FINNED (The Merworld Water Wars) (13 page)

An angelic face appeared from beneath the words on the page and started reading the section. Her bell-like voice matched her delicate facial features; she reminded me of Airianna—sweet, innocent, beautiful, and trapped.

“Merpeople—most commonly referred to as merps—inhabit nearly every body of water on the earth’s surface, including oceans, lakes, waterfalls, and rivers. Far fewer merps reside in ponds, streams, and swamps; those that do are smaller, fiercer, and often only part-merperson. Despite the over eighty-seven races of Merpeople, there are only two known throughout all waters as the first documented merps, and the founders of the only known land-based community.

“The Gulf of Mexico is home to the two largest, most influential races of Merpeople—the Fairhairs and Ravenflames. Fairhairs, also called the group with glowing halos, are generally gentle, friendly, and proud. Controlling, combative, and territorial, are common traits of the Ravenflames, otherwise known as the bringers of shadows. Today, both groups peacefully co-exist in the Gulf of Mexico, but this has not always been the case.

“In an effort to become the leading race of Merpeople, Ravenflames targeted the Gulf of Mexico. With a declaration of war between the two ruling families imminent, mermaids fled with their children and sought refuge in friendlier waters. When Ravenflames invaded Fairhair-controlled waters, a cycle of violence ensued, creating some of the deadliest, most destructive hurricanes on record. According to Doctor David Tenly, renowned Merpeople historian, water wizard, and sea healer, Ravenflames secretly captured storms off the coast of Africa, brought them to the Gulf, grew them into hurricanes, and threatened to unleash them along the coast should the Fairhairs fail to comply.”

“Wait, I mean, could you pause for a minute, please?” I asked, not knowing whether the face in the book would reply.

“Certainly,” she said softly.

Mildly surprised, I said, “There’s a footnote next to Doctor David Tenly’s name. I was wondering if you could read it for me. I tried to read it myself, but—”

“My face distorted it too much for you to read,” she said, smiling. “Please, do not fret. Ask whatever you need to know of me, so long as it is within the borders of the books. I am restricted from saying much else.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Footnote one. After formally leaving the Ravenflames, Doctor Tenly acted as an informant for the Fairhairs. He subsequently retreated into hiding. His whereabouts remain unknown to this day,” said the book.

“So, Doctor Tenly is a Ravenflame traitor,” I whispered.

“That is correct, young one. Do you have any further questions regarding the Doctor?” asked the book.

“Are the Ravenflames still searching for him? Is that why he remains in hiding?”

“Yes. He continues his mer-wizardly workings via a secret messenger, one that can evade our most feared, elusive beast,” she said, swallowing hard and squeezing her eyes shut. “We call it the deliverer.”

“Deliverer? Reckon you don’t mean a speedy home delivery service.”

“Merps never mention the deliverer, for fear it will curse the speaker.”

“What is the deliverer, exactly? You called it a beast. Do you mean a sea monster or something?”

“Well, it is a creature of some sort, but…no one really knows. The single record we have in this library speaks of only one mysterious description. ‘It leads on land, moving unseen, while to the sea it seeks, for in its path destruction lay, and in its wake death shall play.’ Unless you want to elicit mayhem amongst the merps, never mention the deliverer. Now, then, shall I read on?” she asked.

“Yes, please,” I said, marking the doctor’s name to memory, along with this creepy deliverer thing.

“After the devastating hurricanes resulted in death and destruction, as well as unprecedented casualties within their respective groups, Fairhairs and Ravenflames created a water peace pact—a rare document binding merps to a lifetime agreement. As part of this pact, Saxet Shores, Texas was established.”

She paused for a moment, looked around the room, and said, “You have precious moments left to research. Please, do ask questions.”

“Um, well, what do you think I should know about this town?”

Closing her eyes, she whispered, “You failed to inquire about footnote four. Would you like for me to read it to you?” I quickly nodded. “Footnote four. The two ruling families agreed to create Saxet Shores in an effort to bring the two races together. However, in exchange for never again harming Normals on the mainland, the pact permits Ravenflames to select specific Normals to live in Saxet Shores. Reasons why remain, thus far, unknown. It is imperative to note that the leader of the Fairhairs, King Thompson Tombolo, has not supported the practice of bringing Normals to Saxet Shores.”

