OVERFALLS (The Merworld Water Wars, Book 2)

by Shields, Sutton

  Polly landed gracefully in front of me. “Satisfied, Coach?”

  Jex speedily flew back to us, landing only inches from Polly’s face. “Very.”

  Polly sighed. “Good. And I still don’t like you.”

  “Likewise,” said Jex. “Last up, Marina, let’s go. I just have one task for you tonight.”

  “What’s that?” I asked, moving to the middle of our training area.

  “Pin me down.”

  Smiling, I said, “Do it.”

  We played cat and mouse, each of us trading roles with every flip, spin, slide, and roll.

  “Argh!” I yelled after he slammed me to the ground. “Damn!”

  Jex was far too happy with his place over me. “Work on it.”

  Pushing him off, I groaned, “Yeah, yeah, I will.” Why was the simplest move causing me the most grief? Maybe it was just first day jitters. I might actually buy that excuse after I have a food coma.

  “Get outta here! See you back in three days, same time, same place,” shouted Jex.

  “Exactly how do we ‘get outta here,’ as you so eloquently put it?” asked Polly.

  “Just say where you intend to go. The dolphin pin will do the rest, Polls,” said Jex.

  “Don’t call me Polls ever aga—” Polly was gone before she could complete her angel-targeted tirade.

  “Thanks, Doc,” said Jex to the air, grinning.

  As everyone started, well, disappearing, I asked Trey if he’d join me for dinner at Sprinkles.

  “Yeah, sure, sounds good. Want to invite some of the others?” he said.

  “Uh, maybe next time. Tonight, I thought it’d be fun if it’s just us…”

  “Cool, okay.”

  “And Troy and Airianna,” I added exceedingly quickly.

  Even Trey’s streak of white hair looked sickly. “Double date? Does Airi know? She doesn’t, does she?”

  “Not in so many—no, she doesn’t. I just thought it would be good if we all rid ourselves of any leftover weirdness, you know?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “She’s still really uptight about you and me.”

  “Which is precisely why I thought this would be good for her, and you,” I said. “Ready?”

  Both of us said the name of the restaurant at the same time. POOF! We were standing inside a jam-packed Sprinkles restaurant, watching Airianna almost fall over the table while waving at us from the back corner. We weaved our way to them, and Troy stood to kiss me and pull my chair out for me. Seriously, I never tire of the chivalry.

  “How was training?” he asked.

  “Interesting,” I said. “Jex pinned me. I suck at pinning.”

  “It’s only the first day,” said Troy, dropping his eyes and tightening his jaw. “How long did he pin you down?”

  “Marina had him off of her almost instantly,” supplied Trey.

  “Good,” he said, handing menus to Trey and me.

  “Trey was epic. He can literally turn into anything,” I said. “Has Doctor Tenly found out anything about the seal aspect? I remember him saying he thought there was something more to that.”

  “Nope,” said Trey. “He’s been weird around me.”

  “How so?” asked Troy.

  “Like, when he asks a question or I need to bug him about something, he looks into my eyes like he’s digging inside my brain. Sometimes, he’s really brash, and other times, he’s almost overly nice. I don’t get him.”

  “I don’t think anyone does,” I grumbled, perusing the new human food selection added to the very bottom of the menu in the tiniest print imaginable. “He’s probably doing something that will help him learn more about your extra talents.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I’ve put it off to, even though it still bothers the hell outta me,” said Trey. “Hey, y’all have a productive first training session?”

  “Oh, yeah, how’d it go with Kat food?” I asked.

  Airianna rolled her eyes. “Katrina spent the majority of it talking about what a great team captain she is.”

  I plopped my menu on the table. “Oh, was I supposed to do some spiffy team captaincy stuff? Crap, I didn’t do anything. Didn’t even remember I was the captain. That’s so not leader-y.”

  “Actually, that’s what makes you a good captain,” said Trey.

  “Have to agree,” Troy added. “You don’t castle your team. You treat them like teammates.”

  With a raised eyebrow, I said quizzically, “Uh, isn’t that what they are? My teammates? This should be a big ‘duh,’ right?”

  “Not if you’re Katrina,” said Airianna, eating her third cheesy biscuit since we arrived. “We’re her minions, and if we don’t live up to her expectations, she’ll uncork. Seriously, she said that.”

