Mermania

The king's order

follow. "Okay." I relented, looking into his puppy dog eyes. "Thank you." "Family?" I just learned Ula was my aunt. Were there more? "Are there more of you?" Gail hurried out of the room. Craig turned to Agent Nyler. "What now? More waiting?" He met Nyler's eyes- they were sympathetic. Craig worked the problem. Zach had run away- it made sense. He had been angry, Kara had been angry, he had panicked... But where had he gone? Kara had, called everyone again- Florence, who had said she would stay late at Grover's to keep watch there, and Rita; Shanice, Shauna, Brooke, and Jayda had remained at their respective homes to keep watch there. So far, Zach had not gone to any of them. "Hmm," he mused. "Clever and feisty. I can't wait to break you." Rema kept her face even, clear, and controlled, even though she was shaking inside. "Fine." He backed away. "You win this round. It'll look like I've conformed for you. Chuckling, he sauntered out of the room. "It's very obvious. Just look at how much you've changed. You no longer hide under a giant tent. You're wearing bright colors, clothes that show what a great figure you have, and you always seem to have a smile on your face, especially when you're thinking about him. I sure hope he knows how lucky he is." "A moonflower. You bloom at night- and that's dangerous. Lots of creeps are out this time of the evening." "Yes, but this one's rapidly and is potentially dangerous." The king waved his hand. Darmik forged on, "People are claiming an heir survived." "Sara. Listen, I know you had a really rough childhood..." The human spoke. Her voice grated the way human voices do. "What do you want?" she whispered. I'm sure Katie and Jen thought they were being quiet, but between stumbling into furniture, cursing, and loudly whispered shushes, they didn't fool anyone. On the other hand, no one came out of their rooms, so I took that as a good sign. But perhaps Rema could take what little influence she had and put it to use, then some good could come out of the horrible situation she was in. "Ellie, if I request food, can you see that it gets out of the castle, to the people who need it?" Dad nodded. "Absolutely! I can't wait to see the three of you out there again." The drive up the canyon- with evergreen trees stretching towards the clouds like skyscarpers- seemed particularly long that day, though it was only two hours from Dad's home in Danville. Every other year, Dad's side of the family met up at our cabin in Hidden Pines, located in the heart of the Sierra Nevadas in California. Dad's sister and her small family were already up there. "Either. All you ever do is work. It'd be nice to see you live a little." Neco refilled his mug to the rim. Not wanting to upset her husband-to-be, Rema reached out and stroked his arm until his shoulders relaxed and the tense look on his face disappeared. "But why me?" she whispered. The empress stands, and we all turn to face her. "I have one more gift for you, Mom," I said when we were done. I reached behind the chair next to the tree and pulled out a flat, square package. "Madison, don't run of." My words were more to myself than Maddie, who was far ahead of me. With only her giggle for a response, I picked up my pace, weaving in and out of trees and following the dancing head of blond hair. My shoes imprinted in the ground, the dirt already softening and giving way to the rain. Zach froze, terror darkening his blue eyes. He had told Agent Nyler and his parents how he had been tied up for so long last night, and then caught and bound as second awful time today. Zach slumped his shoulders. He followed her to the front of the store and sulked as she paid for their goods. On the way out to the car, he spoke again. "Can we go to the waterfront and ride the Ferris Wheel, Mom?" "That's great!" I hugged him before sitting back down. " "I don't know what this had to do with__" Craig went to the bedroom to grab his baseball cap, gray with olive green trim, then turned around to find her right behind him. She stepped close to him and whispered, "Take him with you." Darmik tore his eyes away from her and scanned the surrounding area. "No, I was out hunting when I saw you disappear over the cliff." He wasn't used to explaining himself. "Can I escort you somewhere?" He was reluctant to leave her alone in a forest full of wild animals. At least, that's what he told himself. He didn't want to acknowledge it was something else- that she was unlike anyone he had ever met before. He took another sip of cocoa. "You recognize, of course, that the quality of the embryo and of its genetic code are separate issues; the embryo's health is not itself an indication of how intelligent or capable the creature represented within it could become, if the embryo survives. And you recognize that every person's genetic code is unique, with its own particular strengths and weaknesses. This person has athletic potential but a weak stomach, that one has a strong stomach but will never be an athlete. One person is naturally gifted in math, another in music, another in literature- and a few of us in all of the above. More to the point, one person has a stronger immune system, another gets sick all the time. Why? In some cases, simple because their DNA is diferent." "Not much," he admitted. "Mostly in Jayda's room. That's okay, because she's still little." "Are you hungry?" I asked. "Your dad- he's warrior if he thinks someone might hurt his family. It's one of the things I love about him. He always defends me. He would do the same thing for you. That's why he's working so hard to find out about Grandfather. It bothers him- he can't rest until he knows you're going to be safe here. Do you understand?" Back at his houseboat, he showered- he was surprised to find he enjoyed showering. He loved the spray of the water on his face. Because it was tap water and not sea water, he was able to enjoy it as a human. Being human wasn't as much of a bother as he'd thought it would be, but