Deep Blue (The Mermaid Chronicles Book 1) (13 page)

             
"Fine, follow me," he said, buttoning his pants back up. He was still wearing his shirt, which made Alice smile. Shirts just weren't Finn's style, at least not when buttoned.
He left his jacket on the sand. Alice figured he probably didn't care; he likely owned the tux and could afford another.

             
They slipped into the back entrance, near the enormous kitchen. Alice had to stop herself from gawking. They could hear the party, but it was far away. Finn was guiding her in a way that avoided being discovered by anyone else. They headed up a set of stairs that squeaked. Finn flinched at every noise, though there was no way anyone in the ballroom could hear them.

Alice had never been in a house this large. Without him as a guide, she knew she'd get lost, and was further affirmed in this belief when, on the third story, he opened a wall. She couldn’t have guessed there were seams there if she hadn’t seen him open it. If there were more hidden rooms, she'd never be able to find her way around.

             
The room inside was dim, and there was a woman lying on a bed at the focal point. She looked frail, like she would fall apart at any moment. Her eyes were a deep brown, like Tommy's, and her hair was long and stark white. She was old, but Alice could see her undimmed beauty. Even time could not take this woman down. This was the woman Matthew had loved, the woman on whom he had spent endless amounts of money building a town in the middle of nowhere. Time seemed to slow down.

             
"Finn," Brassila breathed. Alice felt immediately uncomfortable and knew that she didn't belong. She wanted to run in the other direction, but she couldn't. David's life was on the line. For a moment she understood how Finn could be upset about the woman in the bed dying in front of his eyes. This wasn't the quick death her grandmother had. This woman was dying slowly, alone, away from her clan, but still forced to be a part of it. She was a matriarch.

             
"Grandma, I've brought the new transform. She would like to ask permission to tell an outsider. Her brother," he said, giving Alice a poisonous look. When he turned back to Brassila and moved to the side of the bed, his face softened. It was an expression Alice had never seen on Finn.

             
"Come here, Miss Bailey." Alice moved closer. She could do nothing else; the woman commanded respect. Brassila took her hand as Alice sunk into a plush chair beside the bed. "The question is not a yes-or-no question. Your brother as much one of us as you are; he just doesn’t know it yet. I hear you have a voice as prized as your grandmother."

             
"My grandmother?" Alice looked around the room. There was a flat screen TV showing Brassila the entire party, playing softly. Kari was on stage now, singing some Britney Spears song and looking for someone, probably Finn.

             
"Emma, your grandmother. She fell for a soldier and was exiled when she chose to marry him and begin living a human life. She was no clan leader; she was just a maid with a beautiful voice.” Brassila sighed, her chest rising and falling almost straight into the bed. “I knew her once.”

Finn looked surprised. “Grandma?”

“You look so much like her,” she said, ignoring her grandson. “In my younger days, I met her. She was a Wanderlust, a mer without a clan. I wanted to be like her. For a while, we swam together, until she found Mickey,” she looked at Alice with those deep, penetrating eyes, “You are new but your bloodline is old. In this house there are histories of folk from all over the world. Volumes upon volumes, dating back further than I can tell. My clan used to number around five hundred, but in my lifetime we are now one-fifth that size. Humans scar the sea and the folk can do nothing about it. They must not know of us, and there are so few of us now. We lose so many to the temptations that land has to offer: technology, and men," she said sadly. "You," she paused, dragging in a labored breath, "You are as true as any of the other maids your age. You loved water from an early age, yes?" Alice didn't have to answer. She thought back to her swim meets, her grandmother always cheering her on but never going near the water herself. Now Alice knew exactly why.

When her grandma went to the ocean, she had always kept a respectful distance while Alice played in and out of the waves. It was because she had to, because she couldn't go into the water! She couldn't risk her kind. It was so startling to Alice, this new information, that she could hardly keep her brain processing everything that Brassila was saying. From a population of five hundred down to one hundred, in a span of only eighty or a hundred years. Alice marveled, looking at the frail old woman.  

             
"There are so few males compared to the women. In some tribes, the ratio is five to one. It makes sense that a maid would look to the land for a husband, but it is almost a crime to take the water from those who love it as much as your grandmother. Young Bailey. Downstairs is my clan, and many visiting from others. Some just visiting, some looking for mates," she paused and turned to Finn. "How many women are down there chasing you, Finn?" she asked slyly. Brassila knew her grandsons. She knew how much Finn avoided the other girls, avoided everyone in general, but she wouldn't punish him. She knew, in time, Finn would learn, as she had learned, that you can't get through your troubles alone. On land, humans surrounded themselves with people, with friends, with family. Mer were also social creatures, but the sea was such a lonely place. Maybe Finn wouldn't learn before she left, but she had faith in him.

             
"Ten of them," Finn answered bitterly. Brassila tried to laugh, but it was so weak. Alice could smell the death in the room, but the woman wore it so well. For a moment, Alice almost felt sorry for Finn. Maybe it was easier to watch someone go quickly than to see a loved one suffer.

             
"I do not think I will see you mate, Finn," Brassila smiled weakly at him, as if it were an effort even to force the muscles of her face to make an expression. "Did you bring your knife, young Alice?" Alice pulled it out of her purse and showed it to the woman. “Finn, go to the drawer in that dresser and bring me the box inside.”

Finn obliged his grandmother dutifully. “You do not need that curved blade,” she said as she opened the box carefully. In it lay a sheathed knife barely visible in a hairnet studded with pearls. Brassila picked it up and handed it to the younger woman. Alice stared: it was just like the one in her dream. “Take it, my dear. Your grandmother was a truer friend to me than anyone. It is a woman’s blade, and, alas, my only heirs are men.” Alice continued to look at the knife, then realized that it was with much effort that the old woman was still holding it aloft. Finn stared at them both, wide-eyed. “Go on, my dear,” prompted Brassila. Gently, Alice took the blade from her wrinkled hands. The net was intricately knotted and studded with jewels, and the hilt held an emerald the size of Alice’s thumb. Alice was startled speechless. She looked at Finn, who did not return her gaze. It obviously irked him that his grandmother was passing this to her. Alice had a feeling that the passing of a blade meant more to the folk than she could understand.

