2 Deja Blue (27 page)

It was the screeching cry of a
Mermaid
.

I turned back around and headed into the cave of shaking destruction.
I must be crazy. But that screaming cry…it was haunting.
It sent a chill through my veins
colder than
the frigid water
I was in
.
I
knew something was wrong
,
and I knew I had to go back. Competition or no competition, I couldn’t ignore her cries. The shaking and roaring had settled down
a bit
. I just hoped whatever it was didn’t happen again. I
saw Freya stuck between crevices
in the rocks. Her turquoise hair was flowing wildly around her face and terror filled her purple eyes
. H
er horrified gaze burned into my eyes, silently pleading for help. She was struggling and madly swishing her tail back and forth. Her left arm was wedged under a rock
,
and she couldn’t seem to break free. The walls around us were still shaking
,
and the roaring sound, although
diminished,
was still pouring through our ears. Who knew if the cave would come crumbling down, perhaps sealing us in our watery graves.

I had a sudden flashback of when I was trapped under the boulders at the end of the
jetty. I knew the fear she felt
,
and I knew I had to get us the hell out of that cavern. I swam to the rock and pushed and heaved and shoved.
Amidst the violent
shaking of the rocks, I was able to loosen it just enough
,
and Freya broke free and took off like her tail was on fire.
My lungs were feeling full
,
and the pressure was beginning to build. I must have been under water for
at least 20 minutes now. I knew I was going to need air soon
,
so I didn’t waste any t
ime swimming out of that cavern. C
utting
myself
up
even more along the way, the only thing on my mind was getting air.
As I exited the cave, I saw Freya burst through the surface above
,
and I knew I had lost. My chest was on fire
,
and I foc
used on just getting to
the surface
.
Before
I could get too disappointed, I felt
a
hard, sharp b
oulder hit me from behind, like
Babe Ruth himself
had
swung his wooden baseball bat and made direct contact with my spine. I felt myself float downward as I peered up, not feeling
any pain at all. I looked up
at the wooden platform above
getting farther and farther away from me.
I wasn’t panicked. I wasn’t scared. It was like I was watching the entire thing happen through someone else’s eyes. The words Brennan whispered to me when we were standing on the platform just minutes before echoed in my head, “
Superior never gives up her dead
…”
I was weirdly calm. There was no feeling of panic…no burning feeling in my lungs.
Huh. I suppose this is where my body will forever rest. It was as if my soul knew it would be leaving soon…. A
wave
of
serenity
rolled
t
hrough my sinking, falling body.
My vision became darker and darker, as if a black circle was closing in all around me
.
Just before the light went completely out, I saw a
blurry
figure leap from the platform
and
dive into the water
accelerating with
great speed
towards me.

And then, there was nothing
.

Chapter
28

What a weird dream.
In the midst of my floating blackness, I
seem
ed to be having a strange dream
.
I suppose it wasn’t really a dream…
Can you consider hearing voices, but not seeing any pictures a dream? It sure felt like a dream.
I heard the most beautiful words, clear as day, spoken so softly to me that it sounded like
someone was saying
a prayer or
making
a wish. I heard
,
“
G
rá
mo
chroí
go
deo
,
grá
mo
chroí
go
deo
,
” in
an almost
tearful whisper.
I couldn’t remember what they meant. I knew I heard the words before…but I couldn’t place them. And who was whispering that wish in my
dream
? It sounded like a male voice. Was I simply remembering something the
Mermaid
s said?
I struggled with my
darkened
thoughts
,
and I remembered
Bexin
saying those words. Yes. It was
Bexin
.
But it wasn’t
Bexin’s
voice I was hearing now. Whose was it? And
what
did those words mean
? I almost didn’t care, in my dreamlike, blurry-black numbed state.
I simply felt restful in my weightless
,
floating
,
dark dream.

And then, before I could think any more, I felt
sharp pangs of
electricity zing through my body
, jarring me to sudden alertness
.
I began gasping, choking on water before I realized I had to shut my
mouth. I was still under water
and holding in choking coughs. My eyes shot open in terror
,
and I saw Brennan’s fierc
e
ly determined face inches from mine.
He must have used some
Fairy
magic to heal
my injuries.
His voice, clear as day
,
echoed in my head, (and also sending shearing pain through my body as I realized I was suddenly conscious). He said, “
Kansas! Come! You must swim fast!
” He was pulling at me, leading me towards the
surface. “
The pain will subside in ju
st a moment,
” Brennan said in my head. He
and I swam like a torpedo being launched from a submarine, with such power and force that if anything got in our way, we would surely obliterate it.

