Beyond the Sea (40 page)

“No. It would drive you insane again.”

“Spell?” Peter asked.

“I’ll explain later,” Melia told him. She looked at Jamie. “You can’t do it here, not with my mom and Nerina. But at home. It will keep you safe.”

“Melia, no. How will that help you?”

“It will keep me from worrying about you.”

Nerina wiped her eyes. “What are we going to do, Melia?” she asked. “Actassi was our only hope.”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

They all fell silent. Finally, Peter stood.

“We can’t mope around like this,” he said.

Jamie agreed. “He’s right. We have to do something.”

“What?” Melia asked, her voice so soft it was barely audible.

“I don’t know,” Jamie answered. “But not this.”

Melia nodded and stood. She told Nerina what they decided. She agreed and followed Melia upstairs. Melia spoke with her parents while her friends waited upstairs. She needed to convince them she was ok and that they could return to New York.

“Tomorrow afternoon,” Melia told her friends. “They will fly back. Lucky prom is this weekend or I don’t think Edward would have agreed.”

“What does prom have to do with it?” Peter asked.

“If we’re still alive to go,” Melia explained, “they want to see us. So they’re coming back Friday morning.”

“Right. If we’re still alive.”

“You two go to school tomorrow, it’s the safest place I can think of. I’ll stay with Nerina and watch out for Vaianu.”

“Melia,” Peter protested. “That’s probably not the best idea.”

“I won’t go out back. And as soon as my parents leave I’ll go somewhere, away from the water, ok?”

Jamie’s phone vibrated from inside her purse that lay haphazardly on the bedroom floor. She dug around for it, pulled it out and answered.

“Hey, Jeff. Oh, nothing much. I’m just at Melia’s. Um, I can’t right now. I’m sorry. Raincheck? Yea, sounds great. See you at school tomorrow.”

“What did he want?” Melia asked when Jamie hung up.

“To go out for coffee.”

“You should go.”

“Yea, after everything that happened.”

“I think he’s going to ask you to prom.”

“Melia, that’s not important anymore.”

“I still want to go,” Melia admitted. “If I can, that is.”

“Exactly.” Jamie pressed her lips together.

“I need to talk to Nerina anyway. We will stay in the house,” she looked over her shoulder, “and not even in my room, ok? Go out with Jeff. Peter, go home for dinner. Try to smooth things over with your parents.”

“No!” Peter and Jamie shouted in unison.

“Yes!” Melia insisted. “I’ll lock the door and turn the alarm on. We will stay away from windows. If Vaianu is stupid enough to try to come in, he can get shot by the police when I tell them someone is breaking into our house. Besides, he really can’t stay out of the water long enough to hurt me on land.”

Neither Peter nor Jamie looked convinced. Eventually, Peter agreed.

“I should go home. I have to deal with my parents’ wrath one way or another.” He kissed Melia. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t,” she promised. She watched them run to their cars, making sure her friends weren’t ambushed on the way. Though she missed them instantly, a sense of relief washed over her when she realized they were out of harm’s way. The further from the ocean, the better.

*

The mundane surrounding felt surreal as Jamie stepped from her car. Meeting for coffee seemed silly when she had just learned that a war was raging under the sea. Her best friend’s life was in danger and she was going on a date. Well, kind of. Jeff eagerly waved to her as she opened the door to the little café.

She internally grumbled at his choice of coffeehouses. He said it was his new favorite place to hang out and relax. There would definitely be no relaxing for Jamie as she tried to ignore the ghost that roamed the place.

“Hey Jamie!”

“Hi, Jeff.” She sat next to him.

“Do you want anything?”

“Um, I’m ok.” Jamie hadn’t eaten in a while, and she was indeed hungry, but her stomach gurgled from nerves.

“You sure? I’m hungry. We could spilt something at least?”

“I am sorta hungry,” she admitted, and after some more coaxing, she let Jeff buy her dinner. She nibbled at the vegetable pot pie.

