“I want to go home,” I whisper over and over again, as images of a sunshine world and then of a glittering city fill my brain.
A glittering underwater city.
15
Miranda
When I finally mustered up the courage to open the bedroom door, and face the world without my sister in it, a crumpled form fell into the room and landed at my feet.
Marko.
He’d fallen asleep waiting for me.
“You’ve been here the whole time?” I sat on the floor beside him, put my arms around his sleepy form and swallowed down the hard lump in my throat.
He nodded.
“I just needed time,” I said. “To process it all.”
Marko groaned sleepily and his arms went around me. “It’s okay,” he said in a croaky voice. “I’m sorry, Miranda.”
Pressing myself deeper into his embrace, I shook my head. “It’s not your fault.”
He stiffened. “It is. I should never have brought Lauren to Marin. All I had to do was say no to her in the first place and none of this would ever have happened.”
I raised my head and met his steely blue gaze.
“No. She wanted to come. She told me that coming to Marin was the best thing she’d ever done. That without Mum and Dad, life up here on land wasn’t home anymore. She loved coming to Marin. And I think she loved Damir, even though I can’t imagine how or why.” I sniffed and shuddered. “I think I’ll wonder about that forever.” More tears pooled in my eyes. Though I’d cried for nearly twelve hours straight, there were never going to be enough tears for Lauren.
“He was tender with her,” Marko said softly, while stroking my arm with the pad of his thumb. “And my brother has never been tender with anyone as far as I know. I think he genuinely loved her.”
More tears came, but I swallowed them down and wiped my face with the back of my hands. “I can’t believe we’re talking about Lauren in the past tense.”
“Come here,” Marko whispered and held me tight against his chest, so tight I could hear the thudding of his heart.
“I want to go back more than ever now,” I said, my words muffled by his shirt.
Marko sucked in a deep breath and tried to steady his shallow ones.
“You and me both, Miranda. Lauren’s death should not have happened. I’ve left too much unfinished business behind. Business I should have dealt with in the past. Maybe she would still be here if—”
“Don’t, please don’t. I can’t stand to think of what might have been if we’d gotten rid of Damir and Sylvia in the first place.”
Marko kissed my hair.
“I’ll be sorry for the rest of my life.” He swore beneath his breath. “But this time I’m going to set things right. I’ll do what it takes so that every citizen of Marin is safe and free.”
He hadn’t wanted to kill Damir in the past, or Sylvia. I wondered if that still held or if Marko’s siblings were now beyond his forgiveness. Though I would understand if he couldn’t go through with it. I couldn’t imagine ever physically hurting Lauren, no matter how many times she’d hurt me in the past.
Before a fresh rush of tears broke free, I straightened my back and pulled away so that I could look Marko in the eye.
“I have to see my niece. We have to go to Marin right now.”
Last night, I thought I’d lost everything, lost my entire family in Lauren, but now I realised that I had gained a new family member—Lauren’s baby, my niece.
I stood up and put my hands to my hips. “I’m betting Sylvia thinks she’s going to keep my sister’s baby.” I snorted. “She’s so wrong.”
Marko rose to his feet and stretched, his neck cracking twice.
“Good. We’re on the same page.”
When we stepped into the kitchen, we found Lily staring out the window, as though she hadn’t moved since yesterday. Maybe she was still getting used to the sight of the ocean from the perspective of land. She turned when she heard us enter, her long, golden hair fanning around her shoulders.
“You know Damir has created mermaids, or so he says. That’s what Robbie told me. I’ve heard his guards speak of it too.”
Marko swore again. This time out loud.
“Has anybody seen them?” I asked, my voice flat despite the curious subject. Nothing seemed amazing or crazy now that Lauren wasn’t here to share it.
Lily shook her head. “Robbie said Damir mentioned the Colosseum, that he keeps them there.”
Marko shook his head while he stared at the newspaper on the kitchen table.
