When we finally made it outside to the front porch, Abhainn was waiting for us in his fountain. “What was going on in there?” he asked in a thick accent. “I could feel the pull of ma master ‘n it almost made me leave ma pond.”
“Could you have done that?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said while shaking his head. “It wouldn’t ‘ave been smart though. I can’t survive very long away from ma water.” He floated on the water’s surface as he followed our movement along the edge of the fountain. “Why are ye leavin’ so soon? Did my master scare ye away?”
“Something like that,” I grumbled. We reached the car and Kain started it before unlocking the doors.
“Please take me with ye mermaid. I can be of great assistance, ‘n this place is just not right for me.” He fell to his knees at the edge of the concrete border and held his hands together to emphasize his plea.
“Where are you from?” I asked.
He stood and straightened out a jacket that was barely visible in the outline of his aqueous body. “I come from the Old World, but I was captured in a Canadian lake nearly twenty years ago. This pond,” he said as he acknowledged the small watery prison, “is not enough space for me. I’m dying ‘n my master refuses to release me.”
I looked across the top of the car at my two companions. After what we’d seen today, I knew I’d never forgive myself for not helping all of these water creatures that Jeremiah kept captive. And from the identical looks on Kain and Carissa’s faces, I guessed they felt the same. Without speaking a word, I nodded to them and walked back to the Scottish sprite.
“How do we get you out of here?” I asked.
Abhainn’s eyes suddenly glowed a sparkling silver and his grin stretched from ear to ear. In it, I saw hundreds of pointy teeth, but I tried not to flinch for fear of being rude. “Do ye ‘ave a bottle?” I ran back over to the car and opened the door. I remembered seeing a few discarded water bottles in the back seat so I quickly grabbed one and approached the sprite.
“What do I need to do?”
“Nothin’ lassie. Just put it in the water ‘n I will climb in.”
I looked at the bottle and then at the sprite, and then back at the bottle again. How would he possibly fit inside? Instead of voicing my question, I did as he said and pushed the bottle under the water. Bubbles instantly filled up the space followed by millions of water particles. Abhainn disappeared beneath the surface and for a few moments, I wondered if this would work. Then I felt a rush of energy push its way into the bottle and my hand warmed as the water heated up inside. I’d captured Abhainn. Briefly, I wondered how Jeremiah had done it so long ago since this only worked because Abhainn was agreeable. I couldn’t imagine what it would take to imprison an unwilling sprite.
I pulled the bottle from the water just as Kain told me to hurry up. Twisting on the lid nice and tight, I jogged back over to the car being careful not to shake the contents too much. Once I slid into the back seat, I held the bottle up in front of me, searching for Abhainn. We were back on the road heading to my hotel when a tiny face suddenly appeared pressed against the side of the clear plastic. I almost screamed and dropped my new friend, but recovered fast enough to avoid disaster. Abhainn had shrunk to just a few inches large and I marveled over his ability. He smiled at me and offered a wave with his tiny hand before disappearing again.
“Is he in there?” Carissa asked as she turned around in her seat to face me. I handed her the bottle.
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe you stole Jeremiah’s sprite,” Kain said with bemusement.
“What was I supposed to do? Let him stay there trapped under Jeremiah’s commands and in his little fountain.” I took the bottle back from Carissa and looked out the window. “It’s just not right.”
“No one’s arguing with you,” Kain replied.
“So what’s going to happen now? Can Jeremiah summon him back?” I asked as a knot grew in my stomach. What if he came after us?
“I doubt that,” Kain assured me. “He’ll be mad but he’ll probably just go out and collect another. It seems to be his thing.”
“And this is what the Sutherlands want? The freedom to control humans, shifters, and other water creatures?”
“It looks that way,” Kain sighed.
“So what exactly is The Legacy?” Carissa asked and I was thankful that I didn’t have to be the one to do it and expose even more of my ignorance to my friends.
Kain stayed quiet for a little while but finally began to tell us what we were up against. “It’s considered to be our birthright. We’ve had a special relationship with humans since the beginning of time, and can usually coexist without any problems. But ever since they first came to be, we’ve had a distinct power over their minds. Legend says it was a gift from Poseidon himself. It allowed for our existence without being discovered and as a result we were worshipped as gods.
