by B. J. Smash
“If she can't, her mother can. Aggie even said—”
“There is always a price, Ivy. Always a price. Don't take too many favors from their kind,” he said.
“But you seem to adore Izadora.”
He looked me in the eyes. “I do. But I have my reasons for telling you this.”
“What about my father? Do you know where he is?”
He looked back out toward the ocean. “Because of Izaill, I imagine the Unseelie have him. And I am ready to do whatever it takes to get him back.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Me too.”
Taking Zinnia's side seemed futile, and I didn't understand what he was trying to say to me. She could have confided in me, and we could have consoled each other. But she hadn't wanted that. She turned to a sea witch instead. A horrible, horrible sea witch. I would do what I could to get her back, but no matter what— I needed to get Father back. And then he would know what to do.
The sun had dropped since we'd arrived, and the sky had changed to vibrant colors. “This place is so beautiful. Even the sunsets look better here.”
“They do. Let's go now. We want to be gone by sundown.”
“Why?”
“I'll answer you plainly. You might as well start learning all there is to know. When the sun sets, and the moon begins to rise, especially during full moons, the merpeople come to land to dance on the beach.”
I laughed, snorting as I did so. He had to be kidding, right? He had to be kidding me.
“Don't believe me? Some time I will bring you back and we will watch from the cliffs.”
“Why can't we watch tonight? We don't have to be back for any reason. Not until morning.” Then I thought about it. I should get back to see Gran, GG Edmund, Aunt Cora, and Aunt Clover soon. I hadn't seen them in a while, and they were probably worried.
“Not tonight. Soon,” he said.
Before we left, I decided to do as he suggested. What could it hurt? It might do me some good to release the anger that festered inside me. And so, I closed my eyes and released the bitterness I had toward my sister, letting the soft breeze from the ocean sweep away my anger. I pictured the tide sweeping away all bad feelings. He must have known what I was doing. After a few minutes he said, “We must go now.”
As we walked back up the rocky cliff side, I thought of one more question that I'd like answered before we began our run back. “Doesn't Magella control the ocean? I mean, she's bound to it. Doesn't she have control?”
“Magella has control over whatever small area she is in. She can control the weather and some sea life. She does not control the entire ocean. The ocean, for the most part, is our friend.”
We used a tree limb to pull us up over the edge of the cliff. I turned once more to take in the beauty of the sunset and the waves crashing to shore. Then we walked back into the forest, only to hear a strange whistling sound.
“What's that?”
Drumm had his bow and arrow ready in seconds. “Get ready to run.”
I glanced around me to see where the whistling was coming from, but I couldn’t tell, and this caused me to panic.
“Going to shoot your old friend, are you?” A voice came from up in a tree. A loud thump sounded behind me as something hit the ground. I grabbed my chest so my heart wouldn't escape. Turning, I saw the young man from before, Nicoli. Then another thud to the right brought down Jina, the girl with long, golden hair. Her eyes gleamed yellow-orange this evening.
“You two should watch yourselves; you almost got an arrow in your behinds.” Drumm laughed and shook the boy’s hand.
“What's up, Drumm? You've come to spy on us?” said Nicoli.
“Not this time,” Drumm said with a touch of sarcasm.
Nicoli stared me up and down. “Hello, Ivy.”
“Hi.” I couldn't take my eyes from his deep blue and—if I wasn't mistaken—purple eyes. They were such an unnatural color.
He ran his hand through his dark hair, and I couldn't help but take a glance at his super-toned chest.
“What are you doing here? Why aren't you in the water?” Drumm asked.
“We are still on watch. The prowler we told you about…he's back. He appeared out of nowhere, and he grabbed the mermaid, Stella, from the rocks, and took her comb. I tackled him, but he disappeared in my arms—only to reappear on the cliff.”
“Mermaid? Did he just say ‘mermaid’?” Then it dawned on me. “You guys are merpeople?” I babbled under my breath.
Jina, the only one who heard me, laughed.
“Comb? I wonder…what does this man look like?” Drumm asked.
