Beached Read online

  Capitan Schwarz smiled tightly, and a small nerve jumped near his jaw. ‘Yes, Ma’am.’

  Susan felt herself slow right down, the moment zeroing in to this one point. ‘Captain Schwarz, may I ask you something?’ She emphasized the ‘you’ gently.

  ‘Ma’am,’ the uniformed man said, nodding.

  ‘Do you plan to ask me that before every event we attend for the next ninety days?’

  The uniform shifted a little, and paused. ‘I beg your pardon, Ma’am?’

  Susan flicked a quick glance at Miranda, who was shuffling in her seat and investigating something on her clipboard with intense interest. She realized that Miranda knew her very well; that she had read her gear change a few seconds ago, and was awaiting what was about to happen. And, perhaps, hoping it didn’t.

  Susan raised her voice ever-so-slightly, sure the agent was being deliberately obtuse. ‘You have asked me that question every day for the last—’ She checked her watch. ‘—twenty-eight days. Since the Charlotte incident. So what I just asked you was: Do you plan to ask me that before every event we attend for the next ninety days?’

  The Captain swallowed. ‘Yes, Ma’am,’ he said. ‘I think so, yes. I need the information to be able to plan.’

  ‘Right,’ Susan said, feeling the tension build in every cell in her body. She flicked her eyes over the ‘Proud to Have Served’ badge on his right jacket pocket. ‘And can I ask you this? You served the previous president, yes?’

  ‘Yes, Ma’am.’ Susan clocked the square lift in his shoulders as he answered.

  ‘And did you ask him those questions?’

  The uniform paused, the shrugged. ‘Sometimes, Ma’am, yes.’

  ‘So when he announced his intention to go to war, and was mobbed on the street by anti-war campaigners, did you ask him every day thereafter if he planned to repeat the statement?’

  ‘Er, I—’

  Susan cut him off. ‘Look, Captain,’ she said. ‘Why don’t we just clear this up now? Yes, in all likelihood I will receive questions about my policy platform while I am at the event tonight. And yes, if asked, I will ensure that everyone knows where I stand on the war and on the use of American troops on foreign soil. In some places, people are going to like what I have to say very much. Right, Miranda?’

  The younger woman nodded, her eyes cast down, red curls bobbing. ‘Yes, Ma’am.’

  ‘And in some places, Captain, my words, my views, in fact, are going to make people very…how can we put this? Very…antsy. Now, my question for you is, can we deal with that?’

  ‘Yes, Ma’am,’ Captain Schwarz all but shouted. ‘We can.’

  ‘Thank you, Captain. And let me assure that if I have something particularly…incendiary…to say, or if we—’ She looked again at Miranda. ‘If we are likely to face an audience that we expect may be a little hostile, you will be appropriately briefed well in advance. As you were at the Charlotte event.’

  The Captain nodded, but Susan wasn’t finished. ‘Is that okay, with you, Captain?’

  ‘Yes Ma’am,’ the uniform said, saluting.

  ‘Lovely,’ Susan said. ‘Now, should we continue the briefing?’

  * * *

  ‘You didn’t have to be so hard on him, Ma’am,’ Miranda said, helping Susan into her jacket as they arrived at the hotel in Boston.

  Susan studied the woman’s round face and bright eyes. ‘Is this about what I think it’s about?’

  Miranda avoided her eyes.

  ‘Has he asked you out yet?’

  ‘No,’ Miranda muttered, picking some fluff off her jacket.

  ‘Good,’ Susan said. ‘He sure is efficient, but there is something about him. I don’t agree with your view that he is…what’s that gorgeous phrase of yours?’

  Miranda smiled. ‘Top totty.’

  Susan returned the smile, surprising Miranda with a small hug. ‘Yes, that’s the one. In my view, Captain Schwarz is definitely not…’ She paused. ‘Top totty.’

  ‘You could have fooled me.’ Miranda sniffed, sounding a long way away.

  Susan shrugged. ‘And therein lies the beauty of humanity,’ she said. ‘We all have different views.’

  She tugged a large suitcase down from an overhead compartment, and Miranda tripped over her feet to try to get the bag for her boss. Susan brushed her away, feeling the thing light as a newborn in her hand despite its teeming contents. She tested its weight a little, reminding herself that she needed to carry it differently, remembering again her father’s words about how other people balanced weight and bore loads. Remembering the years of observation and practice he had encouraged in her.

  ‘They’ll come on board and get that.’ Miranda frowned at Susan.