We broke through the surface and
grabbed onto the wooden platform. Anya and Jeremy quickly helped me over the side
,
and Celestine
,
Bexin
and Simon
were quick to aid Brennan.
I collapsed onto the platform and noticed that Freya was kneeling, with the King and Queen
by
her side.
Grobel
looked unaffected. What a heartless ass.
Although, I suppose he wouldn’t shed one tear for me if I had died under the water. After all, he was the creepy stalker who had been trying to kill me anyway. Even though Anya and Brennan had made certain he couldn’t follow through with those plans, I’m sure
he wouldn’t feel any great
loss if I
had been
left in
the
S
hipwreck
Graveyard
be
low
us.

Before I could even catch my breath, Jeremy was all over me, hugging me, and speaking without taking a breath, “
OhmysweetLord
! I thou
ght for sure you were
gonna
win.
W
e felt the platform start rocking a little and
then
you jetted out of those rocks. It looked about hundred times worse down there than what
we were feeling! And then
,
like a crazy person
,
you went swimming back in! I thought you had lost your mind! When we saw Freya swim out and you followed, we thought everything was okay. And then the shaking started again and Bam!
Rocks started exploding everywhere and
,
s
uddenly, you
were
floating away from us! My GOD
,
Ruby! Don’t
ever
scare me like that again!” I was shaking my head, finally able to breathe again, and I
said
, “Don’t worry! I have no plans to.
” Then
,
I turned to look at Anya and
Brennan
,
who were huddled around me now as well
,
and I sputtered, “What the hell was that?! What was all the rumbling and shaking?” Jeremy was nodding wildly
too
, as if demanding an answer.

Brennan look
ed
slightly frazzled
,
but had an expression of obvious relief
,
and
answered, “
Underwater earthquake.”

“An EARTHQUAKE!?”
I squealed, “Are you freaking kidding me?!”
I tried to lower my voice
,
but
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. But
,
Anya and Brennan were both nodding, and Brennan continued, “I’m afraid it was. Lake Superior was created in a valley that rests over the Great Lake Tectonic Zone.” I sat there, staring dumbly at Any
a. What? Am I supposed to be a g
eologist now?

Anya broke in, sensing
my confusion, “Ruby, it’s true. E
arthquakes
can
happen
here
. They usually only last a minute or two though.”

“Oh.
That
makes me feel better,
” I sarcastically replied. Anya must have missed the sarcasm, because she just smiled and continued on wit
h
her little geology lesson, “Yeah, did you know
that
lava has even erupted from one of the rifts
?”
I shook my head at her incessant babbling and retorted, “Oh, well
,
at least I didn’t get any
hot molten lava
spewed on me! What the hell!? Whose
freakin
’ brilliant idea was it for
us to swim through that stupid
earthquake cave anyway?” I was irritated. But who wouldn’t be? I just lived through a near-dea
th experience
,
and Anya
was droning
on about the wonders of underwater earthquakes.

Brennan cut in,
speaking in a low voice,
“Ruby. Calm down. Earthquakes are unpredictable.
Even
y
ou
know that much. No one could have known that would happen. Please show some respect.” He gest
u
red with a slight nod of his head and moved his eyes towards the King and Queen, who were standing mere feet away from our little huddle.
The look on their faces showed only concern
,
and
I instantly felt horrible.
I noticed
that
Simon was standing
protectively
over our little group. Looking serious and ready for anything, he stayed between us and the members of the Water Court, as well as the
Troll
s.
Humbled, I put my head down to hide my embarrassment
and
, most
likely
,
reddening cheeks.
I really need to work on hiding my emotions better if I’m going to hang with mythical creatures.

Once everyone
seemed to have recovered
from the drama
, the King held up his han
ds to get everyone’s attention.
Ten
pairs of eyes stared at the King, waiting for him to speak.

“Thankfully, both of our Challengers have returned to us
safely,” he began, “However…
(
h
e
cleared his throat uncomfortably)
However…
There is still the matter of who is to be declared the winner of this third
Challenge
, and who shall be declared Champion of the
Grá
mo
Chroí
Dúshlán
.” We all stared and were silent, waiting for him to continue. I was afraid to even breathe.
The King took in a large breath, and stood a little straighter before he spoke his next words.