Those girls are standing on the edge of the dock. They’re holding our clothes. Thayde released me. We need to phase now and pretend we were skinny dipping.
I can do that.
Together we rose toward the light. When we surfaced, the girls screamed.
“What are you guys doing?” Joline shouted, dropping my dress into the water.
“Thanks,” I grabbed at the dress and wriggled into it. “We were taking a dip.”
“At night? Aren’t you scared of sharks?”
“It’s not night yet and no, we’re not afraid of sharks.”
“Can I have my pants?” Thayde asked Carly, who held them tightly in her hands.
“You were down there a really long time,” she said.
“Yeah,”
“Really long,”
Thayde wiped the water from his face. “Do you mind? I’m naked here!”
Carly tossed him his shorts. “You guys aren’t normal are you?”
Thayde glanced at me. Should you do a mind swipe?
Not yet, I want to see how much she suspects.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, pulling myself on to the dock.
Carly looked me up and down. “No normal human could hold their breath that long.”
This one is smart.
Joline’s eyes grew enormous as she tried to imagine what her friend meant. “What are you saying Carly?” Her voice quivered. Thayde pull himself from the water and sat on the edge of the dock.
“I’m saying these guys have got to be free divers, or…” she drifted off. Narrowing my eyes, I scanned her mind quickly. Her childhood innocence allowed her to suspect the truth – that we were able to breathe underwater but her adult insecurities told her it was impossible and she was listening to them more.
“Or what?” Thayde challenged. “What are we? Fish?”
I laughed, squeezing the water from my dress. “Yes, fish. Most definitely!”
Carly shot me a nasty glare. When Joline began to laugh with me, Carly turned on her heel and walked away.
“Carly, wait!” The skinny teen ran after her friend.
Thayde let out a sigh and picked up his soaked shirt. “Well, thank goodness that’s over.”
“Can we go back to our hut now?” I picked up the end of my dress to keep from tripping over it. As I looked down, I noticed the tattoo. It was jet black and ran the length of the outside of my foot.
“Thayde, look!” I held my foot to him. The tattoo stood out black as night against my tanned skin. Looking down at his own foot, he broke into a grin.
“So what do you think?” A hint of hope peppered the end of his question.
“It’s awesome!”
I loved it. It was so much cooler than I thought it would have been. Even better was the fact that it didn’t hurt whatsoever.
Thayde jumped to his feet, slipped his arm around my waist and we began to walk back to our hut on the other side of the hotel.
“Bon nuit!” A few French speaking guests nodded goodnight to us. The dimly lit surroundings added to the romantic atmosphere and I cuddled into Thayde.
“So tell me the tale of you and Ezen.” I said as we turned onto the thin asphalt path leading through the grassy grounds.
“Ezen and I met in our first year of high school. You could say we were lone wolves and we became friends because of it. Both his parents were dead and he lived with his grandparents. My mother had passed and Limus wasn’t much of a father,” he cleared his throat, “so we had a few things in common.”
He stopped to pick a white gardenia from one of the many bushes lining the hotel. Placing it behind my ear, he kissed my cheek and we continued walking. When we reached the bridge that connected the hotel to the huts, Thayde stopped and leaned over the edge of the handrail, dropping his soaking shirt on the edge.
“We visited Neridia because I owned the apartment my mother left me. It was our place to escape when we got sick of being out of water. When Ezen’s grandparent’s passed, he stayed there. I didn’t mind. On one of the days I went to visit, I couldn’t find him. I looked in all our usual hang outs, but no one knew where he was. Ezen never left without leaving a note and I knew something had happened to him. I hired a tracker to help me find him. It took a few hours.”
He paused and I waited. The silence was interrupted by the loud call of a peacock. When Thayde didn’t continue, I leaned against him.
“He was tied to a large rock on the bottom of the ocean a few miles south-west of Neridia. Someone had taken a deep sea fishing hook and pierced it through both of his wrists. So he couldn’t try and rip himself off the barb of the hook, they went to the effort of installing a wire clip on the end.”
Horror must have reflected on my face because he pulled me close to him and rubbed my arm. “They bound the end of his tail with wire and left him there to die. He was barely conscious when we found him. We got him back to Neridia in time to save his life. If you notice, he never takes those cuffs off his wrists. It’s because the scarring from the ordeal is pretty gross. He doesn’t like people looking at them and asking questions, so he wears the cuffs to cover them up.”
“Wow.”
“He told me I saved his life and he wanted to swear an oath to me that should the need ever arise, he would return the favor. So we swore to always protect one another, even if the result is death. Out of that oath, came the tattoo on our left arm.”
“Did he see his attacker?” I asked.
“No. They approached him from behind and knocked him out. When he woke up, he was already tied to the rock.”
“Wow,” It sounded eerily similar to the threats Akin made to me two years before. All it would take would be one hit to the head and I could do whatever I wanted to you. Whatever. His awful words rang in my head.
“He never found out?”
Thayde shook his head.
“Wow,” I was beginning to sound like a stuck record player.
I stared into seawater below the bridge. Poor Ezen, the pain must have been incredible. Every merperson seemed to have their own tale filled with sadness and grief.
