“What happened?!” the dark merman growled at the pale one, while his eyes scanned the shore.
“I don’t know!” The pale merman looked afraid and I wondered why Bolrock had sent such a coward on a mission.
“Check the handle.” The dark one barked.
I watched as the pale one did as he was told, a loud gasp escaped his lips and he stood up with wide eyes, to look at his partners. “It’s one of ours.”
I glanced at the dark merman to see what he thought of this, but he wasn’t looking at his partner. His eyes were staring back up toward the buildings, as though he could see something we couldn’t.
“No, it’s not ours,” he said, his lips curling in a sneer. “It’s his.”
I gazed up into the gloom, to try and see who he was talking about. The long-haired merman, who had been right behind me, walked over to the dark one. His blades were protruding from his arms, but it was obvious, I was no longer their main concern. The thing that worried them more was up in the shadows, and I had the whole beach to slip away into the darkness. The instinct to take my chance and run filled me, but I didn’t move. I was frozen where I stood, just as fearful and curious as the mermen.
My eyes peered into the gloom, trying to see who the dark merman had seen. Just then, I saw a flicker of movement and a large figure came out of the shadows. He had been invisible moments before, and my heart tightened as I realized who it was. I knew that form, I’d seen it so many times and was so relieved to see it again.
The moonlight seemed to brighten as Zale made his way onto the beach. His walk was powerful, his face the mask of a warrior. He never glanced my way; instead his eyes flickered over the three mermen and back again. He was measuring them up with a confidence bordering on arrogance.
“Bolrock was right, you really are a traitor.” The dark merman spit, his voice filled with poison.
Zale didn’t answer; instead he stopped walking, his eyes telling the mermen exactly what he thought of them.
“I find it interesting that the only thing Morven succeeded in creating, has turned its back on him.” The pale merman laughed at his leader’s remark.
“I haven’t turned my back on Lord Morven,” Zale’s voice was so deep I almost didn’t recognize it.
The tension was getting stronger, building to a point where it would explode. I wanted to turn around and run while I had the chance, but I couldn’t move. My feet were glued in the sand, my hand still gripping my knife as my only life line.
“Well then, I suppose your Lord Morven,” the dark merman sneered at the word in mock respect, “will be interested to hear why you haven’t brought Marina back to Hyvar.”
A malicious smile spread across Zale’s face, “Oh, don’t worry, he’s not going to find out.” Then quick as a flash, his blades appeared and he ran toward the soldiers.
The long-haired merman charged, and the pale one was right behind him. They ran straight for Zale and the fighting that commenced before my eyes was so unreal and incredible, at the same time, that I still couldn’t move from where I stood.
The mermen slashed at one another, with split second speed, their feet constantly moving to regain position. Every now and then, they would jump into the air to bring their blades down in long gashes on their opponent’s shoulders.
As the fight continued, Bolrock’s men were tiring but Zale continued to hold his ground. I wondered how much longer it would be before the dark merman joined the fight. My eyes flickered to the soldier who stood on the outer edges, and I wondered why he was hanging back. Surely, three against one was better than two.
The fight continued and the pale merman suffered a large slash in his leg as he jumped in the air. He crumpled to the ground and tried to stand, his back hunched over in pain. His eyes widened as he saw the end coming. Zale dealt him a deadly blow and the merman fell into the sand.
The fight was now one on one and the long-haired merman was being dealt hammering blows, but he was still holding his ground against the warrior. I noted how Zale was quicker than his opponent. It was like watching a dance, Zale knew preemptively every move the Hyven soldier made. With a flick of his wrist, he deflected any attack and slashed forward with his own blades. I watched the blood ooze out of the many gashes in the long-haired merman’s chest and I wondered how much longer he could stay standing.
