Beyond the Sea (24 page)

“Just about,” Jamie told her, looking at the little bubbles forming in the pot. “Should we add the ingredients yet?”

“Just the ocean water. But not until the water boils first. The translation isn’t clear, but it says something about needing the water to absorb the power of the element fire.” Melia looked back down at the book and finished her list. She got up and gave it to Jamie.

Jamie looked at the ingredient list. “Your handwriting is too perfect,” Jamie observed. It was a totally irrelevant observation, but she felt compelled to talk about something other than the potion she was making that would ultimately cause an unknown amount of pain to her best friend. Written in Melia’s perfect letters, almost looking like calligraphy, was the translated list. Jamie read it quickly. “You put ocean water on here twice,” she told Melia, pointing to ‘ocean water’, written at the top, and ‘essence of the sea’ written at the bottom.

Melia blinked. “No, it’s not the same.”

“Then what is ‘essence of the sea’?”

“It’s-it’s part of a sea creature.”

“Like a fish?” Jamie asked, knowing that wasn’t the answer.

“Not like a fish.”

“So, we need part of the gwyrrd.”

“Ideally.” Melia ran her hands through her hair. “But we don’t have part of the gwyrrd.”

“So we can’t do this then.”

“No, we can.”

“With—no, I’m not doing it,” Jamie said when Melia got a knife from the knife block and extended it to Jamie.

“You just need one scale. I can’t do it to myself.”

“Melia, no. I’m not cutting a scale off of your tail. No.”

“Jamie, you have to. We need this to work.”

“NO!” Jamie protested. “I’ll buy a gun, sleep with one eye open and shoot her when she comes for me!”

“Bullets won’t kill a gwyrrd. Only silver through the heart.”

“What if I buy silver bullets?”

Melia pressed her lips together. “We’re doing the spell. Come on,” she rummaged through the spice rack. “Let’s get started. You’re gonna have to help me substitute some of the ingredients. I don’t have any elderflower in the house.”

After all the ingredients went into the pot, Melia pressed the knife in Jamie’s hand. “Grab a scale and pull it up, then slice, ok? Do it fast.” Melia removed her underwear and lay down on the kitchen floor. She closed her eyes and transformed.

Jamie had never really taken a good look at Melia in merrow form. Her tail was always under water. Like the mermaids in movies, Melia’s tail started under her belly button. It was the length of her legs and split into two fins at the end. Unlike the mermaids in movies, Melia had a very practical back fin, running from the back of her knees down to the end of her tail. It was thin and flowy and reminded Jamie of a beta fish. Jamie’s heart hammered in her ears.

“I can’t, Melia, please don’t make me.” She looked at the purple and gold scales. Which one would she pick? Would Melia bleed? Would it hurt? No doubt it would; Jamie imagined slicing off a chunk of her own skin.

“Jamie, it’s just a little cut. And you
have to
. What other merrows do you know?”

Jamie knelt down on the cold tile. The knife poised above Melia, who looked utterly helpless and immobile on the floor. And then Jamie laughed. What if someone walked in on them? How would they explain this? She regained her composure and looked for the ugliest scale.

Of course, none of them were ugly. Iridescent purple of all shades with shimmery gold thrown in the mix, Melia looked like the Rainbow Fish. Jamie decided upon a dark purple scale, lower on Melia’s tail. She swallowed. She hesitated. She forced herself to grip it.

Like Melia instructed, she lifted it up, loosening it from the others with a sickening, tearing sound. Melia flinched. Harsh light reflected off the knife. The potion bubbled. Jamie’s hand shook. She positioned the knife under the scale. She closed her eyes and cut.

Then it was over.

She opened her eyes to see the scale hovering over Melia. Blood dripped from the wound. Melia pressed her lips together in a forced smile. Jamie hopped up, placed the scale in a bowl and grabbed a clean towel. She gently put the towel over the wound.

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” Melia said as she placed her hand on the towel.

“I’m never doing that again. I feel horrible. I just cut you.” She turned the burner down. “Should I add it now?”

