Mermaidia: A Limited Edition Anthology

by Pauline Creeden

  "Where is she?" Aria's voice screeched from the door of the kitchen.

  My eyes snapped open as my heels hit the ground, sending a jarring feeling through my spine so that even my teeth clacked together. I turned around and faced the source of my displeasure. Her eyes locked on me the way a predator fixes on her prey.

  "There you are. I have need of my servant. You cannot remain in this kitchen when your services are required by me."

  I frowned and glared at the woman. She rushed forward and snatched me by the arm. My hands fisted. If she thought for a moment that I would just sit idly by and let her dislocate my fingers again, she was horribly mistaken.

  "The princess speaks!" Sebastian said as he pulled the rack of pies from under the window. He lifted a brow. "Could it be that you're coming out of your shell? Will the prince soon have the pleasure of hearing your voice as well?"

  Blood rushed to Aria's cheeks as her grip loosened on my arm. She watched Sebastian with wide eyes for a moment before dropping her gaze to the cobblestones. Had she really not realized that she'd just spoken in front of the humans for the first time?

  "And the princess's demure veneer returns." Sebastian leaned toward her. "Please forgive me for selfishly monopolizing your servant in my kitchen."

  Aria shook her head, but still refused to look up at the chef.

  I opened my mouth, becoming her voice once more. "Please excuse me, chef. I have overstayed my welcome. I must now attend to my princess's needs."

  He nodded and winked at me as though he truly understood my plight. My shoulders fell a little, but my heart warmed. It felt good that he tried to understand me, but he would never truly fathom the extent of my enslavement.

  Aria glared at me and then stomped away like the spoiled child she was. She didn't look back at me to check to see if I followed, she merely expected it to happen. When we had made it to our chambers, I closed the door behind me. Aria turned on me again with tears in her eyes.

  "I never realized how many beautiful women I would have to contend with for my prince's affections." She whined. "I want him for myself again, but now there are more courtesans than I can count with him at all times."

  Crocodile tears continued to flow over her ruddy cheeks, but I refused to be affected by them this time. My hatred for her flared in my chest, and my hands remained clenched in fists. I had to keep reminding myself that destroying her would remove my ability to create. I could only choose one or the other, and there would be no redemption, no turning back.

  "I need to do something. I need to get rid of these women and remind the prince that it was I who saved his life and deserve his affections." She clutched the front of my robes, her eyes wide and pleading with me.

  I narrowed my gaze at her. Considering that I was the one who saved him in the first place, did this crazy woman actually believe the lie she'd spun herself? "And what would you have me do about it?"

  She released my robes and straightened her spine. She turned away from me and faced the window. She swiped the tears from her face and took several deep breaths. Was she thinking about it? No, surely not. This was her dramatic ploy to make me think that she hadn't already come up with a plan. She turned to face me with an evil glint in her eye and a sinister smile. "I want you to make the prince drown again."

  I blinked at her, not sure I'd heard her right. "What?"

  She stepped toward me, her eyes narrowing on me. "I need you to make him drown again so I can rescue him. These other women shouldn't even be able to compare to the one who saved his life. So to remind him of the value I have, I need you to drown him again."

  I frowned at her. "You want me to use the power of destruction to attempt to kill the prince."

  I would lose the power of creation and not even get rid of the one who truly deserved it.

  "No, stupid. This isn't about destruction." She rolled her eyes. "It's about creation. This year's ball will be on a ship. All those stupid women and their pretty little dresses, the winners of the tournament, the members of the court and the prince will be aboard. I want you to create a sudden storm. I have other helpers who will make sure the prince ends up in the waters."

  "A storm." I frowned. Killing by accident was not the same as killing with intention. The storm itself would not kill the prince, but the princess would work toward that goal with my knowledge and using something that I created to do it. Morally, I didn't know if I could stomach this idea.

  "Yes. You will create a storm, and I will do the rest. You will be destroying nothing so you won't lose your precious magic." The princess smiled sweetly at me.

  About as sweet as a thousand bee stings.

  Maybe this would be the deciding factor for me. I had been weighing the pros and cons for several days now. Do I kill the wretched woman and lose my creation magic, or do I bide my time, help her win the prince's heart, and then go about my merry way at the next full moon? There were only eight days left before my enslavement would expire. But if it ended without the princess winning the prince's heart, then I would have more hell to face. No. If it ended without the prince's heart, I'd definitely turn to destruction. I would rip the princess to shreds before I allowed her to tell her father where I was. Then I'd bring down destruction on the King of Atlantis as such the world had never seen.

  "So, what say you?" she asked, facing me again with a scowl while tapping her foot with impatience.

