“There are only a few fish and a lot of dead trees down here. That and a tractor or two,” she pointed below us at a decrepit tractor that looked as if it belonged in the 1930s. “I have no idea if the tales about Sharlie are real. It’s been my experience that most tall tales have no bearing on real life whatsoever.”
I didn’t answer. The times in my childhood I thought I’d seen Sharlie happened so long ago and now that I thought about it, what I’d seen could have been anything. Realizing this allowed me to relax and before long all my fear had subsided and I felt comfortable.
We’d been below surface for a while before Aletheia said we should return. We ascended quickly, making sure no boats were close enough to us to spot our tails. Both of us phased a few feet below the surface and pulled on our bikini bottoms.
After heaving myself onto the dock, I scanned the surface. There was hardly a boat to be seen, which was odd, particularly this time of the year. Aletheia sat next to me, gazing into the surface of the water.
“You need to remember to change your eyes back when you’re finished.”
“The same way I changed them before?”
“Yes.”
I focused and within seconds, my eyes were back to normal.
“You are a fast learner, which will make this all the easier to do.” Aletheia wiped the water from her arms in one fluid movement.
“Why are you helping me?” I asked, and she stared at me. “I mean, you don’t like Tammer and no one’s seen you in years. Why did you come back to help me?”
“I’ve always know who I was to be. I’ve been visited by angels who prophesized to me since I was little. I don’t know that I would have come but I was visited again and told it was imperative that I teach you our ways and be open to another.” She paused. “Geiruna taught me the old ways and it is my job to teach you. It has always been difficult for me to put my feelings aside, but I must. I gave up my powers to learn everything so that one day I would teach The Link.”
“But you hate Tammer.”
“I don’t hate Tammer.” She pulled her hair around her shoulder, wringing it out. “He’s my younger brother. I just haven’t been able to forgive him for what happened.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was engaged to Reyes Dartmoth. Tammer was the one who killed him.”
I didn’t say anything for a second. I knew of the fight that happened all those years ago, but the details were left out. All I knew was that almost everyone died in that fight, apart from Limus, Ramus, and Tammer.
“You think Tammer meant to kill him?” I asked.
“I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. He’s dead.” She stood, flinging her hair around to her back. “I don’t want to talk about this. You should eat now.”
I didn’t follow her, rather, I remained on the dock. Tammer had killed before. I guess it shouldn’t have shocked me as much as it did. I sighed. There was so much death and destruction within the merfolk world. It was as if no one bothered to stop and think before they acted. Everyone was always so eager to get rid of a problem they just considered the worst alternative, and got it done without thinking of a better way.
I looked up at the midnight blue sky beginning to twinkle with stars. The lights from the houses across the lake began to shine on the black lake water. Cool air and the smell of the forest whipped past me on the breeze and I felt a little happier. I loved Idaho.
Chapter Nine
Sharlie
“I’m going to shoot you now. Hold still.”
Yay. Aletheia stood sideways, drawing back the arrow in the bow, her violet colored eyes concentrating on me. A cool breeze ruffled the edges of her sapphire blue silk dress. She reminded me of an elf. I felt like William Tell’s son.
Today we were practicing disintegrating weapons. All morning, Aletheia had been chucking sticks at me from across the small meadow. I imagined what a human would have thought if they had been hiking and accidently came across us. Gossip of a mad clan of women on the east side of the lake who liked to sling pieces of wood at each other would have flown through the town.
“Remember to focus the power in one hand only and keep your arm straight. Draw your arm away from yourself as you destroy it.”
“I remember,”
She reminded me with every throw. Two pieces of wood and a large clump of moss had hit my head. One large branch managed to scrape my arm and a rock had bruised my kneecap. Three hours later, I finally managed to shatter the wood that was flung at me. We continued until I disintegrated it entirely. Now came the big challenge. Real weapons. Thank God she hadn’t chosen a gun.
“Okay, here we go.” She breathed out and released the arrow.
Time slowed down. The arrow zipped toward me and suddenly it was hovering at mere miles per hour in the air, its shaft twisting and the head glinting in the sun as it neared me.
Raising my left hand and locking my elbow, I stared at the tip of the arrow, feeling my powers want to burst from within me. Seconds later, the arrow was gone and my arm was at my side.
“Fantastic, Morgan!” Aletheia ran to me, the bow at her side. She dropped it on the grass and grabbed my shoulders. “That was simply fantastic! You are so fast!”
“Thank you,” I began and she cut me off.
“I knew teaching The Link would be different, but you learn so quickly, it’s amazing.”
“It took me all morning to learn one power.” I said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
She made me look in her eyes. “Morgan, do you hear yourself? Merpeople are lucky to have more than one power each. Each! You will have them all. All! Don’t be so hard on yourself. You have a lot to learn. Do you think Troen learned everything he knew in one day?”
I shook my head, smiling.
“Of course not! It will take time to learn everything. But that is why you will live so long. By the time you know all, it will be time for you to hand your powers over to the new Link.”
