Silver Tides (Silver Tides Series) (26 page)

"You can; I know you want to," Charlie said smugly. He was more confident in his seal form. He had been standoffish and nervous in human form, but as a seal he seemed more like himself.

"What?" I whispered.

"Pat me." He gave me a lopsided grin.

I put my hand out and ran it along his smooth head. He playfully snapped at my hand. "Made you flinch!" He laughed, with a seal cough.

"Ha, ha," I replied, feeling lost and bewildered by the world that kept changing around me without warning.

Charlie nuzzled my face like a cat, tickling my cheeks with his pointy whiskers. "It's going to be OK," he whispered. "You were born for this."

Charlie’s words were what I needed to hear. I was scared; I hated going into situations that I was unprepared for. Charlie’s gentle gesture was the push I needed to get out of my own head and act. I wrapped my arms around his thick neck instinctively, and it felt familiar, like I’d done it countless times before. "Thank you."

He put his flippers around me. "Let's just avoid getting killed," he replied, jovially.

I laughed. "I'll try."

Charlie dove off the front of the boat with an Olympic diver’s splash. I felt him tugging the boat to shore.

I jumped from the boat clumsily into Charlie’s outstretched human arms; the fact that a naked man was holding me, was reflected in the burning of my cheeks.

“You can put me down,” I said awkwardly, as Charlie strode onto the island toward the sand dunes.

“You don’t prefer to be carried, Princess?” he teased.

“I hate it when you call me that,” I argued, remembering in a distant time, when I fought with a younger version of Charlie, that my name was Mya, not Princess.

“So, you do remember?” he observed pleased.

“I only remember how annoying you were,” I replied, before he unceremoniously dumped me on my feet.

“You can walk,” he complained. “You’re heavier than you ever were.”

“I’m five years older dumbass,” I snapped, insulted at the weight comment.

“Come on, Princess,” he replied, filled with seal bravado. “It wasn’t a weight joke; you’re as sexy as summer. I just don’t want to carry you the whole way, especially if you’re going to be all whiney.”

“Fine,” I snapped, falling in step beside him.

“Fine,” he replied chortling, cocking his leg and playfully kicking me in the butt while still walking.

We walked side by side, along the thin sand path that had been trodden into the island by rangers and bird lovers. The sky was alight with millions of silver stars; I was glad for the rules that prevented people from being on the island at night.

“It’s just over that ridge.” Charlie pointed to where I could see two groups of people, standing on opposite sides of the small deep inlet.

There was enough space between them that they would have to yell to understand each other; it was the first glimpse I had of the hatred the two people had for each other. They wouldn’t even stand on the same side of the island.

Charlie pointed me toward the selkie line, and we picked our way quietly through the crunchy sea grass.

“Look what we have here?” I spun in time to see two silver creatures grab me.

“Let her go,” Charlie demanded. “We come to parley with the Royal Selkie Contingent.”

“Then why didn’t you come with all the royal fuss,” hissed my handsome captor.

“Unhand me,” I demanded, trying to sound as regale as Mum, but it came out sounding frightened and small.

“Is it safe to assume we have finally captured the elusive princess?” the other finman mocked.

“Then by all means we should return her home,” the one who was holding me said menacingly.

Charlie tried to rush the one holding me, but my captor put my neck on a painful angle, threatening to snap it, which kept Charlie at bay. The men started herding me toward the selkie side of the island; I felt relief that my mum would find a way to get me free. As the path divided, one toward the hill and the other toward the sea, the men pushed me toward the sea. My heart began to race at the realization; they intended to drown me, as the parley went on over the top of us. My panicked eyes begged Charlie to do something, as I could barely breath over the finman’s chokehold. My fingers clawed uselessly at the silver arm that held my neck with a vice-clamp grip.

“What are you doing?” Charlie demanded angrily.

“Returning the princess to her home,” the rear guard told Charlie, never taking his shiny eyes off him.

Charlie worked out their plan and attacked again, but his attempts were futile in the face of my captivity. I tried to kick my captors instep the way that Dad and I had trained, but the panic was making me slow, the finman avoided my attack and dragged me more forcefully toward the water.

“Mum!” I screamed. “Daniel!” before the man launched me into the deep inlet backwards. My body slammed into the finman’s as we hit the inky surface of the water, the only thing more painful than the jolt was the water swiftly freezing my body.

I heard Charlie yell something, and the air resonated with his transformation into a seal. The merman pulled me under the water and spun us easily as his legs became a solid fish tail. He pressed his powerful body against me, swimming downward so that I couldn’t reach for the surface. I could feel the water moving beside me as Charlie struggled to free me. But the other finman had transformed too and was fighting him. The water was so dark, I couldn’t tell if Charlie was winning or losing.  I sincerely hoped they didn’t hurt him.

