Return to Wisteria (Book Three of the Wisteria Chronicles)

CHAPTER 17~Hanging Out~

Nova 

    I was literally drowning. I struggled against the silver chains that were wrapped tightly around my body, their sting burning into my skin. I failed about as I inhaled water, struggling to bring air into my lungs. All I could see around me was darkness, I was choking. I closed my eyes, thankful that death was finally about to claim me.  

    I felt my body being lifted up; the blinding light of the sunrise scorched my eyes. I threw up the water that flooded my system, trying to clear my head. All of my blood was rushing to my head, making it hard to concentrate on my surroundings. I took in big gulps of air, trying to prepare myself for the next dunking. Dunking? I was confused, why was I chained and tied upside down? Why was I wearing an anti-magic collar? 

     I coughed, finally remembering the mess Summer had talked us into. Before the gang members began their attack, Summer had thrown our arms up and surrendered. The Scottish man had laughed at our cowardice but called off his goons. He had promised that he wouldn’t kill us right away because he wanted to know who sent us. Naturally, Summer ran her big mouth saying that he would have to torture us to get information. So here we are, getting tortured. 

   I strained my head as my chains twirled my body around in small rotations. I was coming back around to see Zaida on her plank. The men had tied her to a spit, turning her around like a plump rotisserie chicken. They threw water on her to reveal her scales, then two dragons took turns blowing their fire on her. Zaida let out blood curdling screams as the flames melted her scales off.  

       They paused their abuse to focus on Summer, the boss had made it clear that he wanted all of us to watch each other suffer. Summer was upside down and heavily chained too, her body dripping wet. They dunked her into her barrel, her legs flopping about like a stuck fish. I started to take deeper breaths; it would be my turn soon. 

     They lifted Summer up, her cough filled with water and spit as she struggled to breath. I closed my eyes, ready for my turn. “Come on now, lass. We’ve been at it for three hours. Be a good girl and tell us who sent ye.” The boss sounded both annoyed and impressed. Summer suddenly began to laugh, it sounded mad and hysterical. Zaida quickly joined her, she was probably delirious from all of the spinning she had been doing. 

     I couldn’t hold back any longer, their laughter was contagious. I let out a peel of wild laughter, choking on some water that decided to come back up. The leader shook his head, lifting up his finger to give the signal for another round of torture. A whimsical chime filled the warehouse. My body was doing another rotation, my back to the girls. “Now that’s just rude! Who keeps their ringer on in the middle of an interrogation?!” Zaida demanded, making us go into another round of laughter. 

        The phone continued to go off, creating a light atmosphere when it most definitely was not. The group came back into view as I slowly turned. I realized that it was the boss’s phone ringing. “Come on man, this is very unprofessional.” I snickered; our laughter was uncontrollable. “You had better answer it boss, it sounds important.” Summer choked out. I continued to turn, tears coming to my eyes. I heard the leader clear his throat then answer the phone, “Hello, sweetheart. No, I’m not busy right now.”  

    I frowned, displeased with his response. “Did you guys hear that?! Apparently torturing us isn’t that big of a deal to him!” I shouted. “I have never been so insulted! I demand to speak to a supervisor!” Summer demanded. We cackled like lunatics, maybe all the blood that was rushing to our heads was having a negative effect. “It’s no one sweetheart. Yes, I promise. Daddy loves you too.” the boss said gruffly, sending death glares our way. 

   We cooed at his response. “Awe! He’s talking to his daughter!” Zaida exclaimed. “We love you too, mob boss daughter!” Summer confessed. The boss seemed agitated as he blew steam out of nose. “Absolutely not!” he suddenly shouted. The person on the phone started to shout, snippets of their conversation became audible. “If you don’t put me on speaker right!” the girl screamed. Summer’s laughter got wilder as she recognized the voice. “I know who that is!” she choked out. 

    The gang leader huffed and shouted back into the phone. He held it towards us and pressed the speaker button. “Hello?!” the sweet voice on the other end called out. “Hey Penelope!” Summer greeted her. Penelope? The dragon girl who was at the Council? “Summer?! What’s going on and why are you with my dad? I thought you were on a mission.” Penelope asked.  

   “My friends and I are just hanging out, your father is keeping us company.” Summer said nonchalantly. Another round of laughter went off much to our tormentor’s displeasure. “DADDY, ARE YOU TORTURING MY FRIENDS?!” Penelope shouted. Her father began to stammer, “T-Things just h-happened sweetheart.” Penelope began to cry, “You said you would stop! That girl is Summer Frost! The one that has been like a sister to me. How could you hurt her like this?” 

    “Ack, sweetheart don’t cry. I didn’t hurt her too badly.” was his lame excuse. “You better cut them down and answer all of her questions, or else I’ll never talk to you again!” Penelope declared. “Don’t be so dramatic, lass; it was only business.” he replied with a frown. “I’m serious, Daddy. Stop torturing her or else I’m never coming home.” Penelope threw down her ultimatum. Her father stared at his phone in disbelief.  

    “Cut them down.” he murmured in defeat. “And you better be gentle!” Penelope ordered. Calloused hands carefully grabbed my body, turning me upright. I was lightheaded and dizzy, my blood finally returning back to its natural course. My moans echo the girls as our chains were removed. Summer plopped down on the floor and extended her hand. The boss frowned as he walked over to her, handing over the phone. 