A movement flickered in the corner of my eye and I tore my gaze from the fight. The dark merman was walking over to the carcass of my first attacker. He bent over and unceremoniously yanked the bloodied knife from the deceased Hyven’s back. When he turned back to look at the slaughter that was taking place near me, time seemed to move in slow motion. He stared at the fight, his eyes focused on Zale, and when he grasped the knife tighter in his hand and lifted it to his shoulder I knew, in an instant, what was about to happen.
My hand rose to my shoulder on its own accord. I gripped the knife tightly, but then Zale’s voice came into my head, Relax your hand around the handle. My hand responded, and I felt the hilt become one with my arm. Then, with all the power I had in my body, I threw the knife directly at the dark merman.
At the last moment he jerked out of the way, but not far enough to remain unscathed. He grimaced and growled in my direction. Blood seeped from the wound on his left arm, and ran down over his hand. My stomach lurched and I took a step backward.
The dark merman raised the knife again, but this time it was aimed at me. Bloodlust filled his eyes and his upper lip curled back in concentration. Once more I saw the rotten black tooth and staggered further away. My legs felt like jelly as I tried to get them to move.
I watched the blade, waiting for the release. The sharp edge flickered in the moonlight as my muscles readied to twitch at the slightest movement, but I knew I didn’t have much of a chance. If he could throw half as fast as Zale, I wouldn’t even have time to flinch before it hit me.
My death was coming, I was sure of it. The knife hand cocked back and I was about to dive to the side when a dark blur rushed forward and crashed into the Hyven soldier. The shadow with gold hair slashed the knife hand off the dark merman. I watched as the severed hand fell into the sand with a sickening thud and my stomach churned. In horror, I saw Zale place both hands on either side of the dark merman’s face. My eyes squeezed shut and I turned away, as a shriek of pain and a loud crack resounded along the beach, and everything went quiet.
I inhaled deeply, trying to still the harsh beating of my heart but my breath was ragged and shaky. When I opened my eyes, I looked anywhere but at the ground. Anything to keep me from seeing the remnants of the bodies. My hands shook violently and the images of the flashing blades and dripping blood passed quickly by as my mind latched onto the rotten tooth. It was all I could think about and the more I focused on it, the more I felt my stomach lurch in an attempt to empty itself onto the cold sand beneath my feet. Somewhere in my mind, I knew I was going into shock and with what little strength I had left, I tried to reach for something outside of myself.
Just then, a loud splash reached my ears and I turned my head in the direction of the noise. My first thought had been Zale had left me here on the beach with the four dead mermen, but then I saw what he was doing. He picked up each soldier, as though they weighed no more than a child, and threw him into the water with as little care as possible. I cringed when he picked up the dark one and I saw the head flop to the side at an unnatural angle. The plunk of the severed hand only made what little food I had in my stomach creep toward my throat. I felt a cold sweat break out on my forehead and upper lip and closed my eyes again. If it wasn’t for the sea air, I would have lost all the contents of my stomach.
I struggled to take deep breaths and as I did, clarity was restored and I remembered something Kryssa had told me once.
It had been during those dark days, before Patrick’s attempted rescue, I had asked her where Wyeth, her deceased fiancé, was buried. She had told me he had been put into the water with ceremony. I asked her what it meant and
she told me all merfolk were buried at sea, that when a merperson died, their body was placed in the ocean and they would dissolve into nothing.
The memory came back to me now, forcefully, and it seemed as though it had been a lifetime ago Kryssa had told it to me.
When I reopened my eyes, I saw Zale covering up the patches of bloodied sand. The ground was returning to its usual color, when all of the sudden, he stopped using his boots to overturn the sand and faced me. I couldn’t bring myself to look into his eyes. Instead, I stared at his chest that was covered in a blood stained white shirt. My breath became short and constricted as he started to walk toward me.
Kryssa was right. He was dangerous and more powerful than I had realized.
I watched as he got closer with every crunch of his boots. My senses heightened and I wanted to flee, but knew I couldn’t. Suddenly, he grabbed my shoulders and yanked me against his chest. Tears filled my eyes and spilled over, the fear that had consumed me since I found him missing in the truck, finally released. He held me tight against his chest, his warm arms surrounding my whole body. I sobbed into his shirt, knowing the tears were mixing with the partially dried blood, but I couldn’t seem to stop.
