Girl Enchanted (Book 2 of The Girl Trilogy) (14 page)

“
Brilliant,” Aver said. His
face was glowing. He really looked happy. “This is where we belong.
I couldn’t want anything else.” He smiled at me then and I felt
that he was being entirely genuine.

“
I feel the same way. I
can’t help it. I do. How could I ever leave this land? It is
perfect.” I couldn’t stop smiling. No matter what I did. I just
couldn’t stop smiling.

But, then I thought of Shaul and I
don’t know what happened. I just started crying. I missed him
terribly and I felt so guilty being in Azkelon without him. If I
was going to live in paradise, it should be with Shaul, even if he
was entirely bad. I should have experienced the core of the music
for the first time with Shaul, not with Aver. I had been through so
much with Shaul. I couldn’t live without him. Even if we weren’t
soul mates under God, as far as I was concerned, he was me, I was
him, we were one.

“
I’m sorry—I can’t do
this,” I said to Aver. And I swam away, pushing my way through the
orchestra. Nothing compared to Shaul. And all this beauty that
surrounded me meant nothing to me without him.

14

I felt so guilty for being
attracted to Aver when all my yearning should have been for Shaul
only. It didn’t seem right to split my desires. But, I couldn’t
help it. It seemed as if I was programmed to yearn for both. In
many ways, I felt powerless.

But, there is a big
difference between lust and love. And even though I lusted for
Aver, I hated him. Shaul may have been bad, but I couldn’t help
it—I loved him. For Shaul, I felt both lust and love.

I swam as fast as I could
past crowds of mermaids and mermen partying on the streets and at
café fronts and from the balconies of charming cobblestone
buildings. As I moved out of the immediate city area, I came to a
golden grass field.

I couldn’t help but slow
my pace to look at the curious fish that danced alluringly above
the plant life. Their eyes were dreamy with thick eyelashes that
reminded me of Aver. They made such fascinating patterns in the
water. Their tales were long and transparent with phosphorescent
glows. As I studied them closer, I noticed they had the same full,
sensual lips as Aver too. And dimples. Their dance was hypnotic and
I couldn’t help but follow them as they swam toward a huge pink
coral reef. I felt like I was in a trance.

They led me through a hole
in the reef that led into a marvelous cave. The walls were of the
same pink coral. There was a luxurious bear fur rug on the ground
set before a lit fireplace. Off to the side was a delicate round
table with lit candles and two set plates of fine food that looked
more like art than edibles, the way it was arranged so
spectacularly.

The meal smelled delicious
and I was so hungry. There was nobody around aside from the
peculiar fish that continued to dance before me, so I decided I’d
just take a quick bite and leave before I got caught. I sat down on
a lovely delicate chair with a plush satin cushion. It was so
surprisingly comfortable. I had never felt such a seat. And oh, the
scent of the food before me was mouthwatering.

I took a little taste of
something sweet with a fine sauce. And, yes, it was unbelievably
scrumptious. What an exotic flavor and oh, so delicious. I wanted
to keep eating. The food was like a drug. The fish continued to
dance around the room. And then before I took another bite, Aver
swam into the coral cave.

He clapped his hands twice
and the fish swam away out through the hole. “I see you found my
home, wild child.”

“Your home?” I was
confused. Of all the places I could have swam to in this land of
revelry, I ended up in the home of the very creature I was trying
to flee from. How odd.

“Yes. I called in ahead
and had these meals prepared for us. What did you think of the rose
fish that lured you here?”

I looked at him closely,
wondering what he was up to. “You planned the fish dance
too?”

He chuckled lightly.
“What? Did you think it was just coincidence that a school of fish
had the same facial features as me?” His smile was big and
playful.

“I did notice that.” I
started to smile even though I didn’t want to. “That was funny.” I
really thought his odd creations were clever and appealing to the
senses.

