“Dana got on the plane,” Lyle mumbled, almost incoherent.
Liv stared at his splotchy face, trying to sort through his words. “Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yes.”
Oh crap. Dana. Her stomach twisted.
He went on, “Then Roen left. But he swam back. We broke our ties with the island and started transforming the women.”
This wasn’t helping her. He was too out of it.
“Okay,” she said, trying to stay calm. “How did you break ties with the island?” If they’d broken ties, then that could have caused their illness.
Ugh. She didn’t know.
Lyle slumped over completely and closed his eyes.
“Lyle.” Liv gave him a poke just as she heard female voices coming inside the house. The women were here. And Liv had to do what any good academic might: Discard the facts that didn’t fit. Include anything with a possible link. Keep an open mind.
Fuck me. She rose from the floor and rushed down the hall to meet the women, who flowed in one by one. They were of different ages and shapes, races, and sizes. Some wore oversized T-shirts and those strips of black cloth around their waists, probably clothes they’d borrowed from the men. Others wore those long black knit dresses—one size fits all—the men kept around for guests.
“Everyone,” Liv said, holding up one hand, “please go to the living room.”
A thin brunette with a wicked scowl growled at Liv. “Our sister’s blood soils the floor.”
Still standing in the hallway, Liv approached the living room just off of the foyer and peeked around the corner. She glanced at the brown spot on the wood floor. Was this where Lyle’s mystery woman had died?
“I’m sorry…um…let’s go to the dining room.” Liv pointed to her right. That room was really more like a banquet hall with a table long enough to seat forty or fifty people. It had three fireplaces and large merman-themed oil paintings—ships in storms being gobbled up by sea creatures, mermen battling each other with swords, and a bunch of other depressing crap.
Standing, Liv waited impatiently at the head of the table while the women filed inside and gathered around the table. Seemed everyone was in a hurry to get this over with, so no one sat.
Liv sucked in a deep breath and squared her shoulders, realizing for the first time that she was about to address a group of ex-mermaids who didn’t really remember much, but seemed to have maintained a little bit of that ruthless maid vibe.
“Okay,” Liv said. “First, I want to say that I know it’s not easy separating yourselves from your men, but mine is upstairs injured and dying, too, as we speak. So while I understand your pain, please understand what I’m about to say: Your pain doesn’t fucking matter. Your broken hearts don’t matter. The only thing that matters is saving the men we love. Anything else is just noise that will cease to have any importance the moment they stop breathing.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are, landlover? You think you know anything about our pain and what we’ve lost?” growled a black woman with beautiful long spiraled curls that flowed down her back.
Liv then realized that these women had already lost their men. It was simple math. There were only about two hundred mermen, because the island kept killing them off. Roen said so. But only about half had mates—that was one hundred. She knew because she’d seen the men at one of their gatherings on her last lovely visit. Over half wore the color red, which meant they were still single, so to speak. But Roen had also told her there were over two thousand maids. Over time, the men died, and their mates, who were bitten as was the law—thank you, evil island—became maids. So not every woman who’d been transformed back found a happy reunion. And those who found their merman still alive now got the joy of watching him die.
This wasn’t just a cluster fuck, it was an epic tragedy.
Liv dropped her head, gripping the chair in front of her. She didn’t have time for consoling them or trying to make sense of this, but she needed everyone’s cooperation. She needed to be strong and get everyone focused.
Liv squeezed the sides of the chair back in front of her. “I am Roen’s mate. Roen is the leader of this place and is the only man I’ve ever met who’s willing to put his life on the line for you, for me, and for your mates. He stood up to the island and sacrificed everything he was to free you.”
“So? Because the way I see it, we are all here. Worse off than before.” The other women nodded in agreement.
“Your mates would’ve died eventually. All of the mermen die serving her Holy Insanity. And if you don’t believe me, look around the room. How many of your mates are still alive?”
“Sixteen,” one of the women said solemnly.
Liv’s heart cried out for them. “And Roen understood that. He understood how vicious and cruelly your people have been treated. He gave everything to put an end to it.”
“What the fuck do you want from us, landlover?” said the scowl-faced brunette.
Liv shrugged. “Information.”
“She’s fucking crazy,” said one of the women. Liv didn’t see who’d spoken.
Liv slipped between two chairs and moved closer to the table. “No. I love Roen. And if there’s anything I know to be true in this world, it’s that there’s a reason for everything. Doesn’t have to be a good reason, but it’s there. There’s a reason the men are sick. There’s a reason the island is sick. All I want is to hear what you remember. Anything your men told you, anything of importance that the island has said to you. If we can understand the cause, then we might be able to help them.”
The women continued glaring at Liv.
“Fine.” Liv threw up her hands. “If I need to prove myself to you badasses, then pick one of you and let’s step outside. Because I don’t have time for this. And there’s no one coming to help, no one coming to save the men. And if you think any of you frighten me after I survived Shane’s little love shack, guess again.”
“What happened to Shane?” a petite brunette asked.
