The Turning Tides

CHAPTER One

BASIC TRAINING



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“Squeeze it gently, don’t jerk on it.”

I took a breath and held it, pausing for a moment to steady my arm and line up the sights at the end of the barrel. The shots rang out in the confines of the long room, muffled by a headset, but still loud enough to make my ears ring. I cast a sly glance at Paul out of the corner of my eye, stepping back to reel in the paper target with a cluster of holes centered in the middle.

“Nice grouping,” he shook his head with a proud smile, “But don’t get cocky, wait until you try the thirty eight.”

My training was coming along swimmingly, and Evie’s new addition to the security team had turned out to be a godsend. Paul was an expert weapons instructor, and a top notch bodyguard who was completely dedicated to my protection. He spent hours schooling me in hand-to-hand combat, stealth surveillance and evasive driving. His steady, quiet presence was helping me overcome past traumas and transform my fears into action.

A former Navy Seal, he’d most recently worked as private security for Kuwaiti royalty, and Evie had assigned him as my personal trainer under Boris’s supervision. Disciplined and professional, at first Paul had seemed a touch arrogant, but the more I got to know him, the more I could see he was really just hyper-professional. It was obvious he possessed all the skills to back up his bravado.

After a few weeks of working out with Paul I was sore in muscles I didn’t even know existed. I think I surprised him with my tenacity, because no matter how hard he pressed me, I refused to give up, pushing myself to the point of collapse more than once. This is nothing, I thought, compared to the pain of transformation– and that pain was nothing next to the helpless horror of watching my mermaid sisters suffer at the hands of my enemies.

I swore to myself that I was never going to feel that defenseless ever again.

So I persevered, doggedly determined and every bit as stubborn as my father ever was. My purpose in life had finally become crystal clear; I knew what I was put here to do. I had to learn everything I could to keep my family safe, both the terrestrial and aquatic sides. I was on a mission, and now that I had something to focus on besides my fear, I was like a dog with a new bone.

Since I’d insisted on staying in Aptos, Evie had insisted on outfitting Abby’s house with an elaborate alarm system, insuring that nobody could get within fifty feet of the place undetected. Abby knew that my mother was a mermaid, and bought my story that the security was necessary after I’d attracted stalkers because of it. I didn’t see the need for her to know any more than that.

Neither Evie nor Abby knew that I wouldn’t be there much longer, because I was planning on moving in with Ethan. We intended to marry as soon as I turned eighteen, and it was only a few months away. After everything that had happened, and in light of Abby and Dutch’s eagerly anticipated baby, I didn’t see why Ethan and I should be apart.

Giving up immortality made me realize that life really was too short.

I’d already moved a couple of drawers of my things to his apartment, and we were impatiently waiting for his father to clear out before I transferred the contents of my art studio into the spare bedroom. My father would be home from Afghanistan soon, and I was anxious for him to meet Ethan. It felt like time was standing still, and I was in a hurry to get on with the rest of my life.

A glance at the clock on the wall told me that Ethan was probably just finishing up at the farmer’s market. We had plans to meet at Abby’s for Sunday dinner, and I couldn’t wait. I’d spent Saturday night in the city so I could get an early start on my training, so I missed him already. I could see Paul notice I was getting edgy, watching me with eyes that seemed to evaluate everything.

“In a hurry to get to the boyfriend?” he asked me. Paul was always teasing me about Ethan, refusing to call him by name.

“As a matter of fact, I am.”

“So,” he added casually, loading up another paper target, “You never did tell me how you managed to get away from Edwards… and burn his house to the ground.”

I shrugged, re-loading the pistol. Paul didn’t talk much, but he asked a few questions here and there, and I could tell the holes in my story bothered him. Even though he worked for Evie, I wasn’t sure how much he should know about the mermaids, so as usual, I kept the details to myself.

“You’re right,” I replied dryly, “I didn’t.”

He rolled his eyes, but continued on, earnestly curious, “Seriously… how?”

