"King Zale?" He nodded. "I don"t feel right leaving..." I wanted to say you, but I just couldn"t bring myself to say it. His true ident.i.ty hurt too much. "Maybe if I talked to Zale or-"
"No. I won"t let them have you," he said, finally turning to face me. His eyes screamed both resolve and misery. "The Zale"s don"t bargain. They bring tempests to even the calmest forms of discussion. I have no other option but to get you out of here."
"Bargain...tempests...wait. There is another option! The water pact. If you can prove the Zale"s breached that pact, then the Fairhairs would be free from Zale"s rule, right? Your father could command the Gulf again?"
"It wouldn"t be that easy, Marina. They wouldn"t go quietly. There would be war."
"But you would be fighting for your freedom."
"It doesn"t matter. They haven"t broken the pact."
"I think they have. In August of 2005, a ma.s.sive hurricane destroyed New Orleans, Biloxi, and numerous points along the Gulf," I said.
"I remember, but storms happen, Marina."
"Yeah, some do, and some don"t. Do you remember the hurricane"s name?" I asked.
"Katrina," Troy whispered.
"Katrina. Do you think that"s a coincidence? What if she created that storm, not knowing it would break the pact? Normals died in that storm, Troy. Her daddy would try and cover it up, you know that."
Troy looked hopeful for a split second. "Even if it"s possible, there"s no way to prove it."
"There may be, actually," said Benji, inching closer. "Sorry to eavesdrop, but I thought you might be interested in a scroll Katrina keeps locked in her underwater dresser. I picked it up once, thinking it was just another one of King Zale"s declarations-he makes specific ones for his family, you know. Well, Katrina went ballistic-crying, screaming, the works. She disappeared for about ten minutes, and then returned ice cold, as if nothing had happened."
"If we can get a look at that scroll, we might find something. And there"s more you don"t know...more that Doctor Tenly discovered." My mind froze on a memory of Doctor Tenly"s funny face. "Troy, are you going to tell King Zale about the Doctor?"
"No. My sister loves him and...he"s needed."
"About the pact...you could go to your father, tell him what we think, and maybe he"ll-"
"He won"t do anything," said Troy flatly.
"You won"t know unless you ask-"
"I ALREADY HAVE! I"m sorry. I didn"t mean to yell at you. It"s just...my father doesn"t want another war. A broken pact won"t sway him. The truth is, he hasn"t moved from his throne since my mom left us. He"s riddled with two souls. There"s no way out."
"What about you? You are, after all, a-a demon...a powerful creature, I mean. I saw a glimpse on the beach, didn"t I? Maybe you should stand up for your people."
"What you saw was a bringer of death. A demon can"t stand up for anything except evil. How can a demon fight for good?"
"You have protected me, my mom, Meikle...that does not a demon make," I said.
"I"ve never had a choice, being the deliverer...being a demon. Some greater evil forced me to deliver Normals to Zale. I was powerless against it. I was bound, like a prisoner, with no way out...until you. Do you remember your first day in English cla.s.s...when our hands touched, and we shared a vision of the two of us underwater?"
"Of course I do."
"That"s when it started-a feeling of freedom from the demon within. From the second our hands touched, I began to feel like I had a choice, like somehow you had given me the key to my invisible locks. It scared me. I felt lost and found at the same time."
"You still delivered Polly, Trey, and their relatives. And you would have delivered Meikle, had I not asked you to save her. If you finally had the choice to free yourself, why didn"t you? Why didn"t you choose to save them?"
"Zale knew I was changing. If I hadn"t delivered Polly, Zale would have killed my sister. If I hadn"t brought Trey, he would"ve killed Airi. If I hadn"t brought the family members, he would"ve killed Mr. Gibbs, Mrs. Waterberry, Tank, and Bobby."
"And Meikle? What will he do when you don"t deliver her?"
"He"d kill your mom...ferociously. But, I know she"s safe with Doctor Tenly."
"My G.o.d. What you have gone through is more than anyone should ever have to endure. Being forced and threatened like that-you are good, Troy, I know it in my soul," I said, placing his hand upon my heart.
"Then you forgive me? You still want to be with me?" he asked, his eyes hopeful.
I couldn"t answer, not now. Though I truly believe in his goodness, I just couldn"t get past him delivering Polly, Trey, and Lord knows how many others to King Zale for heaven knows what purpose...and lying to me all the while.
"I thought not," he said, moving away from my touch. "Bobby, take Meikle to the edge of town. Benji, Airianna, remember when to take Marina. I have to go," he said, running his fingers through my hair. "You will live. Your eyes will shine for a lifetime. That thought alone will carry me through. Goodbye my little Rubylocks." With no chance for me to respond, he jumped from the cliff"s ledge and disappeared beneath the waves.
"Troy." His name fell from my lips like tears. My chest felt like it had a branding iron against it. Falling to my knees, I started panicking.
"Marina, it"s best if you come away from the edge," said Airianna, trying to guide me inside, but I wouldn"t budge.
The panic pa.s.sed quicker than I could have antic.i.p.ated. I sat very still, very calm. My mind was blank, but for a series of singular thoughts, pa.s.sing through one at a time.
"What"s going to happen to him?" I asked.
"Marina, now isn"t the time to-"
"Tell me. What will King Zale do to him for not delivering me or Meikle?"
"He will die," said Airianna gravely.
"How will they kill him?"
"Marina, I really don"t think-" started Benji.
"The deliverer cannot be killed by conventional means," I said flatly. "How will they kill him?"
"They will skin him alive," Airianna whispered mournfully.
"What else?" Tears flowed from my eyes.
"They start skinning him from the bottom of his fin. Then, while he"s still breathing, they will roast him and feast," said Airianna, her voice quivering.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push away the gruesome visions. It was more horrifying than I could have ever imagined. "When will this happen?"
