Seaweed (23 page)

I gasped at first with the cold, but welcomed the wetness like an old friend. My legs began to tingle and stiffen until finally, a tail.

I slapped the surface with my tail fin and propelled myself underneath. My gills activated and an eruption of bubbles encircled my head. I thrust myself deeper into the ocean. I could
see
, I could
hear
, I felt completely free. It was a rush and a high, and I loved it.

Dori
?

He spoke to me. Through his thoughts. It felt like an eternity since I’d heard him call my name this way, so clearly, so deeply, so intimately.

Even in the darkness of night he shimmered, his tattoos dancing, his eyes like deep emeralds, his tail strong and feral.

The last time we swam together we had been a couple. We’d kissed like crazy people. We held hands as Tor pulled me into the depths of the sea. I’d discovered a fear of claustrophobia I didn’t know I’d had.

I’d met his family, the king and queen and Tor’s brother, Kon, and they had rejected me. I upset the clan equilibrium.

Crazy Jim Macdonald shot me. Tor rescued me.

And I fell in love.

I hadn’t fallen out.

Tor could break my heart, over and over again, and I was completely helpless to stop him.

I had to swim away. Keep my distance.

Dori?

Instead of saying thank you I said,
I’m fine. Please just leave me alone.

In an instant he was in front of me, his eyes level with mine.
We have to get out.

Already? I need a little more time.

We can’t. They’re here.

Who?
I’d been so introspective, that I’d completely tuned out my surroundings, but now I could sense something.
Them
.

The Lars must have spies watching the coast.

Oh, no. I’d put myself in danger again. Put us both in danger.

We headed toward the shore as fast as we could but it was too late.

Flashes of red. A dozen merfolk from the clan of Lars materialized, their tails gyrating at high speeds.

We were surrounded.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

One of the Lars handcuffed my right arm to Tor’s left with a rusty unit that must’ve bound prisoners a century ago. A rope that looked like it was made from seaweed was looped around my neck and held by a Lars like a leash. They assumed, and with some accuracy I thought, that Tor wouldn’t try to escape if there was a chance I would be injured in his attempt. They carried rusty knives and swords, the kind you’d imagine pirates from old would carry.

Merfolk were expert swimmers and though I knew I was propelling through the ocean faster than I’d ever swam before, I could still feel the tug and tightening on my neck. I gagged in reflex.

Slow down! You’re hurting her.

One of the Lars flashed a look that said who cares.

Tor answered,
I’m sure the prince does.

This must’ve been true, since the Lars did slow down a bit.

Eventually, I saw a large dark mass partially submerged on the sea floor. A sunken ship. The three bar rail that surrounded the deck was draped with green slime. The cockpit was intact, the door wide open; a single mast remained upright with green goo stringing off it. Along the sides of the vessel was a row of small black windows grouped in twos, like eyes.

Red patches of rust blended in with the washed out whites and blues of sea barnacles, and miniature crustaceans covered the surface.

The Lars pushed us into the cockpit. They untied the rope from around my neck, but left our wrists bound. The Lars disappeared through the door, easing it closed behind them.

My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. I was just grateful that the Lars hadn’t taken us to a deep cave. Though my chest felt tight I hadn’t hit the point of panic yet.

Are you okay?

Yeah, I think so. Where are we?

I’m guessing a few miles off the coast of Cutler. I can hear the Atlantic Puffin colony on Machias Seal Island.

I focused on the sounds coming from above. I could hear loud chirping resonating through the water. Atlantic Puffin reminded me of a cross between a penguin and a parrot. As if to prove our assessment was right, a Puffin dove past the small window in search of its next meal.

Have you been here before?

Uncle Dex and I lived near Cutler before we came to Eastcove.

Why did you leave?

The Lars showed up. We were uncomfortable with their numbers.

Red tail fins flashed past the windows, reminding me that we were indeed being held captive.

Why are there are so many Lars?

Tor huffed
. The Lars aren’t monogamous like the Rai. Their mermen have multiple wives and therefore more offspring.

Tor rested his face in his free hand.
I’m so sorry, Dori. I wasn’t careful enough. I failed you.

It’s not your fault. I’m the one who insisted we go swimming. I would’ve gone in with or without you; I wanted it that bad.
I stroked his hand and he offered me a sad smile.

We infringed on the personal space of a squid squished into a corner and a nest of lobsters along the far wall. Tor and I pressed into an unoccupied nook and I took extreme comfort in feeling his shoulder rub up against mine.

What’s going to happen now?

A stream of bubbles blasted out of his gills
. I’m not sure. Probably nothing until morning. We should get some sleep.

Easier said than done. After this crazy day, I didn’t think I’d ever sleep again, but then I did.

In the morning I could see light stream through the cracks in the seams of the ship and through the tiny windows.

My arm was asleep. Probably because it was poised upwards at a forty-five degree angle, still attached to Tor’s arm at the other end. His neck craned as he tried to see out the window.

Tor?

Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.

He swam back and I rubbed the circulation back into my arm. My chest still complained, the tightness growing, but my stomach was yelling the loudest.

I’m hungry.

Me, too.

Tor stared off into the corner. I followed his gaze. The squid?

