Always Remembered (3 page)

“I won’t leave. I promise.” I reached up and
wrapped my hand around his wrist. “Now you promise me.”

“What?” He looked surprised.

“That you’ll be careful,” I said. “I lost
Mom. I don’t want to lose you, too.”

“Is that all?” He pulled me into his arms
again. It felt nice to be held by my father. Once again, I wondered
what things would’ve been like if he’d been in my life all along.
Considering I only met him a little over a year ago, we’d already
come a long way in our relationship. I loved him and wished I saw
more of him. He kissed my forehead. “I’ll be careful, Meara. I
promise.”

Brilliant jeweled
colors greeted Evan’s tired eyes. The room itself was nondescript,
but reds, blues, greens, and yellows highlighted every surface,
turning everything to stained glass.

Where am I?
Evan thought.

“Finally awake, are you?”

Evan found himself staring into pale green
eyes. Eyes that looked vaguely familiar. Long, greenish blond hair
floated in his face and tickled his nose. Evan brushed it aside
before shifting to sit up on the bed. She quickly moved out of his
way and into the shadows.

As his muddy thoughts cleared, details
sharpened. The room rippled, not with air, but with water. He was
in his blue form, breathing underwater as though he were on land.
His chest felt funny, like a bubble of air was contained inside.
Other than that and a mild headache, he couldn’t complain. Although
it would’ve been nice if Ken hadn’t drugged him to bring him here.
Wherever here was.

Ken. Evan couldn’t think of him as his
father, even if biologically it was true. His parents were Darren
and Lydia Mitchell, the loving couple who raised him, who didn’t
even know that he wasn’t Darren’s son. And… crap! Who were going to
be worried sick about him.

“How long have I been out?” His eyes searched
the room for the girl. She had to still be here, right? The
blinding colors disoriented him. A shadow moved in the corner, but
he couldn’t make out any details.

“A half days’ time.”

Damn it! The plane would be arriving in Nova
Scotia today without him. No doubt, his parents and Katie were at
the airport, waiting to greet him and take him home. What would
they think when he didn’t walk through the gate? How panicked would
they be as they waited, the crowd trickling to one or two
individuals, until no more came. Until they realized he was
missing. His heart went out to them. He wished he could tell them
he was okay. At least for the time being, it appeared no harm had
come to him.

The girl continued talking, her voice soft
and friendly, “I offered to look after you until you awoke.”

Evan squinted in the direction of her voice.
It didn’t help. He wished she’d move closer so he could see her.
Something was nagging at his memory. She seemed so familiar. “Do I
know you?”

She came into view, her long hair floating
around her pale face. The light mint shade of her hair almost
matched her eyes. His gaze moved from her beautiful face down her
body, and he jumped. Her waist melded into a tail.

“You’re a mermaid?” he asked.

“I prefer Siren.” She swished her tail and
pouted. “Don’t you remember me?” She swam closer, running one
finger along his cheek as her eyes searched his. “Not even a
little?”

The memory sharpened. Weeks ago, Ken took him
to that rundown bar for lunch. What was the name again? The
Hideout? No, The Shack. It looked like a rundown shack on the
outside, dirty and neglected. The inside was a different story of
tasty food and even more delicious entertainment. The girls who
waited on the tables and performed there were hypnotically
beautiful. One in particular caught his eye. Their waitress.
“Deanna?”

Her face lit with pleasure. “You do remember
me! I knew you would.” She lowered herself next to him on the bed,
her tail lightly tapping his leg as she wound her hands around his
arm and rested her head on his shoulder. Evan didn’t think they
formed any kind of relationship that night, but she was being
extremely friendly. Friendlier than most people were when they met
someone new, even if they had met once before.

Deanna squeezed his arm. “I like you. You’re
different than most of the others.”

“Other Blue Men?” He felt her nod, but she
didn’t say anything. “Are they all here?”

“Most are here,” she whispered. “Some are
still in Azuria.”

“Azuria!” He recalled reading Ken’s mind and
hearing that name as Ken told the story of how their queen, or
Mother, died. Figuring the queen’s name was important if Ken didn’t
say it aloud, Evan left it as a clue for Meara. Hopefully, she
figured it out by now. It was vague, but he didn’t have enough time
to write anything else. Now Deanna was telling him it was the name
of a place. Did he misunderstand? “I thought that was the name of
the queen.”

Deanna’s eyes widened, and she covered his
mouth with her hand. “Shhh… you do not want others to hear you.
Azuria was the queen’s name.” Deanna’s eyes darted back and forth
as though she was confirming they were alone. “Azuria is also the
name of their home.” She lowered her head, and her voice dropped.
“Azuria is everything to them.”

“I got that impression from Ken. He hates the
Selkies because he thinks one killed her. Is that true?”

Deanna bit her lip and studied him. He
watched the emotional struggle on her face. She wanted to tell him,
but she was afraid.

“If you can’t say…” Evan started.

“I don’t know,” Deanna admitted. “But some of
the Blue Men disagree with Ken.”

“I don’t understand.”

Her eyes grew into two pale green circles.
“Please. I’ve already said more than I should.”

Evan felt bad for the poor, scared girl.
Funny that he could feel sorry for her when he was the one held
prisoner.
Wait
. He was still a prisoner, right?

“Where am I?” he asked.

