Silver Tides (Silver Tides Series) (32 page)

“On the same level,” I deliberated as I shifted out of Charlie’s arms and leaned back against the cold dirt wall behind me.

“You know,” he whispered carefully. “Alamer was beautiful and advanced and a great place for selkies and merfolk, but that’s not all there was. I was talking to another selkie and she told me that most selkies prefer to live above sea.

There’s a selkie city, Escamonte; it’s a floating invisible city under the sun, where merfolk who fall in love with humans bring their beloved. It’s where most of the finfolk work in the mornings, ensuring that the city remains invisible, monitoring boats and aircrafts to ensure that the city remains secret. The finfolk are never grey in Alamer or Escamonte because they stay in the sunlight. It’s incredible, a place where it doesn’t matter what you are, you’re accepted.”

“But there’s no Escamonte in Australia.” I sighed bleakly. “Just Atlantis.”

“There is,” Charlie disagreed. “The finfolk sunk it, but we can raise it to the surface; you and Daniel can be together there. Our people can live there, everything can be the way it was supposed to be.”

“Why do you care so much that Daniel and I are together?” I asked suspiciously.

“I want you to be happy,” he said looking away, unnerved by my question. “What you and Daniel have, it could change everything for our people. It means renewed relations between the selkies and merfolk. It could mean the raising of our city and a whole new life for all the selkies on Seal Rock.” The passion in his eyes filled me with renewed hope. Maybe I’d failed to retrieve Kerensa’s pelt, but finding the Heart of the Sea was foretold by the mermaids and in a vision. It may have been crazy but it was the only hope I had, and I was going to hold onto it.

“Seal Rock’s not that bad,” I said thoughtlessly.

Charlie shot me a look of disagreement.

“OK, it’s pretty awful.” I laughed quietly, remembering the repulsive smell that permeated the perimeter of the seal colony.

“It’s covered in crap. It stinks. It’s cold. Even the caves below are terrible.” Charlie shook his head. “In a few years there won’t be any selkies left; they keep moving to land.”

“Why do the selkies crap all over their home?” I asked, scrunching my nose up.

“All selkies are seals but not all seals are selkies,” Charlie replied with a comical expression.

“So not all seals are selkies?” I repeated, trying to wrap my head around his statement.

“Are all bats vampires?” Charlie replied, deadpan.

“Are any bats vampires?” I asked seriously, my mind spinning at the realization that there was a whole lot that I didn’t know about.

“Are any selkies seals?” Charlie teased.

“Charlie, please?” I asked, punching him softly.

“Anything is possible,” Charlie replied quietly. “The point is that most the seals on Seal Rock are just seals.”

“So you’re going to be king of a few selkies, a lot of seals, and a stinking rock,” I teased, feeling sorry for Charlie.

“I guess if you choose to live in Atlantis or run away with Daniel to live happily ever after.” Charlie nodded. “But you’re technically next in line.”

“So, are we related?” I asked, blushing at having to ask such a stupid question.

“Geez, no!” Charlie said fervently.

“Hey, I’m not that bad,” I retorted, stung and amused by his denouncement of me.

“That’s not what I meant,” Charlie said. “Selkie law dictates that those of us without pelts are automatically in line for royalty. So you’re first in line due to being princess, then me, then Kia, my sister, and Selena. You’ll meet them eventually.”

“So I guess it all depends on me changing.” I sighed, dejected.

“No,” Charlie replied, looking at me intensely. “If we raise the selkie city, you don’t have to change. Imagine it Mya, our own city, a place where humans and selkies and finfolk can all live together and be happy. Even if we don’t raise the city, you are perfect, just the way you are.”

I exhaled what felt like a week’s worth of breath, as tears welled in my eyes. “Thanks,” I said over the lump of emotion in my throat.

“It’s true,” Charlie replied sincerely.

“You guys OK in there?” Daniel asked, looking into the hole, his brow creased in consternation.

“Yes,” I said wiping my eyes, and carefully walking toward the part of the hole I could climb out of.

“Any luck?” Daniel asked, shooting Charlie a suspicious look.

“Afraid not,” Charlie replied, before he tripped over.

“You ok?” Daniel laughed, as though Charlie had found justice.

“Be nice,” I chided Daniel as I turned to help Charlie up. Suddenly, I saw something gleaming in the torchlight. I pushed Charlie out of the way into the dirt wall and began to pull at the object.

“Thanks,” Charlie said sarcastically, dusting off his clothes, as Daniel chuckled above us.

“It’s here,” I said pulling out an old biscuit tin.

Charlie smiled broadly.

“We found it!” I exclaimed grabbing Charlie in a bear hug.

“We don’t know what it is yet,” Daniel said, a hard edge of warning in his voice.