Normally, when I was on land and had legs, the idea of eating raw squid would make me squirm, but right now, in my mermaid form, fresh raw squid would make my day.

Tor motioned for me to follow him slowly. I held back as much as I could with my arm attached to Tor’s, not wanting to get in the way. I certainly hadn’t developed any underwater, weapons-free hunting skills. Tor became statuesque in his stillness. I held my breath. Then in a blink of an eye, Tor snatched it, ripping it apart in the middle.

I didn’t like seeing it die, but I had no problem receiving a tentacle when Tor handed it to me, and I chewed it like it were candy.

It’s obvious I would starve if I were down here without you.

I meant it as a thank you but Tor took it another way.

If I’d done my job, you wouldn’t be down here at all.

I wanted to say something that would make him feel better. I hated the guilt he was carrying when we were really in this mess because of my own foolish impulses, but before I could come up with something intelligent, the door to the cockpit swung open.

Ky swam in with two henchmen on either side.

It was so odd to see him in merfolk form. His tattoos swirled wildly, his blond hair like a faux halo on his head and his tail, red with glints of blue and pink.

Wow, Dori, you make a hot mermaid. Prince Mol will be duly impressed
.

Creep.

And Tor Riley, prince of Rai, as well. Bonus. The day couldn’t get better.

I felt panic rise in my chest. Even though I was breathing fine with my gills, I suddenly really wanted to breathe with my lungs. Tor saw that I was in trouble.

We need to take her to the surface, Ky.

Why? She has gills. We have to get going.

She’s not fully merfolk. Her body isn’t used to being submerged.

Ky’s mouth twisted as he contemplated Tor’s request. His face was drawn and narrow, like a rat. I really wondered how I’d ever thought he was good looking.

Getting me to Prince Mol in prime condition seemed to trump Ky’s urgency to get me to him in a hurry.

All right. But no funny business. I may not want to harm the girl, but I have no qualms about letting her watch me kill you.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

You stay under the surface!

Tor obeyed Ky’s command as I broke water and sucked in a huge breath. It was weird to watch Tor’s face distorted by the motion of the water looking up at me. However, Ky had surfaced and watched me with amusement.

“Wow, a real half-breed.”

“I hear you’re a half-breed yourself.”

He tossed his head back slightly, as if he were surprised that I knew.

“Yeah, I guess I’m kind of a big deal. But you, I don’t think you understand just what a big deal
you
are, Dori Seward.”

“I think I get it, Ky. I’m not stupid.”

“Well, except for your insistence to swim when you know you’re being hunted by merfolk.”

“Thanks for pointing out the obvious.” My heart jumped a bit at the word “hunted”. “I just can’t believe I thought you were my friend.” I couldn’t believe I’d actually thought he
liked
me. “You really had me going there for awhile.”

“Deception in this case was a necessary evil.”

Evil.

I hadn’t been smart enough to be truly afraid of Ky before. My blood felt thick and slow. I was afraid of him now.

“Let’s go.” He dove and I followed. Tor shot me a worried look. I knew he’d heard everything we had said above the surface. My chills grew colder. Tor was afraid, too and that made me doubly afraid.

Ky and his peons with their archaic weapons pushed us into deep ocean. I told myself I could do this. I was acclimating. I might only be part merfolk, but I
was
part merfolk. I wouldn’t give Ky the pleasure by freaking out about my lungs again.

The undersea world was kind of noisy. Sound traveled on water waves and I could pick up boat motors, whale calls, the crash of waves onto shore and just what I considered the pulsating breath of the ocean. It would be beautiful if my life weren’t in danger.

I had an idea where we were headed because I’d Google Earthed the underwater mountain ranges after my last trek. There was one not far from the Maine/New Brunswick border. The closest peak just past the Fundian Valley was called Bear Seamount.

This journey gave me time to think about my family, and how they must be completely undone with worry. By now they’d know that I’d left school at noon yesterday. Colby knew I was in trouble with Ky: he believed Tor enough to lend him his bike. I was sure he’d told my parents everything by now. And probably the police.

I failed to tell Samara or Becca when I left, in truth because I was ashamed to be skipping out and I knew how Becca felt about Ky.

Boy, was she wrong about him. We all were. But to them, it was just me, their unreliable BFF blowing them off again. I wondered if they’d be worried about this second disappearance or just plain mad. And what on Earth would I tell them if I did make it back home?

Oh no, not IF. I had to make it home. Somehow.

Tor had a sense for when my heart rate sped up. Even though our wrists were cuffed together, we’d managed so far to keep our hands to ourselves. Tor weaved his fingers through mine, and I didn’t mind at all. I held on tight.

It turned out I was wrong about Bear Mountain. We skirted around the seamounts until we came to another sunken object submerged in the silty floor.

What is that?

Tor answered,
a German U-boat, U-856
.

A submarine?

I took it that while Rai preferred cave dwelling, the Lars liked to hang out in sunken ships. I’d bet they had a blast with the Titanic.

It was super eerie. In no way did I want to go in that rusted metal tube, with who knew how many skeletons of people who’d died in this battle.

The leading Lars opened a metal door and Ky ushered us in. He led us down a dark narrow hallway until we came to the room he was looking for. There were a number of metal slats attached to the walls where mattresses once made a comfortable space for sleeping.