Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  “You won’t get far.” Azor’s laughter burned in my ears as I turned to escape with my parents. “Maybe I’ll ask the King to pardon you when they drag your sorry ass back, since you’re my extended family now.”

  I clenched my fists as Dad yelled for me to hurry again. It took all my self-control to let Azor have the last word and to leave Tatch behind. Next time he wouldn’t be so lucky.

  I swam to the doorway through the bloodied water. Now I could see why Dad insisted we leave. The soldiers blocked the door and he had to fight to keep the royal guards at bay long enough for me to escape.

  Mom squeezed my neck as the three of us swam from the palace with a group of rebel mers behind us. Dad headed directly towards the Tahoe gate. I remained quiet, stunned he’d leave my sister so easily until her piercing scream came from behind us. I turned. Two rebel mers had her within their grasp, writhing and thrashing her tail, as she demanded they let her go.

  “Tatiana,” Dad said as they approached. “This is ridiculous. You’re coming with us, so settle down.”

  “No! I want to stay!”

  One of her handlers attempted to pass her off when she sunk her teeth into his flesh, ripping out a huge hunk. The rebel mer yelped, releasing her. Free, she bolted away from us.

  “Sorry, Dad. I can’t go with you,” she called out.

  Dad’s shoulders sunk as he watched her swim out of sight. He turned and pulled a grouping of kelp fronds out of the sand, yelling something inaudible.

  “I’m sorry, Captain,” the rebel mer said as he applied pressure to his wound with his other hand. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let her escape.”

  “No, Jacob,” Dad turned, his composure collected, “it’s my fault. Please, go see Sandy. She’ll tend to your wounds.”

  Jacob bowed before he swam away.

  “The rest of you can go as well,” Dad said to the rebel mers scattered among us.

  One by one, they shed their black garb and wiped away their make-up, each giving Dad a quick bow, calling him Captain. I recognized them all—volunteers in Azor’s army. They quickly swam away and blended back into society as if nothing happened.

  I looked at Dad, stunned.

  Mom put her hand on his arm. “Jack. We should go while there’s still time. Once we’ve regrouped, we’ll return for Tatiana. She’ll be okay for the time being. Besides, you’re injured too.”

  He looked down at the huge gash across his torso. “It’s just a flesh wound. But we need the antidote first.”

  “No, Dad,” I argued as rage flooded my body. “We can’t leave her here. I know how to fight. Badger taught me. We need to get her back. Summon your men.”

  Dad’s eyes met mine and glazed over. “I can’t sacrifice any more lives. We have to put together a plan.”

  Mom kneaded her hands as she and Dad watched the palace off in the horizon, too far to see any activity. Dad put his arm over her shoulder. “He’ll be here soon.”

  She sighed.

  “Dad,” I begged again. “We can’t leave Tatch!”

  Dad looked at me with pain in his eyes, but something over my shoulder made his face relax. “There he is.”

  I turned to see a rebel mer swimming in our direction.

  “Aye, Captain,” the rebel said and he embraced Dad. “There be no one followin’ and I brought ya the ‘lixer. Fin will be needin’ it after ya cross the gate. Give it to him right away, or he’ll have one nasty headache after he wakes up.”

  “Badger?” I asked.

  He smiled at me under the black make-up. “You best be leavin’. I need to be gettin’ back to the palace and figure who needs wounds attended. The girls have already doused the place with octopus ink, so they can pull out the victims. Don’t want anyone dyin’ on us or gettin’ captured.” He bowed his head.

  “Please keep an eye on Tatiana.” Dad put both hands on Badge’s shoulders.

  “Aye, Captain,” Badge said somberly. “I’ll guard her with me life.”

  Dad let out a huge exhale. “Thank you. Until we meet again old friend.” They embraced.

  “Stop it before I start blubberin’,” Badge said with a chuckle and swam back toward the palace.

  I looked to Mom who cried quietly as Dad rubbed her shoulder. He motioned for me to swim into the tunnel first. I wavered, still afraid the poison would kill me even with an antidote.

