by K. Weikel
Introduction
The baby swims out just as the moon reaches the top of its orbit around the Earth. The tiny being floats in place as its small mouth opens and closes for oxygen. A soft blue glow grows from her skin as her mother’s dims, her life fading fast.
The Murlan Clan’s head doctor takes the baby in his arms. Legs. She wouldn’t survive a day in this world of water, no matter whom she is born from, or whether this child glows or not. Life is not an option for her.
“Kill it.” His voice is harsh as he holds the baby out to the exterminator dressed in all black.
“No,” the mother utters softly, her energy drained, but her eyes glisten with life, with tears as she looks upon her baby girl. Her human baby girl. “She’s the One-Hundred.”
The doctor looks at the tired woman, whose blue tail shimmers below the dark surface of the water. The baby’s glow grows brighter and brighter, alarming him. She isn’t just the one hundred thousandth human baby born from the mermaid clan, but something more powerful, something more dangerous than that. Something that came close to destroying everything many years ago. Part of the One-Hundred.
“She’s the One-Hundred,” the woman whispers again before closing her eyes and sinking into the chest of her strong husband.