02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (44 page)

It was only because of the terrifying
prospect of being drugged unconscious that I was able to beat back
my hysteria and get into the cooler. I nodded at Lorelei, mentally
willing her to follow my lead. I saw Ethan’s bougainvillea covered
apartment as I lowered myself into the box, knees folded under me.
I vowed to survive, to return to him somehow. The lid closed on me,
plunging me into blackness.

I tried to send Lorelei some comforting
thoughts, and I focused on remembering Ethan. I was so close to him
here, and yet so far. I felt the cooler being lifted off the boat
and could hear footfall on the wooden planks of the pier. We were
going towards the parking lot, the same place Ethan’s truck was
parked every night. Except last night, I thought. I remembered his
sweet kisses and his eyes full of love; I clung to that memory
desperately.

I crouched in my plastic cage, my aquamarine
necklace clattering on the floor of the cooler. I felt around
inside and found the hole in the bottom that served as a drain. We
were in the parking lot now, and I had a mental image of Ethan’s
truck. It was probably as futile a gesture as Hansel and Gretel’s
breadcrumbs, but I took off my necklace, kissed it and slipped it
through the hole.

“Come back to me,” I whispered, “You were
meant to be mine.”

I was jolted by a sudden stop, and could feel
the plastic bottom slide across something. Scraping noises
alongside me told me that Lorelei was here too and a loud slam
announced that we had been loaded into a van. I could feel the
vibrations of the engine starting up as I waited, muscles tensed, a
trickle of sweat running down the back of my neck. The lid opened
and I sprang up, startling the big man who was looking down at me.
He backed away, avoiding eye contact. It occurred to me that he
feared me.

“I’m not going back in there,” I said in a
low menacing voice, and I meant it.

I was inside a large windowless van, the two
giant men positioned at the only door in the back. I scrambled out
of the cooler and freed Lorelei from hers, pulling her out and
sitting down at the head of the van with her. The leader was
probably up front driving, but the cargo area was walled off, so I
couldn’t see what direction we were driving.

“Henchmen”, I thought with cheerless
amusement. It was a word I always associated with ridiculous comic
book violence. There was nothing comical about the two brutes in
the van with us, and I couldn’t think of another word for them.
Obedient as well trained dogs, they followed their snowy haired
leader’s every command and did their best to avoid making eye
contact with us.

I looked around inside the dark van for
anything I could use as a weapon, Lorelei whimpering by my side. We
bounced around for a while and when the van finally slowed and
stopped the men stirred, the curly haired one producing handcuffs
and advancing on us.

“
Give him your hand,
” I told Lorelei
as I held out my wrist. His eyes flickered to mine and I held his
gaze for a moment. “It’s alright,” I said soothingly, nodding
towards the cuffs, the very picture of acquiescence. He looked
surprised, and maybe a little relieved before he tore his eyes away
from mine. It was a start. Evie always did say that you could catch
more flies with honey than you could with vinegar.

The back door of the van rolled open to
reveal the inside of a garage. We stepped out onto cold damp
concrete and looked around. The light from the harsh glow of
overhead fluorescent tubes made Lorelei look as pale and fragile as
a bubble of seafoam. From the smell and the damp I got the distinct
impression the garage was underground. Lorelei shivered a little
and clung to me as Peter came around from the front of the van.

“Come along,” he commanded, leading us
towards a doorway, the silent men flanking us as we followed along
behind him. We were led into a hallway with a knob-less door on
either side, both of them bristling with multiple locks. I wondered
what was in the room that needed to be so securely contained while
the curly haired one took out keys and started unlocking one of
them. The door swung open to reveal a windowless room about the
size of a small garage.

Cinder-block walls reached up to a high
ceiling covered with duct-work. A bare light bulb hanging from its
cord was swinging eerily, disturbed by our entry. There was an
industrial looking metal sink and toilet in one corner, and a small
inflatable mattress in the other. A towel and blanket were folded
on the mattress; the room smelled faintly of bleach, reminding me
of chlorine and nauseating me.