“Thayde,”
“Mmm?”
“What happened to Ezen’s hair?”
“It was burned off.”
“Burned?”
“He’s had dreadlocks a long time. He started growing them the year before we met. All those years and poof,” he made an exploding motion with his hands, “it was all gone.”
“Did it happen while you guys were looking for Limus?” I asked.
“It happened while we were trying to apprehend him. Ezen got caught in the crossfire.” Thayde turned and rested against the railing. “It’s just hair.”
“Not to him – it’s sacred. He’s upset about it.”
“He’ll get over it.”
“You’re mermaids aren’t you?”
The creepy, confident voice startled us and we turned to face the person who had said it. Carly stood alone in the middle of the bridge; her jaw set squarely, arms rigid at her sides.
“What?” Thayde nearly spat. “Mermaids? Where’d you hear that?”
“Don’t play with me.” Her voice was cold and different than we were used to hearing. “I’m not as stupid as you think.”
“What makes you think we’re a fictitious creature?” I asked.
“You’re not fictitious,” her voice snarled. Her hands flexed upward at an odd angle and turned slowly.
“How old are you?” I asked, readying myself.
“Thirteen.”
“Okay. Now, how old are you really?” I asked.
Her body shuddered before she answered. “Eight hundred and fifty two.”
Grotesquely, her head contorted to the side and her mouth hung open. Thayde instinctively placed an arm in front of me and I threw a protective shield around us both. The orb began to throb within me, and I relaxed, letting it soak in who she really was.
“You are a Genif,” I announced. Her body stopped i
ts odd movements. “You are very rare. What are you doing inside this girl’s body?”
“I’ve been sent to warn you that The Link has not forgotten about you and she will have her revenge.” She hissed.
“I am The Link.” I said fiercely. “Herra was never meant to be The Link.”
At the sound of Herra’s name, the creature inside Carly squealed and her body bent to the side awkwardly.
“Tell Herra that I am not one with whom to challenge. I will find her and I will crush her. Go. Tell Herra.”
With my words hovering in the air, the Genif forced itself from Carly, opening her mouth as if on a hinge. The top of her head flew backward and a black shadow shot straight into the air, furrowing away until it could no longer be seen. Carly’s small body collapsed onto the wooden bridge. Thayde rushed forward, scooping her into his arms.
“We need to get her to her parents.”
“She won’t remember a thing.” I searched around for anyone who might have witnessed the scene unfold.
“I don’t think anyone saw,” Thayde didn’t need to read my mind to know what I was thinking. Carly’s head lolled unnaturally on Thayde’s arm.
“Let’s get her to the hotel,” I said and we ran.
The bellboy and attendants flocked around us. “Qu’est-ce?” They asked in shocked tones, wanting to know what happened. I answered in perfect French.
“We found her on the bridge.” Thayde lay Carly down on the leather couch. The maître-d took her sunburned hand in his.
“Did she faint?”
“I think so.” I smiled, hoping it would convince them I didn’t know what had happened.
“Thank you for bringing her here.” Snapping his fingers, the staff immediately jumped into action, leaving the girl and returning to their duties. “I will alert her parents at once. We have medical staff on hand.”
“I hope she is alright.” I said, taking Thayde’s hand and turned to leave.
“Merci.”
“Morgan,” Thayde released my hand. “Go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Alright,” I said. What’s going on?
“Nothing,” he answered quickly, “just go on ahead without me.” He made his way back to the maître-d. “And stay out of my head!” He added.
It didn’t take me long to get back to our private hut. A wave of sadness washed over me; our time in Moorea was drawing to an end. Even though we had a full three weeks booked there, the ominous situation that had just happened had put a dampener on the trip.
The CD player cast an iridescent glow across our room. I pushed the ‘on’ button and eased onto the end of the bed. The black night fought to curl around me as I listened to the lyrics. They swirled in the eerie light and I closed my eyes.
Another haunting song teased tears from me. When it finally finished, I wiped my face and felt my skin prick as I picked up on Thayde’s presence beside me.
“Are you all right?” He asked. His strong hand enveloped mine.
“I have a feeling our time here is nearly over.” I admitted, leaning my head against his shoulder. “I don’t want to leave this place. I want to stay here forever.”
“That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” He agreed.
I didn’t answer. Living here would be paradise, but I also knew that I couldn’t run away from my problems. They would have to be dealt with; headed off at the pass.
“What were you doing?” My voice broke, making me cough.
“I wanted to get you something so you would always remember our time here.”
“I have a beautiful tattoo to remember!”
“Yes, I know. But you know merfolk – we like our trinkets!”
“Thayde! You didn’t spend anything on me did you?” I tried to read his face. Yes, yes he did. “It wasn’t a lot was it?” I grimaced, keenly aware that money meant nothing to merpeople.
“No!” He lied.
“Thayde!”
He opened his hand revealing a small black velvet box which I took with some reluctance. I knew he liked to spend money on me, but really, it wasn’t necessary. I loved Thayde and that was enough for me.
“Just open it, Morgan.”