“It all makes sense now... Damir... the dead bodies washing up on beaches. Lauren’s death has sent him over the edge. He’s gone back to his first love, his first obsession. Creating mermaids.”
“And he’s failed more than succeeded, hence the dead girls.”
Robbie, burst through the door, dripping wet and panting. “I found the chute. The shuttle Lily and I sent is still there.”
“Excellent.”
Marko brought Robbie up to speed with the conversation we’d just shared.
‘But what will we will do to stop him?’ Robbie asked.
“I know what,’ said Marko, rubbing his chin, his eyes lost in thought. ‘I just need to be able to execute it.’
Robbie nodded and caught his breath.
“Okay. But first we have two main obstacles. Lily and I managed to distract a guard to get to the chutes, but I’m certain he and many more will be waiting for us when we return. It’s been a week, but I’m sure they’ll be guarding the chutes around the clock.” Robbie and Lily shared a look.
Marko nodded. “With daggers ready.”
Lily shifted on the spot. “Redkin will most likely be first in line.” She grinned. “That is, if he managed to untie himself from my bed.”
Robbie shook his head. “I still can’t believe you let the guy into your bedroom.”
Lily shuddered. “That reminds me. I’ll have to burn the sheets.”
They shared a laugh, but stopped suddenly. Lily looked at me.
‘Sorry.’
I shook my head and swallowed down the pain. Lauren was already gone. There was no use in demanding that the whole world stop living. My sister would hate that. She’d been so full of life.
“It’s okay. You’re allowed to be happy. What was the second thing, Robbie? You said there were two obstacles.”
* * *
We spent most of the day planning our return to Marin, and making sure that we covered our tracks here, in Bob’s Bay, too. I scrawled a note, explaining that Marko and I were staying with friends, in case Dot or any other curious member of the police, or even Aunty Lynn, returned looking for us. I stuck it between an orange and a green apple in the fruit bowl.
Marko buried our various false identities and all of our money beneath the shack’s back veranda and after a round of late afternoon bacon and egg sandwiches, we were good to go.
Marko hung the tea towel on the oven rail while I put away the frying pan.
‘Come, Miranda, we need to leave before it gets too dark,’ he said softly, knowing how hard it was for me to say goodbye.
I nodded, whispered my last goodbyes to my childhood memories and stepped out of the shack and onto the beach.
A gentle sea breeze stirred my hair.
Robbie and Lily were outside waiting, watching the sun set.
“It’s so beautiful,” said Lily when she saw me coming. “You really did give up a lot to return to Marin, didn’t you?”
I shrugged and watched the way the sinking sun’s colours turned the whispery clouds into curtains of fire over the Indian Ocean. It was as though last night’s storm hadn’t happened.
“This will always be home to me, this place in particular, but...” I took a hold of Marko’s hand and squeezed it tight. “Marin is home to me too. It was Lauren’s last home, home of my baby niece and my grandparents.” I shot Marko a sideways look. “And it’s Marko’s home.”
I stared at the go
rgeous sight in front of me, at the curling waves and the snow white sand. It was beautiful here, and yes I was going to miss it terribly, but it was no longer home to anyone that I loved. So I had no choice but to leave.
Robbie smiled, but it was a sad smile. His dark brown eyes met mine. The reflection of the magnificent sunset shone in them. “You’ll love your niece, Miranda. She looks a little like you.”
“Does she?” My frozen heart warmed slightly and I knew then that I wouldn’t sleep another wink until I had my baby niece in my arms. Lauren would have wanted it that way. The back of my neck prickled at the thought of Sylvia holding Lauren’s baby in her arms. I wanted to kill her. I wanted to erase her from my niece’s life.
Though Robbie said Lauren had died in childbirth, something about it didn’t feel right. The odds of Sylvia getting what she wanted, of getting her own baby, with Lauren out the way, were just too convenient. She killed my sister. I was ninety-nine percent sure of it.