Aletheia picked up her bow and sighed, satisfied. “I think we should have lunch, don’t you?” Without waiting for my answer, she walked past me and made her way back to the house. I looked at the pile of wood, moss and stones behind me and suppressed a laugh. Someone could build a fort with all those pieces. I scanned the little clearing and nodded. I’d be okay.
I returned to the tiny clearing on the edge of the lake every morning before meeting Aletheia for my lessons. Somehow, it helped. I felt calmer and ready to face what she had to teach me. After a week of her teachings, I actually started to look forward to them. The agony of depression was releasing its death grip on me, but every now and then it flared up just to remind me it was still there and I was still mostly human.
Aletheia knew everything about everything. Her teachings were comforting - she had all the answers to all my questions and was patient. The words she used helped me pull the powers I needed from within me and use them according to the ways I chose.
During one lesson, Aletheia told me I was completely equipped to do what it was I was supposed to be doing with my life. It sounded nice, but I didn’t have a clue what it was I should be doing, and it didn’t fill me with much confidence.
Mom and Tammer had been right in a way; all I had to do was will the powers and they came to me, but some powers were harder to pull through. Aletheia taught me as many as she could. Some came quickly to me, such as moving currents and learning Mom’s ways of healing. Others, such as speed swimming and moving the earth like Vitahl did, took more time.
We worked on Leaping a lot. To Leap was to be able to go to anywhere in the world I wanted – to be instantly teleported there. Of course, while we practiced, we stayed within the confines of the lake. The farthest I got was a few feet at a time. Aletheia said it was impressive I was able to do it at all on my first try and reminded me, again, to be patient; all powers would eventually come to me.
Naira watched from the shore’s edge, a big smile on her face as the flashes of light in our secluded little cove shone
brightly through the water. She waved eagerly each time I surfaced.
During my teachings, the dreaded voice stayed away, and I didn’t feel the pain in my chest again. Aletheia explained it was because I was becoming more centered and aware. Maybe she was right; I did feel stronger. I had certainly gained more powers, but I was nowhere near as powerful as I would be.
I desperately missed Thayde and thought of him every moment of the day. I wanted nothing more than to see his smile again. I had only dreamed of him once in the two weeks we’d been in McCall and I ached for his touch, but neither Mom nor Aletheia had received word from Tammer and the waiting seemed to be getting to Mom. She looked thin and tired. The whole time we had been there, she had dedicated herself to watching Naira, despite the fact that she had Shirley to help her. Without Naira to watch, Shirley kept us well fed and the house immaculate.
I didn’t fully understand why Mom was being so attentive to Naira. She was a happy, well adjusted, bright little girl. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with her, apart from the fact that she seemed to be growing awfully fast. Merpeople grew fast anyways, but Naira’s hastened growth didn’t seem to be putting her in any pain and it didn’t seem to bother her. Why was Mom acting as if something was wrong?
I knew Tammer would return soon. I wasn’t so sure about Thayde, but Mom told me to think positive, so that was what I was trying to do. Still, trying not to think about the inevitable was like trying to ignore the giant fanged monster in your closet as a child – you just couldn’t go to sleep.
My lessons lasted all day, every day, and I found myself longing for my bed around three o’clock. Like a child, my bedtime was at eight in the evening and I enthusiastically crept between the goose-down covers every night. There was nothing like getting a good night’s sleep. And just when I was getting used to my schedule, the nightmares returned.
I was standing on the edge of the river that ran through our property in Stanley. The stick I held in my hand had snagged a long piece of river weed, and I was flinging it around in a circle to get rid of it. Ducking from the cold drops, I caught my reflection in the water and stopped. I looked gaunt and sickly. Dropping the stick, I squatted on the bank and stared, my hand flying to the side of my face in alarm.
“Morgan, you need to feed the horses.”
It was Richard, my adopted father, and real dad for all intents and purposes. He looked as he had the day I left for Vero. His smile from across the river sent chills down my spine and I froze - he was dead.
“Come on,” he said in his warm, loving voice. “Bambi eyes won’t get you out of doing your chores.”
I looked back to the water and screamed. Thayde floated within inches of my touch. His once dark blue eyes were glazed over milky white and stared into the sky. Horror washed over me.
“Let’s go, Morgan,” Dad called.
“We can’t leave Thayde here!” I cried and began to climb into the water to pull him out. Dad crossed the river and took my arm in his hand.
“We can’t do anything for him.”
“I’m not leaving him!” I yanked away and pulled at Thayde’s arm in an attempt to drag him from the chilly river. The weight from his waterlogged body was too much and I dropped his arm, falling backward into the current.
“You must come now.” Dad picked me out of the waves and threw me over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. I began to scream for Thayde as my dad walked away from him.
A quiet singing slowly overtook my cries.
“To be with you, away from here
in an ocean blue, everything clear.
Silky warm and free within
No inhibitions, free to swim.”
In an instant, I was awake. I grabbed my aching heart and groaned; my nightmares were too lifelike. The pretty diamond sky shone through my window and I knew it was way too early to be up. Peering through the darkness, the alarm clock glared 4:42 am back in red.
“Walk to the waters that pull you in
know it taught her- it is her kin.
