“Okay,” I exhaled. “I’m ready to go.”

  Marine giggled. “You look stunning. The Ancients will be pleased. Diamond City here we come.”

  Just the mention of the Ancients made me cringe, but I was intrigued by the name of their city. I wondered what it looked like. And even if I didn’t want to meet the Ancients and learn of all their horrible laws, I did want to see Marcel there. Even though it shouldn’t have, it was bothering me that I couldn’t figure out where he was. I was also worried and confused about Donny; I wanted to get answers.

  The music started. It was a splendorous song like an enchanting chorus that resonated deep within my body. I didn’t even have to ask what it was. I just knew. The Ancients were calling us now from the depths of the ocean. I understood the song was resonating on a frequency that only mers could hear. It was music of overwhelming beauty.

  After everyone finished dressing in their jaw dropping gowns and suits adorned in jewels and shells, we swam as a group to Diamond City. The gowns looked incredibly elegant in the water, dreamy and beautiful. And the mermen looked sexy, debonair, and powerful in their suits that fitted ever so right.

  We entered through a rocky underwater tunnel that stretched onward for nearly a mile. Sabine insisted that no mers use their hands to light up the ocean because she didn’t want to attract attention to sea predators along the way. It was so spooky swimming in complete darkness with nothing around us but solid rocks, but it felt so good to feel the cool water rush over my legs, the fabric of my gown tickling me at such speeds.

  Laurent instructed me to use my sonar abilities in addition to my night vision. I so appreciated his advice, but I wasn’t very good with the sonar thing. After a few tries I learned to make sounds that would bounce off the walls allowing me to judge the distance to keep from bumping into the hard edges, but it was easier to watch the colorful dresses of the girls ahead of me and stay at their tails so to speak.

  Finally, I saw light ahead at the end of the tunnel. And in no time we broke through the brightness to the other side. Holy moly! We swam out onto a field of round, glowing, bulbous flowers—white and beautiful. In the distance and above some domed buildings dotting the mountains were millions of tiny diamonds like a brilliant sky filled with more stars than you could imagine. They twinkled and sparkled like nothing I had ever seen. Diamond City. Wow!

  “Do you hear that?” Pascal asked us as he brought us to a halt. It was a sort of pulsing sound that was coming from far in the distance.

  “Yes, I hear it,” Savannah said, her eyes filled with panic. “What the hell is that?”

  Brigitte and Marine laughed, their hair billowing around them.

  “It’s the call of a blue whale,” Brigitte said softly.

  “It’s calling its mate,” Laurent added. “Rhythmic and throbbing.”

  “It sounds almost like a drumbeat,” I whispered.

  Pascal waved us onward and we swam across the glowing field and over the tops of the buildings that dotted the mountains. I looked up and marveled at the magnificent array of sparkling diamonds overhead. Through the sparkling jewels, I saw a big white light source. Amazing! It looked like an underwater full moon! Once we were in the valley, I was stunned. It was a city bathed in shadows and misty light. It twinkled from the moonlight casting through the diamond prisms.

  Because it was night, there was a spooky darkness all around. It looked like most of the domed buildings were white or cream color reminding me of Middle Eastern mosques and temples I had seen in movies. The city smelled of lavender and flowers. But then, I heard laughter and saw two tiny mermaids sliding from a long twisting slide out of the window of one of the domed structures. They were so adorable with their tiny mer tails and pigtailed hair, having so much fun in the night.

  “Get back inside right now!” I heard a feminine, musical voice call out, presumably their mother’s. A tall stone clock in the center of town struck nine times. It must be nine at night. Bedtime for the cuties.

  A school of bright tropical fish swam through the valley below us and over the heads of Ancient mers with their beautiful tails of varying colors lounging across gold antique chaise lounges chatting and snacking on delicacies of colorful sea salads, lobsters, crab cakes, and bottles filled with liquid and roses that they drank from with straws. Romantic piano music sounded ever so faintly almost like a dream.