I was taken by the arm and thrust into the
room, Lorelei jerked along behind me. The handcuffs were
unfastened, and one of the men grabbed Lorelei roughly to take her
back out.

“No!” I cried, lunging for her arm, “Leave
her with me.”

Peter paused, considering, “Very well,” he
said, “I’ll have some clothing brought around. I need to go boast
of my good fortune... we shall speak shortly.” He turned crisply on
his heel and left.

The sound of the heavy metal door slamming
shut echoed off the bare walls. I could hear the keys scraping in
the locks and we were left alone, looking around at the cold room.
I took stock, realizing it was essentially a bar-less jail cell.
The smooth walls and high ceiling would make climbing out
impossible. The only way in or out was the locked door.

“
What is this place?
” shivered
Lorelei, eyes huge with suffering, “
Do you live here?
”

“
No
,” I said grimly, “
Come on, you
need to cover up
.”

I led her to the mattress and wrapped the
blanket around her. It was odd to see her so weak and fragile. The
tables were turned, and in my element Lorelei was completely
different from the strong wild creature I had come to know in the
sea. She was like a helpless child, and I realized that I was
completely on my own, knowing she wouldn’t be able to assist in any
plan I cooked up.

The door swung open, and the big curly haired
one came in bearing a stack of folded clothes. The other guard
waited by the door, arms crossed. Lorelei scrambled back on the
bed, cowering in the corner. I approached Curly-hair boldly, with a
smile, locking eyes with him seductively as I had seen Evie do so
many times before. He looked down at me nervously, and I could tell
he didn’t want to look away.

“Ahh,” I sighed, as he held out the clothes
to me, “Thank you...” I took the stack from his outstretched arms
slowly, running my fingertips down his forearm. I saw his pupils
dilate and beads of sweat form on his brow. Wow, I thought, Evie
was right. It was kinda frightening how strongly I affected him.
Evie always used to point out that half the people in the world
were below average. If extremely resistant people existed, there
must also be extremely susceptible people. I was pretty sure I just
found one.

His fellow guard called out to him, snapping
him out of his trance. I watched him back away from me with flushed
cheeks. He turned to leave, and with a look over his shoulder,
staggered out the door. I looked down at the clothes he brought in
dismay. There were a couple of pretty but flimsy long nightgowns
that looked like they came from Victoria’s Secret, along with some
lacy lingerie. I shuddered with revulsion, for this Peter guy was
clearly a real creep.

I was hot and itchy in my wetsuit and I
needed to change. I looked at Lorelei huddled in the corner in her
makeshift toga. I was going to have to play his little game whether
I liked it or not. I went to the sink and splashed water on my
face, stripping off my wetsuit and rinsing off as best I could. I
put on a gown and helped Lorelei into hers, urging her to drink
some water.

Everything was new to her, from the feeling
of clothes on her body to the taste of fresh water. Watching her
stumble around on her new legs, I wondered what it was like for my
mother to make the transition. Unlike me and Lorelei, she’d chosen
it, and that must have made all the difference. If I knew that
Ethan was waiting for me in the sea I’d follow him in without
hesitation.

“
Marina,
” Lorelei had a look on her
face I’d never seen before, “
There is another sister here... I
can hear her... there.
” She pointed, and I remembered the
second locked door in the hallway.

“
Are you sure?
” I asked. She looked
white as snow and sick with terror.

She nodded slowly, “
She’s very afraid in
there all alone.
” her eyes rolled back into her head as she
communicated with the other hostage.

“
Lorelei!
” I shook her gently,
alarmed. Her eyes squeezed shut and she came back around, even
paler than before.

“
She wants to know why they’re doing this
to us
.”

“
I don’t know,
” I said resolutely,
“
But I will find out.
” Lorelei had been warned that mermaids
were in danger, and now I knew who was behind it. But why? Clearly,
they had targeted me, but Lorelei was more to them than just
collateral damage. They wanted something from her too. I was
determined to get us out of this and now I had another hostage to
worry about. My job had just gained another degree of
difficulty.

