Tiffany Dunn - If I Should Never Find You

She started to swing again, when the wind picked up and she felt the blood's presence resonate within her. The blow she planned glanced off of Wendell's side, and the young king merely groaned. Ignoring him, Rena looked up, and saw the woman, the moon making a silver halo around her. Their eyes met, and the rock fell from Rena's hands, bouncing off the ledge and falling into the water below.

Hissing, Rena pointed at the woman, a woman she'd never met but knew instantly. She was his blood. The last of the line, the one who'd escaped her. Why hadn't the wind told her that? The woman's eyes widened and she started scrambling down the trail, sliding and slipping towards her.

Rena glared at Grojavek, motioning him closer. "You didn't say she was his line!" she accused.

The imp shrank back, babbling incoherently for a moment. "I-I'm sorry!"

"Idiot. I should have known better than to trust you." Rena waited for the woman to approach, sure she could take the mortal, filled as she was with Wendell's life force, even before he was dead. Her death would be even sweeter than his, and much more satisfying. To finally kill one of them with her own hands! Rena shivered with delight.

The woman paused on a ledge several feet away, her eyes wary. Rena could see her prince in those eyes.

"Leave him alone," the woman demanded, her tone arrogant. That was typical of Byron's family. They all thought they could control her.

"You're his granddaughter," Rena whispered, pleased to see the shock register in the woman's eyes. "You must feel so special. Coming to get the evil monster. What do they call me now? Soul Ravager?" Her lips pulled into a gruesome smile. "How clever."

The woman shifted, taking a step closer but not leaving her ledge. "You killed them all, you bitch. Innocent villagers, my whole family, even Terry."

Rena couldn't miss the agony that accompanied the name. "She was a pleasant accident," she said, digging in, enjoying the pain that flared in the woman's eyes. "A sweet soul, but not enough."

"Enough for what?" The woman's voice had gone ragged.

"Do you know what your grandfather did to me?" she asked, ignoring the question. It was time they learned the truth, even if they wouldn't live to share it. "I gave up everything I knew for him, and he betrayed me for that whore, Serena. The sea witch cut off my tongue and split my fins with pain such as you will never know. I slept at Byron's door like a dog, desperate to be near him. I danced at his wedding until my feet bled, every step like walking on shells, and still he never gave me what I wanted. He was too arrogant to love me, the mute who had saved his life. I should have let him drown. I should have killed him when my sisters gave me the knife." Rena felt her arms trembling with the centuries of anger. "And then I did kill him. And every last one of you will die before your sacrifice equals mine. Bring me the knife, imp."

Grojavek cowered away from her, clutching it to his chest. She glanced at Melissa and smiled again. "I know that knife anywhere, granddaughter of my murderer. Where did you get it?" The woman's lips firmed with the stubbornness Rena recognized. "No matter. It is fitting that now I will finally get to use it." She glared at the imp. "You stupid creature, don't you understand what I'm saying? Bring it here."

He took a step backward, his whole body shaking.

"You'll fall off the ledge," she nearly screamed. Every nerve was sharp and the wind blew strong around them, whipping her hair back. The imp paused in his retreat, and stayed there. "I will kill you either way, you insignificant speck. It's just a matter of time. Don't make it painful for yourself."

She sensed the woman's movement and turned, watching her as she lowered herself down to Rena's ledge. And then the imp was screaming and running, and she felt the blade sink into her lower thigh. It buried itself to the hilt, and when she looked down in shock, the imp still hung on, screaming wildly.

Byron's granddaughter yelled, but her voice was lost as the wind wailed, and Rena felt her body changing. The knife throbbed, sucking her power. She reached down to pull it and the imp loose and the woman tackled her, and it felt like a boulder had struck her. The woman wrapped her arms around Rena and the three of them staggered off the side of the ledge and crashed into the ice-cold ocean below.

Wendell had woken when the imp started to scream, and watched as he impaled Soul Ravager with the magical knife. Grojavek hung on, twisting and yelling, and Wendell rooted silently for the imp before feeling panic tighten his heart until it nearly stopped. Melissa ran for the pair of them and did a flying bearhug that sent all three tumbling over the side of the cliff.

Even though his body shrieked in protest, and the pain from his leg painted black edges in his vision, Wendell pulled himself to the edge and watched as the trio disappeared into the depths of the ocean.

"Melissa!" he called out, helpless to do anything else. He watched the waters, desperate for a sign that she was all right. The wind moaned and lessened, and became a whisper on his cheeks. And still he searched for signs of life, finding nothing.

"No," he groaned, his fingers clenching. His heart felt sluggish and heavy, and he prayed it would stop so he wouldn't have to feel the pain of losing Melissa. His whole world was in her eyes.

And then, the black flickered silver.

As he watched, mermaids, tens of them, swam upwards, and in their arms they supported her, dragging her up onto the shore. One of them, a woman with the same silver hair as Soul Ravager had had, stayed for a moment, and touched Melissa's face gently. She looked up, meeting Wendell's eyes, and then slipped back into the sea. On the wind, he heard her words of thanks, though she hadn't seemed to talk.

He watched Melissa anxiously, wishing he could climb down on his own but recognizing how dangerous it would be. If she doesn't move soon, I'll head down, he promised himself, already planning how he'd make it.

