Eyes of the Sea

Chapter 16

"Heather!" I yelled desperately, running blindly in the direction of her voice. I didn't know whether or not Will followed me but at this moment, I didn't care about anything except getting to my sister.

I tore around buildings and seaweed, clawing at anything in my way. I've never felt this way before. It was like a fire was lit inside me, and an animal instinct went through me.

No one will hurt my sister, I promised. Even though I knew she had Coral to protect her, I couldn't fully trust her. My sister was my responsibility, and while I was here, fooling around with Will, Heather was in trouble.

Coral was supposed to protect her. She was supposed to look after her until we met up again. I mentally cursed Coral, but for all I knew, Coral could be in trouble too. Maybe the hunters had found them, or worse, Cain's men.

The thought of the hunters being paid to assassinate us made me nauseous. But Heather wasn't even supernatural. She was just a teenage girl. My heart ached and I realized how stupid bringing her in here was. We were just putting her in danger. Why the hell did Coral agree to bring her?

I heard Will stumbling along behind me, calling out for me to wait for him to catch up. But I couldn't stop. My sister needed me.

"Heather!" I called out yet again. "Heather, where are you? Coral!"

No one replied to my feeble cries, but I heard some muffled sounds coming near me. Quickly, I waved my arms, attracting some fish near me.

Go to Heather. Go to my sister, I commanded. The fish obliged, and we soon reached the dark building Coral told us to steer clear of before.

Without hesitating, I strolled towards the door. Will caught up to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hazel," he said, out of breath.

I shrugged off his hand, but instantly regretted it when I saw his hurt look. "What, Will? They're in there."

"But Coral said-"

"I don't give a dang what Coral said. Heather needs me." I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated.

Will groaned. I knew I wasn't being cooperative, but I didn't have time for that. Every moment we spent out here was a moment where Heather could be hurt, tortured, or worse.

"Listen, I know what we're up against. But if Cain's men are here, in that building, then we need to face them eventually. Better now than never."

"I'd rather do never." Will said, but bit his lip when he saw my glare. "Fine, just be careful."

"Uh, you're coming too." I grabbed his arm, and together, we cautiously stepped forward. One more step and we would be right at the door of this building.

The building was different than all the others. It was still made out of coral, but it was all black and slick; a sharp contrast to the bright pastel colours of the other buildings.

I grabbed Will's hand in fear, and he smiled at me reassuringly. Selfishly, I didn't want to go in alone. I decided on letting the fish come in with me. If needed, I could make an army of fish, but I didn't want to resort to that.

"Alright, everyone. Onwards?" I asked.

"Onwards." Will repeated. Though it was unspoken, I knew that was our way of comforting each other. No matter what, we move on. That was what we both needed now.

I had no idea what to expect, walking into this gloomy building, but whatever it was, I was going to face it headstrong.

At least, that was what I told myself.

I slammed open the door, and stepped inside, Will at my side and the fish right behind us.

I gasped at what I saw. Heather was strapped to a chair in the middle of a room. It was empty except for her. The ceiling reached the sky and there were no windows. The only light source came from a chandelier hanging 10 feet above our heads.

I dropped to my knees, whatever talk I had of being headstrong was gone. Her face was unscathed, as whoever did this kept her air bubble on, but I couldn't say that same for the rest of her body.

Her shirt was torn off and she was in her tanktop. It was ripped in many places and blood was pouring out of her, mixing into the water around her. Her legs were tied to the chair legs, and her eyes were closed in defeat. Coral was no where to be seen.

"I- I'm so, so sorry Heather." I sobbed. Will rubbed my back, comforting me. I slowly got back up, and started to run to her.

All of a sudden, I was slammed back. I landed harshly on my side, groaning in pain.

"What the heck?" I wondered, looking up. The space in front of me, which was perfectly clear a moment ago, now shimmered with a blue tint to it. The blue tint surrounded Heather in a wide circle, and there was no way to get to her without going through the barrier.

"A force field?" Will wondered aloud.

Heather started to make some muffled noises, and I looked curiously at her. I couldn't hear her, so I guessed the force field was soundproof too. I swore under my breath.

"Where the hell is Coral?" I asked furiously. "She was supposed to protect Heather."

Heather kept saying something, but I couldn't read her lips. Her eyes kept darting back and forth from Will to the force field.

What did she mean by that? Did Will have something to do with the force field? No, that couldn't be it, he was with me the whole time.

Suddenly, I had a lightbulb moment.

"Will!" I practically yelled. He flinched in surprise, then looked at me. "You try going through the force field."

"And get flown back like you did? No thanks."

"No, you don't understand!" I said, impatiently. "The force field only blocks out daughters of the sea. You're human!"

"I'm human." He repeated.

"Yes, you are. Now quickly, go!"

Hesitantly, he stepped forward and held his hand out in front of him. Inch by inch, he made his way to the force field. When he could almost touch it, he took a deep breath and plunged his hand through the blue tinted material. It passed through without a glitch.

I jumped in joy as Will got through and knelt beside Heather. Tears started filling up in her eyes, relieved to finally be saved.

I couldn't hear what they were talking about, as the force field was soundproof, but Will was looking for any major injuries she might have. Heather's lips moved quickly, and I saw Will tense up.

Heather's eyes were shining with tears, but they were bright and she looked like she had a purpose. She needed to tell us something, urgently.

Slowly, they both turned back to look at me.

Will's eyes widened, and I instantly tensed up. What? What was it?

"Well, well. What do we have here?" said a voice from behind me. It was a woman's voice, tinged with menace, but it was very familiar.

As soon as I realized who it was, something sharp hit the back of my head, and I was instantly paralyzed. My eyes started drooping shut, but I saw who had hit me.

Coral.

Ah, I'm so excited to hear what you think of this chapter! As always, please vote and comment. I love hearing what you have to say. :)