Chapter Five
New Bud Bonding
“So,” Sky flipped on the light by the side of my bed. “Gill was pretty upset about that being the wrong shell.”
“Yeah.” I dropped my backpack onto the desk. “Weird that the nautilus you found matched the one Gill’s looking for.”
Sky had shown up at school after Gill had smashed the fake nautilus. “All those shells look alike. What’s so special about the nautilus he’s looking for?” Her too-casual tone sent a short, shrill alarm through my head.
I tensed by the side of my bed and studied her. She wore the same outfit she’d worn to school. Her dark black hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. The strands appeared damp.
Was it something about Sky that had me jumpy or was it because of Gill’s mission? Most of the time she seemed pretty cool, but every once in a while something rang my BS meter.
“The shell belonged to a friend.” My friend’s. Not Gill’s. But Sky didn’t need to know that.
“So he’s got a special attachment to a shell?” Her voice held a slightly snarky tone.
For some reason she didn’t like Gill. I’d sensed the dislike at the restaurant and again outside of school.
“I don’t know.” Taking a seat at my desk, I opened my laptop and turned it on. Gill might have a mission, but I had homework. “I’m positive Ashtyn took the shell. She was the only one who had access.”
“The entire swim team was at practice and hanging around.” Sky sat on the window seat that looked across Maris’s backyard. “All their stuff was lying all over the bleachers. School backpacks, swim bags, lunchboxes.”
“True.” My photographic memory ran through the scenario one more time. “But she’s the only one with reason.”
“Like what?”
“Ashtyn doesn’t like me.” I ticked the reasons off on my finger. “And she’s attracted to Gill.”
“If she likes him why would she steal from him?” The question and the puzzled expression on Sky’s face matched Gill’s when I explained it to him.
“She’s trying to get his attention.” Duh. What teenager flirt didn’t know that? “To make me mad.”
“Where is Gill tonight?” Sky stood again and roamed over by my bookshelves lining the wall. “I mean he’s your cousin visiting from out of state. Why isn’t he staying with you?”
Because Gill isn’t my cousin and my parents would kill me if I a guy slept over.
My mind flipped around for a reasonable answer. “Um, he’s got other friends in town.” I glanced out the window at Maris’s house. Most likely, he was right next door.
An urge to visit itched like a scratch I couldn’t resist. What was he doing over there?
Sky ran her fingers over a swimming trophy and a porcelain penguin. Then, she picked up a photo of Maris and me at the beach. “Who’s this?”
“That’s my friend, Maris.” An ache spread throughout my body. The dull thud of loneliness was a constant companion. I missed her.
“The one who moved.”
I steeled myself against the pain. “Yes.”
“Where’d she go?”
I scrambled to find a new explanation. Over the summer, everyone assumed Maris was on vacation. I thought she’d be back before the start of school. Ashtyn knew she’d withdrawn from school and I’d told Sky she’d moved. “Africa. With her parents.”
I couldn’t tell Sky the truth.
She studied me in a similar way to Maris. It was like Sky knew I was lying about a lot of things. Maris used to get that same look—the narrowed eyes, the questioning eyebrows, the quirk to the head.
I shook off the comparison because I wanted to be friends with Sky for herself, not a replacement of Maris. I hoped over time I could show Sky the real me, but for starters I’d concentrate on getting to know each other and finishing our homework. “Let’s do our homework.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Sky’s lack of enthusiasm mirrored mine, but for different reasons. She seemed smart, but from comments she’d made she obviously didn’t enjoy school. With Gill in the area, I found it hard to concentrate.
After solving calculus quotients, applying formulas to physics, reading several chapters for English Lit, I yawned and stretched. “I can’t believe they gave this much homework on the first day.”
“Me, either.” Sky stretched out on my bed a spiral notebook in her hand. Her school books were scattered across the comforter as if she didn’t know what to do with them.
I swiveled the desk chair back and forth. “I don’t know how you do all your homework without a computer.”
“I manage.”