I handed him the tin and climbed out quickly, “Let’s throw the dirt back in the hole and get out of here.”

dueling

Daniel insisted I stand watch, as he and Charlie set about refilling the grave. I hugged the dirty old box to my chest, as I watched the boys laboring, methodically filling their shovels with mounds of damp earth and tossing it back into the hole. The scene made me shudder; especially since I’d been in the grave only moments ago.

An unspoken contest began between the boys, each trying to fill their shovel more than the other. It seemed like a friendly match, though an underlying tension was brewing.

Charlie turned to the mound of dirt, taking a huge amount on his long handled shovel. Daniel turned into Charlie’s path at the same time, as Charlie approached the hole; they collided with a thump that resonated into the ground, and caused dirt and worms to erupt over the two of them.

“What the heck?” Daniel hissed in open anger.

“Sorry man, it was an accident,” Charlie replied, ruffling the dirt out of his hair.

“Like falling into the hole with Mya was an accident?” Daniel accused.

It took me a moment to realize the collision was escalating into something more than a simple accident.

“We were just trying to hide,” I loud whispered in their direction, but Charlie and Daniel continued to stare at each other in open hostility. The tension that had marred their relationship was igniting into open conflict at the worst possible time.

“What are you implying about our princess?” Charlie spat, the issue becoming a matter of honor.

“I don’t have a problem with Mya, I have a problem with you and your puppy dog eyes, and the way that you’re laying tracks with my girl,” Daniel replied, puffing out his chest and stepping closer to Charlie.

An owl hooted in the distance, and the cold was biting my skin. We didn’t have time for them to be having an argument, least of all about me.

“Seriously guys, this is not the time or place. Fill in the hole and you can talk about your differences, in front of the fire with hot chocolate and marshmallows,” I reasoned amicably.

Charlie looked at me like I’d lost my mind, clearly I was inexperienced when it came to male conflict resolution.

“Don’t look at her like that,” Daniel yelled, getting up in Charlie’s face.

“It’s fine,” I placated, hurrying toward them.

“You’re the one who just questioned her honor,” Charlie shot back, “and mine. I’m not a train driver.”

“I’m pretty sure train drivers don’t lay tracks,” I giggled nervously, as I stepped into the edge of the dirt hill, trying to talk them down. To get closer to them I would have to scale the mound of dirt, I was hoping it wouldn’t have to come to me standing between them. “This is a really bad time to be doing this. Come on...”

“Don’t do it again,” Daniel threatened, pushing his finger into Charlie’s chest, ignoring me.

“Whatever dude,” Charlie said with disdain, turning back to the mound of dirt.

Charlie’s shovel dragged on the ground, banging against Daniel’s foot.

A look of pain shot through Daniel’s eyes, in a nano second he raised his shovel overhead.

“No!” I screamed.

Charlie turned with lightning speed, raising his shovel in self-defense, stopping Daniel’s strike inches from his face, and showering them both in loose dirt.

Charlie flicked Daniel’s shovel back, so that it almost struck him in the face; instead  Daniel gripped his shovel like a sword, swinging at Charlie again.

Charlie parried, fighting back Daniel’s assault. The clank of shovelheads broke the silence of the inky night. It was like a rustic swordfight; that seemed to go on forever. Thrust, parry, clunk, thwack, lunge, thrust, parry, clunk, clunk, clunk.

“Stop it! Stop it!” I hissed, yell whispering, over the clacking of the wood connecting and clanging of metal.

Charlie yelped as Daniel connected with his torso, and Charlie slapped Daniel’s arm in response with his shovel. They returned to thrusting and parrying, ready to beat each other into submission.

I could feel the pressure of my rage and fear coursing through me, angry that they would fight at such an inopportune time and fearful that they would hurt each other.

“STOP!” I screamed, causing them to pause and look at me. “If you don’t stop right now, I’m going to punch you both in the nuts. Not now, because you’re expecting it, but when you’re sleeping or relaxed, when you expect it the least. I’m going to punch you in the nuts so hard that you’re going to have three Adams apples.”

Daniel and Charlie looked at me like I’d grown an extra head.

Charlie’s bewildered expression turned to amusement, and he began to laugh, lowering his shovel to the ground.

“I’m sorry man.” Charlie laughed, holding up his hands in surrender. “I don’t want to have three Adams apples.”

Daniel began to chuckle. “Me neither, sorry.”

They placed their shovels in their left hands and shook hands awkwardly. I was breathing hard, my heart beating a million miles an hour from the anxiety of watching them fight. I felt sick from the stress of the battle.

Daniel walked over, placing his arm around me in comfort. “Are you OK?” he asked, noticing that I’d started shaking with anger.

“No, I’m not alright,” I snapped, slapping his arm off. “It’s dark, we’ve desecrated a grave and you nearly had your head bashed in. That last thing wasn’t necessary. You both need to learn to get along, you’re princes, you should know better.”

Charlie walked over gingerly. “Sorry, we’ll try harder.”

Daniel nodded, rubbing my back. “Sorry.”

A look passed between them, they nodded at each other incrementally.