“Are you ok?” Jeff asked.

“Yea, I’m fine,” she lied.

“Ok, if you insist.” Jeff smiled, his eyes settling level with hers. As they chatted about typical things, Jamie had to work hard to keep up with the conversation. Jeff was in a good mood, making Jamie feel bad about her less than chipper attitude.

“Jamie,” Jeff said, suddenly shy. “I know it’s really late to be asking, but I chickened out before.” He picked at the label on his soda bottle. “You don’t have a date to prom, do you?”

“No,” Jamie said, feeling devoid of emotion.

“Neither do I. And, I was thinking, we could go together, if you wanted to.”

She forced a smile. She did want to go with Jeff. She had hoped he would ask and had been waiting for weeks. But it seemed so utterly pointless now. “I’d love to.”

“Great! I hope it’s not too late for you to get a dress,” he said apologetically.

“Melia made me get one back when she got hers,” Jamie told him.

“Oh, good! Where do you want to go for dinner? My friends are going to that Chinese place in town. They can easily add two to the reservations.”

“Ok,” Jamie agreed.

“Unless you want to go with Melia.”

Jamie laughed. “With Melia, yes. But with all of Peter’s friends, no.”

“Good,” Jeff chuckled. “It’ll be a fun night.”

“It will,” Jamie agreed. And it would be, that is, if she made it to Friday night.

*

Peter made it home just in time to join his family for church. He was hung over, sore, anxious, worried, and nervous. He wanted nothing more than to take Melia inland, find a nice hotel and sleep, with her safely nestled in his arms. The fear of something horrible happening to Melia was the only thing that kept him awake during the rambling sermon. He stuck around long enough for his mother to brag about him getting into Berkeley and casually throw the VanBurren name around to her church friends. Peter declined going out for dinner with his family. Since he came to church with no fuss, his parents didn’t object when he told them he wanted to eat with Melia’s family.

All he had to do before he could see Melia again was dash inside and get clothes. Remembering her words, Peter intended on shoving a bag full of stuff to keep at her house. He left his keys in the car, only meaning to be inside for a minute. Peter ran upstairs with his shoes on. He kicked off his sandals and uncomfortable church clothes, exchanging them for athletic pants and sneakers.

A bang came from the kitchen. “Hello?” he called, expecting his mother to answer. No one did. Dismissing the noise, he took off his shirt and put on a Chargers tee with the sleeves cut off. Something large clattered to the floor. “Mocha?”

Wait, the little dog hadn’t barked when he opened the door. He always barked. Retrieving a baseball bat from his closet, Peter slowly descended the stairs. He found Mocha hiding under the coffee table in the living room, shaking in fear. Silently, Peter stepped into the kitchen. Something thrashed amongst dirty dishes in the sink. A wine glass fell, colliding with a plate and shattering. Cautiously, Peter moved closer.
  

“What the…?” he said aloud when he saw a large fish flopping around. He reached out to turn the water on when something grabbed him.

-Chapter 16-

Melia’s nerves doubled when Peter’s phone went to voicemail. He had texted her when he got out of church, saying he was going to stop at home and then come over. That was an hour ago.

“What if they got him?” she whimpered, pressing redial.

“They couldn’t have,” Nerina insisted. “Vaianu can’t be out of water long enough to make it to Peter’s. You know that.”

“Then why isn’t he answering?”

“Maybe he got distracted.”

“No, he would have called me.” She frantically called him again. “Something happened, Nerina. Something bad.” The phone slipped from her fingers and she pulled at her hair. “I have to find—” she stopped speaking when she got a text message. “It’s from Peter!” she cried and read aloud. “Hey, baby. Can’t make it tonight.”

“See!” Nerina said. “He’s fine.”

“Peter didn’t write this,” Melia told her.

“You said it’s from him.”

“No. Peter knows not to call me ‘baby’.” Melia’s hands shook. “Someone has his phone.” Melia started to hyperventilate.

Nerina grabbed her shoulders. “Melia! We will find him!”