The large warm hands, which were against my back, rubbed gently and after a while made my muscles relax. I shuddered as I tried to gather myself and maintain the emotions that were reeling within me.
“Are you okay?” He asked, his throat clogged. I nodded my head and didn’t look up. His arms tightened slightly as he gave me hug, and then I felt his curled fingers under my chin.
He lifted my face to his and I closed my eyes not wanting to show him how scared and vulnerable I had been. For some reason, I felt he would laugh at me for being a coward.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and they met his with a cautiousness I didn’t know I possessed. The look he gave me made my heart pound louder than it had in months. He stared at me as though I was something special, I could see the fear that I was hurt, the relief that I was alright, and something else I thought I could name, but knew to be impossible.
I don’t know how long we stood, just looking at each other with his arms around me and my hands pressed against his strong chest. I shivered slightly and knew it wasn’t from the cold, but Zale thought it was. With a quick movement, he scooped me up into his arms and walked away from the ocean back toward the shadowy buildings.
Reaching a hidden alley, he put me back on my feet and reached down to retrieve his belt of daggers from behind a dumpster. I wondered why he hadn’t left it on during the fight, but decided not to ask. He clasped the belt around his waist and then pulled his dark jacket out from the same spot. It covered up the bloodied shirt and made him look more human.
He turned back to me and scooped me up without invitation, to carry me through the darkness. I could feel the steady heartbeat in his chest against my arm and felt a stirring inside of me which I had thought was dead.
“Put your hood up,” Zale whispered, and I did as he said. We had reached the movie theater parking lot and groups of people were milling about. I wondered which movie had just ended. It wouldn’t be sensible to let people recognize me at this time of night, in the arms of a stranger.
Zale strode powerfully across the parking lot toward the truck until someone called out to him and his muscles tightened slightly. I tucked my head down a little farther, not wanting this person to see who I was.
“Hey! Is she okay?” The friendly voice sounded concerned, but I didn’t move in any way, not wanting the light from the street lamps to shine on my face.
“Yeah, she’s fine.” Zale called back, his voice sounding casual and carefree. “We were out on the shore and she fell asleep.”
The other person chuckled and said goodnight to Zale, to which he replied, “Thank you, and you too sir.”
His heavy boots continued to pound on the cracked pavement and a thought entered my mind.
“How’d you get to be such a gentleman?” I asked just loud enough for him to hear and felt him chuckle. It was partially a joke, but in truth, I was really curious.
We reached the truck and I was about to move when he told me to stay still and pretend I was asleep. Apparently, the friendly man, who had asked about me was parked nearby.
I waited patiently as Zale somehow managed to open the door without dropping me and then carefully sat me down on the seat. I tilted my head back against the head rest in feigned sleep, but my eyes were partly open, watching him.
He grabbed my seatbelt and pulled it across my body, clicking it into place. He lifted his eyes to mine and I suddenly became aware of how close our faces were. My breath caught, as his eyes drifted to my lips, and when he spoke softly his exhale touched my cheeks.
“Are you sure you are okay?” he asked, and brushed his thumb against the side of my cheek.
“Yes,” I said, barely a whisper.
He pulled away then and shut my door. As he walked around the front of the truck and hopped into the driver’s seat, I felt as if I saw and heard it all from a far off world.
My mind was in a whirl about the feelings he had just stirred in me, it reminded me of before and yet I didn’t want it to. I sat in my seat thoroughly confused and shocked to the core, at what had just happened.
16. Orders
It was late when we finally reached home. The trip back had been laden with unspoken words and the silence was suppressed, as though each sound from the roaring engine and the wind outside the truck, was more pronounced than before. The emotions running through me were enough to make my heart pound heavily within my chest, and I remained quiet. The uncertainty of what I had felt when he touched me was enough to make me tremble.