Salty water filled my mouth, and I tried concentrating on not breathing or panicking, but the situation was not conducive to my efforts. My lungs burned for air as I wildly scratched my nails down my attacker’s face to distract him enough to free myself. I felt the water wheedling its way into my nose; I pushed back at it as hard as I could but my lungs were aching to inhale. I let go.

Even through the water I heard the fist connect with my captor’s head; the next moment I was being wrenched toward the surface.

I coughed up what felt like three quarters of the inlet before I felt anywhere near alive.

“Are you OK?” Charlie asked, sitting beside me, but I didn’t hear his question.

All I saw was Daniel holding my face to look into his. “I guess we’re even,” I coughed.

“Looks that way.” He smiled, before turning to the two sides of the parley, which had surrounded me on the beach. I felt like the only person dressed at a nudist convention, which I guess, I was.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded angrily. His demand was not that of a boyfriend, but that of a prince. He was more powerful than I’d expected.

“We were returning the selkie princess to the sea,” the silver merman, who had dragged me into the water, replied, his face swelling from Daniel’s attack.

“She’s human!” Daniel threatened, regally. “She’s waiting to be transformed into your future queen!”

“That’s not exactly right,” Mum replied, stepping through the crowd as naked as the day she was born. Daniel saw her for the first time, the confusion on his face was painful to behold.

Mum knelt beside me, patting my hair. “That was close.”

I wrapped my arms around her and held back the hysterical crying that threatened to overwhelm me. I wanted Daniel to hold me, to tell me that he understood, but he looked at my mother and I like we were traitorous dogs that had eaten his winning lottery ticket. I took deep breaths, allowing my cold fingers to find warmth on Mum’s naked back, it was weird, but I didn’t want to let go. I didn’t want to turn and see Daniel staring at me in disgust. Mum’s ministrations gave me a moment to gather myself.

“I told you she was a selkie,” Cordulla gloated with unrestrained glee.

Daniel was silent, running his fingers through his hair as I held my mother. There was no mistaking the betrayal in his eyes. He looked at me like a stranger, an enemy who had infiltrated his heart but was now ousted.

“She didn’t know,” Mum defended as she pulled me to my feet. “Either way, that doesn’t warrant those animals trying to kill her. Parley is a place of sanctuary!” Naked and angry in the pale moonlight, my mother was more powerful than I had ever seen her.

“All this drama on account of a little bastard,” Cordulla mocked.

Mum’s chest filled with air for a retort, but she was stopped by a strong masculine voice.

“You disparage my daughter again, screw the parley; I will bite through your throat like seaweed and leave your corpse for the birds and tourists,” boomed a man with a physique akin to Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime, but with a face twice as attractive.

No one had to tell me that he was my father, his brown eyes matched mine; there was no mistaking that I was his daughter. I wanted to stare at his handsome face all night, and ask him a million questions about whether he had missed mum, or me, and how he could have lived without his family all this time.

Then Daniel spoke, “Enough of this. We’re here to negotiate for the spies.”

Daniel’s demeanor toward me was cold. He stood naked like Michelangelo’s David, his eyes avoiding me as though looking at my lying face would burn his vision. The ache in my chest felt like my heart was being crushed. I tried to send an I-still-love-you vibe, but Daniel had shut me out. I’d never felt so cold in all my life. Mum rubbed my arms, assuming the shivering was from being wet on a frigid night, but it was Daniel’s withdrawal that zapped me of all warmth.

“They’re not spies,” King Leo disagreed gravely. “They are merely children.”

“The law demands their death,” Cordulla maintained heartlessly, enjoying having the upper hand. She would wield any power she had ruthlessly.

“The law demands yours,” I replied, finding sudden strength and raising to my feet with Mum’s help. “You broke the agreement by coming on land.”

“As did your prince,” King Leo affirmed, raising an eyebrow at the new information.

His unspoken support buoyed me; he gave me a small nod that I too could negotiate.

“So we will have an execution for five,” the silver finman who had tried to kill me concluded.

King Leo and Mum exchanged a look, but they seemed unwilling to speak further, and maybe I’d come too late. Perhaps the terms had already been settled. Or maybe they couldn’t see a way past the laws, either way, we had to fight. Five people couldn’t die on account of a misunderstanding.

“What if we trade?” I offered. “Life for life. Your royalty for our three
children
.” I emphasised the last word. Even if Daniel hated me, he couldn’t agree with murdering children, could he?

“The law doesn’t work like that,” Cordulla snapped, giving me a look to say that I was an unwelcome-know-nothing parasite.

“You can make it work any way you want,” I replied haughty, sounding like a childish queen of hearts. My ploy to be regale was failing miserably.

