OVERFALLS (The Merworld Water Wars, Book 2) (28 page)

“You okay?” asked Troy, taking my hand.

“Fine,” I said, squeezing his hand.

“Ow! Marina, ease up,” said Troy, giving his hand a good shake.

“Sorry.” I guess my strength had reported for duty like a good soldier.

“Are you upset with me?” he asked.

“Ha!” We had just reached the edge of the ocean; as our feet hit the sea, and the water rapidly rose around our ankles, waist, and chest, I said, “Tell me, Troy, do you prefer tinsel on your Christmas tree, or just on your stump?”

“Marina—stump? It’s really more like a log or—”

“LOOK!” yelped Gully.

Coming straight for us were twelve lightning-filled waterspouts. I tried to loosen the belt around my waist, but it was no use; we were meant to travel the Dorothy and Toto way. The roaring cyclones carved through the water, blasting our faces with an army of water droplets that stabbed our flesh like thousands of tiny swords. I felt Troy squeeze my hand with a sense of desperation; it was the last sensation I recalled before being sucked into one of the twisters.

My body was as useless as a wet rag; my feet and head changed directions every other second. Over and over my body flipped; my eyes widened on an abnormally clear view of the heavens, then slammed into a dark, endless drop to a frighteningly glassy sea. Closing my eyes, I grew a golden shield large enough to encapsulate me. Focusing my shield-bubble’s movements, just as I had with Kori, I aimed its direction downward. Like an elevator, I descended into the sea.

Once I was underwater, I looked up and saw that the beastly tempest had gone. Waving my hand across the front of my body, I removed the gel capsule. I saw Troy, Ophelia, Trey, Airianna, and Katrina swimming for Fairla. Though underwater with us, the stands didn’t follow; instead, they were firmly planted into the sand next to a colossal screen showing live images of downtown Fairla. I suppose this was as far as the Merpeople would allow visiting eyes to travel. I spotted my mom—she had her hands pressed against the gel covering and looked to be on the verge of vomiting. Trying to shake the worry for Mom from my brain, I stupidly took off after Troy and the others, only to be stopped by a circle of great white sharks.

I counted about six in the circle. They weren’t in the mood to attack straight away; they wanted to play with their potential late night snack. Circling me, first one way, then the other, one would try to strike me with its fin, while another banged its nose into my back.

“If you wanna play so badly…go play with yourselves.” From somewhere in my very core, a feeling akin to an electric current flowed through my arms and shot out of my fingertips, sending the circle of sharks rolling into the dark distance. Sweet.

“Marina!” Gully doggy paddled over to me. “We’re the last two. I had a hard time getting free from the tornado, then I had to fight off a group of piranha. One bit me. Does that mean I’ll turn into one?”

“No, that’s werewolves,” I said. “Come on. We need to haul it.” Grabbing her hand, I blasted off and dragged Gully to Fairla. The rules didn’t say I couldn’t act like a tugboat for my fellow teammates.

The sparkling city looked as clean and happy as I remembered, with its gel-encased buildings, spirited Merpeople zipping about, and gurgling mermobiles. Today, however, there was one difference: merfolk, young and old, lined the streets as though they were awaiting a grand parade. Dolled-up mer-reporters and cameramen carrying odd shell and coral cameras reported every twist, turn, and trip as contestants frantically moved from one snow globe-like structure to the next, hunting for their hidden object.

Stopping by the familiar bin of mermaid bra tops, I said, “Gully, you should make up time here with your clue reading and finding abilities. Gully. Gully? GULLY!”

“Sorry…it’s just so pretty,” she said airily.

“What did we agree on?”

“The faster we go, the closer we are to winning the sparkly wish ribbon.”

“Exactly. Show them what you can do, Gully. I’ll see you back on the sand,” I said, jetting for Kat’s Catfish Catches, nearly striking a mer-journalist along the way.

At the very end of the swim-way was Kat’s Catfish Catches. Once inside the gel covering, I could walk normally, which meant my hair fell atrociously flat, and I immediately wished for some of Treeva’s Pouf Powder. The shop was dark and dank. Behind a small, worn counter was a woman with platinum blond hair. Had I not been in my right mind, I might have thought she was a legend by the name of Marilyn.

“Welcome to Kat’s Catfish Catches. I’m Kathleen. How may I help you?” she asked in a soft, almost childlike voice. “Oh, you’re here for your clue! The blue Catalaya has it for you.” She pointed to a rectangular box near the large front window.

