Ripples (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 2) (15 page)

    
Because you were stubborn and because of him.
The stirrings of frustration began and it helped to clear my mind. I took a large breath and tried to think, figuring I had to get out of Coveside. It would hurt my family, but I couldn’t see any way around it. The only reason I had been able to stay so long was because Zale had lied to the Hyven for me. Now, I really wondered if he ever had, or if this was the plan all along.

     I cursed myself for ever trusting him and ignored the familiar pain in my heart. He was a mindless warrior with no conscious; I should have listened to Kryssa when she’d warned me about him. I knew the answer to my inner turmoil all relied around the fact, Zale looked like Patrick, or had been Patrick. My heart had been holding on to the hope that someday he would remember, that he would realize who he was and who he had been. Even now, I couldn’t convince myself he was evil, and I was stuck in a death trap. Again the tears threatened, but I didn’t let them form. Now was not the time.

     All these thoughts rushed through my mind in a matter of seconds and knew I hadn’t been sitting in the truck very long. In fact if someone hadn’t been paying close attention, they probably would have missed me coming out of the theater and hopping inside the truck.

     My chances of staying in the vehicle and being safe were slim to none. Somehow I had to get home, but by this time the parking lot was emptying and the truck was secluded in its own spot. I felt as though I stood out blatantly and wanted to duck under the dashboard to hide from whatever was coming my way.

     Shivering in my vulnerability, the dim glow of the florescent movie theater lights caught my attention. There were people inside; if I could make it to the lobby, I would be safe. I didn’t know what would happen once the movie theater closed, maybe I could call Derek to come and pick me up. Everyone knew this side of downtown never got any type of service at all, so I had left my cell at home. But the theater provided a phone free of charge at the concession stand.

     My mind made up, I took a deep breath readying myself for the mad dash to the theater. I stared out the windshield and guessed it was probably a hundred yards or so to the front door. Determined, I thought I could make it pretty quickly, I had to make it. Sliding my hand along my wrist, I reached under the sleeve of my coat and pulled out Patrick’s dagger. It was my only defense.

     I slipped off its leather sheath and put it on the seat beside me. I didn’t care if I looked suspicious carrying a dagger with me. By now, I was beyond worrying about social propriety. 

     Not wanting to wait any longer, I threw my hood back over my head again, and counted to ten. With a quick tug, I pulled the truck’s door handle and pushed it open.

     The wind caught the door and jerked it from my hand as I jumped to the asphalt. I slammed the door back in place as hard as I could and ran for all I was worth toward the theater.

     I was halfway to the lobby when something dark pounced out from behind a car to my left. I screamed and jumped to the side, but it hit me anyway.

The dagger flew from my grasp and strong tight arms wrestled me to the ground. My head collided heavily with the pavement and I groaned. The breath had been knocked out of me and I couldn’t get enough air to scream again. I tried to see what my attacker looked like, but could only make out the shadow of a head, as he pinned me to the ground. He loosened his grip slightly and it looked as though he was about to sit on top of me.

     Frantic, I gathered up some saliva in my mouth, then with as much force as I could put behind, it I spit it straight at the merman’s face. He made a disgusted sound and let go of my hands. Expecting this, I pulled back my fist and then released. My knuckles hit his chin with a thick hard thud and he fell off of me astonished.  I felt the force of my punch reverberate back through my arm. I scrambled away, but he grabbed at me again. With a violent kick, I hit him in his most vulnerable spot as hard as I could, and he groaned in pain.

     I knew the kick wouldn’t hold him off for long and clambered to my feet. I saw my dagger just a few feet away and ran to it, scooping it into my hand as I passed. The wooden handle gave me a sense of security, but it wasn’t enough. I could hear the merman behind me get to his feet and begin to chase me. I hoped he didn’t have any knives with him or I could have a dagger in my back at any moment.

     My mind reeled as my feet began to pick up speed. I hated being chased, I had never even liked to play tag when I was a child, yet that had only ended in a kid yelling “Tag you’re it!”, rather than death. I wondered why such memories would bombard my brain now of all times, but pushed it all aside. I had to figure out where to run, how to escape.

    
The ocean
, it entered my mind on instinct and I turned to run toward it. I knew if I went down any of the alleys that stood between each of the buildings, I would reach the shore quickly. I turned sharply to my left, catching my pursuer off guard, and ran straight for the sand I could just barely make out in the darkness.

     The waves crashed up ahead, as though beckoning me into their embrace, and I pushed my legs harder knowing it was my only chance of escape.

     My shoes hit the sand and I kicked up the grains as I ran down the sloping hill onto the flatter shoreline. The merman behind me was getting nearer, but my escape was in sight. I pumped my legs faster as the waves got closer and closer, I hoped I would be able to out swim him.

