02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (46 page)

“You look... dressed,” I said, insultingly
ambiguous.

He gestured for me to take a seat and I
complied, trying to avoid touching the armrests. The table was set
with exquisitely hand-painted Limoges porcelain laid out on a fine
linen tablecloth. An arrangement of rare orchids divided the table
with a light lemony fragrance. The elaborate tableau sparkled with
cut crystal and polished silver. A pair of candles burning in
golden candlesticks cast a warm glow on the silver hair and cold,
vulpine eyes of my host.

“So,” I asked, “What do you want with
us?”

“Why, your cooperation,” he smiled at me and
waved, summoning a dour faced butler with a towel draped servilely
across his arm. I looked up to search his eyes but they were blank,
betraying no surprise at the sight of me.

“Wine?” Peter asked, lifting a bottle from a
silver bucket on a stand behind his chair.

I shook my head no, “I’d like some coffee,” I
said.

Peter made some hand signals to the butler
who skulked off.

“I’m willing to cooperate with you if you let
the mermaids go,” I said.

“
Mermaids
?” He asked, surprised.

“You heard me,” I said, poker-faced.

He laughed, high and shrill, “Sorry, but we
have plans for them. You however, are a special case. We are aware
of the fact that you possess unusual powers... truly unlike any
other hybrid we’ve yet detected. You’re a shape shifter! I’ve heard
legends about creatures like you, but never actually thought they
existed.” He studied me like I was a specimen at the zoo.

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken about that,” I
said calmly. “It was all simply a tabloid hoax… You know, doctored
photos?”

He smiled at me condescendingly, ignoring my
denial. “Evelyn did a spectacular job keeping your true talents
hidden, but as with all secrets, the truth was eventually
exposed.”

“You know Evie?”

“We
all
know of the lovely Miss Pond.
I understand she’s very persuasive.”

“Who do you work for?” I asked.

He smiled proudly, and didn’t have the sense
to try and hide his connections, “Powerful people... people who
rule nations. With your skills we could control all of them... use
them. They have need of services from our kind.”

“Our kind?” I asked.

A grimace played on his lips, “I too, am
descended from one of them. Stupid, weak, emotional creatures.”

“You don’t know anything about them,” I said
coldly.

“I know they won’t speak and are too moronic
to even
eat
in captivity,” he sneered, “My mother was a
powerful woman, but it’s very hard to see how those sniveling
creatures could have anything to do with such a superior
individual.”

I was astonished that he spoke of the
mermaids with such contempt. He obviously knew nothing of their
strength and majesty, and was incapable of understanding love and
sacrifice.

“You’re a fool,” I told him.

I remembered what Evie said about hybrids
having male children with no muse abilities and I had a glimmer of
understanding. I studied him carefully, trying to unmask his
weakness. He was what Evie would teasingly call Euro-trash, an
arrogant, louche citizen of the world. He felt smugly superior to
everyone else, and bitterly envied the success of all those he felt
were beneath him in sophistication and intelligence. The fact that
he possessed no special powers and I did must eat away at him.

The butler returned with a silver service,
pouring my coffee unobtrusively and disappearing from the room.

Peter leaned back in his chair, regarding me,
“How is it that you have been so gifted?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” I
said with exaggerated innocence.

“My dear Marina... how do you say it? Cut the
crap– the sooner you come to terms with our arrangement the sooner
you can stay here with me,” he gestured all around, “in the lap of
luxury.”

“What makes you think I have any desire to
stay with you?”

He showed his even white teeth, but his gray
eyes remained cold, “For the time being you have no choice... but I
like to think you’ll come to see things my way eventually.” He
lifted his wrist and turned it to admire a gleaming golden
cufflink.

“What do you want with the mermaids?” I
asked.

He smiled, “Why, we are producing more of
your kind... only we shall raise them as our own. And they’ll be
ours to control.”

I recoiled in horror at the thought, “But it
kills them...” I gasped.

“They’re weak,” he said, pouring himself more
wine, “And it’s not our fault they can’t survive the process.”

