“Oh. Okay. Well, I don’t need the crowd. I just need you. We could have our own private prom on the beach…ooh, or how about in the clouds? Can that be done? I mean, obviously Jex lives in the clouds, so I reckon we wouldn’t fall through them if we had permission or were enchanted or something. Of course, he does have wings, which helps…” And now the babbling becomes embarrassing. “But, really, how amazing would it be to dance in the clouds beside the moon?” There are some daydreams a girl really should keep to herself.
“What I meant to say was…I can’t take you to the prom. I can’t take you anywhere.”
That hurt. A lot. “Can’t, or won’t?”
“You deserve someone better than this sideshow freak.”
“Don’t call yourself that. We’re all screwed up. Hell, every person on the planet is screwed up, and if someone says they aren’t, they’re lying. But it doesn’t mean you quit on somebody just because the road gets a little rocky. You don’t just quit on love.”
“I wish you knew how much this kills me, and your words with those beautiful, soulful eyes are making it worse.”
My heart raced. “Are you breaking up with me?”
“I’m breaking up with us because I’m broken; I’m not wired right. I have no choice. I could’ve killed you, twice now.”
“But you didn’t. Frankly, I kicked your ass both times, and I’ll do it again and again, if I have to.”
“It’s getting stronger, Marina. You know that, you felt it. The more the demon comes out, the stronger he gets. I won’t risk hurting you.”
“And I’m getting stronger, too! We can get through this, Troy. You’re letting fear dictate your choices! The very thing you lecture me about!”
“This isn’t fear talking. It’s my heart. Jesus, can’t you hear it breaking?”
My eyes filled with tears. “The Sandtalians came back with their findings, then? Is that what this is all about?”
“No, not yet. We can’t be sure what they’ll find, and I’m not going to take any chances with you. I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you. I wouldn’t live with myself. I wouldn’t live.”
“Doctor Tenly. We’ll go to him about some counter-device to stop the trigger—”
“Marina, we’ve already tried that—”
“What happened to you and your whole thing about not giving up hope?” I screamed.
“I do have hope. But I need to be realistic this time. Lives are at stake…one life in particular. You deserve someone better.”
“Not when you’re already the best,” I said, choking back tears.
“I love you, but love sometimes means letting go. And that’s what I have to do, no matter how much it destroys me—I deserve to be destroyed. I’ve earned nothing more. I certainly haven’t earned you, but I love you. Always will.” He caressed my cheek. “My Rubylocks.” In one swift move, he sped along the side of the cave, jumped in the water, and disappeared beneath the waves.
*****
Fair Weather Fair. Why I decided to go to the fair, I do not know. Maybe I needed a distraction from my brain’s annoying ability to play like a broken record; considering this soundtrack would feature Troy’s voice breaking up with me, deafening inner-monologue-silencing noise was a necessity. Not wanting to go totally alone, I stopped by the house to pick up Spritz; furry was better than fury or forlorn.
The fair was identical to last year’s extravaganza, except I didn’t have Troy.
“Hi, Marina! Hey Spritz-y!” Ophelia stooped down to pet Spritz. Irving stood a ways back, glaring at me. “This fair is incredible! Irving even took me on some merp-only rides. Insanely hot.”
Ooh. Not good. Recently dumped and in a dark place doesn’t mix well when faced with a friend and her ‘foe-slash-faux’ relationship. “Ophelia, I’ve bitten my tongue a long while now…I’m happy you’re happy, don’t get me wrong. I just really hope you know what you’re doing, because your boyfriend is staring at me like I’m a stack of hay in desperate need of a match. And, frankly, Polly was right—if he’s the real deal, why doesn’t he sit with you at lunch, or ask you to sit with him? I mean, he’s not taking any flack from Katrina. Isn’t that kind of a big, flashing neon sign?”
“You too? So, is this coming from Polly’s inane need to nitpick about everyone, apart from her own fouled-up self? Or maybe Benji’s incessant blathering about Irving has finally gotten to you.”
“Benji cares, and Polly’s nitpicking isn’t always unjustified.”
“Yeah, Benji cares…about himself. Irving loves me, okay? And Katrina…she’s just obsessed with you and Troy. We aren’t even on her radar—”
“If you believe that, then you really are as naïve as Benji thinks.”
