Crossing into the driveway, my mind entirely peaceful, Airianna came out of absolutely nowhere and whipped in front of me, grabbing both of my shoulders.
Not able to read her expression—and wondering what on earth Trey said to shake her world this time—I said, “Whatcha doing, Airi?”
Her body jolted—her eyes bulged—blood splattered on my face and shirt.
“Saving…you,” she said, falling into my arms.
“AIRI! No…no…what do we do? What do we do? What…God…help…no,” I said, holding her in my arms as we fell to the pavement.
Protruding from her chest—from her heart—was an arrow with a trident tip covered in blood.
“DOCTOR TENLY!” Troy shouted.
“Airi? Baby?” Trey dropped to his knees by my side and brushed her hair back. “Hang on. We’ll fix this. We’ll fix this.”
“Oh, God…no. Airi,” said Doctor Tenly, leaning over us, sniffing the air. “There’s nothing we can do…nothing. Ai-ri.” His voice broke when he said her name one last time.
“WHAT? WHY?!” I yelled.
“Lethal, irreversible mer-poison,” said Treeva, her voice shaky.
“There has to be something! Something…anything…something. We’re running out of time! Meikle? SOMEONE SAVE HER!” I screamed, crying.
To my horror, tears rolled down Meikle’s cheeks. There was nothing she could do to save our friend.
Airianna tightened her hand around mine. “Thank…you…for being my family,” she said to us all. Spritz, dragging his tail, walked over and licked Airianna’s face before resting his tiny head on her stomach.
“No…no…no…you can’t leave. You can’t…can’t…you…can’t.”
I felt her hand weakening around mine. “Don’t…forget me,” she whispered.
She was gone.
“NO! No! God…no,” I cried, collapsing against her lifeless body. “Don’t go…please…PLEASE…don’t…go.”
The wind seemed to weep as it whipped around us, and with it came the frightening scent of vinegar and bleach. That November night in downtown Saxet Shores flooded my mind. I heard Mallorey’s voice saying, “There was this odd smell, like bleach and vinegar.”
The Dealer.
Numbly looking around the ground, I spied the king of diamonds propped against Airianna’s body, wearing drops of her blood like a medal; on the card was one word: Dead.
Slowly, I raised my eyes, knowing exactly who I would find, standing in all her glorious evil. Perched stoically atop a sand dune was The Dealer, crossbow in-hand…only it wasn’t Katrina at all, or any of her family.
It was a man…a familiar man; he wore a black suit with a gray, high-collar shirt, his bright red hair shining in the sun like flames of the devil.
“Dad…Daddy?” The words fell from my lips like venomous bombs. Super-speeding myself to the dune, I stood disbelievingly before my father.
Smiling sinisterly, my father said, “Over, over, over she...fell. Done.” He disappeared into the wind.
Pain. Pain. Pain. Breaking. Can’t…breathe.
The next thing I felt was Troy’s arms wrapping around me as I tried to scream away the pain. So…much…pain.
“The Dealer…was my dad.”
“I saw him, I saw him,” he said, still holding me as we fell to the sand.
“Airi saved me from my own father. It was him...he murdered Airi. She’s gone, Troy…she’s gone,” I said, sobbing in his arms.
In the distance, a beam of sparkling white light fell upon the driveway of Hambury House. We watched in combined devastation and awe as Airianna’s soul lifted from her body and followed the light, straight to heaven.
When the light had vanished—when it had taken Airianna away from us—a sudden clap of thunder roared inside my head. Words—truths—repeated themselves over and over again. It was so loud, so very loud.
My father was The Dealer. My father wanted me dead. My father killed my best friend. Kill. Dealer. Death. Dad. Done. Dead.
Then it all stopped. All was quiet. But it wasn’t the same peaceful serenity I had known only minutes ago; it was…empty…an empty, dark quiet, like a lonely, dusty room where ghosts lurk, whispering words, hoping to frighten. Only, I wasn’t frightened. I was revitalized by a simple musing. Maybe it was a ghost whispering nonsense, or maybe that was what I wanted to believe. After all, who could be invigorated by such a disturbing thought? A thought that went something like this:
Well, if daddy lusts after death so much, I’ll make sure to introduce them…properly.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
The Root of Beer
Chapter Two
Sanity-Not-So-Much Savior
Chapter Three
Imperia by Night
Chapter Four
Escape Hatch
Chapter Five
Hear Me Out
Chapter Six
The Importance of Being Un
Chapter Seven
Mer-Nor Games
Chapter Eight
The Wish Ceremony
Chapter Nine
Train Wrecked
Chapter Ten
Opening Wars
Chapter Eleven
Tharnossa, Tharnossa, Tharnossa
Chapter Twelve
Fins v. Feet
Chapter Thirteen
The Crying Doll Face
Chapter Fourteen
Threading Needles
Chapter Fifteen
Sinfully Thankful
Chapter Sixteen
Prince in a Pear Tree
Chapter Seventeen
Buried Under
Chapter Eighteen
My Very Bloody Valentine
Chapter Nineteen
Stormy Weather Fair
Chapter Twenty
Fire, Ice, & Broken Things
Chapter Twenty-One
Promenade
Chapter Twenty-Two
Warped Graduation
Chapter Twenty-Three
Smells Like Death
Chapter Twenty-Four
Destructed
OVERFALLS (The Merworld Water Wars, Book 2) Page 39