Catalaya seemed to be a hybrid of cat and catfish. While their underbellies were smooth and shiny, their rounded backs were full of cream-colored fur. With large, toothless grins, small, but wide-set eyes, long whiskers, and huge bulbous noses, the furry Catalaya were some of the cutest creatures I’d ever laid eyes on. Scanning the box for the blue one, I found myself contemplating a way to guilt Troy into buying one for me after his little tabloid cameo. Not the best timing for a ‘girl moment.’ I know this.

Just as I was about to ask Kathleen if the blue Catalaya might have scurried away, a little cerulean-blue fella crawled through his playmates and placed two stubby paws atop the edge of the box.

“Hey, there,” I said, patting him on his head. Around his right paw was a small scroll. Removing and unfurling it, I read the following:
Through the mist, up, down, sideways, and around, you’ll float like a misguided teacup. Reach the highest point, and your hidden treasure won’t disappoint. Drink your tea to find me
. My vision somehow highlighted the words
mist
,
up
,
float
, and
teacup
in bright green. “Treeva’s store! That’s where it is!”

I thanked the kind shopkeeper and torpedoed across the float path and into Mist’s Toy Emporium. Landing across the threshold, I thanked my lucky stars I wasn’t hit by a mermobile. If Mom knew I hadn’t stopped and done the ‘look both ways’ routine, she’d probably have my hide. Oh. Wait. She probably knows, since there were reporters combing the city, regurgitating our every move on a giant screen. So, I have a scolding to look forward to later on tonight. Super.

Treeva’s store was jam-packed, though the patrons were much more aware of visiting outsiders; their pointing fingers, raised eyebrows, and ineffective whispers didn’t escape my notice. “Up, down…” I said to myself. Merps float upside down in here. I need to get to a shelf that was up high. Searching the shelves, my mind created a sentence and repeated it over and over, almost like it was casting a spell:
To which I look, find said nook, for it holds what she once took
. After the third mental repetition, my eyes blackened everything out but a single silver chalice resting atop the highest shelf.

Darting for the chalice, someone appeared at my side.

“Hey,” said Troy, soaring with me inch for inch. He had a rusty sword in his hand.

“Hey? Really? Best you can do?”

“Marina, that whole thing with Mary Ella…it’s a surprise.”

“Yeah, it sure as hell was,” I said, aiming for the chalice. “And shouldn’t you be heading back if you’ve found your item?”

“Just found it, then I saw you fly in here. I knew I could take a few minutes without triggering any suspicion with the judges. Besides, I had to talk to you,” he said. “I love you. No one comes close. No one ever could.”

“I love you, too,” I said, wrapping my fingers around the chalice. “So please don’t take this the wrong way, but for the good of my team…I have to hate you right now.”

“But you don’t really hate me, right?” Aw, hell. Why did he have to do the sexy smirk?

“No,” I said, feeling my insides softening. Softening insides meant weakening and fritz-y Savior powers. Not good. Must get mad. “Think about the picture of them together…think about the picture of them together.”

“That was all part of me trying to plan—”

“Shh. Say something that will piss me off. Now. It’s a Savior-power-controlling thing,” I said.

“One thing the cameras didn’t catch—the thing I’ve been dreading telling you—Mary Ella kissed me…with tongue…a lot of tongue,” he said.

My lips pursed so tightly, I was sure they would crack and crumble right off of my face. “Well. Tongues? Tongues. That’s…super…and that did it!”

Dear God, I didn’t know my body could move at such speeds. Everything around me was a blur of bubbles. Though my eyes saw the stadium stands submerged beneath the sea, my inner vision honed in on a kiss that was not my own. And then there was my heart…my heart saw the blood of one petite, merry, caroling mermaid. The urge to destroy her frightened and excited me to no end. Luckily (or unluckily), my dangerous thoughts were quickly pierced by sudden sand blasts. While weaving through the random sand bombs, I saw the sunken judge’s table. I was almost done. In that moment of relief, a hard bullet of sand and stone struck my arm and grazed my face and neck. Though blood seeped from my wounds, I continued through the blasts, eventually ending up inside a circle of undines, aiming their glowing globes and old, barnacle-covered tridents at my head.

“Not in the mood,” I said.

