Bluehour (A Watermagic Novel)

by Brighton Hill

  “Hold on.” He started to climb out of the window. We weren’t so high up, but still it was quite a drop that could easily break bones.

  “I could fall,” I stammered.

  “Trust me.” He arched way back so that I wouldn’t touch the building with my body.

  The suctions above his pelvis and his strong legs maneuvered us down the log house while his back curved away from the structure, falling and then clinging to the wood intermittently until we were at the ground. It happened so fast that I wasn’t even able to protest.

  He lowered me to the sand now that we were on the shore. I sort of wobbled as I tried to catch my breath. “Whoa,” I breathed. “That was incredible!”

  “Now for the fun part,” he said, the moonlight shining on his shadowed body. “I’m taking you for a night swim.”

  I trembled at the thought, remembering how last time in his pool I couldn’t breathe so deep down. “I’m not allowed in the ocean,” I whispered. “My dad doesn’t allow it.” My heart ached at the thought of my family and how worried they must have been.

  He placed his cool hand on the side of my face. “Don’t be afraid, Grace. You are my life now. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  My body rushed with feelings at his touch, at his words. “I want to go with you, but I’m afraid because I can’t breathe under water.”

  His expression was warm and beautiful. “Now that I can touch you, if we remain connected, you will receive all the oxygen you need. Just hold my hand. You can touch any part of my body and the transfer will take place for as long as you desire. Touch will protect you from the water pressures also. Even upon separation, the effects will last for a short period of time.”

  “Really?” My eyes lit up.

  “Yes.” He took my hand and led me to the ocean.

  The water was chilly, but I adjusted quickly. I felt safe with Laurent as we waded through the waves with our heads above the dark water.

  “Why don’t your legs turn into a fish tail in the water like the mers in the movies?” I asked.

  He pulled me up against his body and we were chest to chest, just the bodice of my soaked yellow sundress between us. “Converts keep their legs, but grow webbed feet. Mers from birth have fish tails.”

  We gazed up at the starry sky. It was beautiful. The big dipper was in full view.

  “Look how the starlight dances on the black water,” he murmured.

  “It’s perfect. So breathtaking.”

  “You ready to go under?”

  I nodded, scared, yet excited.

  As we dove under, we held hands. Being in his comfortable grasp gave me some security. Laurent swam slowly enough beside me so I could keep up. Everything was pitch black and I couldn’t see a thing. In many ways this was the scariest experience of my life. Swimming endlessly in the dark. I couldn’t breathe under the water, but somehow I didn’t feel the urge to. Apparently, oxygen and carbon dioxide were exchanging between us without any inhalations or exhalations.

  We swam deeper and deeper in the sheer black water. The farther down we went, the more terrified I became. I held to Laurent’s hand tightly. Aside from the rush of water over our bodies, there was complete silence. I kept worrying what sorts of sea creatures were around us. Were we being watched? Could I be consumed by a shark or even an octopus at any moment? If Laurent let go of my hand, I would surely die. After a short while, just the water pressure alone would be enough to crush my body. But, somehow, in his grasp, I was safe.

  I felt something brush past my legs. With a start, a scream shot out of my throat.

  “Don’t be frightened,” Laurent whispered calmly. “It’s only seaweed.”

  I was shocked that I could hear him under water. His whispery voice came across perfectly clear. How could that be?

  “Watch this.” His eyebrow lifted.

  But before I had a chance to respond, if I even could, his actions pulled my attention entirely.

  In a sudden shift of light, his free hand raised above the edge of a field of dark sea grass that was now lighting up in many colors progressively in a way that appeared to be of his own doings. The beauty was magnificent as the now colorful plant life swayed upon the ocean floor.

  “How did you do that?” I asked, shocked, yet thrilled that I could speak perfectly under water as well.

  “The power of plant manipulation,” he murmured lightly. “You didn’t think mers were doomed to a life of utter darkness, did you?”

