Hellv7 - Chapter 7
It was late August when one of those moods hit. Mama and Ayah were still breathing in the fumes of the living. We had traveled to Ayah’s home in Indonesia for a Native Council emergency session, though Merci and I were too young to grasp the sense of urgency, or most things about politics.
It was bright out, during the Human Day—Mama had allowed us to stay up past sunrise to celebrate some holiday or another, which also meant being dragged to the Chapel to pray to Gods that could not care less about us. Merci was creating miniature mushroom clouds with split peas and chemicals. I had never known that was even possible and to this day I have yet to find out how Merci accomplished that. She had always been better at making things blow up; try to eat you, or both. Usually it was the food she did not care for.
Mama had just come out of the house, looking for the bowl of split peas that had grown legs and walked off her counter. She gave Merci a scolding look, but she never verbally scolded us. It was always a look.
“Deceit, will you take this to your father? He forgot his lunch this morning.” I nodded, taking the embellished wooden box from Mama and left. There was many ways to and from the villa they were using, and I chose an old dirt footpath. I was too young to stay and observe “adult matters”, which was short for “It’s improper for women to advise on clan matters,” and Ayah sent me home to avoid problems. He would later tell me that those “adult matters” were illegal dragon smuggling within Oceana, and he would voice his disagreement only to Mama, in hushed whispers.
I had decided to take a longer way back, along the beach. The ocean was always soothing, a quiet lulling static. I had not even gotten far when I began to taste fear in the air- as if the wildlife were walking on broken glass. All sounds but the ocean died. Just ahead there was a mass of seaweed, coral and something sand colored tangled in fishing net. The closer I got, the more the details struck me. Variations of sand color- blond hair, darker scales, flesh.
The netting sliced into what was once a beautiful lady, leaving her as a tangled mass of red, blue and purple. She wasn’t breathing.
I ran then, a sickening taste of fear coating my insides. There was something wrong with that lady, as if she shouldn’t have been there. Mama told Ayah about it when he returned later that night, and his face went pale. Mama sent me to bed early, but all I could see was that image on the beach whenever I closed my eyes.
Ayah would tell me later that the lady of sand and scales was a mermaid who had been caught in a Human trawler’s nets. He would tell me that contact with Humans was forbidden, except Magi, and that they took what they needed from the earth without returning anything but waste in turn.
I would believe him for years to come, until a small girl of six would change my mind. Exodos.
Deceit walked into Oasis and breathed in the smell of stale cigars and sandalwood incense. She could see Max sitting at their usual table in the corner, drinking something that was probably strong enough to stain his breath. He hadn’t noticed her –yet – as she walked up to the bar and ordered a tea with brandy.
Creed, the bartender, gave her just what she asked for. When Deceit turned around Max had already putted a chair up for her and smiled.
“You’re impossible. Have you been waiting long?” Deceit took the seat.
“Not at all,” Max lied, returning to his seat.
Comments