Chapter 6: Heated Debates

Whatever Rikki thought her life would be like in this city, it certainly wasn't this.

'Hold still,' Lewis scolded, actually scolded, as he used a tiny pair of tweezers to pull a scale from her tail.

She splashed him vigorously instead, both as a response to the twinging pain of the scale being pulled from her tail and as an opportunity to retaliate for being turned into a test subject.

'When did I volunteer for this?' she asked. The question was directed at Lewis, at Emma and Cleo who were watching her flop around in the giant bathtub, and most of all at herself.

Lewis wiped the water out of his eyes and gave Rikki a pointed glare, before going back to whatever it was he was doing with the equipment scattered around Emma's bathroom floor.

'You volunteered,' he replied, his tone icy. 'Because you wanted to understand more about what's happened to you. To all of you,' he added, not looking away from the small glass slide he was carefully placing the scale on.

Rikki knew exactly what that last sentence was about. It was true, she and Emma had gone to Lewis, specifically without Cleo, and asked him what they could do to figure out more about what had happened to them. It had been Emma's idea, and Rikki had to admit that it wasn't a bad one. She wouldn't have gone along with the plan if she thought it was a bad plan. But she also didn't appreciate just how uncomfortable it would be to be sitting in Emma's spa bath, basically naked apart from a bikini she had picked up at an op shop a few weeks ago when she realised that her one practical set of swimmers was not going to suit her anymore.

'We want to include Cleo, of course,' Emma had said to an astonished Lewis, once she had explained what they were thinking. 'At the same time, we don't want to make her feel like you're studying her, specifically, so of course, you'll need to focus on us.'

'And if you can figure out how she's doing water magic tricks and how we can do them, too, that's just a bonus,' Rikki had added. She really did feel terribly envious of Cleo's powers, which she had seemingly unlocked in a lightning strike moment of brilliance during the net incident. Despite every attempt and without questioning her too deeply, because she knew that Cleo was still feeling a bit sensitive about being different, even with Emma and herself, Rikki had not yet gotten to the bottom of Cleo's extraordinary ability.

'If,' Rikki began, shifting slightly in the bath and splashing more water at Lewis - accidentally, of course - 'If we really want to understand what has happened to us, there's one place that probably has more answers than most…'

'No.'

Emma's voice echoed slightly in the enormous bathroom (seriously, how rich was Emma's family, Rikki couldn't help but wonder).

'Why not?' Rikki countered fiercely, shifting again, splashing more water and leading an exasperated Lewis to draw away from the tub and towards his precious equipment.

'Because,' Emma explained, in what Rikki thought must have been her 'patient' voice but which sounded anything but, 'As I have told you countless times, Mako Island is not safe. Even more so after what happened to us!'

'So the only way for us to understand what's happened is to rely on this nerd to translate magic into science and hope for the best?' Rikki retorted.

'I don't appreciate being referred to as "this nerd",' Lewis grumbled and Cleo gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. Rikki pretended to gag. Those two were cloyingly sweet most of the time and whenever the subject of their mermaid-hood came up, Cleo seemed to get particularly cuddly with him.

'Whatever,' Rikki finally huffed. 'Are you done prodding me for the day?'

Lewis nodded his assent, not looking away from the delicate slides he was placing into foam boxes. Slides containing a scale plucked from her tail. Rikki had to look away, fascinated and frightened in equal measure.

She had put on a big show of bravado these last few weeks, of course, but the truth was that she hadn't stopped having what could only be described as low-grade anxiety since the day Emma had instructed her to jump into that pool. There were days when she just walked around smelling like seawater because she couldn't time a shower after her morning swim. Not everyone had the benefit of a bathtub at home. A giant bathtub, Rikki added mentally, as she began to pull herself over the edge, grabbing a towel from the nearby rail to cover herself up once she changed back.

With a thud, she landed on the tiled floor of the bathroom and allowed herself a moment to recover from the dull throb. Even though the transformation was instantaneous, it still felt like it took something from her, a little bit of energy, as though she had done a quick workout. There was so much that she didn't understand - that they all didn't understand - about what had happened to them. And although Lewis was doing his best (even Rikki had to grudgingly admit that he was trying, despite his obvious personal discomfort), it was clear that the answers they were looking for were not going to be found by examining scales under a microscope.