  “I guess I never thought about it.” I felt so strange speaking freely at the bottom of the ocean. We swam through the colorful fields that lit up as we approached. There were beautiful sea anemone and fluorescent sea plants.

  “Though we can talk, we should speak as little as possible.” His voice was still in a whisper.

  “Why is that?” I whispered back.

  “Sound carries far in the ocean and I don’t want Sabine to pick up on our vibrations.”

  A shiver ran through my body and in fear, I didn’t respond. The thought of being overtaken by a predator frightened me into silence. I was out of my element entirely.

  Laurent led me to an amazing coral reef. We swam through its archways and tunnels as he lit the way. I had never seen such beauty. I think he was enhancing the colors and vibrancy with his powers. We saw bright orange starfish, purple sea urchins, and impressive exotic fish of varying types. There were even crabs and a huge sea snail with a decorative shell.

  Laurent looked at me and smiled brightly. I think he was pleased to see the huge grin on my face as we swam.

  “Let’s go back,” he whispered as he led me out of the coral reef and back though the fields of many colors. This time in the darkness, I felt safer knowing we would rise out of the water soon. We broke the surface and the air rushed back into my lungs.

  I was breathing normally now. The transition was sudden, but a relief. I was glad to feel the air circulating familiarly through my body as I was accustomed.

  “That was incredible,” I laughed. “I’m still in shock.”

  His smile was bigger than I had ever seen. He seemed so very happy. “I wanted to share my world with you for so long.”

  “Really?” My face looked surprised. It was still difficult for me to believe that Laurent took such an interest in a plain, simple girl like me.

  “Yes, of course. I’ve dreamt of it.” He was looking up at the stars with his head tilted back. “There is so much more to show you.”

  My eyes widened.

  “In good time,” he whispered. “Come, let’s go back to our room.”

  By the time we got back to the bed and breakfast, I was exhausted. I had never swum so much in my life. Laurent wrapped me in a big fluffy towel and I sat down on the bed.

  “You want to take a hot shower?” he suggested.

  I yawned, trying to hold my eyelids open. “I’m afraid of that sea snake in there.”

  He laughed. The last thing I remember was looking at his beautiful golden face with a touch of mystery in his eyes, wondering how in the world I got so lucky to be with him. “Maybe in a minute,” I mumbled as I lay my damp head of hair down on the pillow. And then I must have fallen asleep without saying another word.

  ***

  When I woke up in the morning my yellow sundress was crusty against my body with dried saltwater from the night before. I could only imagine what a mess I must have looked like. The sheer drapes were drawn from the French windows and the slightest sea breeze was blowing in causing the curtains to flutter lightly.

  I heard movement in the bathroom. The water was running in the sink and there was a bit of a clatter. My curiosity was more than peeked. I could only wonder what Laurent could possibly be doing in there. It sounded like he was washing dishes.

  Then I heard humming, mixed trills, squeaks, and clicks. The rendition was fascinating, but so different than any song I had ever heard. And the voice sounded feminine. Suddenly, the bathroom door flew open and Brigitte glided into the bedr
oom with a silver tray of food.

  “Breakfast time,” she chanted as she carried the platter to the table by the French windows. With a cheery smile on her picturesque face, she looked at me, “Laurent put me on duty to watch you while he’s hunting Sabine.” Her voice was sing songy, beautiful, but I sensed she was agitated. Her nostrils were slightly flared and I felt she was trying to keep a distance from me. I could only assume that she was hungry and that I smelled better than her meal.

  I moved away a little closer to the bed. She was looking as gorgeous as ever with her long black hair full and in ringlets. Her outfit fascinated me. She wore an eighteenth century French aristocratic style bodice displaying a hint of cleavage hidden beneath strings of pearls and other fine jewels hanging from her neck. I could see her swim trunks under the sheer fabric of her genie pants and her webbed feet were bare upon the floor.

  All of a sudden there was a knock at the door. My body stiffened. I could only wonder who was there.

