Midnight Pearls Read online

  “You’ve traveled far?” she asked. He laughed shortly.“farther than you Know.”

  She stared at her pale fingers wrapped in his. We must have come from the same place, she thought with growing excitement.“Are you my brother?”

  “No, I’m not. We are not related.”

  “Good” she answered before she could stop herself. She felt a blush rising to her cheeks and was grateful that he couldn’t see it.

  He was rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, and her skin tingled where his touched hers. James did the same thing to my hand two days ago and it felt good, exciting but nothing like this…. Something about him feels so right, even though I don’t know him.

  She was suddenly nervous; the silence around them felt like the air did when a storm approached from across the sea. She spoke just to calm herself. “You’ve been searching how long?”

  “Thirteen years”

  “How did you know it was me if you haven’t seen me in so long?”

  “How does the whale know when to swim to warmer waters for winter? How do the fish know when a predator is near? How do you know when love is real? You just know.”

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  First Simon Pulse edition June 2003

  Copyright © 2003 by Debbie Viguié

  SIMON PULSE

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster

  Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas

  New York, NY 10020

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Designed by Debra Sfetsios

  The text of this book was set in Adobe Jenson.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2002115624

  eISBN 978-1-43910-451-4

  To nancy Holder, for believing in me

  I would like to thank Lisa Clancy, the world’s greatest editor, and Lisa Gribbin, who keeps things running smoothly Thank you to my husband, Scott, who stayed up late with me countless nights so I could discuss the story with him. Thank you to my father, Rick Reynolds, the greatest brainstorming partner anyone could ever ask for. Thank you to my mother, Barbara Reynolds, without whose love and support this would not be possible. Thank you to Mrs. Voget and Miss Romer, who always challenged me to do my best.

  Prologue

  It should have been the happiest day of her life, but instead it was a living nightmare. Pearl slowly fingered the fabric of her pale blue gown and closed her eyes. Fat tears squeezed out from beneath her eyelids and rolled down her cheeks.

  The bell of the chapel began to ring. It was ringing for her. Its keening was her death sentence, its steady beat her death march. She felt herself begin to shake. Today was the last day of her freedom, her last taste of joy. She opened her eyes and stared down at her slippers. They gleamed softly white, mocking her. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, for today she would become a bride.

  She looked back upon her life and saw how every step had led her here. Where had it all gone wrong? What could she have changed?

  She closed her eyes again and prayed for death.

  The fisherman sat quietly in his boat staring at the darkening skies. The sun should have stood directly overhead, marking midday, but instead it was obscured by angry clouds that seemed to grow thicker by the moment. He squinted, staring at the horizon. The leathery skin of his face crinkled around his hazel eyes. A storm was coming up fast, too fast. A stiff wind suddenly sprang to life, roaring across the bow of the boat and bringing with it the unmistakable smell of rain. It was time to head for shore.

  The fish had been acting strange all day, nervous, as though there was a predator lurking in the darkening water. He had been out since noon, and not a single one had found its way into his nets. Still, he had seen the dancing shadows and quick flashes of silver that indicated their presence. He quickly pulled the woven rope nets in and secured them.

  A raindrop splatted on his nose and a shiver danced up his spine. Finneas, he thought, you’d better get yourself home fast.

  No sooner had he picked up the oars and began to row than the heavens let loose. The ocean began to heave, and it was all he could do to keep the tiny boat from capsizing.

  He strained at the oars with all his might. He had never seen a storm come up so quickly. He should have had time to make it home before the weather became this bad. His arms began to ache with the strain of fighting the waves. A huge one bore down on him, and he saw it through the rain, but it was too late to turn the boat. It crested over the bow and filled the tiny vessel with water.

  He had always been careful, always respected the sea not only for what it could give but also for what it could take. He had lost his father and his two brothers to its wrath. His was a family of fishermen eking out a living from the sea. But the sea was a fickle mistress. He remembered the storm that had taken the lives of the other men in his family. Still, he, too, had gone to the sea for his livelihood. It was all he knew.

  As wave after wave continued to crash down upon him, he knew that his time had come at last. The sea would claim him this day, and he would never see his beloved Mary again. He whispered a desperate prayer to St. Michael, patron saint of the sea, and another one to King Neptune for good measure. Father Gregory would not be happy about that, but the good father wasn’t there to take offense.

  A short distance ahead of him he saw a light shimmering in the water that grew brighter as he watched. Was it the angel of death coming to take him? He briefly thought about trying to go around the spot. He was too tired, though, to waste his strength rowing the extra distance. And if it is the angel of death, he reasoned, he’ll find me whether I turn the boat or not. He kept his course, and moments later he was right above the light. He stared down into the water but could see nothing.

  Cast out your nets, a voice whispered in his head. Without thinking, Finneas scurried to comply, heaving the nets over the side and dropping them down into the light. Something heavy caught in them, and he feared that between the weight and the raging of the ocean the ropes would snap. He began to pull them in. They held, and the light grew brighter as he kept pulling. At last something broke the surface of the water.

