okay,” I agreed, my voice sounding phony even to me.

  She heaved a frustrated sigh. “If you had been there you’d realize…” She trailed off her thoughts in the past.

  I wanted to say the same thing to her. If she had been here last night when Zale had come, she would’ve seen the confusion in his eyes. She would know the hardness of his gaze and the way he questioned my past. She would experience the ultimate dread of Morven’s power, and what he could do, what he could create. She had no idea what she was talking about. Yet, I knew, I had to take her warning seriously. The warrior was a loose cannon only controlled by Morven.

  “I do understand, Kryssa,” I lied slightly. “But there’s nothing I can do about it while I’m here. There’s no sense in me worrying when I have no defense of my own.” Aside from my dagger, I thought.

  “Yes you do, you can hide. Go somewhere they’ll never find you. Morven knows where you live and could easily send soldiers here.” Her voice was desperate, but I shook my head. “Think of Patrick, he would want you to save yourself.”

  Her words made me angry, “The last time I saved myself, I left the most important thing behind. I know why you’re worried, but I can’t go into hiding. I just got home and my family can’t deal with a disappearance again. I can’t put them through that.”

  “So you’re just going to give yourself up, is that it? Do you realize he’ll turn you into a mindless being? You won’t even remember who you are. Do you really want to become Marina?” Kryssa was furious as she lashed her questions at me.

  “No,” my voice was growing louder in the darkness. “I don’t want to forget, but I’m going to live a normal human life right here with my family.”

  “Newsflash Lissie, you aren’t normal.” The words stung, and I turned my eyes away from her.

  I had been so happy to see her, but now I just wanted her to go. Her presence was pulling up terrible memories I had tried to bury over the past month and a half. Of course, those memories had been brought to the surface more suddenly by Zale the night before, but she knew things that he didn’t.

  “I can try to be,” I whispered, and she climbed off the bed. “I’ll be fine, and there’s no reason for you to worry about me. If Morven wants me, then he’ll find me. There’s no sense in hiding me where more innocent Lathmorians will get hurt, or killed. I don’t really have a choice.”

  Kryssa sighed still angry with me, “That’s just it, you do have a choice. I guess the others were right.” I looked up quickly and she continued, each word a knife twisting in my gut. “They told me you wouldn’t listen and to leave you alone, but I thought you were smarter than this.”

  “I guess I’m not,” I said and her shoulders slumped. Without a word, she strode to the window and climbed outside. I watched her figure slink along the roof and crawl to the edge.

  Thinking quickly, I ran to the window and stuck my head out into the night air. “Be careful on your way back.” I don’t know if she heard me, but her slouch became more pronounced.

  She leapt to the ground nimbly and ran away in the shadows. Just as she made it to the trees, I thought I saw another figure turn around and run with her. Good, I thought. She had someone there to keep her safe; probably Elik.

  8. Safety

  Tossing around in the darkness, time passed by slowly. I hadn’t been able to fall asleep after Kryssa’s visit, and remained in a state of lost thought for hours. Over and over again, I replayed her words in my mind and while I recognized her concern, what she had said only angered me further. She had acted as though I wanted be captured and turned into a siren, as though it was my hope to be taken away from the pain of Patrick’s loss.

  These thoughts still captured my mind as I trudged down the path toward Darrow’s Catch. It was midafternoon and there was a light frost on the grass from the cold front coming through. By the looks of the clouds, it was going to be a typical Maine snowfall. Part o
f me hoped wistfully for the sunny shores of the island, but I would never go back there again.

  “There you are,” Chelsea spit out, angrily as soon as I came in sight of the back door to the restaurant. She had poked her head outside to chastise me; I didn’t appreciate her effort.

  Stomping the dirt off my boots on the steps, I made my way into the kitchen without acknowledging her presence. She was one of those people who went out of their way to let you know they were angry.

  It was warm and toasty inside; the ovens were working and steam rose from the boiling pots on the stove. Delicious, familiar smells reached my nose and I inhaled as I took off my coat.

