Bluehour (A Watermagic Novel) (18 page)

I didn’t have any time to fight her off. She
locked my wrists together with one arm and threw me over her
shoulder. Her strength was shocking.

“Now you know the power of a real mer who
gains its strength from human meat,” she said in a strained voice
as she overpowered me. Her breath came out in rapid pants. I got
the feeling she was controlling herself from devouring me right
there.

Simultaneously, I heard footsteps racing
through the parking lot. “It’s Sabine,” one of the très beaux
called. There were squealing sounds.

I saw Laurent’s face as I struggled to get
away. It was just a glimpse, but it was enough. His skin was pale,
his eyes piercing.

I fell to the hard concrete. Sabine was on
top of me. Immediately, Laurent and Pascal pulled her off. She
scratched and kicked at them fiercely, but they hooked the sides of
her mouth with their hands and pinned her face down on the ground.
The rest of the très beaux started to pull her away…

But someone from the school, yelled out,
“Fight! Fight in the parking lot.”

Kids hurried to the scene, yelling and
talking amongst themselves excitedly. With the new attention,
Marcel, Brigitte, and Marine had to release her, probably to keep
from being exposed for what they were. Sabine looked at the crowd,
gaining her equilibrium which had been compromised, and rushed away
in a strange sporadic, fluid motion, much like a fish who darts
away only to wade in the water for a moment before darting
again.

Before I had any time to think, Laurent
scooped me up into his arms. His nostrils were flared as he rushed
with me over to his car. He unlocked the door at once and placed me
in the passenger seat. With that, he ran around to the other side.
And in seconds, we were speeding out of the school lot.

1. Rebellion
   

“Are you okay?” Laurent asked as he drove the
black car at high speed toward the freeway entrance.

“I’m fine.” I sucked in a sharp breath when I
looked at the fierce expression on his face.

“Did Sabine hurt you?” He glanced at me for a
moment as he held fast to the steering wheel. His grip was much too
tight.

I shook my head trying to cover the fact that
my mind was still spinning from the horror of it.

His dark brows drew together in worry. “You
don’t know how lucky you are to be alive. Usually Sabine is with
her school. When they sing the mer call in unison, humans surrender
completely to them. They lure them away to the ocean with their
beautiful music where they tear their flesh to pieces.” He paused
for a moment, his fist balled up a before his mouth. “She must feel
desperate to stray from her school...” He bit down on his
knuckles.

I glanced at my arms and noticed the fine
hairs standing on end. “Why didn’t she just tear me to shreds right
there in the parking lot?” I tried to steady my voice as I
inquired.

We merged onto the freeway. He was driving
way too fast, weaving in and out of cars. “A couple of reasons.”
His jaw clenched making his cheekbones appear more pronounced and
fierce. “She doesn’t want to get caught killing a human in broad
daylight. It would bring undue speculation and danger to our kind.
And, more than that, the flavor is a thousand times stronger and
more pleasurable in the water.”

I inhaled a jagged breath. “What about the
head? How come they didn’t eat Mandy’s head?” I shivered at the
imagery in my mind.

“Sabine likes to leave a trophy.” His voice
was matter of fact as his hand started to relax on the steering
wheel. “Mermaids are vain creatures.”

“Not mermen?” I smiled, my eyes widening in
playful challenge.

He returned the smile, but his was wry. “We
have other flaws.”

I traced the outline of his body with my
eyes. “What are those?” I asked trying to hide how enraptured I was
with him; though I think my attempts were unsuccessful.

He contemplated for a moment, “That’s for you
to find out.” His entrancing voice was facetious, causing stars to
flash in my mind when he said that.

Before I could respond, he continued, “My
feelings for you are different than the other girls.” If I wasn’t
mistaken, it looked like his cheeks flushed. His voice was laced
with underlying intensity that excited me. “Sabine must sense that.
She is acting irrationally, taking risks.”

My heart fluttered at his admittance of
feelings toward me. My body felt weak again and I just wanted to
stare at his beautiful bronze face, but I restrained myself of the
satisfaction. “Aren’t you afraid to get a traffic ticket?” The odds
were against him driving at such speeds on the open highway.

