Redemption (16 page)

Isaac
moved closer to her side and they stood silent, watching.  Before long,
another fin slapped the surface of the water and disappeared.  It
looked like a tailfin, long and supple, and crescent shaped.

"That's
one hell of a fish," Isaac said doubtfully.

Rebecca
took his hand.  "I guess swimming across is out," she said,
attempting humor.  It fell flat. 

How
in the world were they supposed to get across the water?  They couldn't
move forward without crossing.  It was painfully obvious that this was a
challenge.  The river stretched on in either direction without narrowing
or diminishing.  They could walk for days before they found a calmer
place.

"There
has to be an answer," Rebecca said, determined.  There was always a
solution, it was the only thing she was sure of in this strange world- that and
Isaac.  They had to get out of this together.  She wouldn't be
satisfied until she knew he was safe.

She
paced to the edge of the water and crouched down, extending a hand.  She
trailed her fingers in the icy flow, confirming that the river wasn't a trick
of the imagination.  It was real, and freezing.  There was a soft
intake of breath behind her, and Rebecca lifted her head to see what Isaac was
looking at.  There, a few yards out, a head had broken the surface of the
water.  The current was as swift as ever, but the head bobbled in one
place, swaying, but not drifting away.

Rebecca
stared into yellow eyes with large black pupils.  The skin was grayish,
and the head was topped with streaming green hair that flowed out several feet,
swirling on the current.  Strange little gills protruded where the ears should
be.  The water hid the mouth and lower jaw, but as far as she could see,
the thing seemed humanoid.

 All
through this perusal, the thing stared back at Rebecca, studying her with the
same wary thoroughness while it completely ignored Isaac.  Coming to her
senses, Rebecca withdrew her fingers from the icy water.  Without warning, it
lifted its head enough to let out a hiss from a full mouth set above a pointed
chin then it disappeared beneath the surface of the water.

Rebecca
stood and hastily backed away, her eyes still on the water.  Isaac stood
at her side.  "Ah...what do you think that was all about?" 
Her voice was calm, but her mind was racing.

 Isaac
answered without hesitation.  "Well, I think it was a mermaid."

Rebecca
gaped at him, her mind instantly calling up images of cute redheaded girls
wearing shell bras and brushing their hair with forks.  "Excuse
me?"

He
shrugged.  "What else could it be?"

They
watched the water for some time without another sign of the creature, save an
occasional flip of long, elegant fin.

 "Do
you think..." Rebecca said hesitantly, knowing the idea was a stupid
one.  "Do you think they'll help us get across the river?"

Isaac
laughed.  "Oh, sure.  Of course."  He rolled his
eyes.  "With our luck, they'll pull us under the water and eat
us."

Rebecca
sighed.  Giving him a look, she went to the water and crouched down
again.  Isaac trailed after her hunching his shoulders and stuffing his
hands in his pockets.  "Be careful!"

Ignoring
him, she plunged her hand into the icy water again.  The creature appeared
immediately, hovering right where it had been before, staring.  Only this time
it brought friends.  There were two others, very alike but with somewhat
different facial features.  Rebecca thought the first creature was
male.  The others could be female.  Their features looked more
delicate, though it was hard to call them feminine with the gray skin and flat
noses.  Again they stared at her and ignored Isaac.

"Hello,"
Rebecca said hesitantly.  The creatures continued to stare.  She
waved at Isaac with her free hand.  "Come here.  Touch the
water."

He
hesitated for a moment, but eventually complied.  The minute his fingers
touched the water, the creatures looked at him as if noticing him for the first
time.  One of the newcomers looked at the other, and Rebecca knew she was
right in thinking they were females.  No female could see Isaac and not be
affected.

"Um..." 
Rebecca began again.  "We need to get across the river safely,"
she was careful to emphasize that last word.  "Can you help us?"

The
leader of the group tilted his head as his strange eyes traveled over the
people crouched on the shore.  "You want to cross the
river?"  The voice was strange, gurgly and a little lisping, but not
altogether unpleasant.  Kind of like water sliding over rocks.