I pressed my lips together, “I got lucky. Yuri showed up to help me… sort of…”

We slipped our headsets on, and Paul watched while I took aim. He nodded his approval as I blasted away at the target. He leaned in sideways, flipped up my earpiece and volunteered, “That guy gives me the creeps.”

I smiled my agreement with a bitter little laugh, “Me too, but Boris vouches for him, and that’s good enough for Evie.”

I didn’t think I’d ever get over the fact that Yuri had worked for Edwards, kidnapping both me and Lorelei. Although he’d come over to our camp, so to speak, I still couldn’t bring myself to trust him. Evie had faith in Boris’s judgment, arguing that Yuri brought us valuable information about the enemy. My objections to taking him into our confidence had been overruled.

Paul leaned over again to murmur in my ear, “Those commies all stick together.”

Our eyes met, and I could see he was teasing me again. Now we both laughed. Paul had always seemed so stern, but he was starting to loosen up a little, and I was glad to see it.

He had me reload and practice speed firing with one and two hands, drawing the gun out of my purse and releasing the safety with one hand. He finished my lesson by having me clean the revolver, promising to graduate me to a higher caliber automatic for my next target practice

“I’ll just take this one now.” I said, reaching to open my purse. “School starts tomorrow, and I should probably–”

He shook his head no, holding out his hand for the weapon, “Nice try, but not quite yet. I’m going to give you the Taser to carry for starters.”

“Don’t you trust me?” I asked, annoyed.

He shrugged apologetically and smiled a lopsided smile at me; I couldn’t help but notice how charming he was. A good looking, square jawed specimen of military manhood from the top of his close cropped head down to his polished boots, Paul could have come right out of central casting. He may have been used to giving orders, but I wasn’t about to surrender that easily.

“I’m sure that Evie would want me to have it right away,” I said confidently.

“Evie told me to use my judgment,” he said firmly. “Come back to the range next weekend and we’ll see.”

I’d discovered early on that Paul was extraordinarily self-possessed, and seemed to be an extremely muse resistant sort of man. As irritating as it was at the moment, it came as a relief. After dealing with the obsession that hybrids could sometimes inspire, I was hesitant to be around any strange men. If I had any magical effect on Paul at all, it was to make him operate even more strictly by the book, and I couldn’t seem to manipulate him in order to get my way.

It was a little frustrating today, as I was eager to feel secure, and I figured carrying a gun would certainly help with that. After I’d put an end to their latest scheme, I was pretty sure my enemies were angry, and I feared they might come for my sisters again. I had no idea what they might throw my way next, so I was preparing to fight, and I needed to be armed.

Now that I was aware of what Nathan Edwards was really after, I realized that he would never give up on his quest for immortality. He’d used hybrid muses to amass a vast fortune, and now his focus was on the source. He was out to get the mermaids, and use them to obtain the one thing in the world that his money could not buy– time.

His vile depravity knew no bounds. He had kidnapped and raped a mermaid, leading to the creation of a new immortal, the baby mermaid Nixie. Edwards was out there somewhere, aware that she existed, and I suspected that he wouldn’t simply let it go. I appointed myself Nixie’s guardian and protector, and I was determined to stop him in his quest to use her genes to extend his own miserable life.

In fact, I was probably more determined than Edwards could ever be, because fate and circumstance had conspired to make me uniquely qualified for the job. As far as I knew, I was the missing link– the only human that could communicate with mermaids, and just a few breaths of water away from being one myself.

I was both motivated and burdened by this knowledge.

I set my jaw, “I’m ready to try the 45,” I told Paul.

He laughed, showing another glimpse of warmth that made him seem a little more human and a little less terminator, “First things first.” He took the gun from me and re-loaded, adjusting his earphones and taking aim. He fired all eight shots in rapid succession, returning my sideways look and reeling in the paper target to hand it to me. He had laced the bull’s-eye, whereas I had merely peppered the center ring.

“Would it really matter?” I asked sarcastically, “If it were a person I was shooting at?”

“Take the Taser,” he said with a twinkle in his eye, “At least I know you’re proficient with it.”