Grasping the edges, I did as he asked. Inside, nestled against the white silk background, lay two Tahitian Black Pearl earrings. Tahiti is known world-wide for harvesting the best black pearls. They were exquisite. I ran my fingertips over their smooth surface.
“They’re gorgeous, Thayde, thank you so much.”
“You like them?” He pressed.
“I do.” I searched for the words. “They are unornamented and natural, yet so elegant and beautiful in their simplicity.”
“Like you,” he said, making me nearly drop the box. Did he really mean that?
“Of course I meant that!” Thayde took my face in his hands. “You’re exactly how you described those pearls. And that’s what I’m going to call you from now on.”
“What?” I asked.
“You’re my Pearl.” He leaned forward and lightly kissed my face. I placed the little box on the bed behind me. Thayde still wasn’t wearing his shirt and I ran my hands down his sides, my fingers tracing his sinewy muscles. When his kisses met my mouth, his hand met my waist and he lifted me back onto the bed, curling me underneath him with one arm and pulling me with him until we were perfectly aligned.
“I think we should try and forget about the Genif and finish what we came here to do.” Thayde whispered, touching his nose to mine. I reached forward and grabbed a handful of his hair.
“You’re able to convince me entirely too easily,” I pulled his face to mine. His hand slid down my thigh and he began to pull my dress up when all of a sudden my cell phone began to ring. “Ignore it,” I panted.
“What if it’s something important?”
“It can wait!” I kissed his mouth and he relaxed, but when the cell phone began to ring again, we both stopped. Sighing, I rolled over and pulled it from the side dresser. The picture on the phone was my father, Tammer.
“You know, we’re sort of on our honeymoon,” I answered, somewhat annoyed at being interrupted.
“Naira’s sick.”
The old familiar feeling of fright leapt through me and I sat bolt upright. “What do you mean she’s sick?”
“A few days ago, she woke up paler than we’ve ever seen her and she wasn’t able to walk. She’s been throwing up a lot of blood. Elan’s attempts to heal her have not worked – Naira’s passed out every time.”
Thayde sat behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist and he rested his cheek on my shoulder.
Tammer’s voice broke. “She’s started growing.”
“What do you mean ‘growing’?” I asked and Thayde stiffened as he read my mind.
“Abnormally fast. We’ve consulted with our doctors but they can’t make head nor tail of it. She’s too big – way too big for her age.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.” I ended the call and turned to Thayde.
“You think she’s going to die?” Thayde asked and I shook my head.
“Not if I can help it. They don’t know what’s wrong with her. I don’t want to cut our honeymoon short, but we’re going to have to.”
“I know,” he cupped the back of my head gently, pulling me to him. “I’ll go with you.”
“You don’t have to leave,” I answered, my voice muffled into his chest.
“I want to be with you.” He answered. “Why don’t you get ready and I’ll check out of the hotel.”
Moments later, he had left and I was re-dressing. My thoughts swirled around Naira as I pulled on a pair of white cargo pants. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another with my family – with my kind for that matter. I pulled the yellow tunic over my head and picked up the pretty box that held my new earrings, slipping them onto my ears.
You almost finished? I thought.
Not yet, hon.
I grabbed my cell phone and sat on the edge of the bed, wracking my brain. Naira
would be four years old in Human years this year, but merfolk aged differently than Humans. A year to merfolk was like five years to humans. I once described it as Aragorn’s aging in the movie Lord of the Rings. Also, she was much different than the rest of us – even she knew it.
A few months ago, she began growing quickly. At the time I couldn’t understand why Mom had been so worried about it, but now, as I thought about it, if a person’s body grew overnight from being the age of four to the age of ten, not only would the pain be excruciating, but it most likely would kill the person.
No one knew how she was different from everyone else; they only knew she was different. The growth spurts were the beginning of it. She had a multi-colored tail as well – no one had that either. None of The Links before me had family. No one knew what to expect. If I was to figure this out, I’d need to summon the thoughts and teachings from the rulers before me. There had to be an answer in there somewhere.
The download was instant and I gasped as thousands of memories flooded my mind. Gripping the cover with both hands, I held on and took the roller coaster ride of my life. Intense feelings of passion, hatred, forgiveness and acceptance shook me to the core. Glimpses of memories past invaded my mind: Troen stroking the side of his girlfriend Liesa’s face, a meeting in a giant curved hall with many merpeople in attendance, blood swirling in the ocean current, witnessing the birth of a baby, the view of a fuchsia sunset across the waters, watching powers fly from an outstretched hand and annihilate a group of advancing soldiers. Sifting through the memories, I was eventually able to pick up on healing our kind.
Despite the centuries of ruling, there was hardly any information on the repercussions of The Link having siblings – just speculation. The guesses were all the same; the sibling wouldn’t survive past their fifteenth birthday. It was chalked up to being a genetic mutation. In order to ensure The Link being the only one capable of such powers, the line would automatically place a termination on further siblings. Speculation was that once they turned five, the aging process would speed up exponentially, causing the merperson to age rapidly and die.
There had to be a different answer and I delved deeper, only to come up empty-handed. I’d have to find a way to save Naira on my own. Of course, there wouldn’t be any solid facts on the situation. It had never been done before.
Forever Page 3
