03 The Fate Of The Muse - Marina's Tales (40 page)

“Aunt Evie! You can’t possibly know–”

“Think about it,” she said soothingly, “There
is nothing in this world more valuable than a man who is willing to
die for you. Boris vouches for him, and that’s good enough for
me.”

“Yeah…Unless he’s
insane
.”

“Are you hungry?” Evie asked, dismissing my
fears, “The boys will be joining us for lunch any minute now.”

Just then, Cruz and Brad arrived, led in by
Boris. Evie rose, and greeted them each with air kisses. I stood,
and Cruz threw his arms around me dramatically, smacking real
kisses on both of my cheeks. We were brothers in arms now, bonded
by our mutual survival. He stood back to inspect me.

“You look good,” he cracked, “Stress must
agree with you.”

“Lucky there’s never a shortage of that
around here,” I said, glaring at Evie.

She ignored my look, locking arms with the
boys, “Shall we? I’m absolutely famished!”

I looked over to see Brad watching me
nervously, “How are you?” I asked.

He gulped, “Fine… Are you really okay?”

I nodded, “I’ll live.”

“Come now,” Evie said, sweeping us out the
door. “The crab bisque at the Fairmont is simply to die for.”

I couldn’t eat, so I sat picking at my food
and watching Brad and Cruz dish out the latest fashionista gossip
to Evie. Once again, I was surprised at how resilient Cruz was,
talking and laughing as if nothing truly awful had just happened. I
thought of how I felt when I was around Ethan and it made perfect
sense.

After lunch, we piled into the Rolls with
Cruz behind the wheel. Evie leaned over and whispered something
into his ear that made him smile with glee.

“Let’s do it!” he cried, pulling out into the
heavy city traffic as boldly as a taxi driver. After a wild ride
through the city we pulled up to a familiar little stucco house. I
realized what Evie had in mind and smirked. Interesting.

“Where are we?” asked Brad.

“Madame Fatima’s,” said Cruz excitedly,
“She’s an incredible psychic!”

“I might as well wait in the car,” I said,
remembering Fatima’s reaction to me the last time our paths
crossed.

“Not at all, darling,” said Evie, “As a
matter of fact, Fatima specifically requested that I bring you. It
seems as though she has something to tell you.”

“What?” I asked, suspiciously.

“If I knew that, we wouldn’t be here, now…
would we?” She turned to Brad, “Madame Fatima is truly gifted. You
simply
must
have a reading done.”

“Uh… okay,” he replied.

We passed under the large glass evil-eye that
kept watch over the doorway, and filed into Madame Fatima’s small
reception area. The Madame herself came to greet us, looking us
over one by one.

“You,” she said, pointing at Brad, “Follow
me.”

“Go!” said Cruz, pushing him forward, “You
gotta try it!”

Evies ice blue eyes caught mine, and I
realized that Fatima would be reporting directly to her. It was as
good a test as any, I supposed.

After what seemed like a longer time than it
actually was, Brad returned to take a seat. He was completely calm
when he told us that she’d asked to see Evie next.

“Well… What did she say?” Cruz asked him
eagerly.

“A whole lot of mumbo jumbo,” he replied,
“You don’t really believe in all this stuff, do you?”

Cruz rolled his eyes, “Now you sound just
like Marina.”

Evie came out briskly, sending me in after
her. I wandered down the hall, curious, arriving in Fatima’s
familiar mirrored room. She was already seated at her little round
table, and she gestured for me to sit without looking up. The room
was dark and stuffy, with the familiar heavy scent of cloves and
sandalwood.

“The spirits have summoned you.”

“I thought they didn’t want to see me,” I
said, slipping into the chair with my guard up, “Something about me
being too powerful?”

She met my eyes with her lizard-like gaze,
and I could see that I’d failed to upset her calm stony face in the
slightest. Now I was nervous.

“Put your hands on the table, palms facing
up,” she commanded, and I found myself automatically obeying
despite my reservations.

She drew a deep breath, shuddered, and placed
her cool, smooth hands on mine.

Her whole demeanor changed, just as it had
the last time. A strange monotone voice announced, “Beware.”

I could have told myself that, I thought.

