Read Into the Triangle for Free Online Page A

away were quickly dashed however, when Father Willis walked over and wrapped one skeletal arm around Gabe's shoulders.
    "Well, I suppose this once we can excuse the rudeness, since you are new to our little island, Gabriel. But in the future, it is important you follow all the rules and edicts set down by me and the village. As leader, my people look to me to keep everyone calm and happy, and we can't have unknown strangers wandering about, now can we?" The priest used his arm to propel Gabe toward the cooking fires in the center of the village. Gabe had no choice but to follow where led without causing a scene by trying to extricate himself from the tight grip.
    "That's… understandable," Gabe finally said. Thankfully, the priest seemed mollified by the humble response and Gabe let out a breath of relief when the other man changed the subject.
    Then he promptly choked on that breath when he realized the one topic he'd been hoping to avoid was the one brought up.
    "So Gabriel, tell me about the Merfolk you encountered? I make a study of those creatures, you see, and the tales of islanders meeting them always intrigues me. And your pearl is such an unusual color… I don't think I've ever seen a black one before. Very rare indeed." Something that looked a lot like avarice filled the priest's black eyes with an eerie light and the way he stared at the pearl on Gabe's forehead felt wrong.
    Gabe couldn't stop himself from shivering, feeling like he was suddenly missing something important and possibly facing something very dangerous.
    "I don't remember much," he lied quickly. "The storm was so severe and I was freaking out bad. The next thing I knew, I was on the beach and had this thing on my head."
    Father Willis raised a skeptical eyebrow, but Gabe was saved from being questioned about his lame story by a commotion by the fires.
    People were yelling, and all their fury seemed to be focused on one small woman who cowered in fear. A pot of spilled food was lying beside and over her bare feet. Although it had to be hot, possibly even burning her, the little woman didn't move away; instead she just stared straight through the people hollering and carrying on as if she didn't even see them.
    "Mary!" Father Willis's voice shot through the air, causing all the other people to stop their yelling immediately. He dropped his arm from around Gabe's shoulders and snapped his fingers at the woman. "Get over here right now!"
    The woman's head immediately whipped around at the sharp sound, and without further prompting, she scurried over to Father Willis's side. She stopped right next to them without saying a word, and Gabe couldn't stop himself from thinking she was very pretty. With her bright red hair hanging straight over her slim shoulders, curvy build, perfect pert nose and bowed lips, she was the epitome of femininity. The only problem he could see, other than the fact that both she and her tattered cloth coverings looked absolutely filthy, was that her crystal blue eyes remained unfocused and blank, even when she looked over at him.
    There was also a large, ugly scar in the center of her forehead where it looked as though something had been ripped right out of her skin.
    Gabe's own pearl ached, the longer he stared at the scar, and he suspected he knew what had been removed.
    "What happened?" he asked, unable to hide the horror in his voice.
    Father Willis reached out and patted the young woman's head in an almost condescending manner, smiling faintly. "Gabriel, meet our Mary. She's been with us a little over three years now. She was found with a pearl, just like you, but in the end, her mer rejected her. Bless her soul, the poor little dear couldn't take the shame, nor the pain and betrayal as the mer ripped out her pearl, and hasn't spoken a word ever since. I found her, near death, on the beach at the lagoon, and nursed her back to health myself." The priest sighed softly. "I tried to warn everyone the Merfolk were not as lovely