“I killed him. Not the best moment of my life. But there was no other choice. Not if I wanted to get back to this lovely paradise and help Roen.” Of course, this was a gamble sharing this information because Liv had no clue how they’d feel about a landlover killing a merman.
The women spoke amongst themselves for a moment. The gist, from what Liv could gather, was whether or not they believed her.
“Did you really kill Shane?” Amelia asked.
Liv crossed her arms over her chest. “With a butter knife.”
“Nice.” Amelia smiled. “I don’t remember much about him, but I remember he was a prick, so I hope it hurt.”
Okaaay. Well, it seemed this information won them over because they all began sharing bits and pieces about what they remembered and knew about this illness going around. Sadly, it wasn’t much.
“Amelia? What about you?” Liv asked. Amelia was the first to be transformed, so she had been back the longest.
Amelia shook her head regretfully. “I don’t know much. Jason told me that he got sick the moment he broke ties with the island.”
That was similar to what Lyle had said. “How did he break ties?” Liv asked.
She shrugged. “He simply revoked their connection. He said they all shut her out of their hearts.”
Okay, so if the island was using them somehow, feeding off of them, then she’s dying because of that. But why are they dying, too?
She thought it over for a moment. They’re still connected. They’re linked in some other way. It was how species evolved when they were in closed ecosystems. On a microscale, you had bacteria that lived inside people to keep them healthy while the person provided a nice little comfy home. On a macroscale, you had the planet. Everything depended on something else for survival. On a merman-scale, this island hadn’t just fed off them, it had also kept them alive because there was no other place on Earth that could’ve hidden them from humans for so long. Logic said that the mermen’s connec
tion to this place was more complex than simply a prisoner and captor relationship.
Liv’s sat phone rang, and she dug it from her pocket. “Hello?”
“Liv, it’s Phil.”
“This isn’t a good time. Can I call you back?”
“I’m calling to tell you I did it.” His voice broke up with a bit of static.
“Did what?”
“The island is officially yours under US Law.”
Owning this hunk of insanity was the last thing she wanted or cared about. “Fantastic! Gotta go now—”
“Don’t hang up!” he blurted. “I’m also calling to let you know that I just checked with the Coast Guard, and they have no intention of deploying any boats to help with your little trespassing situation.”
“What trespassing situation?” Her blood went ice cold.
“I guess someone hasn’t been keeping up on their National Inquirer,” he replied.
Oh no. The Fountain of Youth people. “My life is generally much too drama-mazing for that, but I assume you’re talking about the crazies looking for eternal life.”
“Yes. That would be them.”
Excellent. This was absolutely what they needed right now: Tabloid fans looking for a free facelift. And now that the island was sick, it seemed her little camouflaging trick wasn’t working.
“What about the private security Roen hired?” Liv asked.
“They need a few weeks to put everything into place, Liv. It’s a big hunk of land in the middle of nowhere, and they’re not allowed on it. That means getting large ships out there to patrol and—”
“Okay. I get it. We’re on our own.”
“That’s why I’m calling to warn you, Liv. I pulled a few strings and asked my friend at the Coast Guard to check out who’s near the island. Some of them are regular fishing boats, but they’re looking in the wrong area. But there is another boat five miles off your shore, heading right for you. There are about a hundred p—”
Phil cut out. “Phil? Hello?” Liv glanced at the device. No reception. She remembered once Roen saying that it wouldn’t work when the satellite went out of range. She’d have to call him back because she still wanted to ask if he could track Dana’s plane. Jets didn’t just disappear into thin air. Usually.
Liv pinched the bridge of her nose and then looked up at the women waiting impatiently. “We’re going to have company—a boat full of crazy tourists or something.” She sighed.
“The maids will kill them all,” said Amelia flatly. Liv was unsure if the statement was a happy one or out of concern for the people. There was a rumble from the other ladies.
“They’re getting weak,” said the black woman.
“They’re sick, too?” Liv asked.
She replied, “No. They probably sense that their mates are sick. Many of them won’t leave the beach to feed. And they’re very, very hungry.”
Oh, dear God! What the hell was happening? Everything was converging into this giant cluster fuck of tragedy and death.
Liv groaned. “Those stupid fucking people are going to die. The maids won’t be able to resist the food coming right to them. We need to do something.”
The women stared at her, waiting.
“Can’t any of you talk to the maids and get them to leave?” Liv asked. Didn’t they speak naked carnivorous sea monster?
“It’s not like that—they don’t understand things the way we do,” said Amelia.
Dammit.
Liv tapped her fingers on the table, thinking. What they needed was to buy more time for the men and figure out how to help them, not deal with a bunch of treasure hunters.
“Okay.” Liv whooshed out a breath. “I need some volunteers—maybe ten or fifteen—to keep an eye out for anyone trying to get on the island. If we spot a boat before they come onto shore, we can warn them. Tell them there’s a deadly plague on the island.” Honestly, that was the best they could do right now. “As for the men, everyone please split up. We need you going to every house and doing what you can for all of the men. Keep them warm. Give them fluids if they’re still awake. I’m going to make some phone calls.”