     Just then three shadows loomed out of the darkness to my right. My eyes widened as I realized there were other mermen and they had been waiting for me. I tried to run faster, but two of the mermen split away from the third one. One ran into the ocean until he was knee deep and then turned around to face me. The other two were on either of my sides and I knew the merman I had kicked was still behind me. I was trapped, and came to a staggering halt.

     My sudden stop was a gift for the merman that had grabbed me in the parking lot. He leaned over slightly, his groin obviously still smarting.
Serves you right
, I thought.

     I scanned the faces of the four mermen, my head constantly swiveling, as my feet moved in a circle. I was boxed in with no escape, they all stood about twenty feet from me, and an equal distance separated each of them from each other.

     I tried to look at each of their faces quickly and determine who would be the easiest to get away from. I figured the burly dark haired merman, who was still having issues with the results of my well placed kick, would be the easiest. He was attempting to stand up straight, but the effort was written all over his face. The merman that was in the water, and who had entirely cut off my chance for escape was a thin wiry young man with pale skin and hair that made him look washed out. In front of me was a dark skinned merman, with hair shaved close to his head. His dark eyes gleamed in the moonlight with a vicious delight.

     To my right, stood a merman with long dark hair, and in an instant the night of my escape from Hyvar rushed back to me. I remembered seeing him on the shore and listening to the loud call he’d made. I could hear the boar-like roar that came from his mouth and the responding battle that had ensued. My hand shook on the dagger I held, as I remembered bringing the blunt end down upon Bolrock’s head with a crack.

     The look on these mermen’s faces made fear unravel in my stomach. I was in this worse than I had thought; they weren’t here to just simply take me back to Hyvar. I could see by their faces they weren’t going to let me get away easily. Pain was coming, I was sure of it. My instinctive nature forced me to hold my knife out, in an attempt at self-defense, even though I was surrounded. I pointed it at the dark merman, somehow sensing he was the most dangerous of the four.

     “What do you want?” I asked. My knife trembled slightly, a fact the other mermen noticed.

     The dark skinned merman leered at me, “Don’t be stupid, you know what we want.”

     “No, I don’t.” I shook my head innocently. The merman gave a short laugh that told me my acting skills were terrible.

     “She might not be the right one,” the merman who I’d kicked said.

     “Didn’t you check?” I glanced over at the pale merman in the water; he looked annoyed with his partners.

     “Tried to, but then she kicked me.” My former pursuer looked slightly ashamed.

     “So that’s what happened to you? I hope the little girl didn’t give you too much trouble.” The dark merman’s said and my momentary victim winced. A short bark of a laugh came from the long-haired merman who was in front of me. “But it doesn’t matter. We’ll take her anyway, Bolrock wants her.”

     “How do we know she’s the right one?” The pale merman in the water was stepping closer to the dark one, I watched his movements. “I’m not showing up in Hyvar, just to find out we got the wrong girl.”

     The dark merman laughed, “Oh, she’s the right one. Why else would she have been running for the water? Why else would she be carrying a knife? And look at her hair.” He raised a dark eyebrow and all three mermen in my line of vision, turned to look at me. I could feel the eyes of my former captor on my back as my hair betrayed me. 

     A deep chill ran down my spine. I was done for, this was it.

     The dark merman stepped toward me and I moved back, although I knew there was no escape.

     “Put the knife down Marina,” The dreadful name Morven had given me, washed over my ears. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

     I didn’t do as the dark merman bid, and a hard look formed in his eyes. With a flash, his blades came out of the backs of his forearms and my eyes widened in horror. He stepped closer and I staggered backward again, my dagger held out feebly. Yet, I knew I would throw this knife at him before he came at me. I didn’t know what to do about the other three mermen, but I would at least take one down before they got to me.

     The dark merman saw the fight in my eyes and smiled an evil grin that showed a rotten black front tooth. My blood pumped and I waited for just the right moment, when there came a shout of pain and a loud thump.

     I whipped around and my eyes widened at the sight of the merman who had chased me. His face was in the sand, his whole body limp, a large blade sticking out from his back. The sight horrified me and I froze where I stood.

     “What happened?!” the dark merman growled at the pale one, while his eyes scanned the shore.

     “I don’t know!” The pale merman looked afraid and I wondered why Bolrock had sent such a coward on a mission.

     “Check the handle.” The dark one barked.

     I watched as the pale one did as he was told, a loud gasp escaped his lips and he stood up with wide eyes, to look at his partners. “It’s one of ours.”

     I glanced at the dark merman to see what he thought of this, but he wasn’t looking at his partner. His eyes were staring back up toward the buildings, as though he could see something we couldn’t.

