Anne Brown - Lies Beneath

“Not that you have to worry about that with a house this small,” said Lily.

“You know what I mean,” Mrs. Hancock said. “Calder, I’m sure you can understand. Your family must be close if you’re able to live in such tight quarters. Take away one member … I just can’t imagine the toll that would take on a family.”

I dropped my fork, and it clattered onto my plate. I gripped the edge of the table. Mrs. Hancock’s gentle voice, the memory of my mother, the way Lily looked at her father, “the toll that would take on a family,” Pavati’s warning … Pavati was right even before there was anything to be right about. I couldn’t love Lily and kill Hancock, because I couldn’t kill Hancock without destroying Lily.

I had to get out of here. I had to get out fast. My world was tumbling like pebbles over a dam.

“Excuse me,” I said. Heat rushed into my face, and I bolted for the door.

“Calder, are you okay?” Lily asked, following me away from the table.

“I’m sorry. I’m not feeling well.”

Mrs. Hancock said, “Oh dear, I hope it’s not the chicken.”

Lily’s bare feet followed closely behind me on the pine plank floor. “What’s wrong?” she asked as the screen door slammed behind her. I was already over the porch steps and halfway to the car. Lily grabbed my shoulder as she caught up, and I could feel the electricity spinning out of me and into her palm. It must have been painful, but she didn’t let go.

“I’ve got to get out of here,” I said.

“What?”

“My sisters, Lily. I can’t be here. I can’t do this. This is so completely messed up.”

“What are you talking about? What do your sisters have to do with anything?” She slapped her hand across her mouth. “They know? They know I know?”

“No, no. That’s not it.”

“Then what?”

“If that were all it was, I’d take you and we’d run. We’d go to the Abacos. We’d get a little beach house on one of the cays. You could write poetry … I could protect you.”

“Would that make everything better? If it would, we should go.”

“No! You don’t understand. Even if I took you away, it wouldn’t change anything. They’ll still kill him.”

“Kill him? Who’s ‘him’?”

I was pacing, my fingers clenched in my hair, pulling at the roots. My teeth ground together as I wrestled with the dueling loyalties. “Do you think any of this is an accident?” I asked. “A family of merpeople shows up on the doorstep of a family who’s heard of a monster in the lake. More than heard of, tangled with.”

“There are no monsters in the lake.” Her voice was flat.

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, but you are seriously misguided.”

“Calder, it’s not your fault what happened to my grandfather.”

“Of course it’s not. Don’t you see? My only regret in regard to your grandfather ”—the last word spit from between my teeth—“is that he died before we had the chance to kill him ourselves.”

Lily’s brow furrowed. “What are you saying?”

I recounted the whole story, ending with my mother’s last strangled breath; with each word, the blood drained from Lily’s face.

“He promised to sacrifice your father.”

“But Dad was a baby!”

“Age is irrelevant. And to a mermaid, a promise is a sacred thing.”

“You were going to kill a baby?”

“Technically, my mother was, but that’s beside the point. He promised his son in exchange for his life. It was a promise. They had a contract . Merpeople never break their promises. We expect the same in return. And your grandfather’s broken promise killed my mother.”

“He didn’t know that.”

“He caused that.”

“So now what? What can I do to save my dad?”

“You? Nothing. I want you as far away from this situation as possible.” I tried to wrap my arms around her, but she slapped at me and stepped back.

“And what exactly is this situation ?” Her eyes practically glowed with fury.

“Lily, my sisters want to kill your father. They asked me to get close to you so I could get close to him. They want me to get him out on the lake so they can claim what is rightfully theirs.”

“You got close to me on your sisters’ orders ?”

“What? Yes. At first. You’re focusing on all the wrong things.”

Lily’s chin trembled. Her bottom lids filled with tears.

“But it’s not like that now.” I put my hands on her shoulders and she threw them off. The air snapped between us.

“You were in there talking about a boat trip with my dad.”

“I know, I know. But I can’t do it. Don’t you see?”

“Get out of here, Calder. Stay away from me, stay away from my family. And keep your sisters far away, too.” She turned to run back to the house, but I spun her around and shook her by the shoulders.

“It’s not that simple, Lily. They will get to him. Now that they’ve found him, they will trail him forever .”

“I can protect him.” She ripped my hands off her. “Get out of here. And don’t come back.”

Before I could open my mouth to protest, a child’s scream reverberated off the lake and ricocheted through the trees.

The screen door flew open and Hancock was on the porch, his face expressing more panic than his words ever could. “Lily, is Sophie with you?”

“No.”

“Help! Daddy!”

We all turned toward the lake and tried to locate the sound. Mrs. Hancock appeared behind her husband, her face ashen, helpless in the confines of her chair. Rather than run for the lake, Hancock stood motionless, his knees locked and his hands trembling.

“Jason,” Mrs. Hancock cried, pushing him from behind. “This is not the time for your irrational phobias!”

With trepidation, Hancock staggered for the shore and pushed the aluminum fishing boat onto the water.

“Oh, God, no,” Lily said under her breath. Her eyes locked on mine, her expression fierce. “Stay out of the water. Stay away from him.”

Hancock pulled the cord on the outboard motor several times before he was able to get it to start; then he was flying out onto the lake.

I raced down the driveway, cutting into the woods, tearing my new clothes off as I ran. Tree branches slapped against my face and chest and thighs, cutting me, smearing me with pine sap. When I hit the edge of the land, I pushed off without stopping to visualize. I transformed midair. Far faster than Pavati ever had.

Perhaps it was because Pavati was in my thoughts, but as I hit the water, I could hear her voice. Pavati was trilling with excitement. She was at least a mile away, and Maris and Tallulah were farther still, but they were closing quickly and listening intently to Pavati’s report.

The little girl had come outside, Pavati said. She was pouting because no one had been paying attention to her. She’d wanted to sit by me at dinner. Pavati had been watching from the channel. She called to her, asked her to come out on the lake. I could see it all through Pavati’s mind’s eye: Sophie pulling a kayak off the grass. Pavati promising her some fun.

Then I heard the echo of Pavati’s memory as the kayak capsized. Sophie was clinging to the overturned craft and now— finally! —Jason Hancock was in the water. His boat was slow. The neglected motor sputtered as it ran out of gas. He picked up the oars and started rowing. “Hurry!” cried Pavati. “This is our moment.”

From under the water, I could hear Sophie’s screams as she clung to the kayak.