The Turning Tides (Marina's Tales) (16 page)

I was struck dumb with outrage, about to tell her off, but when I looked up at Ethan and saw the anxiety on his face I softened. I took a deep breath and let it go. He wanted so desperately for us to get along, the least I could do was ignore her insults.
I thought about how eager I’d been for my father to like him. All I had to do was get through the next few days and everything would be back to normal.

Whatever that was.

Ruby ordered the most expensive item on the menu and ate with exaggerated daintiness, treating the waiter with haughty distain. She daubed at her eyes when she talked about how much she missed her “little boy” all these years, and I returned her gaze skeptically. It was all I could do to keep from telling her the truth… That I knew the things she had done.

Ethan left the table for a few moments and Ruby leaned towards me,
her demeanor
completely different, “You two kids are shacking up… aren’t you?”

“What?” I asked.

“Did I bust up your little love nest?”

I looked at her in shock, not sure I was hearing her right.

“Does your fancy aunt know what you’re up to?”

I was freshly annoyed, “My aunt is none of your business.”

She looked at me with strangely glittering eyes, “I found a couple of drawers of your things in his room. At least I
guess
they’re yours… I mean, who else would have such expensive
stuff
!”

I looked at her in outrage, and was about to tell her off for snooping when Ethan slid back into his seat, “Are you two having a good time?” he asked hopefully.

“The best!” his mother gushed, “Marina is a great girl!”

Ethan looked at me with proud shining eyes, “I know.”

I pushed my temper down and remained quiet throughout the rest of the meal, letting my thoughts wander out to sea. I wondered what my sisters were doing
, and
I found myself slipping away, wishing I was with them. The smell of saltwater filled my nostrils, and I could hear whales singing. I ached for the wordless communication, the mindless euphoria, the physical exhaustion. I knew I would go out to see them tonight; it was inevitable.

“Is that okay with you?” Ethan asked.

“Huh?” I looked up, realizing that I’d drifted off.

Ethan’s eyes clouded with concern. He nudged me gently, “Marina?”

I forced myself back, faking a smile, “Yes?”

He twined his fingers in mine and held onto my hand tightly.

“Can you take my mom out shopping on Sunday?” He looked at me, his eyes pleading, “Long can’t cover for me at the market.”

Ruby jumped in, “I think I’ll simply die if I have to spend an entire day alone in that apartment
.
”
S
he
treated us to
an exaggerated shudder.

“Well?” asked Ethan, squeezing my hand again, “Can you?”

“Sure,” I answered, “No problem.”

I
realized
I was going to have to do a little more than simply wait her out.

After dinner,
Ethan pulled up next to the Rover, getting out and walking me to the car.

“Thanks for coming… And thanks for giving her a chance.” He kissed me on the cheek and pulled me close, “I love you,” he whispered in my ear.

Ethan was worried about planning the next day, “I took tomorrow off, but I have no idea what to do with her. Please come over… We could all go for a hike or something.”

I thought about Ruby’s choice of footwear and smiled ruefully at him, “I don’t think she’s the hiking type.”

I agreed to come by for a visit the next afternoon
,
and
I watched them
dr
i
ve away
with a sigh
. I remembered that I needed to re-schedule my Sunday training session with Paul and pulled
out my phone
to make the call. I was frustrated, thinking I’d much rather shoot guns than shop with Ruby.

“
Suit yourself
,” he said sternly
.
“But you’re going to fall behind... And I can’t guarantee you a weapon anytime soon…”

“Yes Paul, I know
.
” I
realized that
he didn’t know I had a gun already,
and
I sighed convincingly, “
Sorry, but
I can’t afford to miss any
more school. I’m afraid it’s going to have to wait until next weekend.”

“
Your call,
soldier,” he said.

“See you next week
…
soldier
,” I replied, making him laugh.

That’s interesting, I thought;
Yuri
had
n’t
mentioned
slipping me a pistol. He must have known that Paul was making me wait. Yuri obv
iously wanted to please me, and it was
evidence that he
might
still
be
fixated on me. I knew I should probably tell Paul, but I wasn’t going to risk having him take
the
gun back.

I craned my neck to look up at the moon through my windshield. If I
surfed
now, I could still get a few hours of sleep before I went to see Ethan tomorrow. I pulled out and drove along the coast, finally stopping at a popular party beach.

Tonight, something told me I should hide in plain sight.

I parked at the end of a long line of cars, changing in the darkness and slipping out into the shadows. The night breeze caressed my face, and I looked up to see a mist of fog moving in to obscure the stars and veil the moon. I locked the Rover up securely, engaging the alarm system.

I was careful to skirt the trail, pausing to lurk in the bushes while a couple of guys hauled a cooler down the narrow path in the dark. Giggling girls followed them, stopping at the sand to slip off their shoes. They lagged behind the boys, comparing notes about the ones they liked and speculating about who was making out with who.

Listening to their gossip made me feel like a complete outsider. I could only imagine being so lighthearted and carefree. I felt ancient and burdened; the ball and chain I’d been dragging around behind me kept getting bigger and bigger. There was one sure way to get some relief, and I was so close I could taste it
in the air
.

