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*****IMPORTANT TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains material that may be a trigger for those who suffer from self-harm. Please, if this applies to you, PM me and I will give you a modified version of this chapter. Mental health is so important and I care about you all so much. I know that I have my triggers and we all go through hardship. Stay strong, everyone.*****
Disclaimer: I do not own Mako Mermaids or any or its characters/ideas. I also own another large cup of coffee because it's a Tuesday morning and one of "those" weeks. All OCs are my own creation.
Chapter 24: Power
I woke up to find Milo standing over me and staring at me with his blue eyes. He had to be the youngest of the group of boys as he was only about seventeen years old. He smiled as I blinked my eyes open and rubbed my face with my hands.
I realized that I did not dream that night. I wasn't sure if that made me feel better or worse about my father's situation.
"Good morning." I said, sitting up from the mat. Surprisingly, the make-shift bed was fairly comfortable.
"Good morning." Milo said softly, offering out his hand to help me up.
I stood up from the bed, realizing that I had fallen asleep in all of my clothes. I wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a fresh outfit. I re-fashioned my hair in a ponytail and rinsed off my face in the pool of water.
"Where are the others?" I asked, looking around the cave to find it devoid of life.
"They are gathering food for breakfast." He replied, picking up my mat and turning on a few of the LED lights that were on the cave wall.
"Where are you from, Milo?" I asked as I sat on the ledge of the cave and put my feet in the water.
I think that my question caught him off guard as he stopped in his tracks and almost dropped the mat that he was holding. I wondered how many friends he had besides Wes and Trey, considering how quiet and painfully shy he was. Milo was like a little brother that had to be taken care of. Despite his shyness, however, I was easily able to tell that he had a big heart.
He put the mat away and came to join me on the ledge of the pool.
"I was born on the shores of Ireland." He began, speaking softly and keeping his eyes focused on the water. "My parents were members of the Clare Island pod. Our pod was small but I heard that it was very loving and tight-knit. Unfortunately, we were one of the first pods to be attacked by The Immitis. I was only a baby at the time so I don't remember much. I lost both of my parents in the attack."
"I'm so sorry." I said, empathizing with the pain that he felt.
"It's OK." He said, out of habit. "I was taken by a few survivors of the pod to the Mediterranean Sea where we found refuge with the Malta pod. That is where I met Wes. We grew up together and he basically became my big brother. After a while, it became unsafe for us to continue living in near Malta so we crossed the Atlantic and came to Tampa Bay when I was seven."
"That must have been a long journey." I said.
"I don't remember it that much." Milo said, plainly. "Wes remembers it more than I do since he was thirteen when we made the trip. We met Dillon after we moved and we all became really good friends. Trey came with his family from across the gulf when we were older. We all wanted to stay together when we were assigned to new posts, so they allowed the three of us to come out here. We didn't think that we would see Dillon so soon."
"What sparked your interest in magic?" I asked. His face lit up when I mentioned his passion.
"When we were in Malta I didn't really have many friends besides Wes. I found a mentor named Luca who taught me everything that he knew about magic. He was a very old and very wise merman who was like family to me. I mastered everything that he taught me. Every spell, every potion, and every power was passed on to me." He said, looking down and admiring his moonring.
"Now," he continued, lifting his face to meet my eyes, "I get to teach you all that Luca taught me."
"I'm ready to learn." I said, rising from my seat.
We walked over to the table that was covered in vials of all shapes and sizes. The vials were sparkling in the LED lights and appeared to be arranged by color. A bowl full of seaweed was on the table along with various other bowls, spoons, and glasses.
"I think that we should start with your moonring training." He said, starting to sound a bit more confident. Magic was his element.
"Now," he said, placing a piece of seaweed on the table, "I want you to duplicate this. Hold up your moonring and concentrate on what you want to happen. Most importantly, always think positively. Moonrings do not respond to negative thoughts."
I cleared my mind of all things negative and focused on replicating the piece of seaweed in front of me. With great concentration, I was able to accomplish the task.
"I did it!" I said, picking up my cloned piece of seaweed.
"You did what?" I heard Dillon say from behind me.
I turned around to see him, Wes, and Trey come up from the depths of the pool.
"I cloned seaweed!" I said, tossing the piece of ocean flora to him.
"Great job, you two." Wes said, putting a mesh bag full of clams and crabs on the ledge of the pool.
Milo and I walked over to help the boys out of the pool. Trey filled a large pot full of water and placed the clams and crabs in the pot. He used his powers to boil the water and cook breakfast. We sat on the floor of the cave and ate our meal in silence, each of us reflecting on the task that was ahead.
"Milo," Wes said as we finished breakfast, "you and Merissa will continue her training. Dillon, Trey, and I will plan our method of attack."
We all nodded in agreement at the plan. After cleaning up, we all moved to different areas of the cave to fulfill our tasks. Milo taught me all kinds of new spells with my moonring, including one to create powerful weather systems. He taught me a song that would incapacitate anyone who heard it. Since the song is so powerful, he had to write down the sheet music for it and teach it to me in little sections. He also taught me a few potions that could be made with ingredients that were indigenous to the Hatteras Plain area. I was learning so much information that I hoped to remember it all.
I looked over to see Dillon, Wes, and Trey pouring over maps and books that were spread out all over the floor. Wes was making notes in a large book while Dillon and Trey studied the vast material that was in front of them. Dillon made eye contact with me and smiled.
"You're doing great." I heard him say.
"Thank you." I replied before returning to my lesson.
"There is one more thing that I could teach you." Milo said as he organized the contents on the table. "However, I have never actually seen a mermaid do this in real life."
"What is it?" I asked, adjusting my moonring.
"This power is one that is only granted to few mermaids per generation." He said.
"You don't think that she has it, do you?" Trey said, turning from the map that he was intently focusing on. "No offense, Merissa."
"None taken." I said, still confused as to which "special power" they were talking about.
"There is only one way to test it." Wes said as he walked toward Milo and I.
"It's too dangerous." Milo said softly with fear growing in his eyes.
"This is a bad idea, Wes." Trey said, going to clutch his arm. "It's statistically impossible that Merissa has this power."
"It's worth a shot." Wes said, pulling a switchblade out of his back pocket and approaching me with it.
"Wes, this is stupid." Dillon said, raising his voice. He tried to pull the blade out of his hand, but Wes pulled it away.
Wes flipped the blade out of the handle of the knife and looked into its reflective shine. He smiled a menacing smile at me while Milo, Trey, and Dillon looked on in horror. He held the blade to the inside of his elbow and ran a long line down his forearm. He winced in pain as the mark turned from pink to dripping scarlet.
"Heal me."
Yay for more cliffhangers! Does Merissa have the power? Stay tuned to find out!
-Crispin Robb