Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings (6 page)

Ugly sneered and screeched a series of rings, setting the group into action. The mer-dudes broke from their huddles and began to roll large rocks along the bottom of the lake toward the base of the boat lock’s metal gate. Ugly grasped a large rock and heaved it onto the growing pile.

What were they doing? Were they trying to block the lock from opening?

I turned back to Mom and whipped the tail to go faster. Ugly motioned for two other mermen and nodded at me. Mom rang back a sound I didn’t understand. The mermen hesitated, but Ugly raised another rock toward them. He was obviously the alpha-male of the joint because the mermen snapped to attention and swam my way.

I flicked the tail to the right to try to avoid them and kept heading for Mom, but they caught up to me in seconds, making my pathetic attempt at swimming look like the mermaid doggie paddle. One of them grabbed my arm and spun me around, scratching my face in the process. I swung my free hand and connected with something I hoped was a jaw.

Hisss…

Someone didn’t like that. He grasped my wrists.

Ugly laughed.

Things kind of went downhill from there.

M
Y SCALP ACHED FROM
being dragged through the lake by Ugly’s henchman. What was it with those guys and
hair?
They shoved me into a creek a short swim away and stood guard while Ugly and another mermaid waved the other rubbernecking mer-dudes back to the rock pile. Obviously, they didn’t want an audience for whatever brand of torture they were planning.

I cowered behind a submerged moss-covered log and tried to catch my breath, which, underwater, was a completely different skill set compared to breathing air. Plus, the fresh water in the creek seemed thin and suffocating, like trying to breathe at the top of a mountain.

Ugly jabbered away at the mouth of the creek, barking at the others. What were they planning to do? Kill me? Stuff me like a brook trout so they could hang me over their mantle like a fishing trophy?

I looked down at the tail, still attached to my lower half. It flicked back and forth in the flowing water, as involuntary as blinking. Even when I worked to keep it still,
a small shift in the current set it off again. How had this disgusting thing become so much a part of me in such a short amount of time? I didn’t want this. I never wanted this! But I was beyond freaking out. Seeing Mom being yanked away like that had transformed my shock into a desperate fear. I needed to figure out a way to help her!

I turned, trying to get my bearings. The water in the creek was only a couple of feet deep. I could make out a hill, sloping upward, through the rippling water. The bridge was about a hundred feet away, past clumps of brush lining the bank. I must have been in the creek Cori and I had waded through a million times when we were little, looking for pollywogs.

I eyed the bank a short swim away. It would hurt like crazy, but maybe I could crawl out of the water and escape. The tail would transform back into legs, wouldn’t it? I could run and get Dad. But then, how would I ever find Mom again?

What had they done with her anyway?

Seconds later, my question was answered. A huge wave surged toward me and I saw them heave Mom into the creek. She sunk like a rag doll.

Mom…
I gasped and pulled her into a hug. My hand tangled in her hair and I drank in her smell, expecting the peach scent of her shampoo. Instead, the water around her tasted like an aquarium left too long between cleanings, her skin felt swollen and uneven. I shrunk back, without thinking, and instantly regretted it.
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…

Shh…
Mom put a finger to her lips. She nodded to the
three mermen and mermaid at the mouth of the creek as they screeched at each other in rings and tones.

Ugly looked our way for a second. He took the mermaid by the arm and swam away, out of earshot, no doubt to plot our demise. His henchmen piled branches and rocks at the creek’s opening to block us in.

I can’t believe you’ve been alive all this time!
I blurted, once they’d moved away from the mer-made dam. My heart still hadn’t settled from the shock of seeing her.
I thought…me and Dad thought…

Oh, Jade.
Mom hugged me, but her arms were weak and limp.
I missed you so much.

Can they understand what we’re saying?
I stole a glance past the dam.

Mom shook her head.
No, but we don’t have much time. They’re planning to move us farther up the lake.

Are you okay?

Mom’s cheekbones jutted out over her sunken cheeks. Her eyes sagged in the corners. But she was still beautiful. Always beautiful.