  We swam onward over fields of ocean flowers and sea lavender. Now I knew why the city was scented with such a lovely aroma. It was picture perfect. I wanted to get lost in those misty fields at night and bask in the perfumes and beauty. But, even seeing all that, I was nervous to meet the Trident Court.

  “We are almost at the Trident House,” Sabine, Brigitte, Marine, Pascal, and Laurent called out in unison, almost like they were of one mind. It must be that telepathic thing. Savannah in her elegant green gown with embroidered starfish on the fine fabric winked and smiled at me. I guess she was reading my mind and letting me know I was correct about the French mers. I wondered what it would be like once my mind reading abilities kicked in. Would Savannah, Logan, Steve, Andrew, Jane, and I all be so interconnected like the French mers were?

  “Marcel should be waiting for us with the Trident Court,” Savannah whispered to me.

  “How do you know?” I whispered back to her, trying to keep a deadpan expression on my face.

  “Brigitte was complaining about not knowing where he was while you were dressing in your gown in the other room. She said that once she got to the Trident House she was going to let him have it for disappearing on her.”

  “I don’t care about him,” I said in her ear.

  She half-smiled. “Good, girl!” She punched me on the shoulder lightly.

  I just rolled my eyes even though my heart was racing in my chest now.

  For a short while, we swam onwards over fields of multi-colored seaweed and over more domed houses. Then I saw a mountain ahead. A huge castle sat atop on a large flat plateau with clouds wading around the tall turrets. That must be the Trident House, I surmised, my throat tightening.

  “There it is,” Sabine called out and laughed wickedly. Something was just not right about that red head. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but I didn’t trust her. I couldn’t help but wonder why Laurent didn’t want her. Savannah told me they were matched after their conversions, yet he kept putting off the marriage. She must not have liked that. I could tell she had a big ego. She probably wasn’t used to guys turning her down.

  When we approached the big steel gates surrounding the estate, they opened automatically without us doing anything. I wondered if we were being watched or if there were sensors that could somehow identify us. “Very sci-fi,” Savannah whispered to me as we swam side by side, the others ahead of us. “You were right about that,” she continued. “DNA energy detectors identify our presence. Once they match us to the genes on file, the gates open automatically.”

  I rolled my eyes, feeling very uncomfortable about that. It seemed so invasive having our genetic makeup on government record. I wondered how they got mine. Maybe while I was sleeping, one of the mers drew my blood or maybe I was just passed through the gates because I was with the others. Whatever it was, I didn’t like it.

  I heard a noise over to the side of the estate and noticed in the distance a huge steel cage. Oh, my! A giant octopus was locked inside, some of its tentacles reaching out. “Is that the Kraken that sank our yacht?” I asked Savannah.

  Her hand flying to her mouth, she shrugged. Marine replied instead, her blond locks flowing gracefully behind her back. “Yes, the Trident Court owns it. They find it of great use when necessary, but don’t get too close.”

  “Does it attack mers?” I asked with surprise.

  “Only when it’s not under hypnosis.”

  I gulped, my nose scrunching up. We swam through a small forest of sea trees and up to the front door which opened automatically. “Okay,” I said in a sarcastic tone under my breath. Then I wondered if the Ancients were reading my mind. Hopefully, they weren’t.

  I couldn’t wait to see Marcel. It was stupid to be so anxious, but I couldn’t help myself. I wondered how he was going to act around me with Brigitte in the same room.

  The foyer was big and dark with romantic wall scenes of underwater settings of mers twined in embrace and others swimming away in schools past coral reefs and beautiful sea plants. I found it odd that you couldn’t see the faces of any of the mers in the depictions. They were always looking away or hiding their faces. It gave a cold impression like they were heartless.

  A merman with a long green and yellow fish tail sporting tattoos of balls and chains all over his face swam into the foyer to greet us. I couldn’t help but cringe at the sight of him. He had a perfect physique as did all the Ancients, but the tattoos coving his perfect features were horrible.

  “As punishment for an infraction, the Trident Court marred him like that and then enslaved him,” Savannah whispered in my ear.

  I tried to hide my feelings as anger burned inside of me.