Rikki knew what she wanted to do. She also knew that Emma was perfectly clear that she wasn't going to be 'permitted' to do it. But when had Rikki ever needed permission to do anything? No, she was going to go out to Mako Island by herself, and she was going to find out as much as she could about whatever this was. Emma didn't need to know. Cleo and Lewis certainly didn't need to know. She had spent enough time swimming out in the water, on the reef, that she felt absolutely confident swimming out.

'Are we done for the day?' she asked, hoping that nobody picked up on her sudden interest in heading out of Emma's house or asked to join her for her casual swim.

'All sorted for now,' Lewis said, finally looking up and giving her what she thought he must have decided was a reassuring smile. It almost made her laugh. If anyone needed reassurance here, it certainly wasn't Rikki.

'Then I'm going to head out,' she said, directing this mostly towards Cleo and Emma. 'Time for another swim, I think. No offense, but the bathtub only does so much for me.'

Emma rolled her eyes, but gestured towards the door. 'You can get changed in my bedroom.'

'We'll see you tomorrow!' Cleo said enthusiastically.

As Rikki made her way out of the bathroom, into the adjoining palatial bedroom and quickly shimmied into a dress and undies, she marveled at this new Cleo. Since the incident with the net, and her new magic abilities, she had become so much happier, so much more confident. She also often joined Emma and Rikki for a swim now, and that felt right somehow, the three of them swimming together, exploring the waters.

Those waters beckoned her now, and she hurried out of the house, waving a quick farewell to Emma's mother before fleeing the house. She was half-running. The beach wasn't exactly far away from Emma's house so it would only be a matter of minutes before she–

BANG.

Rikki looked up from her spot on the ground, rubbing at her knee, which she had managed to skin when she had gone flying, to see who had stood in her way and impeded her progress.

'Oh,' she said, annoyed. 'It's you.'

Zane Bennett grinned at her and offered a hand, which Rikki waved off, getting gingerly to her feet by herself.

'Going somewhere important?' he asked, crossing his arms and examining her. She didn't like that one bit, thank you very much.

'Very important,' she bit back. 'It's called Mind-Your-Business, been there?'

Zane's grin became broader.

'Yeah, I spend a lot of time there, as a matter of fact,' he retorted. Rikki wanted so badly to wipe the smirk off of his face. She had the impression that he was enjoying the reaction he was getting from her and the last thing she wanted to do was be responsible for giving Zane Bennett an ounce of joy.

'I'm leaving now,' she announced, stepping around Zane, but to her greater annoyance, he bounded in front of her again, blocking her way on the footpath. She was about to step into the road to evade him, when he spoke again.

'Setting aside all the witty remarks that I'm sure we are about to toss at each other,' he said, raising an eyebrow at Rikki, 'I wanted to ask you something.'

Rikki narrowed her eyes at him. Was this about the boat? Was she about to find out how he intended to make her pay for the trouble she had caused him and, indirectly, his father?

'I would love it if you'd come out with me for lunch. Or even a coffee? Do you drink coffee?'

The statement was so out of line with what Rikki had been expecting that she felt herself reel slightly, and wondered if she'd managed to hit more than her knee when she'd fallen.

'Why?' she managed to blurt out, bewildered. Why did the rich kid want to take her out?

Zane didn't hesitate. 'Because I think you're nice to look at, you seem like you know how to have a good time, and honestly, I really enjoy our verbal sparring.'

Rikki felt utterly caught off guard, but she knew she had to say something.

'Is this a setup?' she asked quietly.

'For what?' Now it was Zane's turn to look bewildered.

'I don't know, are you planning on "She's All That"-ing me or something? Lose a bet?'

Zane laughed out loud.

'Amazing reference, I love it,' he said quickly. 'But no, no bets have been lost, no bets have been made and absolutely no 90s films have been reviewed for dating strategies.'

Rikki felt like he was laughing at her expense and nothing was likely to make her blood boil faster than the idea that she was being laughed at. So he thought he could bully her, mock her, make her feel like a fool and then get one over on her? Just for a story to tell all his mates? Abso-fucking-lutely not.

'Rack off,' she said in a hiss, and her response was possibly stronger than he'd been anticipating because she saw his eyes widen with something like alarm.

