“Uh-huh. Yep. Sure.” Nope. No. Not.
He squeezed me into him as we passed behind a rather intimidating table set right at the edge of the stands. The table was bronze with emerald inlays and resembled a wild seaweed bed with its tall, twisting pieces hovering above its occupants. Madame Helena, sporting another insane suit, this one with screaming yellow faces on white taffeta, sat between Luxton Vipor and Principal Jeepers.
“Love your dress,” said Maile as I approached.
“Thanks. Bet you’re glad it’s nighttime.”
“Lord, yes!” she said, rolling her eyes.
Meikle flipped her bag over her shoulder. “Know what you’re doing?”
“No,” I said. “But I’m assuming my brain and heart know.”
“Whatever you do, just be careful of that divot right behind our request rock,” said Maile.
“Uh, what divot?” I asked.
Maile pointed it out. “It’s about three feet behind our rock. You could twist your ankle bad if you catch it. I better get back to the stands. Good luck, and watch that divot!”
I still couldn’t see it. Obviously, her night vision picks up everything. “Thanks, and I’ll watch for it.”
“I thought there’d be a band,” said Gully. Tonight, her hair was tied up in a really high ponytail. “Maybe like a college band to get everyone geared up. You know, like how a certain Bengal-band from the bayou does? We need that for the Normals. Coach Jex, could you put a request in for a band? Ooh, maybe for the bayou band themselves! How cool would that be?! Da, da, da dum! Da da da—”
Polly simply reached over and yanked on Gully’s ponytail; though Gully frantically felt around her hair tie, pulling and tightening it, she immediately fell quiet.
“Works like a light switch,” said Polly. Polly’s demon traits were a bit unruly at night.
“A rude light switch,” said Ophelia under her breath.
“Where is team Merpeople?” I asked, looking around.
“My best guess? Katrina and her obnoxious coach want to make a grand entrance,” said Jex. “And here they come, now, just as I said.”
Troy, Airianna, and Benji walked well behind Muriel and Irving, who were holding the long train of Katrina’s orchid-colored gown like servants. Leading the lot of them was their coach, Margaretta, who wore a daring black lace gown.
Eyeing Katrina’s gown, I said, “Okay, now, come on! It’s a purple-ish color. Purple is the color of the Ravenflames. How is that a show of merperson solidarity? And listen to the stands! They’re going ape. The Fairhairs have issues.”
“Patience, Savior,” said Jex. “If there’s one thing I’ve seen in my many years flying above life, it’s that dishonorable creatures have an ugly way of revealing themselves. It just takes time.”
“Yeah, time…the real enemy,” I mused as Madame Helena began quieting the crowd.
“Welcome to the wish ceremony, everyone!” The raucous applause was enough to awaken whatever sleeps in the deepest depths of the sea. “Please welcome our teams. Team Merpeople!”
Margaretta held her arms to the side, permitting Katrina to lead the team. The merps went absolutely crazy, cheering, chanting, and applauding. Caught up in the madness, Muriel skipped a little ahead of Katrina. When she did, Katrina placed her hand on Muriel’s shoulder, and sternly said, “Behind me. Always.” Muriel smiled meekly and fell in line.
I never have to worry about Troy finding my eyes. We exchanged small smiles, but our eyes shared a conversation. He was in hell with Katrina as their captain, but even more alarming was his concern over her wish.
“Airi might puke,” said Trey.
“And you can tell this how?” I asked.
“Oh,” he said, smiling softly. “We’ve come up with our own language. She rubbed her stomach, thumped her throat, and stuck out her tongue. That means she might barf.”
“And, uh, how would you translate two fingers pointed at you, followed by a hand floating down the front of her body?” I asked, smirking at him.
Crossing his arms and puffing out his chest, he said, “I look hot.”
Shaking my head, I just laughed. “You two might be my very favorite couple, well, apart from me and Troy.”
“Yeah, you and Troy are…really not my favorite pairing,” he said, and I punched him in the arm. “But, he obviously loves you, so…yeah.”
“Miss Zale, if you would step up to the rightmost request rock,” said Madame Helena.
“Hey, she forgot to introduce us!” I said.