  “Don’t worry,” Brigitte sang and then bit down hard on her lip. “I felt his vibrations all the way from the woods. It’s only the delivery guy. I ordered breakfast for you.”

  She slipped on a pair of ornamental slippers presumably to hide her webbed feet and answered the door.

  “Delivery,” the young tall man clad in dress pants and a dress shirt with bowtie said.

  Brigitte stared at him hungrily for a moment. “Entrer,” she almost whispered, her French accent smooth and low as she directed him into the room. I felt like she was pacing his every movement and counting.

  The guy placed a pile of fancy boxes of sustenance on the table. He squinted and then his eyes widened at the platter that Brigitte had set out with her own food. I walked over to take a closer look. There was a slab of raw meat and sliced black and white striped sea snake on china plates with various gourmet dipping sauces in saucers to the sides. But odder than that was a large shapely jar with live shrimp moving around in cocktail sauce. The man cleared his throat and drew a blank expression.

  Brigitte paid him presumably well because his unreadable expression changed to a smile as he thanked her and left quickly.

  “I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of ordering for you,” she said as she pulled a chair out for me at the table on the far side, a considerable distance from her seat.

  I sat down. “That’s very nice of you,” I mumbled awkwardly. “I usually just eat a muffin or some cereal.”

  “Oh, good.” Her voice lifted up to a surprising high pitch. “You’re in for a treat then.” She pushed the stack of fancy boxes at me sending them sliding fast across the table.

  I had to stand up to stop them from sliding right off and onto the floor.

  “Oops,” she giggled. Sometimes I don’t know my own strength.

  “Are you stronger than a human?” I asked, sitting back down in my chair.

  After placing a napkin across her lap, she opened the shapely glass jar and stabbed a shrimp with a silver cocktail fork and placed the moving thing daintily in her mouth. “Mers who eat humans are exorbitantly strong, but vegetarians like us are much weaker. Though we are usually stronger than most humans even on our strict diets.”

  “How was I able to overpower Marine on the beach that night before school started?” I hoped I hadn’t angered her with such a question.

  She seemed unaffected and more interested in her crawly shrimp. “Marine is vain and she was dieting at the time. She hadn’t eaten a thing in days. Some mers who get too obsessed with their looks get eating disorders and unfortunately Marine struggles with such issues. She should have known better to take you on when she was so light headed and vulnerable. Luckily, she didn’t lose control of her hunger and tear you to shreds with her teeth.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that. “Can a mer get fat?”

  Brigitte laughed, but her nostrils flared as she looked at me with sharp eyes. “We can eat a lot, but if we overdo the sugary foods and other foreign substances, our waistlines may show it slightly. We can’t get fat though, just a little more shapely. Eating disorders for mers are really just vanity gone too far.”

  I opened the top box to see what was inside. It was a stack of blueberry pancakes with powdered sugar atop and a little vial of syrup on the side. “There’s so much food just in this box.” I loved what I saw so far.

  “I wasn’t sure what you’d like so I ordered a variety of choices.” She had finished the live shrimp cocktail by now and was dabbing her lips with her napkin. “Open the rest,” she commanded excitedly. I got the feeling she loved food.

  The next box was filled with chocolate truffles, cupcakes, and bright candies of many types. The third box was filled with an assortment of dainty English sandwiches. And the fourth box had a picturesque arrangement of exotic fruits.

  “I like everything you picked,” I said with glee as my stomach grumbled. “I don’t know where to start.” I took a bite of one of the colorful fruits and it was so delicious. It melted in my mouth. “Mmm… This is so good.”

  Brigitte smiled, seemingly delighted that I was enjoying myself.

  “I’ve never been treated like this,” I said with my mouth full. “Thank you.”

  She nodded happily as she dipped a slice of raw meat into a spicy looking red sauce. “Would you like to try mine?” she laughed the words.

