“I truly am sorry,” she said and squeezed my fingers. “I should never have used his name like that. It was wrong of me.”
Again, I shrugged, “That’s alright. We’re both running on high emotions nowadays. It happens.”
She nodded in agreement. “Now, where were we?” Her face screwed up in thought for a moment and then recognition passed. “Oh that’s right, let me see if I can think of some embarrassing things that Elik would never want you to know.”
Maybe it was the final release of the earlier tension, but I suddenly laughed and she did too. What followed was a cavalcade of stories of sweet nothings that took my mind away from everything important. For just one moment, I was able to relax and not worry, to laugh and not be afraid to cry, to feel happiness and not be fearful of the next time I would feel pain. And the remaining hours of her visit passed by quickly while we chatted and I felt the reconnection of our friendship. Somewhere through the desperation of lies and fears, we had been able to remember our old selves. And when I hugged her goodbye and watched her run into the waves, I felt a lost part of myself reconnect as her fins disappeared beneath the surface of the ocean.
_______________
As I walked back to the cabin, a loud crack resounded through the trees. The sound was all too familiar from his practice earlier, and I walked toward it to the clearing near the cave opening.
The snap of the whip grew louder and standing on the outskirts of the clearing, I remained hidden in the trees to watch him wield the weapon. He was shirtless, the sun gleaming off his broad shoulders, but it was his eyes which drew my attention. Before each snap, his eyes would focus on a target and with a quick movement he would whip his arm forward, the brown leather doing its best to keep up. Every target he set his eye upon, he hit. The surrounding shrubs, sticks, and leaves were taking a beating from his demonstrations.
“How long are you going to stand there watching me?” He asked, his deep baritone ran over my ears like velvet. I hadn’t thought he’d seen me.
Cautiously, I stepped out of the shadows and into the sunshine. He faced away and the muscles in his back flexed beneath the scar as he wrapped the whip back into a coil. As always, the dark shimmer of his scar from Nerissa surprised me with its vibrancy.
“How did you know?” I said, my voice fading in wonder.
“I have my ways,” he said and the scar rippled in the sunlight when he adjusted his shoulders. He turned to look at me, his face serious but not as dark and foreboding as it had been the night before. The bandages on his chest were gone and in their wake they left trails which were fading quickly. Only the black shimmer on his hip remained unchanged.
I nodded my head and squinted in the sunlight to look at him more directly. I tried to think of something to say and opened my mouth, but he beat me to it.
“She took forever to leave,” his voice was factual and I shook my head, realizing he had been completely aware of Kryssa’s presence. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about him being found out by anyone from Lathmor.
“We had a lot of catching up to do,” I said and wrapped my arms around my body. He nodded and I tried not to look at the large expanse of his chest.
“I’m actually glad you’re here,” he said and my heart skipped a small beat. “I want to teach you some more defense tactics.”
I quirked an eyebrow, “What in the world made you think of that?”
“Yesterday,” he confirmed, “when you told me your age.”
“Oh,” I said and bit my lip to try and stop the blush flooding over my cheeks. Simply hinting at what had passed between us at the waterfall was enough to make my blood heat.
He took a few steps toward me and the look in his eye told me we were thinking the same thing. The heat in my face rose even higher.
“So,” I said, clearing my throat and trying to ignore his gaze, “what do you want to teach me?” All traces of humor disappeared from his face, in place was the stony gaze of the warrior.
“Do you have your knife with you?” he asked.
“Always,” my response was quick and he nodded.
“Good, now remove it,” he said, it was a command and not to be questioned. I hastened to do as he bid. “You will learn how to defend yourself without that dagger.”
Pulling the dagger from its sheath, I dropped the open blade to the ground near my feet. I immediately felt exposed and naked without it strapped to my body.
“Now,” he said, looking up from the weapon, “what would you do if I attacked you right now?”
“Uh,” there was only one possible option in my mind and to tell the truth it hadn’t worked out so well for me in the past. “I guess, run.”
He shook his head, “No, I would be faster than you, as all merfolk would. What else?”
I bit my lip trying to think of something, “Wait for them to get closer and kick them in the crotch?” For a moment Zale looked like he wanted to laugh, but instead he shook his head again.
“You need to find a weapon. You’ve already lost your dagger, so now you must look for something else,” he said.
“Come again?” I asked completely confused.
“Find a weapon,” he restated, visibly frustrated with my slowness. “You must find a way to obtain one without putting yourself in further danger.”
I thought for a moment and came up with nothing, “I don’t know.”
“Look around you,” he waved a hand at what appeared to be nothing. All I could see were other forms of nature, nothing that could be used as a weapon in defense.
“See that stick on the ground?” he asked, and I nodded, “You could use it to stab your attacker in the eyes, thus blinding him. Over there around that tree branch hangs a vine, it can be used to choke someone. Or those rocks, the smaller ones can be used to keep your attacker from getting too close, but the larger one could be used to smash someone’s head in. And—”
I didn’t hear anymore as the dreaded fear of being completely at the mercy of others flooded into my veins. The cold reality of what he was saying broke what little semblance of courage I had gained since the night of the Lathmor battle. Ever since I had used my dagger against the Hyven soldier, I had been living in a small bubble of hope that I would be able to protect myself.
