Insula Somnium, Isle of Dreams.

Chapter 12

When Anastasia finally said I could go, I rushed off to find Genevieve. She may be immortal, but that doesn't mean unable to be injured. I went as fast as I could, I still had a bit of a headache. I don't know from what though. It must of been my impact with the ground when I fell.

I walked along the beach, but there was a suspicious lack of mermaids. The sun was making it's slow descent, but I wanted to, needed to find Genevieve. I walked along the path that we had walked on, but no luck. I checked Evelott's house, but no one was home. Defeated and exhausted, I returned to my shack. I saw that they had made a bed out of bamboo for me. It was odd, I had never come across bamboo on this island. 

They had gotten a small twin bed size matress, and even a pillow. They were still damp, but I didn't care. I collapsed onto the bed, relief passing through my aching bones and head. 

I woke up feeling more refreshed than I had ever felt in my life. I sat up, stretching. 

"Good Morning." A voice I instantly recognized said.

"Taylor," I said, turning to face her and grinning. 

"Sup big brother?" She said, getting up and sitting next to me. She was wearing the most normal clothes I've seen, jeans and a tank top. Her light brown eyes smiling at me as she took a seat next to me.

"Where have you been?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"Oh, here, there, everywhere." Her eyes glinted, "I haven't been getting as busy as you have." She winked at me. I grinned at her.

"So she told you?" I asked.

"She told everyone. You should've seen it! Her cheeks were so red I thought they were going to explode." Taylor chuckled.

"So this necklace, really is a big thing, huh?" I asked.

"Definitely! Mermaids don't control that much power anymore. Hell, we don't control any power anymore," She said.

"But wait, Ariel said something about vampires, maybe they did it?" I asked. She scoffed.

"Ha, vampires. They're so weak, they can't do anything. Mermaids get first dibs on humans, and normally there aren't many left for them to feed on. They've taken to feed on dwarfs, but it's not the same. They're blood is thicker, and apparently doesn't taste good."

"Why do mermaids get humans?" I asked.

"sanguine ludos" She said, "Blood Games. Three chosen one's from each blood race faught for their right to eat humans. Mermaids won. That was centuries ago. The next one doesn't happen for 300 years." There was a moment of silence, until I remembered I needed to find Genevieve.

"Where is Genevieve?" I asked her. She shrugged.

"Somewhere on the island."

"Cause that's helpful," I said dryly.

"Want me to help you look?" She offered.

"Sure, come along." I said. We walked along the beach, which was full of bustling mermaids, carrying things to and from the beach to the ocean.

"What can they possibly be building that's taking all this time?" I asked. The question had mystified me since I had arrived.

"It's their hobbies. Our civilization isn't based on money, you see. We just take what we need, and that isn't much. We fight for our food, and we're each given our house. We build what we want, if we're lazy we ask for others. Some people like building things, so they do it for the more lazy one's." She explained. I nodded, and we continued our search for Genevieve. Taylor took me down to Genevieve's house, but she wasn't there. We looked around the streets, but no luck. We went to Evelott's house, but she still wasn't there. We walked along all the paths, that were apparently, according to Taylor, "Mermaid crossings". Apparently this is their part of the island and only theirs. Another benefit of winning the Blood Games. I was getting worried now.

"Taylor, where else could she be?" 

"I don't know. She was here two hours ago." She bit her lip anxiously.

"What if she's not in the mermaid part of the island?" I asked Taylor.

"She wouldn't have gone out there, even she knows it's too dangerous." As realization dawned on me, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

"Taylor, what exactly lives on the rest of the island?" I asked, my stomach churning.

"Goblins, vampires, faeries, pixies, nymphs, werewolves, basically every 'mythical' creature you can think of, why?" She said, but froze as she came to the same conclusion as I did.

"She still wouldn't have gone out there by herself." She said, shaking her head for emphasis.

"But what if she hadn't gone out there willingly," I said slowly, then thinking of Evelott's empty house, "Or by herself."