"So you are feeling okay, right Marcus?" Rita asked, "No odd sensations or feelings of being called somewhere?"
"No." Marcus said tiredly. "Just like when you asked me the other seventeen times. I feel fine."
They had gathered in Rita's hidden cave and everyone had been keeping a very close eye on Marcus. He on the other hand was lounging casually on the stone couch, a glass of water in his hand. As near as he could tell it was near the middle of the night and therefore nearing the time when the moon would call to him. They were taking no risks it seemed, each of the girls had a Moon Ring on their finger. They had decided to keep Marcus in the bottom of Rita's grotto all night just in case the moon had some lingering effects on him.
"Rita, five minutes." Zach said warningly as he checked his phone. The others stirred restlessly, their eyes fervently darting to where Marcus sat.
He yawned and stretched, his back making several satisfying pops. In his movement he inadvertently knocked over his glass of water from where he had set it on the couch's ledge. He reached for it instinctively and winced as he waited for the sound of shattering glass. When it didn't happen he peered over the edge and raised his eyebrows when he saw the glass hovering gently in the air.
The others had similar expressions of astonishment and Marcus winced. "I don't suppose that any of you did that, did you?" He asked hopefully. Their expressions were the only answer he needed. "Didn't think so."
"You need to control yourself right now, Marcus." Rita told him seriously. "The last time you had magic you managed to conjure a typhoon. If you were to do something similar here I'm not sure that any of us would survive."
"So no magic." He surmised. He frowned and scratched the back of his head. "Problem is I didn't really mean to catch that glass to begin with."
"What would happen if we poured water on him?" Ondina asked interestedly.
"I do not know." Rita said honestly. "But I don't think that it would be very wise to find out."
"I don't think I would look good with a-." Marcus's voice trailed off and his mind went blank.
"Marcus?" Rita asked warily, gesturing for the others to ready themselves.
"Hm." He said as he pushed to his feet. "Interesting."
"Marcus…?" Ondina asked warily. "Are you alright?"
"I think so." He said slowly. "I feel… different."
"Different how?" She pressed, stepping closer tentatively.
"I don't know how to describe it." He admitted. "But… I feel wrong right now. Like I shouldn't be where I'm at. I should be in the sea."
"Marcus, you must resist the call of the Chamber." Rita told him.
"I don't feel anything calling to me." He admitted. "I just feel wrong. Like I'm not where I should be… I'm not what I should be." He gazed longingly at the water and even took a hesitant step forward.
"It's the moon." Ondina realized. "It's not the Chamber that's calling to him, it's the moon! I think it's trying to get control of him from the merman chamber."
"That's quite a conclusion to jump to Ondina." Rita said disbelievingly.
"She might be right actually." Zach said hesitantly. "During my first full moon I felt like there were two different places calling to me. One was the trident pool and the other was the ocean itself."
"So why is the moon calling to him now?" Rita asked, clearly still not believing their thoughts.
Marcus suddenly shook his head vigorously and blinked. "Whoa." He said, sitting back down on the couch and cradling his head in his hands. "That was weird."
"What happened Marcus?" Zach asked.
"I really don't know." Marcus said as he squeezed his eyes shut. He felt dizzy, like he had just stood up too fast. "One second I felt fine and the next I felt like someone had thrown a rope around me and started pulling."
"Rita?" Ondina seemed to be searching for an answer. "You know that we should try it. He deserves a chance."
"It's dangerous." Rita warned her. "If he gains the same amount of power that he had before we won't be able to stop him."
"What are you two talking about?" Marcus asked, frowning.
Ondina didn't answer. She raised her hand and directed her moon ring at the pool of water in the grotto. A small orb of water rose up and levitated in the air. With a sudden flick of her wrist Ondina sent the water flying towards Marcus. He sputtered back as the water crashed over his face and filled his mouth. He spit out the salt water and scowled at the blonde haired mermaid. "What was that for?" He demanded, wiping the water off of his face.
She said nothing. She stared at him for a long moment and then gave a slightly disappointed sigh. "I guess not." She said.
"It was worth a try." Rita assured her, though she didn't sound certain. "But I think that we should keep experiments like that to a minimum."
Ondina sighed and the others finally relaxed. She walked over to sit next to Marcus and he looked up in confusion. "Oh, hi." He said with a smile.
"Hi." She returned the smile, but hers was filled with sadness.
"Something wrong?" He inquired, taking her hand in his own.
"No… it's just… I thought that maybe you would transform again." She sighed. "I thought that maybe you would get your powers back on the full moon. It was a long shot, but I just hoped…"
"Any reason in particular you wanted me to get my powers back?" He asked, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
"It's just… something Zach said a while ago." She looked away and Marcus sent Zach a questioning look. He shook his head and raised his hands in an I-don't-know gesture.
"What did he say?" Marcus asked.
"You humans only have one more year of school left after this year." Ondina told him. "After that who knows where you will go?"
"Where would I go?" Marcus laughed. "Well, okay, to be fair I could go anywhere."
"Are you going to?" Ondina asked him in a whisper.
Marcus looked her in the eyes and saw that she was hanging on to his every word. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. "I'm not going anywhere without you." He murmured to her. "I might not have powers, or a tail, or anything like that… But as long as you want me around I'm not going anywhere."
"How can you be so certain?" Ondina asked him.
"Because whether you realize it or not, you caught me in your Siren Song." Marcus told her sincerely. "My heart belongs to you Ondina."
And now we have one chapter more closer to the end of this story. Three chapters remaining. -Hallowed