Into the Triangle (19 page)

Damn, it seems like you just can't get good henchmen these days
…

"I'm here to tell you that you need to hand over the Mer mate pearls you've stolen. For the sake of yourself and the village, it's vitally important you give them to me. We can do this peacefully, or by force." Gabe looked the priest directly in the eyes. "Either way, I'll be leaving with them today."

Father Willis glared right back at him, and his response didn't surprise Gabe in the least.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied. Then the bastard even had the nerve to smirk at him. "I think all that saltwater has gone to your head, my boy." He let out a rusty laugh, and Gabe could hear a few of the villagers behind him titter.

Apparently, despite the fact that they were starving and left at the mercy of the island, many of them were still loyal to the madman.

Well, it's time to change that.

"Oh, it's not the saltwater that's gotten to me, Willis. In fact, my time in the mer city of Lavantia was one hundred times better than the twenty-four hours I spent here on Bimini. What's gotten to me is the idea of you in possession of mate-pearls that belong to the humans you've murdered over the years. But since you seem to be having a hard time remembering, let me remind you. You and your two goons here have been kidnapping villagers from their beds at night, taking them to a small hut you have hidden about a mile into the woods that way"—he pointed a little way off to the right, past the other huts, and into the forest—"and ripping their pearls out of their heads. And I should know, you tried to do the same thing me."

"You're lying!" Father Willis snarled, spittle flying from his mouth.

Gabe crossed his arms back over his chest and cocked his head. "Am I?"

"I know what you're trying to do, boy," Father Willis hissed, "but they'll never believe you. These people are loyal to me!" He jerked forward, stepping out of the hut; Horace scrambled to catch up and keep the wobbly priest upright.

"We'll see about that," Gabe replied in the same heated whisper.

Turning, he faced the gathered crowd, which seemed to be growing larger by the minute.

"I know none of you know me. I showed up a few weeks ago after the plane I was on crashed then disappeared just as quickly." He motioned over to his friends, who had stayed silent by his side during the whole exchange. "But many of you surely remember Aaron? He was a productive and helpful member of your community for a number of years, only to disappear the same night I did. Did any of you think that was odd? Father Willis ordered him to be killed for trying to help me after we discovered Father Willis had been killing any human who received a mate-pearl from the Merfolk and stealing it for himself."

"It's true!" Aaron broke in. Stepping up to Gabe's side, he met the eyes of any villager willing to meet his. "You may not believe Gabe, but I'm one of you! I've worked beside you for years, supporting the village and its people. Like I'm sure you all have, I've noticed things for years, little things that didn't seem to add up—people going missing; friends and family vanishing after being chosen by the Merfolk to mate with. My own best friend, Douglas, was one of those who disappeared." Aaron's eyes closed and a pained look crossed his face for a moment before he seemed to get himself back under control.

"Father Willis always claimed they went to the sea, but that's not true. I was sleeping when Simon and Horace"—he pointed at each goon—"broke into my hut and dragged Gabe from his bed. They held a knife to my throat and forced us to walk into the woods where we were met in a little hidden hut by Father Willis. There he confessed that none of the people we'd always assumed moved on to the sea left; he'd killed them to steal the power of the mate-pearls for his own. He killed Douglas, was going to kill Gabe, and he tried to kill me for being in the way."

Raising his shirt, Aaron let everyone see the large scar he still bore on his stomach from where the knife had nearly killed him.

People were muttering and shaking their heads, many glancing at Father Willis with uncertainty. Obviously a lot of what Aaron was saying was striking a chord.

"Lies! All of it!" Father Willis hollered. He pointed at Gabe and then Aaron with a shaking hand, hate in his eyes. "He's trying to lead you astray, my children. Listen not to his lies. He wants to destroy our village; he's an emissary for the Merfolk. A false prophet! The mer want to ruin us, to rule over us, destroy us. Do not believe him. I would never hurt my people."

"Oh really?" Gabe raised a brow and spoke loud enough to be heard over Father Willis's fear-inducing babble. "Let's ask someone else who was also there… Mary?" He smiled softly over at the small redhead, wishing he could leave her out of the whole conversation but knowing it wasn't possible.

"How many of you remember Mary? Father Willis's ward? Well, here she is, fully healed by her mer mate… the same one who gave her the pearl in the first place. Now ask yourself this; Father Willis has told everyone how it was Mary's mer mate who ripped out her pearl, leaving her scarred and half alive. I know he told the story to all of you, because it was the same thing he told me when I asked what had happened to her the first time I saw her. But why would her mer heal her and bond with her, if she'd been found unworthy like Father Willis claimed?"

Doubt was beginning to show on many of the villager's faces, but a few still looked unconvinced.

Then Mary stepped forward.

"Hello everyone," she said softly. Gasps swept through the crowd, many looking at Mary with unbelieving eyes.

"Yes, I can speak again. It was something restored to me by my mate, once I was given my pearl back and the bonding completed." She motioned up toward her pearl, a small smile playing on the corners of her pretty mouth. "And now that I can speak once more, it's time for me to say a few things to all of you. Three years ago, I was snatched from my bed just as Gabe and Aaron describe. I too was taken to a hut in the woods, where I was tortured and defiled by these three men." She motioned over to Father Willis and his henchmen, blue eyes flashing with hatred. "By the end of the night, I was so broken I begged for death. Instead, I experienced the most horrific pain on my life when I had my pearl ripped out of my forehead, scarring me terribly and dooming me to a twisted half-life. But my pain didn't end there."

