Ocean's Infiltrator Read online

  She couldn't hide her smile. "It will be a pleasure." She held out her hand, as delicately as I had been taught to as a child. "I am Michèle."

  I took her hand. "Vanessa Wood-Jones, soon to be Vanessa Fisher."

  19. Joe

  When Vanessa and Marina returned from dress shopping, Vanessa seemed distracted. She suggested we order pizza for dinner, but she barely ate more than Marina. Once we'd managed to get Marina bathed, brushed and in bed, I slid an arm around Vanessa before she could slip away.

  "What's wrong?" I asked softly.

  She looked at me with a rueful smile. "Wedding dress shopping is harder than I thought. Do I have to wear a dress?"

  I hesitated. "It's the normal thing to do, so I'd say, yes, you do. The less you wear, the happier I'll be, but my family want all the traditional things. A church wedding, a restaurant reception, dancing, suits, speeches, flowers, cake…and they want you to make the decisions on all of it." I smiled to soften the words.

  For the first time, she looked lost. "I've never been married before – none of my kind have, not in living memory! I know less than you do about weddings and such things. I like blue and I like seafood. Tell your mother…tell her…that I think she should plan what she thinks best and I'll pay for it." She looked at me. "I don't know – you tell me what we should do."

  I laughed. "I haven't been married before, either. It'll look strange if I plan our wedding – usually the women in the family take care of it." I stopped laughing when I saw this didn't cheer her up much. "Look, Mum's coming over tomorrow to ask you questions about the wedding. I'm sure she'd be delighted to deal with all the wedding details – I'm the first of her kids to get married. She has so many ideas about how it must be and what has to happen…if you want her to plan the whole thing, all you'll have to do is tell her that and she will. You'll be her favourite daughter-in-law forever."

  "Thank you," Vanessa replied, coming in closer for a kiss.

  Some time later, when we were wearing a lot less, I asked the question in the back of my mind. "Why did you come ashore again? And how long will you stay this time?"

  She turned to face me in the dark, running her hand lightly up and down my chest. "Like last time, I came ashore to perform a vital task for my people and I will return to the depths once it is complete. When another such task arises, I will return to shore again." Vanessa's words were calm and cautious.

  "But what are you actually doing? What is your vital task? How long will it take?" I swallowed. "I want to know when you'll leave me."

  "I am the best at blending in with humans, so I am the ocean's infiltrator, living among you to obtain information. As for the time…I will be here for as long as it takes. Months, perhaps, or years, maybe. I don't know." She moved again, her lips on my cheek before she found my mouth. Several kisses later, she continued. "The less you know, the safer you are. My people have many secrets and our existence is just one of them. How much do you really want to know, Joe? I don't want you in any more danger than you are already, simply in knowing what I am."

  "I don't know," I admitted. I'd seen too many movies not to ask it, though. "You're not trying to take over the world, are you?"

  Vanessa's boobs shook with laughter in my appreciative hands. "No. We're not trying to take over the world – merely survive it."

  I thought for a long moment before I replied. "Then…I guess I don't want to know about them, or why they sent you here. I just want to know everything about you, that's all. And…when I ask, I'd like to know you're being honest and not lying to protect me. I'd also like some advance warning of when you're leaving so I can say goodbye." I could feel that black hole yawning wide inside me at the thought of her first goodbye, when I hadn't had a chance to reply, but I tried to ignore it. It wasn't hard. After all, Vanessa was right beside me, her skin warm against mine.

  "I will tell you if you're asking something I feel you'd prefer not to know the answer to and I'll give you plenty of time to say goodbye. But it's much too soon to be thinking about such things now. I would prefer…oh, hello…" Vanessa shifted in bed, poised to make me a very happy man.

  "I love you, Nessa," I said blissfully, as her wordless reply left me in no doubt that she loved me, too.

  20. Laila

  The Elder Council did not assemble on the structure steps as they had for our arrival. They were inside the structure, enclosed in walls and a roof that I found as strange as the buildings they had assigned us as sleeping quarters. I was not accustomed to sleeping in still water and my sleep had been restless. Mother did not appear well-rested, either, though her eyes were bright with eager excitement.