Before I could send a sonic wave big enough to vanquish them to a universe far, far away, their eyes glazed over and their mouths dropped.

All at once, they sang in eerie, childlike voices. “
Over, over, over she falls
.”

As soon as they finished, they shook their tentacle-manes, bared their fangs, and growled, attempting to frighten me. Strangely, flesh-ripping teeth, hissing growls, exploding water globes, and tridents at the ready did nothing to ignite my fear; the song, however, slipped through my ears, down my throat, and into my soul like a viper’s venom. With a simple flick of my head, I sent them twirling into the distance. Shoving their anti-lullaby out of my conscious mind, I soared ahead, past the stands, and blasted out of the water and onto the sand.

Forcing my body off the ground, I ran for my coach, who was screaming my name, calling me forward. Only when I crossed into a glowing white circle and into the arms of Jex did I know the first match was over for me.

“Great job, Marina! Great job!” said Jex, hugging me. “Let me see.” He examined my wounds. “Those cuts will heal by tomorrow, Savior.”

“It’s okay, Marina. I think we’ll all have cuts and bruises. Katrina and Airi have a few. Cut my forehead on one of the undine’s tridents. I sorta bumped into it. Stupid me.”

“Gully!” I exclaimed. “You’re here first?”

Swaying back and forth, she said, “Oh, yes. The object hunting took me all of about three minutes. I had to find a ring. I’d like to keep it, but I guess it’s against the rules.”

Laughing, I felt a hand on my shoulder and instinctively punched whoever it was in the gut. “Ooh! Mr. Smar—Anderson!”

He peeled himself off the ground in front of quite a few sniggering fans as the stands crawled back onto dry land and into their original places. “Your object, if you please,” he wheezed.

I handed him the chalice, which he promptly delivered to the judges.

“Who’s back from the merps?” I asked.

“Katrina was first back. Airianna returned just before you,” said Jex.

Just then, I heard the crowd lose all composure—Troy had just emerged from the sea, carrying the old sword. Soon after Troy, Meikle, her bag dangling and dripping wet across her body, popped up with a broach.

“Meikle!” shouted Jex, his arms wide open.

“Oh, I wouldn’t, Jex,” I started, but Jex wrapped his arms around Meikle.

“Quit hugging me,” said Meikle darkly.

“Right,” he said, releasing her immediately. Leaning over to me, he muttered, “She’s not a hugger, is she?”

“Nope,” I said, watching Meikle heal a slash on her forearm with a single sweep of her bag.

He seemed almost disappointed and embarrassed. There was something undeniably endearing about Jex needing to hug his team members. His eyes were heavy with worry as he waited for each Normal to return, then twinkled with pure relief as one of us arrived, safe and sound. In this moment, I believe Jex was unwittingly giving us a rare glimpse into a part of him he kept buried beneath his sexy-angel-ooze—an ooze whose faucet had been turned off, for tonight anyway.

Muriel crawled out of the sea on all fours, hauling a silver shield behind her. Trey ran out of the water a mere second after Muriel, passing her to reach the white circle first; wearing a pair of turquoise glasses, Trey stopped to
tough-guy
pose for our team. Irving and Ophelia arrived together, smiling and laughing, both carrying golden amulets.

“It’s just Polly and Benji left,” said Jex. “Come on Polls. Come on.”

Team Normals and team Merpeople jumped at every splash, waiting, wondering, and hoping. As the edge of anxiety began crumbling beneath us, Benji soared out of the water swinging a bejeweled shell bra.

“We’re last,” said Jex.

“We’re last on the time part, but maybe our technique will elevate us past them,” I said hopefully.

Just then, Polly exploded from the sea, a pretty comb stuck in her pink hair. Crossing into the finish circle, she glared at Benji, pointing.

“Of course he’d get the tit-carrier for his hidden object.
I
was the one who had to take it off a rather body-conscious mermaid, you know, just to get
my
next clue. I then had to find this old thing while Benji scoots in and takes the bra,” she said, yanking the comb from her hair. “Of course, she had every reason to be insecure. Did you see the miniscule size of the shells? Least you all could have done was hide my second clue in a merman’s cup…but they don’t wear those, do they? That raises some serious questions about a merman’s manhood. I’m pretty sure I should have received extra time for having to convince a shy mermaid to take off the only thing covering her privates. The tiny titted bitch even scratched my cheek! Please take that into consideration, judges…you rotten pieces of sh—”