Reluctantly, Heath gathered his bow, trying to give his racing heart time to slow. He collected the oars, and together he and Merletta dragged the boat off the sand. He climbed into it, pausing to watch Merletta claim her spear and satchel, then dive into the water. As before, the change was instantaneous. A flash of silver, and her tail was back, golden fins brushing the surface of the water before she disappeared completely.
She resurfaced quickly, pushing a strand of wet hair from her eyes and giving him a curt nod. Heath pulled at the oars, but his progress was painfully slow compared to the mermaid gamboling around his craft. After a very few minutes, Merletta appeared alongside the boat, treading water with that powerful tail.
She latched on to the side with her elbows, pulling it dangerously low to the water. “It’s not quite like having fins, is it? You’re very slow.”
Heath grunted. “Real sailors are much faster,” he admitted. “I’m not very good at rowing.”
Merletta shook her head, laughing openly at him. “Let me help you out.”
She pulled herself along the side of the boat until she could reach the rope tied to the bow. She drew it out from the inside of the boat and looped it around one shoulder before splashing back into the water.
It was a bit of a sting to his pride, but Heath couldn’t deny that with Merletta pulling and him rowing, they made much faster progress.
He knew the moment they reached the magical barrier, and he could tell that Merletta did too. The ripple of power had barely passed over him when she disappeared silently beneath the waves, leaving his rope trailing aimlessly through the water. He reeled it back in, searching the waves for her. But as soon as they’d passed through the barrier, the mild afternoon had become threatening. The clouds loomed above, and the swells rose to alarming heights. It was all he could do to keep control of his boat, and the water was far too choppy for human eyes to penetrate below the surface.
But are my eyes really human?
The question flashed across Heath’s consciousness, and without thinking too hard about it, he sought Merletta in his mind. At once, he saw her, not just her face, but her whole form. She was twisting in the water, steering herself with her arms, unconcerned by the rough sea around her. She was peering upward, the familiar face looking curious in the weak light of an obscured afternoon sun.
Satisfied, Heath raised his own eyes, and jumped in his seat. The ship was much closer than he’d realized, emerging formidably from the unnatural gray of the afternoon. He pulled frantically at one oar, worried about his boat being splintered against it. He managed to turn, and the ship shifted direction slightly as it crested a wave, so that there was no collision. But Heath’s little craft lurched dangerously in the ship’s wake.
He shouted, but his voice was lost in the crash of waves. Fortunately, someone had been looking out for him, because a cry from on deck was followed by the thud of a rope landing across his boat. He seized it, his sharp eyes picking out the familiar forms of Brody and Bianca, leaning over the railing toward him.
Without bothering to turn his head, he searched again for Merletta. She was deep under the water now, swimming rapidly, her face set for home.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Are you sure you’re all right, Merletta?”
The sound of her name pulled Merletta from her thoughts with a jolt. She looked up at Sage, noticing that her friend’s expression was as exasperated as her voice had been.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
“I know,” said Sage dryly. She raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been acting funny ever since I got back last night. Was everything all right when you visited your friend?”
Merletta stared blankly at Sage for several long seconds, until she remembered what she’d told Sage about her rest day plans. She felt a flash of guilt at her deception, but even though she hadn’t been thinking about Tish, Sage’s question did remind her of the uncomfortable visit.
“I don’t know,” she said slowly. “To be honest, it was a little…weird.”
“What do you mean?”
Sage, always a good listener, put down her squid tentacles and gave Merletta her full attention. They were the first of the trainees at the breakfast table, so they had relative privacy. Merletta could see other Center employees, Emil included, scattered across the dining hall, but none were in hearing range.
Unlike Sage, Merletta didn’t meet her friend’s eye. She gazed down at the cod on her plate, her throat tightening as she remembered Tish’s reluctance.
“I think I came at a bad time,” she said. “Tish wasn’t really free to talk.” She swallowed, adding in a rush, “But it was more than that. I don’t think she wanted to see me.”
“I’m sorry,” said Sage, sympathetically. “Did you two have a falling out?”
“Not that I know of,” said Merletta, exasperated. “And you’d think I would know, wouldn’t you?”
Before Sage could answer, Andre swam up to the table, and they let the subject drop.
“Good rest day?” he asked brightly.
“Not bad,” said Merletta, smiling to herself at the understatement. Her thoughts, now diverted from the strange encounter with Tish, flowed straight back to the topic that had kept her lying awake last night.
Heath was alive. Not only alive, but well, and still willing to brave the dangers of the ocean to continue their friendship. She didn’t think she’d forget that moment as long as she lived, when she looked up and saw him standing by her spear, staring at her like he was seeing a ghost. Her heart had seemed to stop, then instantly start beating at double time to make up for it.