The Turning Tides

CHAPTER Seven

HUMPBACKS



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I snuck out of the apartment early the next morning, silently tiptoeing past Dad’s elaborate hospital room and slipping into the parking garage unnoticed. I still had the keys for the Rolls, so I jumped in and drove it to the exit. I found Yuri guarding the gate when I reached it, and I felt in my purse for the Taser while I waited for him to buzz me out. I could see his dark eyes watching me in my rear view mirror as I pulled away, and I shuddered with distaste.

I drove to a surf shop along a beach on the west side of the city, quickly choosing some new gear and paying cash to the talkative clerk. He asked me where I came from, and wanted to discuss the local wave breaks, but I just nodded politely and rushed out as soon as I could. I drove along the shore, savoring the pungent salty air as the sun burned its way through the hanging sea mist.

I found a good spot to park, in front of a cafe near a short stretch of sandy beach. I sipped some coffee and ate breakfast while I kept an eye out for any suspicious people. When I was satisfied that this was as safe a spot as any, I wiggled into my wetsuit and grabbed my board. I’d perfected the art of entering the water at various random points, but never this far north. I was much closer to Nerissa and Nixie’s territory here, and I hoped they’d be as easy to summon as Lorelei usually was.

I tucked my key away securely, strolling nonchalantly down the beach. I sat on my board at the waterline, waiting for a smiling couple to pass by. I nodded in return, watching them meander away, throwing driftwood into the surf for a pair of dripping wet Golden Retrievers. It made me wonder if Ethan and I would ever get to the place we saw in our dreams.

I looked around one last time, careful not to attract any attention on my entry. These cold waters were notoriously dangerous, and I could easily be mistaken for someone in trouble. The last thing I needed was for some well-intentioned Good Samaritan to call out the coast guard to “rescue” me.

Satisfied I was alone, I took my board and raced for the water, duck diving into the waves with an overwhelming sense of relief tinged with fear. Every time I paddled out into the swells of the bay it required a leap of faith, because if my sisters failed to hear me, treacherous tides and unpredictable currents could conspire to sweep me out into the merciless sea.

I swam hard, only having to veer off course once to dodge some windsurfers that seemed to appear from out of nowhere. I turned back to fix the return spot in my memory, making sure to pick out a landmark that would be visible even if the fog rolled in. When the fog rolled in, I reminded myself. This was San Francisco, after all.

I focused on calling Nerissa and Nixie to me, squeezing my eyes shut and straining with the effort. The winds picked up and the sea grew rougher the further out I got, tossing and turning my surfboard. I had trouble staying upright, and I began to seriously doubt the wisdom of my choice to seek them out without Lorelei’s help.

“Marina!” A high pitched voice startled me, and I spun around to see Nixie. She looked like she’d grown even more, and I smiled at her beautiful little face bobbing in the choppy water. Whew.

“Hi Nixie,” I smiled my relief. “How are you? Have you been careful to avoid all the boats?”

She giggled, and then nodded solemnly when she saw that I wasn’t joking, “Yes sister. I know the rules.”

“Good.” I nodded, looking all around us, “Where’s Nerissa?”

“I’ll show you,” she squealed, grabbing my board. Now about the size of a nine year old child, Nixie was already one of the most powerful creatures in the sea. I held onto my board and let her take me where she would.

We eventually stopped in the open ocean, and I scanned the water in vain. I could hear Nerissa’s voice coming from far, far below the surface; I was surprised to hear her thoughts as clearly as if I were eavesdropping on a telephone conversation. I strained to make sense of the one-sided conversation. She was giving directions to someone, or rather a group of someones. I had a hard time understanding what she wanted them to do.

“Wait,” Nixie said, her hand on my arm.

All around us the water started bubbling, and the air breaking the surface formed a large circle in the water.

“What the–”

Nixie pulled my board out of the bubble ring with delighted musical laughter.

I watched in wonder, unable to imagine what in the world was going on. Inside of the circle, the water started boiling with small fish coming to the surface. All at once, three enormous humpback whales thrust up out of the water, leaping high above us to come crashing down with colossal splashes. I could see into their mouths; open wide and lined with baleen that looked like the slats of window blinds. Massive jaws snapped shut, squirting out water, gulping entire schools of fish down their throats.

“Whoa!” I gasped.

I struggled to keep my balance in the giant wake created by their belly flops. Nerissa’s glossy black head broke the surface right in the middle of the trio, and she tried to smile when she saw me, despite the fish she held in her teeth.

It was as unexpected and surreal a thing as I’d ever seen, and I wondered what Professor Powell would think if he knew that mermaids and whales fed together. The whales rolled in the water, their throats working, ridged white underbellies visible.