  “It’ll be okay, Fin. Once we get to the house I’ll get the bracelet off you. Don’t worry.” He clapped my shoulder and I calmed under his loving grasp. “Let’s go before the royal army gets here and tries to stop us.”

  Mom decided to swim through first, concern seeping through her demeanor of strength. Dad motioned for me to go next. I swam warily behind her and then felt the barbs under the gold sink into my skin. Within seconds, the world went dark.

  48 - ASH

  I sat on the deck off the back of the house with an afghan pulled tight over my shoulders; a foreboding sensation seeped into my bones. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t let go. The water whispered to me and I watched like I’d been compelled to do ever since the incident.

  A loud boom rumbled the ground, forcing me to grip the arms of the chair. Then a large geyser of water shot into the air from the middle of the lake. I stood up in horror as the spray fell back downward. A wall of water began to build and came careening in slow motion towards the beach and the dock. And as if something jerked on The Sea Star’s tether, the boat stood on end and submerged when the water rose up and covered the poor vessel. My hand muted my scream as the waves crashed up the hillside, almost hitting me where I stood.

  “Fin?” I called out, my throat thick with uncertainty as my mother’s potted plants rolled down the hill with the receding water.

  Without thinking, I hobbled down the slick, muddied path to the dock and scanned the lake for any signs of life. The boat came back into view and righted itself as she knocked against the dock, drenched but whole. Fear gripped me. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I couldn’t just sit and do nothing. I got into the boat.

  My muscles began to burn as I feverishly paddled the boat through the debris. I hoped to be the first to the spot and rescue survivors, for Fin and Tatchi. Helicopters appeared from nowhere and flew over the site I tried desperately to reach. I slowed as jet boats emerged on the water. Too many people. Would they find their bodies floating on the water? Would the world go crazy at the discovery of mermaids in Lake Tahoe?

  Tears slid down my cheeks as I stopped and peered into the deep water, blue like Fin’s eyes. Did they survive the blast? We’d learned in class the results of explosions underwater—effects far worse than above ground. I brought my hands to my mouth as more fish popped up on the surface, all dead.

  “No,” I cried as the possibility Fin and Tatchi could be dead as well haunted my thoughts.

  I couldn’t catch my breath, my heart racing too fast. I kept searching the water, hoping and praying they’d surface alive. If something did happen, how could I continue on? I grabbed the side of the boat, my body crawling for a way to help. There was nothing I could do but watch, wait. If Fin died, he’d never know how I truly felt about him; our last interaction was nothing but harsh words and rejection.

  “No,” I cried louder.

  I reached my hand in the water, hoping they would see it and come to me. The bitter cold shocked my senses, awakening the painful memory of being fully immersed. I put my cold wet knuckles to my lips and rocked back and forth. The skin tingled like it had after I woke up in the hospital, after I remembered his lips on mine. How did this all happen? Why did I turn him away?

  Shakily, I stood up in the boat, my eyes searching the water for the one I realized I loved. The one I had to spend forever with. The one who might not return.

  My chest ached. I closed my eyes and turned my face towards the sun, praying for a miracle. My body swayed with the boat on the waves. Then insanity’s black tentacles tangled its iciness in my thoughts. Fin had saved me before. Maybe if I
fell in again, he’d come back to me. Then I could join them. I could go to the world that called to me in my dreams. With Fin. In the everblue.

  I moved my foot and set it on the ledge, tempting fate.

  49 - FIN

  “Fin? Fin?” my mother pleaded. Her voice echoed around in my head.

  “I’m here,” I tried to say, my tongue heavy in my mouth. The world, still black around me, was filled with oxygen. Where was I? Heaven?

  I wriggled my toes; a warm blanket covered my human body. I pried open my eyes to see Mom and Dad hovering over me, staring. I know this place. The living room in our house in Tahoe. Mom had a mug in her hand and a tangy sweetness laced my throat.

  I swallowed again. “I’m okay, I think.”

  Dad’s shoulders relaxed as he squeezed my hand. “Welcome back, Son.”

  “The things the two of you put me through,” Mom said with a sigh. “Are you feeling okay, Fin?”

  I rubbed my temples, the pain zinging through my head like a fire poker. On the table next to me, the poisonous bracelet the King had slapped on my arm to keep me in Natatoria sat in two pieces next to a pair of bolt cutters.

