Then We Fly

by Rebecca Salas

  I knew better than to be lulled into a sense of security, by the light and noise. Raised as a royal, Blake was no idiot. Guards walked the perimeter of the property and along the balconies and roof of the home. I knew there would be more, others who would be staying out of the light like myself.

  Crouching close to the knotted base of a tree, allowing the draping moss to provide cover, I scanned my surroundings. There, a snap of a twig. It could be a guard out here, or it could be an alligator. Neither would be friendly to me. And neither would I be able to dispose of without alerting someone to my presence. Either now or tomorrow. This was a delicate situation, I needed to get in, observe, and get out, and they couldn’t know I—or anyone—was ever sneaking around.

  Cora’s insight had been valuable, but if Blake became suspicious that someone knew what he was up to, it would put her in danger. I wished that Oran had properly taken him out when he had the chance. Even now I considered doing it and eliminating the trouble altogether. But I would lose any sway I had with Byron if I took the matter into my own hands. Proteus had made that much clear, taking out Blake now would only cause more trouble.

  The snap of another twig, closer this time. The rough form swayed as it crept up on my hiding place. One witness too many. I needed to move without drawing further attention to myself. Oran was powerful when it came to controlling the weather, but he was ridiculously easy to sneak up on. Here in the swamp, with a myriad of creatures for Blake to communicate with, going unnoticed was going to be significantly more difficult. I could only hope that Blake wasn’t paying attention to this particular creature right now.

  I slipped silently to the far side of the tree and searched quickly

  I slipped silently to the far side of the tree and searched quickly for any movement that might alert me to more guards of nosey animals. Picking my way through, I neared a gap in Blake’s sentries and approached the house, by the line of garage doors. I stilled near where light poured out of an open door and voices began to near. A quiet conversation, the words beyond my hearing, but the voices, I knew the voices.

  A car engine turned over and I could make out the sound of a door closing. I plastered myself against the hollow of a closed doorway and waited while a car began to pull out. In the dark recesses of the car I could make out a familiar head of red hair and a bearded face. If I got into the house or not, this alone was worth my efforts.

  The car pulled away without its driver ever observing me.

  “It’s come to my attention that someone without the proper attire is wondering around the property.” Blake’s voice spoke to someone unseen within the garage with him. “Lock everything down until our visitor is found.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Alerted—no doubt by the curious alligator—to my presence, I could either push on or make my escape. My chances of going unnoticed at this point were slim and shrinking with each passing moment. Tactical withdrawal it is.

  I hadn’t gotten what I was looking for, but I would be back. And with what I had just seen, I wasn’t leaving empty handed.

  Cora

  In my dream, he was excited, eager to see the lake for the first time. It didn’t matter that it was dark out. We had only just arrived. They had boasted about how perfect and clear the water was, how clean and pure, unusual for a lake.

  The water would be crystal clear in the sunshine, but here in the dark everything was painted in varying shades of green and black. With our heads under the water we looked around us for fish. He wanted to catch one. I could see some, but their dark shapes were wrong, unfamiliar to me. They didn’t move the way I expected. He chased after one, but I backed away, my hair swirling around my face in an inky curtain. I felt exposed, insecure in a way that I never felt in water. The dark shapes all around made no sense to me. The cold water offered no comfort.

  I told him we should go. I didn’t say why, but he knew better than to ask questions. I swam facing backwards so I could watch as he followed me, also watching the dark shape that followed him. He was unaware of the danger. The shadowy form followed close behind him. I couldn’t make out its shape, but I kept watching, swimming backwards.

  Then something changed, maybe the clouds shifted, letting in more moonlight, or maybe I just remembered what was missing, connected long lost puzzle pieces, but now I saw her. I knew what she was. Her dark skin was made even darker by the night. But I didn’t need to get closer to know the exact shade of milky brown that her skin would be in the sun, or the way that her shoulders would be speckled with freckles, even in the dark I recognized her. She wouldn’t recognize me. She wouldn’t know who, or what I was.