Rebecca
nodded.  "Yes, but can we trust you to help?  We are traveling,
and we need to keep following that path."  She pointed at the far
side of the river with her free hand, indicating the little path that led away
toward the mountains.

 The
creature tilted his head again as if thinking.  The female on his right
spoke, her voice slightly higher and softer than his own, but with that same
watery quality.  "Why should we trust
you
?"

The
male creature gave her a quelling look, but seemed to be waiting for Rebecca to
answer.  She was cautious, afraid that there might be some hidden trap in their
words.  "What do you mean?"

The
male narrowed his eyes at her.  "You will trick us and eat us like
fish."
 Rebecca shared a horrified look with
Isaac.  He found his voice first.  "We would never...
 
eat
 
you."  His voice was
full of disgust at the thought.

The
creature snorted.  "And we should trust you?"

Rebecca
nodded at the rapids around them.  "Why should we trust
 
you
?"  She asked
honestly.  "What is to keep you from dragging us down and drowning
us?"  As an afterthought she added, "and who's to say you're not
hiding tentacles or big wicked claws or something under there?"  All
they could see were a few heads floating placidly above the current. 
 She thought of the hydra and shuddered.

The
creature's mouth twitched, and she thought maybe he wanted to laugh.  He
raised his head a bit and with it, a pair of very human looking arms, long and
firmly muscled, but ending in strange webbed fingers.  No claws.  "I
suppose," he gurgled, "this is what you creatures call a leap of
faith.  Do you want across badly enough to take the risk?"

Isaac
withdrew his long fingers from the water and turned to Rebecca.  The
creatures instantly acted as though he didn't exist, turning their attention to
Rebecca as if Isaac had just winked out of existence.  "I don't like
this," he said in a dark tone.

Rebecca
glanced at the creatures, still waiting patiently in the river. 
"Ah... can we have a minute?"  The middle creature nodded. 
His head slipped beneath the water as she withdrew her hand.

"Look,"
she said to Isaac as soon as they were gone.  "What better option do
we have?"
 He frowned at her.  "It seems
that way," he said slowly.  Then he threw his hands up, at a
loss.  "But when have we ever encountered a creature in this place
that didn't try to kill us?"

Rebecca
sighed.  "I know, I know... but this feels different."  He
didn't look convinced, and a furrow appeared between his dark brows. 
"I don't think it's that kind of challenge," she said determinedly.

Isaac
shook his head.  "What makes you think it's safe?"

She
glanced at the sun, rapidly sinking toward the horizon.  Everything was
bathed in gold as it gave one last burst of light.  "I think
anything's safer than staying here until the five days is up," she said
quietly.

Then
she stood and marched to the shore.  She plunged her hand into the water
and the creatures appeared again.  This time there was one more. 
Apparently, they were drawing a crowd.  "I'll trust you," she
said resolutely.  "Can you please take me to the other side? 
Safely?  I swear to you that I have no other motives but to get across
safely and get on with my journey.  But…I don’t have anything to give you in
return."

Isaac
was hot on her heels.  “What?  Rebecca, no.  Let me go first.  You come across
once you know it’s not a trick.”

She
shook her head.  “No.  I’ll go first.  You stay.”  She would not let him
sacrifice himself for her.  He needed to make it out of here.

The
male creature swam steadily closer to the bank as they argued, his head barely
bobbling in the wicked water.  He stopped just a foot away, staring into
Rebecca's eyes as if testing the truthfulness there.  Tentatively, he
reached out a long, webbed hand and touched hers.  She steeled herself not
to flinch at the cold, smooth touch on her skin.  The yellow eyes didn't
waver as each of them waited, expecting the other to make some sort of hostile
move.  Rebecca, for her part, was convinced that Isaac was right and she
was about to be dragged into the water.  But nothing happened, and the
cold hand slipped back into the water.