  Susan paused, imagining the media throng likely to greet them outside the van. Perhaps it was better to be on the safe side. ‘Okay, Miranda, I’ll leave it for them, then, shall I?’ Miranda rewarded her with a smile. ‘Now. All set for the big event tomorrow night?’

  ‘Yes,’ Miranda confirmed, turning back to her trusty clipboard.

  Susan frowned a little, taking in the young-old woman she knew to be from an ancient line of British aristocracy. ‘You know, Miranda, I’m told some people do all that paper stuff with a mobile phone now.’

  ‘Yeah well, I’m kind of old school. Oh, don’t get me wrong I have this…’ She waved her smart phone in the air. ‘But for the daily stuff, I like Curtis.’

  Susan raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Curtis the Clipboard,’ Miranda said, shooting Susan a goofy grin.

  Susan laughed, and linked arms with the young woman. ‘Come on, Miranda,’ she said. ‘Let’s go.’ As they made to head out the door, Susan paused. ‘It’s a big one, isn’t it?’ she asked her young aide. ‘The fundraiser tomorrow night?’

  ‘The biggest so far, Ma’am,’ she said. ‘Sold out, too. You’re going to blow them away.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Susan smiled. ‘But first I get to do tonight. And see my father.’

  * * *

  Dirtwater

  Lecanora jumped down from the cab of the massive truck and held out her hand to Rania who dismounted carefully, stumbling a little as she descended.

  ‘Thank you, sir,’ Lecanora called, standing on the curb with one arm around her sister and calling up to the driver.

  The large, hairy man leaned across and waved down at her, smiling and showing a chequer board of lost and blackened teeth. ‘No problem, lady,’ he said. ‘Any time, in fact. Although, seriously, I’m not sure what a couple of babes like you two are doing in a dive like Dirtwater.’

  Lecanora waved back at him. ‘We may seem young, Sir, but we know where we are headed. Please let me know if there is ever anything I or my kin can do to return the favor.’

  The guy shook his head, taking in the two women with wide eyes. ‘Well, now that you mention it,’ he said, his eyes clouding over and licking his lips.

  ‘Beat it, buddy,’ Rania croaked. ‘She didn’t mean that.’

  Even wounded and exhausted Rania sounded menacing, and the driver was gone before Lecanora could fully compute what had just occurred.

  ‘Sister,’ Lecanora said. ‘That was very rude. That man stopped for us, by the roadside. He did not need to, and I know much of your world. People here on The Land are often reluctant to help others. Many would not have stopped for us, looking as we did, lost and bloody.’

  Rania looked at Lecanora, up and down, and shook her head. ‘Honey, you’re wearing a black swimsuit. And you’re wearing it like no-one he’s ever seen in his sad, sorry life. Anyone would have stopped for you. And believe me, you really didn’t need to hear what he was going to ask you for by way of thank you.’

  ‘I thought you couldn’t read human minds,’ Lecanora said, walking carefully towards the door.

  ‘I didn’t need to,’ Rania said, starting to laugh, and then wheezing and wrapping her arms around her middle. Lecanora started to speak again, but Rania cut her off. ‘Inside, Princess, before Mrs Murphy sees
you. The last thing we need is that old gossip getting a look at you prancing around like something off Baywatch.’

  Lecanora nodded, feeling her heart lift at the thought of being inside and seeing Lunia. ‘Is that one of your television shows, sister?’

  Rania grunted.

  ‘It sounds like an interesting program,’ she said. ‘A perspective on the sea, I assume? I shall look forward to viewing it, if we have time while I am on The Land.’

  Rania laughed and limped towards the house in the early dusk.

  As she touched the door, Lunia appeared. ‘Ransha, Lecanora,’ she cried, flinging open the screen and hurling herself at them. Her hair was wet and she was wrapped in a light gown, as though she had just stepped out of the shower. Her skin glowed warm-pink and golden brown, and her strong, fierce beauty almost blinded Lecanora. She was used to seeing Lunia back in Aegira, where she made sense. Here, in this place of dirt, peeling paint and old cars, she was like an apparition.

  Lunia stepped out onto the stoop. ‘But where’s Ariel, darling?’ She turned to Rania. ‘Where’s your car? How did you get back?’ For the first time, Lunia turned and looked properly at the two young women.