“How?!” The world was closing in around Melia. Peter was missing. Someone was impersonating him. “Vaianu. If he did this, I’ll kill him.”

“I don’t think it was him,” Nerina rationalized. “I don’t know how to use a phone. I don’t think he does either.”

It brought little comfort to Melia’s heart. “Maybe.” She nodded. “Let’s go. I can’t waste time.” Melia ransacked her closet to find a large purse. She retrieved the dagger she had used to kill the gwyrrd and stuck it inside. Then she texted her mom to say she was going to Peter’s, knowing there was no way she could pull off a calm demeanor while speaking at the moment.

She revved the engine of the R8, pressing the pedal down too fast, making the tires squeal as she tore out of the driveway. She sped to Peter’s. Fear gripped her heart when she saw his car parked in the driveway. Nerina raced after her inside the Anderson house.

“No!” she cried. “Nerina, do you feel it?”

“No,” Nerina said, shaking her head. “What is it?”

“Something was here. It feels like a merrow, but that-that can’t be.” Melia closed her eyes. A strange scent drove her to the kitchen. A dead fish lay in the sink. She picked it up, horrified, and looked at Nerina.

“Ceasg,” they said in unison, both voices full of fear.

Melia dropped the salmon. “What would a ceasg be doing here, and what would they want with Peter?” Her body felt numb. Her limbs threatened to stop working. She hadn’t realized she had fallen until Nerina urged her up.

“Melia, get it together! We will save him. But not if you’re panicking like this.”

Melia nodded, tears streaming down her face. “You’re right.”

“You really love him, don’t you?” Nerina asked as she helped Melia stand.

“More than anything.”

“Then let’s go. Think: where would a ceasg reside?”

“I don’t know. Scotland!” Melia was nearly hysterical. “Not here, not here.”

Nerina pulled Melia out the door. “Ceasgs aren’t malicious by nature. Peter could be ok.”

“Ok, he could be ok. Right.” She sat in the car, her hands numbly gripping the steering wheel. “Peter,” she said, looking up at the stars. “Where are you?”

Then it suddenly came to her. “I know a place. It’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try.” It was past the cavernous rocks where the kappa attacked. Melia avoided it due to the large Dungeness crab population; Melia distasted crabs the same way many humans distasted spiders. Steep, sharp rocks jutted out into the ocean. It was ominous, even in the daylight. It was a place humans avoided, a place perfect for hiding.

Melia narrowly avoided rear ending a pickup truck in her hurry. She parked along the side of the road, getting out before turning the car off. Hastily, she got back in and killed the ignition. She dropped the keys into her bag. Taking Nerina’s hand, she picked her way through jumbled brush and overgrown weeds. Melia stepped into a spider web. Spazzing slightly, she tore the sticky fibers from her face but continued on, praying she was heading in the right direction. The girls had about half a mile to trek before the landscape gave way to the rocky cliffs that hung over the ocean.

Melia’s hands began to sweat with anticipation. Her heart beat so fast she thought it might explode, and though it was far from a cold night, Melia’s body shivered. Silently, she took the dagger out and set her purse on the ground. Melia could sense an aura. It felt so familiar, but she knew it wasn’t possible. Not on land.

Careful to be quiet, the girls picked their way down the hill. Firelight flickered off the walls of a narrow cavern a good twenty feet below. Knowing Peter’s life hung precariously, Melia scrupulously climbed down the cliff. Nerina intently watched Melia’s every move, imitating her perfectly as she made it down the rocky edge. They paused outside the cavern, listening to the voices echo.

“He still has one wish left,” a gruff female voice jeered.

“I told you, I can’t do that!” another pleaded. “I promise. I can’t! Let me go!”

“Hah! You
really
think we’d let you go? After all that you know? Even after you grant the final wish, you’re nothing but bait.”

“If I’m going to die in the end, what’s the point? Kill me now.”

Metal scraped against rock. “Why would I kill you and end the pain?”