Silver Tides (Silver Tides Series) (36 page)

I sniffed, the tears creating a deluge in my nostrils. I wiped my nose along my sleeve unceremoniously, and saw Arthur looking at me like I was an angel from heaven. His gaze had softened, he looked like a different man, a younger version of himself, one who had hoped that he would prove his father wrong. A man who thought he’d find love and a family, his eyes brought a fresh round of tears to my eyes.

“It seems to me, that we’ve both made a lot of mistakes in our lives,” I continued, my voice full of emotion. “I guess God must have place mats for us by now.” The thought of dying alone of thirst, made me break down sobbing.

Arthur reached up clumsily, patting my head like a faithful dog. I wasn’t afraid of death. I was sorry to stop living. I was sorry that Daniel would die because I had been so naive. I was sorry for the selkie pups and their parents, who would bear the brunt of my mistake.

Arthur waited for my sobbing to subside before he asked, “Will ye pray for me?”

It’d been a long time since I’d prayed. At religious holidays when Mum asked me to go to church with her, I would bow my head. But I hadn’t uttered a proper prayer out loud since I was twelve. I couldn’t even remember why I’d stopped, just that I had.

It felt awkward to address God after five years, strange that I’d rarely thought about Him in the bustle of my days. I didn’t want to pray, but with death on my doorstep, it felt timely. “Dear God,” I released a ragged breath. “I’m sorry for the many ways in which I’ve failed you and that I haven’t spoke to you in a long time. Arthur’s time is near, and he’s scared. Please send your guardian angel to help him feel safe and to know that you will judge him fairly, based on the many ways that he’s been failed by others, not only his failures.” The emotion was too great, the words stuck in my throat, jumbled and drowning in tears.

“God?” Arthur asked tentatively, like an orphan discovering his parents. “I’m sorry that I kept Kerensa prisoner, that I kidnapped this one. I’m sorry that I was such a coward in life. Please set a place for me at your table, I’ve never had a home and I sure hope that I can come live in yours...”

Silence stretched between us, the tears kept rolling down my face. I didn’t have to worry about days without water, because at the pace I was going, I would dehydrate and die before Arthur.

“Amen,” I sobbed, taking Arthur’s hands.

His breathing became more ragged, his grasp weaker. His skin was sallow and saggy, as though gravity was squishing his face.

“Little one,” he whispered, his eyes no longer seeing me, “I’m going home now. Take the light, it will lead...” His last breath surged out of him. I waited for him to take another breath but he didn’t.

I tipped his head back and began CPR, fifteen pumps, one breath, fifteen pumps, one breath. I kept going till my head was spinning and my knees gave out and I collapsed beside him spent.

Loud howls of torment burst out of me, driven by the guilt of being stupid and following Arthur to my death. I cried for Daniel and Charlie who were searching the caves without any chance of finding me. My emotions ran their course unfettered by logic or comfort, reiterating how my pride had ruined everything. I lay crying on the cave floor for what felt like hours, till my emotions were spent and all my tears had been shed. Till all I had energy for was to lie whimpering in the torchlight.

For a moment the torch flickered. I realized I would soon be in the dark with a corpse. Maybe having power over when the light went out would make me feel less out of control. At least then there would be one thing that I could decide on.

I pried the yellow dolphin torch from Arthur’s fingers, which were setting with riga mortis. The skin on his hands was collapsing at an alarming rate. Arthur was decomposing with a
nauseating
snap, crackle and pop.

I focused on the sturdy box structure and the bulb. The torch seemed fine, its light unfading. A bug may have disrupted the light, if there was a bug, maybe there was a hole to shine the light through in case the guys were searching for me in the caves. It was long shot, but it was a chance. I began to search the cave walls for a lever or a hole again, but there was nothing unusual.

Returning to the door, I shone the light through the eaves, but they were tightly ensconced. I slumped back onto the ground, my back resting against the door. It was futile. There was no way out. I flicked the torch, on and off to amuse myself. Trying to keep calm.

The torch slipped from my hands. I fumbled to catch it before it hit the ground, the adrenaline helped me move faster. I caught it before it smashed on the stone floor.

My hand began to bleed, there was a line of blood along my palm where something had sliced my hand like a knife. I pulled my phone out with its zero bars of reception and no SOS signal, and turned on the torch. I shone the phone light around the yellow case of the torch, trying to see what could cut me so effectively.

In the seam of the torch was a small wire. I could just grasp it with my fingertips. I picked at it, agitating the wire till it was the length of my pinky fingernail.

“What is it?” I croaked out loud, surprised at the sound of my own voice.

I gave it a gentle tug, and the light flickered. Maybe it was a wire from inside, the rational part of me told me to leave it alone, that I didn’t want to end up in the dark. The part of me that had landed me in the cave said,
Pull it! So what if I was in the dark? I was dead anyway.

With that notion in my mind I pulled the wire as hard as I could. It cut into my fingers, and the torch went out, leaving my phone’s pitiful light to illuminate the cave. I began to laugh hysterically; the impending darkness was the least of my concerns. I was going to die in the cave.

Doppelgänger

As my crazy laughter reverberated off the walls, there was rumbling sound behind me.

