Evergreen (Mer Tales, Book 2)

by Pandos, Brenda

  “What are you doing?” I managed to say.

  “Getting us out of here!”

  She turned the wheel toward the highway. We couldn’t merge into traffic, not going five miles an hour.

  “You can’t possibly think we’re going to coast anywhere, do you?”

  “Then help me!”

  I gave my head a hard shake to release the overwhelming drunkenness assaulting my senses. My tail, thicker than hers, was smashed on the floorboard and wrapped under Galadriel’s caudal fin. I rolled over and pulled the lever to lower the driver’s seat all the way down. Then I yanked myself forward so my hands could reach the pedals.

  “Gas it,” she yelled.

  I pressed the gas and the car lurched forward, bumping over rocks and potholes. She maneuvered the car to the left. Someone honked, disrupting her confidence. She yanked us onto the bumpy shoulder. I let up on the gas.

  “I can’t merge over,” she squealed.

  I wanted to switch places, frustrated all I could see was her terrified face and the night sky out of the passenger window.

  “You can do it. Just tell me what to do.”

  “Okay.” She pushed her damp hair off her forehead. “Let me get comfortable.”

  She flopped her body the rest of the way onto the passenger’s seat and moaned. Blood seeped from the side of her dorsal fin. “Crap. That’s going to leave a scar.”

  She leaned further over to the wheel and wove her tail around on the ground. Her fin fanned behind her head. Headlights hit her face as she turned to look behind us. “Okay, on my word, hit it.”

  “Okay.”

  “Hit it!”

  I pushed down hard on the gas.

  She gasped as the car lurched forward. Dirt spun under the tires as we merged onto the road.

  “I did it.” A smile finally appeared on her face. She studied the road again. “Okay. I think I see the lake.”

  “Good.” I took a deep breath.

  “Brake—BRAKE!”

  I pushed the brakes hard.

  “No, NO! That’s too hard. The gas—gas it!”

  Cars honked all around us.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Just keep the gas steady!” Galadriel’s voice wavered. “Okay—let up. Now give it more. Listen to me, Fin!”

  “I am!”

  Every instruction took all my concentration as knives pounded into my brain. Why did I knock out like that again?

  “Did you drug me?” I asked.

  “I—we just—fell asleep—more gas. Not that much! Let up.” Her hands shook as she gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles.

  My stomach and neck ached from bearing all my weight. I leaned my head against the door.

  “Don’t fall asleep again!” she yelled in a panic.

  “I’m not. This is majorly uncomfortable.”

  “Well, if you would have sang!”

  “I tried. My voice wouldn’t work.”

  Galadriel shook her head. “More gas. Well, I kind of—let up!”

  Dirt and rocks embedded themselves into the underside of my arms. I tried not to think about what other disgusting stuff might be on the floor of the taxi. Her ripped up shorts circled her waist. A hint of purple liquid was splattered on the white fabric.

  “You octopus inked me!” I yelled. “You wanted me knocked out. Why?”

  “It was an accident. I just—Oh, no. OH, NO!” she cried.

  A red flicker hit the mirror.

  “Where’s the lake? Is it close?”

  “I don’t know. Just—just floor it!”

  I pressed the gas as Galadriel swerved the wheel. We jerked left then right and back again. I tucked my head down and tried to stay balanced.

  “Just steer us for the lake!” I yelled.

  “I don’t know where it is—oh wait. I see it!”

  “Great! Keep driving towards it.”

  Tires squealed and sirens blared.

  “Can you sing your way out of this one, Fin?”

  “Just keep driving.”

  Galadriel breathed hard, like she’d run a race. “They’re gaining on us. And—there are four cars now.” A white rectangular block of light from the rear view mirror illuminated the terror behind her eyes.

  “Pull over!” I heard blaring behind us as a strobe light lit up the inside of the taxi.

  “Just go!” I yelled.

  Galadriel whimpered. “There’s a motorcycle cop next to me.”

  “Keep going!”

  She turned and waved to someone I couldn’t see. “I wish you could sing. Should I roll down the window?”

  “He won’t hear me. Keep going.”

  She repeatedly looked to the left hand side of the car. “He’s motioning me to pull over.”

  “Don’t.”

  “Okay.”

  “How fast are we going?”

  “Over a hundred miles per hour. All the cars are out of our way now.”

  My heart pounded. How long could we do this?

  She gasped, freaking me out. “There’s the lake, Fin! It’s right next to us.”

  “Can you get us down there?”

  “I think I can. It’s just—steep.”

  “Is it drivable?”

  “Well, maybe. I—I don’t know.”

  “Is it or isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. I think I can do it.”