“Uh, yea.”

Jamie looked at Melia, confused by her hesitation.

“It hurts to change with an injury,” Melia explained.

Jamie instantly felt even guiltier. She hadn’t even thought about that. She never thought about what it felt like to shift shapes. Melia’s bones and skin had to go through a huge change. Did it hurt every time? And just how would a cut like that transform?

Melia balled her fists and changed. She let out one cry of pain. The cut, which was only an inch long in merrow form, was twice as big in human form. Jamie almost dropped the bowl.

“Shoot! Melia, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s ok,” Melia said, wincing as she pressed the towel on the cut, which bled faster now that she had legs.
 
Slowly, she staggered to the counter. “Add it,” she told Jamie.

“Are you sure, I mean, we can wait until you’re, uh, done bleeding.”

“It has to boil for a while, so I’ll be fine.” She smiled a fake smile. Jamie dropped the scale into the potion. Jamie had Melia sit down so she could assess the damage. The scale removal took place on what was now Melia’s left leg, a few inches below her knee on the outside of her leg. Carefully, Jamie pressed gauze to the cut and placed a large bandage around it. “Thanks,” Melia told Jamie.

“No problem.” Jamie sat at the island counter next to Melia and waited for the potion to bubble over, like the book instructed. The next step was to add the amulet and repeat an incantation three times. Neither Melia nor Jamie knew if it should be translated into English or not, so they opted to leave it in the ancient language it was written in. Melia slowly read it, helping Jamie get through the difficult words.

Taking the book with her, Jamie strode to the stove. She dipped the necklace that would become the amulet (a sapphire and diamond necklace form Melia’s jewelry box) into the potion and read the incantation three times.

And nothing happened.

“You need to invoke the charm,” Melia told her, reading over her shoulder. “With a drop of your blood.”

“At least I get off easy with just a drop,” Jamie joked. “Do you have a pin?” Melia limped off to get one. She returned quickly with an antique hat pin. “Want to stab me, for payback?” Jamie asked and held out her finger. Melia shrugged and jabbed the pointy end down into Jamie’s flesh. “Ow!” she cried, feeling like a wimp.

She shook her hand to get the blood flowing. She looked at Melia and then back at the amulet. She pressed her finger to the blue stone.

Melia shrieked and doubled over in pain. Jamie watched in horror. Melia fell forward, her hands supporting her from falling completely over. The thin web of skin between her fingers began to grow. Melia’s body shook and she panted, resisting the shift. Jamie reached out to help but Melia recoiled at her touch.

Tears filled Jamie’s eyes, and she slid the amulet across the room. Melia collapsed. Jamie scooped her up.

“Melia! Are you ok? Please talk to me!”

“I-I didn’t expect that,” she said, her voice weak and breathy.

“I’ll get rid of it. I can’t wear something that hurts you.”

Melia pushed herself up. Her body ached. She longed to transform. The ocean called her name. “I need you to help me fight it.” Nothing seemed better than swimming. Why was she inside? Why did she have legs? Why was she talking to a human?!

“Fight what?”

“The call.”

“The what?”

Melia grabbed a section of hair and started braiding. “The amulet. It’s making me want to go back to the ocean. I guess that’s how it works.”

“Oh,” Jamie suddenly understood. “It repels by making waterfolk go home.”

Melia closed her eyes. “I feel funny.”

Jamie
 
hugged her. “I’m sorry.”

Melia didn’t have the heart to tell Jamie that being near her made the spell stronger. She was blood tied to the amulet. If there was enough distance between Jamie and the magical object, maybe the effect wouldn’t be so strong. Melia wasn’t sure.

It was nearing midnight and the girls decided it was time for bed. Melia guiltily looked at Jamie. “I think its best you stay in the guest room.”

“Oh, yea, I guess.” She fingered the amulet. She always stayed with Melia. The guest rooms were, of course, nice. But not familiar.