Bind yourself unto her
find yourself- do not deter.”
It was singing, yet it almost sounded like chanting at the same time. Nearly falling off the edge of the bed, I sat up and strained to listen to the melodic voice that danced in on the breeze from my open window.
“She is the love and the light
sent from above she will take flight.
Down to the depths of the sea
with no regrets will you follow me?”
I’d never heard anything like the hypnotic sound that drew me to the window. Rubbing my eyes, I strained to see through the tall pine trees in the direction the singing was coming and saw nothing.
Most likely it was Aletheia. Wrapping myself in my robe and slipping on my fuzzy slippers, I slinked down the stairs, praying they wouldn’t squeak. Thankfully, not even the patio door made any noise.
The voice was coming from the lake. I followed the stone steps down to the water and stopped, trying to locate the voice. It seemed to be coming from behind the huge boulders. Carefully, I climbed their pocketed sides and peeped over the top, nearly falling off in fright.
Naira was sitting on the smallest one, her legs in the water and her back to me. On her lap, lay an enormous dragon-like head of what was very clearly a magical monster: Sharlie. His body remained half submerged in the water and his eyes were closed. Naira’s hands stroked the top of his head as she sang to him.
My breath escaped, making a slight whooshing sound and the instant it did, both Sharlie and Naira looked up at me. Seconds later, Sharlie had slipped under the water making barely a noise. Naira looked longingly at the ripples he left. Not sure what to do, I climbed down and crouched next to her.
“Are you all right?” I managed to ask.
“Yes. Why were you hiding?” Her innocent voice still sounded melodic.
“I didn’t know who was singing. I didn’t want to disturb them.”
“You made him leave,”
“I’m sorry - I didn’t know what it was.”
“It was Sharlie. I don’t know if he’ll come back now.”
“What are you doing down here, Naira?” I asked, nervously eying the water’s surface. Images of Sharlie rearing out of the black waves and snapping both of us into his sharply toothed mouth filled my mind.
“I saw him swimming and wanted to touch him. So I sang to him and he came up to me.”
“He could have hurt you!”
“No,” she insisted, “he likes me.”
“You have to be very careful. What if someone saw you?”
She didn’t answer. Being around Naira made me feel a little uncomfortable at times. She sounded too grown up. In human years, she was nearly three, but in mermaid years, she was almost eleven and her vocabulary was just as developed.
I knelt beside her and offered a smile. “You have a gift for taming animals. Are you able to bring all animals to you?”
She nodded and put her hand in the water. Moments later, a large trout darted to the surface, running its back against her palm before disappearing.
It was quite a sight to behold – not unlike watching her play tag with the fish a few days earlier, and a thought came to me. If she was able to calm animals, tame them even, then the animals would always protect her from harm.
“That’s wonderful!” I praised and she smiled.
“Animals like me.”
“I can see that.” I held my hand to her. “Want to go and get breakfast?”
Placing her small hand in mine, she stood and I pretended to use her help in getting myself to stand. She thought that was very funny, and I followed her through the boulders back up the mossy steps to the house.
Naira climbed into a chair at the dining room table and watched me make her some chocolate milk. Her large green eyes followed my every movement.
“Okay, we’ve got some oatmeal, cereal and bread for toast.” I said as I poured the milk, “I’m not any good at cooking, so t
hose are your options. What would you like?”
“Cereal!”
“Yes Ma’am!” Closing the microwave door on the cup of milk, I pushed the start button. “Do you want healthy cereal or fun cereal?” I asked, holding the cupboard open to reveal several cereal boxes.
“Fruit Loops.”
“Okie dokie!"
When breakfast was ready, I set her cereal and chocolate milk in front of her and sat beside her with my own bowl of Fruit Loops. She grinned when she saw I was eating fun cereal too.
“Do you want to go swimming after breakfast?” She asked.
Not really. The thought of running into Sharlie, who had turned out to be very real, didn’t make me want to place one toe in the lake.
“Don’t you think it’s a tad early to go swimming?” I shoveled a spoonful into my mouth.
“You don’t have to be scared of Sharlie,” she said.
Her comment made me freeze. Naira had always seemed special and her powers could be multiplying along with her growth. What other powers had she gained lately?
“Naira, can you read my mind?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I placed my spoon back in the bowl. “Does Mom know?”
“No.”
“Why haven’t you told her you’ve got a new power?”
“Mama’s worried right now. I don’t want to.”
“Are there other powers you have you haven’t told her?”
She nodded.
“Like what?”
She didn’t say anything. I changed the conversation. “Can you teach me how to read minds?”
Her eyes lit up with excitement and she nodded.
“When do you want to start?”
“Let’s swim first!” She cried.
I’ll be honest. I haven’t been a huge fan of the cold or the water my whole life. I mean, let’s face it - Stanley is pretty cold most of the year and it doesn’t make you want to run gleefully toward forty degree water clad in a thin layer of Lycra. Payette Lake is cold - most of the year. Knowing Sharlie was still somewhere close didn’t exactly fill me with confidence either, but I had to at least pretend to be fine.
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