  “Welcome schools,” he mumbled in a depressed tone. “The Trident Court will see you in the theater where you will watch a play of the lives you are expected to keep as converts to our kind.”

  He motioned us through the big arched doorway. We followed behind through a stone palace living room with more sea murals, arched open doorways, and fine Ancient Roman style furniture and through a maze of hallways, passing fancy rooms of curious sorts. I kept trying to look into the rooms, but we swam too fast for me to catch much. But what I did see was a lot of luxurious fabrics and furniture, colors of gold and azure, great pillars and arches, stone statues of mers and sea creatures, mirrors, and stone architecture.

  Finally, we arrived at the huge theater. With walls of carved gold and intricate sea designs, the room was beautiful and spacious. The Trident Court rose from their seats in the far back of the room at a long table when we entered. I gasped when I saw them. They were breathtaking and other worldly in appearance. Light extended in gentle rays from their bodies. Their tails were of varying colors with perfect sheens. In my mind, I counted twenty six angelic faces smiling at us, thirteen mermen and thirteen mermaids.

  I glanced around the huge room. Marcel was nowhere to be seen. My heart fell. Where could he be? I was starting to worry.

  “We are delighted to have you with us,” a mermaid with a lavender and gold fishtail, white wavy long hair, a fine featured face, and a long neck said to us. Her musical voice was entrancing. “Forever has just begun, my dear friends. Welcome and enjoy life as a mer.” She put her pretty hands to her mouth and blew us a kiss. “Please have a seat before the stage.”

  I blinked my eyes several times unable to look away until Savannah pulled me across the theater to one of the plush seats before the stage. Just as we were all sitting down, gold velvet curtains opened on the stage. Expecting to see actors on the stage, I was surprised to see a huge film screen. At once the movie began.

  I was drawn in immediately to the story. It was night, a full moon, with stars twinkling in the black sky. Gorgeous mers with legs rather than fishtails lounged on a cluster of huge black rocks in the great sea singing the most alluring song. I felt hypnotized by their mystical voices. At once, a ship crashed into the rocks and capsized. I gripped the edge of my seat remembering the sinking of our yacht. Without hesitation, the mers dove off the rocks into the ocean. The music ceased. Screams from the sinking ship rattled my nerves as people tumbled into the dark water.

  I kept finding myself glancing at the doorway, hoping Marcel would swim through. I looked over at Brigitte. She looked bored, staring at the big screen. Maybe I shouldn’t be worried, but I couldn’t help it. He was supposed to be here. Where in the world could he be?

  Now the depictions on the screen were underwater. The mers were pulling people under and tearing them to pieces, completely devouring them, consuming their every body part. Blood flowed freely. As they ate, light from their bodies grew and grew until they were nearly as lovely as the Trident Court. But some of the people they pulled down deep and kissed them passionately until the victims lost consciousness. The mers swam with the bodies of the converts to the shore where they left them on the sand at the edge of the water.

  In the next scenes, those converts were swimming in joy through the most beautiful underwater settings. I swallowed hard as I watched the idyllic surroundings. So awesome. The converts were laughing and playing games. They were matched with partners. A series of scenes flashed on the screen of beach parties, concerts, extreme sports, and so much more fun. And then there were the breathtaking weddings, royal balls, and exotic escapades. Wow! Deep down I longed to experience those things with Marcel. I was such a hopeless fool.

  The images on the screen made me wonder who I was going to be matched with. Maybe Logan or possibly Andrew or even Steve. My chest grew tight. The idea seemed crazy. I wasn’t interested in any of them. All three of those guys were totally gorgeous, but I wasn’t into any of them for some reason. If I actually loved my match, it might be a dream come true to live that kind of lifestyle together.

  Now the screen flashed with the lives of many converts throughout the ages. Some of the converts were portrayed in typical high school and college settings sitting in classes, going to football games, attending school dances, joining sororities and fraternities, kicking ass at sports, etc. They ruled their schools. All the human students worshipped them.