“Absolute hag of a woman,” Polly groaned.
“Miss Zale, stay where you are,” said Vipor. “Everyone, please give a warm welcome to team Normals!”
“Here we go! Marina, lead us out,” said Jex.
“No. Arm in arm, in a row, as one,” I said, looping my right arm with Trey and my left with Meikle.
Polly quickly connected with Meikle; to Polly’s extreme dismay, Gully bouncily hooked arms with her.
Linking with Trey, Ophelia whispered, “In case I faint, I trust you’ll catch me. Pretty sure Gully would think it’s a joke, laugh, and miss me.”
“Let’s go,” I said.
We walked past Luxton Vipor, Madame Helena, and our friendly principal, and into a very quiet arena. Apart from some subtle boos, there were a few obligatory claps. Mom, as always, could blow a light bulb with the booming voice she hides beneath her gracefully comical exterior.
“Miss Zale, Miss Valentine, please approach your request rocks,” said Madame Helena.
Though we walked opposite each other for the same purpose, our gaits couldn’t be more different. My stride was brisk, strong, and determined, while Katrina’s had a lethal slinkiness. I barely missed the divot Maile warned me about as I approached my request rock and turned to face Madame Helena.
“Now, then, please retrieve your jars and remove the lids,” she said. “Be careful not to break them. If you do, the wish goes to your opponent.”
Katrina had her lid off before I even had my jar in my hands. Carefully removing the jar from the top of the rock, I slowly turned the lid and placed it on a lower part of the rock.
Madame Helena watched me with an annoyed expression. “Very well. When you are ready, step up to your rock, find the star that speaks to you, and make your wish. When the wish is made, place the lid back on and tighten it. Once the lid is on, the wish is irrevocable.”
Katrina had already found her star by the time I stepped up to my rock; her star was big, flashy, and strangely intimidating. Determined not to let her distract me, I frowned, squeezed my eyes shut, and tilted my head to the sky. When I opened my eyes, a single, tiny, baby star, shining as brightly as it could, caught my eye. It reminded me of a misfit toy…and I knew this little fella was mine.
Staring at my star, I heard the voices of all my friends, their wish suggestions echoing off flashes of words in my mind—words like freedom, security, right, wrong, justice, and fairness. The words and voices swirled together; faster and faster the letters and sounds twisted in my mind’s eye until they were nothing but a burst of silver specks. Then, like confetti, the silver pieces gently fell from my inner vision, and I felt a warm, tingling sensation flow down my face, neck, and chest. My breaths quickened as the area around my heart filled me with what I can only describe as intensely unfiltered joy.
With a blissful sigh, I watched as the tiny star dropped a delicate ribbon of dazzling light directly into the jar resting in my hands. My wish was made. I placed the lid on the jar, making sure it was on tight, and watched my radiant wish float within.
“Now that both wishes have been made,” bellowed Madame Helena, “I hereby declare this moment, the start of the first ever OVERFALLS!”
The stars above treated us to an incredible light show. Similar to a big fireworks display, the larger stars released blasts of white light in the forms of various shells, while the smaller ones shot amazingly detailed flashes that reminded me of snowflakes. All sides enjoyed the merriment o
f the moment, and, for a time, some seemed to forget they were enemies, as my mom and Maile excitedly engaged a few Fairhairs in handshakes and jovial conversation.
With my wish in hand, I spun around on my heel to find my team giving me various ‘way to go’ gestures (well, except for Meikle…she half-smiled). Relieved to see their enthusiasm and confidence in me, I shifted my attention to Katrina’s team. While Muriel and Irving animatedly showed their support, Airianna and Benji wore strained smiles, and Troy…was gone. My eyes searched everywhere for him, but he was nowhere to be found.
As the festivities continued, Luxton Vipor, already carrying Katrina’s jar, stood beside me. Staring at the sky, he said, “Wasn’t as bad as you thought, was it?”
“Actually, it was kinda awesome. Although, I was disappointed not to find a top hat-wearing, umbrella swinging, singing cricket waiting for me,” I teased, halfheartedly handing him my wish.