  She could have overtaken us easily, but she held back, trusting that our less keen human senses would hide her from us. She would have her chance. She couldn’t know that I could see her, but that was part of what I am. If I had been human, I wouldn’t have been able to make out more than a formless shadow, but I wasn’t human. I tried to keep a vague expression on my face; I couldn’t let her know that I could see her. If she knew, she wouldn’t wait.

  I knew what she wanted, what she would consume if she could. She wanted stories, memories; she would devour them and leave us hollow if she could. I debated the risks of changing. Even though my companion was a fast swimmer, he wouldn’t be fast enough. If I changed, would it be enough? I felt the panic rising in my chest. There was no other option, I had to try. I felt my toes growing together, stretching, forming the tips of a fin.

  {MISSING SYMBOL}

  Fear held me, numb and afraid to move an inch. I tried to slow my panicked breathing, I wanted to hide my head under the covers.

  “Shh.” A soft whisper came from near the bed. “It’s ok.” Oran whispered and I felt the bed shift in the darkness. His warm hands brushed my arms and he sat down next to me. Part of me wanted to snap at him for being there, but my irritation was swallowed up in my fear. The blackness in the room was tangible and I felt it pressing against me trying to suffocate me. I couldn’t send him away, I was too scared to move, too scared to speak. I tried in vain to calm my panicked breathing. Oran brushed his hands on my arms and began to sing quietly.

  I knew what it was, it was calm and sleep. I didn’t want to fight it, I wanted the fear to ebb, but part of me remembered, as my body began to relax, that I was supposed to be annoyed by Oran’s presence.

  “What are you doing in here?” I think I meant for the words to sounds harsh, or at least stern, but as my body relaxed further the words ended up mumbled, and I forgot them as soon as they left my mouth.

  CREATED BY JUTOH - PLEASE REGISTER TO REMOVE THIS LINE

  Chapter Four

  Dylan

  “And you’re certain that we’re allowed to be here?” I asked again.

  “As long as no one catches us.” Fayre answered, a giggle in her musical voice.

  “That is not the same as being allowed to be in a place, Fay.” I tried to keep my tone light, but I was still hesitant to go exploring. My previous experiences were hard to shake. Her blond hair flowed behind her in blue green waves as she swam, reflecting the colors of the water around her.

  “This site has already been picked over. They won’t be back. We’ll be lucky to find anything good.”

  “Still, not the same thing.” I answer, trying to be upbeat. Just because no one is supposed to be around, doesn’t mean we’ll be alone. She nears the wreckage, old wood decaying underwater, pocked with holes. Fish have taken up residence and dart in and out of the openings. She nears a large crack in the hull and casts me a brief glance, a flirtatious smile, before ducking inside. If she were human, I would know what to make of her, but Fayre is nothing like the human girls I’m used to. The last glimmer of her silvery tail swishes out of sight.

  “Come on Dylan!” She calls out, her voice dulled by the distance. Slowly, I follow her.

  Inside the old ship the light streaks down in undulating shafts, illuminating small areas and leaving the rest in darkness. It was midday on the su
rface, but murky darkness filled the vessel, down here it looked like the latter part of dusk. Fayre wasn’t immediately visible, and I suppressed a shudder as I pressed further in. The water was cold here. We were far from the surface, and the shadows seemed to pull she heat from my body.

  “Fayre!” I call out in the stillness.

  “In here!” She answered and I turned into a side room following her voice. This room was in mildly better shape that the body of the ship. The walls were mostly intact, and light came in through a porthole on one wall as well as a single sliver of light through the ceiling. Motes floated through the small beam. Fayre hovered at the far end of the room, examining something in her hands in the low light. Turning it over, I caught a glint of silver.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  Weeks ago, she had first shown me her collection of treasures gleaned from the wrecks. Fayre had been heartbroken when I revealed that her collection was mostly common and uninteresting items. Not much was left for her to glean after the wrecks had been cleaned out by the official team. I hoped that this wouldn’t be the case again. But if they had left it behind, the chances weren’t good.

