Always Remembered (5 page)

His thoughts soon shifted to the world around
him. They were deep enough that the water didn’t transition from
day to night. The sun was too far away. The citizens of Belle
Trésor marked the passage from day to night in their own way. The
beautiful reds, golds, and oranges of the day changed to blues,
purples, and greens at night. It couldn’t be a natural occurrence,
but their magic was beautiful. From warm to cool, the treasure box
that was their home alternated rubies with sapphires. The effect
was stunning. It was more beautiful than stained glass in a
cathedral because the movement in the water made it come alive.

While scuba diving last summer, Evan wondered
what it would feel like to swim unencumbered by heavy diving
equipment. He envied Meara’s ability to transform into a seal. Now
he knew firsthand what if felt like to be a creature of the sea. It
was glorious. He would trade television, movies, his car, well,
almost anything, for this feeling of freedom. No gravity holding
him back, no fear of drowning.

“Evan?” Deanna treaded nearby, wearing a
curious expression. “Are you okay?”

“I’m great. Sorry, just lost in my own
thoughts.”

“No problem. I asked if you want to enter The
Chamber.” She pointed to a large, glass dome behind her. The smoked
glass made it impossible to see in, but it looked like a
greenhouse. It was embarrassing that he was daydreaming so deeply
that he hadn’t noticed the huge structure.

“What is it?”

“It’s dry inside. Um…” She bit her lip as she
struggled for the words to explain. “I suppose you would say it’s
the closest we get to living like humans. We grow some food in
there. We also have a library, a bowling alley
—”

Intrigued, Evan interrupted. “You have a
bowling alley?” The thought made him grin. Of all the human things
they could do, bowling was a preferred sport for merpeople. Who
knew?

“Y-yes.” She chewed her bottom lip. Did he
make her nervous? Glancing down at the sea floor, her cheeks turned
a pretty pink. “You think this is stupid, don’t you?”

“What?” He was shocked that she would think
that. Moving closer, he placed his hand on her arm. “No, not at
all. I’m surprised that Sirens bowl, but I would never say it’s
stupid. I definitely wouldn’t call
you
stupid.”

She raised her head. The look she gave him
had his heart speeding up. “Do you want to then?” she asked.

Evan couldn’t take his eyes away from her
mouth. “What?”

She caught his eye, her lips curling up in a
slow smile. Clearly, she realized the effect she had on him as she
clarified, “Do you want to go inside?”

A quick toss of his head cleared his addled
brain. What was the matter with him? He gestured to the dome and
said, “Lead the way.”

She pointed to a tall door. “We need to enter
one at a time. You can go first. It’s a drying chamber. I’ll meet
you on the other side.”

Instinctively, he trusted her. He opened the
door and swam into the chamber. As soon as the door closed behind
him, the water level lowered in the room until he was standing on a
wet stone floor. The air grew hot and, within minutes, his hair and
clothes were dry. One glance told him that he hadn’t changed back
to human form. Thankfully, Blue Men had legs and not a tail, so it
was more or less irrelevant. He missed being human, though. In this
state, he felt like the not-so-jolly blue giant. Big and clunky,
especially on dry land.

Stepping through the unlocked inner door,
Evan found himself in a wide hallway. The hall was empty, the
lighting dim. Music played softly, the instrumental kind heard in
elevators and doctor offices.

A moment later, the door squeaked and Deanna
came through. She wore fitted blue jeans and a pale pink tank top.
Her long hair hung down her back in a braid.

“You changed form.” Once again, Evan berated
himself for being king of the obvious, but Deanna didn’t seem to
mind.

She frowned at him and bit her lip. “You
couldn’t change, could you?”

“No.”

With a look of sympathy, she leaned close and
whispered. “I was worried about that. Ken did something to you,
trapping you in this form.”

“So, I can’t leave.” The dismay was clear in
his voice.

“So you can’t leave,” she repeated.

“I’m a prisoner after all,” Evan murmured.
How long was Ken planning to keep him? Would he be stuck here
forever?

“You’re not in a cage,” Deanna pointed out.
“And Belle Trésor is quite large. You shouldn’t get bored.”

“It’s not that. I want to go home and see my
family.” His mom was probably frantic with worry. By now, she would
have called the police and search parties would be looking for him.
It wouldn’t do any good. They’d never think to look underwater.

“I’m sorry, Evan.” Deanna gently took his
arm, her eyes darting from shadow to shadow. “This is not the best
place to talk. Perhaps back at your room later?”

Ignoring the sparks that flew when she
touched him, Evan let Deanna lead him down the hall.

A cavern full of
Selkies stared at me, expectant expressions on their faces. My
people. From the sheer number present, I guessed almost everyone
had come to hear what we had to say. It was hard to believe that I
stood in this same spot three months ago, frozen in fear, preparing
to meet everyone for the first time. Today I felt confident,
although I did worry about their reactions to our proposal.

“Do you want to speak or should I?” Kieran’s
voice was low enough that only I heard him. Apparently, he mistook
my hesitation for fear. I wasn’t afraid.

“I’ve got it.” I gave him a small smile.

The murmurs of those gathered in the cave
grew to a thunderous roar. I spoke loudly, my voice carrying across
the large space. “Thank you for coming. I’m sure you’re wondering
why we called you here.”

The silence that followed was encouraging.
All eyes were on me again. Many of the Selkies wore bemused
expressions. Some looked curious, others worried. No one seemed
annoyed or angry. That was a good sign.