“Benji is a jealous, self-loathing prick! Irving told me all about him—”
“Oh yeah? Did Irving also tell you that the reason Benji has been wigging out so much is because he’s completely in love with you?” She took a step back, her eyes wide as the lines on her face softened slightly. “Guess not. Just figure out who loves you, and don’t take it lightly, okay? Look around! This world is full of evil, manipulative, backstabbing bastards. Love is hard enough to find, but in this world, it’s even harder to hang on to. Find it, and don’t let go.”
I took Spritz and headed for nowhere. The fairgrounds were jam-packed this year; it made for excellent non-human-people watching. Several werewolves shifted from human to wolf form for a group of giggling mer-children; a group of gnomes danced atop giant mushrooms trying to impress a couple of seriously gorgeous vampire women; Airianna and seal-Trey competed in The Loch Ness Nest ride; Polly was busy punishing the vampire who did the bite-and-run during the Valentine’s ball—honestly, not much exists to startle a vampire, unless you toss in a Ferris wheel, King Salverz’s demon beings, and a leaping part-demon chick with pink hair.
Behind the carousel ride, flashes of white light caught my eye. At first, I thought it might be from a storm out over the water…until I saw a woman with bright white hair emerging from a red haze.
“Spritz, come on!” I said, running for the woman. When she was within my grasp, I grabbed her arm and flipped her around. She had his eyes. Resting atop her long, black gown was a silver pendant in the shape of a fin. “You’re Trey’s mother, aren’t you?” Her eyes filled with an odd mix of fear, longing, and hate. “Lies got your tongue? Let me see if I can fill in the blanks. You put the owl pendant around Trey’s neck when you and daddy-of-the-year dumped him off on Mr. Campbell’s doorstep. Daddy still has his wave pendant. My best guess? You’re a mermaid. Or maybe daddy’s the merp. Am I close?”
“Close, yet still so far.” She snapped her fingers and disappeared in a shimmer.
“Oh my God. She’s a witch. And that means she’s the—and his mannerisms—the constant avoidance…I’m going to kill Doctor Tenly.”
*****
Hambury House. Bursting through the front door and placing Spritz on the floor, I ripped through the study and headed to the basement. There, Doctor Tenly sat with his head in his hands as Treeva gently rubbed his back. They weren’t at all surprised by my presence.
“The witch that’s been helping The Dealer…she’s Trey’s mother, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“And his father? He’s a merman?”
“Yes,” said Doctor Tenly, wiping a thick layer of oil from his forehead, his eyes terribly sad. “His father doesn’t want to be found. He’s in hiding. It must stay that way, for the safety of his son.”
I zoomed up to him and tore open his shirt. Sparkling against his skin was a wave pendant. I stumbled backwards. “You…you’re Trey’s father.”
“I am,” said Doctor Tenly.
Looking to Treeva, I said, “And you knew?”
“I’ve known for a long time. I just didn’t know it was Trey,” said Treeva.
“You need to start talking…in a serious cut-to-the-chase format.”
Doctor Tenly took a deep breath. “When
he revealed himself as a seal, I wondered for one blissful second. When he transformed into water to save Airianna during the hearing, I knew, deep inside of me. Yet my mind refused to believe. After all, how often do we see a dream and a nightmare simultaneously come true? It wasn’t until after you mentioned a witch cursing the town’s shops on behalf of The Dealer that I realized his mother was here, and then all was real. It was a miracle…but a cursed miracle.”
“Why would the return of your son be a curse?”
“Because…” Doctor Tenly glanced at Treeva. “Because of his mother.”
“Who is she? What’s her name?”
Doctor Tenly slowly met my worried, angry eyes. “Saveena…Tombolo.”
My knees literally buckled beneath me. Falling to the cold floor, I said, “Tombolo. Trey…is a Tombolo?”
“Trey Tombolo-Tenly,” said the doctor.
Treeva shot an odd, almost exasperated glance at Doctor Tenly. Perhaps actually hearing the truth spelled out in a name hurt more than simply knowing the truth. “Saveena is my mother’s sister, my aunt. Their great grandfather many times over was a Normal. It’s why you see some variations in our family. Our hair color, for example—Saveena has white hair, and my mother and I have dark hair.”