Nerissa swam to my board, “Sister! Are we going wave riding today?”

I caught my breath and laughed. Why did anything I saw out here surprise me?

“I wanted to see how you were doing,” I told her.

“Doing what?”

I sighed, “I worry about you.”

She smiled at me indulgently, calling out to Nixie, “Your turn!”

As if on cue, Nixie and the whales dove simultaneously, leaving Nerissa and I alone. I watched the shadowy shapes disappear into deep water, looking down to see another ring of bubbles breaking the surface; this time I knew enough to paddle well out of the way. The huge leviathans breeched the surface, and it was truly amazing to see their giant bodies come almost completely out of the water. I spotted Nixie clinging to the biggest one, her fingers wedged into its deeply grooved skin. She let out a whoop and dove off her giant steed just before it came smashing down with an enormous smack of a splash.

Water gushed from their baleen screens as they slowly sank back into the sea. I looked frantically around for the little mermaid, “Nixie?”

Nerissa smiled serenely at me. “You worry too much,” she observed.

Lorelei suddenly appeared with a rush of golden hair. She didn’t seem at all surprised to see me so far north, and I realized that the mermaid’s telepathic range must extend far beyond my own.

“We should go wave riding,” she said.

Nixie burst out of the water just as the whales had, leaping over my surfboard with a little wave like a trained dolphin jumping through a hoop. A hauntingly beautiful song filled the air, and the whales rolled in the heaving sea, slapping their long flippers on the surface. It was as if they were signaling goodbye, and I watched as they slowly swam away. I remembered from my lecture that they were leaving California for the winter, heading south to breed and calve in the warm tropical waters off the coast of Mexico.

“I think we should go wave riding now,” Nixie said.

I had to agree.

After several hours of spectacular surfing I was ready to head back in. The three of them towed me close to shore to see me off. I paused before swimming in to the beach, making them repeat the rules to me again.

“Stop,” said Nixie.

“Think,” chimed in Nerissa.

“Go around the net,” Lorelei said with uncharacteristic gravity. She was remembering how she was captured, and I felt bad for having to keep bringing it up.

I patted her hand reassuringly, “If you stay away from boats, you’ll be fine… And don’t let them trick you with otters!”

I put my head down and paddled towards land. I touched ground on a foggy beach, coming ashore almost exactly where I had entered. I trudged to the Rolls, unzipping and retrieving the key from inside of my suit, pulling my purse from the trunk and climbing in. I had just finished going through the contortions of changing into my jeans when I sat up with a start.

There was someone watching me.

I could feel it, sensing eyes on me as if they were touching me physically. I caught a movement in my peripheral vision and froze, slowly, methodically reaching for my purse. Without looking up, I pulled out the Taser. I had a good grip on it when I turned the door handle, positioning myself to jump out.

I was finished running. It was my turn to do the chasing.

I lifted my eyes up to see a man’s hooded figure with dark glasses peeking from behind the building across the street. He ducked back in a flash, and I bolted out of the car, racing across the street to see him slip into the lobby of an office building.

I ran inside just moments after him, startling the receptionist, “Where did he go?” I demanded. She just pointed to the elevator. It was going up.

I ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time, pausing on each floor to find the elevator still on its way up to the top floor. Thank God it’s only five stories, I thought, struggling to keep up the pace. I entered the fifth floor from the stairwell just in time to see the door to a small closet-like room swing shut. With my Taser at the ready, I slowly opened it, finding another half-flight of stairs leading to the roof. I heard a door slam.

I bounded up the last few stairs and burst out from a utility room onto a tar and gravel rooftop. I checked from side to side, but saw no one. My feet stung as I backed away from the door. There was only one place to hide, and it was on the opposite side of the doorway.

“Come out,” I called, “I know you’re there.”

Giving the little square structure a wide berth, I had my Taser at the ready as I started to slowly circle around it. With a sudden flurry of movement, the hooded figure bolted out and dove for the door, slamming it behind him. I lunged for the handle, but came up a split second too late.

I was locked onto the roof.

“Damn!” I pounded on the door, giving Abby a run for her money as I unleashed a string of profanities. I stopped to catch my breath with my hands on my knees, finally walking gingerly around the roof to look for another way down. On the side facing the ocean I found an expensive pair of binoculars, and leaned over to see straight down into Evie’s Rolls. I picked them up and looked through them, realizing I’d been watched as I paddled out to sea.

A wave of dizziness forced me into a crouch. How could it be?

“Hey! What are you doing?”

I jumped up and spun around. A grizzled old man in a blue jumpsuit was standing in the doorway.