“My home, Belle Trésor.” A wide smile broke
across her face and melted the fear. “I live here with my sisters.
Of course, now the Blue Men live here, too.”

A couple of years of French class in high
school paid off enough for Evan to know the name of this place
roughly translated to Beautiful Treasure. He shrugged. It made
sense, given the stained glass look of everything.

“We’re underwater.” Evan winced. He hated
stating the obvious. “But where?”

“Off the coast of France.” She shivered
delicately. “Scotland is too cold for Sirens.”

“But you work in Scotland.”

Deanna’s gaze turned fearful again. “Only
when Ken orders us to perform. We’d rather be home.” She pushed
herself off the bed and swam to the corner of the room where Evan
lost her in the colored swirls.

“Are you hungry?” she called. Not waiting for
his answer, she brought him a tray laden with food. Rather than the
bowls and plates used on land, mesh tents held the food in place.
It appeared to be fruits and cheeses. The colors and shapes were
different from anything Evan had seen. He eyed it carefully, which
made Deanna laugh. “Go ahead and eat. It won’t bite you.”

“I’ve never eaten underwater,” Evan admitted.
“I’m not sure how.”

Deanna’s expression softened. “It’s no
different from eating on land. Take a bite. You’ll see. It’s
perfectly safe, I promise you.” She reached through an opening in
one of the coverings and picked up a small, yellow object. It was
about the size of a grape. She popped it in her mouth. Evan watched
her chew and swallow. She nodded in encouragement. “See? Easy!”

He picked one that looked the same and tried
it. The flavor exploded in his mouth, first tart, and then sweet.
“Delicious. What is it?”

“Xi fruit. We grow everything in our garden.
The flavors are different from fruits and vegetables on land, but
just as good.”

“Maybe better,” Evan said. He ate another xi,
and then tried something that resembled cheese. It was creamy and
tangy, reminding him of goat cheese. He didn’t ask what animal it
came from. He was content to finish the food and quiet his rumbling
stomach. Eyes full of merriment, Deanna watched him while he ate.
When he picked up the last xi, she took the tray.

“I need to leave for a while.” Before Evan
could protest, she placed a hand on his arm. “Rest now. You’ve been
through a lot. When you wake, I’ll give you a tour.” Her face was
open and friendly, and Evan noticed how pretty she was. Without the
heavy makeup she wore at the bar, she looked much younger. “I’ll be
back soon.”

One swish of her tail, and he was alone in
the room. Blinking back sleep, he stood and stretched. He would
rest, but first he wanted to see where he was and if he could leave
the room. It took little time to explore the room itself, which
held a bed, a dresser, and two doors. The door near the dresser was
a small water closet with a sink, mirror, and a few unrecognizable
fixtures. Briefly, he wondered how underwater plumbing worked, and
then decided he probably didn’t really want to know. He’d find out
soon enough when the need arose. He glanced across the room to the
other door. It must lead outside. The room had no windows. What
would he find when he opened that door? Was anyone guarding him
from escaping?

The door was unlocked and glided smoothly
underwater, making no noise. He looked down, jumping back in
surprise. His room didn’t open into a hallway. There was no floor
in front of his door. It dropped off into an enormous cavern.
Another building stood across the courtyard. The holes in its tall
sides made it look like Swiss cheese. Each hole must be a room. The
walls glittered with jewels and sea glass. In some areas, the
stones were placed in a mosaic to create scenes—Sirens speaking to
dolphins and sea horses, Sirens singing with abandon, Sirens
wrapped in the arms of human males—the pictures were bright and
detailed. In other areas, the stones were set in no apparent
pattern, so their individual beauty stood out against the dark
backdrop.

No one swam outside his room or seemed to
notice him at all. Blue Men and Sirens went about their business in
the cavern below. The Blue Men’s rich blue skin contrasted with the
muted pastels of the Sirens. Several were pale green like Deanna,
but even from this distance, Evan knew none of them was her.

He wanted to explore the Siren dwelling, but
his limbs felt heavy. His eyelids drooped. Deanna promised she’d be
back later to take him on a tour. If he left now, he might not find
his room again. He shut the door and went back to the bed. Lying
down, he closed his eyes. He tried to picture Meara. Instead, he
saw a girl with pale, celery-green hair.

I peeked into
Ula’s room. She was my closest friend here, and also my aunt and
confidant. I had so much to tell her. I felt bad about abandoning
her at the farewell celebration for Uncle Ren. I couldn’t tell her
about the plan for Kieran and I to rescue Evan—the more people that
knew, the greater the chance that my dad might have found out and
stopped us.

At the moment, she seemed to be in a good
mood, listening to music and reading a dog-eared Nancy Drew book.
Then again, she hadn’t realized that I was there yet. I rapped
loudly on her door, and she pulled her earbuds out.

“Want to get some fresh air?” I asked.

Her green eyes narrowed in irritation. “Where
have you been? You bailed on me the other night.”

“I’m sorry.” The apology was heartfelt. It
was a crappy thing to do. I was so mad at her the first time she
left me at an event, and here I did the same thing to her. To be
fair, it wasn’t as if we were hanging out. She spent the evening
with Uncle Ren and his family saying goodbye, so it wasn’t like she
was alone. I cleared my throat. “I have a good reason.”

“I know.” Her expression softened. “Evan. Did
you find him?”