  “I’m not sure.” She admitted, holding it out to me. “I haven’t seen one of these before.” I took it from her, turning it over in the light. I didn’t recognize it myself.

  Tied together between untarnished silver coils, were a feather and some leather tassels, a bit of something shiny and malleable and what looked like a lock of hair. It reminded me of a keychain, and it fit in the palm of my hand. I gave it back to Fayre with a shrug.

  “No clue.” I said simply. She took it from me and delicately placed it into her satchel.

  “No clue is better than garbage.” She smiled and swam out of the room looking for other treasures.

  “How about this?” She said for the third time that morning as she held out a fork. I covered my mouth in shock.

  “Fayre! It’s wonderful!” I teased, but she didn’t catch on. And I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth when her face light up like it did. She looked as close to an angel as anything I could imagine. I couldn’t destroy her moment of joy. So, I continued, in earnest. “It’s very nice and only a little rusted. You should definitely keep it for your collection.” Fayre hugged it affectionately and I felt like the worst person on the planet. How was I going to manage with her? My sarcasm was entirely lost on Fayre, and my teasing wasted half the time as well. So, I was left nodding and praising her discovery, best fork ever.

  “What is it? What’s it for? How do you know what it is?” Fayre issued a stream of giddy questions as we swam away from the sunken ship. I felt bad for lying, but I felt less guilty when it meant we were done exploring the bones of that old vessel. I wondered if I would ever be confident while exploring again.

  “It’s a fork.” I told her honestly, not wanting to lie anymore if I could avoid it. “Used for eating, I’ve seen them before.” She accepted my words eagerly, almost bouncing as she swam the distance back to civilization.

  “Exploring is so much better with you around Dylan! You know so much about the humans.” She grew quiet and thoughtful for a time as we swam. I was content in the quiet, no longer unnerved by it like I had been in the ship. I could see the nearing civilization in the distance and began swimming upward, closer to the surface, eager for the warmth of the sun.

  I had been in the deep and cold for too long. I wasn’t built for the cold, though it didn’t seem to bother Fayre, or any of the mer people. They didn’t have the same need I did to return to the surface. Only those with legs seemed interested in it. As I swam higher, the water began to warm and brighten.

  A dark figure loomed in the distance, but as it neared, I could make out its sleek fins and round shell, a sea turtle. I held an arm out tentatively. I had learned that the sea creatures didn’t mind me like they might a normal human. The turtle neared and slowed, allowing me to run my hand along its strong shell. I felt much more at peace here. Inches away from air and warm sunlight.

  Fayre nodded her head gesturing back toward the city and I followed, leaving behind the sun and warm, turning again to the cold and the deep.

  Cora

  I sat next to Zoya and Shea in the dining room, trying to soak up the happy that practically radiated off of them. They sat close together, but today they were aware of the existence of everyone else around them. I greeted them, basking in the warmth of their happiness.

  “We’re going to visit some of the shops in Iredaea today. Do you want to come with us?” Zoya asked.

  “Sure, that sounds like fun.” While I had been there for a few months, a lot of the Seal Islands and the underwater city of Iredaea remained to be seen. Some exploring sounded perfect right now.

  I was used to being gawked at here, but it had been decreasing as the people grew accustomed to me. Now, swimming with Zoya and Shea was like I was back to day one. Shea wasn’t one of them, not even in part, so while Zoya and I swam unencumbered through the city, Shea was slow and awkward wearing full scuba gear, drawing attention at every turn.