  “Here.” Mom handed me two tablets of Ibuprofen and a glass of water. “Take these.”

  A circle of red dots surrounded my wrist. “What happened? What day is it?”

  “It’s only been an hour,” Dad said. “I was hoping the bracelet was a decoy, but you fainted when we swam through the gate.” Dad grimaced. “Once we got home, I couldn’t find my tools. But after I threatened Alaster—”

  Mom clenched her jaw. “Once Dad took off the bracelet, and I fed you the elixir Badger gave us, you came to.”

  “Where’s Alaster now? Aren’t they going to find us here?”

  “Not for a while, I imagine. I escorted my good-for-nothing brother and nephew back to Natatoria and sealed the gate for good.”

  “You what?” I sat up, my body stiff.

  “I activated the detonation device on the gate, just in case. Sealed her right up. No one’s going to be coming or going from Natatoria through Lake Tahoe any longer.”

  Outside, helicopters hummed overhead. I swallowed hard again, my throat still dry. “And everyone saw the explosion?”

  “Yeah,” he said with a shrug. “Had to do it while I still had the chance.”

  My heart thumped hard. This would create a bigger hysteria than the waves I’d caused. Anyone within the vicinity would have seen or felt the explosion.

  “I have to go find Ash.” I threw off the blanket and stood up.

  “No,” Mom barked. “Sit down. You need to let the sedation wear off.”

  “I need to find her now!” I could only imagine what she’d think, especially if she saw the explosion firsthand. I took another deep breath to clear my swirling head, ignoring Mom’s continued demands that I take it slow.

  I cursed once I saw the mess on my bedroom floor—the board pried away from the hidey-hole, all my clothes and things scattered about. A lowly pair of folded jeans caught my eye. I slid them on with a black shirt that looked halfway decent, along with shoes and socks.

  I was out the door and running towards Ashlyn’s house within minutes.

  What am I going to say? How is she going to react? Would she turn me away?

  I didn’t care. I had to talk to her, make her understand. We had to be together. I couldn’t live another day without confessing my feelings to her.

  I banged on her front door for several minutes without an answer. More helicopters flew overhead and the noise made me slightly fanatical. I held my ears and turned in a circle. Where was Ash? Footprints in the wet mud led to the dock. Off in the distance, a bevy of boats swarmed the water.

  I spotted someone in a little boat a mile or so out. One I’d recognize anywhere. The Sea Star. The girl inside was standing, arms out.

  “ASHLYN!” I screamed and ran for the dock, shedding clothing the entire way.

  Unable to phase into a fin without ripping my jeans, I kicked with all my might. I had to stop her from doing something rash. Though I could save her again, I’d be naked once I got her on shore with nothing to put on—definitely a risk of exposure. Why didn’t I put on my pack just in case?

  I pointed my hands and butterfly kicked, speeding my progress slightly. She came clearer into view, still apparently deciding if she should jump or not. Her foot rested dangerously on the side, the boat close to tipping over.

  “STOP!”

  Ash startled and retracted her foot from the ledge, losing her balance and falling onto the seat with a thud. “Finley?”

  I came to the side and treaded water next to the boat. “What are you doing?”

  “You’re alive?” She stared back as if she didn’t actually believe she saw me for real.

  “Of course I am. Why are you out here?”

  She continued to stare in shock, her beautiful green eyes adding to my longing to kiss her.

  “But the explosion?” She looked off into the horizon.

  I grabbed the edge and tried to swim the vessel back towards her house. “Exactly why you need to be off the water. Everything is going to be okay now. I’m here.”

  “I’m confused. Shouldn’t you be a—?” She pointed at my legs underwater and her cheeks flushed.

  I hesitated telling her the truth, unsure how she’d react. I’d answer all her questions on shore. “It’s a long story. Let’s get you home.”

  Frustrated I couldn’t swim as fast as I wanted, I climbed into the boat and took the oars.