She started to cough, and rolled onto her side, her arms clutching her stomach as she vomited up sea water. Wendell exhaled and felt his heart start to beat again. "Melissa," he called, hoping he had strength enough so she would hear.

She finished coughing and struggled to her feet, her eyes searching the mountainside and finally resting on him. He smiled at her, and watched her smile slowly in return.

"Are you all right?" he called.

She nodded. "Yes." Her voice rasped. "Are you?"

He looked down at himself and saw more blood than he thought he'd lost. "I think so."

"Hold on, I'll be right up."

Sighing, Wendell settled himself away from the edge and waited for her to arrive. What would they do, now that it was all over?

The wind stopped, and the silence that remained fell expectantly around him. He heard an unfamiliar noise coming from below, and crawled back to the edge to see what it was. Within the ocean depths, a faint light was glowing and steadily growing brighter. Melissa had stopped on the shore, and stared at it just as he was.

A column of light shot up from out of the ocean and touched the sky, lights flickering through it, becoming stars. Wendell gasped, watching the specks as they glowed brightly in the black fabric of the night, twinkling merrily. Two of the lights shifted out of the column and floated to Melissa, stopping in front of her.

Melissa watched the two glowing forms warily, her sight dimmed from the blinding column of light. As the forms approached, she saw that they were people, and her mouth dried when she recognized one was Teresa.

She formed Terry's name on her lips, but it died, unspoken. The other form, a man she had never seen, came forward first. Stopping in front of her, she saw he had dark hair and gray eyes that looked startlingly familiar.

"Caterina," he said, his voice hollow but somehow warm.

She felt the word in her blood, and knew who he was. "Daddy," she murmured.

"Look at you." He smiled, and his hands, outlined with golden light, reached out to her. She tried to take them, but they passed through. "You're so beautiful," he sighed, ghostly tears forming in his eyes. "I wish I could have seen you grow."

"I wish I could have seen you at all," she said, wanting desperately to touch him. He had died to save her and her mother, this man she'd never met.

"I know. I'm proud of you. You've saved us, all of us." He gestured at the column of light, as a few more forms flowed towards the sky and sparked into stars. "She was holding onto our souls, using them for her power. We kept trying to escape, but no one ever could. And now, we're free."

Melissa smiled shyly. "Now what will happen to you?"

"We pass on, and can watch over our kin in peace." He tried to touch her again, and failed once more, tears finally slipping down his face. Her heart ached with the emptiness of not being able to even feel his touch. "Your mother is waiting for me, I can feel her, even now. We love you very much, Caterina. Never forget that."

"I won't," she whispered. "I love you, too. Both of you. Tell her that for me, that I didn't mean what I said."

He beamed, his whole face glowing with joy. "My little girl." He looked over his shoulder, and when he turned back, his face was somber. "She loves you too, you know. As much as we do." He stepped back while Melissa swallowed down the knot in her throat. It hurt to breathe through the sorrow the gripped her. She felt like running away, but it was a second chance to say goodbye that she couldn't throw away.

Terry came forward then, looking serene. "Missy, you did it."

Fighting to speak, she finally answered, "I did it for you."

The older woman shook her head slightly. "That's not entirely true, I think." Her eyes flicked to Wendell, and then back. "We can't stay long, Missy, so listen to me now. You have held your happiness hostage long enough." Melissa jerked, startled by Terry's words. "I know you feel like you can't be happy when other people suffer, but that's not true. Let this be your redemption, as much as it's ours. Let yourself love him and just be happy." She, too, reached out, her ghostly hand brushing Melissa's cheek and Melissa prayed that she would feel her touch. But there was nothing, and it pierced her heart with pain. "You've been my 'daughter' for so long, it's going to be hard to let you go."

Melissa fought back the heaviness in her chest to get the words out. It was her last chance to give Terry what she most deserved. "Then don't let me go," she pleaded. "Terry, I love you. You've always been there for me when I needed you, I wouldn't have made it without your support. You're the only mother I've ever wanted." Years of words that should have been said piled up and she couldn't speak at all.

Terry smiled, gently, her kind eyes shining. Her form was blurry through the tears in Melissa's eyes. "I love you too, Missy." She took a reluctant step away. "We have to go now. My dear, sweet girl."

"No," Melissa sobbed. There was so much she wanted to say. "You can't."

"Be happy, for me." She continued to retreat and Melissa felt panic seizing her. Terry was leaving for good, and they would never meet again.

Melissa followed after her, splashing into the water, hardly able to see as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Wait, don't go, Terry. Please." She reached out to grab her and force her to stay, but her hands passed through the other woman's golden form. "What am I going to do without you?"

Teresa smiled. "I'll be here, Missy, watching over you every night. Just be happy. It's waiting for you, you only have to accept it."

"I love you," she cried to the two forms as they flowed back into the column. They flashed once and then sped up into the sky, joining the millions of other stars that lingered above. The column of light dissolved back into the ocean and then was gone.

Melissa stood in the waves for a long time, her head craned back to the sky. The wind caressed her wet cheeks, unable to dry the steady stream of tears. Finally the cold seeped through and she shivered violently, dragging herself back to the shore. Wiping at her cheeks, knowing that it wouldn't be the last of her tears, she began climbing slowly to where Wendell, with all his love, waited for her.