  “Wow. What a royal peach…that needs peeling,” said Trey.

  “Oh, I think she gets weekly clownfish scale peels,” said Airianna. When she saw Trey’s grin, she shyly said, “That’s not what you meant, was it?”

  “Naw, but I like yours better,” he said.

  “Aw! See! You two are SO meant to be,” I gushed. “I’m really happy for you both. They should win class couple.”

  “Hey, now!” said Troy, chuckling.

  “Oh, yeah,” I said. “Oops. Um, don’t take it personally.”

  “I have to. I’m your only boyfriend. Uh, aren’t I?”

  “Of course!” I said, laughing at my inner idiot.

  “Don’t mind Marina, Troy. She’s known for not acknowledging her own existence,” offered Trey, tickling me.

  “Excuse me?” It was Troy’s former play thing, Sugar the waitress. “I was told to give this to you.”

  She handed me a small red envelope. The salutation on the front was written in elegant silver script: Congratulations! A special message for Marina Valentine and her friends & family. “Who gave it to you?”

  “Oh, I have no clue. Since the announcement of the Overfalls, we’ve been getting all sorts of species in here. Sirens, pixies, fae, out-of-Gulf-merp tourists, weres, vampires…it has been insane. Anyway, it’s probably some congratulations card or someone wanting an autograph. Katrina got a whole bag full of fan mail, or so I hear. I’ll be back in a sec to take your orders!”

  “Eee! Fan mail!” Airianna squealed. “How exciting!”

  Opening the envelope, I muttered, “Yeah, right, it’s probably from Mom or Mr. Gibbs or—”

  Not paying any attention to what I was doing, I reached in the envelope and was about to grab the note when Troy shouted, “MARINA! DON’T TOUCH IT!”

  Trey grabbed my wrist, barely keeping me from touching the contents.

  Slipping from the envelope was a card…a playing card. Staring at me like the ghost of Christmas future was the two of spades. On the face of the card, printed in bright red ink, was a large, underlined ‘D.’ But the ‘D’ wasn’t alone…it brought a family of smaller letters written in black. I didn’t need Gully to decode this message, for the letters and the meaning were neatly contained in a single sentence: one will Die.

  Chapter Ten

  Opening Wars

  September: Fall…or falling…or fallen

  Monthly Life Caption: Everyone’s Falling Over.

  Mood: Edgy

  Eating: Rabbit food. Barf. Thanks, Coach!

  Music: Soundtracks of famous musicals on repeat.

  After my ‘fan mail’ fiasco, Troy, Airianna, and Trey insisted on hurrying to Hambury House, where Doctor Tenly promptly confiscated the card and envelope from Troy’s hands using a pair of tongs; fortunately, Troy thought to gather the card in a napkin so as not to disturb any possible evidence. Doctor Tenly has had the card ever since, running a plethora of tests for things like fingerprints, skin flecks, aura plumes, evil eye stabs, and cackle dust.

  My friends have handled the whole death threat thing remarkably well, considering one of them might die. Troy and Airianna have basically started their own investigative agency to uncover the identity of the card sender; they have been going on ni
ghtly missions, exploring the many new faces in town for the Overfalls. Poor Mom has transformed into a possessed baker. Troy and I broke the news to her—Troy even showed her a picture of the card on his phone, which I BEGGED him not to do. The second she saw it, she stood up, marched to the kitchen, and murdered a wad of dough with her rolling pin. Apart from making it clear she will be opening all mail delivered to the house, she hasn’t uttered a word on the topic since then and flat out refuses to hear anything on the subject. I think Mom has finally maxed out her scary-life threatening credit card.

  As for me, that playing card has changed everything. Every time I look into the faces of my friends, I see a bull’s eye with a giant question mark. Someone has been marked by someone for death by something. Yeah, you can’t get a truth more enigmatic and creepy.

  With the opening ceremony set to start in less than twenty-four hours, Doctor Tenly called an emergency session. Mom was too tired to join me, but promised to let Treeva fill her in on everything; she figures I have enough on my plate and doesn’t want me to worry about ‘keeping old Mom updated.’ Mom might corner the market on ‘mama bear,’ but I will never have a plate too full to worry about my mama.

