Bluehour (A Watermagic Novel) (23 page)

“How was I able to overpower Marine on the
beach that night before school started?” I hoped I hadn’t angered
her with such a question.

She seemed unaffected and more interested in
her crawly shrimp. “Marine is vain and she was dieting at the time.
She hadn’t eaten a thing in days. Some mers who get too obsessed
with their looks get eating disorders and unfortunately Marine
struggles with such issues. She should have known better to take
you on when she was so light headed and vulnerable. Luckily, she
didn’t lose control of her hunger and tear you to shreds with her
teeth.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. “Can a
mer get fat?”

Brigitte laughed, but her nostrils flared as
she looked at me with sharp eyes. “We can eat a lot, but if we
overdo the sugary foods and other foreign substances, our
waistlines may show it slightly. We can’t get fat though, just a
little more shapely. Eating disorders for mers are really just
vanity gone too far.”

I opened the top box to see what was inside.
It was a stack of blueberry pancakes with powdered sugar atop and a
little vial of syrup on the side. “There’s so much food just in
this box.” I loved what I saw so far.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like so I ordered a
variety of choices.” She had finished the live shrimp cocktail by
now and was dabbing her lips with her napkin. “Open the rest,” she
commanded excitedly. I got the feeling she loved food.

The next box was filled with chocolate
truffles, cupcakes, and bright candies of many types. The third box
was filled with an assortment of dainty English sandwiches. And the
fourth box had a picturesque arrangement of exotic fruits.

“I like everything you picked,” I said with
glee as my stomach grumbled. “I don’t know where to start.” I took
a bite of one of the colorful fruits and it was so delicious. It
melted in my mouth. “Mmm… This is so good.”

Brigitte smiled, seemingly delighted that I
was enjoying myself.

“I’ve never been treated like this,” I said
with my mouth full. “Thank you.”

She nodded happily as she dipped a slice of
raw meat into a spicy looking red sauce. “Would you like to try
mine?” she laughed the words.

I almost spit out a truffle at the suggestion
as I laughed too. “No thanks!” I said adamantly.

She shook her head. Her posture was formal
and perfect as she ate the food with princess manners much too
fast. I got the impression that her teeth must be razor sharp to be
able to down the tough meat at such speed.

“When will Laurent come back?” My stomach
tightened. I already missed him.

“He’s very determined to find Sabine. He has
to lure her to a secluded place to kill her. That may be difficult
if she is with her school. He said he would be back by nightfall.”
She was only playing with the slices of snake meat now, stabbing
her fork into the black and white striped scales. I got the
impression she was worried about Laurent.

“Is he in danger?” I asked staring into her
blue eyes.

“We all wanted to join him in the killing,
but he refused. He wouldn’t allow any of us to go down with him.
It’s really a suicide mission because once he kills Sabine, the
Trident will be after him.” Her expression grew dark with her
admittance.

“What’s the Trident?”

“It’s the mer government,” she said with edge
to her voice. “I need to refresh myself in the tub. Please excuse
me.” With that, she blotted her lips with her napkin and placed it
on the table.

She glided out of the bedroom and into the
bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

After about five minutes alone in the room, I
found myself so anxious. All I could think about was Laurent. I was
so afraid something could go wrong and Sabine could kill him
instead. Surely, she must have suspected that Laurent would come
after her. He said he nearly killed her once, but in his mercy he
spared her life. She knew I was the only girl he had saved from
her. That must have made her livid with hatred knowing that he
actually cared about someone other than her.

Fifteen minutes passed with Brigitte still in
the bathroom and I felt like I was going to go out of my mind with
worry over Laurent. I turned on the TV in hopes of distracting
myself, but as I flipped through the channels, I saw my picture on
a news show. I stopped at the broadcast. The news caster was
talking about how devastated my parents were that I disappeared.
They said that Laurent Moreau was the suspected kidnapper. After
the short clip was over, I turned to another channel.

