Betrayal 2012 (4 page)

“I’ll show you,” I said robotically, still trying to imagine what it was going to be like to finally see Brendan. 

We grabbed his suitcases from the front porch as Kain walked by us and said that he was going to the guest house.  He told us that he’d see us in the morning and continued on with two protectors following at his heels.  I watched him go until Daniel shoved me. 

“Stop staring,” he teased.

I shook my head.  “I wasn’t staring at him.”

“Mmm hmm,” he said with flare.  I turned on my heel and headed towards the stairs.

“It’s not like that,” I justified.

“Mmm hmm.”

“Shut up.”  I smiled down at Daniel who was a step below me.  “Or I’ll kick you out.”

“No you won’t,” he replied with confidence.  He was right.

We went on a swim later that evening so that I could show Daniel some of my favorite spots.  The moment my feet hit the water I felt the transition begin.  My legs fused and the bones reformed to accommodate a single tail.  Usually the pain associated with the transformation was excruciating, but now that I was a leader, the process was smooth and effortless. 

Daniel struggled with his change.  I could hear his grunts and moans under the water where I waited for him.  Looking around, I marveled at the changes with my site and in my lungs.  As part of the shifting process, our vision cleared and the ability to hold our breath increased.  It was a welcomed change from being on land.

Daniel finally joined me and we set off to look at the sites.  It wasn’t as much fun with four protectors following our every move, but at least we were safe for the time being.  I purposely avoided the rocky island that Brendan and I called our sanctuary.  Ever since coming back, I’d been unable to go there.  The memories were too painful and I was suffering enough.  Daniel didn’t mind though, as he took enough enjoyment in trying to catch a sea otter that taunted him the entire evening.

“I almost had him,” Daniel said as we drifted at the surface and admired the stars.

“He was just toying with you,” I laughed.  “He’s been here forever and not once have any of us captured him.”

“Well, I’ll get him tomorrow.”

The stars filled the skies like the millions of phosphorescent creatures in the deep ocean.  Twinkling and glowing in the infinite darkness.  A shooting star passed over our heads and Daniel quickly grabbed my hand.

“You have to make a wish,” he said.  “It’s good luck.”

“What are you going to wish for,” I asked.  He splashed water at my face in response.

“I can’t tell you or it won’t come true.  Now, close your eyes and make a wish.”

I watched as he relaxed into the water and let his tail gently rest on the surface.  I envied Daniel and his carefree life.  Leadership responsibility, loss of loved ones, and fear for my clan’s safety weighed me down like a thousand years.  I wanted to help everyone and I wanted certain people back in my life again.  In the end I decided that there were too many things for me to wish for so I didn’t ask for anything at all.

The first thing I did when we returned home, after sending Daniel off for the night, was draft an email to Brendan.  I must have stared at the computer screen for an hour writing and re-writing my message.  It was important that I didn’t sound too desperate, but I also wanted him to know that I wasn’t willing to leave Seattle without seeing him.   Finally satisfied with it, I pushed the send button and let out a long breath.  Now I had to wait.

I fell asleep that night thinking about how much I wanted to see Brendan and about how I was going to prove myself to the Council.  I worried for my friends and had visions of Justin Bernard pointing a gun at me.  It was a restless evening to say the least.

Three

 “Try that one next,” Daniel mumbled through a mouth full of bagel.

“Stop pointing!” I warned him.  The three of us were sitting on one of the benches in Bennett’s Park that surrounded the largest playground area.  We probably looked young enough that this wasn’t creepy, otherwise the adults would wonder why we stared and laughed at their kids all morning.  I felt kind of bad but it was the only way I could practice.  “What should I do?”

Daniel tilted his head in thought, and I could see the moment he got some demented idea.  “Make him do the chicken dance!”  Kain snorted and I agreed with his sentiment.

“Daniel…,” I groaned.  “Really?”

“Yes, it’s genius because no one would be suspicious if an adult is dancing for a kid.  Plus, you can try to give the command to just one person,” he pointed out.

“Okay, let’s see.”  I did my best to block out all background noises and focused in on one of the few fathers who braved the playground scene today.  It wasn’t like I could find his mind per se, but that’s what I was trying to do.  The more I practiced, the easier it was for me to visualize every individual’s consciousness.  I directed my power towards the jumble of thoughts that I figured belonged to the man and pushed the music into his head along with the command to dance.  A wave of confusion swept over his face and he stopped fiddling with his daughter’s coat.  He stood up and began to sway from side to side.

“It’s working!” Daniel squealed.  The man smiled down at his daughter and brought his hands up to his ribs.  Flapping his elbows up and down like a bird, he began the chicken dance.  I was so excited, I continued to push the command out towards him without realizing that I touched a few other minds as well.  Nearly twenty parents and their children began dancing the choreographed steps and I totally lost my concentration.

“Oh crap,” I moaned.  Kain and Daniel laughed beside me and I elbowed them both.  “Humans are too easy.”  I was learning that the power of suggestion on a human’s mind was way more potent than I could handle at this point.  Pushing out one command to one person with a little too much force indirectly affected all of those around him.  Now half of the playground was wiggling and twisting to an inaudible tune, and Daniel was in hysterics.