  I knew singing would be a better way to get out of this mess, but we needed to get into the water and if the lake was right there, I wanted to avoid anymore attention. The police would only let us run for so long before they shot our tires.

  Without warning Galadriel screamed, “Here goes nothing!”

  She yanked the car to the right and curled up in a ball, hiding her face. Suddenly there wasn’t a road under us. We were airborne. I pushed myself backward as the car tipped vertical. Darkness was all I could see through the windshield. I wrapped my arms over my head and tried to protect my face as the car flipped over and my body levitated to the ceiling.

  Then we hit, and everything went black.

  34

  :::

  ASH

  Thursday evening, April 21st

  The fresh air outside of the club felt amazing. I sucked in a bunch of cool sips, trying to slow down my feet and my heart rate.

  “Stop pulling me.” I yanked my spaghetti arm from my captor.

  “We have to keep going,” Callahan said. “Where’s your car?”

  I laughed. Like I could drive. “Georgia drove.” My teeth felt like boulders in my mouth. “That’s a funny word, Georgia. Who would name their kid after a state. Geor-r-r-r-gia.”

  Somehow my feet kept moving. Around me, the dreamy mass of faces and sparkles lessened as we separated ourselves from the swarm of kids.

  Shannon appeared at my side and giggled. “Hey, there you are, birthday girl.”

  I threw my arms around her neck. “Where have you been? I love you, man.”

  “Who’s driving?” Callahan asked.

  “Georgia. Where is she?” Chrissi turned to face the club.

  “I don’t see her,” Michele said.

  I giggled. “Geor-r-r-gia.”

  “Shhh.” Callahan brushed my hair off my forehead. “I’ll drive you home.”

  “Crap. Maybe they caught her,” Shannon said, her voice further away. “Wait. I don’t see any cops, do you?”

  Callahan gripped me tighter. We were moving again. “Tell Georgia I’m taking Ash home, okay?”

  “Yeah,” a male voice I didn’t recognize said in the distance. “Let’s go inside.”

  Our feet crunched against the gravel and sounded super loud. “What happened?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get you home.”

  I heard a car door open and my body lifted, weightless. Silence surrounded me once he closed me inside the truck. The smell of old leather encased me.

  “Hmmm.” I leaned over, falling horizontal on the seat.

  The world spun
haphazardly and my stomach lurched. I burped. The door opened.

  “Oh, no you don’t.”

  My body lifted upright and Callahan snuggled in next to me. His arm appeared on my shoulder as the engine started. “What did you drink?”

  I giggled. “Just a sip of Goldshl-l-l-l-ager.”

  “I think you had more than a sip. We need to get you sober before I take you home.”

  Nope. Just a sip. “Okay.” My head floated around on a tilt-a-whirl. Maybe mermaid princesses didn’t handle alcohol very well. I’d have to ask Fin.

  He turned onto the frontage road parallel with the lake. The moon bounced off the water, sending sparkles of rainbow light everywhere.

  “My boyfriend is a fish,” I said.

  “Your what?”

  “Boyfriend. He came out of the water and rescued me from drowning. Isn’t that sweet?”

  “I think you’ve had way more than a sip, my dear.”

  I closed my eyes and leaned into Callahan’s warm shoulder. With him, I didn’t care about Colin, or anything. Here I could run away and just be.

  “Colin’s a fish too. He thinks I’m a princess. They want to kidnap me and take me to Natatoria. Na-ta-to-ria… say it.”

  Callahan laughed again. “You’ve got quite an imagination. You should be a writer.”

  I snorted. “Never. Do you know how many words a book is? Like a bazillion.”

  We pulled up to the beach area next to my house and I sighed. I didn’t want to leave yet.

  “How’re you feeling?”

  Twin Callahan’s floated in a circle. “Good. Real good.”

  I leaned into his chest again. He pulled me tight into his side, then massaged my shoulder, then my arm. His fingers wove into my hair.

  “I love your red hair. It’s so soft.” He kissed my forehead.

  I opened my eyes and looked off into the water. A long ripple moved across the surface. Then a head popped up.

  “See.” I pointed to the lake. “Mer-r-men.”

  Callahan didn’t look. He was more interested in me. His hands molded under my chin as he brought my lips to his. I closed my eyes and let myself go when a dry heave hit me.

  “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  Fast as lightning, he had me outside of the truck. I bent over and let go of my sushi as he held my hair. The fog surrounding my head instantly lifted.

  “This is so embarrassing.” My cheeks flushed. “Sorry.”

  “Here, drink this.” Callahan handed me a bottle of water.

  I took a grateful swig and wondered how I’d ended up at the lake with Callahan to begin with. Did Georgia know I’d left the club? I felt my pocket for my phone. Georgia would be worried.

