02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (39 page)

“Sweetheart,” Evie crooned as though she were
speaking to an uncooperative child, “I need you to come with
me.”

“I’m not leaving Aptos.”

“Shall we discuss this in private? Come and
take a drive with me,” she purred soothingly.

I looked around at everyone caught in Evie’s
spotlight, spellbound. I rolled my eyes and agreed, on the
condition that she take me home afterward.

“I’ll have Shayla and Mike take the Range
Rover back,” I said as I walked over to get my bag, “Abby’s
expecting me for dinner,” I tossed off over my shoulder in case she
was under any misapprehension that I might change my mind.

“Bye Evie,” Shayla called out as she followed
me back over to the Rover.

Mike looked at us quizzically, “Who the heck
is that?”

“That’s Evie,” said Shayla with a worshipful
tone to her voice, “She’s like, Marina’s aunt.”

I handed Shayla the keys, “Are you okay to
drive my car home?”

She looked serious, “I’ve only ever driven my
mom’s old clunker... but I’ll be totally careful.”

“I shouldn’t be too long... I’ll have Evie
drop me at your house.”

“No!” she blurted out forcefully, “I’ll drop
Mike off and leave it at your place... I wanted to see Cruz
anyway.” I realized she didn’t want me or Evie at her house.

I went to say good bye to Eric and Gabe as
they stood watching Kimo getting chatted up by Evie at the
Rolls.

“What’s up with that?” asked Eric, nodding
towards them.

I sighed, “That’s my Aunt from San Francisco.
Uhm, I have to go now... It was fun getting to know you guys.” I
gave them both a quick hug, “Happy surfing.”

“Are you like some kinda heiress?” Gabe
asked, looking over at the Rolls Royce.

“Nope,” I replied sardonically, “But I do
have one hell of an inheritance.”

I walked back slowly, overhearing Evie
telling Kimo a fanciful tale about the time she took surfing
lessons in Hawaii.

“And then I met Duke at my dear friend Doris’
estate in Honolulu... Shangri La, she called it... and he took us
girls out for the most
wonderful
adventure!”

“Duke?” Kimo asked, wide eyed.

She smiled bewitchingly, “Duke Kahanamoku,
the most marvelous looking man... you remind me of him.”

“You know... you met...” Kimo was speechless,
mightily impressed by Evie’s name dropping.

Oh Lord, I thought, Kimo was smitten–
completely under Evie’s spell. I suppose I couldn’t blame him, for
when Evie cast her light on you it was intoxicating, warming you
all the way through. I looked on in fascination as she worked Kimo
over.

I stood quietly, watching her with new,
critical eyes. She knew exactly what she was doing, for she really
was a master manipulator. I remembered the day she met Ethan, and
how they had sized each other up like prizefighters. Ethan had
called her on it, showing considerable independence of mind. I
suddenly missed him acutely.

“Marina!” Kimo cried when he noticed me,
“Your Aunt Evie is da bes’ lady!”

“I know,” I said, catching Evie’s laughing
eye. Somehow Kimo’s extreme susceptibility to Evie’s charms made me
respect him a little less.

“We really must be going,” said Evie. Boris
jumped to attention and held the door open for her.

“Aloha,” she smiled at Kimo. He watched her
get in.

“Goodbye Kimo,” I said. I gave him a quick
hug and climbed in after Evie.

“Aloha’ oe,” he called after us.

“What a charming young man,” Evie commented
as we pulled away.

“Why, because you can work him?” I asked.

“Exactly!” she smiled at me, leaning in to
murmur discreetly, “It’s time you learned that men are just like
animals… some simply make better pets.”

I looked at her with my brows raised.

“Boris dear, can you pull over somewhere we
can talk undisturbed?” We drove a little ways to a spot overlooking
the sea. Boris got out and paced around a bit, finally standing
sentry just out of earshot.

“What about Boris?” I asked, watching him
scan the area with his eagle eye, “Where did you find him?”

