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Ch.10: Find the Voice (Part 2) |
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Mat took me up on my offer to spend the night. I gave him the couch since I had no other guest rooms. I had to call an architect one of these days. (Flet and Jet slept in the pool of my grotto, which was fine since they were eels, but they needed their own room.)
I went to sleep in my clam shell bed that night confused, just as Melissa had said. I had no idea what had brought on these violent mood swings and the hostile attitude. Sure, she had had her heart broken for the eighth time, but I didn't think she would have reacted so strongly. (Maybe I shouldn't have let her watch Phantom of the Opera, huh?)
If I had been in a lighter sleep, or dreaming, I might have heard soft foot steps going out of my grotto and toward G-clef cave. However, I slept a sleep to rival that of death it was so deep. (It was as if someone had willed it so.) I didn't stir, even when Melissa said, "The angels will weep tonight."
I woke with a start as I would from a nightmare, though none had been there. 'Melissa's gone!' my heart told me. By Poseidon's Pants! The worst was upon us!
I sprang from my bed, hurriedly threw a shawl around my shoulders, and ran downstairs. "Everybody! Everybody!" I shouted. "Wake up! Melissa's gone!"
Flet and Jet woke immediately and rose to the surface. (Sound carries farther underwater I hear.) "What can we do?" asked Flotsam. (The concern in his voice sounded sincere, even though he only just met Melissa or so it seemed to me. I would face my fluttering heart later.)
"Swim to G-clef Cave," I told them. "The empathy link tells me that she's headed there."
"How can you be so sure?" Jetsam asked, doubtful that such a thing as an empathy link existed.
"Don't talk. Just swim." They disappeared beneath the surface; there were bubbles, a swish of tails, and then the pool became calm again.
Mat turned over in his sleep. "C'mon. Quit shouting Ana. I know you're kidding." (Ugh! Guys could be so difficult.)
"Mat, this is serious. Your 'would-soon-be' girlfriend is in danger, and all you can do is sleep! Wake up!"
That did it. Mat flew from the couch, blankets flying everywhere. He grabbed his hat and boots and we were off as fast as I could go.
(Mat stayed behind because I was Melissa's friend and because he had turned into a werewolf, a blue werewolf. He couldn't run as fast as he could during the day, but I had barely enough stamina to keep up with him. Eventually, he let me climb on his back ["Don't take this for granted," he said.] and I rode him to the entrance of G-clef cave.)
Flet and Jet were already inside. "Melissa's on the edge of the cliff in here," Flet called from inside. "You'd better get in here," Jet said. "This place reminds me of Ursula, and believe me that's not something I want to feel right now. *shudder*"
I shivered, not only from the cold outside the cave but from the foreboding that came from within it. I was genuinely scared of what was in there, whatever it was, but I had to save my friend. My brave-side won. Mat and I inched further into the cave, still keeping near the entrance for better lighting.
Suddenly, a light appeared in the darkness. Mat and I squinted our eyes. It was Melissa, drawing pictures by the light of a lantern! She had hurt her leg, but otherwise she seemed okay. We had only time to breathe a sigh of relief when a thunderous A-minor chord, played on an organ, tore through the cave.
The lantern went out, and we all turned our gazes to the entrance. A man was standing there, silhouetted against the pale starlight. He wore a dark blue cloak, so dark it looked as if he were covered in the night sky, and a white mask across half his face.
Mat growled behind me. My boys rose on a geyser of water, pure hatred in their eyes for this man. I made my way back down to the entrance, careful not to trip and fall into the pool below me. I was afraid, not only because I knew this man but because I knew full well what he wanted to do with my friend.
I was facing Phantom now, about to shout something irate and irrational at him (which I would regret later), when I heard a splash behind me. "Melissa threw herself in!" Mat called from the side of the cave. The geyser disappeared and so did Flet and Jet.
"You!" Mat and I said in unison. "You did this to her."
"Sure. I know why you did it," I continued. "You could empathize with her. Having your heart broken once is serious business. But eight times, Eight! And now you have destroyed her in the creulest way possible. I shall never forgive you."
I raised my hand to slap his face, hard, but it never moved. Instead, I pulled it back against my chest, turned my back to him, fell to my knees, and wept.
P.S. Melissa's a mermaid so she can breathe underwater, or at least hold her breath for a long time. She didn't drown, so you'll see her next time.
P.P.S. Whoo! Three entries in as many days!
 srs diva 2011 xxl · Sun Feb 08, 2009 @ 03:36pm · 2 Comments |
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