We were moving faster now, but the scenery was magnificent. I saw purple seahorses, a huge open clam, coral, sponges, sea snails, and so many fish of varying sizes and shapes. A part of me wanted to stop and explore, but I knew my life was in danger and the sooner we made our way back to Erma and w.i.l.l.y's place, the safer we would be.

Then all at once, Brigitte stopped. "Shhhh," she whispered. Her grasp tightened, squeezing my fingers.

The light from her free hand disappeared and the ocean became completely black. We floated in the still water. My heart was pounding so hard that probably every sea creature could hear it. I got the feeling that she was listening for something.

Minutes pa.s.sed. I felt the water moving in wave-like motions overhead.

"Tiger sharks," she whispered. "There are hundreds of them ahead. There's a ship transporting cattle. They discarded a dead cow into the ocean."

"Shark food," I whispered.

"They are in frenzy. They want more." She put her hand on my racing heart.

I screamed at her touch and flinched away, not expecting it.

She pulled me closer to her. "Slow your heart rate. They can hear it and they want more mammalian blood."

My voice was barely audible. "How the heck do I do that?" I held perfectly still.

"Think of something peaceful," she whispered. And then, at once, she pulled me down to the surface of the ocean floor. I felt the mud mush between my toes.

She was doing something in the darkness. It was all happening so fast. I think she was digging into the ground. Suddenly, she pushed me into a hole.

I fell hard onto a squishy surface.

"Be perfectly still and silent," she ordered.

My free hand and torso fumbled around against a muddy, sandy wall. All the while, Brigitte kept a firm grasp on my hand that was raised now above my head and out of the hole where she was on the level floor. It felt like she pushed the earth all once. Suddenly, the walls collapsed into me and I was completely buried alive.

I was terrified out of my mind. I could hardly move. But I could breath or rather I could exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, receiving the life force necessary for survival. Brigitte held just the tips of three of my fingers now that stretched out of the grave.

I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't see anything. Just black. And silence. As natural survival instinct, I tried in desperation to make my way out, but I was completely trapped. All I could do was surrender. I felt Brigitte squeeze my fingertips in rea.s.surance.

My mind was spinning. I couldn't believe the circ.u.mstances. The feeling of mud and sand completely covering me, filling my nostrils and my mouth as I tried to speak was torture. I kept my eyes closed the entire time, but granules of sand and dirt got inside anyway. It hurt something awful. If I lived to escape this horror, I hoped I wasn't blinded. I felt like I was going to go out of my mind.

An hour must have pa.s.sed like this. Claustrophobia was nearly overwhelming me. I thought the terror would never end. I just kept reminding myself of the hundreds of sharks overhead that wanted to tear me apart and devour me. And that recognition that I was better off gave me strength in my bleakest thoughts.

But my strongest saving grace was when Brigitte would squeeze my fingers, reminding me that I was alive. A rush of hope shot through my body. She was still there. The sharks would eventually leave and she would dig me out.

Just at that thought, I felt her hand suddenly jerk away from my fingers. We weren't connected anymore!

What had happened? Did a shark tear her away? Was she fighting them off as an attempt to save my life? Or had they overtaken her?

I couldn't breathe. All thoughts of anything other than survival vanished. Now that we weren't attached, I wasn't receiving oxygen. My lungs tightened. The veins in my body burned. An intense pain grew rapidly in my chest. It felt like my insides were bursting apart. Oh, G.o.d, help me.

Just as I thought I was about to pa.s.s out, Brigitte grabbed my fingers. Instantly I could breathe. The pain slowly began to lessen. Oxygen was circulating through my body.

She was frantically digging me out. Relief rushed over me. My head was uncovered now. I choked out mud and sand. I blew dirt out of my nostrils. I wiped my eyes with my hands. The water rinsed them clean. They felt better, but I had no idea if I could see. The water was still pitch black.

There was a flash of light coming from behind her as she dug the dirt away from my body. I could see! But the mer digging me out of my grave wasn't Brigitte. It was Sabine!