“I would rather die than return these spies to you,” Cordulla said, sticking her chin in the air defiantly.

“Come on.” Mum sighed under her breath.

“I see that you are at an impasse,” coughed a croaky voice from outside our circle.

Descending the hill was a stooped man with age spots across his balding head. His features were feline as he moved with puma-like grace.

“Dr. Conneely?” Daniel breathed, recognizing the man that had treated him with his ‘skin disease.’

Dr. Conneely smiled at Daniel in response, before addressing the rest of us. "I have a solution to your impasse," he offered.

"You're an abomination!" Cordulla hissed. "We want nothing from you.

With Cordulla being so against Dr. Conneely, I was sure that he would be useful.

"What do you suggest?" I asked regally, finally succeeding to sound like what I thought a princess would sound like.

"I suggest Mya Belan, that you retrieve the Heart of the Sea."

heart of the sea

A seabird squawked in the distance. The sea lapped at the shore surrounding us, but the old man’s words made the outside world go silent.

"What? Like the blue diamond the old lady dropped into the ocean in
Titanic
?" I scrunched my face up. I kept waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out of the brush and yell, “Punked!” This week was going from weird to insane.

"No..." chuckled Dr. Conneely. “The Heart of the Sea is what started all the fighting between the merfolk and the selkies.”

“Those dogs stole the Heart of the Sea from us, and now we live in darkness because of them,” snarled Cordulla. She was incensed at the very mention of the object.

“That’s a lie,” King Leo replied with such force that Cordulla fell silent. I grinned at the way my father was able to handle Cordulla, he was unaffected by her charms, which garnered respect from me.

“If you return the Heart of the Sea, we will set the spies free,” Cordulla agreed, a menacing smile playing across her lips.

“So for the Heart of the Sea you’ll counteract the law,” I said sarcastically. “That’s generous of you.” I didn’t understand why an artifact would make them negotiate, when Cordulla wouldn’t barter for her own life. It defied logic.

“The abomination is correct that the theft of the Heart of the Sea is what began the laws; since it is prior to the law it can circumvent the consequences,” King Leo agreed. “Having said that, no one knows where or what the Heart of the Sea, was or is.”

“I know,” Dr. Conneely disagreed, “and I believe that Mya can return it to Atlantis.”

“What would make you say that?” Mum asked skeptically.

I had no idea what the Heart of the Sea was, but if it could save Daniel and the children’s lives, I would get it. Whatever it took, I had to save Daniel, even if he hated me, and never wanted to see me again, a world without him was one I didn’t want to live in.

“Being an abomination has the added bonus that I have glimpses of the future,” purred Dr. Conneely.

“That’s a lie; the selkie abilities died with their city,” snorted Cordulla.

“I’m not a selkie,” replied Dr. Conneely, “nor am I a merman. I am both.”

“Abomination,” hissed Cordulla.

“Says the barren woman,” Dr. Conneely, shot back contemptuously.

“Enough!”
King Leo ordered.

“If Mya can do this then we will wave our right to the queen and prince’s death,” King Leo stipulated. “Return the Heart of the Sea in seven days or everyone will be executed here.”

One week is not enough time your majesty,” Dr. Conneely pleaded.

“You said you know where it is.” Cordulla smiled menacingly. “Then you should be able to retrieve it within the week.”

“The children have already been away from their families for too long,” King Leo added. “A week is enough to retrieve the Heart of the Sea from any place that it may be.”

Dr. Conneely
gave me a pleading look. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but it seemed that if I wanted to save Daniel, I had to follow Dr. Conneely’s promptings.

“What if we get it before the next full moon,” I suggested.

“Next week.” Cordulla maintained, her lips curling into a cruel smile. I couldn’t believe that she would condemn herself and her son to death, rather than give up three prepubescent boys.

“You could die,” I shot back at her. “Are you ready to throw your life away for pride.”

“We’ll return it within the week,” Daniel said decidedly, ending the discussion. “I will go with Mya.”

My eyes shot to Daniel’s face hopefully, but he continued to evade me, closing me out despite the fact that I was fighting for his life. My heart dropped at the realization, that his feelings for me had changed so suddenly; my heritage had cooled his affections in a second. I wanted to be angry with him; to hate him for being so shallow, but I had no one to blame but myself. I knew from the first day that Daniel would fall out of love with me; I would never be good enough for him, but the abruptness of the change felt like burning coals being heaped onto my heart.

“No!” growled King Leo and Cordulla simultaneously.

“Finally you agree on something,” I said sarcastically, speaking around the lump in my throat. I had to stay strong. I didn’t remember being a princess, but I knew that weeping in front of my enemies because Daniel hated me would only make me seem weak. I hoped that no one could see me shivering, and if they did that they would attribute it to the cold and not a broken heart.