“Sonar detection.” He repressed his amusement
as he pointed at his head.

My face contorted. “What?”

Chuckling at my expression, he explained, “I
emit sound pulses and measure their return after being reflected.
The process is as natural as breathing is for a human being.”

My eyes widened. “So if you can detect an
object, how can you tell the variation from a cop car to a regular
car?”

“The police around here only drive so many
types of vehicles. I know those variations and I pick up on the
radar waves and CB systems. If detection is questionable, I slow
and use my eyes.”

“Not bad.” I laughed, feeling rather shocked.
“Where are we going?” I asked, wondering why I waited so long to
inquire. But as I thought about it, I knew why. I didn’t care where
we were going just as long as I was with him.

“I am sorry,” he said. “Now that Sabine sees
my attachment to you, she will not cease to attack until you are
dead. You cannot return to your family until I kill her.”

Tears welled up in my eyes at the thought of
how much my parents would worry about me if I disappeared. They
would be heartbroken.

His voice became soft like a lullaby. “I’m
taking you to a hotel down south.” He looked at me with compassion
in his ocean blue eyes. “I am sorry, Grace. I should have killed
her when I had her weeks ago. Trident law forbids murder between
mers in defense of humans. We are required to be loyal to our kind
at all costs.”

“What is the punishment for committing such a
crime?” I sat with my hands folded in my lap, trying to hide my
emotions.

“They will tear me to pieces in a public
arena.” His face was expressionless as he kept his eyes on the
highway. “But I don’t intend to get caught.” Mischief riddled his
features.

My eyes lit up with hope. “How do you plan to
do that?”

“I don’t know.” He laughed.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “This
doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s not,” he said seriously. “But our
school has already defied mer convention in numerous ways and
gotten away with it. We are already on watch lists for our choice
as land dwellers. Though we don’t break the law, our ways are
rebellious.”

I shifted my position in my seat and turned
to him. “What do you mean?”

“We are against killing humans and that is
counter to mer nature.” His melodic voice became intense. I sensed
he was passionately driven in his beliefs. “That is like sharks
refusing to eat flesh. It’s just not their inclination to rise
above their innate instincts in pursuit of higher cause. Our
decisions are outlandish to mers, radical.” He shook his head. “It
is wrong to eat human beings.”

His sense of purpose impressed me. I loved
that he took action on what he believed. So many people were
followers, but he had the confidence and determination to rebel
against his entire kind. I respected the très beaux now that I knew
their intentions were altruistic. “Have you ever killed a person?”
I asked somewhat hesitantly. I had a way of asking explosive
questions at the worst times.

He didn’t seem upset though. To my surprise,
he appeared detached now like he was lost in thought. “Yes, Grace.
Unfortunately, I have. It is extremely difficult for us to control
our predatory appetites and I expect I could easily lose control
again. It’s almost like telling a human being to never get angry at
anything for the rest of his or her life.”

“Impossible,” I responded in
disappointment.

“That’s my point.” He looked at me straight
in the eyes. “I’m not a hero, Grace.” His voice was slow. “My
vulnerabilities are immense.”

“But, you want to do the right things,” I
insisted, trying to comfort him.

“Sometimes,” he whispered with a glint of the
wicked in his eyes.

Chills ran up my spine, but I pushed to get
more answers, “What do you mean?” I wanted to know everything about
him. Although he didn’t see himself as heroic, I did. He had saved
me from death three times. And now, he was risking his life on my
behalf.

His expression was cold now, almost like a
blank stare as he watched the highway. “I didn’t try to save the
other girls Sabine killed. Maybe I would have had the opportunity
raised, but you’re the only one I
won’t
let die.” His tone
was adamant with a hint of anger.

I shook my head lightly in bewilderment. “Why
me? I don’t understand.”

“You get under my skin.” That was all he
said. His tone was matter of fact. But the words were so powerful
that I was breathless.