  I wasn’t into being popular. Phonies like that bothered me. But I thought about joining the Olympic gymnastics team and winning the gold medal. I loved training and improving my sport. With my new strength, I might be able to become a great gymnast. How cool would that be to throw quadruple tucks in the air? So fun.

  Some of the converts were portrayed as rock stars, owned corporations, danced in Broadway shows, acted in blockbuster films, won high political positions, etc. Scene after scene of extravagant lives. Damn! I hadn’t thought of all this. The possibilities of reaching the heights of the world were endless. As families, the mers resided in stunning mansions and lived the ultimate life styles with sports cars, yachts, elite parties, donned the most expensive jewels, wore high end designer clothes, you name it.

  I looked over at Logan, Steve, Andrew, Jane, and Savannah. They all looked pretty stoked, shocked actually. After living on food stamps on apartment row, some of it seemed pretty good to me too. Maybe being a mer wouldn’t be all that bad. I glanced back at the Trident Court. They were whispering amongst themselves, smiling and happy. Had I miss judged them? Maybe they did kill most of my senior class, but they promised cushy lives for Savannah and me. Before I was converted, I wanted to die. Wasn’t this a hell of a lot better than death?

  At the end of the movie, a beautiful mermaid and handsome merman lounging in a plush office discussed mer laws in a positive light giving reasonable justifications for the rules. They said that as a school, we were going to get an ocean front mansion of our own, regular shipments of designer clothing, fashionable jewelry, and a generous regular allowance from the Trident Court. From everything they explained, it sounded like our lives were going to be fantastic. But it all just sounded too good to be true. I kept wondering why they converted us in the first place and what they got out of it. And worse than that, I had to live with the fact that I was basically going to become a serial killer.

  The gold velvet curtains closed over the stage covering the screen. Twinkly lights lit around the theater. The French mers motioned our school to rise. The slave with the ball and chain tattoo covering his face opened the big doors for the Ancients and they left their seats and swam through in clusters.

  “It’s time to join the Trident Court for the welcoming get-together,” Laurent said to us.

  “Just keep a smile on your face, eat everything they serve, and burp loudly after the meal. If you do that, everything shall go well,” Pascal sang, motioning us toward the door.

  I rolled my eyes. Burp loudly? He has to be kidding. Everybody was already swimming away, so I hurried to catch up, wondering if that was a joke or if he was serious.

  Chapter Twelve

  We swam into the Trident Court’s big round room with high arched ceilings, intricate crown moldings, glossed floors made of crushed abalone shells, arched, open windows, and more mer art of ocean landscape scenes on the sweeping walls. We were seated off to the side in the big empty room at a long king’s table by two teenage mermaids with long blond hair, black and white striped tails, and white painted faces. From what I had seen so far, it appeared as if all the Ancient mermaids wore shells over their breasts.

  All of the converts sat on one side of the table facing the Trident Court on the other. Everyone had fake smiles on their faces. It was so intimidating being that close to these other worldly creatures with light exuding from their bodies. I couldn’t help but cast my eyes down at the big clam shell that served as a plate before me. It would just be too uncomfortable to look the Ancients in the eyes.

  There wasn’t much conversation, just talk amongst the Ancients about beautifying the parks in Diamond City and increasing pearl trade from sea to land. Ancient children played violins for us while appetizers of sea plants and shellfish were served. The black and white tailed mermaids kept replenishing our cups of rose liquid that we sipped through straws. I observed that everyone ate absolutely everything they were given with smiles on their faces, so I did the same even though I didn’t want to. I realized now that Pascal was serious that we had to smile and eat everything they gave us. The rosewater was making me dizzy and I had to pee very badly, but I just tried to suffer through the pain.

  With that stupid fake smile on my face, I kept wondering why Marcel hadn’t shown up. He was supposed to be my mentor. He should have been here for me. I wondered what Brigitte thought of him guiding me. Though she hadn’t talked to me at all, she hadn’t shown any signs of jealousy or anger in my direction. I could tell she was in love with Marcel, so I guessed that she just didn’t see me as a threat. Rightfully so, I thought. But that felt just awful.