The Mermaid's Curse (California Mermaids Book 1) (5 page)

Chapter Fifteen: Oceania

The waves are strong, but they’re nothing I haven’t dealt with before. In fact, they were much higher and more violent when I’d surfaced at midnight. However, Xavier’s dark eyes are full of panic, which is much more dangerous to both of us than the waves. The ocean can be like a man-eating shark, picking up on vulnerability and destroying the weak or hysterical in a matter of seconds.

“Relax,” I say softly, using both arms to grip his torso. When I feel his body melt against mine, I am free to focus on identifying the best route back to land.

I’m actually glad for this temporary distraction from my parents’ mysterious and disturbing news. I wish I hadn’t cried in front of Xavier, especially on my birthday, but I couldn’t help it. Too much has happened in the past few hours, and I’m overwhelmed.

Surveying the shore, I spot a small section of smooth sand among the rocks, and decide that this will be the ideal place to land. I paddle furiously against the waves, using my tail to drive us parallel to shore, and away from the jagged rocks. Clasping Xavier tightly, I catch a particularly high wave; its powerful buoyancy carries us forward, and within seconds, it washes us onto the sand, crashing over our heads and foaming away.

Xavier sputters, coughing up some seawater, but as he pulls himself upright, sitting cross-legged on the sand, he seems almost back to normal—except for his drenched hair and clothes, of course. His lashes look even longer when they’re soaking wet.

I smooth back his dark hair, which has flopped into his face. “So,” I say, trailing off.

Xavier grins. “So… That was pretty exciting, don’t you think?”

“Which part? The part when you showed me land, or the part when I showed you the ocean?”

“Both. But I was thinking of the part when you somehow got us to shore safely, even though the tide was pushing us right toward those sharp rocks.”

I shrug. ‘’That was easy.” I pause, playing with a section of my hair. “I was actually glad for something easy, because it seems like everything is going to be hard from now on.”

I shiver as the breeze chills me to my bones, and Xavier puts his arms around me. It shouldn’t help much, since he’s as soaked as I am, but somehow I feel warm all over.

For a quiet moment, we simply gaze out over the water. It’s still strange for me to see it from this vantage point—from above, instead of below. Admiring the beauty, I can understand why humans seem to be so drawn to it, even though it’s not their element.

Finally, Xavier says, “Things are not going to be as hard as you think. The unknown is always scary, but it’s part of life. Once your parents tell you the family secret, you’ll wonder why you were so afraid of hearing it.”

“I hope you’re right.”

We gaze at each other for a long moment. I know that I need to return home, and he has to do the same thing, but neither of us makes a move to leave this spot.

But Xavier looks down the coastline at the fishing boats lined up for sailing, and says, “I hate to end this right now, but I really need to go.”

I glance into the white-crested waves of the ocean and say, “So do I.”

Xavier cradles my chin in his strong hands. “When can I see you again?”

I really can’t give him a definite answer; my parents seemed so angry that I had brought a human home, and I wonder whether they’ll forbid me to venture to the surface again. But I know that, no matter what they say, I will defy them. I have to see Xavier again.

So, I answer, “I will come tomorrow night at the same time. Can you meet me at the rocks then?”

Xavier nods. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Until tomorrow,” I say, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Caressing my face, he says, “Okay, we have to part now. One, two, three.”

On three, Xavier turns and walks down the sandy shore toward the boats, with one last backward glance at me. And I launch myself into the surf.

  Under the gray, cloudy sky, the water is as dark as the emotions and questions swirling through my head. Plunging further and further into the depths, I steel myself for the uncertain news that my trip home will uncover.

Chapter Sixteen: Xavier

As I trudge toward the docks, my heart feels as heavy as my soaking-wet clothes. I should be happy that I spent even a few hours in the presence of this incredible girl, but now that she’s gone, there’s an emptiness inside that makes me wonder how I ever lived without her.

Thoughts of Oceania circle through my head like tiny fish darting back and forth. I touch my lips, remembering how magical her mouth had felt on mine—literally.

Without Oceania here beside me, it almost seems as though the entire interlude was a dream, but the memory of her lips on mine was no flight of fancy. No dream could be so vivid.

As I approach my father’s new boat,
The Arabella,
named for my mother, a ray of sunshine peeks through the clouds. When I catch a glimpse of my bedraggled-looking shadow, I come crashing back to reality. I must look ridiculous, and I smell about as fresh as a sea monster. Father is going to be livid.