With a wink, he said, “We opted out of the cricket program. Crickets have a tendency to complicate everything. I’ll keep these wishes safe. No need to worry.”
“Oh, I know. It’s not that. It’s just…I don’t know what my wish is, exactly.”
Vipor grinned. “Yes, you do. You just know on an unconscious level. Your star knew, and that’s what matters. Now, just enjoy, Marina. Things have a way of falling into place.”
I smiled, flipped my hair over my shoulder, and saw the figure of someone watching us from the cave Troy and I call our escape. There was something off about it, though I didn’t know exactly what it was that bothered me.
The star show finally quieted down, and our principal stood front and center, his voicing drawing my attention away from the mysterious figure. “On Labor Day, join us for the Overfalls Opening Ceremony! Festivities begin at three o’clock in the afternoon, so get here early! Trust me when I say, you will not want to miss a moment! This event has been many years in the making. Until then, work hard, train harder, and enjoy the anticipation…I promise it will be maddening!”
I applauded with everyone else, but my focus returned to that strange, shadowy figure…a figure that was now gone.
Chapter Nine
Train Wrecked
Aw, I can’t take much more of this horse crap. For the ninth freaking time, I was flat on my back with Troy on top of me, pinning me down. Sounds sexy, doesn’t it? Oh, yeah, I had raging hormones, all right—the ‘I’m gonna effing kill him’ kind of raging. Doctor Tenly decided to hold my first Savior training session in the immense basement of Hambury House. The doctor and Treeva had transformed the entire floor into a modernized training facility, fully equipped with mats, lifelike human and merperson dummies for fighting, various weapons from both the land and sea, and a case of contained, snarling creatures I assume I’ll have to practice against…if I can stay off my ass long enough to try.
“Good Poseidon, Marina, this is pathetic,” Doctor Tenly groaned.
“If you don’t get off me now, Troy, I will hurt you,” I growled.
“That’d be a nice change from Savior down and she can’t get up!” Jex sneered.
Shoving Troy off of me, I stretched my sore back and glared at Doctor Tenly. “Maybe if you gave me some direction, rather than just unleashing these two on me! At this rate, I’m going to be too broken to compete!”
“Nah, speedy healing comes with being the Savior,” said Doctor Tenly.
Wonderful. Before I could enjoy some cuddly mental whining with myself, Jex flew over my head, grabbed my underarms, and lifted me off the floor.
“Use your legs, Marina,” said Doctor Tenly. “Pull him with your ankles, use him to flip yourself over...do something! Find your power!”
I’ve found that determined and pissed go together like peanut butter and jelly. With my legs dangling like useless noodles, I looked up at Jex—his egotistical man-grin plastered on his face—and had the sudden urge to kick him in the nuts. So, I decided to do the next best thing, at least to an angel dude: sock him in his wings. Focusing all my energy into my arms, I slammed them against Jex’s wings. With a defeated groan, Jex released me and landed hard on the floor; in contrast, my body felt light, fast, and bendy as I gently dropped, crouched in an attack position, my left leg stretched out to the side. My mind was razor sharp, my senses as finely tuned as a vampire, and my body felt as stealthy as a panther.
Troy grinned mischievously before turning on the speed. In a millisecond, he was on my right, then left, then right again; before I knew it, he had my leg. He flipped me in the air and twisted me around, and I knew he was positioning me for the pin-down. With mere inches before he caught his prey, I rolled sideways, barely slipping away from his arms; capitalizing on his shock, I hastily threw my body atop his, using my legs to hold him in place.
“We really need to do this more often,” he said huskily, before knocking my right leg out from under me, softly turning me over. He had me, again…oh, man, did he have me.
“Always have to have the final flip, don’t you?” I purred.
“Think you’ll find I’m good either way,” he whispered.
#$%! And just like that, my hormones go from raging blood and guts to raging like red silk sheets.
“Such a guy,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Off…now…for both our sakes.”
“You did nothing I suggested,” said Doctor Tenly, breaking into an enormous grin. “And that’s called finding your power.”
Standing up, I said, “Felt good, too…the power and attack and stuff.” Phew. I need ice water. No, no, please, brain, stop imagining an ice cube running down Troy’s chest. Oh, die.