“He wore some sort of head cover, or hat, I mean,” Nicoli said.
“Izaill,” Drumm whispered. “He must be up to something.”
“That name sounds familiar,” Nicoli said. “Bad news.”
“Very bad news. I wonder what he wanted with the comb.” Drumm shook his head, stupefied.
“A mermaid gets her first comb when she turns sixteen. It is a prize possession—a sign that she can now come to shore and dance with the adults. The comb is made of shell, and once it has combed the hair of a mermaid, it is a powerful tool for casting spells.” Jina volunteered the information as she twisted her long, golden hair atop her head. She then used a small twig to hold it in place.
“I see. Was the mermaid harmed?” Drumm fidgeted with his arrow before returning it to its bag.
“Not at all, but she'd like her comb back,” Nicoli said as he stared at me.
As they stood there discussing mermaids and Izaill, all I could think of was swimming in the ocean depths with Nicoli's muscular arms wrapped around me, the sun shining down upon us, colorful fish swimming by…
“Ivy?” Nicoli was talking to me.
“Umm. Yeah?” I rubbed my temples, dismissing the thoughts that had surfaced. It was so unlike me to daydream as such, but at the moment, I liked it.
“I said, do you like our ocean? It's beautiful, yes?” he asked as he stood there, his eyes staring into mine.
“Very. It's…very beautiful.” I sounded like a robot.
He laughed, and he had the pearliest teeth and a dimple on the right side of his face. “Maybe you can come back for a swim sometime.”
The pretty girl, Jina, smiled at me. Her eyes reminded me of cat eyes. Her shoulders and chest were toned like a professional swimmer, and she had abs of steel. I suppose that came from constantly swimming in the ocean.
“Yes, I hope so,” I said.
“It was nice to see you both, but we should be going now. I'll find out what I can.” Drumm tugged on my arm a few times and we were off, running at a comfortable speed. I didn't notice that I was smiling until Drumm stopped us about four miles into the forest. He slowed to a walk, and I mindlessly copied him.
“Ivy, you’re in a daze. Snap out of it.” Drumm cuffed my arm. “And wipe that silly smile from your face.”
I giggled. I normally was not one to giggle. “Sorry,” I said.
We walked along a craggy path of rocks that had water flowing over them. “They were merpeople, in case you didn't pick that up. Merpeople can enchant humans very easily, and I see it has worked on you. Didn't you ever hear stories of sailors being mesmerized by the merpeople, only to be pulled down into the water to their doom?” He shook his head. He grabbed some pine needles and held them up to my nose. “Smell.”
I did as he told me, inhaling the piney fragrance.
“Feel better?”
“I do.” But I found myself smiling again.
“You’re hopeless. You must be careful around the merpeople. Nicoli and Jina are my friends, but you should always beware. Merpeople can be of the tricky sort. You must reach deep down and pull out the light elf within you to protect yourself. I must teach you to do that.”
“Okay,” I said, trying to wipe the smile from my face. They had been enchanting; that much was for certain. I hated to admit it, but I could have imagined myself with Nicoli all day swimming in the ocean, bas
king in the rays of the sun. But now that I was away from him, my face flushed a little and I realized that he truly did have some sort of mesmerizing pull. “Okay,” I said more seriously.
“Hopeless.” He crinkled his brow and shook his head. “Let's go. I'll take you back to Ian's gate. You should see your family tonight.” I could tell I'd disappointed him somehow.
We took off running again, backtracking through the forest. Running on the paths, I realized I could somewhat see in the darkness, and not because of the moonlight. Things were more precise, and clear. I could make out images, and I knew it had to be the elven in me. Now that my ears were healed, things were different.
As we neared the path to Ian's, something caught our attention. Loud, viscous barking came from Izadora's way. Stopping, Drumm said, “You go to Ian's. I must find out why the dogs bark.”
“I will come with you,” I said.
“No. Go to Ian's. I got this,” he said, but as he turned to leave, I followed him. When we arrived outside the tree house in a copse of trees by the stairs, we stopped. “You should listen to me, Ivy. I know what is best, but you don't listen to me, do you? Stay here.”