  My attention was drawn away from Shea as we swam deeper into the city. The light was muted at this depth, giving the whole city a feeling of twilight. The buildings were an amalgam of manmade and natural formations. This side of the city blended into the base of the island and looked almost like the buildings were growing out of the rock. In places the rock flowed down in black rivers, a reminder of the volcano that formed it, only to be broken up by the flow of the curved and organic looking buildings that the merpeople had built. They were as varied as the coral, some tall and thin, others spread out in different directions along the ground, practically crawling. I couldn’t imagine how old they must be, at the base of the island must have been the oldest by the growth of coral all over it. The city looked like an enormous extension to the reef.

  Curling spires dappled with windows rose around me, covered in coral. I turned, admiring them and found that I was alone. Somewhere along the way I had separated from Zoya and Shea and now they were nowhere to be seen, in fact no one was.

  I had wandered from the busy pathways filled with people and I was completely alone here, even the fish seemed to have gone. Bulging black volcanic rock rose to my left speckled with cracks and crevices. It called to me to keep exploring. Behind me spindly black towers blocked my view of the bustling city. Shea and Zo were no doubt enjoying their time to themselves and I had wanted some company but exploring would serve as a fair distraction.

  I swam ahead, admiring the unfamiliar sights all around me. Rounding a large bulge of mottled volcanic rock, I discovered a deeper fissure than I had seen before. The light hitting the crevice was wrong, drawing my attention. I looked deeper into the hole that at first seemed dark as pitch, but there was a faint green glow in its deepest recesses. I scrapped past the narrow entrance, bits of rock crumbling away, until the space opened up. This wasn’t just a deep crack, this was a cave, and someone was home.

  Muffled voices floated toward me through the water. I swam slowly towards the murky light and hushed voices. The distorted sound came from somewhere out beyond the water of the cave. The cavity wound its way deeper and deeper into the rock. The glowing light grew brighter the deeper I went.

  Cautiously, I peeked around the next corner and saw glittering light bouncing around the walls of a large cavern. The large room was filled with things that reflected the light brilliantly off the walls, jewelry, mirrors, and at the center, a bed made of carved and glittering crystal. As a mer-bed, the mattress looked more like a cocoon than anything I had ever slept in. The white, gauzy fabric curled stiffly to form an enclosed nest, meant to keep them from floating away with the current in their sleep.

  The source of all the reflected light was somewhere near. Looking up toward the sound, I caught a mirror reflection of myself and surroundings painted across the ceiling. No, not the ceiling, the reflection was off an air bubble at the top of the cave. The watery part of the room was unoccupi
ed, but soft voices continued to come from somewhere above the water.

  Keeping close to the edge of the room I floated gently to the surface, trying not to upset the smooth water. A mermaid sat at the far edge of the pool, the serrated tip of her bronze tail gliding smoothly, back and forth over the water. She sat propped up on one arm, her long black hair flowed down and around her otherwise naked body. A gentle smile curved her lips and sharp pointed teeth made the gesture frightening. Her black eyes stared intently at the man who kneeled on the stone next to her as she ran her free hand through his beautiful brown tousled hair. Fynn’s hair. Fynn.

  I stifled a gasp. What was Fynn, my Fynn, doing so awfully close to that awfully naked woman? He must be getting some sort of information, a part of me pleaded that this was only some sort of job he was on. He wasn’t actually enjoying being so close to her.

  He sure looks like he’s enjoying it. Fynn leaned into her hand as she caressed his cheek. Jealousy and anger boiled up, but I held still. The part of me that still trusted him said to shut up and watch, or better yet, leave. If indeed he was spying, she could be dangerous. And she was, one way or another, this mermaid was a danger to me. She ran her hand down his cheek and grabbed his chin, kissing him forcefully on the mouth. I was going to give this woman nightmares for the rest of her unnaturally long life, that much was certain. Angry as I was, I couldn’t stay to watch this. I closed my eyes, trying to burn the image from my mind.

  “Peek-a-boo,” a child’s voice spoke into my mind, “I found you, Cora!” With my eyes closed I saw her, the purple haired little mermaid child I had seen before. Her nose was wrinkled up in disgust. “Ew! What are they doing? Why are you watching? Gross!” She chimed.