All the lights were off in the house, everyone must have gone to bed early. The side light was still on as it always was, a warm beacon welcoming me into the familiar house.
Zale turned off the engine of the truck with finality; I unbuckled and hopped out of the vehicle without looking at him. My mind was still too much of a mess, to even think straight. I reached the door to the house and opened it quickly, not even pausing to hold the door open for him behind me.
In seconds I was upstairs and in my room, my heavy jacket lay on the floor and I was in the process of taking off my long sleeve shirt when I heard his voice soft in the darkness.
“Lissie?” he asked.
I froze, standing with my back turned to the door. I dropped my long sleeve shirt on the floor, happy I still had my light blue tank top on.
“Yes?” I tried to sound casual, but it didn’t sound that way. My whole body was shivering from something I had long held at bay.
I never heard him move, so it surprised me when his warm fingers brushed my bare shoulders. I shivered again as he turned me around to face him. My eyes reached his and the dark pupils were so deep, I felt as though I was falling, falling into a place of security and warmth. There was also a glow in his eyes that I recognized, and when I looked at his lips, I knew what was coming.
Slowly, hi head lowered toward mine as he gave me a reassuring look. I closed my eyes in response and began to slide my arms up to his neck, when I felt the soft brush of my rolling bracelet.
Patrick, his name shot through my mind and tore at my heart. I still wanted him more than anything and the memories of him washed through me. I remembered him as he sat next to the glow of the fire in his log cabin. I saw him, as he jumped off the large rock at the waterfall. I heard his voice, as he told me he loved me and felt his lips on mine, as he kissed me with a passion I hadn’t known existed. His laugh, his eyes, his smile, his warm hands, his soothing words, his manner, all of it hit me so fast I gasped and turned my face away from Zale’s, just before he kissed me. My heart was hammering in my chest and my entire body shook.
I felt the tears run down my smooth skin like pouring rain and I pressed my face into Zale’s broad chest. He held me while I cried, not asking what was wrong, but simply accepting he should comfort me. Yet, in the stillness I knew why t
he tears flowed so freely. It was as though my heart had broken all over again, or rather, I had broken my own heart.
Leaning forward I let the tears fall out of my eyes and onto Zale’s rough jacket. I knew I owed him an explanation but couldn’t find any words to say.
We stood for a long time until my tears finally stopped and my body became still. All the while, his large palms rubbed my back gently as he waited for me to speak, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“Are you okay?” It was the third time he’d asked me that question tonight, and I bit my lip, still not lifting my face from the rough fabric of his jacket. I couldn’t tell him I was. After sobbing twice in one night, I was far from all right.
“Hey,” he curled his fingers under my chin just as he had on the beach and lifted my face upward. I braced myself for the emotions I would feel when I looked into his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
I internally groaned, what could I tell him? My mind raced, trying to think of something that would give him the truth, but not everything. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings or make him angry with me. Although angry would probably be better. I deserved it, after what I had just done.
“It’s just,” my throat was more clogged than I had thought it would be. “that, uh, well,” I bit my lip, “its Patrick.”
I watched as comprehension filled his eyes and his face shut down and become that of the warrior again. No emotion could get through the solid barrier. It was a locked door I had only seen open on rare occasions. I waited for him to become angry with me, but instead, he stayed silent and let his hands slip off my shoulders.
“Oh,” was all he said and he stepped back from me looking toward the window.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, the words feeble, but the best I had to offer.
He turned from me and I was sure he was going to leave and never come back. In an instant images of what would happen flooded my mind and I knew they were true. He would leave, and in his anger Lathmor would take the brunt of his actions. My fear spread to those I knew on Lathmor, the faces of the princesses, the captain, and Elik filled my mind. Yet, underneath all the worry for those I cared for, was something more frightening. The reason I wanted him to stay was for me, and the very thought of it terrified me to my core.
Ripples (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 2) Page 16
