Dark Waters

Chapter 11

EDITED

(Kaitlyn's POV)

As the three of us sit in silence watching the waves crash onto the beach, something comes to mind. 

"Guys?" I start, getting worried. 

"Yeah?" Avalon asks, an unreadable expression on her face.

"How will we know when it's safe to return? We have no way to know when Avalon's grandmother leaves, other than going back. We probably can't trust Avalon's parents to tell the truth, seeing as they will be more concerned on getting us home than telling us the truth. So what do we do?" I speak really fast, not being able to get it all out quick enough.

Now they both look as worried as I feel. None of us had thought of this before hand. We have no idea when it will be safe to go home, if ever. 

"I have telepathic communication, maybe that can help?" Avalon suggests, but I don't see how that would work.

As I was about to respond, Avalon freezes and looks as if she is in a trance. I can see that she's concentrating on something, but I don't know what. I look at Jade and she shrugs. Avalon holds up a finger telling us to wait.

As her concentration breaks, she falls backwards. We rush to help her, but she's unconscious. We shake her and yell at her, trying everything we can to wake her up. It takes about ten minutes before we're able to bring her back to consciousness.

As she comes to, she looks scared. 

"What happened?" I ask, beginning to freak out as she starts to shake. 

"My--my grandmother." Our eyes grow wide, as we motion for her to continue. "She's going to do something. She sent me a telepathic message saying I have to go back or she'll make me. I told her I wouldn't come back, and she said she would see me soon." She looks me dead in the eye. "She's going to enchant me."

"Whatever technique she uses, I won't be able to resist." My head snaps towards Avalon. I stare at her in awe, her sent me a telepathic message. 

"She is powerful. She has strong magic."

All we can do is wait for it to happen. 

"What can we expect?" Jade asks Avalon. "I don't want to be completely freaked out. What can expect to see?" She continues, explaining herself. 

"I'm going to act strange." She looks at both of us. "Please, tie me up. I can't go. Tie me up before it happens." I almost laugh at the idea but I can see that she is serious. She wants us to tie her up somewhere. 

"To what?" I ask, dumbfounded. 

"A sturdy tree I won't be able to break."

I run to the car's trunk and grab the rope that is stored there, while Jade and Avalon search for a trustworthy tree. We meet up, at possibly the largest tree I have ever seen in my life. Thankfully the rope is long, so we can tie it multiple times. By some weird coincidence I also found chain in the trunk, and we use it as well. 

Soon she is tied firmly onto the tree, her breathing labored because of the tightness. In just a matter of minutes after we finish tying her up, it starts. 

Her head slowly turns towards the ocean, a look of longing in her eyes. She attempts to move, but can only manage a small twitch. She shakes her head, as if snapping out of the enchantment momentarily. 

"It's an enchantment song, a powerful one. Make sure my hands are tightly bound. If my hands can't form the necessary movements to do magic, I won't be able to use any. Hurry, before I-"

She stops mid-sentence, and squints her eyes. She again turns her head in a slow and creepy fashion that reminds me of a possessed doll. Her eyes slide from the water to us. 

"The sea, it's calling me!" She exclaims in an incredibly creepy tone of voice.

She puts her head down, and her body begins to tremble slightly. "Stop...it" She says in a deep voice, apparently trying to fight the enchantment. After she screams in frustration, she returns to normal. "Bind my hands. NOW!" 

As we quickly tie her hands so they can't move, and will most likely lose circulation, she continues to struggle to stay in control of her body.

Once her hands are expertly bound, she lets go and the enchantment takes over. 

(Stacy's POV)

Why isn't she here yet? This enchantment has never failed. And to add to that, she's only a sixteen year old girl. Only extremely powerful mermaids would be able to resist this powerful of magic. 

Either she is extremely powerful, or has found a way to keep herself from coming another way, even though the song has affected her. The latter is more likely. 

My daughter said that those two girls ran away with her, they must be the ones keeping her there. There is absolutely no way that she has overcome the enchantment. There are skill level rankings and at her age, she will still be pretty low. The royals are the highest, as they are supreme over the rest of the merfolk population.

I guess I'll just have to repeat the enchantment, it should make her connection to it increase, and she will be even more tempted and urged to come to the sea. I begin the enchantment song again.

As I sing the song I can feel the power of the enchantment surrounding me, pouring out of the words that leave my mouth. I can almost sense a cloud of magic flowing through the lyrics, before it disperses outwards in all directions, beckoning Avalon to come to me. 

I yet again think of Avalon, and hope that the effect will be strong enough this time. She may have avoided it the first time, but there is no way she can do it twice without possessing tremendous power.

 Power the ocean has never seen.