I stood up with a deep breath and walked over to him with as much dignity as I could muster, “I got locked out.”

He looked down at my bare feet, and up at my wet hair with his mouth agape.

“Are these yours?” I asked, showing him the binoculars.

He shook his head no and stepped aside.

When I finally pulled into Evie’s building, Paul was manning the gate.

“I’m being followed,” I told him tersely, and watched him spring into action, racing around the back of the Rolls to scan up and down the street.

He was waiting by the door when I parked and climbed out. “Tell me everything,” he demanded.

I explained to him that I had gone surfing, and showed him the binoculars that I’d recovered.

“Who knew where you were going?” he asked with an angry face.

“No-one–” I stopped myself, “But Yuri saw me leave.”

His eyes flashed on mine and I knew what he was thinking.

“It wasn’t him,” I shook my head, thinking about Yuri’s massive bulk. He was as big as Boris, and much wider than the man who had slipped past me.

Paul promised to sweep my car for electronic surveillance again, and I arranged for some lessons on bug detection for the next morning. I took my bags and headed for the elevator.

“I’m leaving here with a gun after my next lesson,” I was resolute. “Whether you think I’m ready or not.”

I watched his lips curl into a slow smile as the door slid shut.

I gathered my thoughts on the elevator, coming to terms with what had just transpired. I knew my enemies were still out there, but I suppose I still had a little flicker of hope that they’d give up on catching mermaids, and leave me alone. All my illusions had been dispelled today, making my training sessions with Paul even more necessary. The future now seemed a whole lot more uncertain.

I racked my brain, but I couldn’t imagine how they had tracked me there.

My father was awake when I walked in, propped up and reading in his bed. He looked at me with a smile, and gestured to the chair next to his side.

“We need to talk,” he said, closing his book.

I nodded, put all of my disturbing thoughts out of my mind, and slipped into the chair.

“Marina,” he started out in his most paternal tone. “I understand how when you’re seventeen… A few years can seem like forever. But you’re simply too young to get married. When you look back on this, you’ll see that rushing into–”

“Don’t you like him?” I interjected.

He sighed, “Of course I do. Ethan seems like a very serious young man with a lot of ambition.”

“So what’s your objection?” I asked impatiently.

He regarded me with a pained look, “I don’t object to him, it’s just…” He groped for the words, “I don’t want you to make the same mistake that I did…”

I stood up, “You mean having me?”

“No!” He reached out to me, and I took his hand in mine. “I mean jumping into something you’re not prepared to deal with–”

I scoffed, because I was preparing to deal with much more than marriage, “Dad, I know a lot more than my mother did when you got married.”

He winced, and I felt bad for hurting him.

Doctor Permala came in through the front door, looking at him and back to me suspiciously, “Dinner will be served in twenty minutes.” She disappeared back into the hallway.

“Dad, don’t worry about me. Everything will be fine.” I bent down to kiss his forehead, “Oh, I almost forgot.” I reached into my purse, pulling out the candy I’d picked up in Chinatown and pressing it into his hand. I nodded after the doctor with a smirk, “Better hide it from her.”

He smiled wanly, “Marina…”

I paused, “Yes?”

“I only want what’s best for you.”

“I know Dad… I know.” I squeezed his hand and turned to go.

Standing in the shower with hot water running all around, I visualized what might have happened if I’d caught up with my shadow today. I would have zapped him mercilessly, and Paul and Boris would probably be interrogating him right now. I gritted my teeth with determination. I would not allow them to interfere with my sisters. Next time, I’d make sure whoever it was didn’t get away.

I flopped down onto my bed, exhausted. My old bedroom seemed like it belonged to someone else, and it just pointed out how much I’d changed since I first moved to Aptos. I looked at the clothes in the closet and the pictures on the walls like I was seeing them for the first time.

There was a quiet rapping on the door, and I rolled over, “Come in.”

Doctor Permala slipped in, quietly closing the door behind her. I sat up, expecting to be scolded for bringing my father a treat.

She cleared her throat nervously, and once again I couldn’t help but notice what a dark beauty she was. “Your father is in a very fragile state,” she said solemnly, “Both mentally and physically.”

“Mentally?” I asked, swinging my feet off the bed.

“He has terrible survivor’s guilt about the death of his assistant. Apparently, he had grown very fond of the young man.”

“Yeah,” I nodded, remembering his face in the hospital when the memory came back.

She went on, “Recovering function in his hand and arm will be very difficult.”

I nodded again, “I understand.”

“Good,” she said, smoothing her hair back nervously. Her sloe eyes peered at me solemnly through her thick rimmed glasses, “I’m most concerned that his Prana is very low.”