Fatima’s hands began to burn with heat as she
drew another shaky breath, “Beware, your enemies are coming very
close to you…”

She paused, listening like she was taking
dictation, “There are two men, one dark, one light. One is there
for good, one for evil. You are not certain which one you can
trust.”

Brad and Yuri perhaps? I wondered.

She paused for a moment, breathing raggedly
and continuing her warning, “There are two women, one dark, one
light. One is there for good, one for evil. You are not certain
which one you can trust.”

She stopped talking, and her breathing
returned to normal. Her hands grew cold on mine and I looked down
to see them begin to shake. The air around us cooled as well,
smelling of eucalyptus, sand and briny water. Something started
happening to Fatima’s face, and I watched in shock as her features
blurred and shifted. I tried to pull my hands away, but they were
pinned to the table with a force I was powerless against. I blinked
my eyes, thinking I must be hallucinating, and watched in helpless
awe.

As her features took on their final,
shimmering shape she spoke, “Hey Dollface.”

“Stella,” I whispered.

She smiled warmly at me, her image
flickering, “I’d listen to her if I were you, kiddo… This old dame
is the real deal!” Her voice softened, “But I gotta shake a leg…
You be careful… I’m sure gonna miss you… Goodbye Dollface…”

Fatima’s face reappeared, all the blurry
edges coming into sharp focus. Her hands lifted from mine and her
eyes flew open, darting around the room as if she’d just woken up
in a strange place. I pulled my hands back as Fatima dropped her
head into hers.

“Are you alright?” I asked in a shaky
voice.

She looked up slowly, every last trace of
color drained from her face. I sat quietly for a moment, dazed as
well. Somehow, I knew that it was the last visit I’d ever get from
Stella; it felt like a goodbye– the final one. I wanted Ethan.

“Thank you,” I said. I suddenly realized that
this sort of thing took a huge toll on her, and I understood why
she’d been so fearful of doing a reading for me before.

Her luminous black eyes met mine, and she
inclined her head with great dignity, “Send in the boy.”

I rose and slowly made my way down the hall
in a daze. Cruz looked up with an expectant grin, never having
experienced a scary or negative reading.

“Well?” he asked.

“Your turn,” I replied, “I’m going to go wait
outside.”

The air in the courtyard was cool and fresh,
and I sat on a stone bench next to a mossy fountain. There was a
nectar feeder hanging from the eaves of the little pink house, and
I watched a hummingbird zip over to perch and drink from it. The
tiny bird saw me and drew back from its meal, hovering in the air a
few inches from my face as it chirped its annoyance at my
intrusion.

It was disorienting, and for a moment it
seemed as if all the world was water, and the bird was floating in
the liquid sky. Evie walked out, breaking the spell.

“What did she tell you?” she asked with
concerned eyes.

“I hope you’re paying her well.”

“Handsomely.”

“She warned me to look out for the bad
guys.”

“Any details?”

Fatima’s words rang in my mind, “Fairly
nebulous as usual… What did she say about Brad?”

She looked over her shoulder, “The
relationship with the father is unclear,” she said, “But he does
seem to be fond of Cruz.”

“I hope so,” I said gravely, “Because Cruz is
in way over his head.”

Evie sat down next to me, taking my hand in
hers, “Marina… darling, I hope you know that I only have your best
interests at heart…”

“Yeah… I know,” I said, still thinking about
Stella’s strange goodbye.

“Nice ring,” Evie said, eyeing my hand with
an arched eyebrow.

“Thanks,” I replied, thinking about Ethan. I
had to hand it to him; he knew she’d notice it.

I wondered what Ethan would make of Fatima’s
cryptic warning. He would be glad that Evie was suspicious of Brad,
but absolutely furious about the fact that Yuri had worked his way
into Evie’s camp. I sighed, for the conflict between Ethan and Evie
seemed destined to never end.

One step forward, two steps back.

Just then, Cruz and Brad piled out, laughing
at some private joke between them.

I suddenly wanted to go surfing, but more
than that, I wanted to go home.

I wanted Ethan.

CHAPTER TWENTYNINE

MISSION

I had some time to think on the drive
home.