I thought I detected the tiniest hint of a smile playing about his lips, and I tried unsuccessfully to suppress my own. Paul had trained me on the Taser, volunteering Yuri to be my practice target. I think he noticed that I got a little twinge of satisfaction when I zapped him, thinking of Lorelei as I watched Yuri flopping about on the floor like a fish. Payback, I thought.

Paul and I left the shooting range, locking it behind ourselves. The soundproofed room opened up onto a huge command center, a compound that took up the basement floor of Evie’s apartment building. Comfortable couches were grouped on one side of the room, and the walls were lined with closed-circuit cameras that focused on every entrance into the high rise. From here, the comings and goings of all the tenants could be observed and analyzed.

I’d been in and out of Evie’s apartment building my whole life, and never imagined that this place even existed. I was surprised when I was first allowed a glimpse into Boris’s inner sanctum, as I had not once given any thought to exactly where in the building he lived.

I could never allow myself the luxury of such ignorance again.

Yuri was sitting on one of the couches, and snapped to attention when I entered the room. Madame Fatima’s latest prophecy flashed through my mind, and I looked away pointedly.

“See you next week,” Paul said with a nod, dismissing me.

We shook hands, and I exited the room through a door that led directly into Evie’s underground parking garage.

“Marina! How goes it?” Boris was standing guard as usual, and strode over to escort me to my car.

“I’m doing okay,” I smiled, holding up my paper targets. Boris nodded, impressed.

A shiny silver Jaguar pulled up next to us, and I waved with a smile. Cruz was driving, with Bradley riding alongside him.

He bounded out of the car and embraced me, all black clothes and spiky hair, “How’d the training go? Is that Paul guy still kicking your butt?”

“Yeah,” I said, wincing when he squeezed my shoulders.

I looked up to see Brad come around from the passenger side. “Hi Marina,” he volunteered tentatively. He always seemed a little hesitant to engage me, maybe because his estranged father happened to be my worst enemy. I was also indirectly responsible for the death of his aunt, making me wonder if he resented me, and it made us dance around each other even more. The whole situation was tortuously convoluted.

Just as I was uncertain of Yuri, I doubted Brad. Evie’s fortune teller Fatima had said was that there would be two new men and two new women in my life, two dark and two light; prophesizing that one in each pair would betray me. Fatima had been eerily prescient before, and I couldn’t help but wondering if Brad was one of the bad ones. I’d already decided that I needed to keep an eye on Yuri.

“Have an open mind,” Evie advised me when I told her of my suspicions, adding, “One must trust, but verify.” I didn’t find that sentiment particularly soothing, but I held my tongue for Cruz’s sake.

“Will you stay for dinner?” Brad asked politely.

“No, Ethan is expecting me… but thank you anyway.”

“Tell mom I said Hi,” Cruz kissed both of my cheeks in the manner of Evie, and I watched, amused, as he jauntily bounded to the elevator. My cousin was happier than I’d ever seen him, and it made me feel better despite my misgivings.

I took the scenic route home, enjoying the drive that wound along the coastline. The waves were crashing onto the shore like an invitation, and I briefly toyed with the idea of squeezing in a quick surf before dinner. The thought of seeing Ethan made the impulse pass.

Once he’d witnessed the majesty of surfing with the mermaids, Ethan no longer questioned my desire to be out there. He talked about the experience with reverence, and he supported my decision to protect them. Though he no longer seemed to be quite so afraid they’d spirit me away, he still worried that I might put myself in danger. Given my track record, I had to admit he had a point. We were both hoping that after fifty moons passed my overwhelming urge to be in the sea would ease up a little.

A love song came on the radio and I turned it up, humming along to the sweet strains of a familiar voice. Megan had been touring and performing all summer long, calling me every so often to describe the far-flung locations she could scarcely believe she was seeing. Like Cruz, she sounded happier than she’d ever been, and her joy spilled over the phone onto me. I always felt buoyed up after hearing from her, even if I was still uncomfortable with the idea that I had anything at all to do with her outrageous good fortune.

