A Mermaid's Curse

Chapter 24

My eyes swept across the room, barely able to take in everything at once. Uncle Noah, sitting in a chair, blood pouring into his eyes from a wound on his forehead; Dad floating beside him, a hand on his brother's shoulder, anger blazing in his eyes; Mom next to Dad, eyes hollow and blank.

"What happened?" I managed to get out, barely able to speak past the fear squeezing my lungs.

The three of them glanced at one another. No one spoke, then Uncle Noah cleared his throat. "We were too late," he said, voice so hollow it made my heart stop dead in my chest.

Only Kai's grip on my hand kept me upright as I turned to Dad. "What is he talking about?" I asked, my own voice shaking.

When Dad met my gaze, I stopped breathing. This was a merman who'd faced impossible odds and had always come out on the other side, a merman who fought for those he loved and would do anything for his subjects. There was no trace of that merman in his eyes now, however.

They were filled with such anger, such hatred that I almost flinched. "There was another attack on the school," he responded, voice filled with disbelief and shock. "A group of mermaids out for a swim reported it to us an hour ago." He paused, taking an uneven breath. A horrifying realization slammed into me as I waited for him to speak. I knew, without a doubt in my mind, that his next words would change everything.  "Only a few children managed to escape."

His words didn't register immediately. I just stared blankly, unable to process anything. When they finally sunk in, it was like being hit with the force of a thousand rogue waves. Drew and Faye had to have managed to get out. They had to be okay.

It was as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest, shoved back in, then ripped out again. I was completely and utterly numb. Dad spoke again, but I didn't hear anything.

When the numbness receded, a tsunami of emotions ripped through me. Guilt; anger; denial; heartbreak. The former was the most prevalent, however. If I had been there instead of letting my anger blind me into tracking down Nadia, maybe this wouldn't be happening. "We were just there," I said, voice wobbling.

I tried to take a breath, but could only manage a tiny inhale. This couldn't be happening. When a body suddenly collided with mine, I did the only thing I could think of. I held her tightly in my arms, letting her release all the pent-up emotions that were surely trapped inside her. I couldn't even imagine what Mom was feeling. Drew and Faye... they had been like her children. They'd been like family to me.

What had just happened was awful, but I couldn't hold it in any longer. They needed to know what had happened with Nadia. Mom's face was pale and tear-streaked, her eyes glassy. "There's something else you both need to know," I said, meeting the former's gaze, then Dad's.

The words poured out of me, starting with the surprise meeting with Nadia and ending with us arriving here. When I dared a glance at Mom, her expression hit me like a slap in the face. Her eyes still had that glassy look in them, and she didn't seem to be aware of what was happening around her. I knew, though, that somewhere deep inside her, she'd understood every word.

My heart stopped completely as translucent figures appeared in the edges of my vision, faces smug and gazes piercing. "See, Isadora? This is all your fault." "You could have easily prevented it, but you let your emotions get the best of you." "You're just like your mother. Always wearing your heart on your sleeve. How'd that work out for you?"

A blinding pain sliced through my head, like a dagger through flesh. Gritting my teeth, I summoned what was left of my already severely-depleted mental energy to force the ghosts out. Little by little, the wall slowly built inside of my mind, sealing the ghosts off completely. "What are we going to do?" I asked, voice ragged and filled with pain.