Yet, there was more to this feeling of security than I realized. It was because of the warrior, I felt safe. His words were a promise to me and though he had tried, and nearly succeeded in killing me, there was something in him that couldn’t do it. With him on my side, I had begun to feel I was safe and to have that feeling suddenly pulled out from beneath my feet, left me breathless. The world was spinning on its own and I felt as though I was drowning. All the moments of my helplessness piled on top of one another and came crashing down around me.
It was as though I could see Morven walking toward me, his blades out, slashing my hip open. I could see him the night he took me to the beach and showed me what Marina’s life would really be. The crippling fear of that dreaded night in Hyvar when he had kissed me, and I had tried to fight back. The dark room where I stood all alone, before Morven knocked me out. The beach in Coveside surrounded by the Hyven soldiers, awaiting my death.
I blinked furiously trying to get my eyes to see what was really before me, and to hear what Zale was saying but I couldn’t shake the thoughts. They were there, a living nightmare inside my mind was becoming all too real and still Zale went on.
“Stop!” I yelled, and shook my head from side to side. I tried to still the panic building in my chest but couldn’t get it to subside. I could feel Zale’s eyes upon me, but I couldn’t seem to focus.
“Lissie?” he asked, and it felt as though his voice came from a far off place. It was almost an echo. “Lissie?” This time the voice was clearer, and I could hear the confusion seeping into his normally serious barrier.
Cautiously, he stepped closer, making sure to move carefully, and I felt a warm hand touch my face. My lips trembled but I stilled the fear in my stomach a
nd focused my gaze on him.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he said and I closed my eyes, turning into the palm of his hand. Within moments I was wrapped up in his warm embrace, my head leaning against his powerful chest.
I didn’t say anything, for the moment I let myself drink in the security I felt in his arms. Slowly, my heart began to settle, as the memories faded from my mind, and Zale’s hands rubbed my back softly. His head gently rested on mine and for all I knew, we could have been standing there for hours.
“Feel better?” His deep voice seemed to rumble within his chest. I nodded, my head still leaning against him and my eyes closed.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He repeated and I sighed softly,
“I know,” I pulled back to look up into his face. “Remember when you asked me why I wasn’t more afraid?” he nodded, and I continued. “I am afraid. Almost all the time. And lately I’ve been living in a false hope that I can protect myself, when really I can’t.” He cradled my head in his hand again and I closed my eyes reveling in the feeling of being safe.
“Someday,” he said, his voice husky and I opened my eyes to meet his, “you will feel safe forever. I will get rid of Bolrock, and when he is dead you will have no one to be afraid of.”
I looked away, my heart sinking. This was who he thought I feared most. He still couldn’t see who the real puppet master was behind the curtain, and until he did I could never truly be his. We would be forever apart until he could realize the threat of death that lay behind the façade of his master’s words.
“How bout we go for a swim again?” he asked, dipping his head to look at me. I knew he was trying to distract me from the fear in my mind, and the effort was appreciated. Maybe a swim wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“Yes,” I said, “a swim sounds nice.”
_______________
Night seemed to creep up quickly while we swam. It wasn’t so much that we enjoyed each other’s company, it was more that we were lost in our own thoughts and were there to comfort one another. Just as the day before, we laid at the bottom of the waterfall pool looking up through the clear blue to the shimmering surface. Rather than talk, we simply stretched beside one another in comfortable silence.
As we lay on the patted sand, he reached over and grabbed my hand. Shivers ran down my spine as he traced the lines of my palm, the feeling almost feather-like. Every now and again he slid his fingers higher up my arm, but they always returned to my hand. His black fins lay next to mine, every now and again they brushed against each other and I smiled each time they did. It was feeling him, experiencing him, in a whole new way and to feel his scales brush against my own made me feel as though we truly belonged. It was in these little moments, the touching in the silence, I felt my heart open up to him. In the past it was because of who he used to be, but for the first time I began to realize I was truly falling for him, and him alone.
As though he could hear my thoughts, his eyes met mine and our lips met again. This time, his large body pressed mine into the sand. The scales covering my chest brushed against his bare flesh and I pulled him close by knotting my fingers into his hair. Without warning, he pulled away and I chased him through the depths of the pool. It was a dance between us. He dashed in and out of corners, and I followed until the game changed and he chased me. I laughed, and the sound echoed throughout the small pool, as he grabbed my fins and slowly pulled me back to him until our lips met once more. Beneath the surface, our fins and hair swayed as though one with the water and as the roar of the waterfall filled my ears, my chest expanded with a happiness I thought I would never feel again.
Smiling to myself, I pulled away and transformed back into human form and sat upon the flat rock as I let my mind wander. I watched Zale dart back and forth in the crystal blue of the water, and he suddenly appeared above the surface with two dead fish.
Pleased, I grabbed the one he offered to me and began to use my knife to cut open the scales and pull out the raw meat. Beside me, the transformed warrior rested with his feet in the pool and a fish in his hand. Ravenous, we ate in silence.
