I gasped. “His father sounds horrible. Did he expect a seven-year-old to be responsible for a three-year-old? That’s not right. It wasn’t Marcel’s fault.”

  “That’s for sure. Horrible, isn’t it?” Her eyes seemed to gloss over. I wondered if that was tears. Being in the ocean made it difficult to tell.

  I nodded, glancing out to the side at the vast blue sea. It seemed endless. “If it wasn’t enough to lose his little sister…” My thoughts drifted off. “And on top of that, his family rejected him. He was so young too. Who told you this story?”

  “It was Pascal.” She blushed, giving me the feeling that she liked him. Maybe it was because he was the one who turned her. A kiss like that from a sexy hot guy can send a girl over the edge. I knew that all too well. But like Marcel, he was married. And from what I gathered, he was totally into his wife. Apparently, Pascal and Marine were already newlyweds when they were turned into mers.

  I nodded. “I guess he and Marcel are close.” I felt something brush past my leg. I screamed, my head turning this way and that. When I saw what it was, my shoulders fell—it was only a red colored fish with a long wavy tail, very pretty actually.

  Savannah laughed. “You okay?”

  I nodded, embarrassed.

  “They’ve been a school since the 1700’s,” she explained.

  “That’s a long ass time.” I bit my bottom lip. “Do you know anything else about him?”

  Her ocean blue eyes narrowed. “Yesssss.” She drew out the word, lowering her voice. I observed her eyes searching mine. Maybe she was uncomfortable with my implorations. I wondered why. “Marcel’s father had a wealthy friend who was a business man and a banker,” she continued. “Maybe he felt sorry for Marcel because behind his father’s back he got him a job at one of the bars in town. They had to keep it a secret from his father…”

  “They let him work in a bar at the age of seven?” I interrupted.

  “I guess so,” she said. “Maybe they paid him under the table to keep him off the records—who knows. He probably worked in a back room doing dishes or inventory, but I don’t really know.

  “Anyway,” she continued. “The friend of his father’s taught Marcel to invest his earnings and by the time he was fourteen he had made a small fortune.”

  “Really?” My eyes widened.

  She nodded, blinking her big blue eyes. “Yeah, and then Marcel bought the bar that he worked at…”

  “Damn! That’s so cool.”

  She grinned. “And then by the time he was fifteen he bought up several bars in the nearby towns.”

  My chin jutted out involuntarily. “Unreal!”

  Now she smiled, showing her perfect white teeth and shook her head again. “But then, Marcel’s father went to one of the bars shortly thereafter and while he was drinking, he got angry with the bartender. He asked who the owner was. I guess he wanted to get the guy fired maybe. So the bartender told him the name of the owner, Marcel Paradis, and his father got so pissed.

  “He scolded Marcel for working and buying the bars behind his back. He said it was against the law for a minor to own businesses. And then, he reported his son to the authorities…”

  “Holy crap…” I blurted out. “That’s terrible!”

  “Yeah, it sucks. And then the authorities took the bars away from him.”

  “Jeez.” My eyebrows furrowed as my stomach knotted up. “That is so unfair.” I pulled my long brown hair back with my hand.

  “But he found a way to turn things around eventually because look at him now—he’s rich.”

  “I heard he owns vineyards in France. Do you know if he inherited those from his father?” I asked.

  She shook her head, pushing her flowing white dress back with her hand. “No. This is where he turned things around.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I heard Marcel had a terrible time after that. I don’t know what happened exactly, but I think it may have been quite dark.”

  “I don’t understand. What happened?” My throat tightened as I imagined the worst.

  “I just don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows, but somehow he ended up with his father’s vineyards in the end even though he wasn’t in his will.”

  “You think he somehow stole them?”

  “I just don’t know.” She shrugged. “But I fear he’s bad news. You have to steer clear of him, Raz. I think he likes you.”

  My eyelids shot up. “No.” I don’t know why my body had to start tingling all over.