How could the police think Laurent had
kidnapped me? He was only a kid himself. I had to tell my parents
that I left of my own free will. I couldn’t allow people to think
that Laurent was a criminal. The idea was so unfair. But Laurent
had warned me not to make any phone calls. He said it could put our
lives in even greater danger.

I tried to focus on the TV as a distraction.
I forced myself to watch an old movie about a dog that was
traveling across the country trying to find its family that moved
away. The film was terribly sad. And it only made me crazier in my
mind. I too missed my family like the dog missed his. And even more
than that, I missed Laurent.

I thought about how unfair it was that
Laurent was sacrificing everything for me and now he was being
blamed for kidnapping me. If he killed Sabine, the mer government
would be after him. He would have both the Los Angeles police force
after him for my kidnapping and the Trident after him for the
murder of Sabine. He would be wanted by land and by water and all
because of me. It wasn’t fair.

I got up out of bed and started pacing the
room. After nearly two hours, Brigitte was still soaking in the
tub. I had to get out of this place. The waiting was driving me
mad. How could I fix this tragedy? How could I turn things around?
More than anything I wanted to save Laurent.

Maybe I could make my way through the woods
on foot back out to the main highway and hitchhike back to Santa
Monica. I could tell my parents how a girl attacked me at school
and that Laurent tried to save me by taking me to this bed and
breakfast. I could explain that the girl threatened to hunt me down
and kill me, so I thought I should run away to hide. Laurent was
only trying to protect me. Maybe they would believe that. And
Laurent would be free of the charges against him.

If I didn’t explain now, the situation would
only get worse. Of course I would leave out all the stuff about
mers and how Laurent was one. Nobody would believe that.

But then I had to except the fact that Sabine
would likely tear me to shreds and leave my head over as a trophy.
I thought about how devastated my parents would be then. A dead
daughter was worse than a missing one.

It didn’t matter though. I had to leave
Laurent. I was putting his life in danger. He was sacrificing too
much for me. I had to at least clear his name with the police.

At once I walked to the door, determined to
find my way home. I put my hand on the doorknob and turned it. But,
suddenly, and all at once, Brigitte transported her body between me
and the door.

1. Waiting
   

“Where do you think you’re going?” Brigitte
demanded as she pushed me firmly yet gently away from the door.

I was shocked. She was keeping track of my
every move from within the bathroom. I was like a prisoner. My
heart was beating fast now.

“I was just going downstairs to see if there
was another bathroom. I have to go and you were in ours.”

“Oh, my mistake,” she said. “Please use the
toilet. I’m sorry. I should have realized. While I was soaking my
left brain fell asleep and all logic rushed away from me.” She
giggled and to my surprise, her cheeks turned red from
embarrassment. “Why don’t you take a shower too? I brought you some
fresh clothes. I can’t believe how rude I was to not offer
sooner.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied as I walked
toward the restroom. “I’m sure your feeling as worried and out of
sorts as I am.”

She followed me into the bathroom. I was
relieved to see that the bathtub was clear of sea creatures. She
pulled a floral suitcase out from beneath the sink and set it on
the counter.

“All these clothes are for you,” she sang as
she held up a beautiful teal dress with many crisscross straps in
the back. “This will look magnificent on you.”

“Thank you. I’ve never worn anything so
beautiful.”

“That’s all going to change.” A gentle smile
lifted on her face. “You’re one of us now and mers are fashion
divas. Like it or not, you’re going to look like a princess from
here on out if I have anything to say about it.”

I wasn’t sure what to think about that. Maybe
I would have liked the idea if I wasn’t so concerned about Laurent.
But even then, I was really not a princess type. I’d always been a
bit of a tomboy.

“Hurry up with your shower. I want to give
you a full makeover.” She touched the edges of my salty hair and
then glided out of the bathroom.

My mind was still on Laurent as I showered.
The vanilla body wash reminded me of Laurent’s scent when I found
him in the bedroom freshly washed just after he returned from the
ocean last night. I thought about his body and how he showed me the
suctions below his stomach and the gills on the sides of his
ribcage. I thought about touching his chest and feeling his
heartbeat beneath. Then I remembered back to the time at swim
practice when he pretended to steal a freckle from my face and
called it an angel kiss. That made me smile.

