FINNED (The Merworld Water Wars) (33 page)

“You’re early. My birthday isn’t until July Fourth,” I said coolly.

“Well, you know what they say…early fish gets the bait,” said Katrina.

“Let’s just take a little nibble,” said Kathreena in a simpering voice. She kept twirling her black and red ringlets around her bony fingers.

“What is the deliverer? Unless, maybe, it’s one of you?” I asked.

They all smiled the exact same unnerving grin.

“The deliverer? Well, well, someone has made progress on her meddlesome snooping,” said Katrina. As if in slow motion, she calmly reared back, flailed her mini-trident, and screamed, “Mashyasha!”

“Precious clues! Precious clues! Bye, bye, bye!” Kathreena clapped and jumped up and down as the key holding everything Trey had worked so hard to uncover went up in flames.

“Dang. Looks like those clues scare you way more than me,” I said, smiling.

Katrina kicked the burning hermit crab. “Tell ya what, I’ll let you choose. Come with us now, or wait for the deliverer. I tell you, sometimes I’m so obliging, I can’t believe it. Maybe your humanity is rubbing off on me.”

“Yeah, you’re a real fairy godmother. Let’s see, which free-will taker should I pick—you or the deliverer. Tough choice. Think I’ll go with option three.”

“Not very math-minded, are you? I didn’t give you a third option,” said Katrina, inching closer to me.

“I assumed it was implied. Option three…I’m gonna run. Your lowly deliverer will have to find me.” Slowly, I backed up towards the window.

“Yes, run, run, Marina. I’m sure our deliverer couldn’t possibly find you.” Tilting their heads back at precisely the same angle, they all laughed identical evil cackles.

The window behind me cracked and creaked. Katrina and her family of freaks cocked their heads, staring inquisitively at the window. I held my breath, wondering what the sounds and their stares meant.

“Why do the walls go pop, pop, POP?” Kathreena whimpered. “Does something come for the wee little Normal? Simper, scamper, the deliverer comes after!” said Kathreena.

One final pop echoed off the walls, and the window exploded, sending a sea of glass across the room. While trying to shield my eyes from flying shards, two arms forcefully snatched me out of the shattered window.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lie To Me

July: It’s all about freedom

Monthly Life Caption: Freedom Isn’t Free

“LET ME GO!” I screamed, kicking and pushing, trying to get free.

“It’s me, it’s me.”

“Troy! Oh, God, Troy, get me out of here, please!” I said, burying my face in his chest.

“Hang on,” he said, picking me up. He ran so fast that we were halfway to the Lockleigh caves when he finally slowed to set me down. Not even remotely short of breath, Troy turned his gaze towards the sea.

“I didn’t know you could run like that. Is it a merperson thing?” I asked.

“Not really.”

“Oh. Were you able to get Meikle?”

“Yes.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Had the doctors and guards pinned to the walls by the time I got there.”

“Guess she got a hold of her bag,” I mused.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Okay, but I need to tell you something first. Troy, there’s a demon, a beast that takes Normals to King Zale for some unknown purpose. They call it the deliverer. It’s coming for Meikle tonight, and it will come for me—”

“—on July third. The night before their seventeenth birthday, he shall come.” He sounded hollow.

“You’ve known about this all along, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“This doesn’t make sense.” My brain literally bashed against my skull. “How could you keep this from me? You knew all along what happened to Polly, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I knew about Polly. The deliverer brought all the faces you saw in the porthole to Zale, one by one.”

“You aren’t saying these things to me. Were you just going to let it take Meikle?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you help me save her?” I asked, somewhere between crying and shocked numbness.

“Because you asked me to,” he said, still facing the sea.

Angry, hurt tears poured from my disbelieving eyes. “And me? Would you have let it take me, too?” He wouldn’t look at me. “LOOK AT ME!” I roared.

Slowly, deliberately, he faced me. “I won’t do it.”

“Won’t do what? Stop the demon or protect me?” He wouldn’t answer. “Answer me, damn it! WON’T DO WHAT?”

“Take you to King Zale,” he said, his eyes burning my own.

“I don’t understand…I—”

“Marina…I
am
the deliverer.”

Troy Tombolo, the boy whose touch made me quiver, whose lips propel me into another dimension, was the deliverer. His words ripped at my soul far worse than the soul snatching poison did. I felt my heart slowly shredding into tiny strips of nothingness; my soul, squeezed by the pain of truth, screamed for air.