“This isn’t happening,” I muttered in disbelief. “The Imperia…they told my mom that no human can procreate with a mythological being. It’s outlawed, right, so…”
“In this day and time, governmental busybodies practically live in everyone’s bedroom, but back in the day, such unions were much harder to discover,” said Treeva.
“Governments can outlaw to their heart’s desire, but no one can outlaw love,” said Doctor Tenly. “Love is the one magic no one can control, for better or worse.”
“What happened between you and Saveena? Why did you give Trey up?”
“We had no choice, Marina. We were in love, but we were on opposite sides. Sound familiar? It’s a tale that repeats itself, doesn’t it? Her family was staunchly against their daughter being with a Ravenflame. They didn’t even know I was the traitor. All they knew was my hair was black with red streaks. That’s all it took. When Saveena’s father found out she was pregnant, he disinherited her and placed a kill-fee on the baby. King Zale, meanwhile, heard of this unique baby and offered a reward for any merp who could bring the child to him. Our only option was to hide him in your world, away from Merpeople. We needed to find a purely good soul—they’re harder to find than you might think.”
“Oh, no, I pretty much think they’re endangered,” I said.
Doctor Tenly’s wonderfully calming smile returned for a moment. “Through magic, we found Mr. Campbell using moonstone and agate. See, the words he used to describe us—disinherited and disloyal—were the words we left in his mind. We wanted to keep Trey from ever searching for his biological parents. So, the words we planted had disinterest charms. Every time Mr. Campbell said them, Trey would become less and less interested in learning about his folks. On the flip side, Saveena and I also planted disinterest charms in each other. We erased our baby boy’s name from our minds, as well as Mr. Campbell’s identity.”
Before I could ask the next question in an endless string forming across my mind, Treeva said, “Their memories started coming back when Trey revealed his powers during the hearing.”
“If he was born of two merps, why isn’t he a merman?”
“He is,” said Treeva. “He just doesn’t know it.”
“But, wouldn’t he have to morph into his fin, like Airi has to? And wouldn’t that mean he needs the sea to survive?”
“Trey has the ability to turn into everything you see, hear, feel, and touch,” said Doctor Tenly. “Marina, he wouldn’t need the sea like the rest of us because he is the sea.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling a little woozy as the magnitude of his words crushed my mind. “I get it now, The Dealer’s game. Trey, the baby that shouldn’t have been, is back. He’s the target, isn’t he?”
“We don’t know that, Marina,” said Treeva.
“Uh, his mother is the witch helping The Dealer. Think we kinda know.”
“Saveena lost her soul when she lost her son,” said Doctor Tenly. “She retreated to the darkest forms of magic imaginable. I couldn’t save her. It’s what ended our relationship.”
“When she lost David on top of her son, Aunt Saveena became a witch-for-hire,” said Treeva. “It’s partly why I studied sorcery…to combat her, if need be.”
“All the more reason Trey’s the target! Hell, for all she knew, her son could have been with us that night in town! Her curses could’ve killed her own son. She obviously didn’t care too much about that happening, so why would it matter if The Dealer wants his head on a stack of cards, so long as she gets paid in full?!”
Treeva chuckled a bit. “Marina…Saveena didn’t put full-strength curses on our town that night. She wasn’t involved in the Shadow Wearers or the woman who died in the hotel room—that was strictly between The Dealer and whoever hired him or her.”
“When word of Trey’s powers spread through the mythological realms, I imagine her memories came back, as mine did. The Dealer likely issued a dark cloud offer seeking a witch. I have no doubt she took the job to protect him and, possibly, the group.”
“It doesn’t mean she isn’t dangerous,” said Treeva.
“No, it doesn’t. But it does mean she hasn’t entirely lost her heart to the dark…not for her son, anyway. Trey can’t know any of this, no one can. Not now. It’s too dangerous. If people found out who he is, it could make him the target, if he’s not already. Horrible irony, isn’t it? We put him in your world, thinking he would be safe, only for him to be outlawed there as well. The blessing is you found each other. Marina, I can’t let anything happen to my son.” The words caught in Doctor Tenly’s throat, and his eyes filled with tears. Treeva wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly.