“Prana?”

“His life force… his vital energy. He will need to restore it before he can fully heal. Please don’t do anything to upset him needlessly.”

I bristled, “I’m here to help him get better too!”

“Then we are in agreement,” she said formally. “Will you join us for dinner?”

“No thanks,” I said, “I’m going to see my cousin.”

She inclined her head, “Thank you for your consideration.” She got up to slip out as silently as she had come in.

I flopped back down on the bed, irritated. I could just see her cozying up to Evie with all her talk of “Prana”. That was probably how she got the job; Evie ate that stuff up. I got up and dressed, walking past the doctor as she set up a tray for my father. She had wheeled in a large cart from Evie’s kitchen, loaded with a variety of healthy looking food. I realized that I was ravenous.

“I’m going to go visit Cruz,” I announced as I passed by.

I knocked on the door of the apartment one floor down and Brad answered.

“Oh,” I said, feeling awkward. “Is Cruz here?”

Cruz’s familiar shaggy head popped up behind him, “Marina!” He slid past Brad to throw his arms around me, “I’m so sorry about your father! Evie told us about your time in Germany, and about the explosion and all that stuff! Mom’s absolutely beside herself! Come in and see our new place!”

Our place? I thought. And everyone thought I was rushing into things.

Cruz chattered on, gesturing grandly, “Allow me give you the grand tour– Brad’s been decorating… isn’t it exquisite?”

I studied Cruz, noticing he had a new attitude to go along with a few new facial piercings. He took me around to show me all of the various pieces of furniture and art that were tastefully displayed in the spacious rooms, finishing off with a tour of his design studio. It was every bit as spectacular as his previous workroom, and it was filled to bursting with an amazing variety of new clothes.

Cruz showed me his latest collection and I was seriously impressed. He had returned to his edgy, gothic-rocker roots, producing clothing that I could visualize being worn by the trendiest, most fashion-forward people around. I oohed and ahhed over each piece, listening as Cruz described the group show at design school he’d taken top honors in.

“When it got around that I knew Evelyn Pond, everyone at school wanted to be my best friend.”

“The famous Evie,” I laughed. “I remember the day you first met her.”

“Did you hear? She’s taking me and Brad to Argentina next week to meet my sisters! In her private jet!”

“That should be nice,” I smiled.

“Nice?” he exclaimed, “You can’t even imagine! I went from being an only child to having two sisters– just like that!”

“Oh… I can imagine,” I said with amusement.

Brad cleared his throat from the doorway. “Marina… Will you stay for dinner?” he asked anxiously.

I looked to Cruz, and nodded back at Brad, “I’d love to.” He smiled and headed back to the kitchen.

“Can you believe how great my life has turned out?” Cruz bubbled, shaking his head in disbelief. “Isn’t it amazing what a difference a few months can make? I feel like an entirely new person!”

“Amazing,” I agreed, “But don’t change too much.”

Cruz was different… lighter and more flippant than ever. He trusted Brad completely, and was blindly traipsing through the minefield of first love. I couldn’t help but worry that he should watch his step.

“Don’t you miss Aptos at all?” I asked, looking out the window at the twinkling cityscape.

He followed my gaze, chortling, “Look at that gorgeous skyline. You can keep your foul sunshine and healthy ways– I’ll take the city any day!” Cruz had clearly embraced his life among the well-heeled sophisticates that called the towering metropolitan apartments home.

When dinner was ready, Brad called us out to a beautifully set table, and we sat down to a delicious meal of Chicken Cacciatore. Brad was really sweet, I thought– not at all creepy like Yuri. I should probably try and give him the benefit of the doubt. Then I suddenly had the awful realization that he may have been the one that had slipped away from me on the rooftop.

I watched him carefully over dinner. He lived in the building… He had a tall, athletic build. Like Yuri, he was under Evie’s protection. He could have seen me leave this morning and followed me to my mermaid meeting.

“So, Brad, what did you do today?” I asked him.

He looked startled, “I– I went to a client meeting.”

“With who?” I asked.

“Geeze! Aren’t you Little Miss Nosy?” scolded Cruz.

“That’s okay,” said Brad, telling us both about a new account he was trying to land decorating a high-end realtor’s office. I wasn’t sure if I believed him or not.

After dinner I begged off, skipping coffee and thanking them both for their kind hospitality. Cruz wanted to escort me to my Dad’s apartment, but I insisted I could find my way up one floor on my own.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to make it in okay?”

I nodded and hugged him, walking out. “Hey Cruz,” I paused.

“What?”

“That’s what she said.”

I could hear him laughing as he closed the door.





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