“The process?” I stood abruptly, knocking my
coffee over. My voice rose, “You mean rape and murder?” The guards
at the doors both tensed.

“Sit down,” he said with a malevolent glitter
in his steely eyes, “Or I will have you forced to sit.”

“Disgusting pig,” I spat out with contempt,
and sat numbly.

The butler returned, mopping up the spill
obsequiously and serving us each a plate of sauteed foie gras on
toast points. I felt like throwing up.

“Ah, this is a real delicacy,” Peter said,
inspecting his plate with delight.

“I despise foie gras.”

He smiled grimly, studying me. I got the
impression that I was ruining his victory dinner and the thought
delighted me. Vanity was his weakness. Vanity and greed.

He carefully unfolded his napkin, “Don’t you
find it unusual that you should take up surfing as a hobby? I’ve
seen how highly skilled you are. You surfed magnificently with the
Hawaiian.”

I cringed inwardly, freshly repulsed at the
thought of being spied on.

He went on with his speculation, “You seem to
have the rare ability to create a bridge spanning the two worlds. I
believe you exist in a sort of liminal state. That means between
two-”

“I know what liminal means,” I snapped.

“That’s right,” he laughed, “Your father is a
scientist, and you’ve had the privilege of an aristocratic
education. All the better... intelligence is highly prized by my
employers.”

“Aren’t you a good little employee,” I spat
out.

I saw the anger rise in his eyes and the
thought occurred to me that I could make him angry like I had made
Joe angry. If he was irrational he might make a mistake. He seemed
to check himself, and I watched his expression change and become
false again.

“You’re the fool if you can’t see our
potential,” he said with a smile.

“Our?” I asked.

“If we worked together, we could capture many
mermaids... train an army of muses and gain control of the world.
Do you know many of the greatest inventions on earth have been
inspired by our kind?” He leaned back again, pressing his narrow
fingertips together, “I am become death, destroyer of worlds.”

“Oppenheimer?” I said, “Or rather,
Krishna.”

“Very good!” he smiled condescendingly, “You
really are quite clever. I can’t help but wonder what our offspring
would be like. You’re half-blooded, but with your intellect and
special abilities...”

I felt the blood run out of my face. I must
have looked sick.

“Come now, surely there are worse things...
Do you find me unattractive?”

I took a deep breath, “I find you a
sanctimonious, nihilistic bastard,” I smiled coldly at him, “Clever
enough for you?” I took my plate and flipped the contents onto the
front of his tuxedo. His hand shot across the table and grabbed my
wrist.

“You cannot be forced to assist me... but
like the others, you could be forced to bear a child, and be little
more than a brood mare,” his voice was quiet and threatening.

I paused for a moment and gathered my
thoughts.

“Maybe I should go directly to your
superiors?” I taunted him, and he tightened his grip. I went on to
mock him, “A little lap dog like you is dispensable... no?”

He gritted his teeth and his eyes
flashed.

I continued on, “At any rate, hybridized
males are often sterile... or perhaps you’re simply impotent.”

Now I had really pushed his buttons, and he
angrily twisted my arm, forcing me to my knees on the leopard skin.
I looked up at the guards advancing on us and back into Peter’s
eyes, which were now filled with a murderous rage.

He snapped something to the guards and
released me with a shove, knocking me back onto the hearth. Curly
lunged for me and pulled me to my feet, his hands burning hot on my
shoulders. He held me immobile in front of Peter who stood up and
calmly drew back his hand to viciously slap my face. My eyes
watered in pain as I was marched out of the room.

“You should really consider the safety of
your family before you threaten me,” he called out after me, “Abby
and Cruz are so terribly vulnerable.”

I froze in my tracks, awful fear gripping my
heart, and turned to see Peter drain the wine bottle into his
glass, leaning back into the chair with his eyes closed.

We rode the elevator back down to the garage
level, Curly’s hands slipping down my arms to circle around my
waist, stroking the small of my back with his thumbs. I looked up
at his battle scarred face, wondering if I could convince him to
let us go. He started to breathe heavily again, and I cringed,
realizing I’d made a terrible mistake egging him on.