“It’ll get better,” said Troy, not taking his eyes off me.
Damn. Not helpful, Troy.
“Better for whom?” said Jex, rubbing his sore wings.
“Sorry about the wing punches. It just felt right,” I said, shrugging.
“Always go with those feelings,” Troy added. Jex snarled at him.
“One observation,” started Doctor Tenly. “You could’ve punched Troy off of you that second time and returned to an even match.”
Uh, no. In all seriousness, I could never imagine hitting the man I love. “I didn’t want to hit him. I wanted to do something else.” Doctor Tenly cleared his throat and stared uncomfortably at the ceiling, while Jex smiled at a dust ball on the floor. When I glanced over at Troy, he had his hand over his mouth, trying to conceal his grin, but there wasn’t anything he could do about his laughing eyes. “I just mean I can’t hit my boyfriend. I’d rather find another way.”
“You’re throwing him around well enough,” said Doctor Tenly. “Troy’s as tough as you are. Trust me, he can take a punch.”
“The doctor’s right,” said Troy, “I can take the punch without taking it personally.”
“I’d be glad to use him to illustrate some effective punches,” offered Jex.
“No, there will be no punches,” I said, sweeping my hands as an umpire would when he signals a player safe in baseball. “Troy and I could practice escape techniques, like we did today. It works my senses...and then some…and sharpens my focus, tests my speed and agility...I really don’t see a drawback.”
“The drawback is you need to learn to hit,” said Jex.
“Hit you pretty good today,” I said, crossing my arms.
“Jex is right, Marina,” said Doctor Tenly. “You’ll have to be able to fight, box, the works, and I don’t mean just as the aggressor. You'll need to dodge an attacker’s strikes as well.”
“Fine. I’ll box with Jex and wrestle with Troy.” Even I want to call myself a lucky bitch right now.
“Sounds good to me,” said Troy. “Jex?”
Wearing a calculating expression, Jex replied, “Yeah, okay. I’ve got no problems taking hits…and giving them.”
“Oh, you’re not going to hit her,” said Troy crossly.
“She has to be able to avoid hits where possible, and take them and keep going,” said Doctor Tenly. “I would’ve expected you to hit her, if
she had been willing to hit you.”
Troy simply said, “Never.”
“Eh, that’s all right, my fin friend, I’ll be sure to toughen her up for ya. After all, I like it rough,” said Jex.
Before Troy could explode, I quickly added, “And I have no issues beating the crap out of you, Coach.”
“Excellent,” said Doctor Tenly. “Now, I’ll make arrangements with the Angel Awareness Association—make sure they don’t yank you up to a heaven hearing after each whack on Marina.”
“I don’t like this,” said Troy.
“Then you’re really going to hate having to train your inner demon with me tomorrow,” said Jex.
Troy swore and shook his head.
“Time for a subject change,” I said, not keen to watch Troy’s murderous glare at Jex materialize. “During the wish ceremony, I saw someone standing near The Serenading Soldier.”
“By the cave?” asked Doctor Tenly, somewhat surprised.
“Yes, but I couldn’t see who it was or anything. Something about the figure freaked me out, but I have no clue why,” I said.
“It’s probably some merp that doesn’t like crowds. Or maybe it was a Zale, like Kyle or somebody,” said Jex.
“Could be,” I said. “But I would think Kyle would want to be seen and be all intimidating.” Troy, being uncharacteristically quiet, frowned at a mer-dummy across the room. “Have a thought, or are you going to eye-murder that dummy over there?”
Shrugging, he said, “I really don’t know. Some merps don’t want to be seen on land, but maybe something as epic as a wish ceremony drew one out of the water, only he or she didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Or didn’t want their families to find out,” added Doctor Tenly.
“That too,” said Troy.
“Where did you go, by the way? After I made the wish, you were gone,” I said.
Troy’s body stiffened a bit. “It’s not something that needs reporting.” I crossed my arms and brought out the bitch brow (totally my new thing). “Fine. I had to…”
“Use the bathroom?” supplied Jex.
OVERFALLS (The Merworld Water Wars, Book 2) Page 15