I have absolutely no idea what time it is, and whether or not I should stop at home to change. So, I ask a Chinese fisherman for the time.

“Half past seven,” he says in heavily-accented English.

Okay, there’s no way I can change. I give the fisherman a quick smile and wave, and run toward
The Arabella.

Father stands next to the boat with two of his colleagues, Henry Simonsen and Edward Roth. He once told me that both men had been college athletes, playing alongside him on the tennis team, but their wealth and over-indulgence in food and wine has made them rotund and florid over the years. The three older men regard me with raised eyebrows, and for a second, I feel like a little boy, squirming and vulnerable under their gaze.

Father excuses himself from Mr. Roth and Mr. Simonsen, and lumbers to my side like an angry grizzly bear.

“Where have you been?” he says in a harsh whisper, baring his tobacco and wine-stained teeth beneath his ornate mustache. “We were supposed to leave port at seven sharp. And why are you soaking wet and smelling of fish?”

“I’m sorry, Father.” I bow my head, not only to appear contrite, but because I don’t want to give him a view of my lying eyes. “I left very early this morning to sit on the rocks, and I had to rescue a fisherman who had fallen into the water. He was struggling against the waves. By the time I’d made sure he was okay, I realized that there was simply no time to change.”

Holding my breath, I look up to gauge my father’s reaction, praying that he will believe me.

My father narrows his eyes. “Well, I’m glad you did a good deed,” he says. “But I can’t take you out on
The Arabella
like that. You need to go home and change.”

Father calls out to his friends, “Gentlemen, we’re going to delay our departure a bit. Obviously, Xavier needs time to change, so let’s adjourn to the house for a while longer. We can always drink more coffee and eat something else.”

At the mention of food and drink, Mr. Roth and Mr. Simonsen seem to perk up. During the short walk home, my father regales his colleagues with the story of how I’d rescued a fisherman from his untimely demise on the rocks, embellishing here and there.

I breathe a sigh of relief when we reach the house, and I hurry upstairs to change. I’m just about to toss the drenched clothes in the hamper with my dirty laundry when I pause, sniffing the jacket, shirt, and pants. Suddenly, I realize that they don’t smell like malodorous fish—they smell like saltwater, and seaweed…and Oceania.

So, I keep the clothes on the side, hanging them to dry in the bathroom. Even though I hope that Oceania will keep her promise and return tonight, I feel as though I need something to remember her by in the meantime.

Chapter Seventeen: Oceania

Undulating my tail rapidly, I swim past schools of colorful fish and elaborate coral reefs until I finally reach the village of Mar. I hesitate for a moment before I enter my family’s house.

Swallowing hard against the lump that has grown in my throat, I paddle inside.

My parents sit around the stone table, deep in conversation; as I appear in the room, they stop talking abruptly, both of their heads swiveling toward me. I slide into my seat, and for a moment, all is silent.

Finally, I say, “What were you talking about earlier? What is this family secret that you’re guarding so carefully?”

Mother clears her throat. “Oceania, do you remember your Grandmer Genevieve?”

“Of course. She was not like all the other mermaids.”

This is true; Grandmer Genevieve had been different. First of all, she was the only mermaid I’d ever seen who had aged. While my father’s mother, Grandmer Lorelei, remains young and beautiful to this day, Grandmer Genevieve had shriveled up like an old piece of seaweed. Mother said that Genevieve once had shimmering white-blond hair, but by the time I was born, it was just plain white. Her skin was speckled with little brown spots, and her swimming had slowed. And then, one day she’d fallen asleep and never woken up.

The other thing that had been different was that Grandmer Genevieve didn’t have a husband. When I’d asked why I didn’t have a grandmerman on my mother’s side, my parents had refused to answer, remaining as closed-mouthed as oysters. So after a while, I’d just stopped asking questions.

Now, Mother says, “You’re right, my dear. And it’s about time that I tell you why.” She takes a deep breath and continues, “When she was only sixteen, your grandmer swam to the surface, and fell madly in love with a handsome fisherman, Lucas. Unfortunately, she was already betrothed to King Triteus’s son Kai, and Lucas was to marry a sailor’s daughter, so the two could never meet in the light of day. But she and Lucas saw each other every night under the moon, and one such night, they expressed their undying love to each other, in a mist of sea spray.”

