Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  “Hey, baby,” I said, intending to be cheesy. “Where have you been all my life?”

  “Right here. Waiting for you.”

  58 - ASH

  Just hearing his voice made me whole again. In the time waiting, I’d chewed my nails to the nub, worn a new groove in my carpet, eaten half a box of chocolate chip cookies, and yelled at my sister for messing up the bathroom.

  “I’ve got good news,” he said.

  “Tatchi’s home?”

  “Well, no. Not that good. I’ve talked to my parents and the Florida thing works in perfectly with their plans. There’s a safe house for runaway mers, so we’ll be together while you go to college.”

  “Great,” I said and pulled in a deep breath.

  A safe house sounded more reassuring than him living alone in the Atlantic. But I still didn’t know how to tell my parents we were getting serious, so serious I’d want to marry him if he asked. Being only seventeen and jobless without a place to live wouldn’t stack in our favor. And Fin seemed apprehensive about me becoming a mermaid. Would I have to wait long? The thought of swimming around with a real live tail exhilarated me. Would college end up being the cover-up? Would my family notice I’d changed? Heck, if we lived in the Atlantic together, why would we need jobs anyway?

  “Ashlynnnn,” he cooed, “what are you thinking about?”

  “Life.”

  “Sounds serious,” he said with a little laugh.

  “Since our first kiss, I can’t think of anything else.”

  “That wasn’t entirely my fault. You were the one taking a pleasure cruise in freezing waters.”

  “I’d heard that there was a hot merman stalking the waters around Fannette Island. I had to look for myself,” I giggled.

  “Hot, huh?” he asked with a smile in his voice.

  “And sexy.”

  “I’ve been told that.”

  “By whom?” I asked with pretend outrage.

  “By all the mermaids.”

  “Oooh, if you were here I’d—”

  “What?”

  “I’d pin you down and kiss you so you’d never think of anyone else but me.”

  “Can I come over now?”

  We both laughed.

  “I wish,” I said

  He continued to flirt with me and plan our future. In the back of my mind, I started to envision the wedding as well. I couldn’t imagine anyone except Tatchi being my maid of honor, but worried if I waited any longer, and let him go to Natatoria without me, they wouldn’t come back and I wouldn’t have the power to find him. My dreams and worst nightmares swirled together in a multicolored cloud of uncertainty.

  “Geez,” Fin said in exasperation. “Who keeps trying to break in on our call?”

  “What?”

  “Call waiting. Hold on. I need to tell this fool where to stick it.”

  “Okay.”

  I heard the click and waited, imagining him chewing out the poor telemarketer who was trying to make their sales for the night. Out of my window I saw the bathroom light in his house filter through the trees and smiled. We were so close, yet so far away. After two minutes passed, I wondered if my phone still worked properly. I clicked a button so the screen would light up and the seconds counted away. After three, my heart began to speed up. What was taking so long? After ten minutes, I was about to put on my clothes and walk to his house myself.

  “Sorry, Ash,” Fin said, finally clicking over. “It was an important call for my dad. Something’s come up.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah,” he said, but I didn’t believe him. His edgy voice told me something very bad happened.

  “Is it—?”

  “I’m really sorry. I can’t talk anymore tonight. I’ll come over first thing in the morning. I love you.”

  I slid off my bed onto the floor, gripping the phone. He couldn’t hang up without telling me who called. “I love you, too.”

  “Don’t worry. It’ll be okay. Goodnight.”

  He hung up before I could tell him goodnight back.

  Okay? How could it be okay if he’s worried?

  My chest ached as I put down my cell phone and turned to watch his house. The bathroom light wasn’t on anymore—the entire house dark. Who called? What news did they bring? The fear I’d felt the entire time Fin was missing came back and scratched its nails down the chalkboard of my soul. I wanted to run over and bang on the door. Why didn’t he tell me? Why did he make me wait?

  I began to pace again and ate the rest of the cookies. In times of stress, a swim always did the trick to calm my nerves. I just wanted the phone to ring. I willed him to call me back.

