Free 03 The Fate Of The Muse - Marina's Tales by Derrolyn Anderson Page A

to calm
down, I had to get to the water. Moving slowly, I pulled my arm
back from him.
    “I’m okay,” I said, trying to sound calm, “I
just need to go now.”
    “Marina…”
    I bolted, running as fast as I could to the
parking lot. Ethan chased after me, catching me easily and getting
between me and the Rover.
    “Marina… Don’t go.”
    I couldn’t even look at him. He caught my arm
again as I reached for the door handle.
    “Please don’t go,’ he said, and I could hear
the anguish in his voice.
    “I’m fine,” I said, looking down, “But I have
to get out of here.”
    “Please?”
    I looked at his worried face, “Don’t you
see?” I said, struggling to maintain my composure, “I can’t feel
this way anymore… Something bad will happen…”
    “Nothing is going to happen,” he said
firmly.
    “You don’t know that,” I cried, twisting my
arm as his grip tightened.
    “Marina–”
    I struggled to pull away from him, “Let me
go!” I yelled. People around us stopped what they were doing to
watch, and Ethan let go, standing back as I jumped into the Rover
and sped away.
    Get to the water. Get to the water, the
little voice in my mind urged me on. It was the only way I could
jolt myself out of the spiral of jealousy and anger I was
descending into. Slipping in and out of the house stealthily, I
grabbed my things and flew down to the beach, throwing myself into
the surf, swimming out as hard and fast as I could. When I finally
stopped to catch my breath, I lay down with my cheek pressed onto
my board, rocking in the soothing cradle of the sea.
    “ Marina! ” Lorelei popped up inches
from my face. Puzzled, she turned her head sideways to mirror mine,
“ Can we go see Nerissa now? ”
    I sat up, relieved to have something else to
think about, “ Yeah, I’d really like that .”
    Lorelei grabbed hold of my board with
enthusiasm, swiftly towing me north, further than we’d ever gone
before. I lifted my head to see us sail past Golden Gate Bridge
through a blur of white water.
    After traversing a windy stretch of open
ocean we approached the jagged silhouettes of a knot of small
islands. Rocky and barren, they rose abruptly from the sea like an
apparition, engulfed in fog, lonely and forbidding. I shivered,
goosebumps rising inside of my wetsuit.
    Lorelei called out for Nerissa, and I wasn’t
surprised at all to realize that she hadn’t made a sound. Her
thoughts were as clear to me as if she’d spoken them aloud. Another
voice echoed in my ears and I sat up on my surfboard, looking
around for Nerissa. When a third, tiny squeaky voice joined in the
mix I began to think I was hallucinating. Then a head broke the
surface of the dark blue waters.
    “ Nerissa! ” I gasped. She looked happy,
beautiful and wild, a far cry from the pale weak creature I’d first
seen imprisoned by Peter.
    “ Marina, have you come to swim with
us? ” her voice rang out, clear and sweet. She swam up close,
reaching out to inspect my surfboard. Her green eyes sparkled with
curiosity, and her jet black hair was as shiny as polished onyx. It
was a relief to find her as unaffected by her ordeal as Lorelei,
for she had been held hostage far longer, and suffered a great deal
more at Peter’s hands.
    I looked down to her flat abdomen, wondering
what had become of the baby she’d been carrying when she returned
to the sea. Evie had ventured a guess that the baby might have
simply disappeared as a result of her transformation back into a
mermaid. It would be for the best, because as far as I knew,
pregnancy was a terminal condition for mermaids. Then I heard the
little voice again.
    “ Who else is here? ” I asked them, but
before they could answer a third head broke the surface.
    “ Sisters! ” she squeaked, and I nearly
fell off my surfboard.
    She was small, about the size of a human
toddler, but she swam around my board gracefully, agile as a sea
lion. Her brick red hair fanned out in the water behind her. She
dove