Mother’s eyes shine a radiant blue, glazed-over and dreamy, and Father watches her, spellbound. Storytelling is her special gift, and although I’ve heard a lifetime of fantastic tales from her, she’s never told me one as interesting as this. My pulse races as I realize that, finally, I’m about to learn the secret of Grandmer Genevieve, the one that I’ve waited my entire life to uncover.

“Shortly thereafter, your grandmer discovered that she was to bear a mer-baby, and she surfaced to tell Lucas the joyous news. The two spent all night making plans for their future, and for the little mer-baby who would soon be born. They were so excited for their secret engagement and elopement that they didn’t even notice the sun coming up.”

Mother pauses for drama, looking straight into my eyes. “As the sun rose, Lucas’s father came down to the rocks to begin his day of fishing, and discovered the young lovers kissing. He yanked them apart, and shoved your pregnant grandmer into the ocean. From that time on, Lucas was absent from the late-night meetings, but when Genevieve peeked above the surface in the early morning, she could see him with his father, going through the motions of fishing with no real enthusiasm. One day, she even noticed a wedding ring on his finger, and her heart broke, since she knew that he’d been forced to go through with the marriage to the sailor’s daughter.”

“What happened then?” I ask, unable to take the suspense any longer. Grandmer Genevieve’s love affair with Lucas sounds eerily similar to my budding romance with Xavier, and I don’t want to end up like her.

“By this time, Genevieve’s pregnancy was becoming evident, and her parents demanded to know who the father was. Of course, Kai denied involvement, and Genevieve told her parents the entire story. When King Triteus found out about Genevieve’s unfaithfulness, he was furious. He wanted to have her sent away permanently, but her parents begged him for mercy. King Triteus finally took pity on Grandmer Genevieve and sent her to the sea witch Morwenna for punishment instead. Morwenna gave Genevieve a choice: she could either give up her right to travel to the surface world forever, or she could relinquish the mermaid’s greatest gift, immortality.”

For a moment, the words just seem to hang there, suspended ominously in the water. My mouth drops open, for I know which choice Grandmer Genevieve must have made, and I’m terrified that, if I want to build a future with Xavier, I might be faced with a similar one.

Chapter Eighteen: Xavier

When I pass Amelie’s bedroom, I’m surprised to notice that her door is ajar, and she’s already up and dressed. It’s not even eight, and she’s usually a late sleeper. She has what she calls an “early” piano lesson this morning, which, in reality, begins at nine o’clock. She’s usually grumpy and groggy on piano lesson days, but this morning, she seems wide-awake, her brown eyes shining with secrets.

“So how’s Oceania?” she asks. “You know, when I woke up, I actually had to shake myself. I wondered whether last night had really happened, or if it had just been a dream brought on by that book I was reading.”

“It happened, all right. And things got even more interesting once you went to bed. I took Oceania down to the cellar, and we played music together. She’s a very accomplished harpist and singer.”

“Of course she is. Mermaids are known for their singing. Just watch out that she doesn’t lure you to your death. That’s what the mermaids used to do to the sailors, you know.”

“Thanks for the advice.” I tap my foot on the floor. “But I already knew that. And Oceania isn’t that way. If she were going to kill me, she would’ve done it already. This morning, she took me underwater with her, and I met her parents.”

Amelie gasps. “I don’t believe it, Xav. The book said that mermaids live at the bottom of the sea, and you can barely hold your breath for thirty seconds. How did you ever swim all the way down there, and spend time with her family, too?” Then, a second later, her eyes widen. “Wait a second. Did you kiss her? Because from what I’ve read, that’s the only way you’d be able to stay underwater for that long.”

“Yes, I did. You’re pretty smart. Maybe I should read this book of yours.”

Amelie’s cheeks dimple. “Thanks. You probably should read the book, just to learn more about Oceania. Mermaids are not like us, you know.”

“I take back what I said about you being smart. Doesn’t everyone know they’re not like us?” I playfully slap her on the arm. “But I really like Oceania, and I’m seeing her again tonight.”

“Okay,” Amelie says slowly, letting my jab pass without a retort. Unusual. “Just be careful.”

“All right.” I chuckle at my little sister’s grave expression. “Honestly, isn’t playing the protective sibling my role?”

We share a laugh as we descend the curving staircase, but just before we enter the dining room, she turns to me with a somber face. “I was serious when I warned you about the mermaids earlier, Xav. From everything I’ve read, I’ve learned that mermaids can be dangerous creatures, and even though you’re pretty weird, I’d really miss you if something happened to you.”