Ocean Roar Sabine lit up the ocean with her hand. My heart was pounding fast against my chest at the horror of acknowledging her presence. I saw her long red hair fanned out in the water beside me. Up close, her face was as beautiful as a porcelain doll.

"h.e.l.lo Grace," she snapped in annoyance. Her leg brushed up against mine as she squeezed my hand too tight. "Never fear; the sharks have swum away."

At once, four other female mers and three male mers swam up behind her. Like Laurent's school, all these mers were stunning with long flowing hair and perfect physiques. Everything was happening fast. I looked around for Brigitte. She was tied up to a coral reef with seaweed. Her mouth was gagged, but her eyes were wide with shock.

Suddenly, there was a thunderous roar. It resonated from deep within Brigitte's body and vibrated out of her throat and through her pores. Rocks started to roll and bounce along the ocean floor. The gag couldn't hold back the pitch of Brigitte's vocals. It was amazing how someone so delicate looking could make such a noise. The sound waves were causing the ocean to shake. The movement became more rapid by the second.

In the rush, Sabine held her hand up and brought it back down in haste, slashing my arm with her sharp black fingernails. The sound vibrations threw her back. But blood gushed from my wound. And now that Sabine wasn't holding my hand, I could not breathe.

The ocean movement became violent. To my surprise the coral reef came crashing down over Brigitte. Though I couldn't see her now, the thunderous roar continued to grow in volume.

My blood flowed through the water. I looked at Sabine and her school. Their faces stretched into horrific creatures, their eyes turning a demonic pale blue as Brigitte's had back at the hotel. Their teeth elongated and became raiser sharp.

The sights were spinning around me now. I could hardly think what to do. The lack of oxygen was overtaking me. I felt a hand grab onto me. Suddenly, I could breathe. I turned to look.

It was Laurent! But his eyes were the same pale blue. His face was elongated and his teeth were as sharp as incisors. "Grace!" His voice was music in my ears. I knew he wouldn't kill me.

But before he could say anything else, Brigitte grabbed onto his waist and threw him away from me. I couldn't breathe again. My eardrums pounded in my head. I tried to swim away, but the water was too rough.

Brigitte's roar m.u.f.fled out most sounds. Sabine and her school came at me. A large boulder flung into them, temporarily throwing the school back. They rolled in somersaults in the current. Laurent came at them with a spear.

My heart nearly broke. I knew he could not fight Sabine's entire school even with a weapon. The pain was strangling me.

Just as I felt my lungs were going to explode out of my chest, Brigitte took my hand and flung me back. I was able to rejuvenate at the brief touch. But as I looked to the side, I saw the most surprising sight.

A herd of seals came rushing at us. The seals cut Laurent off just as he went for Sabine with a spear. They knocked him to the side and he slammed into a boulder.

Brigitte quieted and the ocean stilled.

"I love you, Sabine!" The declaration sounded through the ocean. "He's not worth it. Come away with me." I didn't know who said that. I sensed it came from one of the seals. But how could that be possible? I must have been hallucinating.

Sabine's face transformed back. She took her head into her hands and cried. And all at once, she swam away with her school and the herd of seals surrounding them.

Laurent took my hand. "Hold still," he whispered. He placed a small glowing stone against my cut. Rapidly, my arm healed right before my face. Relief came over me as I looked to him and saw his electric blue eyes gaze into mine.

He pulled me up against his chest. I felt as if our hearts were beating as one. Our lips touched and I was in heaven. The kiss was everything I ever dreamed it would be-soft and sensual. But it was over almost just as it started. I knew that if the kiss lasted too long, I would undergo the painful mer transformation and give up my existence as a human being. I wanted that; I did. Anything to be with Laurent.

But Brigitte swam close to us and smiled affectionately as we turned to her. "Let's go home," she sang a little too loudly.

Our eyes widened as the ocean shook briefly with the vibration of her unexpected intensity. We all burst out laughing. And then everything was calm.