'I wasn't laughing at–'

'I don't care why you were laughing,' Rikki continued, gathering steam. 'As a matter of fact, I don't care about you or think about you at all. And you are definitely the last person on this earth that I would ever even consider going out for a coffee with.'

Zane stared at her, and he seemed so lost for a minute, that Rikki felt a slight twinge of regret. Maybe he hadn't just asked her out as a joke or for a prank. Maybe he actually meant it. But then, Rikki realised that he didn't know how to react because he had never expected her to refuse him.

'You've never been told "no" before, I'm guessing?' she voiced her thoughts.

Zane didn't reply, but continued to stare at her as if she were some bizarre creature. If only he knew.

'Goodbye, now,' she said casually, and, turning on her heel, she crossed the road and carried on at a brisk pace, towards the sea. She didn't know if Zane would attempt to follow her, but so far, he seemed to have stayed where he was. One less thing to worry about.

As she eventually made her way down to a patch of beach near Emma's that she knew to be more or less abandoned, as it was too rocky and rough for casual beachgoers, she cast a quick look around just in case Zane had followed her, or the girls had decided to join her after all. The coast seemed to be clear and she quickly pulled off her clothes, leaving only the bikini top, and ran into the choppy waves. It was only a moment and then the change overwhelmed her, allowing her to dive further out and away from the shoreline.

Rikki gathered speed, swimming in the direction of Mako Island, or at least what seemed like roughly the right direction to her. She knew that she'd have a bit of a job finding it. She was getting used to navigating her way around underwater, more or less, but had never gone out quite as far. The island, she had since learned, was about 50 km away from the mainland, so not exactly a casual swim. She swam into the deeper waters and allowed herself to forget about all the concerns that remained on land - her family's financial situation, her burgeoning friendships with the girls and Lewis, her school performance and, of course, whatever had just happened with Zane Bennett. But here, under the water, she could allow herself to forget all that, reveling in the amazing wildlife that thrived in and around the reef.

She swam towards Mako with a renewed sense of purpose. She was quite sure that she'd find something there. There just had to be.

And what if Emma is right and you end up in more trouble? Rikki's inner voice whispered, insidiously.

She hadn't seriously considered any real risks with going to Mako. It felt like a lot of the damage had already been done. What else could possibly happen? Rikki wasn't paying much attention to the direction she was swimming, but suddenly, her head snapped up as she saw a shadow looming in front of her. She poked her head cautiously above the waterline and saw, to her astonishment, that Mako Island was directly in front of her. Somehow, she had made her way here without even trying to consciously find it. Almost like it had drawn her out.

A shiver ran up her spine, but she tamped down her fear and dove back underwater, swimming towards the island. Somewhere in front of her was the entrance to that extraordinary cave, underneath the caldera. She had to find it. She was prepared to spend some time looking, but as before, the rocks in front of her suddenly seemed to be just the right place. She couldn't possibly have recognised it, having never seen it before from this angle and certainly not as a mermaid, but she knew immediately that here was the entrance to the cave. She cautiously moved around the rocks and swam inside, surfacing only once she could see the sun shining wanly through the caldera and into the first few feet of the water above her.

Rikki looked around at the cave. It had taken her no more than an hour to get here, to find the island and to locate the cave. She had anticipated hours of searching, but really, it had required no searching at all. It felt as though this place had summoned her, and she really felt frightened all of a sudden. There was nothing more horrifying to someone like Rikki than the thought that she wasn't in control of her own actions.

What could she possibly find here that held answers to the mystery of what had happened to her, to them? What had she expected? An ancient tome that detailed exactly how they had grown fishtails and all the necessary details of their condition? Of course not. It was just a cave. No, not just a cave, a very magical and frankly slightly terrifying cave, that clearly had more secrets than even Rikki could guess.

As she floated in the water, Rikki seriously considered, for the first time, the stories that Emma had told her about Mako Island. There had been at least four people who had disappeared in this area in the last decade. More before that. The locals thought of it as a mini Bermuda triangle. With all four of the last disappearances, their boats were found afterwards, either floating in the sea or one had washed up on another island nearby. It was clear that something was responsible and nobody who had any sense traveled out this way.

