“I think you’re doing fine. I can tell by the tone of your voice you have nothing to worry about. Romana and I are were the same when we first met. It was all fights and sexual tension that crackled like lightening. Before we knew it we were mating all over the place. Hedonistic times.”
“That’s my mother you’re talking about.”
“Your mother is a sexual being.”
“I’m not listening.”
“I know I’m not your father. I don’t want to be. He was scum. No offence.”
“My father was more than scum. He left us to take over another Earth on his own.”
“But I consider you my son. I only ask you this - tell her you love her before anything happens. This world we live in is heading towards something dangerous.”
“You think I love her?”
“Just find Galina and protect Tameka. I’m sure you’ll see the truth in no time at all.”
Red hung up. He’d been this close to a night of wonder with Tameka. Why did he pass it up? What was wrong with him? She was clearly wanting a physical relationship, even if for just one night. It wasn’t what he wanted, though. Dragons mated forever, and that’s what he craved with Tameka. He wanted to be with her forever.
He turned off the lamp by his bedside and tried to sleep. He only thought about Tameka.
Tameka woke from her dream, finding herself in unfamiliar surroundings. It took her a good few seconds to remember she was sleeping on her couch and her bed was currently occupied by a family of trolls.
She sat up, feeling herself drenched in sweat. Her nightmare had been all about Galina and her lethal tentacle hands. Yet that wasn’t what scared her. The fact that Red had been astonished that she could hurt Galina scared her.
“How can I hurt a kraken?” she mused.
18
Tameka closed the door on the chaos of her apartment. She loved Vincent and his family dearly but they were a mess. They didn’t clear up after themselves. They ate everything. They even went to the toilet in her bathtub. It was like living with teenage boys.
I have to cut them some slack. They’ve been through a lot.
It had been less than a day and already Tameka wished she lived alone.
“What was all that racket this morning?” Yenay asked, walking up to her. She handed Tameka her mail, which consisted of more bills and, finally a postcard from her sister. “It sounded like the gates of hell were opening up in your kitchen.”
“I have a family of trolls living with me at the moment.”
“Oh you poor thing.”
She briefly told her friend the details of how she’d ended up with a troll family as room mates. Yenay just nodded, taking in all the talk of enslaved humans, magical fights, and kraken at face value. Did nothing faze the woman?
I wished I were like that.
“So what will you do?” Yenay asked.
Tameka shrugged. “They can’t go home, and they can’t stay here.”
“There’s an apartment free downstairs,” said Yenay. “They could move in there.”
“You know as well as I do how picky the landlord can be about new tenants.”
“I can square it. Trust me.”
Tameka thanked her friend and left her to sort it out. She had other things on her mind now. It was time to visit her mermaid sister for the truth.
Tameka smiled as Asha climbed over the edge of the pier. It was so good to see her. It felt like a lifetime since they’d last talked.
“You came,” said Asha.
“I need to know the truth,” Tameka stated. “I need to know everything.”
Asha walked up to her, her human legs seemingly firm on dry land. What was it like, switching from tail to feet on a whim? It must be odd.
The mermaid produced the magic pebble. “Here it is.”
Asha pressed the pebble against Tameka’s head. The world went white.
“What if the ship sinks and we all drown?” Asha asked.
Her mother sighed. “It won’t sink. I’ll make sure.”
“Mom, can you do that?” Tameka asked. “Can you stop a ship from sinking?”
Asha turned away from the balcony and shivered. Tameka laughed, thinking her sister a coward and an idiot. Cruise ships never sank. They were safe. How stupid could she be?
Not like me. I’m going to enjoy this cruise and not moan and suck up to mom and dad.
Tameka liked their suite. It was big, with two separate rooms. There was even a piano. She wasn’t sure why they needed a piano. None of them knew how to play an instrument, though Asha had once had violin lessons for a year. It had cost Mom and Dad a fortune. Her sister didn’t learn a thing.
Why is she spoiled? What’s so special about her?
“What are we having for dinner?” Dad announced.
Tameka knew they were spoiled for choice. There were so many places to choose from on board. They also had an added advantage. As winners of a huge national giveaway they were being given special treatment, which meant they could eat at all the exclusive restaurants at no extra price. She fancied some Maine lobster. Lobster was posh, right?
“Can we try lobster?” Tameka asked, beaming. She couldn’t wait to tell her friends back home she’d had lobster on a cruise ship. They’d be so jealous.
Mom pulled a face. “You know Asha hates seafood.”
“But we could go just the once!” Tameka declared. “I want to try lobster!”
Dad smiled. “We’ll try lobster tomorrow. Okay?”
Tameka turned away, sulking and not being quiet about it. It was best to let her parents know when she wasn’t getting her own way. They’d never learn that way.
“Fine,” said Tameka. “Fine.”
The restaurant they ended up at looked out over the sea. The weather in the Pacific was warm and calm. It felt good on Tameka’s face. She wasn’t going to let her parents know that, though. She still wanted lobster.
Asha paused, a burger halfway to her mouth. “Are you upset?”
“Of course not,” Tameka lied. “Burgers are nice.”