“I…I can’t take this.” Alice replied meekly as the blade sat in her hands.

Brassila found Alice’s eyes, “You can and you will.” The statement left no room for further arguments. This woman was strong, even in her deathbed. "I know you will keep it well,” Brassila continued. “You are a strong woman, Alice Bailey. I am proud to have you as part of my clan. Bring your brother to this beach and show him. Let him make his own decision, just as you will eventually make yours." She turned her face away from Alice and looked up at Finn again. Alice suddenly had the feeling that she was completely out of place. Brassila smiled as she squeezed her grandson’s hand. A current passed through her body. Alice watched as her eyes fluttered closed. She said nothing, Finn said nothing. She could no longer see Brassila's chest moving up and down. They knew she was gone. Alice had just witnessed the passing of a titan.

She stood, horrified. She felt so much for this woman she had only just met. It was all so very confusing, and if she weren’t frozen on the spot, she would have backed away reflexively. She could do nothing but stand there in silence, fighting the emotions that threatened her.

             
"Leave." Finn said, so low that Alice barely heard it. Alice tripped over her heels as she turned, leaving Finn alone with his dead grandmother.

Somehow, she found her way, stumbling, back to the ballroom. She leaned against the wall, then stuffed the hairnet that was still in her hand into her purse. There were tears on her cheek and sobs in her chest. She would give anything to be as strong as that woman had been. She felt like she was going to slip to the floor, like her legs just weren’t there anymore and there was no fin to replace them.

             
"Alice!" Adam noticed her suddenly, then hastily put his arm around her. He was nearly lifting her, taking her out of sight of prying eyes. She was on a bench outside now and he was holding a Kleenex in front of her. He didn't say anything; he knew what had happened. He knew how weak Brassila was. "Calm down, it's okay," he said, idly stroking her hair. He pulled her close to him, holding her shaking form in his arms.

             
Finn came down the stairs, and looked at her disdainfully. Adam looked up at him angrily, though Alice didn’t even notice, her face buried in Adam’s chest. Finn ignored them both and went to find Tommy.

             
"I have to dance, don't I?" Alice whispered as she calmed. He looked down at her, brushing an errant hair from her eyes.

             
"It would be better. You should be seen." She let him lift her up and lead her to the dance floor but she didn't feel the music; she simply went through the motions. She was used to it by now, always going through the motions, feeling weak and vulnerable all the time. She didn't want to be seen; she wanted to fade away, she wanted to retreat. All the make-up, the hairstyling, it felt like she was carrying fifty extra pounds. Shut out the sounds, shut out the smells, shut out the light, breathe. But it didn’t work, she knew it wouldn’t, she was in too deep.

             
Before she knew it, before she could register anything, Tommy cut in with a simple tap on Adam’s shoulder. She could tell he knew about Brassila, but his smirk was still there. Alice was very nearly offended by the sudden change of dance partners. She sent a warning spark into Tommy’s hands as they continued to dance. She looked around for the first time, catching sight of Finn. He looked like he was in pain, dancing with some girl or another.

             
"You have spirit. I just thought I should warn you," Tommy said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

             
"Warn me of what?"

             
"Be careful of the good doctor."

             
"What?"

             
"He is falling head over heels for you as we speak." Alice stared at Tommy. She could hardly believe him. "Just saying, human and mer. You could lose the ocean.” She stole a glance at the doctor. She felt tenderness for him that she hadn’t realized was there, but it wasn't anything Alice wanted. Tenderness meant she had a connection to him, and connections made her weak. Besides, none of it was Tommy's business anyway. She tried to pull away from Tommy but his grip was too strong.

             
"We will send Brassila to the sea after the party. I thought you might want to be there." Finally he broke away, giving her a sarcastic bow, and Adam swept into his place. Alice felt a strange relief. He looked irritated, but he wasn't about to say anything. He shouldn't even be there; it was a party for
fish,
not for him. He had no real desire to be a part of this world.

             
Alice was distracted. She could hear Brassila's soft voice echoing through her memory.
You are strong, Alice Bailey.
Alice didn't feel strong. Alice felt like screaming again. Alice felt like disappearing forever, running away. Yet here was Adam. He was anchoring her, not to mention her parents. How could she think of disappearing when they were thinking they finally had their daughter back. And what of David? She thought of David, of his future, of their past together. Suddenly she missed him so much.

             
Memories of them played across her mind’s eye as Adam led her around and around. Her actions were mechanical; it was her mind that was truly dancing. For the first time, she felt acutely the loss of her kid brother, the boy who used to be her best friend. Soon, it would change, one way or another.

             
She looked up as she realized that Adam was stepping away, nodding his head to Finn. Finn, who looked so unhappy. She saw for the first time how much he wanted to escape, just as much as she did. He took her hands, but he was stiff. He was shut off to her and she was shut off to him. They swirled around the floor under the stares of the other mer. Everyone was watching Finn, and now he was with the transform. Alice even caught a glimpse of Ashley’s glare, though it didn’t register. She heard the slamming of a door, but it didn’t matter, Finn wasn’t there any more than she was.

             
Alice broke the silence. “Why sad?” she asked, below anyone’s hearing but her partner’s. He stared at her, not understanding. “In your song, there was sadness, something no one else seemed to hear.” She didn’t truly care, but the curiosity was eating at her. She knew that emotion all too well, the one he sang.