  "You are welcome, Ambassador Cantrella. You are the first of the Black line to enter this chamber for almost fifty years," Elder Zelia said with a bow to Mother.

  Mother looked intrigued. "For that long? The Black line is thin among the blood of our people, but I did not realise it ran thin here, too."

  A look was exchanged between Elder Zelia and a tall Elder with hair as dark as mine. The tall one approached Mother.

  "I am Elder Nadie." She and Mother exchanged deep nods. "I am the historian of our people. I keep our records and knowledge. What do you know of dragons?"

  Mother looked suspicious. "Dragons? Imaginary creatures. Stories told to children." She dismissed dragons with a flick of her fingers.

  Elder Nadie smiled thinly. "Stories told to children here, too, of when we were a whole people – male and female, or dragon and mermaid, as the humans called us. The dragons of the Black line were the strongest and among those with the most courage, so they were the most hunted by humans. The last of these was Dubhan. Only a child, Dubhan fled. Humans from Holland, England and Portugal pursued him in their wooden sailing ships. We believe Dubhan headed for your ocean, for your people travelled there in search of the last Black dragon, but we heard nothing of dragons after Dubhan departed the Atlantic. Dubhan was very young, unable to defend against the humans. It is my hope that Dubhan died with honour, as was customary for those of the Black line.

  "The Black line turned its energies to fighting the humans, at the price of progeny. They had few daughters, for the more powerful of their number did not dally long enough to produce children. The last daughter was Raimunda, who died almost fifty years ago. Her only child was killed when she became trapped in a human vessel. Raimunda herself died attempting to save the child. Her palace has remained empty since, home only to eels and octopi."

  Elder Nadie's eyes darted eagerly to Mother's face. "Did your people find Dubhan? Are you descended from the last Black dragon?"

  Mother shook her head. "There are no dragons in the Indian Ocean, nor have there ever been. We are only the people of the ocean's gift, as my ancestress was when she arrived in the Indian Ocean. Many have searched for these mythical dragons, but none have found. If there were dragons in the past, there are none now. I had wondered if they existed at all, or whether it was only a legend."

  Elder Nadie's smile seemed to grow thinner still. "Though they have not been seen in living memory, dragons are well documented in historic accounts. I assure you the creatures the humans hunted as dragons did exist, even if they do not today. Now, if they were…"

  Elder Zelia cut across the softer-spoken Elder. "I have more questions for the Ambassador, so your historic accounts can wait. Please, Ambassador, can you tell us more of your people? Most of us have not visited your ocean. How do you…"

  They interrogated Mother incessantly, asking about her life and our home. I felt myself drowse, curling up unnoticed in a dark corner where soft corals had colonised the colonnade.

  "Child! The Council does not wait with patience for one as insignificant as you!" The shout brought me back to consciousness. An insistent hand pulled on my arm, dragging me through the water from darkness to light. "Show some respect, child," the same voice instructed reproachfully, in a quieter tone.

  I tried to draw myself up as I would at home, but I felt exposed and uncertain in t
he scrutiny I saw. The Elders, my mother included, formed a circle around me, inspecting me minutely and I did not know why. I wanted to curl up and hide.

  "Can she breed? Is she fertile?"

  A hand with sharp nails poked my breast. "Why has she not done her duty? She seems to have developed correctly." The hand crept around the back of my tail to touch me intimately and I squirmed away, scared.

  "Is she disobedient? Does she dare to refuse to do her duty?" This voice was suspicious and hinted at consequences she would like to inflict upon me.

  I shivered, curling up smaller than I had in repose.

  Mother permitted herself a tiny smile. "She is as docile as any other child, who approaches the age of adulthood. When the time comes, she will do as she is told." Her eyes on me held a warning.

  Wanting to scream and swim, I held still as hands crawled over me like curious crabs. I felt violated. I was violated.