In the cloudy night, there was hardly any light to see by. The solid body beside mine remained focused on his measly dinner, but the set of his mouth told me his mind was nowhere near here.
Without a sound, I leaned my head against his shoulder and felt him relax. The fish forgotten, he wrapped an arm around my body and kissed me deeply. The roaring of the waterfall surrounded us as our lips parted and I rested against him feeling as though it was right. He leaned his bare back up against a rock and before long I felt the deep rise and fall of his chest. Just looking at him made me wonder how long we could keep this. For how long would he remain a secret?
Moving gently, I played with the back of his hand and every now and again his hand would twitch. My fingers passed over his still arm, barely grazing the surface, and I shifted my head to rest on his bare chest. With each breath, my head lifted and fell and I found myself getting closer to sleep, though my mind wanted to stay awake.
A shiver ran through his body and I saw the little bumps of goose flesh rise on his chest in the cool night air. Although our inhuman bodies kept us warm, the lack of a shirt kept him bared to the wind. With my mind as restless as it was, I decided to go back and get him a shirt. There were drawers in Patrick’s old room filled with clothes that would fit him, although they might be tight in the shoulders and arms.
They are his, anyway, I thought wryly and moved to slip out from under the dead weight of his relaxed arm.
I dragged my eyes away from the peaceful, sleeping face beside me and stepped cautiously across the rocks to the other side of the watery pool. The further I got away from the waterfall, the more the wind began to stir. As though the waterfall was tucked away in a little pocket of seclusion. It was a place which drowned out all other sounds, even the ocean waves were silent in that part of the island and the wind seemed to slip by without really touching it. Now outside of the area, I felt the wind tug at my clothes and folded my arms around my body. The movement was instinctual to keep me warm, even though it wasn’t necessary, but for some reason the motion felt odd as though something were missing.
Looking down at my hands, I saw the smooth white pearls of my bracelet. They looked dull in the darkness of the night, and as my eyes grazed the round stones I realized what was missing from my left arm. My dagger was gone, left behind in the clearing earlier that day. With the sheath still tied to my arm, I hadn’t noticed the actual weapon missing.
Changing my course, I made my way through the shrouded night air as the wind whipped high above me in the trees. A storm seemed to be forming somewhere in the distance.
The closer I got to the clearing, the faster I began to walk. The dark shadows around me began to press upon my mind and I hurried to keep the fear at bay. Every sound seemed to reach my ears and heighten my anxiety, but I tried to ignore it and act calm. I wanted to laugh at my worry, but couldn’t seem to shake the feeling. It was as though everything Zale had brought to my mind in the clearing earlier, was coming back.
Breaking through the trees, my eyes landed on the spot where my dagger lay. It was exactly where I had left it, the short blade and wooden handle gave me small comfort as I picked the familiar weapon up within my grasp. The blade slid into the sheath with perfect ease and the weight of it brought me back to reality. I felt my heart still and I tried to calm the growing dread in my mind.
Biting my lip, I debated whether or not to return to the waterfall, or retrieve a shirt for Zale. I knew I would feel safer by his side, but the thought of also taking a blanket to combat the cold, hard stone we would sleep on was too tempting
My body moved of its own accord taking me back toward the house. The cabin loomed up ahead in the shadows and I was beginning to get the feeling of being followed again. Hurrying through the trees, I kept glancing behind me every few steps. Up ahead, I was just able to make out the shape of the stairs through the pitch of the
night when a loud rustle resounded.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the little traitor herself.” The voice reached my ears and I spun around.
Fear spiked quickly in my gut, as I watched the footsteps of the merman moving out from the shadows of the trees. The last time I had seen his face, I had used the blunt end of my dagger to knock him out. The memory of the cloud of blood swirling around his head on the night of my escape from Hyvar pervaded my mind.
His eyes were lit with blood lust and a sneer crept over his thin pale lips. My heart skipped a beat and I felt my body lock down in terror, as I met the eyes of Bolrock.
24. Stuck
Everything around me seemed to still and all I could see was the lurking form of the Hyven soldier in front of me. His pale hair made him appear ghostly, and the dark clothing did little to hide the strong muscles that lay beneath the fabric. I swallowed heavily, unsure of what to do as my hair lifted in the whistling wind.
“Yes, Lissie.” Bolrock’s lip curled, and he said my name like a curse. “I found you, or I should say we found you.”
I tore my eyes away from his face and counted the shadowy forms of seven Hyven soldiers joining their leader. Unconsciously, I moved backward a few feet and they followed me with their eyes.
“H-H-How?” I was able to mutter through my shaking lips. “How did you find me?” Although the fear was freezing my mind, I knew my only chance of survival was to distract him.
Bolrock’s sneer deepened, “It was only a matter of time before I got to you. Although I must say you have proved harder to catch than I’d originally thought.”
“Why is that?” I asked, still stalling. But who will help you? My mind raced, as I tried to think of something I could do to alert Zale, but looking at the group in front of me I knew he couldn’t defeat them all. I remembered how hard he had fought against the soldiers in Coveside on the beach. That had only been four, but before me stood eight highly trained soldiers.
Ripples (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 2) Page 26