I was blushing now. My heart beat so rapid I
almost feared it might burst out of my chest. I felt entirely
flustered and couldn’t, for the life of me, think of any more
questions as I sat stiffly in the seat trying to regain my
equilibrium.

He took this lull in the conversation to
start drilling me with question after question about me and my
boring life. I liked the attention, but felt silly revealing how
uninteresting I was.

To my surprise, I got the impression that he
seemed to enjoy learning about me. Why? I have no idea. “I want to
know everything about you,” he whispered as he ran his hand over
the surface of the steering wheel in a slow, careful manner that
made me wish I was the wheel. “What is your favorite flower?”

“I’ve never thought about it,” I admitted,
but then I considered the idea. “Yes, I do like a certain flower.”
I smiled softly for a moment. “I love lavender. Is that even a
flower?” I giggled at my ignorance. “It’s so beautiful.” I imagined
a magnificent field of lavender and looked at him. “What about you?
Do you have a favorite?”

He laughed a hearty chuckle. “I’ve never
admitted it to anyone, but I do have one particular
sea
flower that I adore.”

My curiosity flared unexpectedly. “What is
it?”

“The white terrestrial is a transparent
beauty that opens to many petals and sparkles at the touch.” It
seemed like he was visualizing it. “The taste is pleasurable to the
mer, lighting up the mind, but the delicate plant is deadly to
humans.” He sighed at the thought. A slow smile came to his
face.

“I’m curious…” He ticked his head to the side
to observe me which reminded me that he wasn’t entirely human.
“What is your favorite food?”

I shrugged as I watched his interested face.
“When I was a kid, I liked pizza, of course, but now I like
chocolate soufflé.” It had been some time since I had tasted the
delicious desert and I craved it.

His eyes widened suddenly, a glint of
sunlight reflecting off the ocean surface. “Ah, French cuisine.”
His voice was teasing though I got the feeling he was remembering
something from his past.

I had never considered the origin, but he was
right; I did love French food, especially the deserts. But who
doesn’t? “What is your favorite food?” My tone was light, but
challenging.

“You don’t want to know my favorites.” As if
humoring himself, a hidden joke seemed to dance on his lips.

“Of course I do,” I dared him.

That beautiful crooked smile lifted on his
gorgeous face. “No you don’t—really.” He weaved past a car and
glanced at me. “You’ll see.” His lyrical way of speaking was almost
mocking. He sort of blushed which gave me the impression he was
embarrassed about his meal preferences.

I restrained myself from pouting at not
receiving the answers I desired. A million ideas rushed through my
curious mind and I couldn’t help, but push further. “I meant
besides human meat.” I tried to keep a nonchalant tone feigning
that it didn’t matter much to me.

A loud, unexpected “Ha!” released from his
throat. “That goes without saying doesn’t it? But, aside from that
taboo, there are other pleasures.” His laughter waned and then
without any sort of transition, he changed the subject, continuing
with his implorations. When I tried to ask him the same questions,
he kept trying to put the focus back on me.

But then as the car sped along, he turned to
look at me. “You, Grace. If I could taste you, you would be my
favorite food.”

I gulped, trying to keep my expression
calm.

“Your scent is wondrous. You are different
than other humans—the perfume of your skin, your strength. You are
irresistible. It has taken me a lot of practice to fight my
overwhelming desires for you…”

“To eat me.” I shuddered.

I sensed that he was ashamed. “The other
humans are all powerless to our songs and hypnosis, but you are
able to rise above. I saw that in English class more than once. You
did not succumb to our powers. That was never heard of.”

I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t
understand it myself. “You are right. I am affected by you and your
friends, even enraptured, but somehow I remain conscious.”

“Forget about me and what I am craving right
now and forever always—I want to know about you.” He had a way of
shaking up my world with powerful statements that he conveyed
nonchalantly.

Now I sat there trying to process everything
he said, but I didn’t have any time at all.

With his next question, he knew just what to
ask to get to the core of a person and rattle my reality further.
“Danny said you want to go to Berkley.” Laurent lifted an eyebrow
slyly.