  "You have done well to bring her with you. She will be put to use." Elder Zelia smiled at me in a way that I did not like, then turned her attention elsewhere. "What is it you came to investigate?" Her eyes travelled to Mother and the Council moved away from me.

  I let the cool water flow over my skin, cowering beneath the creepy remembered sensation of so many strangers touching me. They paid me no attention, though they had not dismissed me, so I felt forced to stay.

  "The fires and shifts on the sea floor. We have noticed more movement of late and we wish to know if you have experienced similar changes to your seabed in the Atlantic Ocean." Mother's words sounded rehearsed. She had not seen the sites where the seabed glowed red and orange, the waters hot and full of dark vapours. I had and I did not like such places.

  Elder nodded and gestured toward one of the other Elders. "Elder Sophia?"

  The indicated Elder gave a sharp nod. "The fields of fire are more active than any other time in living memory. From our histories, it seems that they are more active now than in the time when the humans in our city were wiped out as the waters reclaimed it." Elder Sophia shook her head. "The humans study this, too, and their vessels may be found nearby on occasion. It is dangerous to approach, but I can take you so that you may see the magma flows."

  Mother gave a nod of acquiescence before she replied. "Then you will take the child with you to observe the fiery phenomena. She will report to me on her return." She did not even look at me as she ordered me into dangerous, human-infested waters.

  Aghast, I opened my mouth to protest, but remembered myself in time. As at home, I was a voiceless child in the Elder Council. Though my head felt heavy as I performed it, my bow of obeisance held as much respect as I could muster.

  Mother, what are you doing? Do not sacrifice me in fear for yourself. My fear is greater than yours. I thought the words but I did not say them. I was thankful that my eyes did not cry beneath the water, for I would have cried my body dry and only my fear would have remained.

  21. Joe

  Mum and my sisters put the wedding together, not me. They asked Vanessa to help, but all she'd said was that she had no family to invite, few friends as she travelled so much and it was mostly my family there. Vanessa told them it should be planned for those who would be there. When Mum managed to interrogate her long enough, Vanessa said the same things she'd told me - she'd like the colours to be mostly blue and white, she wanted seafood served at the reception and that would work well with an ocean theme.

  My sisters wanted to be bridesmaids, but Vanessa balked at dressing five girls instead of just herself and Marina. Her dress and Marina's were a secret not even my mother knew about.

  The morning of the wedding dawned. Vanessa kissed my cheek and whispered goodbye as the sun was just coming up. "We'll see you later, Sleeping Beauty," she said softly.

  By the time I managed to open my eyes, she'd already gone.

  Mum and Dad arrived a couple of hours later. Mum wore a dark blue dress and Dad had come for his suit. We'd hired dark blue ones instead of black, to keep with Vanessa's choice of blue and white.

  Mum made breakfast and we sat around, talking about the weather. It was a perfect day, not too hot and not too cold, with a cloudless sky. I wondered idly if mermaids could control the weather. Vanessa had said something about them controlling the waves…

  I heard a car pull up and Marina's piping voice.

  Vanessa and Marina walked in, looking beautiful in very casual clothes. Both of them wore their hair loose, arranged in curls that I'd never seen on either before. Vanessa wore some makeup, her lips a glistening pink, and it looked like Marina had something on her lips as well.

  Vanessa smiled at me, her whole face lit up, but Mum got between us and hustled my daughter and my soon-to-be wife upstairs before I could get up. My eyes followed them up the stairs.

  "She's a real beauty," Dad said softly. "I didn't know they had pearls like that up at the Abrolhos."

  I laughed. "Dad, there's pearl farms up there. Abrolhos pearls are as beautiful and expensive as they come."

  "I meant Vanessa. You were lucky to catch her, Joe."

  The luckiest fisherman in the world. "Yeah, I know," I replied fervently.

  He climbed laboriously to his feet. "I guess if the girls are getting dressed, it's time we put on some fancy clothes, too. I hate suits."

  I'd never worn one. But I'd wear anything Vanessa wanted, if by the end of the day she'd agree to be mine. I nodded and followed him into the downstairs bedroom where our suits were laid out.

