He cocked his head. “Why are you asking me such an intimate question?”
“Because I know your name,” she said. “And it’s no more intimate than do you love her. You answered that one just fine.”
His hackles rose and he put down a hunk of cheese. “I’m willing to do what it takes to get her back.”
“Mmmm,” she mumbled again. “Sounds like a grown-up fairy tale to me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, instantly defensive.
“You love her, yes, but why put on the knight-in-shining-armor routine?” she asked. “I mean, you don’t even know where you are, or what you’re doing. It sounds like you’re taking orders.”
“You’re one to talk,” he said.
She quieted and turned to leave.
“Sorry,” he said. “You’re not totally wrong. It’s a long story, but I’ve been training for this my whole life. I guess it’s bigger than Skylar and me. We’re entwined, but my job is to get this stone back where it belongs.”
“Where’s that?” she asked.
“I thought you’d know,” he said.
“You took this on without any directions?” she asked incredulously. “Again, stupid.”
He rolled his eyes and resumed eating.
“Don’t leave this room,” she said, opening the door.
“Staying in here doesn’t get me where I need to go,” he said.
“Seeing as you have none, I have to come up with a plan,” she said.
“You’re going to help me?” he asked.
“If it means getting her out of here, yes.” She walked out the door.
He finished the food and was getting antsy. He hadn’t come here to hide. But what did I come here to do? He retrieved the stone from the desk and held it up to the light of the window. Sparkles of light reflected around the room like a disco ball. As beautiful as it was, he hated this thing. It represented a life he couldn’t escape from. He didn’t want to admit it, but Heather was right. He had lived someone else’s life up until now. He wanted to be done with it and figure out what truly made him happy. He didn’t like the idea of leaving the stone behind but figured this room was the best option. It had a maternal energy that felt safe. And he was more vulnerable outside with it on his body. He tucked it back in its pouch and returned it to the desk. “Sorry, Heather,” he said quietly as he opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
“Hey, man,” Kyle said, walking by. “I’m headed to the mermaid tank. Care to join?” The words rolled off his tongue like he was headed to get coffee.
“Sure,” Argan said. He donned a lab coat from a nearby row of hooks and walked in step with Kyle. “Kyle, what’s your role here, exactly?”
“It’s kinda like Sea World,” Kyle said. “And I’m in charge of maintaining the tanks—keeping things clean and at the right pH.”
He glanced at Argan, who could tell Kyle was off, more than usual. His eyes were bloodshot beyond anything Argan had ever seen. “Are you feeling all right?” he asked.
“Yeah, why?” Kyle asked. His breathing seemed elevated; Argan thought it might be amphetamines.
“Your eyes are bloodshot,” he said. “Getting enough sleep?”
“As you mention it, no,” Kyle said. “That’s probably it.”
They walked down the ramp to the tank room.
It was bigger than any aquarium Argan had ever seen. “Whoa,” he said.
“Yeah, isn’t it great?” Kyle said. “I can’t believe this is my job.”
“I can’t believe it either,” Argan said, fully aware that this was not what it seemed.
“You haven’t seen the best part,” Kyle said, leading him to the glass. A whirl of bubbles swam by, its source unseen.
“Wait for it,” Kyle said.
“Holy shit.” Argan’s mouth fell open. A mermaid had slowed to investigate Argan.
“There’s six of them,” Kyle said. “They’re super mean, so if they get out of line, I have to use this.” He pointed to a button on the wall. “It sends out electricity.”
“I’d be mean too, being trapped here like an animal,” Argan said. “This is cruel on a supernatural level. Who’s your boss, Kyle?”
“The Archer,” Kyle said. “I don’t see him all that much. Which is fine with me, he’s a weird dude.”
“How so?” Argan asked.
“He just runs hot and cold and some of the guys I started with aren’t here anymore and I don’t know what happened to them and there’s only one girl here and …” He spewed out this information in one long run-on sentence, but none of it was new to Argan. He assumed this “Archer” was Magus. He knew Kyle was just following orders and was drugged up on top of it.
Argan approached the glass and a mermaid with long brown hair greeted him. “She doesn’t look that mean,” he said. He put his hand to the glass and she reciprocated. He felt the heat from her hand through the glass. “Odd,” he said. Through the heat, an image of Skylar standing in this same spot came into his mind. A jolt ran through him and he smiled at the mermaid. She slightly smiled back. It was short-lived, as her smile quickly turned fearful and she swam away.
“Mr. Andrews, who is your guest?”
They both turned around to see Magus standing in front of them.
“Hello, sir.” Kyle seemed to be doing his best to be respectful, but he was very fuzzy. “This is Argan Papadapoulous. It’s a mouthful, I know. He’s a friend from … back home.”
“Is that right,” Magus said. “Well, Mr. Papadapoulous, welcome.” He extended his hand in greeting. Argan hesitated, but accepted it. Magus held the handshake for an extraordinarily long time. “Where do you hail from?”
“The Boston area,” Argan said.
“You’re a long way from home,” Magus said. “You’re here because?”
Argan knew it was useless to tell him anything but the truth. “Skylar is missing,” he said. “And I’ve come to bring her home.”
“Ahh, how valiant of you,” Magus said. “She’s not ready to leave quite yet, but when she is, we’ll let you know.”
“She’s not here anymore, anyway,” Argan said.
“Not here?” Magus asked. His face contorted quickly. “How do you know that?”
“I have a feeling.” Argan didn’t want to cause problems for Heather.
This explanation relaxed Magus a bit. “I see, you … have a feeling,” he said. “Let’s find out for sure, shall we?” He touched Argan’s back, guiding him up the ramp toward the lab rooms. “Mr. Andrews, please return to your post.”
“But Argan’s a friend—”
“Mr. Andrews, that’s all,” Magus said quietly.
“Yes, sir.” Kyle gave Argan a look of apology and walked on.
Magus led Argan past the small door, down the long hallway, and back into the lab he’d entered when he’d first arrived. Heather was busy at a microscope, but looked up when they walked in. Her eyes widened in surprise.