Awkwardness exaggerated the silence between us. I could hear the clock ticking, the wind rustling outside, and the bloom of our friendship waning. Maybe I was exaggerating, but she didn’t want to talk about her family and I didn’t want to talk about Gill and the nautilus. Not a good way to start a friendship. Then again, trust takes time to build. Maybe we needed to talk less about school and more about our likes and dislikes.
“What’re you going to wear to school tomorrow?” I had my outfits for the week planned.
“Not sure.” Sky still wore the same clothes she’d had on at school today. “Our clothes and stuff haven’t arrived yet from the movers. Maybe I’ll just throw this on again.”
“That would be social suicide.” I gave an exaggerated fake shiver.
“Yeah, well I don’t have a lot of choice.” She didn’t sound like she cared.
And that wouldn’t do. She’d started out with the right image, she couldn’t forfeit the beginning of a cool rep.
I went to my closet. “You can borrow something from me.” I slid open the closet door. “Let’s see.” I took out a colorful sundress and held it up.
Sky shook her head an expression of horror on her face. She appeared like she was going to gag.
Probably not the best choice for her harder-edge style. I put the sundress back and pulled out a flirty short skirt and tank top. “Try this on.”
She pursed her lips together and squinted. Running her hand across her hip, she shook her head again. “It’s not really my style.”
“That’s what’s great about being at a new school.” Sure, some of the kids from middle school knew the old me, but changing my style and my personality when I started high school worked for me. No more nerdy girl or freaky math genius. “You can try new things.”
Sky took the outfit and headed to my bathroom. Coming out, she stomped to a stop. Besides the clothes, she wore a grimace on her mouth. “I don’t know.”
The tank top hugged her curvy figure and the skirt stopped perfectly a few inches above her knees.
“It looks great.” I motioned with my finger. “Turn around.”
At first, she stood still. Then a big grin formed on her face. She twirled and held a high fashion pose, totally making fun of modeling. “Ta da.”
“You look fantabulous!”
Her grin turned into a genuine smile. A smile that showed confidence and fun. “It is kinda cool.”
I held out a pink dress I’d worn to the spring dance. The bodice clung while silk flounces flowed down the length of the long skirt. “Try this on.”
“For school?” One dark eyebrow arched into a question mark.
“Nah. For fun.” I searched the closet for more outfits.
With an I’m-only-putting-up-with-you smile, she took two more dresses and went into the bathroom. But I knew Sky was having fun. It showed in the sparkle of her green eyes and her sassy hip action as she modeled.
I slipped on a short sequined blue dress and turned up the music.
When Sky came out of the bathroom, she danced and posed like she was on a runaway. I joined in.
Together, we tried on every dress in my closet. Dancing around and posing. Shimmying in front of the mirror. Finally, we collapsed onto the bed in a fit of giggles.
We were like two grammar school girls, dancing and laughing. I gave her a hug knowing our friendship was for real. “This was so much fun.”
Sky didn’t hug back. She stiffened in my arms like she’d never been hugged before by a friend.
The sudden rejection hurt. “You okay?” Curiosity sparked my question.
“Yeah.” She shrugged out of my arms and stood up. No smiles or laughter now. “I should go.”
Uncertainty trickled through my nerves making my body tremble. “We’re friends, right?”
“Friends?” Her lips twisted like she was feeling out the word, trying to understand the meaning.
I angled my head. Confusion ran through my mind like a rat in a messed-up maze. Had I pushed myself and a friendship on her too quickly? Was I that desperate to make a new best friend?
“Don’t you hug your friends?” I spoke slow trying to understand what had happened.
“Not really.” She tossed her long, black hair back. She was blowing me off.
I wasn’t going to let her. “Did you have fun tonight?”
“Yes.” She jerked her head down as if not wanting to admit anything.
“Good.” The maze of confusion inside me puzzled into place. I felt our bond, knew we’d be friends even if Sky resisted. “Because that’s the most fun I’ve had since my best friend Maris left.”
***
The cryptic note I found slipped in my locker said to meet at the Mermaid Beach Boardwalk after school. Recognizing Gill’s handwriting, I didn’t understand why he hadn’t told me in person.