Melia undressed and fell into her bed. It was exhausting resisting the call of the ocean. If she hadn’t known about the spell, she wouldn’t have been able to resist. After tossing and turning for three hours, Melia gave up on sleeping and turned on the bathtub. While it was filling with lukewarm water, she ventured into the kitchen to get the jar of sea salt Charles used for cooking. She dumped the entire container into her bath and climbed in.

It was far from the ocean. But it worked. For now.

*

Peter sat happily outside in the courtyard Monday morning.
 
He had to arrive early today to finish his math homework that he neglected to take home with him over the weekend. He anxiously awaited Melia’s arrival. He glanced up from his homework every few seconds, looking for her.

He knew something was wrong as soon as he saw her. It was as if someone punched him in the stomach. Peter rose, quickly going to her side. Melia wrapped her arms around Peter as soon as she could, almost collapsing.

He just knew something was wrong, and Peter had never been an intuitive person.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly, holding Melia tightly.

“Yea,” she breathed. “I’m really tired and don’t feel well.”

“Let’s sit,” he suggested and held her hand as they walked back to the table Peter’s belongs were on. Jamie, who walked to the courtyard with Melia, gave an awkward wave and strode away looking pained.

Peter brushed hair from Melia’s face. Dark circles hung under her eyes, her hair hung in damp, unbrushed clumps, her body was tense and shaking, and her cheerful aura was almost gone. Of course, Peter didn’t know the latter, but its absence was depressing. And Melia was wearing a black track suit and sneakers. She didn’t look like herself. Not one bit.

She feebly lifted her head off of Peter’s shoulder, watched Jamie walk away and sighed. It was as if a weight had been lifted. She smiled weakly at Peter trying to erase the concern from his face.
 
She knew he was confused; he had been with her a mere twelve hours ago and she had been fine. But that was before a spell had been cast to rid the area of all water folk.

Melia could attest to the spell’s power. She definitely wouldn’t have stayed around if she didn’t have to. It was agony. Every bone, every muscle, every cell in her body longed for the ocean. Her head pounded and her stomach churned. She wanted to run, flee, and never look back. But she couldn’t. Instead, she held tightly to Peter’s hand and walked to chemistry.

The distance Jamie put between them helped ease the call of the ocean. The vice that Melia’s head felt like it was in loosened momentarily. Then Jamie walked in the room and regretfully had to take the seat next to Melia. Immediately Melia shook. She gripped the desk to keep from running. Peter, who still sat next to Janet, sprung up. Just then the bell rang.

“Can I help you with something, Mr. Anderson?” Mr. Thompson asked. Everyone was to be seated when the bell rang. It was his favorite rule. Peter shook his head and sat back down, casting a concerned glance at Melia. She covered her ears with her hands and put her head on the table. Jamie scooted her chair as far to the left as possible and was leaning away from Melia. Everyone in the class noticed the oddity.

Mr. Anderson launched into a lecture about organic chemistry. Melia was usually the star pupil, answering all the questions, sometimes raising her hand but usually blurting out the answer.

“These are all derivatives of benzene, and the six carbons form a ring with one hydrogen that is bonded to each carbon. Who can tell me what they are?” Mr. Thomson asked. No one answered. “Melia?” he called, expecting her to shout out the answer.

Melia slowly raised her head, squinting her eyes as if the bright florescent lights are too much. “Ocean,” she responded, barely whispering.

Mr. Thomson blinked, unsure of what to make from her answer. Before he could speak again, Jamie said, “Aromatic hydrocarbons.” She never spoke out loud unless she had to, and this was one of those times.

Melia felt worse as the day dragged on. By lunch, she wasn’t able to stand it anymore. Her stomach had been protesting all day.

“Oh, Melia. You look green.” Jamie had to stop herself from physically comforting her friend.

“I’m turning green?” Melia asked, looking at her arms.

“Not literally. It’s an expression that means you look sick.”

“I feel sick. Or at least I think this is sick. I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Really?” It was Jamie’s turn to be shocked. She quickly thought back; in all the months she had known Melia, Melia had never once complained about feeling under the weather. “Maybe you should go to the nurse.”