     “No, it’s not ours,” he said, his lips curling in a sneer. “It’s
his
.”

     I gazed up into the gloom, to try and see who he was talking about. The long-haired merman, who had been right behind me, walked over to the dark one. His blades were protruding from his arms, but it was obvious, I was no longer their main concern. The thing that worried them more was up in the shadows, and I had the whole beach to slip away into the darkness. The instinct to take my chance and run filled me, but I didn’t move. I was frozen where I stood, just as fearful and curious as the mermen.

     My eyes peered into the gloom, trying to see who the dark merman had seen. Just then, I saw a flicker of movement and a large figure came out of the shadows. He had been invisible moments before, and my heart tightened as I realized who it was. I knew that form, I’d seen it so many times and was so relieved to see it again.

     The moonlight seemed to brighten as Zale made his way onto the beach. His walk was powerful, his face the mask of a warrior. He never glanced my way; instead his eyes flickered over the three mermen and back again. He was measuring them up with a confidence bordering on arrogance.

     “Bolrock was right, you really are a traitor.” The dark merman spit, his voice filled with poison.

     Zale didn’t answer; instead he stopped walking, his eyes telling the mermen exactly what he thought of them.

     “I find it interesting that the only thing Morven succeeded in creating, has turned its back on him.” The pale merman laughed at his leader’s remark.

     “I haven’t turned my back on Lord Morven,” Zale’s voice was so deep I almost didn’t recognize it.

     The tension was getting stronger, building to a point where it would explode. I wanted to turn around and run while I had the chance, but I couldn’t move. My feet were glued in the sand, my hand still gripping my knife as my only life line.

     “Well then, I suppose your
Lord
Morven,” the dark merman sneered at the word in mock respect, “will be interested to hear why you haven’t brought Marina back to Hyvar.”

     A malicious smile spread across Zale’s face, “Oh, don’t worry, he’s not going to find out.” Then quick as a flash, his blades appeared and he ran toward the soldiers.

     The long-haired merman charged, and the pale one was right behind him. They ran straight for Zale and the fighting that commenced before my eyes was so unreal and incredible, at the same time, that I still couldn’t move from where I stood.

     The mermen slashed at one another, with split second speed, their feet constantly moving to regain position. Every now and then, they would jump into the air to bring their blades down in long gashes on their opponent’s shoulders.

     As the fight continued, Bolrock’s men were tiring but Zale continued to hold his ground. I wondered how much longer it would be before the dark merman joined the fight. My eyes flickered to the soldier who stood on the outer edges, and I wondered why he was hanging back. Surely, three against one was better than two.

     The fight continued and the pale merman suffered a large slash in his leg as he jumped in the air. He crumpled to the ground and tried to stand, his back hunched over in pain. His eyes widened as he saw the end coming. Zale dealt him a deadly blow and the merman fell into the sand.

     The fight was now one on one and the long-haired merman was being dealt hammering blows, but he was still holding his ground against the warrior. I noted how Zale was quicker than his opponent. It was like watching a dance, Zale knew preemptively every move the Hyven soldier made. With a flick of his wrist, he deflected any attack and slashed forward with his own blades. I watched the blood ooze out of the many gashes in the long-haired merman’s chest and I wondered how much longer he could stay standing.

     A movement flickered in the corner of my eye and I tore my gaze from the fight. The dark merman was walking over to the carcass of my first attacker. He bent over and unceremoniously yanked the bloodied knife from the deceased Hyven’s back. When he turned back to look at the slaughter that was taking place near me, time seemed to move in slow motion. He stared at the fight, his eyes focused on Zale, and when he grasped the knife tighter in his hand and lifted it to his shoulder I knew, in an instant, what was about to happen.

     My hand rose to my shoulder on its own accord.  I gripped the knife tightly, but then Zale’s voice came into my head,
Relax your hand around the handle
. My hand responded, and I felt the hilt become one with my arm. Then, with all the power I had in my body, I threw the knife directly at the dark merman.

     At the last moment he jerked out of the way, but not far enough to remain unscathed. He grimaced and growled in my direction. Blood seeped from the wound on his left arm, and ran down over his hand. My stomach lurched and I took a step backward.

     The dark merman raised the knife again, but this time it was aimed at me. Bloodlust filled his eyes and his upper lip curled back in concentration. Once more I saw the rotten black tooth and staggered further away. My legs felt like jelly as I tried to get them to move.

     I watched the blade, waiting for the release. The sharp edge flickered in the moonlight as my muscles readied to twitch at the slightest movement, but I knew I didn’t have much of a chance. If he could throw half as fast as Zale, I wouldn’t even have time to flinch before it hit me.