I’ll be okay.
She smiled weakly.
But you?

Mom, how can this be real? How can I be breathing underwater like this, talking to you?
Speaking in rings and tones felt like Spanish class. How could Mom even understand what I was saying?

Jade…I never meant for them to do this to you…

She reached out and took my hand but each word was heavy with effort.

Who are those jerks?
I whispered.
That ugly guy and the mermaid…did they do this to you?

That’s Finalin and his wife, Medora. The others just do as they’re told.
Mom stroked my face.
Oh, Jade. There’s so much I need to tell you before they come back.

I tugged her arm.
Well, they’re not here right now. Let’s just crawl out of the water, sprout legs, and make a break for it. I’ll call Dad. We’ll take you home.

Mom pulled me back.
No, Jade. I can’t do that.

Her words stabbed through my heart.

Yes, you can.
My tears were immediate. Though, crying underwater probably lost a bit of its effect.
It hurts like crazy, but that’s what happened to me the other night when I was a mermaid for the first time.

Mom brought a hand to her mouth.
You’ve changed before? That must be why you finally heard me today. I’ve been calling your name for months, each time I saw you cross the bridge.

I remembered the ringing in my ears and hearing my name earlier that day.

That was you!

Yes!
Mom replied.
What happened when you changed?

I thought of all the things that had led to the transformation. I told her about the Epsom salt and getting my first period and how I’d fallen asleep in the bath tub and slipped underwater.

Oh, Jade.
Mom stroked my arm.
I wish I could have been there to help. How did Dad take it?

Actually, he was really cool about it,
I said quietly.

And you were able to change back?
Mom’s face seemed to reflect five different feelings at once: happiness, sadness, regret, fear, and maybe a teensy bit of hope. I couldn’t let that hope fade away.

At first we thought it was the salt, but I think it has something to do with breathing air or water. What I can’t figure out is; why now? It’s not like it’s the first time I ever swallowed water. What about the time I almost drowned at that hotel in Ottawa?

I remembered how the chlorine had stung my throat as I tried to find the surface, so far above me. I finally struggled to the side of the pool, gagging and gasping for air. Mom dragged me out. I’d hurled.

Oh, Jade.
Mom continued stroking my arm.
Your first period must have triggered it and the salt may have given everything a boost, but you’re right: breathing air or water forces the change back and forth. That’s what happened when I first became human. I changed back when Finalin and Medora pulled me underwater last summer.

I could hear their high-pitched rings on the other side of the dam.

They did this to you?
My fear turned into a seething, ugly hatred.
But Dad told me it was the Mermish Council that let you become human in the first place. Why did they change their minds?

Mom looked past the dam and shook her head.
Finalin and Medora aren’t part of the Mermish Council. The Council lives out in the ocean with the rest of the mer-world. Those
mers out there are inmates. The Council uses Talisman Lake as a prison.

I remembered the screeching sound of the large metal gates of the boat lock. My whole body shivered with the truth.
You mean, they’re criminals?

Mom nodded.
They call themselves Freshies. And believe me, there’s no way I would have set foot in this lake if I had known the Council was locking up criminals behind the boat lock. Especially with
my
toes.

That’s when it clicked. I gasped.
Our webbed toes? That’s how they knew?

Mom nodded.
Every mer hears the story of the Webbed Ones growing up, but none of us ever believed that becoming human was possible. I didn’t, until it happened to me. And now, Finalin and Medora are determined to get the secret out of me.

So they can break out of here?
I could only imagine the havoc
that
would cause in Port Toulouse.

I can’t blame them. Fresh water is no place for a mer,
Mom said.
That’s why most of the Freshies hang out by the lock where the salty ocean water spills in. Finalin and Medora have been here the longest so they’ve had a few more years to get used to it. It’s much harder for us though, especially if they move us farther up the lake where the water is fresher.

I couldn’t stand to see the strain of the past year in the thinness of Mom’s arms and the dark circles under her eyes. I had to get her out of there. I swam to the creek bank.