The End (to be continued in book 2 of the Watermagic Novels) Thank you for reading the first book of Brighton Hill's Water Magic Novels. If you enjoyed it, check out Bluedawn (A Blue Myth Novel). It is interrelated to Bluehour. Here is a sample: Bluedawn A Blue Myth Novel Brighton Hill ~ Dreamspot Publishing, Inc ~ "Do you really need all this stuff?" I said to my mom as I hung up her evening dresses in the motorhome closet.

Dad was carrying in her gigantic makeup box. "What would Josette Bellerose do without her fancy adornments?" He teased.

"All right, enough guys," she warned light heartedly from the kitchen. She was great at concealing her French accent. Most of the time, she sounded very American. "At least I'm not bringing that rhinestone studded bathing suit I wore last time we camped at the beach."

"What's this?" Dad asked as he picked up a silver chain with sh.e.l.ls and sea stones.

"That's for my waist." She peaked around the kitchen divider at Dad who was standing next to her vanity table.

"Oooh, sa.s.sy," he chuckled as he walked over to her and clasped the ornamentations just above her hips.

She brushed her long golden hair out of her pretty face as she giggled at his touch the way some teenage girls at my high school acted when they had a new boyfriend. Her hands threaded around his big, hulking body.

"Okay, no public displays of affection please." I rolled my eyes wondering if I would ever find the kind of love they had. Most boys I found annoying, pimply, and shallow. And the few times that I was interested in a guy, he wasn't interested in me.

I think I was the only almost eighteen-year-old alive who had never even kissed a boy. If only I had been blessed with thick, luxurious golden hair and stunning looks like Mom, but instead I was plain with straggly brown locks like Dad that tangled up in the wind.

The coastal drive from our Orange County home to Carlsbad was relatively short. We stopped once at a rest spot to check a rattling sound on the car we were towing behind the motorhome and to buy candy bars. Most of the travels were relatively uneventful. During the duration of the ride, I mostly stared out the window watching the ocean and palm trees whiz by.

But on the freeway, Mom sang the whole time which always put me in a sort of hypnotic state making the trip pa.s.s quicker. Dad and I joined in occasionally too. As a family, we were geeky in that way. Though Mom had a beautiful voice, Dad and I were severely lacking in the musical department. I was just glad none of my friends were with us to see how goofy we were.

When we pulled into the woods at the campground, my parents discussed payment and park rules for the site at the ranger's booth and chatted with him through the motorhome window. I was anxious to start our day, so I rushed over to the adjacent mini-market for some sunscreen. I knew they could go on and on with their jibber-jabber.

As I jogged over through the clearing, tiny stones kept getting in my sandals. How frustrating. I tried to ignore the irritation, biting my lip hard as I ran. But once the saturation level became unbearable, I stopped to shake the darn things out.

That's when it happened. When I stood back up from shaking out the stones, I saw a crazy good looking boy. This sort of thing NEVER happened to me. My body felt like it was on fire.

He and his two friends were walking out of the log cabin store. I hardly noticed the other two boys because the one with dark hair caught my attention and made me feel all out of whack.

He was gorgeous, but as I looked closer, I realized he was staring at me with a sinister gleam in his green eyes. Chills ran up my spine. What was I thinking? I wondered what I could have done to illicit such a glare.

But before I could turn away, one of the other boys, the shirtless one with sandy blond hair, called over to me, "Hey, cutie. Come on over so we can suck face." His lips puckered in a kissing sound.

Involuntarily, my eyes widened in surprise. I looked around for a moment to see if he was talking to someone else. Nope. It must have been me. I was the only one around. What a creep.

Before I could respond, the guy with dark hair grabbed the blond one by the shoulders and threw him to the ground. "Idiot," he yelled. And then he kicked him hard in the ribs.

I gasped and covered my face. Once I opened my eyes to see what was happening, I saw the dark haired boy brush his messed up locks out of his face. His expression was intense.