Once I got out onto the sand I could see a couple of bonfires in the distance, and hear the sounds of music and raucous laughter mingling with the crashing of the nighttime surf. I ducked into the
water
, letting the darkness drown me. Every last trace of melancholy slipped away as I paddled out into the black water, set free by the relief of sweet surrender.

The rise and fall of the sea rocked me with an ancient rhythm that soothed and heightened my senses simultaneously; I could actually feel Lorelei arrive before I heard her in my mind. I started with surprise– this must be how they sense each other from great distance. I stared at her in wonder when her beautiful head broke the surface.

The invisible filaments linking me to my sisters were strengthening.

“
They sound happy
,” Lorelei observed, looking towards the partiers on the sand.

“
Or drunk
,” I laughed, getting a puzzled look in return. “
Oh…
Nevermind
.”

She watched the fires burn on the beach with fascination for a few moments, before grabbing my board to tow me a few miles down the coast where some big waves were raging.  I recognized the point in the darkness, looking up to the the bluff where I’d first learned the truth about Evie, and down to the rocky beach where I’d nearly died
at the hands of Joe
. I wondered if Lorelei was capable of harboring the same feelings about the place that I did, and a flood of negative memories threatened to spoil my mood.

The ghosts of the past disappeared into thin air when I saw the size of the surf. My mouth went dry, and I swallowed hard. These waves would be scary in broad daylight, but by the hazy, filtered moonlight, they were absolutely terrifying.

I wanted to surf them unlike I’d ever wanted to do anything before.

“
Let’s
go for it
,” I said, fear sitting like a stone in my stomach. I wasn’t even sure if I’d spoken aloud.

Lorelei grinned at me, her teeth flashing white in the dim light, the phosphorescent glow of her skin unbearably beautiful. The first wave she dropped me onto rivaled the
monster
waves in Hawaii, and the old familiar rush came upon me, washing away all trace
s
of fear. When I was flying on the black sea, twirling and tumbling like a waterfall, everything seemed easy. I l
et out a whoop of
sheer joy, scribbling
my name
on the water
with
lines of seafoam.

I
honestly
meant to leave early, but I ended up spending
most of
the night following the glowing underwater trail that Lorelei blazed like an aquatic pied piper. The hours blew by like minutes, and before I knew it
,
I needed to stop and rest more frequently. It was during one of these lulls in the action that I felt it. It started out as a tingling sensation as my hair stood on end, tickling like a handful of ants crawling across my scalp. I focused on it and the feeling localized, until I knew precisely what direction it was coming from.

I looked up to the bluff, and I could just barely make out the silhouette of a man’s head and shoulders; he was lying prone to peek over the edge of the cliff. I was being watched, and I’d felt it as surely as if he’d tapped me on the shoulder. I was too fascinated to be afraid, taking a moment to savor the new sensation. I watched as the head lowered slowly, peeking back up to find me still looking; finally ducking down and coming back up several yards away.

Lorelei paused, watching me, “
What is it?
” she asked, following my gaze upwards.

The head popped up again, and seeing that I was tracking him, he disappeared for good.

“
We need to go
,” I told Lorelei calmly.

She towed me several miles back up the coast, dropping me off where we met.

“
Marina?
” the dawn reflected in her turquoise eyes, “
What happened?
”

I took her hands in mine and fought back tears, “
I… I’m going to have to stop coming to see you for a
while. Yo
u must promise me to be extra careful
–
”

She looked sad, “
But, Marina
–”

“
It’s too dangerous
.”

“
But why
?
I know the rules.
”

“
I want you to dive deep when you see a boat.
”

“
Why don’t you come and swim with us like Adria did?
”

I paused for a second, groping for the words. I’d like nothing better than to shrug off all my worldly troubles and choose freedom–
if only for a little while. I feared the pain of transformation, but
even
more than that, I
doubted
my ability to come back.

What I knew for sure was that by trying to have it both ways I was putting them in jeopardy. Every time I came out to see
my sisters
, I risked leadin
g my enemies straight to them, but
I couldn’t seem to stop.

I looked back towards the beach to see that the fires were out; the party was over. I shook my head sadly, “
The bad people are following me, because they still want to catch my sisters.
”

Lorelei followed my gaze, and I think she understood. “
What are you going to do?
” she asked solemnly.

“
I’m going to try and
get
them first.
”

~

C
hapter
E
leven

FRUSTRATION

~

I woke up in my studio, yawning and looking around sleepily. My thoughts went to the man watching me surf. It felt the same as it had in San Francisco, and I could only surmise that I fe
lt
myself being
watched
in the same way the mermaids could sense each other’s presence. My hybrid DNA was expressing itself in increasingly strange ways.

I hoped that Lorelei would take my warnings to heart as she promised
,
and
spread the word to all the other
mermaids
.
My plan
would
make
my sisters
safe
for good
,
and
give them a concrete set of rules that would
serve to
re
i
nforce their age-old taboo
s.