I wiped my nose across my arm, due to the cold as much as emotion. “Fill in the hole and let’s get back to the car,” I ordered.

The guys nodded, returning to the hole obediently. It took Daniel and Charlie a fraction of the time to fill in the hole, that had taken over an hour to dig.

It wasn't until the safety of the car that my fear abated, the relief of driving back to our apartment left me drained. I clutched the tin like a Luis Vuitton bag.

"Are you going to open that?" Daniel asked, curiously.

"When we get back to the apartment," I answered protectively.

the biscuit tin

The apartment was empty when we arrived; Charlie stoked the fire savagely to get more heat into the room. Daniel and Charlie performed the dance of awkwardness, where they tried to stay out of each other’s way, while being under each other’s feet.

I settled on the rug in front of the fire, with Daniel on one side and Charlie on the other. They both moved gingerly, after having bruised each other. I would have felt sorry for them, if I hadn’t been angry at their immaturity. The three of us huddled around the fire as I removed the lid from the antique biscuit tin. It made a hissing sound as the lid released the box after seven decades.

“I hope it’s still intact,” I voiced my concern.

Inside, a dark fur caught the light, making it glow intermittently. I heard the front door open, but my mind was focused on the pelt.

“What is it?” Daniel asked, still unaware that I’d lied.

“It’s me pelt,” Kerensa screeched, flying across the room to retrieve it. “Ye found it. Me crackers, where was it?”

I rose from the floor guilty, Daniel and Charlie carefully stood beside me. Trying to act like they weren’t hurt, so they wouldn’t have to explain to everyone that they had fought.

“In Ennor’s grave,” I admitted sheepishly, as Kerensa hugged the pelt close to her body.

“That old cow made me as miserable in her death as she did in her life,” Kerensa spat.

“You dug up a grave?” Mum asked, horrified.

“We refilled the hole,” Charlie appeased.

Mum wasn’t happy, but Kerensa’s enthusiasm quelled the lecture.

“Who cares?” Kerensa smiled. “They found me pelt; I can go home.” She threw the fur over her shoulders and it constricted around her, till she was a dark seal with long silver whiskers.

Dr. Conneely drew closer, peering into the box. “That’s Mama’s diary,” he said, picking up an old book from the tin.

Kerensa’s interruption had stopped us from noticing the journal in the bottom of the box.

Kerensa pulled off her pelt to handle the leatherbound volume. “I remember this.” She breathed in the musty smell of the book. I expected her to cough, but she relished the dusty fragrance.

“Look,” Dr. Conneely read. “The Heart of the Sea is easy to find; it’s where art and nature are combined. You will not find it with your eyes; it will be found with the heart’s desire.”

“Mama was big on riddles,” Kerensa said fondly.

“So, the Heart of the Sea is in the Minack,” Dr. Conneely concluded, “where nature and art combine.”

“But where in the Minack?” Mum asked. “We’ve searched it twice.”

“We’ll have to look again tomorrow,” I concluded. A warm feeling of accomplishment filled my chest. I’d found the pelt and a clue to finding the Heart of the Sea. I was feeling confident that Dr. Conneely’s vision was accurate.

Kerensa threw her arms around me in a warm embrace. “I know you’ll find it,” she gushed. “You said you’d find me pelt, and ye did.”

Kerensa turned quickly, still clutching her pelt. She picked up a rumpled paper bag from the floor that she had dropped in her hast to retrieve her pelt. With deliberate steps and a broad smile, she pushed the bag into my hands. “I brought something for ye; after our talk today, you said you had no pelt. Me papa would want ye to have his.”

I opened the bulky bag and pulled out a huge black seal fur. It was big enough to fit three people, and cascaded onto the floor like a cape.

“I thought you buried that with him,” Dr. Conneely said, shocked.

“He told me that one day, I’d find someone who needs it,” Kerensa shrugged. “The girl’s got nothin’—she may as well ‘ave this.”

“Pelts don’t transfer, though,” Charlie stated. “It only works for the person who was born with it.”

“I knows that,” Kerensa snapped. “Would I still be here if me papa’s pelt would have got me home? It’s a symbol to remind ye that when the time is right, you’ll become a seal, but in the meantime enjoy being a furless selkie.”

“Thank you,” I said, hugging her. The smile on my lips reflected the joy I felt that Kerensa could return to her husband and Escamonte. I was touched by the gesture of being given such a precious gift. While everyone beamed about how lovely my transformation would be, I was disheartened by the prospect.

“Try it on,” Mum said quietly, her eyes told me that it was to show respect.

I wanted to object because it felt silly, but everyone was looking at me eagerly. I placed the fur over my head the way I’d seen Mum put her pelt on. It had been on my head only moments when I felt a burning sensation all over my body. My skin felt like it was on fire. I screamed as I felt myself shrinking to the floor. Mum rushed forward to help me, but it was futile—the fur was killing me
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