I waited by the doors of the Kingdom of Atlantis miniature golf course. Knowing all that I did now, the name couldn’t have been more appropriate.
“Tori,” Gill gave a happy-to-see-you smile, even though small worried creases lined his eyes. “Let’s walk on the beach. There’s less people around.”
Most of the locals were back in school and only a few tourists were about.
“Okay.” I trailed behind him down the stairs watching the way his muscular legs moved. I loved swimmer’s legs, but on Gill they seemed so much more powerful. “In between classes I followed Ashtyn at school today.”
“See anything?” He headed toward a small creek that ran between two cliffs on the far side of the Boardwalk. An almost-always deserted area.
“No.” Disappointment added to the coiled tension in my shoulders. “We have to get into her house. Maybe Sky can befriend her and—”
“I don’t know about Sky.” His brows furrowed creating shadows. “She seems different.”
“Different to you is normal to me.” I was human and he was Atlantean. Sky was human, too. Did Gill think I was too different? “She came over to my house last night. We had fun. I’m sure I could ask her to help.”
“That’s not a good idea. Too much at stake.” He lifted his hand toward mine and then dropped his arm.
When we’d dated this summer, and I use the term loosely, we held hands all the time. I liked how my much smaller hand looked in his. It was like we'd had a connection that neither of us wanted to break. Now, I knew it was all a ruse.
Yet, I couldn’t stop the small flame that flared every time I was with him.
A flame which flared into anger. “How do you plan to find the nautilus then?” If he didn’t want my suggestions he’d need to come up with a few of his own.
“The nautilus had to be taken by someone at swim practice.” Gill repeated what Sky had said last night. “It was in my bag and then it was gone.”
“Why is it so important for Maris to figure out the cipher?”
His gaze traveled the length of my face sizing me up. He knew why the nautilus was important, but didn’t want to tell me.
The flame died. Smothered by frustration. “How can I help if I don’t know all the basics?”
“I worry about you getting too involved.” His tight tone showed his distress.
I went all gooey inside. Maybe he did care. At least a little. “That’s what Maris said. She worried because I don’t have any of the abilities of an Atlantean.”
“It’s good that she was cautious.”
“But don’t you think it’s better that I know what I might come up against? I know enough to be dangerous to your enemies.” The thought pounded in my brain like the waves pounded the shore. Shivers ran across my back. I needed to know what was going on. I stopped walking. “Tell me what’s happening down there.”
Birds squawked overhead. Music from the Boardwalk could be heard over the waves. Gill’s face grew thoughtful creating deeper lines on his forehead. His mouth pulled tight.
“I don’t know who to listen to anymore.” He sounded confused, unsure. “My loyalty is to the three princesses.”
“That’s good, but…”
“But I’m technically working for Regent Mollusk.”
“He’s leading the Royalists.”
“Yes, but he’s working against the princesses.”
Shock jolted my body. Numbness invaded my veins like morphine. “I thought he was Princess Coral’s regent.”
“He is or was. Now, he wants to continue ruling Atlantis even though the three princesses have returned.”
The numbness spread tingles across my skin. “What?”
“Earlier he locked up Princess Coral and planned to use Princess Pearl to continue ruling. All three of them know the truth now.” Gill’s gaze drilled into mine. “I’m telling you this because I’m still a Royal Guard and Mollusk believes I’m on his side.”
The tingles spread across my head like a chemical reaction inside my brain. Shock connected the synapsis in my mind. My skin heated. My tummy revolted. My heart trembled. “You’re a spy.”
“Exactly.” Gill jerked on my arm forcing me to face him. His hand traced my jaw line. “The reason I left so quickly this past summer is because I had to get back to Mollusk. I didn’t want him to think that I was working with Princess Maris, Princess Coral, and Princess Pearl. That’s why I didn’t say goodbye.”
For a moment, I softened inside. When he’d left this summer maybe he didn’t want to leave. “You still used me.”
“Yes.” The hardness of Gill’s orbs reflected his emotions. “Cuda asked me to watch Maris and using you seemed to be the easiest way.”
