by Wendi Wilson
I’m too happy to be embarrassed by my display of affection. Without releasing Bryce, I call out, “Are you guys ready to blow this popsicle stand?”
“What is a popsicle stand, and why would we blow on it?” Adrian asks.
I let go of Bryce and turn back to face him. “It’s an expression. It means…never mind. Let’s go.”
“Adrian,” Bryce says, falling into place beside him, “how long will it take us to get back? I know we caught a current coming here. Will we have to swim against it now?”
“We will swim against the California current for a distance, but we are lucky. This time of year, when the earth shifts away from the sun, another current travels northward. It will take us just under two sun cycles to reach your home.”
“The Davidson current,” Dad says, swimming up on Adrian’s other side. “It flows north in the winter. It runs close to the California coast, so we’ll have to swim west when we get close enough to Santa Lorelei Island.”
“That is the name of your land?” Adrian asks.
“Yeah. You didn’t know?” I ask.
“No, I did not. It’s beautiful.”
“It’s named after a mermaid, you know. Lorelei sits on a rock in the Rhine river and lures sailors to their deaths with her irresistible voice. I always assumed it was folklore, but now I don’t know. Lorelei is probably real,” I said, imagining a beautiful mermaid, her voice ringing out over a wide river.
He doesn’t say anything. He probably doesn’t want to talk about Mer hurting humans. He is trying to leave all that behind him, after all. I leave him to his thoughts and let him pull ahead, hanging back to swim with my mom.
“Hey, honey,” she says. “How are you doing?”
“I’m good,” I say. “How are you doing?”
I know how hard it was for her, leaving her father behind for the second time. She has to be heartbroken.
“I’m okay. A little sad, but I wouldn’t trade a second chance at a life with you and your father for anything.”
“I know, Mom. Me neither.”
She smiles. “Things are going to be so different now, Kai. No more servitude, no more Coraline. We’ll be a real family, in a real home. It’s going to be wonderful.”
I don’t know what to say. It’s hard for me to even imagine what it will be like. I’ve been Kailani, the poor, lonely, hired help of Ms. Coraline for my entire life. Now, I’m Kailani, daughter of Merryn and Dante, girlfriend of Bryce Howell, mermaid princess…so many hats for just one head.
“Yeah,” I say. “It’s going to be great.” Weird, but great.
Being my girlfriend is weird?
Bryce! Get out of my head! I’m not really mad, but in this moment, it feels like a serious intrusion of privacy.
Sorry, you were projecting again. When we get home, I’ll start researching ways to block it if you want.
Don’t you want to? I mean, you can’t possibly want me hearing all of your thoughts.
No, of course not, but I don’t seem to have the same problem you do. Every stray thought you have seems to come through to me, while you usually only hear what I want you to.
I know it’s not your fault. Sorry I yelled. Or…mind-yelled?
He hangs back until I come up beside him. He’s grinning, so I guess I didn’t really offend him. Mom gives me a little wave and pulls ahead to swim next to Dad.
“You can mind-yell at me whenever you want. I can take it,” he says, flexing a bicep at me.
I laugh. “Thanks. I’ll remember that.”
We swim for hours and I wonder for the hundredth time if Adrian really knows where he’s going. I mean, obviously, he does. He’s the one that came and got me and led me to Delmare in the first place. Everything just looks…the same.
“We should stop here to rest,” Adrian says, slowing his pace. “We are nearing the…what did you call it? Davidson current? From there, it is only a day’s journey to your home.”
“Resting sounds good to me,” I say, leaning back so that my body floats in place. “And good word choice, Adrian, saying day instead of sun cycle. You’re sounding more human already.”
I catch his smile before he zips around, giving me his back. “I will go find us some food.”
“I’ll join you,” Dad says. “I used to enjoy hunting when I was young. It’s been a long time.”
“Have fun,” Mom says, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. “Come back to me.”