  Finneas gasped as the small face of a child looked up at him. She had enormous eyes that shone dark against her pale skin. Her white hair floated on the water, each long strand glimmering with a greenish light—the glow that he had seen. She was caught in his net, and he heaved her into the boat. She sat very still, the blinking of her eyes the only sign of life.

  He quickly untangled her until she sat naked and shivering in the bottom of the tiny vessel. He peeled off his coat and wrapped it around her. For a moment he forgot the wind and waves and storm as he stared at her. What had Father Gregory read from the Good Book that morning? “I will make you fishers of men.”

  He smiled reassuringly at the child as he picked up his oars.“We are going to make it, you and I.” She just blinked her enormous eyes.

  God, Neptune, St. Michael—someone had sent the child to him. He couldn’t let her die in the storm. That conviction gave him the will to keep pulling at the oars. At last after what seemed like an eternity, the wind swept aside a curtain of rain and he caught a glimpse of the shore. His heart lifted at the sight, and he pulled on the oars with renewed strength.

  Finally they hit the beach. He scrambled out of the boat and began to try to pull it backward onto the sand. Finneas fell to his knees, a sob escaping him. He was too weak. He
felt his fingers beginning to slip from the bow when, suddenly, strong hands closed over his and lent their strength. Together they pulled the ship backward up onto the beach.

  Finneas collapsed onto the sand gasping and looked up to see his wife. His heart filled at the sight of her face, beautiful in his eyes. “Mary, I thought I’d never see you again.”

  “And I you,” she answered.

  He gestured to the boat. “I brought you something.”

  She looked in and gasped softly. “Oh my.”

  They made it to the house and barred the door against the lashing rain. Finneas peeled off his wet clothes, depositing them in a heap by the fire and changing into dry ones while Mary wrapped the child in a warm blanket. She sat down with her by the fire and lifted a lock of her wet hair. Finneas noticed that the glow from the child’s hair was slowly fading.

  He shivered and muttered a silent prayer. Still, as he looked into the little girl’s enormous eyes, he couldn’t see any evil lurking in them. If she isn’t of the devil then she has to be from God. He nodded slowly She was God’s gift to his Mary, who had no child of her own. He placed a hand on Mary’s shoulder.

  When Mary looked up at him he had no answers for the questions in her eyes. They stared at each other for several minutes before she broke the silence.

  “I thought you might be dead,” she croaked, her voice hoarse.

  “I nearly was,” he admitted as he took a seat beside her. “Then I found her—out there in the water. I knew then that I was going to live and that the Good Lord wanted me to bring her home—to you”

  Mary gently stroked the girl’s hair. “She can’t be more than four years old. What do you think she was doing out there by herself?”

  Finneas shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  The girl stirred in Mary’s arms and stretched her small hand out toward the fire. Her skin was pale, deathly pale. Finneas felt his heart begin to pound. For a moment, when her hand was up in front of the fire, he imagined that he’d been able to see right through the skin, through her very hand, to see the fire glowing on the other side.

  He shook his head to clear it. I’m exhausted, and a trick of the light sent my imagination on a flight of fancy. That is all. But beside him he heard Mary gasp, and when she turned to him with fearful eyes he knew that it was no trick and that she had seen it too.

  “Wh-what is she?”

  He met Mary’s eyes. “I don’t know and I don’t think we want to know.”

  She nodded slowly, and a silent agreement stretched between them. The child looked up at them questioningly. She stretched out her other hand from beneath the blanket. It was balled into a tight fist. Something dark shone through the cracks between her fingers.

  “What have you got, little one?” Finneas asked, reaching gently to take her hand. He pushed at her fingers, and reluctantly her fist began to open.

  There in her palm was the largest pearl he had ever seen. It was a shiny, midnight blue color and was almost perfectly round. He had never seen anything like it.

  Her small fingers balled around it, and her hand disappeared back beneath the blanket. He laid a hand upon her head. “I think we’ll call her Pearl.”

  Two days later the storm had passed, but the destruction it had left in its wake was staggering. Villages up and down the coast had been destroyed, some of them completely. Worse, several hundred people had been killed.

  As Finneas sat beside Mary in church that Sunday, he fervently thanked God for the safety they had enjoyed. Only a couple of people from their village had lost their lives. The priest solemnly prayed for their souls. In front of Finneas the town blacksmith, Thomas, bowed his head in sorrow. His wife had been one of those who was lost.

  Finneas felt guilty for his and Mary’s happiness in the face of so much sorrow. Happy they were, though, for little Pearl sat between them. The storm that had brought her to them had made it easy to explain her sudden presence. They had simply told everyone that she was the child of a distant cousin in another village who had been killed in the storm.