Her dad gave her a disappointed glare. “Stop sulking, Tameka. I said we’d go for lobster tomorrow and we will. Try and enjoy this vacation.”
Tameka was sick of this. They’d been on the cruise ship for less than a day and already Asha was being treated like a princess. For some reason she thought things would be different while they were on vacation. She deserved to be given attention too, right?
It’s always about Asha.
What’s so special about her? We look the same!
Tameka threw her burger on the floor. “I’m sick of burgers. We have burgers at home.”
“Stop being such a brat,” Mom scolded her. “And pick that up. We don’t litter.”
“You pick it up,” Tameka sulked.
Asha sighed and used a napkin to scoop up the offending food on the deck. She put it carefully back on Tameka’s plate.
“You’re such a good girl,” Tameka spat.
Asha looked away, upset. “I was just doing you a favor.”
After dinner Tameka decided to explore the ship. She hadn’t quite realized how huge it was. It was like a small city floating on water. She passed a casino, where the ringing of slot machines made her think of her gran, often seen heading to Vegas to gamble; she watched a 4D movie, hating it when she was splashed with perfume smelling water. She even tried abseiling up a high wall that she was sure would topple over at any minute. It was all fun, but it wasn’t the same without her sister.
My spoilt, annoying sister.
Sometimes Tameka wasn’t sure what to feel. On the one hand she loved her sister. They were twins. They shared so much. On the odd occasion it felt like they could read each other minds and predict each other’s emotions and feelings. But sometimes it felt as though their parents treated Asha differently.
It’s because Asha is cleverer than me, and prettier than me. She has more friends than me. She’s just better.
“I’ve
found you!” Asha declared.
Tameka was sitting on a deckchair by the kid’s pool, sipping a glass of orange juice. She just wanted to be on her own.
“What do you want?” Tameka snapped.
Asha sat down on the deckchair next to her and smiled. Her sunglasses reflected Tameka’s sour face back at her.
“I thought you were upset,” said Asha. “I don’t like seeing you upset.”
“As if you care,” said Tameka.
Asha looked devastated. “Why are you being like this? This is the first vacation we’ve ever had. You know Mom and Dad are excited.”
Tameka ignored her, concentrating on her drink, watching the children splash and play in the pool. An idea came to her.
“I dare you to jump in the pool with your clothes on,” said Tameka.
A horrified Asha said, “I can’t do that!”
Tameka smirked. “Why not? Is Mommy’s little angel afraid to do something so naughty?”
Asha stood up defiantly and stalked over to the edge of the pool. She stared into the chlorine reeking water, her hands twitching. Tameka knew she was conflicted. They both knew how to swim, but only one of them was willing to take a risk.
Tameka pushed her in.
“Tammy!” Asha yelled, emerging from the water. “You bitch!”
Tameka laughed. “Mom and Dad are going to be so disappointed in you.”
Dinner was an awkward affair. They were sat at a table with a couple of white doctors who talked about their medical practice over and over again. Tameka didn’t like them. They thought they were so wonderful and so clever it made her feel sick. Plus, the dinner was terrible.
I wanted Maine lobster.
“Have you ever done an autopsy?” Asha asked, excited.
Doctor Miranda Hamilton smiled and said, “I did, during my student days, but I try to stay clear of all the blood and guts now.”
“People’s minds are so much messier,” Doctor Jefferson Hamilton, smiling.
Tameka’s parents laughed. She picked at her meal, some salmon and herb concoction that stank of feet, and stared at the ceiling. There was a glass domed roof over the restaurant, allowing her to see the night sky and the stars. The stars were pretty.
“Have one of your patients ever killed themselves?” Tameka asked. She stared the female doctor straight in the eye, daring her to answer. “Have you?”
Miranda looked uncomfortable as she said, “Only once. It wasn’t something that could be helped.”
“But you’re supposed to help them,” said Tameka, feigning ignorance. This was more entertaining than anything on TV. “Are you a failure?”
Mom gave her a stern look. “Stop asking such horrible questions or you can go to your room right this instant.”
Tameka dropped her knife and fork, splashing the table with herb sauce. She crossed her arms and pouted her lips.
“I was just asking,” said Tameka.
Miranda smiled nervously. “It’s fine. She has a questioning mind.”
“I’m sure the patient is in a better place now,” Dad added, hoping to placate everyone.
“My husband and I are humanists,” said Miranda, placing her hand on her husband’s arm. “We don’t go for religion.”
Tameka’s parents looked uncomfortable. They were highly religious, often dragging her and Asha to church. Tameka despised church. It was illogical and patronizing and the Sunday school teacher made them color in badly Xeroxed pictures of Jesus every week. Even Asha found church tiresome. Tameka believed in God, though wished church wasn’t such an experience in abject boredom.
“What are humanists?” Asha asked.
Damn! I was going to ask that!
Miranda Hamilton explained. “We simply believe that Humanists are people who shape their own lives in the here and now, because it's the only life we have. We create our own set of ethics not tied to religion. We make sense of the world through evidence, reason, and logic. We seek to treat those around us with warmth, understanding, and respect.”
“Sounds sensible,” said Asha.