He sat in the other plush
chair across from me at the table. His lips looked so pillowy soft.
I liked his physical appearance very much. He had just the right
balance of appeal. His look was a little exotic, a little childish,
and a little rugged. Put it all together and he was a
dream.

“You must try the wine,”
His voice was almost lyrical. “It’s from the vineyard here. The
grapes are magical with the scent of flowers and perfume.” He
poured me a glass of wine.

I took the delicate glass
from him and tasted it. “Wow!” my eyes popped wide. The taste was
otherworldly. “It’s so good. I can’t even describe it. It’s so
smooth. And I see what you mean about the scent. It’s so familiar,
but I can’t place it.”

He smiled softly and
watched me with gentle eyes. “It smells like Grace Devine. Doesn’t
it?”

“Grace Devine? Oh, yes it
does. I haven’t smelled that perfume in so long. That was the
fragrance I used to wear on holidays before the Economy Crash.”
What pleasant memories the scent brought back.

We ate the delicious meal
together. The candle light on the table coupled with the light in
the fireplace gave the cave a comfortable glow. I liked watching
the shadows flicker across Aver’s face as he spoke.

“I wish I knew more about
you, wild child.” He tilted his head to the side and seemed to be
studying my hair. “I like the way your black hair spreads out in
the water. It really is beautiful.”

I didn’t know what to say.
I wasn’t used to receiving compliments from the male race and
especially not from someone as appealing as him. And I kept trying
to remind myself how much I hated him.

After he was finished
eating, he put his hands behind his head and leaned back in the
chair. “Do you like dome cinema shows?”

“Of course, but I haven’t
seen one in so long. Do you like them?” I asked as I took another
sip of the delicious wine.

“I was a bit of a cinema
fanatic before the collapse.” It looked as if he was thinking back
to that time. “Who was your favorite actor?”

I blushed when he asked
that.

“Why did you blush, hot
cakes?” From his expression, he looked very curious.

“Oh, it’s just that I used
to have this huge crush on Zadder Collazra. Do you know who he
is?”

Now, to my surprise, Aver
blushed. “Uh, yeah. I’ve heard of him.”

“What?” I looked at him
curiously. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Oh, no. Not at all.” He
genuinely looked embarrassed.

“What are you jealous?” I
laughed uncomfortably. “You don’t like that my world was about
somebody else other than you?” I tried to make light of
it.

“It’s just that…” He
paused. “Well… Zadder Collazra was me.” He twisted in his seat and
then smiled wryly at me.

“That’s a strange thing to
say. What do you mean?” I started to twist a strand of my hair as I
often did when I was uncomfortable.

“When the United States
was still strong, all the serpent people were guised as humans. We
didn’t show our true selves. Because we had powers and special
abilities that humans didn’t possess, most serpents were of the
elite of society. My human guise was Zadder Collazra. I just didn’t
expect you to say he was your favorite. You know, he was kind of
crazy and alternative. I thought you’d say you liked someone more
conventional like Bastile Ronnanan.”

I was embarrassed now too.
He had no idea how much I was obsessed with Zadder Collazra and now
I was sitting in the same room with him. “Uh, no. I didn’t like
Bastile Ronnanan.”

“You’re blushing again,”
he said. And then, he suddenly chanted something and snapped his
fingers. At once, he turned into Zadder Collazra.

My body filled with giddy
excitement. I couldn’t believe I was actually sitting across from
the teenage heartthrob. Endless nights while lying in bed, I had
dreamed of such. And now, here I was right across from my dream
idol. I felt my throat grow tight like an awkward kid. I couldn’t
even talk, I was so embarrassed.

“Is this for real?” I
finally asked because I didn’t know what else to say.

“Yup,” he gazed at me
darkly as was the way of Zadder Collazra. “I’m real.”

“I can’t believe you were
a teen star. This is all too strange.”

His lips were naturally
red and his pale skin was a dramatic contrast to his dark hair.
But, his intense blue eyes were exactly the same as
Aver’s.