“As we became more powerful through our control of humans, the shifters and the water fairies saw the importance of siding with us. It was a relationship that strengthened when we discovered we had the ability to call them to us on demand. For years, the shifters and water sprites fought for power and the right not to be controlled, and ultimately our Council declared a truce and promised that no merfolk would ever be permitted to take away their self control in exchange for their silence and limited interactions with humans.”
“So that’s why we’re all taught that water sprites are extinct?” I interrupted.
“That and because there are so few left. The selkies are allowed to breed as necessary with the humans, but they are expected to maintain a solitary life away from their human mates so their secret can be maintained. Once the child is born, it is taken away from its human parent to be raised by the selkie one.”
I thought about Brendan and his relationship with his dad. That was exactly what happened to him, and once Brendan was old enough to be on his own, his father pushed him away. “So now there are merfolk who…what? Who want to control all humans like their personal puppets? I don’t really understand what that would accomplish.”
“It’s not just about controlling their minds. They want to control the power. It would be easy enough for merfolk to ask a billionaire to donate all of his money to a false charity. Or command the president of a country to approve policies beneficial to the needs of each clan. It’s simply too much control for any one family to have. This happened before in our history, and wars have been fought with their human soldier puppets over land and money and power. With the world in the position it is in today, another war like that would be the end of us all.”
“How many clans are involved?” Carissa asked, and I was surprised she didn’t know more considering her family had already been dealing with a direct casualty.
“I’m not sure. We think there are at least three right now and they’re all on the east coast. But for some reason their plight is gaining notoriety and numerous clans are contemplating joining them. There’s so much unrest in the human world right now that some of the clans feel like our involvement is inevitable and maybe even necessary.”
“And they think that war amongst our own is the way to achieve this?” I asked in disbelief. “Killing merfolk and controlling a lesser species is not the way to fix this.”
“And what exactly would you do?” Kain asked critically as he looked at me through the rearview mirror.
“Well…I’d certainly squash the Sutherlands first. Take off the head and the rest will follow, right?”
“And what happens when they send an army of selkies and water sprites after you and your family?” he countered.
“Then we use our abilities to take back control and set them free!” I yelled. A smile curved along the corners of Kain’s mouth and that made me want to jump into the front seat to slap it away. “What?” I demanded.
“You’re just like your mother.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your mother? You know, the
leader of your clan, the one who gave birth to you, the one you ran away from? Your mother wants to do the exact same thing.” He shook his head in either disbelief or frustration. “She wants to fight back too.”
“Well of course she does! Who wouldn’t?” When he didn’t say anything, I finally understood. “You don’t, do you?”
Carissa glared at him and I could almost see him throw up the walls around his emotions. “No, I don’t.”
“How can you say that? They are killing us. How many will have to die?” Carissa’s hysterical voice spit venom and I certainly didn’t envy Kain at the moment. He sighed again as though he’d had this argument a thousand times.
“No more should die, but going after them directly will only start the war they want. There has to be a better way.”
“Like what? Talking to them?” she screamed.
“Yes, exactly. We should all approach the Council and let them handle it from now on.” His voice was soft but something about it seemed unsure.
“The Council is well aware of the situation and they have not done anything to stop this. My uncle was a very powerful figure amongst our kind both here and in Japan and even after his death, the Council continues to be blind. They are choosing not to help just like we should be choosing to fight back!”
Kain couldn’t argue with her anymore and neither could I. Our families needed to do something before this situation got out of control, which considering what we knew already and what we’d seen Jeremiah do, was getting close. We were almost back to the hotel and before we made the final few turns, I tried to ease the tension with a change in subject.
“I’m going after the selkies in Baltimore.”
If I’d really thought it through, I would’ve realized this may not have been the best thing to say. Both Carissa and Kain proceeded to yell at me and tell me how it would be a suicide mission and that I needed to find another solution. But there wasn’t anything else for me to do. Brendan was dying and the only way to save him was to recover his skin.
I sat there, in the backseat covered with pillows and magazines and pretended to listen to their concerns. One thing was for sure, my friends were back. They may not have wanted to admit it, but they still cared about me and the warmth of that acknowledgment helped to give me the courage I knew I would need to save Brendan.
By the time we arrived, both Carissa and Kain made me promise not to do anything stupid right away, so I did just to get them off my back. Daniel was waiting next to the door with a smile on his face although it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
I gave him a quick hug and tried to walk inside. He stepped in front of me and put his hand on the door knob.
“Daniel, let me in,” I demanded.