Clearing my throat, I continued, “At the
beginning of summer, two members of our clan were found dead. We
now have reason to believe they were murdered.”

A collective gasp traveled through the room.
One deep voice called out, “What makes you say that?” The question
echoed as others speculated.

“The Blue Men of Minch,” Kieran announced,
effectively silencing the murmurs. He paused for impact, and then
added, “Meara and I met one, and he warned us.”

“And you can trust him?” Someone in the back
shouted.

“He was dying,” I answered. “And angry at
being betrayed by his brothers. He had no reason to lie to us.”

“Why are you telling us this?”

This came from Arren, one of the adolescents.
He was near the front, fear as plain on his face as it was in his
voice. His pale innocence made him look younger than me. I knew he
was much older in years.

“We can no longer count on a few to protect
the many.” I said these same words to my father days earlier.
“Kieran and I are here to make you an offer.” I paused and looked
at Kieran. He nodded in encouragement. This was my show, and he was
letting me run it.

A sweeping glance told me that I had the
attention of every Selkie there. My family stood in the
back
—
Uncle Angus, Ula, and Paddy. They
would intervene if necessary, but there was no need. No one spoke.
All eyes were trained on the platform where Kieran and I stood.

“We will teach you to fight, to protect Ronac
and yourselves. This is voluntary. No one will be forced to
participate, although I strongly encourage you to consider it. By
show of hands, who is interested?”

For a moment, I held my breath. No one
responded. Then, Arren’s hand shot in the air.

“Aye,” he said. “I am.”

Several more followed his lead. I watched in
amazement as hands continued to rise. The only ones who didn’t
volunteer were elderly, young children, and a few mothers.

“When will we begin?” Ula asked. From across
the cavern, I could see her huge grin. Her enthusiasm was
encouraging.

I turned to Kieran. He crossed his arms and
waited, leaving the decision to me. We both faced Ula, and I said,
“Now. We’ll begin now.”

Kieran and I had planned the first session
ahead of time. We decided to start with a demonstration. As we
climbed down the steps to the main floor, Kieran said, “Anyone not
participating may stay and watch this demonstration, if you wish.
Otherwise, you are free to leave.”

A handful of individuals left. We arranged
the remaining crowd in a wide circle, giving us most of the floor
to move about. When the space was set to our satisfaction, we faced
each other in the center.

“You ready?” he asked with a cocky grin.

I met his gaze with what I hoped was fierce
calm and a wicked smile. “Always.”

As we sparred, the crowd faded out of my
awareness. The occasional gasp or murmur was just background noise.
I needed to concentrate. Kieran immediately attacked and placed me
on the defense. It didn’t last long. I overtook him by adding magic
to my moves, throwing energy balls that distracted him. Eventually,
I took hold of his arms and flipped him down, placing my knee on
his chest and conjuring my knife. I pressed the blade against his
throat and smiled slowly. “Do you surrender?”

“Always.” He purposely echoed my response
from earlier.

I shifted my weight and stood, offering him
my hand. “We’ll see about that.” When the Selkies realized that our
battle was over, the room erupted in applause and wolf whistles. We
bowed to the crowd.

“Thank you,” I said. “That was just a sample
of what you might achieve if you listen well and work hard.”

“Pair off,” Kieran ordered. “Let’s start with
some basic blocks.”

The crowd divided into groups of two. Kieran
turned to me once again. “Meara will demonstrate the blocks. Watch
her.” He spoke to the room, but his eyes never left my face.

On the count of three.
His voice slid
through my mind, as comfortable now as my own.
One. Two.
Three.

“Inside block.”

Striking out with my arm, I hit his forearm
and blocked his punch with ease.

“Outside block.”

I swept my arm out and knocked his hand down,
stopping his next attack.

“High block.”

Clenching his hand into a fist, he hammered
it down toward my head. My fist flew up and knocked his arm
away.

“Low block.”

His roundhouse kick aimed at my stomach. I
swept my arm down in an arc, hit his ankle, and stopped him before
he got too close. We were both breathing heavily when we bowed to
the crowd. Once again, our demonstration was met with applause.

Let’s show the blocks in slow motion
,
I suggested.

Kieran gave me a slight nod.
I’ll face
east, and you take west.

We repeated the blocks one at a time, and
then Kieran said, “Now practice with your partner, and please be
careful. We don’t want to carry anyone out of here.”

The pairs began to practice. It was a sight
to behold. Most were clumsy, unsure, and weak. Kieran took half the
room and I took the other, helping people move into position,
demonstrating the full block, and correcting missteps. After an
hour, I was exhausted. Thirty minutes later, it was time to call it
quits. I managed to drum up a little enthusiasm, although inwardly,
I cringed at how much work we needed to do. “Great work, everyone.
We’ll practice like this every day. Meet back here tomorrow at the
same time.”

“Before you leave,” Kieran added. “We expect
you to practice outside of our sessions. You should also train for
strength and endurance
—
sit-ups, push-ups,
running. In battle, you’ll be happy you did.”

A few groans ensued, but the clapping drowned
them out. I smiled at my people. They were tired. It was clear in
the way they held themselves as they exited the cavern. Not being
able to change and swim took its toll on everyone. Still, they
showed up today, they tried, and they would get better. Training
would give them focus and purpose. I couldn’t ask for more.

“What do you think?” I asked Kieran after the
last two left the cavern.

He ran a towel over his face and hair.
Dropping it over his shoulder, he paused in thought. “I think,” he
said finally, “we have our work cut out for us.”