We paused in the damp chill of the hallway as
the other guard opened the unlocked door to a utility closet,
pulling out a tall ladder. I watched as Curly took one sweaty paw
off of me, fishing a set of keys from his jacket pocket. The keys
and his hand were shaking, jangling softly as he started in on the
locks. We entered the room, and as soon as he let go of me I raced
away, hurrying over to check on Lorelei.

She cowered in the corner, rocking back and
forth, nearly catatonic with fear. I embraced her, murmuring
soothing words and stroking her hair while I watched the men set
the ladder up directly under the covered surveillance camera. Curly
stood holding the base while the other one climbed all the way to
the top rung, stretching to try and reach the dangling bra. Curly’s
glazed eyes followed me as I walked over to the sink and washed my
hands, bending to splash water on my face and neck. I took the
towel and patted myself dry, meeting his heated gaze directly.

He lunged for me so suddenly that I had no
time to react. The wind was knocked out of me as he grabbed me by
my shoulders and slammed his body into mine, pinning me tightly up
against the wall. He tried to kiss me but ended up slobbering all
over the side of my face, groping at my breasts and grinding into
me roughly. I yelped, gasping for air and trying to free my
arms.

A loud crack echoed off the bare walls, and I
watched his eyes roll back in his head as he slowly slumped to the
floor. Lorelei was standing there with the champagne bottle in her
shaking hand. Her eyes were more alive than I had ever seen them
before, burning as brightly as the sun behind a blue-green ocean
wave.

I looked up to see the other guard on the
ladder watching the scene below him in shock. Without thinking, I
launched myself across the room and pushed the ladder over, dodging
out of the way as he fell at least fifteen feet to the hard cement
below. His arm was twisted beneath him at an unnatural angle but he
was alive, dazed and moaning in pain. I swiftly rifled through his
pockets and retrieved a pair of handcuffs, attaching his wrists
together through the rungs of the ladder. I turned my attention to
Curly, who was out cold on the other side of the room.

I searched his coat and pulled out the keys
and a wallet. I managed to roll him over with considerable effort
and found another pair of handcuffs, along with a packet of
zip-ties. I attached the cuffs to his wrists behind his back
frantically, noticing his breathing was speeding up and he seemed
to be coming around. I quickly bound his ankles with the plastic
strips, racing over to the other man to do the same.

Only then did I stop to take a breath.

I could scarcely believe what had just
happened as I looked over at Lorelei, my hands shaking
uncontrollably, “
Good job Lorelei,
” I said with a smile,
“
Good job.
”

CHAPTER TWENTYSIX

Release

I made good use of the remaining zip ties,
making certain the guards wouldn’t be going anywhere soon. Since he
was too big to move, I attached Curly close to where he fell,
binding his arms to his legs around the pipes under the sink
gingerly as his eyes began to flutter open. The other big man got
even more securely lashed to the ladder, and I chuckled a little,
thinking of the Lilliputians tying down Gulliver. I was doing a
better job of it.

Keys in hand, I took Lorelei by the arm and
led her to the door, peering out to make sure there was no one
around. We stepped into the hall and I locked the door behind us.
Lorelei took a few faltering steps to the other door with her hand
held out.

“
Nerissa,
” she said, looking up at me
in shock, “
She is here.
”

I fumbled with the keys and started working
on the lock while Lorelei stood whimpering by my side. I wasn’t
prepared for what I saw when I swung it open.

It looked like a makeshift hospital room,
with metal railed beds lined up against one wall and a rack of
surgical tools next to a sink like the one I had just hog-tied
Curly onto. Two of the beds were empty, but the third one held a
deathly pale, otherworldly beautiful girl who lay still with her
eyes closed. I feared we might be too late as we rushed to her
side.

“
Nerissa, it’s me Lorelei,
” she cried,
tears pouring down her cheeks as she spoke. She reached up to touch
them in wonder, looking at me. The girl’s eyes opened, the
brightest green I’d ever seen.