“Keep going.  This is too good,” he sputtered out in between giggles.  I ignored him and yelled
Stop!
in my head to erase their urge to continue dancing. 

Within a few seconds, everyone stopped and looked around in confusion.  My friends were laughing loudly and several parents glanced in our direction.  But they soon went back to their normal business as though they hadn’t just been part of a flash mob.  Mermaid compulsion: got to love it.

“Oh, you’re no fun,” Daniel chided.

 I rolled my eyes at him and slumped back against the bench.  Sipping the latte we grabbed on the way to the park, I looked around the rest of the scenery and tried to think about nothing.  Not an easy task. 

“You try it,” Daniel said.  At first I thought he was talking to me, but was surprised to see him looking at Kain.

“I don’t think so,” Kain said with an edge.

“No, he’s right.  You need to practice too,” I added.  Kain had the ability as well, although for some reason mine had jumped from zero to extreme in one evening.  His power repertoire was building slowly but he still had the skills necessary to manipulate minds. 

“You’re the one they want to see demonstrate,” Kain reminded me.

“So?  You’re a leader, too and the more control you have, the more people will respect you.”

He scoffed at that comment even though he knew it was true.  We were young and people doubted us.  I watched as he looked toward the running path.  A young woman jogger appeared from behind the trees so we now had a clear view of her.  When she reached the flat terrain, she suddenly stopped and began doing a bunch of really fast jumping jacks.  They were followed by a suite of high knees, butt kickers, and calf stretches.  Then she turned away from us to face the water and bent over to grab her toes.  There was no mistaking the intent as she stretched from side to side, flashing us a rather personal view of her rear.

I punched Kain in the arm.  “You are such a
pig
!”  He was laughing more than I’d seen in a while and I couldn’t help but smile on the inside.  It was nice to hear.

“Hey, if I have these powers, I’m going to use them to my advantage.”  He spoke to me but his eyes never left the women’s backside.  She continued to push all of her glory up into the air, oblivious that he commanded her to do so.  I punched him again.

“Stop it.  Look at what you’re doing.”  Several men in the nearby area where now casually trying to check her out too.  And by ‘casually’ I meant ‘blatantly gawking’.  Kain kept laughing but when the women eventually stood and continued on her jog, I breathed a sigh of relief.  “Men,” I grumbled.

“Now, if you would do that with him, then I would be your best friend forever.”  Daniel’s eyes were fixed on a young man pulling a kayak up onto the edge of the pond.  He was a twenty-something tall, athletic, and tanned skin guy wearing a farmer john type wetsuit that graciously highlighted his muscular arms.  Something about him reminded me of Brendan and I lost all sense of amusement.  He still had not responded to my email and I was beginning to worry that he never wanted to see me again.

“No way, man.  Sorry.  He’s not my type,” Kain said while shaking his head.

“Spoil sport,” Daniel muttered with a sigh.  He continued to shamelessly stare at the man until even I felt uncomfortable.

“Let’s go for a walk,” I said while I stood, letting them know that this wasn’t a suggestion.  I needed to clear my head and Daniel needed some air.

We made our way along one of the less traversed paths that led deep into the woods.  I knew that our protectors lurked somewhere behind us, but for a few moments it seemed as though we were alone.  About halfway through the trek, we sensed another small pond that was hidden somewhere from the trail.  We could all recognize nearby water like a homing beacon, a gift from our heritage.  With a reassurance to the protectors that they could stay slightly behind, we walked off the path and headed towards the shoreline.

It wasn’t a large body of water and the impeding forest probably made it seem smaller.  But it was secluded and peaceful and I instantly felt at ease.  I sat and fell back against the mossy ground.  Closing my eyes, I let the warmth of the sun radiate through my skin.  I could hear Kain and Daniel walk up beside me but neither sat down.  They weren’t speaking either so I had a few moments of welcomed silence. 

I thought about my three human friends who were still in the hospital recovering from their gunshot wounds.  They had all been downgraded to a less serious condition but they probably wouldn’t be able to return to school this year since there were only a few weeks left.  Two of them had been shot in the leg and one in the shoulder. 

I remembered Lucian’s note. 
Not fatal
.  Justin could have very easily killed them with a bullet to the head or the heart, but he had purposely avoided a lethal shot. 
This is a warning
.  Lucian had directed him not to kill and he didn’t.  But next time would be different.

Kain’s grumbling pulled me from my thoughts.  I sat up to see him swatting at something flying around his head; cursing each time he missed.  “Get…away…from…me,” he said in frustration.  Daniel and I stared.  What Kain must have thought was a large insect was in fact just water.

“Kain?” I questioned.

“What?  Do you see that?”

“Um…yeah.  Do you?”  He stopped swatting the air and looked at me then at the golf ball sized water droplet hanging in front of his face.  We stared at it for a few moments before the droplet suddenly took off and disappeared into the pond.

“What the hell…” Kain began to speak but was interrupted when a splash erupted from the surface and shot up into the air like a geyser.  Water streamed nearly twenty feet high and I quickly looked around to see if anyone human was nearby.  This would be rather hard to explain.