  Sitting on the loveseat in the study with my legs draped over Troy, I heard Bobby railing on Airianna as they walked up the hallway and entered the room.

  “Nightly? Have you completely lost your mind?” he yelled. “There’s a possible killer on the loose, you’re a target, and you’re out gallivanting at NIGHT?”

  “You’re a target, too, Bobby, and I’m not exactly gallivanting. Troy and I are searching for clues, talking to visitors…we’re trying to identify this person before anyone gets hurt,” said Airianna, easing onto the couch next to Trey.

  “Don’t you mean killed?” Focusing his anger on Trey, Bobby shouted, “And you permit this kind of behavior?”

  “I’m not her father,” said Trey. “She’s strong, Bobby. And it’s not like she goes alone. Troy’s there, and sometimes I go, or Meeks.”

  “Wait. Are all of y’all doing these visitor-vetting jaunts?” I asked.

  “Pretty much, yeah. Not Bobby, though…obviously,” said Trey.

  “Ridiculously dangerous, no matter how many talents we possess,” said Bobby snootily.

  “Depends on how you define dangerous,” said Maile, stumbling into the doctor’s desk. “Damn eyes. It’s just not quite dark enough in here yet. When will the sun go down?”

  “Not for hours,” said Meikle.

  “Of course,” Maile groaned.

  “Need some help?” asked Troy.

  “No, no. I’m resolute,” said Maile, finally finding something to sit on. No one wanted to tell her she just plopped down on the gigantic stuffed armadillo Treeva bought as a funny for Doctor Tenly last week. “Ah! There we go. Hmm. Odd feeling seat. Anyway, Bobby, you think it’s dangerous going out to hunt this person down, but I personally think it’s a lot more dangerous to sit at home doing nothing.”

  “Have you gone out on these missions?” I asked.

  Maile nodded. “For sure. Night is when I feel my most useful.”

  “Look, I appreciate everyone partaking in these discovery outings and all, but that card was sent to me. I should be the one out there,” I said.

  “I think not.” Doctor Tenly breezed up from the basement with Gully right behind him, holding a plastic baggie with the card inside.

  “Why not?” I asked. “At least let me go with them.”

  “No,” said Doctor Tenly, much like a father would. “You need to focus on the Overfalls, winning that wish, and evolving into the Savior everyone will fear.”

  I felt my voice enter the land of shrill. I hate when it does that, particularly when accompanied by sarcasm. “Well, clearly this person doesn’t even fear the notion of the Savior. Let’s review: Maybe-murderer wants to kill someone I love and flaunted the threat in an especially nifty way—on a card that could KILL the effing Savior! If I had touched that damn card, the Imperia would have dragged me in and executed me quicker than you can say sushi. So, yeah, this person really cares if I turn into the Super Savior, wear a cape, and fly through the sky saving fish, one gag at a time.”

  The room fell silent…until Gully bent over, laughing.

  “Couldn’t you wait until Marina leaves before making fun of her? That’s what I intend to do. It’s just proper etiquette to make fun of someone behind their back,” said Polly matter-of-factly as Ophelia closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “Thanks, Polls,” I said.

  “Naturally. I’m nothing if not considerate,” she said.

  Gully, between laughs, said, “I’m not laughing at you, per se. I’m laughing at what you said. See, the person who sent you this card does fear you, just as you are.”

  “Huh?” I grunted, feeling profoundly stupid.

  “I think what Gully means is…why would someone bother to send you a threat on something that could kill you?” asked Troy.

  Shaking my head, shrugging my shoulders, and bugging my eyes like a twit, I said, “I don’t know. Maybe to get me out of the way?”

  “And the only reason you want a person out of the way, is if you fear them,” Troy clarified.

  “Oh. Would everyone please ignore my mini-meltdown from a few seconds ago? Thanks,” I said, my cheeks on fire.

  “Absolutely not,” said Polly. “I fully intend to exploit the humor in your idiocy and persistent illogicalness.”

  “Great.” I looked over my shoulder at Troy, who was trying hard not to grin. Good man. “Okay, so if this jerk-off is afraid of me, then that’s all the more reason I should be on these nightly expeditions. Just call me Inspector Gag-dget.” Dork.