"In about an hour," said Benji. "Troy has probably gone to see his father and sister one last time. Then, he"ll stop at his house and seal the pathway to his underwater home."
"I need you both to do me a favor, no questions asked," I said, turning to face them. "I need you to take me to Zale."
"What? No!" cried Airianna. "You"re my best friend! I can"t let you!"
"I love you Airi, you know that. But, I can"t live knowing what his final moments will be like. I can"t...I won"t let him die like that, not for me. Now," I said, wiping my eyes and Airianna"s, "take me to Zale."
Chapter Twenty-Four.
Tyranny.
Death was inevitable. The only unknowns were when, where, and how. We were never meant to think about dying in our teens. Life in an inst.i.tution with pill-happy witch doctors put death front and center for most residents. For me, however, it was more like a game-one I played very well. Now, in this moment, death morphed from something virtual to something tangible. With Benji and Airianna on either side of me, we walked in silence towards the pier near my house. Despite feeling strangely serene, my heart pounded with greater ferocity as we neared the pier, the doorway to death. Bless my poor little heart, showing fight until the end.
If the Zale"s kill their own kind in such a grisly manner, how do they execute Normals? Suppose I"ll find out soon enough. I"ll join Polly, Trey, and the others in the spirit world as a floating face within a shattered porthole. As we started the long march down the eager pier, I crammed the ulva and Gravity Gum Airianna handed me into my mouth. I felt almost ghostly. Maybe a part of me had already died.
Upon reaching the edge, the sea started churning, as though applauding my arrival. My red carpet moment had at last arrived.
"Marina! No!" Troy. I didn"t need to turn around. His voice was part of me.
"Benji, please stop him," I said soberly.
"I can do it from here." Turning to face a rapidly approaching Troy, Benji held his palms up, and a green mist formed an impenetrable barrier between us. "Stalking blocker. It won"t let him near the water until you"re done with Zale."
"Benji, don"t do this! Let me through!" Troy demanded, beating on the barrier.
"I"m sorry, Troy," he said.
"Marina?"
I slowly urged my body to rotate, my neck to lift, and my eyes to find his. The sheer panic in his eyes traumatized me more than the unknown way in which I would die.
"I won"t let you die for me. I couldn"t bear it if you died like that," I said, tears stinging my eyes.
"I"m happy to die if it means saving you. I"m prepared to die."
"No one can prepare themselves for a death like that," I said, shaking my head.
"Why are you doing this?" he pleaded.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn"t keep the sadness from reaching my voice. "I"m proving it. It"s my turn, don"t you think?" The pale moonlight reflected off the tears welling up in his eyes. "Airi, Benji, please," I begged, unable to watch him cry. Airianna and Benji each grabbed a hand, and we jumped into the sea. As we fell, I heard the desperate echoes of Troy, crying my name.
"We have to blindfold you," said Airianna, her aqua fin shimmering like thousands of fine crystals.
Benji floated forward to blindfold my eyes. When he did, I smirked at his fin.
"Go on, say it," he groaned.
"Cheese Curl Tail," I said, grinning at his bright orange fin.
"I"ve earned that one," he sighed. "It"s really admirable, what you"re doing for Troy. I was wrong about you...Cheese Curl Head." He then shaded my eyes with a black sea leaf.
Benji and Airianna made quick work of the miles, guiding me like a motherless baby dolphin through the increasingly chilly waters.
"Oh!" Airianna gasped.
"What? What is it?" I asked, pointlessly shifting my head side to side.
Benji removed the blindfold. When he did, I echoed Airianna"s gasp. Dolphins, whales, and countless colorful fish, both big and small, formed two columns alongside us, creating a path towards a collection of sunken purple lights in the distance. As we moved closer to the lights, the creatures bowed their heads and cried.
"They"re crying," I whispered.
"They came to say goodbye, Marina," said Airianna sorrowfully.
As we glided down the long path to Zale"s kingdom, I worked very hard not to cry at the bowing heads and heartbreaking eyes.
The six great white sharks guarding the entrance to Zale"s kingdom parted as we approached.
"This is Zale City," said Airianna, pointing around the a.s.sortment of sinister-looking buildings.
"Narcissistic overload," I said, spying the Zale name on literally every building.
"King Zale insists on having his name on everything." I detected a hint of disgust in Benji"s voice.
Compared to Fairla"s bright, bustling, cheerful vibe, Zale City was more akin to a mortuary. A deep purple haze cloaked each diminutive business; the structures looked exactly alike, with the same dreary signposts and dull black archways. Wanted posters with Doctor Tenly"s face smiling funnily blanketed the city. Gloomy Ravenflames moved about the streets, while armed guards wearing uniforms emblazoned with a "Z" patrolled storefronts. The city seemed much more confined than Fairla.
"Airi," I whispered, "where do they live? I don"t see any houses or neighborhoods."
"King Zale doesn"t believe in individual houses. Ravenflames live in small s.p.a.ces above or below the businesses," she whispered.
"The only "home" allowed is the castle," supplied Benji.
"Not much for sharing, is he?" I said.
"That"s Zale," said Benji. "We"re here."
I was too busy staring at the depressing city to notice we had reached yet another shark-guarded entrance. The Zale"s castle looked like a bouquet of inverted purple and gray icicles.
"Who seeks entrance to King Zale"s castle?" asked a stout Ravenflame, appearing from nowhere.
"We are here to deliver the Normal, Marina Valentine, on behalf of Troy Tombolo," said Benji stiffly.
"Proceed."
Upon gliding through the purple vapor surrounding the castle, two Ravenflame guards escorted us to a dark, reddish room off the imposing foyer.
"Wait here," they growled.