  An hour passed, then two. The rest of my family had gone to sleep and only the wind whistling through the pine trees kept me company. I couldn’t stop my mind from racing. I had to know what was going on.

  Against my better judgment, I picked up the phone and called. Once the answering machine picked up, I hung up. He must have been in the pool in the basement with his parents.

  I tried to sleep, but only tossed and turned. Nothing would ease my mind. In desperation, I grabbed my pillow, a sleeping bag, and four blankets from the hall closet and snuck outside to the dock.

  I curled up in a ball on the cold wooden slats and draped my arm over the edge, just barely touching the water. I hoped to send Fin a little SOS with my finger tips. The brittle cold distracted me from the whirlwind of chaos haunting my mind. I hoped in some crazy way he’d know I needed him and swim to find me.

  “Fin,” I called out over the water. “Please …”

  59 - FIN

  “What does Badge mean ‘they’re coming’?” I yelled in the basement.

  “Badger called from Scotland and apparently Alaster helped Azor and his buddy’s get vehicles in Sacramento. They’re hiding in the river tonight and going to drive here at dawn. We’ve only got about two hours to get away from the lake before they arrive.”

  “No,” I roared. “I’m not leaving without Ash. It’s not fair to her or me. I’ll hide and stay in Fallen Leaf Lake instead. Leave the Jeep and I’ll catch up with you in Florida in a few months.”

  “Impossible, Fin,” Dad countered. “I know how much you love Ash, but they aren’t leaving Tahoe once they get here. They’re going to try to reopen the gate.”

  “What?” I plunged myself backwards into the water and let the air escape from my lips as I sunk to the bottom. Then I yelled and pounded my fists on the pool bottom, wishing it was Azor’s face.

  “Fin,” Dad said underwater. “It’s only for a few months. Maybe Ash can come to Florida early for the summer. For a trip?”

  “But how are we going to travel across the country? We’re fish.”

  “I got an RV today. We’ll use the GPS and find rivers and lakes along the way. We’ll make due until we reach Florida.”

  I closed my eyes and didn’t move off the pool floor. “I can’t, Dad. I can’t leave her.”

  “This time we don’t have a choice. There’s too much of a risk of them spotting you if you stick around.”

  My heart felt like it was going through a meat grinder. Ash would never understand. This was going to break her. “Then make me human. Anything to stay.”

  “Fin,” Mom said, sitting on the pool floor next to me. She took my hand. “Have you considered where you’ll live? Once you become human, you’ll be subjected to the elements, to the cold. You need to stay a mer, at least for now—Tatiana still needs your help to free her. And the promise will be broken. Ash’s feelings could change.”

  I rolled over and hid my face. As selfish as it was, I didn’t want my promising feelings for Ash to go away, for either of us.

  “You have to be strong, for her,” Mom said.

  I didn’t want to be strong. I wanted to break things. “I have to tell her good-bye in the morning?”

  “We’ll be leaving as soon as we can.” Mom’s shoulders slunk down. “I’m so sorry.”

  I darted ov
er to a corner in the pool and sulked the rest of the night. I wanted to call Ash and listen to her sweet voice. If only Ash could tell me this was a joke, but I wouldn’t be able to withhold my disappointment. This was something I had to tell her in person.

  I tried to visualize a ray of sunlight so I’d phase into legs. I’d do anything to have one last night together, to curl up in each other’s arms and hope the morning never came. How could we survive this? Being apart for a few hours was hard enough, but months?

  I groaned and put my face in my hands, the impending doom rocketing through my body. The night ticked by slowly but eventually the sun rose and rays peeked through the basement windows.

  Without a word, I left the pool and ran to my girl.

  60 - ASH

  “What are you doing out here?”

  My eyes opened to the morning sunlight dancing around Fin’s silhouette.

  “Waiting for you?” I choked out, my throat sore from the chilly evening.

  “What am I going to do with you? You can’t be doing insane things like this. You’re going to drive me mad.”