  Lecanora tried to see it as her mother did. Rania was standing groggily on the stoop, leaning against Lecanora, her clothes torn and dirty. Lecanora had managed to clean the wound on Rania’s face with the dress she had been wearing before she tore it off, but a long line of dried blood still traced an angry path. For the first time, Lecanora considered, also, how she herself may look. She knew she had cuts and bruises on her legs, which seemed to stretch on forever at the end of the tiny swimsuit as she glanced down at them. She tugged at the suit, wondering why the uncomfortable thing would have been made so small. Clearly not a modesty shield, so what was its purpose? The truck driver had certainly seemed very taken by it. The kind man had wanted to call them an ambulance, but Rania would not hear of it, assuring them they were only miles from home and would sort the wreck once they arrived. They’d allowed him to call the accident in on his radio.

  As Lecanora undertook her examination, she watched Lunia do the same, her eyes widening and her breath coming faster. ‘Oh by the Goddess Mother, come in my daughters, come in, what happened?’ She held them both close, running her fingertips over their eyelids in the Aegiran greeting, and then squeezing them in an embrace so tight Lecanora felt the breath whoosh from her lungs.

  Rania spoke first. ‘We’re fine, Ma.’

  Lecanora felt herself strangely shy around their mother now. She had always known and loved Lunia, the only mermaid ever to leave Aegira. She had looked forward to Lunia’s annual visits with Rania. The woman Lecanora had always known as her mother, Queen Imd, had encouraged the relationship, so Lecanora knew the Queen trusted Lunia implicitly. That was why she had sent Lecanora to ask for help with this special mission.

  ‘It’s true, Lunia,’ Lecanora said. ‘I have checked Rania. She has a long gash to her cheek, but it is not arterial. She also has a mild concussion, a broken toe and severe bruising to her chest and abdomen, but she is otherwise unharmed.’

  Rania smiled at her. ‘Thanks, Doc,’ she said, and then, in a more serious voice, ‘and I mean it; thanks. I’m only okay thanks to you. Otherwise, we’d be toast.’

  Lunia drew in a deep breath and pulled the young women into the sitting area. ‘That’s enough,’ she said. ‘Y’all need to come in and tell this story properly. Sit, we must get you food, and drinks. Are you okay, Lecanora? Are you harmed?’

  Lecanora sat gladly on the couch, feeling the strange softness soothe the aches in her body. ‘I am unharmed, other than superficial injuries,’ she said. ‘But I am, we are both, I think, very tired. From the shock, I believe. I wonder if we could tell the story after a short rest. I estimate an hour or two would dramatically speed up the recovery process.’

  Lunia smiled a small smile. ‘Of course, darling girl, let’s get you both to bed.’ She began to push them towards the back of the house, a firm hand on the middle of each back.

  As she did, an enormous creature bounded up to them, almost knocking Lecanora over.

  ‘Benito, sit,’ Lunia commanded and the slobbering, barking dog sat back on his haunches like an obedient crustacean. She made a blessing gesture over a point between his eyes then touched the placed where her heart was, and pressed her fingers onto the dog’s chest. ‘May the Goddess favor you, furry one.’

  Lecanora inched carefully towards the drooling animal. Its movements were jerky and unpredictable. ‘Is this is a dog?’ she whispered.

  Lunia frowned. ‘Yes, child,’ she said. ‘Surely you learned about them in Aegira?’

  ‘Of course,’ Lecanora nodded, holding a hand out to the dog’s mouth to be rewarded with an ecstatic series of licks. ‘Warm-blooded,’ she murmured. ‘And very friendly.’

  The words seemed to galvanize Rania, who stopped on her path to the bedroom. ‘Doug,’ she grunted. ‘I have to get to Doug.’

  ‘Did you get the medicine?’ Lunia asked, and Lecanora felt she could almost smell the relief coming from the older woman. ‘He needs it. I’ve been to see him. It’s still bad. Very bad.’

  ‘Yes,’ Rania said, swaying on her feet. ‘I have it. We have it. Mom, I have to get it to him, every moment wasted is a—’

  ‘I’ll take it,’ Lunia said, pushing her daughter in the back towards her bedroom. ‘I will make sure he has it within the hour. Both of you must rest. I can see from your pupils that you’re both still in shock. I’ll bring Larry back with me to check on you.’

  Rania turned and held her mother, and Lecanora found herself standing awkwardly beside them. Then Lunia’s arm snaked out and wrapped Lecanora in their embrace also. ‘My daughters,’ she whispered. ‘My beautiful daughters. Rest. I’ll be back soon, and we will talk.’