I’d been a tool to help Maris. I had to remember that. Whatever I’d felt for Gill was not returned. He was just doing a job. “That’s just ugh-tastic.” I dipped my head knowing whatever fantasies I’d held about me and Gill were over.
He gripped my chin and forced me to look at him. “No. It was fantastic. I enjoyed spending time with you.”
“You did?” I had a hard time focusing. Gill’s warmth wrapped around me. His scent infiltrated my senses making me remember our few short days together. Forcing me to relive what I thought would be the beginning of a summer love. Maybe a permanent relationship.
“But we’re from two different worlds and my job is dangerous. We can’t get involved.”
All the warmth from his earlier words froze like cryogenic technology. I had to pay attention. He might’ve had fun hanging around with me but his job was more important. I had to stay focused on that right now. I could think about my feelings later. “So let me get this straight. There are the Royalists being ruled by Regent Mollusk. There are the Separatists who want the regime to fall. And then there are the three princesses—”
“And their secret group of followers.”
“Which you are part of.”
“Order of Atlas.” Gill glanced around as if wary of even speaking the name. “Princess Maris asked me to collect the cipher because she knew I was familiar with her house and the Mermaid Beach community.”
“Familiar with me.”
He jerked his head down. “She told me if I needed help to ask you.”
Maris’s belief in me warmed the coldness running through my veins. “But you didn’t want to ask me.” That’s why he broke into Maris’s house.
“No, I didn’t.” His seemed to fight to hold a blank expression. His lips firmed as if trying not to say more. “I didn’t want to make the assignment more difficult.”
“Because of me.” He was using me again, but this time with my knowledge. My frozen insides couldn’t deaden the pain of final rejection. He’d thought I’d be difficult, maybe clingy. He hadn’t even wanted to ask for my help.
Too bad. Maris was my friend.
I jerked my chin out of his hands. My eyes burned and I didn’t want him to see the telltale glint. “If I have to ask every kid on swim team, I’ll find the nautilus and figure out the cipher. For Maris.” I stomped my foot into the damp sand. “Then, I’m going to walk away with no regrets. Walk away from you and everything Atlantean.”
I swiveled and walked away.
“Tori, wait.”
I burst into a run. The burning in my eyes intensified. He didn’t want to see me, but I caught him in Maris’s house. He didn’t want my help, but he needed it.
To find the nautilus and to figure out the clues.
He’d felt no connection to me at all now or this past summer. He’d said he’d enjoyed spending time with me. Like I was just some party girl to hang out with for a good time.
Well, I was more than that. Worth more than that. And if Gill didn’t appreciate me and my brains he could go take a deep dive into the ocean.
He probably would.
Sure, he said he was protecting me but besides Maris and her half-sisters, no Atlantean knew who I was. How could I be in danger? My earlier fear seemed silly. Atlanteans didn’t seem to care about humans. And that included Gill. He didn’t care about me.
I ran toward the roped off section underneath the wooden pier. Unable to hold back my tears, I didn’t want the few people around to see me cry, especially Gill. I cried for the dreams of the relationship I thought Gill and I could’ve had. I cried for my lost friendship with Maris. I cried for the danger she and her sisters now faced.
Scooting under the yellow tape, I wiped off my tears and tried to pull myself together.
Work had begun on the pier destroyed by a series of earthquakes in the summer, but no workers were around now. The darkness under the wooden slats crept up like the storm overhead. I should get out of here, go home.
The waves intensified. The wind increased. A chill raced across my skin.
Was that a yell?
I stared across the expanse of beach I’d just run across.
In the distance, three guys struggled. Two of them grabbed the third. They tried to drag him toward the ocean.
A guy with auburn hair.
Gill.
The next chapter will be posted on Friday, September 6, 2013.
If you’re enjoying Tori’s story, you might like the rest of the Lost Daughters of Atlantis series, “Atlantis Riptide,” “Atlantis Red Tide” and “Atlantis Rising Tide” which are available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo and IBooks.
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