He just smiles and takes off after Adrian. Wait, what? Does she think he’s not coming back? Of course, he’s coming back. Right? My concern must show on my face because she swims over and takes my hand.
“It’s just something I used to say, Kai. Whenever he’d leave the house, I’d say, ‘Come back to me.’ It’s kind of our thing.”
“Oh. Okay. That’s cute, I guess.”
She laughs. “And probably a little gag-worthy, too? Nobody wants to hear their parents being romantic.”
“Actually,” I say, straightening in the water so I can look her in the eye, “you guys can be as romantic as you want around me. I mean, within reason.” I chuckle. “After what you two went through to save me, you deserve…everything.”
“You’re worth it, baby. I’d do it all over again if I had to.”
She pulls me in for a hug and I spot Bryce several yards away, giving us some privacy. No doubt, he heard everything through my loud speaker thoughts anyway, but it’s a nice gesture. He looks over at me and grins, confirming my suspicions.
“Well, well, well. What a touching moment. May I join the party?” a familiar voice calls out from the darkness.
“Ora.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
A flash of gold zips by, blocking my view of Bryce for a second. When I can see him again, he’s racing toward me. I let go of Mom and reach out for him, but he doesn’t even make it close. A blur of black and gold comes out of nowhere, knocking into his side and driving him off course.
“Bryce!”
I scream his name over and over, both vocally and mentally. I get no response and it feels like déjà vu all over again. I can’t do this. Not again. I take off in the direction I saw Ora drive him, but I’m pulled up short by a tug on my tail.
“Stop, Kai. It’s dark and Ora is dangerous. You can’t just go after her.”
“She has Bryce, Mom. I can’t lose him again.”
“We’ll get him back, I promise.”
“You should not make promises you cannot keep, Princess.” Ora’s voice never fails to give me the willies. I shake them off, steeling my spine.
“Ora, where is Bryce?” I demand as she comes back into view. “What have you done with him?”
“I don’t care about your silly human mate,” she says. “I have much bigger fish to fry.”
With those words and a predatory smile, she lunges forward and grabs my mother by the wrist. Mom tries to pull free, but Ora is too strong. Her right fist flies forward and lands against Mom’s cheek.
Outrage spirals through me, and I zip forward, raining blows against Ora’s back. Her left hand holds tight to Mom’s wrist while her right swings around and backhands me across the face. The blow stuns me for a moment, and that’s all she needs. She grabs my wrist and pulls me forward. Before I know what’s happened, my mother and I are tied together at the wrist and we’re being dragged away into the dark waters.
“Where are you taking us?”
“Do not speak to me, mongrel.”
“Don’t call my daughter that,” Mom says, her voice angry and demanding. “What do you want with us?”
“You know what I want, princess. What I have always wanted. Your suffering.”
“Ora, please. You have me. Let Kai go. She’s not a part of this.”
A laugh bursts from Ora’s lips, almost maniacal in its fervor. “My dear Merryn, how do you think I will make you suffer?”
Silence envelopes us at her statement. I don’t know how to respond to that and neither does Mom. Ora is planning to
use me to torture her. Fear races through me, but I try to cover it up with questions.
“How did you sneak up on us, anyway?” I ask. “Shouldn’t we have sensed you now that Coraline is dead?”
Bringing up Coraline’s death may not be the smartest move I’ve ever made. Ora’s upper lip pulls back, showing razor sharp teeth while she growls. She stops swimming and holds up her wrist.
“The spell Coraline used to mask me was placed on this charm,” she says, showing us a small stone attached to her wrist by a leather cord. “The magic resides in this,” she says, shaking her wrist, “therefore the spell is not dependent on her existence to keep it active.”
Her bracelet reminds me of my locket and Dad’s watch, strapped to Bryce’s wrist. I don’t know about the watch, but my locket did not heat up when Ora came near this time. I don’t know if that means the magic Celine and Bran used has worn off, or if Coraline gave Ora something extra to cloak herself that overrides it. Either way, I’m not about to mention it to Ora, even to appease my curiosity. I can’t chance her taking something so precious from me.