I wasn’t paying attention to what I was
doing. The razor was too sharp and I nicked my knee again. I was a
klutz when it came to shaving. The blood ran down my leg as I tried
to rinse it. I got out of the shower and dried myself off quickly
as Brigitte requested and went to looking for a bandage under the
cabinet. I found one for kids with a cartoon picture on the flesh
colored tape. It would do just fine.

As I gazed into the mirror, I combed my hair
through, noticing the dark circles under my eyes. Too much
excitement. I wasn’t getting enough sleep. My mind was racing with
too many thoughts. Besides my worry over Laurent, I was worried
about my mother, father, Lucy, and Agatha.

By now, Agatha must have been going out of
her mind wondering where I was and if I was okay. Poor Agatha.
Somehow I had to contact her.

But I knew I couldn’t.

I put the teal strappy dress on that Brigitte
brought for me. I was more in the mood for sweats and a tank top,
but at least I had clothes. It was thoughtful of her to help me
out. For that I was grateful.

When I walked into the bedroom, Brigitte was
gone. Chills ran up my spine. I knew she wouldn’t leave me here.
She was irrevocably loyal to Laurent. Leaving me alone would be a
betrayal to him. Something must have happened.

But then I heard movement. I listened
carefully. Someone was moving around under the bed.

I froze. “Brigitte?” I called out in a shaky
voice, wondering if I should have run out of the room instead of
calling out her name.

“Under here,” she called back in rhythm.

I sighed, relieved, yet confused. I lifted up
the bottom edge of the bedspread and there she was laying on her
back, stringing a shell necklace in the dark.

“Ready for your makeover?” she asked as she
slid out from beneath the bed.

“What were you doing under there?” I asked,
trying to keep a neutral expression even though internally I was
thinking her behavior was more than peculiar. I mean—who strings
necklaces under a bed?

She stood up, giving herself plenty of space
between us. “Like fish, mers like to hide behind rocks. The bed is
the next best thing. Gives us an advantage over predators.” Her
blue eyes lit up. “You look stunning in that dress!”

I looked down at the teal fabric. “It’s
actually pretty comfortable.”

“Makeover time.” Her voice lifted as she
motioned me back into the bathroom. “Sit here and let me do my
magic.”

I paused before the toilet where she wanted
me to sit and swayed my head to the side slightly. “Really, I don’t
usually wear makeup.”

“I know,” she responded in a disapproving
voice. “You have all the right features, but even the most
beautiful can be enhanced.”

I blew air out from between my lips from that
absurd statement about my beauty. She was obviously just trying to
make me feel good.

“Sit, sit, sit,” she insisted as she set up
an elaborate makeup array on the counter.

Slightly annoyed I sat down.

In no time, she was hard at work on my face.
She didn’t talk to me at all. But her nostrils were flared from the
close proximity and it seemed like she was mentally talking herself
out of eating me alive as she ran the blush brush over my cheeks.
Her tongue rolled in her mouth at one point. I think she was trying
to keep herself from salivating. Maybe she was closing off her
taste buds.

Her face was flawless close up. She looked
perfect like a porcelain princess doll. She even smelled
beautiful—like a mix of sea breeze and flowers. Brigitte was the
ideal mer, even prettier than a movie star or supermodel.

She took a thin pair of delicate, yet sharp
scissors and began trimming my eyebrows. “Keep perfectly still,”
she whispered so close to my face. Then she used the sharp point of
the scissors to separate my eyelashes one at a time.

That scared me to see the blade tip coming
right at my eye over and over again. I was as still as I could
possibly be. I was even afraid to breathe. She stretched my eyelid
slightly with one hand and separated the lashes with the other.

“You’re moving,” she reprimanded. “Here,
look. This is all I am doing.” She took the scissors and started
separating her eyelashes in the mirror to show me. “See—you don’t
need to be afraid.”