"Where
is your companion?"  He gurgled, floating backward a bit. 
Rebecca turned to look at Isaac and was surprised to find that he was already
crouching at her side.  She hadn't noticed his approach with her attention
so fixed on the strange creature.  He let out a huge sigh and looked hard
at Rebecca.  "We go together!”

She
laughed, and he plunged his hand into the water.  The creature looked a
bit startled at his sudden appearance, and Rebecca was convinced that they
could only be seen when there was a connection to the water.  The male
creature held out a hand to Rebecca and, with one last glance at each other,
she and Isaac stood and waded into the water. 

There
was a big drop-off, and Rebecca plunged in over her head, but a cold hand clung
to hers, only slightly warmer than the freezing water around her.  A blue
glow spread over their connected hands, and washed over her body, and the
burning cold of the water filling her nose and ears lessened.  She took a
startled gasp, expecting to choke, and instead breathed water.  It felt
almost natural, like breathing frigid air in the winter. 

The
current threatened to pull her away from her companion, but he wrapped a long
arm around her waist and held her against his supple body.  She could see
with surprising clarity beneath the water, thanks to whatever magic he was
using to let her breathe.  His long, powerful tail stoked constantly,
keeping them still in the torrent of water rushing by, and she had to struggle
to keep her wayward legs from getting in the way.

She
shook her head, swatting her hair out of her face, as one of the other
creatures swam by.  She was every sailor's dream from the fin up, with
full, round breasts buoyed by the water.  She extended a hand and Isaac
soon joined them, his height looking ungainly in the water.  His bright blue
eyes were wide as he took in Rebecca floating serenely in the grasp of the
merman.

The
other creatures flanked them as their transportation struck out into the
water.  It was slow going, with the humans' clumsy legs getting in the
way.  Rebecca slipped once, her leg taking a hit from the powerful fin,
and she thought he would let her go then, leave her to be swept away.  But
the creature wrapped both arms around her, crushing his burden to him and
rotating in the water to keep her legs clear of his fin.

She
caught a glimpse of Isaac at her side, being propelled along now by two of the
females, his frame being too large and ungainly to be carried by just one. 
 

~~~~~

They
sat on the shore, soaking wet and immeasurably glad to be on solid ground. 
Isaac sent a blue glare Rebecca’s way.  “What were you thinking back there? 
How could you risk yourself that way?”

She
shook her head and refused to apologize.  “I want you to make it out of here.” 
She gestured at him helplessly.  “You’re struggling and…”

He
let out a bitter laugh.  “You’re trying to help me?  I’m trying to save
you.
” 
He let out a tired sigh. 
“I’m worthless.  My soul is blackened and faded. 
It’s a scrap.  A rag.”  He hunched his broad shoulders, looking vulnerable
somehow.  “There’s no way out of this purgatory for me... the only way is
down.  I don’t want to take you with me.”

“No.  You’re
wrong.  If this really is purgatory, then that means there’s a chance.  What’s
the point otherwise?”  She paced, clenching her fists.  “A person isn’t good or
evil.  There isn’t an on and off switch on our worth.”  Tears stung her eyes. 
“There has to be a chance to redeem what’s left of our souls.  Evil actions
don’t make us evil.”  The words spilled out before she had a chance to decide
what she really believed.  “Just because you’ve suffered and done wrong, that
doesn’t make you any less of a human being.  The good in there isn’t dead- it’s
just covered up with all the other crap.”

Rebecca went to
Isaac and knelt, her hands on his knees, getting in his face.  “All the good
you’ve done, all the sacrifices you’ve made for your family- that has to count
for something.  That has to outweigh the bad!”

He looked into
her eyes.  “I think for you it does.  You’ve made mistakes.  You cheated on
your husband.  You withdrew from everyone and cast blame.  But is that all so
bad really?  You were in pain and confused.  You were lost.”  He put his hands
over hers and gave a squeeze.  “You’ve blamed yourself for so much, but really,
you haven’t done anything worthy of punishment.”