  “Seriously, where were you?” Chelsea asked, still pestering me.

  I smiled at her even though I was annoyed. “I guess you didn’t get my Dad’s message. He thinks I’m working too much and wants me to cut back on the hours.” I grimaced knowing the work wasn’t what bothered my sleep.

  “Oh,” she challenged. “Well, lunch has been ridiculously busy and we need you, hurry up.” I made a face behind her back as she walked away which one of my aunt’s saw and laughed.

  Once I had finally stripped down to my t-shirt and jeans, I tied the small black apron around my waist. With a sigh, I made my way out of the kitchen and into the dining area. The usual sounds of clinking glass and scraping silverware reached my ears. Scanning the room, I noted the lack of diners and knew it was past rush hour. I waded past the many empty tables and over to the hostess stand.

  Jessie was stacking menus on the wooden podium.

  “Hey,” she smiled in a greeting that I didn’t return. I wasn’t in the mood to talk. Kryssa’s visit had left me frustrated, and combined with the little to no sleep I had gotten afterward, I was far beyond wanting to converse in idle chatter.

  “Where can I get started?” I asked.

  “Let’s see,” Jessie said and pursed her lips. She scanned the table numbers and found a group she had just seated. It was in the adjoining building. I nodded when she pointed to it and turned to head in that direction of the restaurant.

  When I reached the table I was surprised to see a young couple. When Jessie had told me a party of two, I had automatically thought of an older man and woman. Usually the younger couples came out later in the day.

  “Hi,” I smiled brightly even though I didn’t feel it. “I’m Lissie and I’ll be your server today.”

  “Hi,” the woman said, looking up with a sheepish grin.

  “What can I get you to drink?”

  “I’ll take water,” the just-out-of college girl said and looked at the man across from her. He was stocky and had a goatee; he looked up at me and said he would have the same. I nodded and turned to leave when he spoke up.

  “Can we order now, I think we’re ready?”

  “Sure, no problem.” I took their orders quickly and tried to ignore the look the young man was giving the woman while she ordered. He looked at her like she was a special jewel, something so unique and important, he would do anything for her. Someone used to look at me that way, I thought, and then, stop it.

  I moved away from the table quickly after I had written down their orders. I was going to have to be careful around them.

  I waited on two other tables along with the young couple’s. I tried to look as busy as possible to keep them from thinking I was ignoring them. However, I kept finding my eyes drifting toward their table. Each time I saw them, a sharp pain cut across my chest and while it was miserable and awful, it was also powerful. I felt as though I could feel something for Patrick; that I could remember what it was like to look at him and lose my breath. It was torture, but torture for the purpose of remembering what it was to feel love and be loved in return.

  A raised hand caught my attention and I skittered over to the young couple’s table.

  “Yes, sir.” I said trying to think if I had forgotten anything. I had given them their receipt over twenty minutes ago.

  “We were just passing by on our way to visit relatives and we’re wondering, what’s the quickest way back to the interstate?”

  I gave the man directions, writing them on my pad of paper. He sounded his thanks when I ripped the sheet and gave it to him, I nodded. I watched as they got up to leave, moving seamlessly as though of one body to the door. Just as the front door opened, a dark figure caught my attention, but the door came to a close and I was left thinking it was a trick of my imagination.

  Something in the back of my mind grew curious. I could feel a slight tingle of fear prickle down the back of my neck. It could have been anyone, but I had a feeling it wasn’t a tourist or a local. Not knowing what I was doing, I opened the front door and stepped onto the creaking, warped planks of the porch. The rocking chairs stood vacant and the deck next to the beam where I had seen the man standing was empty.

  I quickly looked up and down the street and saw nothing unusual, but a chill breeze brought me to my senses as the sight of drifting snow caught my attention. It was a world frozen in time, the ground covered with an inch of white powder and the clouds looked darker than they had earlier, due to the quickly approaching night.