  When we were all trussed up in suits, ties, waistcoats and shiny shoes, we wandered outside to have photos by the water with the photographer Mum had hired. By the time we were done, I was sick of the uncomfortable suit and wishing we'd decided to get married on a beach.

  As I walked back into the house, Marina came flying down the stairs, like a dolphin riding a wave. Her dress was in two layers. The top layer was made of something white and almost transparent, with a shimmery fabric underneath that shone different shades of blue as it caught the light. It varied from the pale blue-green of the shallows to the deeper colour of the blue holes in the reef, right down to the dark blue of the deep ocean. In here, out of the sun, I even caught a glimpse of the stormy blue in Vanessa's eyes.

  A strand of light blue pearls clung to Marina's neck, matching her eyes. Her shoes were the same colour.

  "You look beautiful, sweetheart," I told her.

  "Mummy has more pearls than me." Marina pouted.

  I laughed softly. "When you get married, sweetheart, I'll make sure you have as many pearls as Mummy."

  The photographer hurried in and took up a position at the bottom of the stairs. He started snapping pictures in quick succession. Both Marina and I looked up, and there she was.

  Vanessa stepped slowly down the stairs, wearing a dress made of the same fabric as Marina's. That's where the similarity ended, though. Vanessa's dress highlighted every perfect curve, falling just short of the toes of her sparkly sandals.

  Her pearls were more numerous than Marina's, but they were very different. Hers were every shade of blue, from pale silver to deep ocean, just like the dress. They went from her neck to the neckline of her dress, spaced out across her smooth skin by an almost invisible web of chain. It looked like she wore a whole season's harvest of Abrolhos black pearls, and it probably cost as much as I earned in a year. Well, Mum's never going to accuse her of going after my money again.

  I wondered how much the rest of the wedding had cost, but I knew I'd never find out, for Vanessa's finances were yet another mystery to me. A mystery I didn't need to solve, as long as I had her.

  I think that's when it finally hit me. Staring at this vision in a blue dress, I realised that the most beautiful woman in the world was going to be my wife. Oh, thank you God. I couldn't look away and I couldn't breathe. Shit, how will I be able to say my vows when I'm speechless just looking at her?

  Vanessa reached the bottom of the stairs and held out a hand to me. Mine shook as I took it. For the first time
, I saw her nails were painted in a shade of iridescent blue that matched her dress. My mouth gaped open as I stared at her, less than an arm's length from me. She took the last step that placed her up against me. She slid her arms around me and leaned forward to put her lips to my ear. "Breathe, Joe. I'm the one tied into a dress. I'll need your help to take it off later."

  I looked down at the design of woven strands across her bare back, tied into an ornate bow just above the curve of her bottom. Oh God, sex with my beautiful wife on our wedding night. "Just say the word," I managed to say.

  Her voice lowered to a barely audible whisper. "Remember, Joe, whatever we have to do today, that at the end of it we'll be alone and I will say the word. All day, all I want is you."

  She laughed softly and pulled away from me so I could see her smiling face. I forced myself to take a shaking breath as my suit felt tighter than ever. She pressed her glistening pink lips to mine.

  Marina rushed in through the front door. "There's a white car and it has a pussy cat on the front!" she squealed in excitement.

  Vanessa stretched her hand out once more. "Come on, Joe. Your family is waiting to see us get married. It's time to go to the church."

  I took her hand without hesitation and all three of us walked out to the waiting Jaguar.

  22. Laila

  Elder Sophia seized my arm the moment the meeting was over, dragging me outside before the others moved. She gestured imperiously with her free hand to two sisters outside. "Come. We will take the child to the fields of fire."

  The two girls nodded and followed without question.

  "Move your tail, child. We will get there faster," Elder Sophia grumbled and I swam, obedient to her wishes. After a few minutes, she released my arm.

  I thought of breaking away from her and her companions, but I did not dare to defy her orders or those of my mother. We swam in silence until the city was far behind us and the waters were dark and deep once more.