  50 - ASH

  I stared at Fin as he rowed the boat, the water dripping off his abs. All I wanted to do was touch him. Could he actually be here? Or was I having another splendid dream? I didn’t trust my senses at this point after all that had happened. My heart pounded as my eyes caressed every inch of his body.

  Tears spilt over my eyelids and down my cheeks. With each passing moment, I wavered between shock and disbelief. But there he was, in the flesh and blood. Fin. He was alive and here again—finally. And nothing coherent would come to mind to say. I hesitantly reached forward and touched his knee; the water on his jeans was hot under my fingertips. The sensation sent a chill down my spine.

  He stopped. His blue eyes, burning with want, met mine.

  “I can’t wait anymore.” He put the oars down and clasped my hands with his, taking away my breath. “Ash, I’ve done nothing but fight to get back to you since your accident” —I gulped— “and I can’t live without you. We’re bonded in a way I never knew existed. Something so wonderful yet so horrible when we’re apart. You have to know I’ve been going crazy with worry for what you’d think after you saw what happened at the beach. I never wanted you to find out about us that way. Please know, I hated that I couldn’t tell you the truth.”

  I wanted to say I understood, I didn’t care. That I loved him. That I was relieved he was okay. Overjoyed he was finally here with me. But nothing would come out of my mouth.

  “Ash—”

  His eyes sparked as if he knew what I was thinking. Then he reached up, palmed my cheeks with his summery hands, and brought his mouth crashing into mine, soft and warm. Fireworks exploded between us as our lips hungrily devoured one another’s. My hands wove into the back of his hair, my fingers wrapping into the soft, delicious strands. He crushed me into his body and I melted under his touch. All the grief vanished as his breath swirled into my being and healed my wounded soul. Though nothing made sense, everything finally felt right.

  I couldn’t be sure how long we stayed there, in the boat, bobbing on the water, our arms circling one another. I didn’t care. We were together and nothing would break us apart now.

  51 - FIN

  We finally disconnected ourselves enough to get the boat closer to shore. Though her face beamed now, I grieved at how much she’d hurt in my absence. Was she wearing the same swim team jacket from the time before?

  “I wish I would have taken a shower today,” she finally said, smoothing
down her red fly-away curls.

  “Ash, you’ve never looked more beautiful to me.”

  She blushed and pulled her jacket down over her hips. I docked the boat and reached for her hand, pulling her into my arms. She melted into me and I never wanted to let her go.

  “I’m so glad you’re safe,” she whispered.

  I planted feather-like kisses up her jaw line and she giggled. “Being apart killed me.”

  She moaned lightly in my ear and swayed. “Then don’t ever leave me again,” she said.

  I inhaled deeply and hugged her tighter. “I promise.”

  She giggled again. “Can I please go shower? I look horrible and I’m pretty sure I reek.”

  “No,” I said, wanting nothing more than to hold her all day.

  She pulled back and gave me a crooked smile. “Please?”

  “Fine, if you insist.” I took her outstretched hand and kissed it.

  She stood with a slight tilt, favoring her right foot. Then I remembered she was still injured.

  “Wait.” I had her sit on the bench on the dock. “This is going to be weird but I have something to help your leg. We need to take off your bandage.”

  “You do?” She pinched her eyebrows together, but folded up her pajama bottoms to reveal a large ace bandage that covered her thigh.

  “Trust me.”

  Together, with our hands touching, we loosened the wrap. I winced once I saw the horrific bruise and jagged red line held closed with Steri-Strips.

  She frowned. “Looks ugly, doesn’t it.”

  “Not for long,” I said with a wink and left her to return to the boat.

  Earlier while rowing, I’d noticed the jagged metal piece she’d probably torn her leg upon when she fell into the water. With a quick flick of my arm, I made a matching gash.

  “What are you doing?” she shrieked at the sight of my blood spilling onto the dock.

  “Just trust me.”

  Horror crossed her face as I came back to her and held my arm over her cut. The blood seeped into her wound, absorbing like a sponge. I’d never witnessed a mer’s blood heal human injuries before, so I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right. Miraculously, the skin around the injury began to glow and change from a nasty red to a tender pinkthe color of new skin. The trickle of blood slowly stopped as my own gash healed before our eyes, turning into a matching scar.