  “Stay away from him. He’s taken.” She brushed her hair away from her face. “Brigitte is his wife and he must rule as king of the mers with his first and only wife. That it part of the prophesy.”

  I pulled at a strand of my hair as I studied my friend’s face. She looked scared. I think her callous behavior toward Marcel when she told his story was because she was worried about me getting involved with him. “I’m not interested in Marcel like that. He just thinks of me as a friend.”

  “I doubt that.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “You should have seen the worry in his eyes when he put you in that room we made out of the hull of the yacht. He’s very controlling. He gave me all sorts of orders on how to take care of you.”

  My breathing kicked in. “Really?” I tried not to blush, but I couldn’t help it.

  “Oh, boy.” She stared at me and folded her arms. “You have to stay away from him, Raz.” Her voice was stern. “The Ancients won’t allow him to get serious with anyone but Brigitte. If she isn’t the queen at his side, they will all die. You think they’ll let that happen? Marcel is a death wish for you. If you pose a threat, they will kill you.”

  “Okay,” I snapped. “It’s not like you think. He just thinks of me as a dude to be friends with.”

  She scoffed at that. “Promise me you will stay away from him.” Her hands went to her hips.

  “I can’t promise anything, but I will assure you, we are only friends.” My heart tightened at that admittance. No way was Marcel interested in me in a serious way.

  “Keep it that way,” she said, her blue eyes staring at me sharply. “Come on.” She waved me on. “I want to show you something.”

  Chapter Nine

  Chills ran through my body as Savannah and I swam down deep into the ocean where the yacht had sunken to the sandy floor. Much of it was missing but we were able to swim through a broken window and explore some of the rooms. It was cool how we were able to see in the dark with mer eyes. But everything looked so spooky and surreal as the memories of that horrible night haunted my thoughts.

  After making our way through a couple of bedrooms, examining the shattered refuge and upturned tables and desks, we swam into what must have been the great room. Like the bedrooms, it was on its side. The cabinet that fell on my leg was turned over on the ground along with some chairs and a fallen chandelier. My body trembled as I looked overhead at the shattered window where the kraken’s tentacle broke through. I remembered how it grabbed onto Shawna and broke her neck. My face and Savannah’s face were covered in glass as we watched her death.

  “Try not to think about it,” Savannah said.

  I looked over at her to my side. “How do you know what I’m thinking?”

  She smiled wryly. “The pros of being a mer.”

  “What do you mean?” I was wondering what she was getting at.

  She swam away from my side down to the chandelier and began examining the crystal jewels with her fingers. “We can read the minds of those in our school and some of us can read the minds of others too.”

  I rolled my eyes and swam past some drifting seaweed and down to her. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Sure I am,” she said nonchalantly. She took a string off of her neck of what appeared to be thin sea grass or some pliable thread from a plant of the ocean and began stringing it with the crystals to form a necklace.

  “I haven’t noticed that I can read minds.” I said watching her in the dark room.

  “The French kid’s school said it takes time for newbies to hone their telepathic skills and even then, they are not always accurate. A mer can block another from his or her mind. It will kick in with you and when it does, don’t be scared.”

  My body tensed. “Were you scared?” I so wanted to get out of this overturned yacht. It was making me very uncomfortable.

  “It would have scared the shit out of me, but I started hearing thoughts right away and I was just basically freaked out over all the deaths and my new appearance.”

  I felt my stomach twisting. “Yeah, it was pretty weird waking up on shore with a new body…”

  “…and all the intense cravings. I lost it,” she said uncomfortably as she looked up at me wading above her as she strung the crystals on the necklace.

  “What do you mean?”

  She closed her eyes for a minute and as she opened them, she said looking up at me, “When I came to on the shore, I chased after some school kids that were on the beach and ate them.”

  “Holy shit.” My hand flew up to my mouth.

  She shook her head regretfully. “I was like a wild animal. I didn’t even know what I was doing until it was over.”