“I’m not letting that fish accompany my daughter,” King Leo stated emphatically. Behind his stoic demeanor he was worried that Daniel would finish the job the finman had started.

“I’m going or she’s not going either,” Daniel stated, unmoving. “Why would I entrust the Heart of the Sea to a teenage girl. Especially one who is the daughter of my enemies.”

My knees buckled at his words, Charlie’s hand shot out instinctively steadying me. His motion was so subtle that not even my mother noticed, despite being beside me. I pushed the heartbreak from my mind. There was a mission at hand to complete; my first task was to leave parley without bursting into tears like a lovesick teenager. I steeled myself, focusing on the others and letting the ache get comfortable in my heart.

“The terms have been set,” Mum said, resolutely. “It seems that the merfolk have as much invested in Mya’s success as we do. It’s appropriate that the prince of the merfolk would accompany our daughter, especially if the Heart of the Sea is returned; that would mean a reevaluation of the laws.”

“Even a truce and reintegration of your two people,” Dr. Conneely suggested.

Cordulla hissed and King Leo barred his teeth; peace was too much to hope for.

“We’re wasting time,” Daniel snapped.

“We need to go,” I agreed turning to my father, “may we be excused?” They were my first words to my father; they felt hollow. There was so much I wanted to ask him, but there was no time. We had one week, and the look on Dr. Conneely’s face suggested that it would not be enough.

King Leo deliberated for a moment, wrestling with letting Daniel accompany me; he heeded Mum’s counsel with a begrudging nod. I was surprised that my mellow mother could harness such persuasive power.

“Let’s go then,” Daniel, said, his demeanor hard. “I will return to land with the selkie princess.” Daniel’s inability to say my name, threatened to undo my resolve, but I bite my lip and breathed evenly to keep myself from crying. My insides felt like molten lava, searing my heart with disappointment and sorrow.

“As will I,” Mum said, curtsying to King Leo. Cordulla looked ready to object to Mum accompanying us, but King Leo shot her a hard look, that kept her silent.

It was hard to believe that hulk of a man was my father and that my mother had loved him. He was so different from Paul, who had pale skin and black hair and his salt-and-pepper mustache. King Leo had a deep brown tan and chocolate eyes and dark hair that had been given golden highlights after years of sitting in the sunshine. For a seal he was hair-free, smooth, and hard, like granite. He was the opposite of Paul in physique, but I wondered if he was any different in his ability to communicate. If I had been different, I would have grown up with them as my parents; I wondered what it would have been like.

“Charlie Lubeck, you dragged my daughter into this and you will guard her wherever she goes,” King Leo ordered, with an air of frustration. A myriad of emotion played across King Leo’s face as he looked at me, pride, confusion, hope and sorrow. I hoped that I would see him again.

Charlie dropped his hand from under my elbow stealthily, and bowed his acceptance of the job. I turned to follow Mum and the others down the path, having seen my biological father, but not having really met him.

“Mya...” said King Leo, fixing me with his eyes that were the same shade as mine, “good luck.”

I nodded and curtsied. “Thank you, your majesty.”

He grinned, displaying teeth just like mine. There was something unidentifiable in his eyes, it felt like pride. I stored that in my crumbling heart, not knowing if I would be able to deliver the Heart of the Sea.

Daniel had already begun marching down the track toward our boat. Mum ushered me along behind him, while Charlie and Dr. Conneely brought up the rear. Each step felt like nails being driven into my heart, as we descended the small hill. The stress of the night made my teeth chatter. Daniel hated me; I had encountered my biological father and been given a quest, that if I failed five people would die. I let the tears slide silently down my cheeks as Mum guided me to the boat.

Daniel waited beside the boat, impatient for me to board. The moon sent silver ripples across the frigid water; had it not been for the circumstances it would have been romantic.

"I'm taking her on the boat," Charlie said, when it became obvious that Daniel intended to ferry me to land. "I brought her here, and I'm taking her home."

"You nearly got her killed tonight," Daniel retorted, jabbing his finger into Charlie's chest. "You're lucky I was there."

"She knew the risks and was willing to take them. If she wasn't here tonight, you'd be dead!" Charlie yelled.

"Better me than her!" Daniel snapped. His words gave me hope that maybe he still cared, but the look he gave me confirmed that he was disgusted by me.

"I agree," Charlie replied passionately.

"If you're both done beating your chests like cavemen, there's a lot to do and not much time," Mum interjected. "I'll ride with Mya; the two of you will swim either side for added protection."

I stifled a grin, as the two men took Mum's direction like puppy dogs.

"Abomination," Mum called, teasing Dr. Conneely, "you're with us. You look much too old to swim in Port Phillip Bay this close to winter, and I want to hear your plan.”