The Pearl

Chapter 29

Publish; 9-19-20
Markers; 21,426 reads and 2093 votes
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"He's missing?"  I turned to Natasha. "What do we do?"

"Not sure, but I was able to acquire a copy that video he was talking about, and trust me when I say, it's bad. Not only does if show Delphine, but it also talks about Mr. Walters and the town we live in. And apparently after following that friend of his that you hypnotized, he found this old church that contained all this stuff about mermaids."

I felt the puffer fish expand in my stomach once more. She must be  talking about the church where Tim had all those articles about mermaids hanging on the wall.

"But only Delphine and I are on that video, my other sisters should be just fine."

"Trust me when I say, once the humans know of your existence, your other sisters won't be able to stay hidden for much longer. Orca, that crazy redhead, tells people that she is a mermaid, when they approach her. Most either think it's a joke or she's off her rocker, but start to suspect she might be telling the truth. I'm good at my job with covering for you and so are the other land , but we aren't miracle workers. Your sisters have been linked to many crime in the past, all of which  all of which they have been ruled out as suspects, because the evidence just didn't line up. But if the existence of mermaids comes out, then their  involvements may become more apparent.

Images of mobs of humans tearing Delphine, Orca, and my other sisters apart swirled in my head, like an angry tide.

"Are you sure he's just in hiding?"

"No, he is like really missing," she reached behind her and pulled out a newspaper seemingly from thin air.

The caption read. "Search is on for Missing Teen.  But the caption was not what was holding my attention. My eyes landed on the date at the corner of the news paper, it read Tuesday, June, 16th.  Wasn't it Sunday when we had left?

"What day is it today?" I asked.

"Tuesday," she replied.

"That can't be right. It was Sunday when we left."

Natasha winced, "I wasn't expecting you, so In order to give myself time to prepare the ritual, I kept everyone in a state of suspension for around two days."

So I had been gone for two days? I felt the pufferfish expand in my stomach. That would make it three days since my sisters sacrificed a boy. Another one would be sacrificed soon, and I hadn't made the preparations to end all this suffering once and for all. Although for my own selfish reasons, I would need to make sure first that I was more mermaid than human.

I didn't have much control over what was going on in my life, but I did want control over how my life ended as Marina Oceans.  Plus if I wasn't a mermaid, my own demise wouldn't go how I hoped.

"Have you heard anything from Mr. Walters or any of the land servants? Are they out looking for me?"

"Matter of fact they are, but I couldn't tell them that you are actually here with me. They think that you ran away, but don't worry though I have it all covered."

"How!?"I asked.

"You'll see, relax."

I almost laughed at the irony on her words. The last thing I wanted to do was relax relax, but dealing with Mr. Walters was the least of my problems now. I had  much bigger things to be thinking of right now.

"But what if my sister's refuse to stay off the land!? If all their magic is taken away, then they would have nothing left  to defend themselves with."

"I don't think you understand Marina, they wouldn't need their magic on land, because they would  literally not be able to leave the water to come onto land once the spell is cast. Not only that, all the contracts with the land servants would be ended as well. All there power would cease to exist on land."

"All of it. So even your and your son's contracts?"

Natasha slowly nodded. "I will admit that is part of my motive for doing this. But it isn't the sole reason why. I'm just tired of the mess, all of it."

"And what part do I play? How would I make this magic stronger, more easily spread?"

Natasha took the small vial and pressed the green potion back into my hand. "Here you go. A deal is a deal, you let me show you why I think your sisters are in danger and you contemplated my proposal."

"But again, what could I possibly do to help you?"

"It's better if I show you, follow me please." Natasha glided our of the room. 

I locked eyes with Victor and he tilted his head towards the direction his mother had just disappeared.

I stood from the chair and followed Natasha out of the room. I walked past the sleeping boys and round the corner and came upon a small kitchen, that looked like it hadn't been used in quite some time. The yellow poka-doted wallpaper has seen better days, and was peeling away from the wall in long, yellowed strips. The linoleum counters had at least an inch of dust on them, and half the cabinets were missing.

I walked into the kitchen just in time to see Natasha disappear behind an old wood door. I walked over to that same door and stared down at a set of worn looking steps descending deep into the earth.

I hesitated at the top of those stairs. I could see the glow of candles flickering just out of sight. While I stood there in that doorway, something deep within me was screaming for menot to go down there, but I needed to see what Natasha wanted to show me. I needed to see if it was dangerous to my sisters.

"Down here!" Natasha called from somewhere below in the dark.  

"I coming," I called and began to descend the wooden steps. With every step I took, it was followed by a loud creek, almost like the wooden was screaming under my feet. The more I descended  , the stronger  smell of damp earth and rot grew.

I reached the bottom step and found myself in a circular room, roughly cut out of the earth. Here, candles had been tucked into the knocks and cranny of the jagged stone walls.

Natasha was waiting for me in the center of the room but she was not alone.