I was startled by the scraping of the door,
which opened to reveal the return of the two big men. One stood
guard, while the curly haired one came in with a small table and a
tray bearing a covered dish. He watched me with hungry eyes,
followed by the other man who left his post to carry in two wooden
folding chairs. He opened the chairs ceremoniously, arranging them
by the table and looking up to see Peter stride in.

Peter nodded to the men and they retreated,
taking their positions by the door.

“Have a seat Marina,” he said expansively,
gesturing to the table. He sat and lifted the lid off the dish to
reveal some grapes, sliced bread and a wedge of brie. He snapped
his fingers towards the men at the door, issuing more orders in the
same unidentifiable language he had spoken before. I looked at
Lorelei, who had resumed her cowering in the corner, not
comprehending. I sat down.

“You know, the two of you look just like
twins,” his eyes scanned me lasciviously, “only you’re decidedly...
more robust.”

“Why have we been kidnapped?” I asked,
masking my fear with contempt.

“We can help each other,” he smiled
smugly.

“Who’s we?” I asked. I looked up to see one
of the men approach with a bottle of champagne and two tall flute
glasses.

Peter took the bottle, removed the foil and
wire slowly, methodically. Popping the cork with a flourish, he
poured two glasses, lifting one to admire the tiny bubbles as they
rose to the surface, “It’s a vintage Dom Perignon.”

“I don’t drink,” I looked at him levelly.

“Pity, we have so much to celebrate.”

“You
do know
that I’m not of age,” I
observed sarcastically.

He laughed shrilly, “Age is only a number.”
He looked over at Lorelei meaningfully.

“What do you want with us?” I asked
impatiently.

He smiled, leaning in towards me, “You. It
was you we were after. The mermaid was simply a bonus. You came to
our attention after your dramatic exposure… how
very
heroic
of you.” He looked down at my legs, “What’s it like?” he asked.

“What’s what like?” I glared at him.

“Let’s not be coy. We’ve been watching you
ever since your peculiar talent came to light.” He sipped his
champagne, “Once we discovered your father’s connections to the
famous
Evelyn Pond our suspicions were confirmed. We knew we
were onto something special.”

“What do you want from me?” I asked coldly,
but my stomach tightened at the mention of my family.

He ignored my question and continued, “You
see, we followed you, looking for the optimum spot to pounce, when
to our surprise you led us to another. Imagine my delight when I
found out you were in touch with... the locals,” he inclined his
head towards Lorelei, “And the fact that you can speak to them?
It’s simply extraordinary!”

My heart sank when I realized that it was
entirely my fault Lorelei had been taken. I could hear her
whimpering fearfully behind me. I had gotten her into this
mess.

“We installed a device on your car, and when
you kept disappearing into the sea we added one to your wetsuit,”
he smiled, “Easy really, the way you hang it up outside. Not that
it went entirely smoothly, it was very clever of you to use a
decoy. We nearly took the wrong girl!” He shook his head with
amusement at the memory.

“Shayla,” I whispered.

“I decided to be patient... to reformulate my
plans and allow you come to us in the water. We were able to kill
two birds with one stone... so to speak.” He smiled to himself with
satisfaction, and spoke with a crafty evil that revolted me, “And
it worked out magnificently.”

“I don’t know what you think you’re going to
accomplish. You can’t make me do anything,” I tried to sound
confident.

“You’ll come around,” he said, “Once you
understand. After all, you are young, as you pointed out
yourself.”

“What exactly do you want?” I jumped to my
feet with rising irritation. His smugness and evasiveness was
infuriating.

He leaned back in his chair, regarding me
with cold, calculating eyes. Draining his glass, he stood, snapping
his fingers. I backed up as the men approached, watching as they
took away the table and chairs, leaving the tray on the floor. The
curly haired one stared at me intensely, like a dog waiting for its
treat. I was starting to regret the attention I had paid him.

Peter came towards me and I stood my ground.
He reached out to me, pressing his soft palm to mine and raising my
hand to his lips, kissing it. The menace was palpable under the
thin veneer of civility.