She got a distantly nostalgic look on her
face, “I was married to a Russian count, and Boris was the best
thing I took out of that marriage,” she leaned over and dropped her
voice as if there was someone listening, “Along with some very fine
furs.” She cast her gaze over at Boris with affection, “He’s a
former secret service agent... a very highly skilled bodyguard.
Loyalty in a man is priceless indeed.”

“You were married before Harold?” I asked,
surprised.

She laughed, a tinkling bell-like sound, “Oh,
many times, first for love, later for money.” Then she sighed as a
glimmer of melancholy passed across her brow. Her carefully
controlled voice caught in her throat, “Except for Harold... he was
different. He loved me even though he could see right through me...
I do miss him so.”

I reached out and took hold of her hand. This
was the most vulnerable I had ever seen Evie, and I sensed that she
was finally going to speak the truth.

I squeezed gently, bringing her back to
reality, “Tell me everything.”

CHAPTER TWENTYTWO

The Truth

The pure and simple truth, as Evie was wont
to say, is rarely pure and never simple.

She settled back into the seat, composing her
face, “What do you want to know?” she asked.

“You knew from the beginning, didn’t you? I
mean, you always knew about me and you’re one of...
us
,
aren’t you?” It felt strange to say it out loud.

“Yes,” Evie replied, and the word hung in the
air like a scent.

“Are you a mermaid who changed, or a half
breed like me?” I asked, point blank.

Evie turned to me, her blue eyes clear and
calm, “Like you, I’m a hybrid.”

“Are there many like us... hybrids?”

“A surprising amount, considering. We
maintain a loose association in order to keep tabs on our numbers.
I’ve just returned from a council meeting– there’s been a good deal
of trouble because of the recent tabloid exposure.”

“Council?”

“Yes, when convened, they’re mandatory.”

I was amazed. Not only was Evie a
half-mermaid hybrid, but there was a society of others that
actually gathered to hold meetings! It was almost too much to
comprehend, and if I had never laid eyes on Kalypso I never would
have believed it. A secret society hidden from existence sounded
like something from a movie. Almost unbelievably, it seemed that
hybrid society mirrored mermaid society.

“How do you find each other? How did you find
me?” My head was spinning, trying to process the fact that my whole
world was being turned inside out yet again. I supposed it should
be a familiar feeling by now.

“We search for our kind,” she said gravely.
“You see, when mermaids chose to live on land their constitutions
are quite weak. Childbirth is too much for them. We look for a
certain profile of maternal death and investigate.” She looked at
me with sympathetic eyes, “All of our mothers died as a consequence
of our births.”

I caught my breath at the terrible thought of
all the poor dead mermaids, “So you found me... why?”

She sighed heavily and continued, “There
hadn’t been a birth for many years… Can you imagine my surprise
when you turned up right under my nose in San Francisco? I was
assigned to watch over you and–”

“Assigned?” I was horrified.

“Sweetheart,” she said, placing a reassuring
hand on my arm, “The association must determine the identity of all
hybrids. As you’ve no doubt discovered we are all... gifted.” She
looked sad as she reminisced, “I saw your father the day after you
were born. The poor man was devastated beyond belief. I was
terribly fearful for your well-being until Abby took you away with
her. I knew you’d be safe and well cared for… she really is a
lovely woman.”

I smiled through my shock at the thought of
Abby, remembering what she told me about that day. I could also
imagine Evie there, assessing the situation, as efficient and in
control as she ever was.

“Go on,” I said, “So the
association
has been watching me?”

“No, I’ve been sort of a guardian to you.
I’ve been hoping to keep your talents hidden from them. But I’m
afraid the cat is out of the proverbial bag.”

“Why hide me from them?”

“There are factions among us that will seek
to entice you to use your skills for evil purposes.”

“Skills?” I asked, more confused than
ever.

She looked at me, suddenly serious, “Like
you, a few have the gift of prophecy, but we are all muses, that
is, we have the ability to encourage people’s natural talents… to
increase them.”

“What?” I gasped incredulously, this was
starting to sound ridiculous.

She looked at me with sympathetic eyes,
“Since ancient times our kind has inspired mankind to strive for
improvement. As you probably already know, we derive great pleasure
from seeing people fulfill their promise. I saw it building in you
as you grew older... it was confirmed when you brought Cruz and
Megan to me.”