“I noticed something
familiar about you, but I couldn’t place it. You and Zadder both
have the same eyes. Why is that?” I stopped twisting my hair and
looked at him inquisitively.

“Serpent people can shape
shift into many things, but we can’t change our eyes.”

“The eyes are the windows
to the soul,” I whispered. “My mother used to say that. Some
religious thing she read.” A tinge of hatred toward my mother rose
up in me.

“Your mother was right.
The eyes cannot lie.” He gulped down his wine and shook his head
maniacally. His eyes were wide with a crazed look.

I laughed a little,
feeling off balance. “That’s one of the things I liked about
Zadder. He had that unpredictable way about him that I found
unfathomable. I could never figure him out.”

“There wasn’t a lot to
figure out. When I was a cinema actor, I was restless. I wanted
love, but I couldn’t find it. No matter how many fans adored me, it
wasn’t genuine and it wasn’t enough.” While gazing at me, he leaned
forward placing his elbow on the table as his face rested in his
hand. “I wanted you, wild child.”

My body tingled all over
when he said that. I knew it had to be a lie, but he sure knew what
to say. “You knew about me back then, right?”

He smiled crookedly. “I
sure as hell did, hot cakes. You were just too young then. You
hadn’t gone through puberty yet. I was just waiting for you to
become a josephine.”

“It’s so shocking to learn
that Zadder Collazra was thinking of me when he was a big super
star. I could have never imagined that back then.”

“Well, I was.” He was
looking down at the ground and brooding now. “I know you don’t
trust me, Cordellia, but I’m going to change that.”

“How?” I asked, as I
watched the candlelight flicker on the table.

He looked up at me through
his thick lashes. “You’ll see.” I saw a facetious look in his eyes
now.

I thought about how the
zebra girl and Goliath said Aver and Shaul were only attracted to
the Eve tri-breed because of the music. And if that was so, then he
couldn’t have been longing for me back when he was a star because
the music hadn’t started playing in our minds. According to the
giant and zebra girl, they were repulsed with their genetic
creation and only about a year ago when my father started playing
the siren song did they gain attraction for me. But, even so, it
fascinated me that Zadder Collazra thought of me at all!

Zadder stood up and
stretched. He had a great physique. “Ok…” He looked at me and
raised an eyebrow. “Enough of this, wild child.” With a whisk of
the hand, he said a spell in Latin and within an instant he was
back in merman form as Aver Hainsworth.

“Wait.” I swam out of my
seat and waded in the water before him. “Do the mermaids here in
Azkelon know you are a serpent?”

“Hell, no!” He had a
shocked look on his face. “That would send their lazy minds into
fits. The purpose of Azkelon is to keep everyone too busy with fun
and leisure to notice anything.”

“So you’re saying that
Azkelon is like a cage without bars?”

He smiled. “Yes, that
about sums it up. The mers think they are free, but really they are
oblivious slaves to pleasure. They would never rebel against anyone
but themselves. Never would they bother with an uprising against
the serpents because our presence is hidden. They know we created
them, but that is all.”

“Are you saying that
entertainment is a form of mental control?”

“That’s exactly what I am
saying, wild child. The mers do commit crimes, but only within
their land and against each other. They are slaves to the serpent
people and they don’t even know it.” He shook his head.

“We wanted to experiment
with setting some of our crossbreeds free while still controlling
them,” he continued. “After they started multiplying in our
warehouses, the work to maintain all of them became too time
extensive. We wanted as many crossbreeds as possible, but we
couldn’t take care of them all, so we put them in
cities.

“They are happier thinking
they are free and it’s easier for us. We just keep what we need for
study and experimentation in the facilities and free the rest. With
this scenario, everyone wins. We have various lands that can be
accessed through different portholes, each with its own kind. And
there are some melting pots where we intermix crossbreeds within a
land.” He smiled and then swam over to the fireplace.