  I almost spit out a truffle at the suggestion as I laughed too. “No thanks!” I said adamantly.

  She shook her head. Her posture was formal and perfect as she ate the food with princess manners much too fast. I got the impression that her teeth must be razor sharp to be able to down the tough meat at such speed.

  “When will Laurent come back?” My stomach tightened. I already missed him.

  “He’s very determined to find Sabine. He has to lure her to a secluded place to kill her. That may be difficult if she is with her school. He said he would be back by nightfall.” She was only playing with the slices of snake meat now, stabbing her fork into the black and white striped scales. I got the impression she was worried about Laurent.

  “Is he in danger?” I asked staring into her blue eyes.

  “We all wanted to join him in the killing, but he refused. He wouldn’t allow any of us to go down with him. It’s really a suicide mission because once he kills Sabine, the Trident will be after him.” Her expression grew dark with her admittance.

  “What’s the Trident?”

  “It’s the mer government,” she said with edge to her voice. “I need to refresh myself in the tub. Please excuse me.” With that, she blotted her lips with her napkin and placed it on the table.

  She glided out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

  After about five minutes alone in the room, I found myself so anxious. All I could think about was Laurent. I was so afraid something could go wrong and Sabine could kill him instead. Surely, she must have suspected that Laurent would come after her. He said he nearly killed her once, but in his mercy he spared her life. She knew I was the only girl he had saved from her. That must have made her livid with hatred knowing that he actually cared about someone other than her.

  Fifteen minutes passed with Brigitte still in the bathroom and I felt like I was going to go out of my mind with worry over Laurent. I turned on the TV in hopes of distracting myself, but as I flipped through the channels, I saw my picture on a news show. I stopped at the broadcast. The news caster was talking about how devastated my parents were that I disappeared. They said that Laurent Moreau was the suspected kidnapper. After the short clip was over, I turned to another channel.

  How could the police think Laurent had kidnapped me? He was only a kid himself. I had to tell my parents that I left of my own free will. I couldn’t allow people to think that Laurent was a criminal. The idea was so unfair. But Laurent had warned me not to make any phone calls. He said it could put our lives in even greater danger.

  I tried to focus on the TV as a distraction. I forced my
self to watch an old movie about a dog that was traveling across the country trying to find its family that moved away. The film was terribly sad. And it only made me crazier in my mind. I too missed my family like the dog missed his. And even more than that, I missed Laurent.

  I thought about how unfair it was that Laurent was sacrificing everything for me and now he was being blamed for kidnapping me. If he killed Sabine, the mer government would be after him. He would have both the Los Angeles police force after him for my kidnapping and the Trident after him for the murder of Sabine. He would be wanted by land and by water and all because of me. It wasn’t fair.

  I got up out of bed and started pacing the room. After nearly two hours, Brigitte was still soaking in the tub. I had to get out of this place. The waiting was driving me mad. How could I fix this tragedy? How could I turn things around? More than anything I wanted to save Laurent.

  Maybe I could make my way through the woods on foot back out to the main highway and hitchhike back to Santa Monica. I could tell my parents how a girl attacked me at school and that Laurent tried to save me by taking me to this bed and breakfast. I could explain that the girl threatened to hunt me down and kill me, so I thought I should run away to hide. Laurent was only trying to protect me. Maybe they would believe that. And Laurent would be free of the charges against him.

  If I didn’t explain now, the situation would only get worse. Of course I would leave out all the stuff about mers and how Laurent was one. Nobody would believe that.

  But then I had to except the fact that Sabine would likely tear me to shreds and leave my head over as a trophy. I thought about how devastated my parents would be then. A dead daughter was worse than a missing one.

  It didn’t matter though. I had to leave Laurent. I was putting his life in danger. He was sacrificing too much for me. I had to at least clear his name with the police.

  At once I walked to the door, determined to find my way home. I put my hand on the doorknob and turned it. But, suddenly, and all at once, Brigitte transported her body between me and the door.