I scoffed in protest, “They were good before
they even met me!”

She looked at me reproachfully, “Of course
they were... you simply inspired them to make the most of their
God-given gifts. Don’t you see how the people around you tend to
succeed? We cannot bestow talent, but we
do
amplify it. This
can be very good or very bad depending on the person. It’s
imperative that you surround yourself with good people. Don’t ever
underestimate the power of a muse; you have the ability to inspire
great or terrible things.”

I thought of Joe’s murderous rage, and how
inordinately angry I had made him. I looked into Evie’s eyes and
knew she spoke the truth.

“You must be judicious about the sort of
talented people you champion because they are virtually guaranteed
success,” she paused for a beat, “I myself prefer the arts and
sciences.”

“My father?” my jaw dropped.

“I took an interest in Martin’s career as a
device to stay connected to you. It was easy, really, for your
father
is
a brilliant scientist. Given the appropriate
support he’s really worked wonders. His career has exceeded my
wildest expectations. In many ways it’s my proudest achievement...
and I’ve grown to love him as if he were my own son.”

“How old
are you
?” I asked.

She smiled at me fondly, “Now Marina, A lady
never tells her age... but our mermaid blood may give us a slightly
longer life span than most humans.”

“Is that why you never had children? Does it
kill us too?”

Evie laughed, “No, not at all! Many hybrids
have borne children, perfectly
average
children. As for
myself, I simply never got around to it, and then you came along to
keep me busy.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek, “I love you as
if you were my own... and in a way, you are.” She smiled at me
warmly.

“Are hybrid’s children muses too?”

“Not many of the quarter blooded have shown a
strong aptitude for inspiration, only a few of the females.”

“Aunt Evie, have you ever changed? Have you
ever swam with the mermaids?” I asked, wondering if she knew the
power and wonder of it.

“No,” she said solemnly, “Only full blooded
mermaids have the ability to transform.”

“Really? No one else...” my voice was small.
Apparently I was a freak among freaks.

“I’ve heard stories,” she said
sympathetically.

I shook my head ruefully, and replied
sarcastically, “Well Evie, you’re missing a real treat. And I do
believe it was even a bit easier the second time... although it was
a lot harder to come back.”

She blanched and gripped my arm tightly,
“You’ve had more contact with them? Other than the one time?”

“Well... yeah,” I said, explaining to her
that I thought it was best to keep it to myself. “The night we
saved Ethan’s dad I met a lot of them. They were having a council
meeting too. They’d been calling me to it for weeks. I’ve been
surfing with Lorelei ever since. She looks like me, but when I met
Kalypso in Greece I knew you were one too. Oh, Aunt Evie, you
should see her– she looks just like you!”

She looked stunned, “Lorelei? Kalypso?” I
don’t think I’d ever seen Evie at a loss for words.

“Lorelei tells me stories about my mother...”
I added.

“You can... you can... communicate with
them?” she choked out.

“They aren’t much for conversation, but
Lorelei and I talk all the time... Is that weird too?” I was
alarmed at her shocked response. I had assumed that she must have
met some mermaids in her long and exotic life. I was wrong.

“Please tell me everything,” she said with a
frightened edge to her voice.

Now that the truth was out I told her the
whole story in detail. I outlined all that had happened to me since
I moved to Aptos. She listened wide eyed as I described the mermaid
council and the bargain I had struck with them. I told her how
Ethan knew everything and how he had been trying to help me
overcome the siren call of the mermaids.

“They’re really not human at all. I don’t
want to be one of them,” I said firmly, “The only problem is, once
I’m around them I start to get... I don’t know… wild. I think that
surfing is my way to stay in between the land and the sea.”

“I really underestimated you,” she said, her
voice strained.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She gathered her composure and spoke,
“Marina, the amount and strength of our powers vary from individual
to individual. Most of us can only inspire to one degree or
another. The rare few have visions of the future... but as far as I
know there has never been one who could communicate with them, much
less possess their ability to transform and pass back and forth so
easily.”