Kneeling beside Doctor Tenly, I said, “I promise you, nothing will happen to Trey. Nothing.”
Chapter Twenty
Fire, Ice, & Broken Things
April: Raining fools
Monthly Life Caption: April Showers Bring Critical Hours
Mood: Brain-boinked
Eating: Chocolate anything
Music: Unmentionable
My post-breakup schedule for the past month has been as follows:
7:00 a.m. Wake up—feel pissed
8:30 a.m. See Troy—feel sad—wanna cry
8:31 a.m. Feel stupid and guilty for being wimpy when so much was going on
11:00 a.m. See Troy—feel yearning—wanna make-out
11:01 a.m. Feel like a selfish bitch for being horny when so much was going on
Lunch. No-show-Troy = screw him vibe; hear Trey laugh = wanna blab + feel guilty
Afternoon. Class with Troy = semi-sick stomach and gas
Training (Savior and team). Enraged
Evening. Homework. *&!# the world
Bedtime. So over him…until the dreams start
Despite the ever-changing range of emotions, I haven’t actually cried over Troy. The lack of real tears disturbed me. Perhaps I was still in denial. Or maybe it was everything else, like the Overfalls, The Dealer, my mom, who was working herself sick…and Trey. First, he was a seal—then he was water—next up, was fire and wind—and now, he’s a merman, a Tombolo, and son of Doctor Tenly. Then there was Airianna, who was placed under a horrendous curse by her own father simply because she fell in love with a Normal…who wasn’t a Normal after all. How can people be so blind to the dangers and sheer stupidity of pre-judging and labeling others? The levels of sadness, rage, and disgust coursing through me were almost too much to handle. And with our final team match just hours away, I was two gags shy of checking into an insane asylum.
Knotty Nook Woods, final training. What can you say about fire? It burned, was hot as hell, and instantly ignited irritation across the board.
“My hair is gray from soot,” said Poll
y, wiping ash from her clothes. “I’m sweaty, someone has very bad body odor, and I’m exhausted.”
“Have to echo Polly,” I said, breathing heavily. “Jex, you’ve had us face dragons, fire rings, fire tubes, lava baths…we’ve got it.”
“I suppose you all are adept at fighting fire,” said Jex. “Few notes, though. Trey, focus on your water and fire personas, but don’t forget some form of sand or dirt for putting out the flames. Ophelia, freezing fire flares will buy time and perhaps allow someone to smash it in half if they have a weapon. Speaking of weapons…Polly, don’t forget that any weapon forged of fire will defeat fire. Meikle…I dunno…just keep doing your witch-y thing. And, Gully, I’m begging you, please don’t think about how pretty the flames are, yeah?”
“Okay, coach,” said Gully, watching a firefly above her head. “Wouldn’t it be neat to light up? Maile sort of does that, though. Sometimes, I wish I was lit.”
“Who doesn’t right now?” I muttered.
“You mean she isn’t already?” said Polly under her breath.
“Wrong word choice, Gully,” said Trey, laughing.
“Pretty sure Rips could help you out, right Maile?” said Jex as Maile rolled her eyes and nodded. “Or you can try some of my hurricane rain. Does wonders for gray-winged angels. After seeing what aged root beer did to Marina’s mom, you may become successfully lit, Gully.”
With her delightfully blank eyes and wide smile, Gully said, “Um, what does that mean exactly?”
“Means we’re having a go at you, but only because we like you,” said Jex.
“Oh, okay,” said Gully merrily.
“Go on, get out of here. Get some rest and hydrate,” said Jex, waving. “Stay a minute, Savior.”
“I was wondering why you didn’t have any tips for me,” I said.
Once everyone had faded away, Jex conjured a couple of bright white cushions. “Sit. Heard about you and fish prince. You doing all right?”
“This news ticked all across the mer-magazines weeks ago,” I said. “You’re not just hearing about the ‘dump of the year,’ as Clarissa Smoggrove put it.”
OVERFALLS (The Merworld Water Wars, Book 2) Page 33