Were people dying? Rikki wondered. Or maybe… maybe they were changed by this place, too. Maybe they were changed in a way that prevented them from ever coming home. The thought was horrible and she shuddered again. It had been a shock to find out about her new condition, but life as a mermaid was extraordinary, really. The ability to swim as she could, to hold her breath for over an hour, to be part of the sea - she knew she could never really resent that. But to be trapped this way, never able to return to land. No, that would be a living nightmare.

Just as Rikki was reflecting on this, she heard a very faint splash that she knew hadn't come from her. She turned around quickly, wondering if a shark or dolphin had managed to swim into this cave and saw, in a shadowy corner of the water, a face. There was another person in the water, but in the shadows and not entirely visible.

'Hello?' Rikki said quietly, not moving towards the floating figure. She couldn't be sure that this was another mermaid, after all, and she didn't want to showcase her tail just in case it was a luckless person who had managed to fall in. She hadn't exactly been watching for boats when she swam here.

The other person said nothing, and Rikki realised she couldn't even tell if this was a man or a woman. What she could see, however, was the faint gleam as the person slowly smiled, their teeth showing ghostly white in the darkness, and Rikki knew instantly that she did not want to be here. She didn't hesitate and was already in the act of diving under when she felt herself held in place, as though the water was clinging to her skin, wrapping around her and preventing her from moving. The person in the shadows was still smiling, still unmoving, but Rikki couldn't think beyond the wave of fear that was overwhelming her. She couldn't move. She couldn't move. She opened her mouth and screamed, hoping it might frighten the person, who was surely doing this, but all it did was fill the cavernous space with her echo.

And then the person - the mermaid - moved out of the shadow and towards her. She was still smiling and Rikki could see her long, dark red, snarled hair trailing behind her, all woven with shells and coral. Her face was extremely youthful, but her eyes looked dark and haunted, and there were dark circles under them. That smile, which had looked so unsettling in the shadows, was even more unsettling now, as she looked at Rikki with a fierce kind of triumph.

'Who are you?' Rikki demanded, even now trying to put on the tough girl facade, which she knew was her only defense mechanism.

The mermaid didn't answer, but continued to smile and move closer.

'No!' Rikki shouted out, something breaking loose inside of her, and suddenly, somehow, she was ripping the water away from herself, and throwing out her arms as if to claw at the approaching mermaid. The action was accompanied by a giant wave that struck the other mermaid fully in the face. Rikki didn't wait for retaliation. She dove under, out of the cave, and struck off back towards what she hoped was the mainland, leaving the cave and the island and the terrifying mermaid far behind her. She didn't stop frantically pumping her tail until she saw the first signs of the coastline and then she finally did stop and gradually tried to get her bearings as she swam towards the beach where she had left her clothes.

Emma had been right about that place. She hated to admit it. But Rikki had also been right. There were answers on Mako Island - even if she had been too terrified to go seeking them out. Rikki started to crawl out of the water and then, just to see if she could, she held out both arms and thought about that wave of water she had seemingly conjured in the cave. A sense of calm and control came over her and she watched with open astonishment as a wave came and lifted her, gently placing her on the beach and then dissipating. She gave a soft, triumphant cry and then hurriedly rushed towards her clothes, throwing on her dress. Well, it hadn't been a total failure, really. Cleo wasn't the only one with a trick up her sleeve now.

She jumped to her feet and was ready to head back to Emma's when she turned and saw that she wasn't alone.

A woman stood there, and though the wrinkles on her skin and the white in her hair indicated that she was older, she somehow seemed quite youthful. It might have been the flowing blue caftan she wore, that danced around her in the sea breeze. Or maybe it was the elaborate way she had dressed her long hair, a flower woven into it. She stared at Rikki with clear blue eyes and Rikki shrank away slightly. What had she seen?

'So,' the older woman said softly, gently, as if trying not to scare Rikki off. 'You've seen her.'

Rikki didn't know quite what to say. What was this woman saying, exactly? If she didn't know better, it sounded as though she knew that Rikki had seen the mermaid out at Mako Island, but of course that was all kinds of impossible. All she could stammer out was, 'Seen who?'

The older woman looked at her with profound sadness.

'The mermaid of Mako Island,' she said softly. 'Gracie.'