So let’s escape while we can!

Jade, wait!
Mom rang out and grabbed my hand. She brushed my hair back.
It’s different for me. I didn’t start off being human, like you. I can be out of the water for a little bit at a time, but I can’t just crawl out. If it were that easy, all those guys out there would be walking around town by now.

But how
did
you finally become human?
I asked.

There’s a tidal pool on the ocean side.
Mom motioned through the water to the bridge.
The tides in the pool kept me in and out of the water, breathing air and water for the right combination of time to make the change safely. Otherwise, I’d suffocate. The tidal pool is the only way.

I tried to line everything up in my head, but it didn’t come close to seeming real.
And earlier…when the lock was open…you were trying to escape to the ocean to find it…

Yes. I’ve been waiting all winter for the lock to reopen.

And then I came and ruined things…
The possibility of Mom ever becoming human again seemed to get farther and farther away from me.

Someone began to pull back the branches from the dam.

It was a long shot anyway.
Mom spoke quickly, keeping an eye on the mouth of the creek.
No one has ever gotten past the armed sentries at the end of the canal. But I thought if I could just talk to them…tell them how I got in here…

Finalin’s voice rang out.

What’s he saying?
I whispered.

Seems your arrival has kicked things into high gear. He’s more determined than ever to find out my secret. That’s why
they’re piling rocks to block the boat lock, so we won’t try to escape.
She sagged in the water, exhausted.

I’d made things worse. I should have stayed out of the water like Mom asked. But then, how would I have finally seen her and made sure she was safe?

More rocks and branches disappeared from the top of the dam. We shrank back.

Just tell me where the pool is! Dad and I will find it and come back to get you.

Mom pulled me close and shook her head.
The Council blindfolded me; I have no idea where it is.

Try, Mom! You must have walked away from the pool afterward. Was it near anything?

Mom closed her eyes
. I’m sorry, Jade. I wasn’t in the best shape when it was all over.

It was no use. She didn’t remember.
So I’ll just stay here with you.
I clung to her as more of the dam got pulled away.
We’ll figure out how to escape together.

Jade, listen to me. It won’t do us any good if we’re both captured. You need to get out of here!
Mom pushed me toward the creek’s bank with more force than I thought she could muster.

I can’t just leave you!

Finalin and Medora’s heads appeared over the shrinking pile of rocks and branches.

You have to!
She shoved me up the bank.
Go, Jade. Tell Dad I’m okay and that I love him. I love you too!

My face broke the surface of the water.

“No!” I wailed. But the sound came out with a mouthful of water. My lungs sucked back a breath. I panted, shocked by the air burning its way through my lungs, sick at the thought of leaving Mom behind.

Go!
Mom’s voice rang through the water. She was right. I was more help to her on land than in there. I’d get Dad. Together we’d figure out how to rescue her!

Sharp stones pierced the skin of my elbows as I heaved myself up the creek’s bank. My fingernails dug into the earth as I grabbed at the roots to pull myself up. Something connected with the tail I dragged behind me. I whipped it up, out of the water and rolled onto dry land. A hand lunged for me again and again, but by then I’d managed to work my way up the bank, out of reach, beside a patch of bushes. I looked back to the water. Whatever had been chasing me flipped back and disappeared with a splash.

But Mom. Where was she? Was she okay?

I collapsed against a mound of dirt as the scales on the tail glistened and began to glow. The pain grabbed hold and clenched my body with a powerful force. The agony didn’t creep up on me with a warning like it had the time before. This time, it came all at once, in one huge, body-wracking, breath-robbing, skin-searing wallop.

“Mom…” I gasped. My whole body shook with sobs.

I tried to look back to the creek, wishing I could just roll back into the water to be with her no matter what, but I couldn’t tell up from down or left from right as my head spun with swirling images.

The water, the ugly hands, the screeching metal lock, the swaying reeds, the rocks, the branches.

The pain…the horrible, terrifying, mind numbing pain…

That must have been when I passed out.