“You…you’re the deliverer.” I clutched my stomach, afraid I might break in two.

“I am.”

“No. No!”

“What do you want me to say? How can I make this better?”

“Lie to me,” I begged. “Lie! LIE!”

After a moment’s pause, he sighed, “Never.”

Moved by burning anger, hurt, and fear, I sprang for him, beating my tiny fists against his chest. He didn’t try to stop me. “WHY?” Now I know what it means when the soul needs to weep. “H-hurts…so…much.”

“I’m so sorry. So very, very sorry,” he whispered, the words catching in his throat.

Then, like a sudden clap of thunder on a sunny day, the hurt I felt mutated into rage. “Sorry? You took away my friends! Polly! Trey! You took them to Zale! You’re a liar and a thief! You stole my heart, my trust, knowing the day would come when you would have to take me to Zale. I hate you, Troy Tombolo! I HATE YOU!” I sprinted for the caves as fast as my legs would go. “HELP! PLEASE! HELP! MANAKEL!”

I hadn’t run far when Troy appeared in front of me. I couldn’t escape him. His eyes looked different, empty.

“Manakel can’t jump from his cloud right now, but if you leave your name and location, he’ll probably get back to you when it’s too late.” He slammed his fists over his temples and squeezed. “Stop,” he pleaded. “I’m sorry I have to do this.” He threw his arms towards me, and everything went black.

*****

“I hope she stays asleep.”

“Troy, you should talk to her before you go. It has to be a shock to her, you know. As your friend, this isn’t exactly easy for me either.”

“I know. And I hate hurting any of you like this. At least you’re giving me a chance—I don’t deserve it. But, she hates me, Airi. Hell, I tripped out when she called for Manakel. I can’t risk that happening again…it’s not a side I want her to ever see. There’s nothing I can say to make this better. Besides, I don’t want her to know until it’s done.”

I had to wake up. “H-help,” I said groggily.

“Marina, sweetie, can you hear me,” said Airianna, helping me sit upright.

“Yeah,” I said, wiping my eyes. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Nearly three days,” she said.

“July Fourth,” I mused. “Where are we?”

“In the topmost Lockleigh cave. It’s dark, a little dank, and very creepy. I like it,” said Meikle, stroking her beloved sequined bag.

“Meikle! You’re okay!” I squealed.

“Of course I am. Troy was masterful. I was better,” she said.

“But, your soul…you have your soul? I mean, you can
feel
, right?”

“Uh, yeah, zany brain. They tried all sorts of crap on me. Nothing worked. I heard Anderson say I was a ‘blocker.’ Don’t know what it means, but it sounds badass. So, is it true? Are all the Fairhairs Merpeople?” she asked.

“And Ravenflames.”

“So Katrina would be a…”

“Merbitch,” I said.

“I was thinking merwhore, but yours works better,” said Meikle.

“Who else is here?” I asked, still not able to clear my eyes.

“Mer-Bobby, Mer-Airianna, Mer-Troy, and Mer-Benji,” said Meikle.

“Benji? Benji’s here? Shock.”

“He’s had a change of heart,” said Airianna.

Looking around the vast, gloomy cave, I saw a few blankets, flashlights, water bottles, and some boxes of random snacks neatly stacked on a tiny ledge. Everyone looked tense, tired, and doubtful of one another: Airianna watched me with her trademark worry-brows; Meikle kept a measuring eye on Bobby; Bobby glared suspiciously at Benji; and Benji woefully gazed at Troy, who stood just outside the cave.

“Talk to him,” said Airianna, gently nudging me.

“I have nothing to say.”

“But he might,” she said thoughtfully.

I stared at him for a moment, lost in thoughts I couldn’t decipher. I forced my wobbly legs to move.

“Hey,” I whispered.

“You’re awake,” said Troy.

“I guess that’s what you’d call it.”

“I hoped you would’ve slept through until tomorrow.”

“Guess you didn’t use enough silver snow,” I said icily.

“Your mom is safe,” he said, ignoring my comment. “Doctor Tenly and Mr. Gibbs have taken her to the edge of town. Bobby will escort Meikle to meet them shortly. Airianna and Benji will bring you to meet them later.”

“What about Meikle’s mom?”