I had to grip the table to keep myself upright. “King…Tombolo? King of the Fairhairs? Troy Tombolo’s father?”

“Yes.”

Only one thought flashed like a neon sign in my mind: Troy Tombolo was a prince of the sea. Then, with the speed of a lightning bolt, another thought, a much less pleasing thought, stabbed my inner eyes.

“The other family, the rulers of the Ravenflames…it’s the Zale family, isn’t it?” I said, finally seeing the full picture of what she has been trying to tell me.

“Yes.”

“I need to know more about the families.”

“Perhaps you would like to open
Merworld Water Wars
,” the book suggested.

I slammed the book closed, then shuddered. I cautiously opened
Merworld Water Wars
, brushed my fingers over the
Read Aloud
button, and waited for her face to appear. “I’m so sorry for slamming the other book shut. I wasn’t thinking.”

“I take no offense, young one,” she said gently.

“Please, tell me about the Tombolo’s and Zale’s.”

“Zarius Zale is the king of the Ravenflames, father to Katrina, Kathreena, Kyle, and Kellen. King Zale forced King Tombolo and the Fairhairs into submission, effectively taking control of the Gulf of Mexico.” She stopped suddenly, her face turning fearful. “They are coming. They suspect. Listen to me carefully, young one. There is something extremely dangerous happening in this mystical town. Doctor Tenly believes King Zale and the Ravenflames have always had a highly guarded reason for creating Saxet Shores.” A tear rolled down her beautiful face. “Please, you must discover their secret.”

“How? I’m just a Normal!”

“Exactly! Find Trey Campbell. He has been working on this.”

I should have known. “Trey’s missing.”

“No,” she whispered, tears staining her lovely cheeks.

“All I can do is try,” I said, feigning confidence.

“That is all we ask.” Her eyes widened.

This time, I heard what caused such fear in her eyes. The shouting, protesting, and brisk, forceful footsteps began to infiltrate my thoughts, pushing the churning facts into a mental filing cabinet. Purple swirls circled the room, buzzing and zapping at my chair—this must have been Maryweather’s warning signal.

“I promise to do what I can,” I said to the face, my hands trembling as I gently closed the book. Snatching the other book off the table, I swiftly moved to put them back.

This really was not the time to feel like an idiot, but when your foot catches on the chair leg and you face-plant opposite a group of snickering fish, it was impossible not to feel the stupid take over.

“What am I going to do?” The shouting grew louder, and I had not yet put the books back in place.

“Throw the books towards the bookcase,” whispered a voice.

With no time to think about how seriously creepy that voice sounded, I channeled my inner quarterback and threw for the
History of Saxet Shores, Texas
bookcase; the books soared to the bookcase and slid into their rightful slots.

I grabbed my bag, straightened the chairs, pointed at the archway, and snapped. I carefully slithered out and crept along the back wall of the library, just as Maryweather suggested. Before rounding the corner, I saw Maryweather slip inside the nook, smiling like a cat. Carefully passing each row of bookshelves, I caught glimpses of burly Ravenflame men arguing with a small Fairhair woman.

“I told you, no one has gone in there today, Kyle,” said the woman.

“Prince Kyle to you, Fairhair. And, if that’s true, it shouldn’t be an issue for us to check inside,” replied Kyle Zale. His dark clothing matched his hardened eyes.

“Of course not, Prince Kyle,” said the woman nervously.

After tiptoeing along the back wall, I stealthily exited the library. Running down the steps, I knew I had to quickly hide on the other side of the building until the Ravenflames left. I had barely concealed myself when they emerged from the front doors with a screaming woman in tow.

“NO! Let me alone! I did nothing wrong!” Two Ravenflames shoved Maryweather down the steps.

“Then you should have no problem passing my father’s test, should you?” said Kyle, his broad back facing me.

“I won’t go through it, I wont! Noooo!” Her screams changed to an otherworldly shrill, and her eyes disappeared inside her sockets. With one final piercing cry, Maryweather exploded into a large cloud of golden dust.

“Damn it!” screamed Kyle.

“What now, Kyle?” asked the smallest of the five Ravenflames.

“We return to the sea. I hate being on land—the smell of Normals is repulsive,” he said, roughly rubbing his nose. “At least the old hag is dead. One less problem to deal with.”

