“I need to leave for the afternoon,” he said to Heather. “Keep an eye on her.”
Heather started to object but stopped herself when Magus turned his gaze on her. He left them in the hallway.
Skylar walked slowly around the glass, hoping to catch sight of the mermaids again. Their speed returned and she was left only to see the bubbles in their wake.
“So extraordinary,” she said.
“Not very,” Heather said coldly. “No more than you or I.”
“You have no tail,” Skylar shot back. “Not extraordinary.”
Another technician walked by, openly seeking out Skylar. Heather rolled her eyes. “You are not special!” she burst out. “They all think so, but any one of us could have carried that light. We’re all equipped.” Heather’s appearance seemed to morph; her face changed, almost aged, in the different light. Skylar was unsure of what she was seeing. The next moment, Heather composed herself and her face returned to normal.
“How so?” Skylar asked, daring her warden to spill the information she was so obviously seething to tell.
“All of us who originated here, we all carry the bloodline. The term blueblood has been lifted and used for the wrong reasons, linked to aristocracy. It should be credited to the ocean creatures, those with high concentrations of copper in their veins. The Rh negatives that walk among you. So much of the crap on your—internet, you call it? It tells you that you’re from another planet when you’re just from a different part of this one … the ocean. Those glowing eyeballs of yours? Before that happened, you had glasses right? Astigmatism? It’s a classic symptom of those who once lived in the sea. It has to do with the developing eye adjusting to the fractured light under the water. You are no more special than me. The same blood runs through my veins. It should have been me carrying that stone.”
Conflicting emotions ran through Skylar’s heart. She didn’t appreciate Heather’s jealousy, but she understood it. She could see the adulation in her eyes for Magus, misguided as it was. And if she were right about these facts, any one of them could have been in her shoes. She really wasn’t that special.
“You think you can just show up here and I’ll accept you as the missing piece we’ve been waiting for,” Heather said. “I won’t do it. I see the damage your presence can cause, even if he can’t.”
“I didn’t show up here,” Skylar said. “I was dragged. And I’ll be leaving first chance, so don’t worry.”
“I don’t think you fully understand,” Heather said. “The Archer won’t let you leave still holding the stone, and there’s no way you’ll release it willingly. So either way, I don’t see you leaving here.” She was cold with her words.
Heather had said too much; Skylar could see it. But she could also see that the temptation of cutting her down to size was too great to resist.
“Why the animosity?” she asked flippantly. “You don’t know me enough to judge me.” She read Heather’s aura quickly. It was a light blue, but it had dark patches around her heart, to the point of blocking her heart chakra completely. “Ahh, you love him,” she said. “Good ol’ reliable jealousy. It spans the sands of time.” Skylar walked around the water tank. The reflections of the sun were iridescent because of large geode-shaped crystals in the corners of the room. They reminded her of Ocean’s grotto. The crystals and the sunlight made the room pulse with energy, but she had no problem handling the intensity. She’d come a long way from throwing up in Ocean’s house.
“You don’t understand,” Heather said, turning her face away.
“Okay, well, I guess I still have some things to learn,” Skylar said. The light reflected off the water just right and Skylar saw why it made Heather’s face change. It revealed a scar. On her cheek was the familiar symbol she knew too well. It was mangled, but Skylar recognized it nonetheless. She gasped. “You … the three doves.” She stumbled over her words. She reached out to touch Heather’s face but was swatted away. “Who are you?”
Heather turned her back and shook off a truth that was closing in on both of them.
“Well?” Skylar demanded. “Your scar is like mine.” She lifted her shirt to expose her iridescent doves. “Who did this to you?”
“I don’t know which one did it,” Heather said. “I was an infant when it happened. I have no memory of it. You can see it in the light that reflects from the water. So can anyone like us. Before, you could see it all the time.” Her expression turned shameful and almost childlike. With tears in her eyes, her voice turned desperate. “Why would they put it on my face?” she asked in horror. “With my whole body to choose from, they scarred my face as an innocent child.”
“I … I don’t know,” Skylar said, her tone turned sympathetic.
“When I got older, around the time I started to notice boys, I tried to remove it with a basic spell, but I made it so much worse. But the Archer, he’s a master alchemist. He fixed it for me the best he could. It still shows in the refracted light. In the water, I see what I once was. But those times are few. For most of my waking day, it’s hidden.” She dashed the tears from her eyes. “I owe him my recovery. I don’t love him the way you think. It’s more of a gratitude for his help.”
“And your mother?” Skylar asked, dreading the answer.
“I was told she died giving birth to me,” Heather said. “All I’ve ever known is the Archer.”
“I see,” Skylar said. “But now, all grown up, will you be a part of the heinous acts he commits? Do you owe him your conscience?”
A look of revelation came over Heather. A piece of a puzzle clicked into place, and Skylar heard it. “Conscience?”
Skylar continued to probe. “Yes, conscience! You know in your heart, where your truth sleeps, that this life is no longer right for you. Listening to your true voice takes immense courage, but the cost of ignoring it is much greater.”
Heather froze, staring at the large tank of water. One flash of an iridescent tail went by and she lowered her head. When she looked back up at Skylar, it was with blank, dead eyes.
“I know you hear me,” Skylar said. “None of my words resonate?”
Heather looked into the water and placed her hand on the glass. “The water holds memory. You know this?”
“It would seem everything holds memory,” Skylar said, sighing loudly.
“Water is the earth’s blood, running through the veins of our planet, through the rivers into the oceans, through the roots of the trees, cycling the oxygen for life. We owe everything to the water. It is our blood.”
“Yes, I agree with that,” Skylar said.
Heather seemed to get lost in her thoughts as she stared at the water in the tank. The creatures within slowed and gathered where she placed her hand. Skylar sensed Heather had a greater power than she had originally thought. The first mermaid Skylar had seen earlier put her hand up to Heather’s. Skylar felt the great compassion coming from the sea creature. A song could be heard through the water and the glass. It was haunting and soulful. The sea maid had connected to the pain within Heather’s heart, and she was letting it out through her voice.