  I rubbed my eyes and sat upright, anger suddenly burning in my veins. “Drive you mad? If my being outside, hoping you’d come here last night to calm my frazzled mind is going to drive you mad, then maybe you shouldn’t leave me hanging like you did.”

  Fin exhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring. “Please, promise me you won’t do anything like this again.”

  My tense shoulders dropped as I curled my lips down into a frown. “Promise me you won’t let urgent calls interrupt us and then hang up abruptly. You have to be honest with me. That’s what relationships are all about.”

  He squatted down, piercing his baby blues into my balloon of frustration, deflating it instantly. “I’m sorry. We got some bad news.”

  “I figured.” He opened his arms and I collapsed into his chest. “What happened?”

  He waited forever, rocking me gently, sniffing my hair and kissing the top of my head. I hummed and relaxed, but didn’t like the way he ignored my question. Fear prickled down my spine.

  “We—we aren’t safe any longer,” he barely said, almost as if our reality would break if he talked louder.

  “Who isn’t safe?”

  I felt him tremor as his eyes grew glassy, grief swirling within the dark pools of blue. Why did I ask the question when I knew the answer? The mermen from his world were coming for them, pure and simple. The denial this day wouldn’t happen blew up in our faces. But why now? Why so soon? His dad was so confident everything would be fine. I willed him to tell me something else. Anything else.

  “My family isn’t safe. Mermen from Natatoria are coming today to reclaim the house and reopen the gate. We have to leave.”

  The air whooshed from my mouth and I grabbed his arm. “NO!”

  He pulled me into a tight embrace and hugged me hard, like I was going to vanish before his eyes. I felt him convulse—just once—as my own tears fell down my cheeks. I couldn’t handle this. I had to go with him.

  He took my hands into his and pulled me to my feet, taking one moment to wipe his cheek with the back of his hand. “Listen to me. We’re going to Florida and I’m going to contact you every day. I’m not going to let distance drive us crazy. We’ll be together, just get to Florida as soon as you possibly can.”

  I started breathing faster and faster, my head dizzy, my body shaking. My voice pitched, hoping he’d listen to reason. “But I don’t want to be alone. I can’t be alone. I—I’ll never survive. I’ll go mad without you. Please … can’t you stay?”

  He paused with a pained expression. Then he shook his head. “We have to survive. We can do it. It’s only for a few short months,” he said somberly.

  I pressed my eyes closed and felt myself sinking down. He had no idea the pain I felt without him, the torture. I practically went mad.

  He took my shoulders, stopping my descent. “Ash, open your eyes.”

  I sucked in a quick gust and felt myself unravel inside. “No. If I do, you’ll leave.”

  “Ash, open your eyes. Please.”

  His voice stirred something deep within my soul. Desperation? Hope? I couldn’t be sure. Unable to fight him, I opened them slowly.

  He removed something small from his pocket. At first I couldn’t tell what it was until the stone reflected shards of crimson light as he held a ring towards me.

  I stared at the ring, then into his inquiring eyes. My pulse hammered as he lowered himself to one knee.

  “Ashlyn, will you marry me?” Excitement and fear danced across his glorious face.

  My mouth went dry. Was this really happening? The worst and best moment of my life?

  I peered down at him, then at the ring again. Married? Goosebumps covered my skin. I’d be Mrs. Helton. Visions of a minister asking us to repeat vows and our family and friends in the audience filtered in my mind. I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else—ever.

  “Yes,” I choked out. “Of course. Yes!”

  He slid the ring onto my finger and it fit perfectly. I studied my shaking hand through blurred vision.

  “A red stone for my ginger girl.”

  I glanced back up. Tears trailed down his cheek. He scooped me into another tight embrace and I squeezed back with all my might. If I held on, he couldn’t leave, he wouldn’t go.

  “We’ll be together soon,” he whispered in my ear. “Please be strong for me.”

  I fought back the sob stuck in my throat. “It’s going to kill me.”

  He took my cheeks within his hands. “Me, too, but it’ll be worth it. I promise. I’ll call you every day.”