  “Crap,” I said. “That’s bad…”

  Her eyes cast down.

  “No—I’m sorry,” I quickly said trying to take it back. “You couldn’t help it.” My stomach rolled. “I killed Jason Kraft,” I admitted, the blood rushing up through my neck to my cheeks.”

  “Damn,” she said. “Jason?”

  I nodded, shamefully.

  “He was so cool.” Her head was shaking side to side in what looked like dismay. She glanced back up at me. “We are monsters.” Her lips dropped into a frown. She looked across the overturned room in a sort of daze. A small sea turtle swam though before she brushed her hair out of her face and looked at me. “It’s not your fault,” she finally murmured. “You just have to stay strong. We are going to get through this crap and sort it all out.”

  “Yes,” I whispered, the nausea concentrated in my stomach. “We have got to get off this island and resume some sort of sane life style.”

  “It’s not as easy as that,” she whispered, a hint of a frown still on her beautiful face.”

  “Why not? Can’t we just swim away and look for land? We might end up at the Florida Coast. We can call our families from there.” I swallowed, knowing I didn’t really have a family though she did.

  She scoffed, her eyes appearing bloodshot now. “How can we explain off our new perfect looks? People are going to be freaked out. You think I don’t want to see my family? My sister needs me. I so miss Mom and Dad.”

  My heart tightened at her admittance. She was really close with her family. It must be tearing her up being separated from them. “I’m sorry,” I said. “We’ll find a way to get you back to your family.”

  Her face paled. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

  She was sure they would become terrified once they saw her new supermodel appearance. How could someone explain that away? I still didn’t know what I looked like exactly, but Savannah and the others certainly appeared way different than before. “I don’t care what we look like—I’m getting off this island. People will just have to deal.”

  She shook her head. “The Ancients won’t allow it. You can’t leave. They will stop you.”

  “Why?” My voice lifted.

  “The Trident Court has laws and we have to follow them. Our school has a lot to learn before they release us into the world.”

  I bit down hard on my teeth. “This isn’t fair. We didn’t ask for this.”

  “It’s better than being dead like most of our classmates.”

  I looked down at my hands. “I’m not sure about that.”

  “Raz,” she said, her voice laced with surprise.

  My jaw felt so tight that it was starting to hurt. “Why did you bring me back to the yacht? It seems like a morbid idea.”

  “I want to show you something,” she said swimming over to me, her eyes still bloodshot. She put the crystal necklace around my neck and tied it. “The Trident Court will be pleased if you are adorned with jewels when we go to them tonight. They are having a get-together in our school’s honor. The French school will attend as well.”

  To my irritation, my heartbeat sped up at the thought of seeing Marcel tonight. I hoped she didn’t read that in my mind. Quickly, I tried to distract her from my thoughts. “Why did you bring me to this yacht?” I asked snappily. It didn’t make sense that she brought me to a place where we experienced so much horror. And she was bothering me with this jewelry making crap. I wanted to tear the necklace off and crush it, but I refrained.

  She seemed to study my face. “Calm down, Raz. I’m just not sure how you will react when I show you the room and I wanted to make this necklace for you first before the shit hits the fan.”

  “Gross,” I scowled.

  “It’s just an expression,” She chuckled lightly, but her eyes looked hesitant. “You want to see it?” Her voice was unsteady.

  “Yes, I do.” I waved her on.

  “Okay, alright.” The tone in her voice lifted. “Follow me,” she sighed as she waved me onward out of the great room. “There is one tiny room we didn’t explore.”

  My eyelids shot up. “Really?”

  I followed her out past some dilapidated, overturned stairs. A school of tropical fish swam out of a window, scaring the crap out of me.

  She chuckled. “Buck up, girl—that’s the room.” She pointed to the window where the fish fled from.

  That nauseous feeling invaded my stomach again. “What’s in there?”