The clouds began to turn reddish purple as the sky darkened. Lauren would never get to see this again, this kind of breathtaking beauty. I raised my eyes to the stars—only a few daring ones were out so far—and sent Lauren a silent, wordless message of love. Then I sent one to my parents. They would be with her, and that was a huge comfort. At least my sister wasn’t alone wherever she was.
“Where did they bury her? Was there a funeral?” I asked, wondering if they performed funeral ceremonies in Marin like we did here.
Robbie shook his head. “I tried to get it out of Sylvia, but all she cares about is taking care of the ba—” he stopped and shot me a wide eyed stare, his breath caught in his throat.
“Don’t worry, Robbie.” I said, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “I guessed Sylvia would be taking care of the baby. I bet she couldn’t wait to take over from Lauren.” I let go of Robbie’s hand and moved closer to Marko. “Sylvia had obviously planned this all along.”
I sighed, remembering how beautiful Lauren had looked while pregnant, how her skin had glowed in the second trimester. And now what was once so vibrant and alive was gone. How could that be? Maybe I’d never get over the fact.
“I tried to find out what had happened but Sylvia wouldn’t let me see the body... I mean Lauren’s body,” said Robbie.
“At least you tried.” I swallowed thickly, my mind racing with the many possibilities of what might have happened the day my niece was born. “Sylvia must have poisoned Lauren or suffocated her after giving birth. She wouldn’t have risked endangering the baby’s life, so she would have waited until the very end.” Tears of anger spilled from my eyes. My sister must have been weakened after hours of labour. Sylvia had taken advantage of that weakness, that vulnerability. It was sick. Sylvia was inhuman.
“My sister is truly a monster,” said Marko, raking a hand through his hair. “I didn’t want to believe it before, but I do now.”
Lily remained silent and shook her head.
“I wonder how Lauren’s bracelet got on the other girl’s ankle,” I said, shivering at the memory of the dead girl’s photos on the police officer’s computer screen.
Robbie waded into the water and turned back to face us. “Damir is so angry and sick with grief he’s gone crazy. He’s been creating mermaids and said he’s been experimenting on women who look like Lauren. He’s trying to recreate her, but in the form of a mermaid...” he paused and turned extra pale. “I saw his handiwork and it wasn’t pretty.” He shook his head. “He’s been cutting women up without anaesthetic.”
Lily drew out her dagger and stabbed it into the sand. “Damir is mine, okay? I want to make him suffer like he made that poor girl, Avalon, suffer.”
“Line up behind me then, because I want the first crack,” said Robbie.
“What did he do to her? This Avalon?” Marko’s cheeks flushed with rage.
“He cut her up. He didn’t have any anaesthetic and just—” Robbie paused, his eyes murderously dark. “He just used his fist to knock her out. She nearly died after I interrupted her operation.”
“But you managed to save her, Rob, don’t forget that,” said Lily.
My mouth turned dry and I swallowed down bitter bile that threatened to come up.
A seagull shrieked above us and soared off into the night. The sky was so much darker now. Nature moved fast when you didn’t have the time to stop and appreciate it.
“Do you think he would have done that to Lauren, Robbie?” I asked. “Perhaps after she’d had her baby?”
Robbie’s eyes, glazed and unfocused, shifted out to the sea. “I don’t know.”
“We have to leave right now,” I said, my voice hard and cold. “We can’t leave my niece with those people for a second longer.”
Marko nodded. He was on my side. He wasn’t protecting Sylvia anymore. He was completely with me.
“I love you,” I said, not embarrassed that Lily and Robbie were there. “I love you all.”
Lily came over and wrapped her slender arms around me. “We love you too, Miranda, and we love that little baby more than anything. I won’t stop until we have her safely in your arms.”
“Thanks,” I stared over her shoulder. “And you too, Robbie. Thank you. You guys risked so much to come here and get us.”
Robbie continued to stare out at the sea and simply shrugged, as though embarrassed by my outpouring of emotion. Or maybe he was feeling emotional too and didn’t want to show it.
Marko nodded in agreement, his face and eyes on the darkening sea. “We’d better start swimming. It’s getting late.”
