Fathom by L. Standage (spanish books to read .TXT) 📕

and Uther laid Seidon into the bathtub, submerging him under the water. His blue blood drifted like delicate tentacles around his wounds, and his gills rippled.

Eamon took a bottle from his medical bag and poured three drops of a green liquid into the water. I waited, wringing my hands and biting my lip. After a long minute, Seidon’s eyes opened under the water and he sat up.

“They took her!” he said as water sprayed from his lips and streamed everywhere. He looked at us with wide eyes, bloodshot with blue instead of human red.

“What happened?” said Eamon.

“We were walking…” He wiped his dripping face. “Along the beach. These men showed up. I tried to fight them, but there were too many! They grabbed Samantha and dragged her away. I went after them, but they put us both into a car. She told me to jump out and run. I thought she’d jump out too, but…” He trailed off, his face lowering in misery.

“Who were they?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen them before. I’m sorry, Cordelia, I don’t know how they found us.”

I stood frozen in terror and disbelief.

“We have to leave,” said Eamon. “Now.” He hurried downstairs. The others flew to action while I stayed rooted. What was happening?

“Why would they do this?” I said as tears clouded my vision. “She didn’t do anything to them!”

Calder escorted me away from the bathroom and down the stairs, then seated me on the couch.

“How?” I dropped my face into my hands. “How did they find us? Why did they take her?”

“They won’t hurt her,” said Walter as he passed on his way to the garage. “She’s valuable.”

Eamon’s cell phone rang from where it sat on the counter. Calder snatched it up and answered it. He scowled. “How did you get this number?”

I looked up, wiping tears from my cheeks.

“Just a moment,” said Calder. “Walter, go get Eamon and Uther.”

“Who is it, Cal?” Natasha asked.

“Who do you think?” he replied. I jumped up and flew toward Calder, reaching for the phone in his hand.

“IF YOU EVEN TOUCH ONE HAIR OF SAMANTHA’S HEAD, I SWEAR I’LL—”

Calder pulled the phone out of my reach. He tossed the phone to Natasha, then wrapped one arm around my shoulders and the other around my waist. I couldn’t control my sobbing as I fought to free myself.

“She’s okay,” he said in my ear, over and over again. “She’s okay.”

I stopped fighting, but I couldn’t stop crying. Eamon, Walter, and Uther hurried down the stairs.

“Put it on speaker, Natasha,” said Eamon. Natasha pushed a button on the cell phone and placed it in the middle of the table. “What do you want, Linnaeus?”

“Now, how did you know it was me, Dr. O’Dell?” said Linnaeus’s voice, full of mock surprise and fiendish pleasure. I wanted to reach right through the phone and strangle him.

“What do you want?” said Walter.

“Well, it’s late and I need my rest, so I’ll just go for the heart of the matter. In a few days, I’ll be having a little party. But of course, you knew that already, didn’t you?”

“Cut the theatrics and get to the point,” said Eamon.

“Very well. I want a mermaid.”

Was he serious? I looked at Eamon. He glanced up at Cordelia.

“And what makes you think we can give you one?”

“Oh, you’ll do as I ask, O’Dell. Or I’ll have to kill the girl.”

No! He couldn’t! I fought against Calder’s hold again.

“You don’t want that on your conscience, do you?” Linnaeus continued.

“Why Samantha?” I cried. Calder shushed me. A desperate need to pull away tore at me, to run out the door and do something to find her.

Linnaeus laughed. “Leverage, my dear. So, do you agree with my terms, O’Dell, or do I need to make myself clearer?”

“There’s nothing at all we can do,” Cordelia said in a harsh, quiet voice. “Unless we risk everything on a rescue mission, and we have no idea what—”

But Eamon shook his head at Cordelia. A dangerous glare flashed across her features at his defiance of her authority again, but she quieted.

“I’m afraid I can’t give you what you want, Linnaeus,” said Eamon.

“Then I suppose I’ll have to do what is necessary.” There was a quiet scuffle, a whimper, and a loud, painful scream.

“Samantha!” I shrieked, fighting again to release myself.

“Bring me a mermaid and you can have the girl!” Linnaeus said.

I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit and let my best friend die. My ears rang and my entire body shook as I thought harder than I had ever done before…and got an idea. A crazy one. But Sam’s life was on the line. I choked on my tears, ignored the protests in my head and the raging pulse in my chest, gulped a lungful of air, and shouted, “You can have your mermaid, just tell us when and where!”

“Olivia, shh!” said Calder as he clapped one of his hands over my mouth.

The whole room went quiet for a second before Linnaeus’ voice came, low and even. “Behind the US Grant Hotel in Downtown. Friday. Six o’clock pm. Sharp.”

The line clicked. I slumped, sobbing.

“Why,” Cordelia began, malice coating every word, “did you make such a promise? Do you have any idea what will happen if you turn one of us over to this man?”

I looked up. She stared at me, every line in her face pulled taut and the veins in her neck throbbing. Behind her, Seidon appeared on the staircase. He was soaking wet and clutching his ribcage, staring at me as though I had committed the worst kind of betrayal.

“Everyone, get in the van,” said Eamon. “Uther, take Olivia’s car and follow us. I have to call Linnaeus back and straighten this out.” He reached for his phone.

“No. We can give him what he wants,” I said. “We—”

“NO, WE CAN’T!” Cordelia shouted. “There is nothing we can do for one human girl if it means our entire civilization is at risk!”

“Cordelia,” Seidon pleaded. “Please…let me go. I’ll be able to turn