“Cave in,” I guffawed, suddenly realizing that it was probably due to lack of oxygen that I’d started behaving so unbalanced. I giggled at lack of oxygen. I leaned back against the door and fell backwards onto the floor.

I rolled onto my hands and knees looking for the door, but it was gone. Arthur’s words ran through my mind, “Take the light, it will lead…” He had tried to tell me that the torch wire was the trigger that opened the door. I didn’t waste time trying to work out the finer details of how the door had opened; I got up and used my phone light to guide me. I tried to remember the way Arthur had brought me, but it felt like it had been days ago.

Quelling my excitement I focused on breathing in and out, putting one foot in front of the other and feeling my way back to the manhole. It was sharper descent than I remembered, my phone battery was draining fast from the flash light application.

When I’d descended into the belly of the earth hours ago, I’d never imagined that I would be emerging alone. I pushed myself to be careful, to feel ahead with each foot. The dark was thicker than a winter doona.

I stepped out and found a gapping hole forcing me to find the wall and shimmy along the cliff’s edge till the tunnel began to narrow. I hoped the path was leading to the manhole and not to a dead end. As the cave closed in around me, the darkness became grey, till a light shone ahead in a circle.

I moved too quickly, bumping my head savagely. Blood trickled down my face, but all I cared about was the glowing orb ahead. Rabid hope overtook me at the prospect of getting out of the dark and into the light. I fell to my hands and knees, crawling toward it, ignoring the sharp rocks.

Each step felt like it took eons, my heart was beating so fast, I could feel it in my throat. I finally crawled into the light. It was intoxicating after being in the dark for so long. I closed my eyes, waiting for them to adjust before I emerged from the hole. Daniel, Mum, Sophia and Dr. Conneely were huddled around Kerensa’s old table.

“Hey,” I greeted lamely, “can someone give me a hand here.” My hands were grazed and mildly bleeding from my furious crawl. The blood from hitting the roof had congealed matting my hair.

Daniel turned and ran the two paces to pull me out of the cave. I held him close breathing in his sea scent and letting the cool of his hands on my back, draw me back into the land of the living. I was so emotionally spent, there were no tears left to shed at the happy reunion. After a long while, Daniel let me go, allowing Mum to hold me.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” Mum reprimanded, hugging me fiercely.

“I’ll try not to,” I sincerely agreed.

Mum continued to keep her arm around me as we stood in a circle grinning stupidly at each other for a moment. I realized that one of our number was missing, “Where’s Charlie?” I asked worried. Every terrible scenario played through my mind in the nano-second it took to receive an answer.

“He’s having a rest after breaking a rib,” Dr. Conneely replied clinically.

“What?” I asked concerned. “Is he ok?”

“He’ll heal quickly,” Dr. Conneely assured me, his calm was contagious. “After a few transformations he will heal right up.”

“What happened?” I asked, the back of my neck tingling with concern.

“I fell into a chasm when we came after you,” Daniel admitted blushing. “Charlie jumped to catch me, and pulled me back up. He hit the rock hard, he pulled me up with a broken rib. I’m going to have to take that guy to the gym when we get back, he looks muscular, but it’s a farce.”

“Hey,” Charlie grunted, emerging from behind the curtain. “I resemble that comment.”

Daniel and Charlie laughed. Their bromance had blossomed while I’d been locked in the cave, and I couldn’t have been more pleased. I hugged Charlie fiercely, causing him to groan. I let go, feeling guilty, but was glad that Charlie and Daniel were safe.

“Thanks for saving Daniel,” I said appreciatively, smiling into his caramel eyes.

“Any time,” Charlie said, trying to sound cool, but sounding cheesy.

I laughed, glad to be reunited with everyone.

Mum pushed a bottle of water into my hand and Charlie’s. “Keep hydrated,” she ordered. I snapped the safety cap unscrewing the lid and took a drink. My body shivered in appreciation as I skulled the water. It gave me renewed energy and kindled my hunger.

“Where’s Arthur?” Dr. Conneely asked, remembering his brother-in-law.

“He’s dead,” I said, the words leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

“You killed him,” Daniel exclaimed, with a look of surprise and pride.

“Noooo,” I replied, shaking my head in disbelief that anyone would think that. “He kidnapped me so that he wouldn’t have to die alone. He’s still there in a cave.” I motioned to the manhole shuddering.

“May as well leave him there.” Dr. Conneely shrugged. “He’s got no living family or friends, no one will look for him.”

His statement made me sad, Arthur had reaped the harvest of the discordant seed he had sown in his life. No one would bring flowers to his grave or think of him. I decided that I would remember the soft look in his eyes and the fact that he had tried to save me.

I was about to protest, and insist that we give him a proper burial, except Daniel put his hand on my shoulder. “We need to leave right away to make it back in time for the parley. We need to go.”

I nodded seeing the self-sacrifice in Daniel’s eyes. He’d assumed that I didn’t get the Heart of the Sea and that he was returning to die.

“Let’s go,” I agreed a mischievous glint in my eyes. “But before we do, I just wanted to show you this.”