I knew he meant sharks. They liked to hunt after sunset.
Robbie and Lily dove in first and immediately started swimming freestyle, their strong arms slicing through the water.
A sudden rush of fear swept through me, making my knees weak. These three people that I loved, Marko, Robbie and Lily, were about to face danger. What if they died? What if we all died?
I reached out and grabbed Marko’s arm before he went in. “Wait.”
“You okay?” he asked, his eyes blazing with a ferocious anger that could only be described as blood-lust. He was ready to fight. And now I wasn’t sure that I wanted him to. Sylvia and Damir had far too many guards on their side. We had to find another way to win back the city.
“Yes. I’m thinking about the moon and what I told you about the Colosseum tank. Do you think Sylvia will give us the baby back if we give her the real fertility moon?”
Marko’s eyes roved to the post-storm sky which was darkening by the second. Lily and Robbie were dots in the sea right now. I tried not to think about the many shark attacks that had occurred lately, all along the coast.
“If it is fail-safe, if it proves to bring fertility back to Marin, then yes. I believe she would want to have a child of her own. But I’m starting to see Sylvia as a stranger. She’s not the same woman who mothered me as a child. I don’t know how her mind works anymore.”
“Her obsession to have a baby has ruined her, just like Damir’s obsession with mermaids has ruined him. I know you don’t want to believe it, but she used to be sweet, Miranda, loving.” He shrugged. “I suppose a small part of me wants to believe that there is some of that sweetness still inside of her, lying dormant, waiting to be woken up.” He shrugged again and stared after Robbie and Lily. “I hate her, but I miss her, too.”
Marko had never had a true mother. His had died when he was born and his father was murdered by Damir when Marko had only been a small boy. At least I’d had my parents for sixteen years. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?” He shrugged, seeming annoyed. “The Sylvia I once knew is dead to me. She’s not the same woman. I just have to forget her and move on.” He sighed. “We have to think with our heads and not our hearts or we’ll fail in this, Miranda. I ruled Marin with my heart and that was my big mistake. I need to rule with my head.”
I nodded but felt a wave of sadness crash over my insides. One of the things I loved most about Marko was the fact
that he almost always chose his heart over his head.
“Sylvia may give up your niece, but she may not. In her crazed mind she probably already believes she is the baby’s mother. She’s probably told herself over and over again that the baby is hers.”
A distant whistle sounded and I could barely see Robbie and Lily waving their arms.
“Quickly, Miranda, I don’t fancy being shark food.”
I ran beside Marko and dove right in, and when I came back up for air, several metres ahead of Marko, he laughed.
“I knew the mention of sharks would get those arms and legs pumping.”
I splashed water into his face as he neared me and then took off, slicing my arms through the water, stroke after stroke. My legs, strengthened from all the leg-raises I’d performed on Marko’s weight machines, didn’t burn as much as they used to under so much strain.
I was returning to Marin a much stronger person.
Nobody was going to push me around this time.
16
Robbie
“We all in?” I wriggled to the left so that Lily’s weight distributed more evenly across my body. She giggled and gripped my waist, making me jerk sideways.
My skull connected with Marko’s and he swore.
“Lily, there’s no room in here for tickling.”
“So I take it this was the second obstacle?” said Marko.
Miranda shifted her weight and Marko groaned. “Watch where you put your hands, my love.” He swore again, beneath his breath, but in the confines of the shuttle, he may as well have shouted it.
I couldn’t look at him because we were both without goggles inside the shuttle, and besides, even with the goggles I wouldn’t have been able to see anything. We’d given them to Lily and Miranda who at this moment were wedged on top of us.
“I hope I won’t be sick,” said Lily, giggling. With her body flush against mine, I felt every ripple of movement.
Miranda giggled.
“Stop jiggling around,” said Marko, laughter in his voice. It was good to hear him like this. I, too, found myself laughing, and then the girls joined in, unable to stop themselves.
Release (The Submerged Sun, #3) Page 12