Chapter 98 Surreal
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Under normal circumstances, I would have smacked his hand away, but for once his touch was more than welcome, and probably the only thing keeping me from falling into another freak-out fit.
That, and he wasn't looking too great either. The scare from earlier was enough to tame my snarkiness toward him into something else. I refused to yet acknowledge what that may be.
Adriane held the picture of Aria inside her hand, her face contorted in a frown. "This Janice woman you took this from. She's the same one who you saw today?"
"Yes, she's the one Kayn nicked the photos from," I corrected. "The same one who is keeping subject 611 captive."
"Why do you think she's after you?" Adriane shifted in her seat.
I swallowed. "I can only guess it's because I used to hang out with Ember and Kayn."
"Used to?" Ember passed me a dry look. "You and Kayn and practically glued to the hip."
"Now that would be something," he grinned, but it was weak and wavering as if he was trying too hard to pretend. Regardless, I couldn't help the heat blossoming on my cheeks.
"She might be after you because of them, yes." Adriane folded her hands over the image and held it on her lap, ignoring Ember and Kayn's remarks. "I just don't understand why she's so determined to have you recall your memory of that night of the Kraken attack."
"I thought she, just like my mom, wanted another witness to attest to their findings," I frowned. "Now, I think she's trying to turn me into one of you. Like an experiment of some sort."
"Unlikely," Hector grunted, taking a large swig from his bottle of whiskey. It was his second bottle since I showed up and he seemed to be holding himself together considerably well if you accounted for the amount of alcohol he consumed thus far. "I told you, no machine can recreate our kind."
"I agree, there's no way," Adriane said. "Human's have been unable to successfully clone humans, let alone advanced beings as ourselves."
"Then how do we explain this?" This time when I held up my hand, the scales were gone. I sighed, dropping it. "I can't touch water. It hurts too much."
"Well, then you'll have to work past that dilemma, won't you?" Hector suggested. "We all had to go through that first transformation at some point. Usually, as babies, but you unfortunately...All I can say is, best of luck."
"Babies?" My brows knitted together. "That's insane. How can—"
"It doesn't hurt for infants," Kayn said. "Because their bodies are still growing and incredibly versatile, it will create slight discomfort, but it won't hurt them. Not like it would at our age or older."
"But I've taken baths on a daily basis. I haven't turned once until that woman…" I sighed. "Look, she did something to me."
"Carly, how well do you know your parents?" Adriane suddenly asked.
"Not you too, please." I shivered as Kayn pulled me closer to him. "I know them well enough to know they wouldn't hide something this big from me. If anything, I think Janice is misleading my mom too. My mom wouldn't hurt a fly, or a merfolk for that matter, even if she'd been dying to get a position in that place. She might be a cryptozoologist, but she's not inhumane."
"I know, it doesn't sit right, but...Hmm," Adriane frowned, turning to glance at Hector. "Maybe Carly is right. What if this place, the AOUB, managed to find a way to turn people into our kind? What if Carly is her guinea pig of sorts?"
"Adriane, I'm telling you," Hector groused. "There is no way they can do it. What I think is, that girl," he waved a hand in my direction. "Is one of us and for some reason couldn't change and that machine triggered something in her and now she can. It's just biologically impossible otherwise. End of story."
"If that's true," Ember said. "How different things would have been if we had that when Aria…" She heaved out a shaky sigh. "What if that machine is for that exact purpose? For halfbreeds that can't change?"
"I hadn't considered that," Kayn said, looking at me. "But I can't picture Janice being the helpful kind."
"Definitely not," I agreed. "She's not trying to help. She's holding your kind captive and not to mention the other things…" Like cutting them up.
"You mean our kind," Hector corrected. "Clearly, you're one of us."
"I am not—"
"Carly!" Dad's voice boomed from somewhere outside. "You are in so much trouble young lady!"
I groaned, burying my face in Kayn's shoulder. He stiffened, only for a brief second, before relaxing and placing a hand on my arm.
"You're not supposed to be over here, are you?" he asked, trailing his fingers across my skin. If I knew any better at that moment, I wouldn't have shifted closer to him.
"Since my fainting spell at the AOUB's, he forbade me to go anywhere until I'm better," I admitted. "He's going to ground me, if anything."
"Pretend everything is normal," Adriane stood up from the couch. "I'll deal with him, don't worry."
Ember pushed up onto her feet as Adriane and Dad's voices carried in from outside. I perked my ears to hear what the exchange was, but then Ember spoke. "I'm making hot chocolate. Do you two want some?"
Kayn snorted. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I'd like some," Hector said. "But replace the water with some hot whiskey."
"I didn't ask you," Ember snapped at her grandfather. "You seriously need to catch a break with—ugh, seriously!" She reached forward and snagged the bottle right from under Hector's lips. "Go sleep it off, old man."
"Sleep what off? I'm fiiine," Hector slurred, struggling to get up onto his feet. "Gimme that back now." Hector reached for the bottle, which Ember pulled out of his reach, and this resulted in him stumbling over the side of the couch and planting onto the floor. He murmured a slew of curses as Ember rolled her eyes.
"I was wondering when that was going to kick in," I whispered to Kayn. "And there I thought merfolk had some kind of immunity to alcohol."
"We don't," he mouthed back. "But, we can handle large amounts of alcohol. Unless you go over the limit like he did, he's probably going to be knocked out for the evening."
We quietly watched Hector struggle his way out of the living room when Ember sighed and peered at us.
"Hot chocolate?"
"Are you going to poison it?" Kayn tested and I bit down a smile.
"No," her shoulders sagged. It wasn't until she stepped back when the light caught her eyes and I realized they were glassy. "I just figured it might, I don't know...It usually helps for everything."
A sense of sadness tugged at my heart. She'd just seen pictures of her dead sister and no one bothered to consider her. I pushed away from Kayn. "I'll come help you—"
"No," she exclaimed, slapping moisture from her cheek. "Please, you two just sit and relax. I'll bring it. I just need...a moment, please."
Kayn took my hand and pulled me back against him. "We'd love some," he said to his sister. "Thanks, Em."
"Sure," she forced a smile, hesitating for a moment before she twisted around and bolted out of the room.
"She's not okay," I stated the obvious.
"I know," he sighed. "But she will be. Ember is much stronger than you give her credit for."
"I know she is, but I mean, you had time to process the shock. She just found out."
A warm tingle washed down the back of my skull where his hand played with my hair. "I'm more concerned about your situation right now, to be honest."
I sighed. "Should I tell my mom the truth?"
"No, don't," he said. "We don't know where we stand with her. We can't take any chances."
I leaped up from the couch as if I just got burned. "Are you implying my mom is lying to me? Because I know her. For the hundredth time, Kayn, she would never do that to me."
"Carly," a depleted sigh escaped him. "I didn't say she had any bad intent toward you. But, maybe she hid the truth from you for some reason—"
"No, she won't," I persisted, my cheeks growing hot. This time, it was anger clawing its way through. "I can't believe you would even suggest that."
"Carly, come on—"
"I have to go," I suddenly said. "I need time to think all of this through. And figure out what I need to do."
"Carly…" Kayn breathed, reaching for me but I snatched my hand out of his range.
"I'll talk to you later. Maybe."