  Lecanora felt herself guided towards a door. As she pushed it, she saw a simple, elegant room decorated in pale lemon and white. A hand-stitched bedspread lay across a bed that looked so inviting, Lecanora felt herself swoon. Lunia caught her around the waist.

  ‘Sleep, my daughter,’ she said, lowering her gently onto the bed. ‘You are safe here.’

  * * *

  The soft light buzzed like sunlight under water, just before you break the surface. It roused Lecanora, and swift flashes brought her to consciousness quickly. She remembered it all as she opened her eyes: the accident, and being hunted, and coming to Dirtwater.

  And Lunia.

  She sat up, and a soft voice whispered to her. ‘Not so fast, sweet. Take your time.’

  It was not Lunia’s voice, or Rania’s. Lecanora turned to find an old woman sitting in a chair by the bed, rocking gently back and forth and watching Lecanora closely. She was dressed in a simple blue frock decorated with splashes of even brighter color. Something about her made Lecanora’s other sense prickle. Like a radar pinging.

  ‘Who are you?’

  ‘Folks call me Mrs Tripe,’ the old woman said, smiling in a way that made Lecanora feel she knew her. ‘Normally I live at the old folks’ home. It’s okay—you can trust me. I’m Aldus Tripe’s ma. He’s the sheriff. And Rania is my best girl.’

  ‘Why are you here?’ Lecanora’s body protested as she sat up, tight and bruised from recent injuries.

  ‘Lunia asked me to stay while she was at the hospital,’ the woman said softly. ‘To guard you girls while you slept.’

  ‘Guard us?’ Lecanora shook her head, trying to clear it of sleep and other places. She studied the old woman more carefully. She was tiny, like a bird. Her eyes were soft and a kind spirit shone from her face. Lecanora tried to imagine what manner of protection this wise but very old one could offer. She thought about the minds that had stalked them back in the forest that had caused their accident and hunted them down. She recalled the desire for pain and death she had felt their brains.

  ‘Shhh,’ the woman said. ‘I would feel them coming. If they were coming here, I would know.’

  Lecanora shuddered.
‘How did you know what I was—’

  ‘The same way that you know things,’ the woman called Mrs Tripe said. ‘And same way Rania does, too. Lunia knew that I would know if you were in danger while she was away. And I would get you to safety.’

  Lecanora wondered why the hunters had not followed them here, to Dirtwater. She knew they had come to this place before.

  The woman spoke again, as though she had heard Lecanora’s thoughts. ‘Things are different now. We know about them. And this place is special, for all it looks very ordinary. They would need to be very sure, to come for you here.’

  ‘Do you know who they are?’

  Mrs Tripe shook her head. ‘No, sweet,’ she whispered. ‘But I can feel them, just like you can. They are far from here now. And they are not coming. Not tonight, at least.’

  The tiny woman stood up and held out her arm. ‘Come,’ she said.

  Lecanora held the arm and pulled herself up, surprised by its strength. Mrs Tripe led her down the little hallway and into the wide living area.

  Rania, Lunia and a man Lecanora did not recognize were sitting close, talking. They stopped as she came in. Lunia stood quickly, rushing over to embrace Lecanora.

  Rania smiled at her, and winced a little as she did. ‘Hey babe,’ she said. ‘You okay?’

  Lecanora checked herself carefully from the inside out, as she had learned to do since she was tiny. ‘I am unharmed in a substantive way. You, sister?’

  ‘I feel like shit,’ Rania laughed. ‘But, like you, I’m pretty sure I’m unharmed. In a substantive way.’

  The man in their midst laughed too. ‘And I third the sentiment. I’ve checked her over. And apart from a hell of a healing reflex, there’s nothing there to raise any eyebrows. She’s gonna feel almost back to normal by morning.’

  Lecanora considered the man. He was tall and craggy, with a close crew cut and shaggy grey beard framing intelligent green eyes. He wore a simple grey shirt tucked into blue jeans, and ending in cowboy boots. She turned back to Rania. ‘Is this your father, Rania?’

  Rania laughed again. ‘Not unless someone broke him out,’ she said. ‘Lecanora, meet my buddy Larry Kramer. I told you about him. War hero. Doctor.’ Rania laughed warmly. ‘Well, ex-doctor. Now he mostly works with dead people.’ She frowned. like she was trying to get it all right. ‘And part-time bartender.’ At Lecanora’s frown, she added, ‘Kinda like a doctor.’