  “It’s not what you’re thinking.” She bit at the edge of her fingernail.

  I rolled my eyes. “So the dead captain isn’t in there?”

  “Nope.” Her eyes searched mine. “You first.” She waved me through. “Brace yourself.”

  When I swam inside, my body went completely numb as I looked around. Savannah followed behind. We stood side by side in the small overturned room. “What the hell is this?” I asked, my jaw dropping.

  All sorts of things that I had lost over the past couple of years were sitting on a table that someone had set upright and arranged. An intricately designed flacon of perfume that I bought at a fair was sitting in the center of the table. I felt a tingling sensation in my numb fingertips. I would never forget that bottle because I chose the exact original design.

  My favorite hair brush with the pink hearts was nailed down against the wood. The only pair of sexy panties I ever owned in my life was nailed beside it. They were red and lacy. Not my taste at all, but just a joke from my uncle’s friend who shot me up with heroine once as a kid. I actually threw those away in my waste basket in my bathroom. There were other little trinkets nailed down that I had forgotten about like a ring that I used to wear, my charm bracelet, a glass teddy bear on a chain, and other sentimentals. But the thing that caught me the most was my baton twirling costume. The last time I saw that was the night…

  “What the hell is this?” I said to Savannah. My body regained feeling and was trembling now.

  “That’s what I was wondering,” she mumbled. “I found all this lain out here and recognized a lot of the stuff as yours. I remember those trinkets. I was at the fair with you when you got that perfume. And I used to use that brush on the troll dolls’ hair we used to play with as kids. And nobody could forget that awful baton twirler costume,” she scoffed.

  “This is some weird ass crap.” I swallowed. “How do you think it got here?”

  “Hell if I know,” she sighed as she examined a heart trinket on my charm bracelet. “I just thought you should see it.”

  “Now I know why you were afraid to show me. This is creepy.”

  She put her hand on my shoulder and I flinched, thinking of the last time I wore the baton twirler costume and how Jake Stevenson yanked it down to my knees in his sports car. Stop, stop! Get the fuck off of me. Take me home.

  You want it, girl. You want it, he moaned. There was blood all over the costume when I pulled it back up over my body. I hated him so much. He stole my virginity and he never paid for that. I was too ashamed to tell anyone.

  Jake Stevenson must have stolen all these things from me. Maybe he snuck into my apartment after the incident and took my costume so that there wouldn’t be any evidence of what he did to me. I wasn’t going to tell a soul. The bastard. My heart burned like the fires of hell. I couldn’t relay any of this to Savannah. It was too shameful.

  “Do you have any guesses who would take your stuff from you?” she asked, her eyes glossy.

  “No.” I said adamantly, my hands balling into fists. It just didn’t make sense that Jake Stevenson would steal all the trinkets, the perfume, and the hairbrush from me. Those weren’t missing all at once. If my memory served me right, I lost each thing at a different time it seemed. He would have had to break into my house on several occasions. Would he do that? I didn’t think so. But if he did, why the hell would he?

  “Whoever took your stuff must have brought it on the yacht,” Savannah said.

  “You’re right. That’s weird isn’t it?”

  She nodded, her eyes wide. “I’d say it’s psycho.”

  My pulse skipped a beat. “Let’s get out of here.” I motioned with my chin toward the window.

  “Do you want to take your valuables?” she asked, looking at the table.

  “No. I just want to leave and figure all this shit out.”

  “That’s for sure. It is better if the person who put these things here doesn’t know we saw them.”

  I licked my lips. “Yup.” My mind was spinning with ideas.

  We swam through the dark out the window, back over the dilapidated stairs and into the great room. “Let’s make our way out through that window,” Savannah said looking back at me.

  I followed behind, but just as we were nearing the window overhead, someone looked in. “Holy crap!” I gasped.

  Savannah looked back at me, her eyes wide.

  “Donny?” I said in shock. But then, he was gone. We swam out the window and couldn’t find him anywhere.