  There was hardly anyone on the street and I scanned each figure, but knew they weren’t the person I was looking for. The figure I had seen was all too familiar to me. I had seen it over and over since Zale’s visit, and I knew he was nearby. A tight knot gripped my stomach, but I turned back around and headed into the restaurant. What if Kryssa was right?

  The rest of the night passed by slowly; each minute filling me with more anticipation. As my shift neared an end, my hands began to shake while I cleared off the last few tables and carried the dishes to the kitchen.

  “Alright, Lissie.” My aunt, heaved a sigh. “I’m out of here. Are you going to lock up?”

  “Yeah, I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay,” my aunt turned and stepped outside, the door closing behind her with finality. A weight lifted from my shoulders. The amount of effort it took to just act normal and not worry about the emotions that were on my face was tremendous.

  I pushed the door to the dining area open and wiped off the three remaining tables. Once the chairs were turned upside down and the floor swept, I flicked the lights off and headed back to the kitchen.

  With practiced movements, I stowed away the broom and turned off the lights in the now quiet kitchen. An overwhelming darkness sent a shudder through me. Not wanting to delay any longer, I put on my many layers and threw the hood of my winter coat over my head, and stepped outside of the restaurant into the snow. The flakes were coming down faster than before and I shivered, but not from cold.

  My fingers fumbled with the key that bolted the restaurant shut, and I slipped my hands into my gloves as soon as the keys were in my pocket. I gathered my confidence and trudged toward the path that led to home. It was darker than I wanted to admit, and if it hadn’t been for the figure I’d seen on the porch I wouldn’t be worried.

  I paused and thought about my knife. If I was going to need it, I would have to reach under my five layers to get to it. I continued to walk and awkwardly stuck my hand under the thick clothing, my bare belly exposed to the cold for a moment, bristled in goosebumps. My stumbling fingers grasped the wooden handle of the dagger and I pulled it out from the strap I wore around my hips. It was still in its sheath and I slipped the whole thing into the deep pocket of my jacket.

  My boots crunched in the snow and I listened to the sound trying to block out all other noises. The knife I had fisted inside my pocket gave me little comfort. Somehow, Kryssa had made me realize the danger of this warrior. I knew my dagger would be no match for him. The story of the mermaid’s narrow escape reentered my mind and I tried to move faster.

  “Walking alone are we.”

  I spun around, in surprise. How long had he been watching me?

  My hand tightened on my dagger as I watched Zale come out of the shadows. He stepped into a rare patch of moonlight and his eyes glinted leaving me stun
ned for a moment. His likeness to Patrick was breathtaking and sent a chill through my veins. He was Patrick, just a much larger Patrick. The resemblance to his former self was immediately noticeable, but as I searched his face the differences began to appear and I wondered how I could have ever thought he looked like him. His face had changed, hardened by something cruel hidden behind his eyes, and the way he held his jaw in a tight lock gave him a hostility his former self had never shown.

  He took in my expression and I could tell that he knew I had a dagger in my jacket. No surprise attack then. As if I would be able to catch him off guard.

  “Isn’t that a rule you learn when you’re little? Don’t walk by yourself at night?” He raised an eyebrow, taunting me.

  I found my voice somehow, “They also say not to talk to strangers, but I broke that rule a long time ago.” Even though my words were casual, the tension was knotted in my stomach.

  “Are you referring to meeting me, or have you met other strange men on your lone walks back home?” He flashed a half smile and I was stunned. It was so unlike the bright grin that used to cross those same lips.

  “Maybe, maybe not.” I stared at him wondering if I could talk my way out of this meeting. Kryssa’s tale was beginning to run through the back of my mind and when he moved closer, my heart leapt into my throat. What little control I had was slipping. He didn’t stop moving until he was an arm’s length away and I took an unwilling, staggering step backward. His eyes shifted to my feet and my grip tightened automatically on the knife.

  “You think that dagger can protect you?” He raised his eyebrow again. “You have no defense against me.” I shivered at the dark sinister look in his eyes and knew he was right.