“Well, we don’t have a charm to conceal us like that,” I say, feeling brazen, “so Bryce, Dad, and Adrian will find us.”
If it’s even possible, her smile becomes even more predatory. “I truly hope you are correct.”
With that, she yanks Mom’s arm, hard, dragging us forward once more. We swim for what feels like hours. My only consolation is that she’s pulling us in the same direction we were already going. We’re still heading toward home. At least, I think we are.
After what seems like an eternity, Ora changes direction and starts swimming toward the ocean floor. A large crevice there splits the underwater terrain, and she pulls us into it. We drown in darkness. My fear ratchets up several notches. We’re swimming totally blind.
Just as panic starts to overtake good sense and I prepare to scream, a muted light flickers ahead. I pick up speed. I need to get out of this black abyss and I don’t give a damn if Ora knows how scared I am. My mother’s hand grips my wrist where we’re tied together, pulling me back.
She doesn’t say a word but shakes her head slightly. Don’t show fear. I can’t hear her thoughts like I can with Bryce, but I know her well enough to know that’s exactly what she’s trying to tell me. I slow my pace to match hers, taking slow, shallow gulps of water in an attempt to calm my nervous energy. Mom releases my wrist and slides her fingers down to intertwine with mine. We’re in this together and together, we’ll get out of it.
The light grows brighter and I see the opening of a cave in the rock wall. We swim through and Ora pulls to a stop. I look around as she ties Mom’s free wrist to a rusty iron ring protruding from the interior wall.
Other than the ring and a few glowing rocks set about the floor, the cave is empty. Coraline must have given Ora the rocks, as well, because there is no way the light emanating from them is natural. I wonder how long she’s been planning this. That ring looks like it’s been here a while.
“What is this place?” I ask, hoping my question will delay whatever she has planned.
“Do you like it? I know it is not the palace in Delmare, but it is still more than the two of you deserve.”
“Why do you hate us so much?” I actually think I know the reasons, but if I can get her monologuing, maybe the others will catch her by surprise.
Ora laughs, but the sound contains no humor. “Why do I hate you? A spoiled princess that gave up having everything she could have ever wanted, everything I wanted, to live as a human,” she says, infusing the word human with as much disgust as she can muster, “and a half-breed mongrel that has no business existing anywhere, much less in my ocean? I detest you both, and everything you stand for.”
“But we’re leaving,” I say, trying not to sound as desperate as I actually am. “We are going back to land and will never return to bother you.”
“That is not good enough!” she says, her voice rising an octave with her anger. “I want you to pay. You,” she says, nodding at Mom, “for not truly appreciating everything you had, even though you never deserved it. And you,” her voice drops low, her eyes narrowing on me, “for simply existing. You are an abomination. A crime against Mer society. A blight on this world that must be exterminated.”
Kai, we’re coming.
Bryce, hurry!
My body wants to sag with relief, but I force myself to stay rigid and on guard. I need to keep Ora talking so Bryce, Adrian, and Dad have the element of surprise. Think, Kai, think.
“Coraline was a criminal, but you associated with her,” I say, grasping at straws.
“Coraline had something I needed, and she needed me. She was going to take care of you, both of you, so that I could keep the blood off of my hands. I would have been a source of comfort to King Merric, his right hand and eventual successor. Finally, I would have had everything I always longed for. Now, I must settle for only receiving the pleasure it will give me to kill you.”
Kai, we’re here, just outside the cave. Keep her talking, if you can.
“If you kill us, you will never be allowed to return to Delmare. You will be executed as soon as you set tailfin within the city limits.”
Ora laughs again, and this time it sounds more genuine. A shiver runs up my spine. She really is enjoying this, the cold-blooded monster.