Aptos girl Shayla had also spread her wings to fly, and was now dating the movie star that I’d pulled from the sea in Hawaii. A beautiful pair, they graced the tabloids weekly, their globetrotting adventures custom made for the glossy magazines. There were pictures of Shayla and Matt posing at movie premieres, surfing in South Africa, or covering their faces as they slipped out of chic nightclubs.

Some long-lens photos of Shayla had recently surfaced– scandalous images of her frolicking topless on a billionaire’s private island. Instead of hurting her career, they only served to enhance her reputation as a free-spirited surfer girl, and made her even more popular. She had already attained legendary status in Aptos, and Ethan and I were amused to hear every local surfer proudly claiming to have been her boyfriend.

The fashionable set had officially deemed Shayla a supermodel, and her face was popping up in more and more places. The press loved her, as she was always good for a provocative statement or a colorful observation about celebrity. She joked about her unsophisticated background without a hint of defensiveness, and was rapidly becoming famous for being famous. She had come so far, so fast, it was almost unbelievable.

Almost.

I was happy for my friend’s success, but for me, the summer had only brought more calamity. After another disastrous run-in with the Edwards family, I’d endured another kidnapping that had ended in death and destruction. I’d managed to escape them once again, but Nathan Edwards and his muse Olivia were still out there, and I sensed they still had evil plans in the works.

I reached into my purse and felt for the Taser, checking my rear view mirror for any suspicious cars. The events of the past year had changed me forever; caution was now my second nature. There was no time to mourn for the carefree girl I once was– there could be no turning back the clock.

I rounded the corner onto Abby’s familiar little street, disappointed to see that Ethan hadn’t arrived yet. I parked in the driveway, pulling out my keys and looking around before stepping out into the foggy twilight. Charlie the cat yowled at me from the bench on the porch. I patted his head, wrestling with the new locks and finally walking into the front door to find a heavily pregnant Abby sitting on the couch with a large cardboard box at her feet.

“We got them!” she announced with a satisfied smile.

I came closer and peeked in, seeing a cluster of five tiny black and white kittens huddled together, looking up at us with wide, fearful eyes.

“The beach patrol has been checking the traps for me and just brought them by. Aren’t they sweet?”

“Aww,” I reached in to pet one and they all hissed, baring their sharp teeth and arching their tiny backs in a pathetic attempt at ferocity. I pulled my hand back.

Abby made little cooing sounds at them, absentmindedly rubbing her belly at the same time. “I’m afraid they need a lot of taming up. My friend Mary from over at the shelter will come to pick them up tomorrow. She has some foster homes lined up for them.” She looked over her shoulder at the darkening sky outside, “Charlie’s not too happy about it. He took one look at them and ran outside.”

“He’ll get over it,” I laughed, “He’s just jealous.”

“Dutch is on his way over to move in a load of his stuff, so it’s gonna be pizza for dinner… Do you mind keeping them in your room tonight? I don’t want to stress them out with too much hustle and bustle.”

“Sure!” I smiled eagerly, “I’d love to.”

I moved the box into my room, setting them out of the way on the other side of my bed. We lined the bottom of the box with an old towel, carefully lowering in some food, water and a tray of litter. A couple of the bolder ones sniffed around at everything, tentatively taking a few bites.

“Oh good,” sighed Abby with relief, straightening up with a little groan. She looked tired. “We’ll have them fattened up into lazy housecats in no time.”

We heard the scraping of a key in the door and Abby’s eyes lit up, “That must be Dutch!”

By the time we came down the hall he had burst through the door with a couple of boxes stacked in his arms. Ethan stood behind him holding more boxes and wearing an enormous grin. I smiled back, wondering if his father could tell just how eager Ethan was to clear him out of the apartment.

Abby kissed Dutch on the cheek, “Go ahead and put those down anywhere… I already cleaned out the closet and made some shelf space.” She led Dutch into her room while Ethan set his boxes down and came over to me.