I thought he could be rather bossy at times, and I meant to speak my mind. But before I could, a loud snapping sounded from Izadora's. Drumm hopped out of the trees and ran to the stairs. I peered out to see one of the dogs pinning something large down to the ground. The other dog held on for dear life as something swung it around on its arm.
Immediately, Drumm shot an arrow, knocking this thing to the ground. The dog released the arm and stood on its chest. Before he could shoot again, the thing spoke. “Stop. We will leave.”
“What do you want with Izadora?” Drumm yelled, his voice stern and cold.
“We came to ask the old witch for a potion. By orders of the Unseelie king,” the thing said.
I could make out the shape of it, and it was a rather large figure and it wore some type of helmet.
“You know she is indisposed at the moment, because of her brother Izaill. You are lying to me. You will leave now, or I will strike you down with another arrow,” Drumm said, pulling an arrow back in the bow. “Tell your king you are not welcome in these woods.”
“We will go. Tell the hell hounds to release us.” The big fellow held both hands up in the air, as if in defeat.
Drumm said something in a language that I didn't recognize. The dogs jumped up and sat at attention, all the while growling and frothing at the mouth.
Both beings stood, and then walked away. One did so with a wide gait, as he had been shot in the inner leg, close to parts that were tender.
Drumm and the dogs followed them out while I crouched down in the damp earth amidst the trees, waiting for his return. Who the heck had that been? And what did they want? Drumm certainly hadn't believed their story of wanting a potion.
An owl hooted in the tree above me, causing me to jump a foot, and a brisk wind whipped through the treetops, rustling the leaves.
When I heard Drumm call my name, I stood up and walked out into the opening.
“Blasted Unseelie. I should have killed them while I had them,” he said. A foul mood he was in.
“What do you think they want?” I asked.
“They must have caught wind of the undoing of the maiden-mother-crone spell. Tonight will be the last night Izadora hangs from that balcony—if all goes right. They must have wanted to come while she was still under the spell. For what, I don't know. They may have wanted to take her body. But the funny thing is…even Izaill protects his sister to an extent. The rope can't be cut through, so they had no chance of taking her.” He laughed then. “One thing I know, the Unseelie hate hell hounds. These dogs put a good scare into them.” He patted the dogs on the head.
We walked in the direction of the balcony where Izadora would be hanging. “I don't think I want to walk that way. I'd rather not see…”
“I understand. It's the last night she'll be hanging there. Just close your eyes, and I will lead you through.”
Closing my eyes, I let him lead me out. I knew we were nearing the balcony when I heard the squeaking of the rope rubbing on the wood. But the wind blew by, causing the rope to pick up speed. Not knowing why I did it, I opened my eyes and stopped.
“What are you doing?” Drumm asked.
It took me a moment to answer. “I had to see what Izaill is capable of.” There she hung by the neck, her tongue slightly hanging from her mouth. Her eyes bulged, and if I could see her in the light, I knew they would look bruised.
“She wouldn't want you to see her like this,” Drumm said.
“It's okay. She'll never know, right?” My voice wavered. “It's unnerving to see her this way, so defenseless. One would never picture Izadora this way.” I couldn't stop staring. He waved his hand in front of my eyes.
“She still wouldn't like you staring. She may look defenseless, but Izadora is never really defenseless.”
A shiver ran up my spine. I had a good feeling he was right. We walked on and broke into a run until we arrived at Ian's gate. Unexpectedly, Ian sat at the gate as though he were expecting me. A laptop was propped up on his knees, and a coffee in a cup holder was attached to his wheelchair. “Well, hello there. It's about time you graced me with a visit.” He opened the squeaky gate. “Come now, let me stroll with you through the garden.”
Chapter Twenty
It's funny how things can come together in such a way that you feel as though you should have known the very answer all along. Countless things had happened to me, and for the most part, I had accepted them all. Living with my father and sister in New Hampshire, I could never have dreamed that certain things were possible, that certain mystical beings were real. They lived, breathed, and thrived just as humans did. But I believe that had I not experienced these beings firsthand, I never would have believed them to be true.