“King Merric will never know you are dead,” she says, a wide smile on her lips. “That is the beauty of it. As far as he is concerned, you are on your way back to your precious human lives, never to be seen again by him, or any other Mer.”
“Daddy will know something happened to me,” my mother chimes in as movement at the mouth of the cave distracts me. “He will feel it, here.” She pats our joined hands against her chest.
“Even if that is so, there are many things on land that can kill a human. Accidents happen. Sickness can destroy their frail bodies. It shall never be linked to me. But that is neither here nor there,” she says, waving a hand. “I cannot return to my life, even if I were to let you live. King Merric saw me with the sea witch. He knows I was colluding with her, and that knowledge has sealed my fate. I shall return to Delmare under the cover of darkness, whispering truths into the ears of its citizens, poisoning them against the king and leading an uprising. It will be a grand revolution, and I shall be the hero, the one the people choose to lead them in the aftermath.”
“You really are psycho,” I say, shocked that she thinks her plans will actually work. “The people will not turn on my grandfather so easily.”
Three shadows emerge from the darkness behind Ora, but, just like I’d hoped, she doesn’t notice. My dismissal of her grand scheme has her shooting daggers at me from her eyes. Her sole focus is me. She should have sensed the others long before they made it into this cave. I almost smile with the victory but restrain myself.
“They will hate him,” she says in a low voice, swimming closer, “when I tell them how he betrayed them. He helped criminals escape, ones whose crimes were of the worst offense, just because they are his family. What of the families of others who had been punished? How do you think they will react to this news?”
She raises an arm, her hand balled into a tight fist. I squeeze my eyes and flinch, hoping the blow won’t cause any serious damage. Ora is really strong. This is going to hurt.
“That is not going to happen,” were the sweetest words I’ve heard all day.
I open my eyes and see Adrian, his large hand wrapped around Ora’s wrist. He gives it a tug, attempting to yank her away from me, but she counters with her free hand, delivering a punch to his gut. He loses his grip on her as he doubles over in pain.
Dad darts forward, his arms wide, but with a flash of gold her tail whips up and connects with his chin. I scream as his eyes roll back in his head and he floats toward the floor of the cavern. She knocked him out, cold.
My free hand rips at the vines that bind me to my mother, desperate for release so I can protect those I love. I f
eel a couple of my fingernails rip, but I ignore the pain. I feel a slight give, and I take my eyes off the crumpled form of my father to look at my handiwork. I grab the loose vine and pull as hard as I can. It snaps, and suddenly, I’m free.
“Kai,” my mom hisses, a warning to stay out of it.
It’s too late for that. Adrian is back in the action, he and Ora circling each other, looking for a weakness. Dad is still on the floor, but he’s moving, thank God. He must be coming around. I look around for Bryce and spot him in the shadows.
Stay put, he projects to me. I’ll wait until Adrian attacks, then jump in to help him when she least expects it.
No way. I’m not sitting on the sidelines while everyone else takes the risks. I’m coming to you.
I wait until Ora’s back is to me, then dart straight up to the ceiling of the cave. With all her attention focused on Adrian, she’ll be less likely to notice me up here than if I try to swim along the walls. I glide to the other side then let myself float down to Bryce’s side, never once taking my eyes off of Ora. She didn’t even notice.
We link hands and Bryce’s grip is tight. Almost too tight, and the tingling sensation we always get when we touch is intense. I don’t mind. He can hold me as tightly as he wants, for as long as he wants, once we’re free from here.
But right now, we need to act. Bryce, we have to try the synergetic thing.
I told you, I don’t think it will work since she’s not a witch.
I know, but we have to try. She hurt my dad and I don’t know if Adrian can handle her on his own. She’s crazy.
Bryce looks at me for a moment, like he’s trying to memorize my face, then nods. We are going to try, but if it doesn’t work, all we’ll be doing is drawing her attention to us. Of course, that might not be so bad, either. If she focuses on us, it will give Adrian a chance to breach her defenses.