“Too late for her,” he said, grinding his teeth. “Once you’re all together, Doctor Tenly and Mr. Gibbs will guide you out of town and back to safety in your world,” he said, not looking at me.

“Wouldn’t exactly be safe there, you know. I’m kind of an outlaw, which means I’m kind of screwed. What about you? What’s next?”

He tilted his head, shrugged his bare shoulders, and said, “Oh, you know, things to take care of, people to face.”

“King Zale?” He nodded. “I don’t feel right leaving…” I wanted to say
you
, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say it. His true identity hurt too much. “Maybe if I talked to Zale or—”

“No. I won’t let them have you,” he said, finally turning to face me. His eyes screamed both resolve and misery. “The Zale’s don’t bargain. They bring tempests to even the calmest forms of discussion. I have no other option but to get you out of here.”

“Bargain…tempests…wait. There is another option! The water pact. If you can prove the Zale’s breached that pact, then the Fairhairs would be free from Zale’s rule, right? Your father could command the Gulf again?”

“It wouldn’t be that easy, Marina. They wouldn’t go quietly. There would be war.”

“But you would be fighting for your freedom.”

“It doesn’t matter. They haven’t broken the pact.”

“I think they have. In August of 2005, a massive hurricane destroyed New Orleans, Biloxi, and numerous points along the Gulf,” I said.

“I remember, but storms happen, Marina.”

“Yeah, some do, and some don’t. Do you remember the hurricane’s name?” I asked.

“Katrina,” Troy whispered.

“Katrina. Do you think that’s a coincidence? What if she created that storm, not knowing it would break the pact? Normals died in that storm, Troy. Her daddy would try and cover it up, you know that.”

Troy looked hopeful for a split second. “Even if it’s possible, there’s no way to prove it.”

“There may be, actually,” said Benji, inching closer. “Sorry to eavesdrop, but I thought you might be interested in a scroll Katrina keeps locked in her underwater dresser. I picked it up once, thinking it was just another one of King Zale’s declarations—he makes specific ones for his family, you know. Well, Katrina went ballistic—crying, screaming, the works. She disappeared for about ten minutes, and then returned ice cold, as if nothing had happened.”

“If we can get a look at that scroll, we might find something. And there’s more you don’t know…more that Doctor Tenly discovered.” My mind froze on a memory of Doctor Tenly’s funny face. “Troy, are you going to tell King Zale about the Doctor?”

“No. My sister loves him and…he’s needed.”

“About the pact…you could go to your father, tell him what we think, and maybe he’ll—”

“He won’t do anything,” said Troy flatly.

“You won’t know unless you ask—”

“I ALREADY HAVE! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. It’s just…my father doesn’t want another war. A broken pact won’t sway him. The truth is, he hasn’t moved from his throne since my mom left us. He’s riddled with two souls. There’s no way out.”

“What about you? You are, after all, a-a demon…a powerful creature, I mean. I saw a glimpse on the beach, didn’t I? Maybe you should stand up for your people.”

“What you saw was a bringer of death. A demon can’t stand up for anything except evil. How can a demon fight for good?”

“You have protected me, my mom, Meikle…that does not a demon make,” I said.

“I’ve never had a choice, being the deliverer…being a demon. Some greater evil forced me to deliver Normals to Zale. I was powerless against it. I was bound, like a prisoner, with no way out…until you. Do you remember your first day in English class…when our hands touched, and we shared a vision of the two of us underwater?”

“Of course I do.”

“That’s when it started—a feeling of freedom from the demon within. From the second our hands touched, I began to feel like I had a choice, like somehow you had given me the key to my invisible locks. It scared me. I felt lost and found at the same time.”

“You still delivered Polly, Trey, and their relatives. And you would have delivered Meikle, had I not asked you to save her. If you finally had the choice to free yourself, why didn’t you? Why didn’t you choose to save them?”

“Zale knew I was changing. If I hadn’t delivered Polly, Zale would have killed my sister. If I hadn’t brought Trey, he would’ve killed Airi. If I hadn’t brought the family members, he would’ve killed Mr. Gibbs, Mrs. Waterberry, Tank, and Bobby.”

“And Meikle? What will he do when you don’t deliver her?”

“He’d kill your mom…ferociously. But, I know she’s safe with Doctor Tenly.”

“My God. What you have gone through is more than anyone should ever have to endure. Being forced and threatened like that—you are good, Troy, I know it in my soul,” I said, placing his hand upon my heart.