As I approached my Gran’s house, I recapped my conversation with Ian. He had been waiting for me to return, to inform me that my grandfather had awoken from a coma. This was exceptional news, and my heart soared. Not only would he be all right, but he could possibly shed some light on what happened in the forest, and Gran wouldn't have to worry and sit by his hospital bedside all hours of the night. She could soon relax. And with Izadora's assistance, I would be rescuing my father soon. A knot in my stomach formed when I thought of my sister, but I vowed to myself that she too would be rescued.
I had told Ian of my adventures in the forest—with the old woman Aggie. And when I mentioned the old woman’s’ reburial, he cringed, but he claimed that he had heard of Aggie. He just didn't know that she was buried beyond his family graveyard. “I shall not go up that way alone, I guarantee you that,” he had said. Another thing he had noticed were my ears. “They add a sassiness to you. I like them.”
I walked into my grandmother's house, knowing that I wouldn't see anyone; they were all at the hospital. Except for GG Edmund, who called out to me now.
“Ivy! That you?”
I was careful to pull the hair down over my ears, although I feared they stuck out through the hair anyway. I didn't know how I'd explain it yet. I stood at his bedroom door, peering in. “It is me, GG Edmund. Can I bring you anything from the kitchen?” He lay in his usual spot on the bed, feet propped up by a pillow. He wore a blue and white flannel shirt, with his glasses hanging from a pocket. He had been sleeping.
“A bowl of blueberries, and some tea. We'll play a game of Yahtzee.”
I brought in tea for the both of us and his blueberries. I put a dollop of whipped cream on them, knowing that to be his favorite thing. Gran normally wouldn't allow him to have such a luxury, with him being on a restricted diet and all.
“Thank you, Ivy. Get the game on the shelf.” He set the food on a tray to his left and placed his glasses on his nose. “Open the window, will you? It's awful stuffy in here.” The room smelled of newspapers and spicy cologne. I gladly opened the window, relieved at the pleasant breeze that spille
d in, refreshing the room. I pulled the game down, and we started to play.
“So, tell me how things have progressed out in the woods. Have you seen Izadora?”
“I have.”
“Tell me everything. Don't hold back from your great-grandpa. I can handle it,” he said solemnly.
I didn't want him to worry about me; at the same time, I felt like telling him the whole story, even the parts about Izadora's gruesome curse. And so, I explained Izadora's curse and how Izaill was surely wicked to the core. He kept nodding his head, and when I finished the story he said, “That guy sounds like a real jerk.” When he rolled the dice, five 4’s appeared. “Yahtzee!”
“How do you do that? I barely ever get a Yahtzee.” Pouting, I wrote his score down.
I continued to tell the story of Aggie. To this, he appeared astonished. He put the dice down and scratched his head. “You have seen Izadora's mother? It's been said that she disappeared; possibly died.”
“I sure have. She's buried up beyond the graveyard, in unconsecrated ground. And get this, she is still alive.” My stomach churned at the thought of it. “But she doesn't seem to mind it, though. She says it's a nice resting place.” I added the last part, trying to soften the story up a bit. He didn't look too happy, and I wondered if I should have withheld the story about Aggie.
“I'm sorry, GG Edmund. Maybe I shouldn't have told you.”
“Yes, you should have. I am sorry that you have been dragged into this mess. I have heard when Izadora sets her sights on someone, they can't resist. She has a way with pulling people in, promising them things.” He lifted his spoon and ate some blueberries with cream. “I must tell you, no one has heard from the likes of them weirdoes for a long, long time. I truly am sorry that it had to be you that deals with them. I have heard they can be a wicked bunch. You need to be careful.”
“I will. For sure. And I have Ian and Drumm to look out for me. And soon, we will have Father back.” Thoughts of Zinnia sprung to mind, but I couldn't bring myself to mention her.