I pulled the worn brown leather pouch from my pocket; everyone’s eyes were transfixed by it. Slipping my hand into the pouch, my fingers brushed the hard surface of the object that would save Daniel’s life. I pulled the large clear quarts stone shaped like a starfish into view. The light danced off its surface, making it look like a diamond; it looked cold as ice, but it felt warm to touch, producing its own heat.

“You found it.” Charlie grinned, unsurprised.

Mum and Daniel’s face beamed with pride, Sophia was weeping with relief. Dr. Conneely was unmoved, as though he had never doubted my ability to fulfill my part of his vision.

The Heart of the Sea caught my attention as it warmed my hands. I gazed into its depths. My vision blurred and cleared and I could see an underwater city with two tall spindle spires, and bright light illuminating every inch of its beauty. The view zoomed in on  the right spire, revealing countless windows leading to rooms. In one window sat a girl in a wedding dress with her face in her hands. Even without sound the motion of the girl's shoulders betrayed that she was crying.

The scene unfolded before me, as though I were observing from the window. Her white veil pooled around her head, moved by neither wind nor water but something otherworldly. A stunningly handsome young man with tawny brown hair rushed into her room and she backed against the window, her golden hair rippling. He crossed the room, wrapping her in his arms; he pulled the veil out of her hair and let it flutter to the ground and he gently claimed her lips with his.

I knew that I was watching Adrian and Celeste Conneely; they had been in love and he was convincing her to run away with him. Without seeing Celeste’s face, her body language communicated her waning resolve to stay. Looking into Adrian’s sincere eyes would have made me follow him anywhere. I could understand why Celeste had gone with him, she couldn’t see any other way for her to be with the man she loved. She would sacrifice it all for him.

Within a few minutes she was ready to leave. She glanced around her room, the four poster-bed fashionable over a hundred years ago, the wardrobe full of fancy gowns, symbols of the life she was about to farewell. Coral and starfish decorated her room, a glowing ecosystem swarming with warmth that left her cold without Adrian’s love.

Celeste lifted her long silk gown to step onto her bed and she pulled the glowing starfish in my hands from the wall. She turned and looked out the window revealing her face for the first time. Celeste looked out the window like she was looking straight at me. I gasped, as I recognized her face. I had seen her face thousands of times in the mirror staring back at me.

The picture blurred as Celeste disappeared with Adrian. I struggled to catch my breath after the vision.

I looked up at Dr. Conneely.

“What did Celeste look like?” I asked him, knowing the answer before I asked.

“Just like you,” he replied simply.

“We need to go,” Daniel enthused, too excited to care about Celeste’s looks.

My mind was still reeling at the realization that I was Celeste’s doppelgänger. I clumsily pushed the Heart of the Sea back into its leather pouch and into my pocket.

Celeste’s face swam before my eyes. She looked just like me, the same ridge in her nose, the same brown eyes. Her hair was blonder, but it was the same neither curly nor straight weirdness as mine. It had to mean something, why else would I have seen the vision?

While the others celebrated our acquisition of the Heart of the Sea I fell into my own thoughts. I wished that I could talk to a mermaid, they no doubt would have some kind of theory. Daniel might know, but he wouldn’t tell me because he thought it was superstition. There had to be more to the story. It was all too contrived. I smiled at the realization that Mum would think it would be fate or God’s divine will. After the day’s events, the idea of providence was not such a leap of faith.

Within minutes the floorboards were returned to their place, and our group was ready to make the trek across the moors in the moonlight. The wind had blown the clouds away revealing a jeweled night sky. The waves crashed against the cliffs, an owl hooted in the distance, and my body ached for home.

Daniel and Sophia had pulled ahead, while Mum helped Dr. Conneely navigate the rugged terrain. I hung back, relishing the crisp open air after being underground for a quarter of a day. Daniel’s irrepressible laugh reverberated across the moors, causing me to smile.

“You’re quiet,” Charlie commented, as he gingerly picked his way across the dew soaked grass.

“Got a lot on my mind,” I replied noncommittally. While I needed to talk to someone, I was worried about Daniel misconstruing my friendship with Charlie.

“You know you can talk to me,” Charlie said sincerely.

I paused looking into his caramel eyes, knowing that I’d told him a thousand secrets in our forgotten past. That made it easier to talk to him, but I was uncertain of how to even voice my thoughts.

“It’s weird,” I confessed, looking away. “I think I’m Celeste’s doppelganger; I saw her in the Heart of the Sea. I don’t know what that means...”

Charlie smiled reassuringly. “You don’t need to know right now; you’ll know when the time is right, just like with everything else we’ve done this week.”

I smiled fondly at Charlie. “Oh, shucks, you’re like my own personal cheer squad,” I teased, feeling better.

“That’s what I’m here for,” he replied genuinely.

“What are you here for?” Daniel interrupted jovially, as we caught up at the cars.

“For general good times,” Charlie laughed.

“Preach it,” Daniel said, gently bumping fists so as not to further injure Charlie.

As the cars snaked their way through the darkened moors of Cornwall, I worried. Celeste’s eyes had been pleading. The vision had been shown to me specifically; I felt like she wanted me to do something, but what?