  Doctor Tenly chuckled. “You make a good point, and present an even better nickname, but I don’t want you involved in finding this person. I have my reasons, Marina. We have it under control.”

  “Fine. Whatever.” Sure, I’ll just sit at home while some sociopath lurks about, waiting for the right time to murder a loved one. Riiiight. “I’ll stay out of it, if you truly have it under control.”

  Doctor Tenly studied me for a moment. He knows me better than I hoped. “Uh-huh. Think I bought your pile of artificial fish food crap?”

  “Um, no?”

  “No,” he said, pointing a finger. “Gully, I’d like you to tell Marina what messages you see in that card. Tell her what you told me in the basement.”

  “Can I take her hair down?” asked Meikle.

  “No,” said Doctor Tenly sternly.

  “Why not? She’s so much more entertaining when she speaks gibberish,” said Polly.

  “Absolutely not,” said Doctor Tenly, before grinning broadly. “Besides, I already got to see her in full garble downstairs.”

  Polly stomped her foot, and said, “Unfair! Why do you get to make fun of her and we don’t?”

  “First, I didn’t make fun of her. I find her quirks as intriguing as cereal with marshmallows. Second, I’m your elder and get to do whatever I want. Third…well, I’m just smarter, aren’t I? I ‘accidentally’ let a Marfloofleel loose and, unfortunately, it pulled her hair loose.”

  “You have a criminal mind,” said Meikle. “Love that.”

  While Gully laughed at Doctor Tenly and Meikle, Polly turned to face her. “You do know he unleashed a creature on you purely for his entertainment, right?”

  “Oh, yes! He’s very clever,” said Gully.

  Polly huffed and plopped on the couch.

  “A pouting Polly is a fun sight. Gully, you are officially my favorite Normal,” said Jex.

  “Aw, aren’t you just the nicest gray-winged angel!” squeaked Gully. “Um, okay, are you ready for me to reveal some of the hidden messages in this card?”

  “Go for it,” I said.

  Carefully slipping the card from the plastic baggie, Gully held it in her hands and gasped. “Sorry, it’s just this person scares me. Well, I think it’s pretty obvious that this person aims to murder someone you
care deeply about, Marina. This person is an assassin. Um, yes, okay, I see the person’s name begins with a ‘D.’ This could be a first name, last name, middle, nickname, or title. He or she enjoys inflicting pain and fear. Because of that twisted joy, there will be more notes, likely on cards. When the game starts, you’ll know. That’s all I have.”

  “That’s enough,” I mused. “Thanks, Gully. You’re like a little hacker…a brain hacker.”

  “Ooh, I like that,” she said, grinning and placing the card back in the bag.

  “I’ll take it, Gully,” said Jex. He soared over to a purple bulletin board near Doctor Tenly’s desk. “I think we should add all cards to this board. Looking at them together should give us more perspective.”

  “Like the police do during an investigation,” said Trey.

  “Exactly,” said Jex.

  “Good idea,” I said. “Doctor, did you find anything from those tests you ran?”

  Shaking his head, he said, “Nope, apart from the aura plume test…and, boy, is this person’s aura dark.”

  “We can’t keep calling whoever it is ‘this person,’” said Polly. “Far too irritating.”

  “Any suggestions for a tag?” Troy asked. “Should probably start with a ‘D.’”

  “Demon?” said Meikle, smirking at Polly.

  “Lowest form of humor, Meeks,” said Polly.

  “Got one,” said Jex, leaning against the bulletin board. “Deliverer.”

  “Jex! That’s cruel,” I said, not wanting to admit to the slight twinge in my gut.

  “You’re crossing a very thin line, clucky,” said Troy through gritted teeth.

  Jex shrugged. “Hey, if the fin fits…”

  Troy stared hard at Jex, clenching his jaw. “When do I have another training session with you and the wannabe bird, Doctor?”

  “Uh, well…next week,” said Doctor Tenly, rather hesitantly.

  “Good.” By his alarmingly dark tone and mega-murderous eyes, I think Jex has officially won a place on Troy’s asses to be kicked list.

  “The Dealer. For the name of the assassin, I mean,” said Maile, bringing the conversation away from the fin-feather smack-down tangent and back to the topic at hand.