Mary shook her head and a smile turning bitter. "Oh no, for the next three years I was nothing more than a doll to be tortured by Father Willis and his minions. But the abuse didn't stop there, did it?" She turned her glare onto the people surrounding her, and many were forced to look away. "None of you ever did anything to help me. Instead, you yelled and kicked at me, spitting on me as I walked by. None of you cared to wonder why this man"—she pointed at Father Willis—"would want to look after me. It wasn't out of the goodness of his heart. I still wake from nightmares about being with him again. I had my pearl stolen, and I nearly died, and Father Willis is to blame."

Discontent and shock was sweeping through the crowd and Gabe could see the panic beginning to fill Father Willis's features.

"Is it true, Father?" A woman spoke up from the back of the crowd. "Did you do the things they say? My sister was chosen by the mer almost ten years ago, and she vanished like they're describing. I haven't heard from her since. I can't believe she would just never come see me…"

More voices joined the woman's.

"My hut mate vanished one night while getting water. He had a pearl…"

"My friend has been gone for thirteen years…"

"My mother vanished…"

"My son…"

"Lies! Lies! Lies!" Father Willis shouted, stumbling over to the villagers. Instead of embracing him into their fold as they might once have, many backed away. "These are stories to turn you all against me. Don't listen to them… they have no proof of anything. They're trying to take me out as a leader, so that you'll be vulnerable for when the mer come. Don't listen to their lies—"

"They're already vulnerable!" Gabe shouted. "Just look what has happened to the village while you've been hiding away. Simon and Horace are destroying it. People are dying, babies starving, and they're having to fight for the smallest scrap of food!" He shook his head. "The mer are already coming, Willis. That's why we're here. They want back the pearls you stole and are willing to go through the village to get to them if they need to. Are you willing to sacrifice innocent people in your quest for power?" Gabe turned back to the crowd. "Are you? Do you believe in this man so much you're willing to die for him?"

Cries of fear swept through the crowd and Father Willis knew how to feed off that fear.

"See! You heard it from the mer-slut himself! They're coming to kill us all… they'll kill your children, rape our women, eat the flesh from our bones…" He spouted with relish, and people began to shout, fear and anger filling the village. Aaron and Mary both moved closer to his side as the tide began to turn against them.

Gabe was losing them, and he couldn't afford that.

There was only one thing left to do.

"You want proof?" he screamed over the growing terror. "Here's your proof!" Reaching into the satchel at his side, he pulled out the small wooden box and opening the lid, held it out.

The village slowly went silent, as one by one everyone's attention went to the numerous pearls nestled into the box.

Even Father Willis went quiet, staring at the box in Gabe's hand with a pale face. Simon and Horace both seemed shocked as well.

"Is that—?" one man from the crowd began to ask, and Gabe nodded grimly.

"Yes, this is only one of the boxes of mate pearls Father Willis had in his possession. I bet if you look in his house, there will be another one just like it. This one I took the night I escaped. I showed the pearls to my mate, who happens to be the King of the Merfolk, and he has declared war on Father Willis because of it." Gabe closed the box and slipped it back into his satchel. "Not any of you… all they want is Father Willis. This man is responsible for the deaths of many people and poses a real threat to the future mates of the mer."

Gabe looked out over the crowd, pleading with his eyes for them to believe him. "I am here against my mate's wishes, because I don't want anyone else to be hurt because of this man. He's evil, a madman, and needs to be stopped. If you don't believe me, check his house. Go to the hut in the woods. Check out our story if you must, but please, you must be quick! The mer are coming for Father Willis, and I don't want any of you to get in the way."

Silence reigned for a long moment and then, much to Gabe's surprise, Charlie stepped forward. "Aaron, will you show me this hut? I want to see it for myself…"

Aaron nodded. "Of course. Why don't I take a couple of you there, that way you can report back to the others. Okay?"

Many of the people nodded and soon Aaron was off, leading a small group into the forest.

Gabe watched them go, feeling like time was ticking away. He knew they only had a short lead on the mer army and it was only a matter of time before they showed up.

"I'm going to find the second box," Mary suddenly said, as she marched past Gabe and toward the hut. "Would anyone else like to search with me?"

Three people stepped forward; none of them would even look at Father Willis.

"Mary!" Father Willis snapped at her, just like he did the first time Gabe met him. No doubt he expected her to cower like she used too.

Instead of cowering, Mary whipped around and raised both middle fingers at him, flipping the priest off with both hands. "Shut the hell up, you crazy bastard! You can't hurt me anymore and I certainly don't answer to
you
!" She pushed her way past Horace, who did nothing to stop her from entering the hut, her group following behind her.

Gabe's chest puffed up with pride. No matter what happened after this, at least Mary had been able to face down her tormentor and break the hold he'd had on her. Maybe now there'd be fewer nightmares waking her up at night.

Father Willis suddenly whipped around and got into Gabe's face, his putrid breath making him want to gag.

"You can't do this," he snarled. "This island is mine! I won't let you take it away from me."

Gabe shook his head. The idiot still didn't get it, and it made Gabe want to hit him. "I'm not taking anything from you." He nodded his head over to the crowd watching the interplay between them. "They are."

A sudden rustling from the forest had Gabe turning to look. Aaron wandered out of the woods, followed by a pale and shaken looking group.

"It's true," Charlie said once he was close to the crowd. "There really is a hut hidden in the woods." He shuddered. "There's dried blood everywhere."

A commotion from the hut had everyone turning to see a very triumphant Mary come out, a familiar-looking wooden box held in her hands.

"We found it inside his bible," she said, handing the box over to Gabe and shooting a glare at Father Willis out of the corner of her eyes. "Bastard had hollowed out the pages to hide it."

Gabe opened the box, the sight of the gleaming mate pearls inside making his heart break. "I feel bad for everyone who died for one man's greed, but at least now the mer will have a chance to find love and mate again."

Sighing, he slipped the box into his satchel, setting it carefully next to the other box.