I wasn’t really surprised by Fatima’s
warning; I knew that Nathan Edwards was still out there, an ever
present danger to my sisters in the sea. What was surprising was
how cavalier Cruz was about the fact that his boyfriend’s father
was my arch-enemy. The old Cruz would have fretted and worried,
always looking on the dark side; now he seemed almost reckless–
skipping blithely through a minefield that he willfully chose to
ignore.

I heaved a breath, and another one of Evie’s
sayings rang through my mind. “Keep your friends close, and your
enemies closer,” she used to say. How ironic that her enemy turned
out to be her closest friend, and in league with the one person who
posed the biggest threat to the mermaids.

Thinking about the mermaids swimming
innocently while Edwards plotted to use them for his own evil
purposes made me clench my teeth in anger. I swore an oath right
then that I would never allow him to hurt them. I would do whatever
I could to stop him from stalking my sisters.

And suddenly I knew my purpose in life as
clear as day. Whether it was a simple twist of fate, or a result of
my mother’s actions while she carried me, it was my destiny to be
the link between the mermaid world and the human world. I would
assume the role of guardian, interpreter and advocate. I would
defend and protect them, and warn them about the ways people might
try to capture them.

I’d always wondered exactly what I was meant
to do. I knew that I could never go through life like Evie, for I
was monumentally uncomfortable with the idea of controlling and
manipulating all those around me. Cruz and Ethan, Abby and my
father– even Megan and Shayla all had a clear path laid out before
them. Now I did too.

I pulled up onto the dirt road, shivering
with happiness when I saw Ethan’s truck. I parked next to it and
followed a gravel pathway down a little incline to where Lue’s
greenhouses sat in a neat row. I could see Ethan’s outline inside
one and I walked in quietly, curious to see what he was up to.

He was bent over several racks of small
plants on the table, and he looked up to give me a surprised smile,
his eyes crinkling up at the corners, “Hey.”

I smiled back, “Watcha doing?”

He motioned for me to come closer and
explained how he was thinning basil seedlings. The scent was thick
in the air, and he snipped out the crowded plants and held a
handful up for me to sniff.

“Smells like pizza,” I said, surprised to
find myself hungry all at once.

“Mmm, sounds good,” he said, sidling up to me
and bending to kiss me, taking care not to touch me with his dirt
covered hands. I turned into him and returned his kiss, amused at
the way he stood with his arms out at his sides.

“Watch out,” he said, “Or you’ll mess up your
pretty dress.”

I laughed and draped my arms around his neck,
kissing him again and pressing up against him. “Can I help
you?”

“I’m almost done,” he said, “But you’d better
stop that…”

He leaned into me, and I took a step back,
“Show me how.”

He showed me how to pick the healthiest
sprouts, and remove the crowded ones. Before too long we had all
the trays of plants finished and he led me to a sink to wash up. He
came up behind me, putting his chin on my shoulder as we shared a
bar of soap.

“How did it go today?” his voice rumbled in
my ear.

“Don’t ask,” I said.

We rinsed off, and after Ethan dried his
hands he took mine in his.

“Let’s go for a walk.”

We ambled down a little path that cut through
a tangle of blackberry brambles to lead out to the edge of a bluff.
There was a fallen tree there and he brushed it off, gesturing for
me to sit down beside him. We faced the water.

“Did you tell her everything?” he asked.

I nodded, thinking about all the mermaids
hidden away in the earth’s vast oceans.

“Well?” he prodded, “What’s she gonna
do?”

“Uhm… she hired more security.”

“And?”

“That’s about all she can do. I think it’s up
to me to make sure they stay safe.”

He was quiet for a minute, like he was
working up his courage, and then he asked, “Do you ever miss
it?”

Somehow I knew exactly what he meant, and I
paused, trying to put it into words, “Maybe the feeling of being so
fast… and so strong… but not the–”

“The what?”

“The forgetting.”

He was quiet, and I felt like maybe I
shouldn’t have spoken the truth, for although staying on land was
the right choice for me, the ocean’s lure was undeniable. The idea
of spending an eternity… worry free and weightless; it was an
option many people might want to take.

“They were just so amazing,” he said quietly,
“And you could be like that… beautiful and free… forever.”