  Over Callahan’s shoulder, a silhouette of a man waded in the surf just off shore.

  I gasped and walked forward, “Fin?”

  “Huh?” Callahan swiveled around.

  “Fin?” the merman said, then laughed. Colin.

  Another head popped up next to his—Colin’s dad, Alaster.

  “No,” I whispered.

  The song came from Alaster’s mouth and Callahan robotically moved toward the water.

  “No!” I screamed and tugged on his arm. He shrugged me off with ease.

  I looked to Alaster in desperation. “What are you doing?”

  “If you don’t come with us, sweetie, we’ll have your friend drown himself.” Alaster motioned me forward with his finger.

  “No!” Tears poured down my face as Callahan began to walk into the water. “Okay! Okay, whatever you want.”

  Alaster stopped singing and Callahan stood knee deep in the lake.

  “Let’s go, Ashlyn,” Alaster said. “You agreed.”

  “But I’m not a mermaid.”

  He laughed, a deep scary rumble. “Not yet.”

  I stood solid, my feet at the edge of the lake. “But it’s freezing.” Haunting flashbacks of the icy water when I fell in hit me.

  “If you don’t come to us, we’ll drown him. Three, two, one—”

  “Okay!” I stepped forward. Knives hit my skin. I sucked the air between my teeth as I took a few more steps. Once the water hit my armpits, Colin grabbed me.

  Heat from his body helped against the bitter chill. My teeth chattered. “I’m h-h-here. Let h-h-h-him go.”

  Alaster laughed, then sang again. Callahan turned around and headed for his truck.

  “You ready?” Colin whispered in my ear.

  “For what?”

  He laughed. “Hold your breath.”

  I sucked in a gasp as he yanked me underwater and sped through the current. After a minute, my lungs ached. Princess or not, suddenly I had a feeling they weren’t taking me to Natatoria.

  I was the one to be drowned.

  35

  :::

  FIN

  Thursday evening, April 21st

  Before opening my eyes, I inhaled. I’d know this clean, snowy water blindfolded—home. My head throbbed and redness tinged the water; I’d survived, barely. I reached out for Galadriel. Only the current touched my fingertips.

  “Galadriel?”

  The opened passenger door led out into the dark lake without any sign of her or her suitcase. Though the shoreline spanned 72 miles, I knew I’d find her eventually.

  I uncurled my fin from the wreckage and swam through the door. The car rested on the lake floor maybe ten-feet below the surface. An array of lights lit the water above me. Anxious to get away before divers showed up, I whipped my tail back and forth to loosen the glass embedded in my scales and surveyed the surroundings. I could have sworn we’d fallen from a cliff, but we’d only jettisoned off the highway a few feet into the bay by Cave Rock, the favorite hang out of the notorious Tahoe Tessie.

  My spine cracked as bones relocated and started to heal. Within a few days, no evidence of the crash would show. My head, still groggy, wouldn’t clear. Galadriel had poisoned me again in the taxi. But why?

  I floated through the soft water toward Emerald Bay. The night was young and Ash would still be awake; I had to look up at her window and see. If I could draw attention to the water, maybe she’d come outside. Knowing her, she’d quite possibly dive in to meet me.

  Down below, sixteen hundred feet to be exact, the secret entrance to Natatoria loomed in the dark. Just a few weeks ago Dad had blown the cave to smithereens. I dove deeper, tempted to check to see if the mers had actually reopened the gate like Badger had said. I had to be careful. According to my brief phone call with Lucy, my annoying cousin Colin was snooping around the lake. After I pummeled his face for trying to take my girl, I’d send him through the gate and arrange another accidental collapse of the tunnel. The less interference from other mers the better.

  I swam up to our beach. To my disappointment, the Lanski house was dark. I watched her window. Were they out? Or was she safe, sleeping in her bed? After a few minutes, boredom and responsibility set in. Galadriel couldn’t be left unattended, but first I’d take a peak and see what my cousin and uncle had been up to. I cringed thinking of the destruction last time. Good to see the house was still standing.

  I swam slowly toward the tunnel leading to the hatch.

  36

  :::

  ASH

  Thursday evening, April 21st

  Colin and I surfaced through a hole into a dark cave. I coughed water out of my lungs as he slithered us across a slick surface to another body of water. The change in temperature set my skin on fire.

  “It’s hot!” I struggled, but Colin had a firm grip on my arm. He clapped two times and the lights magically came on. We were in an indoor pool. A bridge spanned the length above us and a TV hung in the corner. Stairs led up to a closed door. Was this Fin’s basement?

  My hip kept bumping into the spikes on his sides, tearing at the fabric of my dress. “Ouch.”

  “Quit struggling.”