  That had satisfied the others, although it hadn’t stopped them from casting puzzled looks at Pearl. Finneas closed a hand around Pearl’s protectively. Maybe with time the sun would tan her unnaturally pale skin, and as she continued to grow, surely she would grow into her long legs.

  She looked up at him with her wide, dark eyes and asked him a question. At least, he thought it was a question. He had no way to answer her, though. Whatever language it was she spoke was foreign to him. He thought it might be Italian, but he wasn’t sure.

  He just shook his head and squeezed her hand. They were working on teaching her English. He just prayed they would be able to communicate quickly before it became too much of a problem.

  Mary turned to look at him and he smiled to hide his concern. He couldn’t help but be afraid. Pearl was different; he wasn’t sure how or why, but he did know the people of his village. They didn’t tolerate anyone or anything that was different. Only five years earlier an angry mob had seized a woman, a traveling gypsy, accused her of Witchcraft, and burned her at the stake. He shuddered at the memory. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  He gripped Pearl’s hand even tighter until she began to wriggle her fingers. He had had a nightmare about the villagers trying to do the same to Pearl and him not being able to reach her. He had awoken screaming and soaked in sweat. He had lied to Mary for the first time in his life, telling her he didn’t remember the dream. He had vowed, lying there, shivering and praying, that he would do everything in his power to keep them from hurting Pearl. He just continued to smile at Mary, who had enough to worry about without hearing his fears.

  When the services were over, he picked Pearl up in his arms. She hadn’t yet seemed to master walking. She was trying, but she just went skittering on her long limbs, wobbling back and forth and landing in a heap time after time. She just needs to grow into her legs, he thought.

  She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and looked up at him. She asked him what sounded like a question. Her tiny voice lilted as though she was singing. He just shook his head and kissed her cheek.

  She held her pearl out to him and he kissed it as well Mary had secured it with a thin piece of rope and a loop so that Pearl could wear the shiny orb around her neck. She laughed up at him. Her laughter, at least, he could understand.

  That night Finneas sat bolt upright in bed, awakened by a keening sound that split the stillness and reverberated in the air. Chills danced up and down his spine, and fear touched his heart. Beside him Mary sprang from the bed, grabbing for her shawl. They glanced to the bed where Pearl should have been, but it was empty. A hard knot settled in the bottom of his stomach.

  They exchanged frightened glances and began to search the cabin. They found her moments later sitting in the kitchen. She was surrounded by dead fish that were scattered about on the kitchen floor. She must have pulled them off the counter and unwrapped them from their protective coverings.

  The stench of death was strong, and an unnatural sound was coming from Pearl. She stared up at them and pointed to a dead fish and then to Finneas. His heart began to pound as he realized that she was blaming him for its death.

  Mary knelt down and folded the girl in her arms. “Those are fish. We eat the fish so that we can be strong,” she tried to explain.

  Pearl began to cry and Mary just held her, clearly not knowing what to say. Finally she looked up at Finneas, and he saw the tears shimmering on her cheeks as well. “Clean up the fish and hide them,” she instructed him. “We’ll keep them out of her sight, at least for now.”

  Nodding, Finneas did as he was told. The sound of her cries echoed inside his head continuing long after she had fallen asleep in Mary’s arms. It had been a completely unnatural sound, unlike anything he had ever heard.

  Mary came, her face wet with tears, to tell Pearl it was time. Her groom was waiting for her. Pearl began to cry as well, wanting to run, but knowing that she
could not.

  THIRTEEN YEARS LATER

  The hairs on the back of her neck tingled, and Pearl turned her head toward the street. She willed her legs to move forward even as someone beside her cried out. A horse was running out of control, with a cart careening crazily behind him. The owner was chasing behind shouting curses at the beast. Directly in the path of the horse and cart was a small boy playing with a worm he had found in the dirt.

  Pearl stumbled but regained her footing. She stretched out her arms and snatched the child, pulling him out of the way. With the child in her arms she tumbled backward and fell, sprawled in the dirt in front of the vegetable cart where she had been shopping.

  She lay still for a moment, her heart thudding painfully in her chest. The little boy began to struggle and cry, and his mother rushed to pick him up. Slowly, Pearl sat up and began to scramble to her feet. She straightened and beat at her skirt, trying to get the dirt out. Realizing it was a futile task, she gave up and picked up her basket from where she had dropped it.

  “Thank you for saving him.”

  Pearl looked up. The child’s mother was no older than she was. Pearl wasn’t surprised. By the time a young woman from the village reached seventeen, she was usually married and often had at least one child. The little boy was staring at Pearl. Slowly, his arm came up and his finger stretched out, pointing at her.

  “You’re welcome,” Pearl answered. People were staring and she started to fidget uncomfortably.

  “Momma,” the boy said, still pointing.

  “Hush, Samuel.”

  “But, Momma, look.”

  Pearl felt tears stinging her eyes as the little boy began gesturing wildly. He strained in his mother’s arms as she tried to shush him.