The room full of women stared at Liv for a moment, and she still wasn’t sure if they were going to grab her and slit her throat simply because she was a landlover who had the audacity to give them orders, or if they’d see that she was doing her best to help everyone.
Liv held her breath as an awkward vibe filled the room.
Then Amelia spoke up. “Jason told me that if it wasn’t for Roen’s mercy and strength, he would’ve been dead already and I wouldn’t have ever seen him again. He said Roen was the only one who could help us. So if Liv is Roen’s mate, we all know she’s just as strong as he is. Even if she’s just a landlover.”
Nice. You’re awesome…even for an icky, stupid human. But Liv would take what she could get. This was no time for ego-fests.
The women exchanged glances, and then one raised her hand. “I’ll take patrol.” Then another and another. They then started organizing into groups to care for the men.
Liv would’ve smiled or felt relieved, but she’d only managed to produce a Band-Aid. Right now, they needed a cure.
Liv hoped her next call would give them some hope.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Liv spent the next ten minutes trying to get a hold of Phil to ask about Dana’s plane, but by the time the satellite was overhead again and the call went through, Phil wasn’t answering his phone. It was a little after midnight in Chicago, so maybe he was asleep.
Lazy bastard. They were in the middle of an all-out disaster.
She prayed that the person she called next would answer.
Listening to her phone ring, Liv paced back and forth across the length of the long dining room inside Roen’s house. The chill in the air had her wishing one of the three large stone fireplaces was lit.
Yeah. Pretty sure a toasty fire ain’t gonna help you, honey.
“Hello?” said a woman’s voice.
“Dr. Fuller, this is Liv Stratton. We need to talk.”
“How did you get this number?”
“You were my doctor once, remember?” Liv said, with a sharp bite to her voice. “Don’t tell me you forgot about the excellent care you gave me.”
“So nice to hear from you,” Dr. Fuller said, lacking any sincerity. “I was thrilled by the news that you were rescued.”
“Yeah, well, I almost died because of you,” Liv said.
“Me? What did I do?”
“You told the world about the water and then they thought I was the one who’d broken their laws.” Talking about this place or its inhabitants to anyone was a major no-no. Of course, right now, Liv was about to really, really break their laws. Don’t care.
“They who, Liv? Tell me.” She didn’t sound concerned as much as she did excited.
“I’ll tell you everything. But first, explain what you learned from having that water analyzed.”
“Why would I do that? The world thinks I’m insane. That lawyer of yours had my practice shut down and I had my house taken away. My medical license has been suspended because they think I’m some crazy black woman, speaking voodoo and witch-doctor bullcrap. You’ve ruined my fucking life.”
Phil. That Phil. He really was an asshole. “He’s not my lawyer—well, he wasn’t. Now he is. But I can fix all that with one phone call.” She wasn’t sure how, but Phil could at least give the woman money or something to get her back on her feet. “The water. Tell me what was in it,” Liv said.
“That’s the thing. The lab didn’t know. There’s some compound or chemistry in it that gives it a charge. Like millions of tiny microscopic batteries working at the cellular level. There’s nothing like it on Earth and there’s no explanation regarding how it works. It just…works.”
“It sounds like some kind of radiation.” Great, now she was reciting lines from some weird version of Spider-Man.
“Nothing like radiation. More like…when the compound in
the water interacts with other molecules, it fires off millions of tiny sparks.”
Oh shit. Liv felt the room start to spin. That was what Roen had called the island—the spark of life. His people believed Crazy Dirt’s water was some sort of catalyst that got the heart to start pumping in the very early stages of life. Honestly, Liv thought it was all just a lie, that the island was evil and using her fictitious importance as a means to justify her cruel behavior toward her people.
Maybe you’re both right.
Dr. Fuller continued, “It also turns dying cells into stem cells. It’s a miracle drug, Liv, and I know it came from that island. Where is it?”
“How did you even know about the island?”
“How do you think?” Dr. Fuller asked.
Liv sighed, feeling like that giant rat in that giant maze again. Every turn she made, every obstacle she encountered wasn’t by chance. “Let me guess; you dreamed about it.”
Dr. Fuller didn’t respond, but she didn’t have to.
“I’ll ask Phil to look into your medical license and I’ll bring you here to the island so you can see if for yourself, but you’re coming here to work. The men on the island are sick,” Liv said.
“So it is real?” Dr. Fuller said triumphantly. “The island is real.”
“Yes. But the water is gone and the island is dying. And I need someone who can help me figure out why.”
“What are the symptoms?”
Liv quickly went through the list. “Can you help?”
“I doubt I could get there in time to do anything,” Dr. Fuller replied.
“I have a plane in Seattle. Where are you?”
“I’m in Seattle now. At my sister’s place.”
What a coincidence. That nagging feeling throbbed away in the pit of Liv’s stomach. Everything felt all so…predetermined.
“I’ll have Cherie, my assistant”—it was so strange to say that—“call you shortly and tell you where to go. What supplies are you going to need?”
Dr. Fuller wasn’t sure, so she merely rattled off a list of generic stuff like IVs, penicillin, etc.