  “You’d better,” I said and his lips came crashing into mine.

  We devoured each other, our gasps for air few and far between. Our hands hungrily explored each other, tugging and pulling to fill the ache of the inevitable. If we stopped, then our bliss would be over and the longest wait of our lives would start. His hands grasped at my cheeks, at my neck, sliding across the tears staining my skin. Though I didn’t want to stop, our kiss wasn’t going to prevent the mermen from coming. I had to make a decision. Either I’d let this consume me and cause madness, or I’d decide to endure. I already knew what the madness felt like. This time, I needed to be stronger. And he was worth every second I had to wait.

  We pulled back, both of us holding each other’s cheeks. We studied each other’s eyes, both red, swirling with anxiety.

  “I love you,” he said again.

  “I love you, too,” I said.

  And inside, I let go.

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  From Gods

  by

  Mary Ting

  PROLOGUE

  I remember it clearly, as if it happened yesterday, the day my dad left and never came home. I was only eight years old, but when you feel like your whole world has been taken from you; you never forget.

  “Mommy, where’s Daddy? Why isn’t he home?” I asked as we cuddled in bed.

  “Skylar, I’m going to tell you something, and I want you to be a brave, big girl,” she said nervously, lacing her fingers through my hair.

  “Did something happen to Daddy?” I asked, feeling my heart pound faster.

  “Daddy can’t come home. He had to go away.”

  I knew what Mom meant, but I needed to be sure. Needing to go away meant he would come back home, eventually. “What do you mean? Will he be home for Christmas?”

  “Sky—” Mom started to say, but she was unable to finish as I started to throw a tantrum. I didn’t mean to, but something in the pit of my stomach suddenly alerted me that something was terribly wrong.

  “Don’t call me Sky.” I jumped out of bed. I knew at that moment that my fears were true.

  “Only Daddy calls me Sky.” I looked out the window and recalled how he had told me that I was beautiful, like the sky. It was the reason why they named me Skylar. He had given me that name.

 
; I started to calm down after seeing the beauty of the night, taking in a deep breath. “Is he … dead?” My fists were tight as I prepared for the news.

  “No, honey. Daddy isn’t dead. It’s just that he’s never coming back. I don’t have a reason to give you.”

  Never coming back. Though I understood those words clearly, I refused to believe it. “No. He has to come back. I need Daddy. He’s supposed to tuck me into bed and read me bedtime stories.” I hugged my arms tightly to my chest, trying not to break apart. I thought my body was going to shut down to stop the emotions that I couldn’t handle.

  “Sky,” my mom called softly, standing in front of me.

  “No. Don’t call me Sky. It reminds me of Daddy.” Tears welled up in my eyes. “Why can’t he come home? I don’t understand. Doesn’t he love us anymore?” As my lips trembled, tears poured down my face. Mom’s words had shattered my heart into a thousand pieces. It was the first time I ever felt like that. I sobbed as if my dad had actually died.

  “Of course he loves you,” Mom reassured me, stroking my hair. I could see tears glistening in her eyes.

  “He doesn’t,” I sobbed. “Daddy doesn’t love me anymore.” The sobbing became uncontrollable and I gasped for air. My throat felt dry and my eyes hurt, but I didn’t care.

  Mom embraced me, trying to give me comfort, but nothing could have eased the pain at that point. I wanted my dad to be home. I wanted the security and the daily routine. I wanted everything to be how it was. From that day, no one called me “Sky” and eventually, it felt as if my dad was dead to me.

  ONE

  Skylar’s eyes quickly swept the lanes, looking for a police car. Driving down the highway at night, at seventy-five miles per hour, made it difficult to spot one, but she didn’t want to get caught texting. When the coast was clear, she reached her hand into her purse to pull out her cell phone, becoming frustrated when she couldn’t find it. She frantically felt around every inch of her purse. Why can’t I find my phone? Oh my God! I hope I didn’t forget it. After grabbing every object her fingers touched, she finally pulled out the phone. With a sigh of relief, her muscles relaxed.