Their other friend who had brown hair pulled up the blond guy onto his feet. But while he was helping him up, the dark haired boy punched him once more in the nose. He choked for a moment on the blood that was now oozing from his nostrils, yet he managed to gain his balance.

"Come on," the dark haired boy said to the other two.

The brown haired guy helped the blond one walk. He was limping a little. But they all strode away toward the campsites. Then, to make the circ.u.mstances even stranger, the dark haired guy looked back over his shoulder and smiled at me.

What the h.e.l.l! My face must have turned as red as a tomato. I was so confused. I didn't know what to make of the whole situation.

At once, I just turned around and ran back to our motorhome. Oh, my! My heart was beating a mile a minute.

"Are you okay?" Mom asked when I stepped back into the motorhome.

"I'm fine," I breathed, trying to act normal. My mind was all mixed up.

"Your face is flushed." Her blue eyes were laced with concern.

Dad looked back at me as he took the ticket through the window from the park ranger. "You look like you saw a ghost." He laughed.

He turned back to the man. "Thanks for your help."

"You all be careful, now," the ranger responded through the booth window. "Don't walk outside alone at night. Some strange business has been going on here. Some teenagers were reported missing." His voice was hesitant, but Mom and Dad were focused on me now, so they didn't hear him.

"Okay, bye, Ranger Mike." Dad pulled the motorhome forward along a forest of trees toward the campsites that nestled within the outer edges. The car tow swayed a little side to side as we rolled along the dirt road. I noticed the greying light gave the campground an ominous look.

Dad was glancing at me in the rear view mirror. "Did you get something from the store?" He cleared his throat.

"No." I blushed probably even redder. "I'll go later."

"What happened?" Mom asked running her fingers through her long golden locks before twisting them up into a French knot.

"Nothing." I was sitting stiffly on the bench seat that paralleled the side windows. "I just didn't want to hold you guys up. It's your special week and I'm catering to you."

Mom and Dad laughed. "You don't have to do that, Hailey," Dad said. His eyes were focused ahead now.

"Well, I'm going to," I responded adamantly. "Twenty year anniversaries don't happen every day and I want yours to be memorable." I planned this trip just for them. Mom's favorite place was the ocean and Dad found every place annoying so it didn't make a difference where we went.

"You're a keeper, Hailes." Dad parked the motorhome in campsite number 12. "Here we are," he said cheerily as he pulled on the security brake.

Mom unbuckled her seatbelt and almost glided, as was her way, over to the vanity mirror to put on fresh lipstick and powder her face. "So what's the plan for today?" she called out.

"It's almost dinner time. I thought I'd take you guys to that fish and chips restaurant by the wharf."

Mom's blue eyes lit up. She loved seafood, especially raw. "That sounds fantastic." She blushed a little.

Dad ran his fingers through his brown s.h.a.ggy hair. "I'll get the car ready." His voice sounded a little grumpy.

"Why don't we find some wood for the fire pit so we don't have to get it later?" I suggested to Mom.

She laughed. "Hope I don't break a nail."

I rolled my eyes. "If you do, I'll super glue it back on." My voice was sarcastic.

"Oh, please," she snorted as she examined the glitter polish on her naturally long nails.

After we walked outside and examined the campsite, Dad unhitched the car, while Mom and I gathered sticks and branches in the forest behind the campsite for the fire pit. Even though it was still light outside, the woods were dim and eerie. There were some used cigarette b.u.t.ts on the ground and a man's wallet.

My eyes widened. "Look at this." I motioned Mom over to me.

She sort of sauntered over with her tote bag filled with sticks. "What is it, cherie?" She looked distracted. Her eyes were directed upwards looking into the high reaches of an oak tree.

"No not up there-here." I pointed at the ground.

Glancing down, she picked up the wallet absent mindedly. "A man's wallet, Hailes. What's the big deal? You look frightened."

I bit the side of my cheek. "It just looks like someone was hanging around in here and left in a rush."