Tameka hated to agree with Asha so she said, “It sounds like rubbish to me. Mom, she’s basically saying our religion is rubbish.”
Mom slammed down her cutlery. “That’s it! I’ve had enough of this young lady. I don’t know what your problem is but you can go to your room right this instant! Go, no, before I lose my temper even further!”
Tameka felt her cheeks blushing red hot. Everyone was staring at her. Every set of eyes was accusing her, calling her a loser.
This is all Asha’s fault.
“Asha’s to blame,” Tameka spat out. “If we’d just gone for Maine lobster…”
“I said we’d go for lobster tomorrow!” Dad shouted. “Tameka…”
She stood up and walked away. If they wanted her to go back to their room, then she’d do that. She didn’t want to sit around that table, eating that vile food, with those awful, stuck up doctors anyway.
What kind of doctors let their patients kill themselves? Terrible doctors!
Tameka found herself by the railing outside the restaurant. She looked out to sea, seeing nothing but black. The clouds were purple, gearing up for a storm. She hoped the ship sank. At least then this nightmare vacation would be over.
“Sometimes I wish…”
She hated herself for even thinking it, but sometimes she wished she weren’t a twin. It would be better if it was just her.
She turned back, watching as her family ate without her. They were laughing now, acting as if they were happy that Tameka had left. It pained her to see them so joyful.
They’d be better off without me.
Would they even notice if I got in a lifeboat and left?
She headed across the deck, making her way back to her suite. She needed to pack her things before leaving for good.
Tameka poked her head into the tarp on top of the life raft. She hadn’t been able to find a release lever anywhere. How was she supposed to escape to sea if she couldn’t even find out how to unlatch the life raft?
There has to be something!
She pulled her head back out, frustrated. Her suitcase was packed, along with some tubes of Pringles and bottles of mineral water, but she had nowhere to go. Maybe she could hide out and get off when they stopped off in Hawaii? Nobody would see her amid the crowds departing for their shore excursion to see the volcanoes or whatever it was they were going to see. She’d just blend right in.
“And I never have to see those awful people ever again,” she muttered.
She snuck inside the life raft, pulling her heavy case with her. All she had to do was wait.
The older Tameka shook her head, feeling the memories settling into place once again inside her brain. It was actually quite painful.
“I was such a bitch,” said Tameka. “Why didnt you tell me?”
“I assumed you knew,” Asha admitted.
Tameka looked away, feeling ashamed. “I was horrible to you and our parents and everyone else. But that’s not what I remember. I loved that cruise. I got on really well with my parents, and I took to the Hamiltons straight away.”
“Those were the new memories created by the mermaid witches. I’m sorry.”
This was worse than she’d ever imagined. She’d expected to feel sad, maybe even distraught, over her lost memories, but she never expected to hate her past self. Yet that was who she was. She knew that now.
I was a sulky, spoilt little bitch.
“Can we finish this before I have to slap myself for being a cow?” Tameka asked.
“You’re not a cow,” said Asha, looking confused. “You’re human.”
“It’s just an expression.”
Asha forced a smile. “Yes, you are a cow.”
Tameka laughed. “You’re so fucking weird.”
Tameka was woken from her slumber by a crick in her neck. The inside of the life raft was uncomfortable. She dreaded having to spend another moment on this thing. And what if
the boat did sink? She’d rather swim back to Blue City than spend time drifting out to see on this thing.
She peeked out under the tarp, noticing it was still night time. She could still hear the nightlife going on around the ship; discos and parties and a production of Grease. She was missing out on all that.
I love Grease.
She was about to slip out and hope nobody had noticed she was missing when she heard screaming. At first she thought it was must be one of the endless parades that blocked the promenade, but after the screaming continued she knew she was deadly wrong. Many people were being attacked.
She pulled the tarp back down, scared for her life. She heard crashing and more screams, some of them of people in terrible pain. She cried, fearing for her family and her own life.
I wish we’d never gone on this stupid cruise!
The edge of the tarp pulled up. It was Asha.
“What are you doing in there?” Asha cried.
Wiping away her tears, Tameka said, “What’s going on? What’s all that screaming?”
“It was dragons, or some some type of lizard thing,” Asha explained, climbing into the raft with her. It was very cramped with the two of them “I don’t know what to do! Mom and Dad were telling me to go and…”
“You left them?”
“There were dragons!”
Tameka ignored her and started climbing back out of the life raft. She had to find her parents and tell them she was sorry. She didn’t want them to die! She hated Asha, not them. They had to see that if she saved them!
Dragons? My sister is nutballs.
A flaming body crashed into the side of the hanging life raft. Tameka screamed as she saw something huge moving around inside the casino. It was only a shadow, maybe twenty feet long, with a tail, but it couldn’t be anything other than what Asha had described. When it breathed fire at one of the croupiers, setting the poor woman aflame, she saw what it was in the light.
“A dragon!” she exclaimed.
She had to admit, she was a little excited.
“Tammy!” Asha screamed.
The life raft was cracked in the side and on the tarp was on fire. Her sister was reaching out as the raft tottered and creaked on the cables that kept it hanging on the side of the cruise ship. It was perilously close to falling loose.
Sirens and Scales Page 332