“How was your d–”

His lips were on mine before I had a chance to speak, the clean, earthy smell of him making me familiarly lightheaded. I pulled him close, my hands circling around his back.

Dutch made another trip out to the car for some boxes, clearing his throat pointedly as he passed us. I pulled back with a reddening face. When I kissed Ethan it was easy to forget that there were other people around, but we had just been apart for two whole days.

“How was your day?” we both asked simultaneously, and laughed.

“Fine, and you?” he asked, squeezing my biceps, “How are the workouts going?”

“Ouch,” I winced. “He’s tough… but he did let me shoot some guns today,” I grinned up at him. “It was a blast!”

He rolled his eyes at me, running his hands up and down my arms gently, leaning in to murmur in my ear, “I’ll have to give you a massage later.”

I giggled and twisted around, “Come on, I have something to show you.” I crooked my finger at him and hustled down the hall to my room. He pounced on me as soon as I closed the door, making me laugh before kissing me dizzy again.

“Not that!” I gasped when we finally came up for air. I nodded my head to the box on the opposite side of my bed, “Look.”

We stretched across the bed and peered into the box. Three of the little cats were asleep in a pile, but a pair of them sat looking up at us with anxious eyes.

“Aww,” he crooned, “Stella’s beach cats?”

I nodded, describing how they had been trapped today, and explained Abby’s plan to find homes for them. He surprised me by reaching in and snatching one up by the scruff of its neck, bringing it onto the bed and stroking it around its ears and throat until it stopped struggling. I looked at him in wonder as it calmed down and started to purr.

“Wow,” I gasped, “How did you do that? They almost bit my hand off!”

He smiled wistfully. “They just miss their mother,” he said, looking down into the box. “They’ll forget all about her though… you just need to handle them a lot.”

He returned the kitten to the box and leaned back on my pillow, reaching over to pull the paper targets out from under my purse on the nightstand. I wondered what he’d think about my new Taser. He let out a long low whistle and looked up at me.

“These are from today?”

I nodded with a grin.

He shook his head, “You’re scary.”

“Don’t you feel a little safer?” I asked.

He glanced at my purse in alarm.

“No… I don’t have one yet,” I told him. “Paul says maybe next week.”

He sighed, “Whatever.” We’d already had this discussion. Ethan hated the idea of me carrying a gun around. He worried that it was dangerous as well as illegal. I didn’t care. If Edwards or some of his thugs came after me or my family there would be no time to call the police. I needed to be able to fight back.

“So Dutch is officially moved out?” I asked.

Ethan brightened up, “Yep… the place is all ours. I can bring my truck over to start moving your studio after classes tomorrow. Did you get your schedule?”

I did, and it was truly pathetic compared to Ethan’s. I was taking it slow, easing into college while deciding exactly what I should be studying. I’d enrolled in a couple of art classes, and the one class I was most anxious to attend– marine biology. Ethan had a full course load, and with all the work he did afternoons and weekends, I was going to have to move in with him if I wanted to see him at all.

There was a knock on the door, and Abby announced that the pizza had arrived. After the four of us ate, Ethan and I snuggled on the couch while Abby got Dutch settled in.

“Come home with me tonight,” Ethan whispered in my ear.

I sighed heavily. I really wanted to, but we couldn’t keep going on like this. I had some urgent business to take care of.

“I promised Abby I’d watch the kittens tonight.”

Ethan looked a little worried, “You’re not having second thoughts… are you?”

“Don’t be silly… It’s just that you need to get some rest. You have an earlier start than I do, and I really did promise Abby. I’ll be there tomorrow. I swear.”

He turned to me seriously, “Marina… I don’t want you to think I’m being pushy. I mean–”

I put my hand to his lips, “Shhh. Can we meet up on campus tomorrow?”

“OK,” he sighed. Then his eyes narrowed playfully, “Did you just shush me?”

“Yeah,” I smiled at him, “What are you gonna do about it?”

“I wouldn’t talk like that,” his eyes sparkled with mischief, “If I were ticklish.”

He caught me before I could get away.





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