      Summer took it off of speaker and chatted away with her friend. I murmured a confused thank you as I was handed multiple towels. One of the goons picked Zaida up and carried her to a new barrel that was being filled with water. She moaned as she submerged herself, letting her body recover. She fully shifted, her beautiful black and purple scales covered her body quickly. Her long two strand twists were unraveled into scaled tendrils with barbs at the end. The gills on her neck flexed in great content.  

     “Ok, I love you too. I’ll see you soon. Bye.” Summer disconnected the call and handed the phone back. "So, you're the wolf that's been looking after me daughter over at Council. We weren't ‘posed to meet like this. Little Penny was supposed to bring you home on your next break. Thank ye so much for being her friend. Angus Tarragon." The boss introduced himself, holding out his hand.  

       Summer beamed up at him and accepted it, shaking it with enthusiasm. "Summer Frost. Your daughter is a wonderful woman with great goals. It's gonna break her heart knowing that her family is poaching mermaid scales, while she’s away working hard to create a better future for you." She stated bluntly. Angus shuffled his feet, his face turning red and bashful. “Well, these are dangerous times. I’m not exactly doing or ordering the poaching.” 

    Summer nodded, thanking a member who handed her some towels. "Who is?" she asked. Angus sighed, "I'm not positive. Everyone suddenly started seeking more scales, like they were preparing for something." I shuffled further into my towels, my teeth clacking together from the cold. "For the war?" Summer questioned.  

   Angus looked surprised, "You are verra well informed. But, aye. We didn't want to be caught with our pants down, so we started to prepare." Summer nodded in understanding, "Do you know who is spreading the rumors about the war?" Angus scoffed, "T'is not a rumor. We were approached by a lass with a terrifying aura, wanting an alliance." Summer stiffened up at his words. 

     "Ack, what was her name?" Angus wondered. "L-Laverna." I murmured. Angus slapped his leg, "Dats it! She said her master was interested in buying up all of me scales and supplies." Summer asked the most important question, "Did you accept her offer?" Angus waved his hands dismissively, "Nay. Something was off about her; her soul was too dark." I bit my lip from commenting on our recent activities.  

     "Are you interested in an allegiance with us?" I blurted out. Angus raised his eyebrows, "And who are ye?" I raised a shaky hand, "Nova Jones of Black Pines and future owner of Hell's Shield." He raised his eyebrows as I gave his hand a firm shake. "Jones. I believe your father had a run in with my verra incompetent and late brother, Hauns." I nodded my head in confirmation.  

    "I'm not sure what types of benefits being your ally would bring." Angus stated. "It might not benefit you, but it will benefit Penelope. This could be a big step towards making your legacy legal. She would surely be thankful for your efforts." Summer advised. "What are ye conditions?" Angus sounded pleased with the thought of making his daughter happy. 

    "Stop the sale and purchasing of mermaid scales and destroy the ones you have now. The Tarragon Syndicate will remain neutral in the upcoming battles." Summer's tone was cold with finality. "What will I do with the scales I got now? I can't just give them up!" Angus huffed. "You can't keep them and risk Penelope learning of your involvement in the deaths of thousands of merfolk.” Summer reminded him with a glare. Angus's face was an angry red, small smoke clouds forming around his head. "Yer asking a lot of me lass." he growled. Summer gave him a sly smile, "I'm willing to negotiate." 

Summer 

     “What the hell just happened?” Leo whispered as we watched the Syndicate’s members push our forgotten bikes up the driveway to the pack house. When I goaded Angus into compromising, I felt overwhelmed. I had nothing to offer him that he didn’t already have and my only saving grace was Penelope. I realized that I was in over my head and I needed help. I had pushed away my pride and called August.  

    I told him everything. August had remained quiet while I explained to him what happened. When I was done, he didn’t ask any questions or make judgements on my decisions. Instead, he supported me and even offered an allegiance with Angus on the condition that his business stayed clean. After a few hours of negotiating, Angus finally agreed with our terms. One of our biggest obstacles was what to do with the scales.  

       August suggested the Assembly of Elders since we didn’t know who we could trust in the Council. Before handing over the scales, Nova made the Assembly sign a blood contract, promising to return the scales to the victims’ families so that they could have a proper funeral. Hell’s Shield would be an official business partner with the Tarragon family when Nova took over and an allied force to Crescent Woods. Ziva also offered financial backing to put the cherry on top.   

    When everything was wrapped up, Angus showed us real hospitality. He gave us new clothes, food and a warm room to rest in. When we woke up, he had his men drive us home after collecting our items, then promptly left. Now here we are, surprised that we had survived. Auntie Phoebe kicked the main doors to the pack house open, her face molten fury. “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WHY ARE YOU WITH THE TARRAGON SYNDICATE?!” she screamed. 

    We covered our ears, our heads still pounding from our dunking. “Chill out Mom! We were just hanging out with our friend.” Nova hissed back, Leo and I chuckled at her choice of words. Phoebe was obviously ruffled, an angry rant about to storm past her lips. Uncle Tit walked up behind her; his face grim. “I just got off the phone with Angus. You three head on to bed, you’ve had a long day.” Titus put a hand on his wife’s shoulder, saving us from her wrath. 

     We murmured our thank yous and scampered off to Nova’s room. We took turns showering, keeping them shorter than normal. We sighed as we piled onto the bed. “Is every day like this?” Leo asked, Nova and I giggled. “If Summer’s involved then yes.” Nova groaned as I elbowed her in the ribs. “Get some sleep, Leo. You got a plane to catch tomorrow.” I murmured. “Zaida, you can call me Zaida.” she replied softly. I smiled against the pillow; I just got another misfit little sister.