Once they were out of sight, I ran to the spot where Maryweather disappeared. The only thing left was her little charm bracelet, resting atop the ashes of its owner. “I’ll get this to your family, Maryweather. I promise.” I tucked the bracelet in the front pocket of my bag.

With hours to kill before Mom could pick me up, and the thought of going back to the library making me physically ill, I needed to find somewhere isolated to hang out. I didn’t have to look far. There, just a short walk ahead, stood a glorious cliff, the base of which housed a massive cave. Perfect.

I ran as fast as I could for the mouth of the cave, silently hoping Trey would be inside. Reaching its core looked a bit challenging. Two small slivers of slippery pebbles lined both sides of the cave, allowing the sea to quietly flow in and out. I wondered if my skin against the water was the only trigger for random sea monsters to come after me.

“So long as my feet are in socks and shoes, I should be all right.” Still, the idea of rows and rows of teeth barreling for me wasn’t exactly appealing. Best to keep out of the water altogether, says I (lame attempt at pirate talk).

Although, I could face another giant squid sting…Troy would have to rub his hands all over my stomach and…STOP! Shut up, you hormonal idiot! Seriously, finding a bright side to a squid sting after just witnessing a kind old woman die out of desperation was just plain sick! While arguing with my hormones, I somehow skirted along the side of the cave and safely reached dry land.

“Trey? It’s Marina. Are you here?” Nothing.

Though it seemed odd to think of a cave as breathtaking, this one was truly something special. Colorful sea flowers covered bright green, seaweed-like grass that carpeted the whole of the cave. The walls glowed blue, green, and purple from embedded pāua shells. I heard a melancholy tune from somewhere inside the cave. Strangely, it didn’t seem out of place. The lilac scents and soothing melody forced my mind to empty of all the negative junk. I felt far away from everything and everyone.

Taking a seat on the plush grass, I gazed at the sea. It was so beautiful, so still, and terrifyingly massive. Only now did I realize how very small humans were when faced with the sea, yet we think we’re in control of the world. Rubbish. The sea silently controlled our lives—it chooses to give us serenity and beauty, or destruction and death. The ocean has never been our home, but we continue to use it as if we have some invisible, unspoken right. I couldn’t help but wonder if some of the most horrific sea disasters were actually unavoidable accidents. What if, in an effort to man the sea, we forced it to act? Perhaps the tragedy of the Titanic was a warning…a warning we failed to recognize.

Meet Mom time.
Reluctantly, I left the cave. With every intention on returning, I hurried back to the library to wait for my mom. Fifteen minutes later, she zoomed up.

“Hello, darling!” she sang out the window. “You look disheveled. Really, dear, you should try to take greater pride in your appearance.”

“Hi, Mom,” I said, eyeing her closely. She was acting…odd. “You okay?”

“Oh, yes, sweetie, just fine. Did you find anything useful?”

“You could say that.”

“Good. Now, I have news about Meikle.”

I hadn’t wanted to ask. After everything, I was afraid to hear about Meikle. “How is she, Mom?”

“She’s very sick, Marina. She’s in the hospital under quarantine. Doctors think she could be there for quite some time. Her mom has taken a room near the hospital.”

“Do they know what she has?” I asked.

“Not really. They think she may have had a combination of pneumonia and an allergic reaction.”

“An allergic reaction from what?” I asked.

“Still unknown.”

“Meikle said she had been eating candy earlier that day. Maybe she was allergic to it?” I suggested.

“Very possible. I’ll be sure to tell Mr. Anderson.”

“No! Not Mr. Anderson.” I didn’t mean to scream at her.

“Watch your tone, young lady. Do not disrespect Mr. Anderson. He knows everybody in this town. He knows who could best help Meikle,” she said.

“Sounds like he’s a regular aristocrat.”

“I will not tolerate this attitude. Mr. Anderson has been nothing but kind to us.”

“Yeah, and nothing spells kindness like an ulterior motive.”

Her face turned maroon. “I don’t want to hear another word out of your mouth.”

We drove the rest of the way home in silence. Once home, I stormed ahead, stomped to my room, and slammed the door. I have never seen my mom so angry with me…worse still, I have never seen her so defensive over Mr. Anderson.

I threw my bag down, yanked my sweater off, and ripped at my jewelry.