“You need to know something first,” he said without looking me in the eyes. My stomach plummeted to the ground and nausea swept through me like a freight train.
“What happened to him?” I whispered although I barely heard the words myself.
“Nothing, Eviana. He’s just really sick.”
“But he was doing better this morning! He even got out of bed to say goodbye,” I challenged.
“I think that’s part of the reason why he’s not doing well. It drained him pretty bad and after you left, he fell asleep for several hours.”
I pushed past Daniel briefly realizing that I’d have to apologize later, but right now only one man mattered to me. Brendan was lying on the bed, crumpled in a heap on one side. The fresh bandages indicated that he’d bled through the other ones and my suspicions were confirmed when I glanced at the small hotel trash can near the side of the bed. I reached forward to touch his head and nearly gasped at the sight of his skin. He looked pale and dehydrated and I would say that his color was bordering on green. I’d only ever seen one person look this bad before and he had died at Cotillion.
Falling to my knees beside the bed, I decided that I would drive to Baltimore tonight. I didn’t know exactly how I was going to find the selkies, but I would just have to figure it out. Brendan didn’t have much time left.
“Eviana?” Kain called from the doorway. “We’re going to get a room here for the night. Do you want me to bring you something to eat?”
I cleared my throat and wiped the tears away from my eyes before standing to greet him at the door. “No, I’m okay. I don’t want to go anywhere right now.”
Kain nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. I had a few hours before dusk and even less time to come up with a plan. My hand suddenly became very warm and I looked down to see the water bottle still in my grip. Abhainn. Maybe he’d be able to help me find the selkies.
I set the bottle down on the table and ran to the bathroom to begin filling up the sink. I didn’t know much about water sprites since we’d been told they disappeared many years ago. Now I had one in an old water bottle that I was getting ready to release into my home. I briefly thought about whether or not I could play mind control games with him if necessary, but quickly discarded that idea and vowed to never think of it again.
When the sink was done filling up, I grabbed Abhainn’s plastic home and poured the contents into the water. I didn’t really know what to expect so I just stood there and waited. Right before I decided that I killed him, his tiny form grew from the white porcelain sink into a foot-high sprite.
“Aye, lassie. Thank ye for freein’ me. That was a most uncomfortable ride.” He continued to brush himself off as his figure emerged from the water and took its appropriate shape. “Couldn’t ‘elp but overhear, but it seems like ye’ve got a wee bit of a problem, no?”
I was thankful that I didn’t need to repeat everything to the sprite. “Yes, and I have a favor to ask you.” He twirled his hand asking me to continue. “Are you able to find people? Well, selkies in particular?”
“The ones that stole the skin?”
“Yes. They might be somewhere on the outskirts of Baltimore. I have to find them. Brendan won’t survive much longer, and if I know where I’m going, then I can leave tonight.” I sat down on the toilet and looked up at Abhainn’s somewhat disturbing fairy face. “Is that even something that your kind can do?”
He tsked at me and waved his hand. “Do? That is one of the things we are so good at.”
Relief flowed through my body and for the first time in several days, I thought that perhaps we could get out of this mess. “Okay, so can you do it?”
“Aye.”
“Can you do it now?” I asked, perhaps a little too harshly.
“Aye. But once I leave here, I will need to find ye again.”
I wanted to ask how he was going to leave and then find his way to Baltimore, but my mind was too full of odd scenarios and unexpected events today. “Well, what if I meet you at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge? Can you get there?”
“Aye, ‘n that sounds like a splendid idea.” He tilted his head up toward the ceiling and closed his eyes. “I will need a few hours. What time is it now?”
I peeked out into the living room to see the bedside clock and Brendan’s dying body next to it. “Just after one.”
“All right then. Meet me at the east end of the bridge at eight ‘n I will let ye know where to find yer dogs.”
“Seals,” I corrected.
“Same thing. Now, please send me away.”
I looked at him in confusion and he pointed to the sink below his feet.
“Pull the drain!”
“Oh, okay.” I stood and reached for the metal drain plug behind the faucet. “You’re not going to stand me up are you?” I asked.
“Nah. Ye saved me ‘n now I will help ye. It is the way of our kind.”
“Thank you, Abhainn,” I said with all of my feelings at the surface as I pushed down on the drain. Abhainn tipped his tiny liquid hat toward me and dove into the water off through the septic system.
I hoped he’d be able to make it to the bay, because right now, all of my optimism was resting on his success.