  "I can create a storm." I would create a storm for her and give her this last chance to win the prince's heart. He would be a fool to choose her as a bride. If he did, then he deserved her. If he died in the storm and providence decided I had a hand in his death and took away my power of creation, I would rain down destruction on the princess and all of Atlantis. If the prince proved his intelligence by rejecting the princess, and Aria decided to run to tell her father, then destruction would still be my choice.

  One path to everyone's happily ever after, two paths to destruction. A sinister smile tugged at my own lips. It felt like a win no matter which way the dice would roll.

  Chapter 7

  I peered out the window below deck in the kitchens at the night sky and called another cloud near. I wasn't quite expecting to attend the ball, but at least I was allowed to do it on my own terms, which was in the kitchen. The prince hadn't allowed the ship to leave until one hour after sunset. I sighed. Only I knew what the prince had been doing during the hour before he rushed back to the ship. I rubbed my chest, trying to alleviate the sudden ache there. I wanted to pound on my chest instead and beat my heart back into submission. I didn't need to fall in love with the prince. Either he would choose to love Aria, or I would become the evil sea witch that everyone claimed I was destined to become. I couldn't see this ending in any other way.

  The party overhead had been in full swing for over an hour. Sebastian, myself, and a smaller staff of only three others prepared food for the guests, mostly seafood appetizers of varying types. Lobster and shrimp were among the favorites of the guests above deck, and were in constant need of replenishment.

  "Ursa, be a dear and take this tray upstairs for me, if you please?" Sebastian handed me a tray of lobster puffs.

  The wait staff had been overloaded, so some of the kitchen staff had been taking the trays up for them. It was my third time doing it and catching glimpses of the party. As pretty as all the women were in their best dresses, the ball still felt like a group of sharks at a feeding frenzy. And Prince Evan was the chum.

  Every time I came up, he was surrounded by at least four of them, and I finally understood Aria's frustration. The prince was too nice to them all. He didn't deny anyone's advances any more than he denied Aria's. Was he a pushover or a player? Neither one was appealing in my opinion. Overhead, the bright moon shined through a nearly cloudless sky. I was supposed to create a storm with this? Originally the sky had been completely clear, but I had slowly asked the clouds to gather each time I came topside or had a moment to look out the window.

  And the clouds
were answering my siren call.

  Aria spotted me the moment I rose from the kitchen. Her beady little eyes fixed on me, and she scowled as she stomped over. "It's time. Start developing that storm. I'm sick of this party and all of these people," she hissed in a whisper to me. "I want this to end. Now."

  I swallowed and smiled toward the waiter who took the tray. It turned out to be more of a grimace, so I was glad he couldn't see it beneath my veil. My heart pounded against my chest. This was the deciding moment. Would I remain on the path of creation or turn to the one of destruction? I nodded toward the evil wretch who had enslaved me. And then I glanced about the dance floor. The prince was nowhere to be found. Could Aria already have had her henchman snatch him?

  Somehow that prickled against my skin. He could die from my actions. It was something I didn't want. At all.

  The princess's sinister smile returned, and she clapped her hands together. Then she leaned toward me. "Get started."

  I nodded, uncertain of myself or how I felt about this situation. I retreated toward the kitchen below deck. I didn't want to witness what might happen as I called the clouds to come closer. A small storm, I reasoned. A summer squall should be enough to keep the stupid princess happy. As I headed down the steps, I called the storm and then heard thunder in the distance as it answered.

  As I reached the door to the kitchen, it swung out toward me, and I narrowly missed getting slammed in the face. When I stepped backward, I tripped over the hem of my robe and began to fall.

  "Oh, excuse me." Evan's deep voice rumbled as he caught me.

  And for a moment, our eyes were fixed on each other again, our gazes locked. My heart thundered in my chest, and my ears rung. Could he possibly not hear those same sounds? My lungs burned as I held my breath. His warm arms were still wrapped around my waist.

  His eyes sparkled, and then the corners wrinkled as he said, "You look very familiar, you know that. I swear we'd met before that day on the beach."

  My heart jumped into my throat, and I straightened and stepped back. I coughed and panted as I tried to catch my breath again. The lightheadedness I'd been experiencing returned. "What?" I asked.

  "Had we met before? Your eyes are the most beautiful violet-silver, but I swear I've seen them previously."

  I shook my head and pushed my way past him. "You are mistaken."

  He caught me by the arm, his brow furrowed as he frowned. "Are you certain? You are not the one I think you are? If you were, this night could end very differently."

  I blinked at him. What on Earth did that mean? I shook my head vigorously, and pulled my arm from his grip as it grew flaccid. "I am certain. Good evening, Prince Evan."

  Thunder rumbled outside, and the rocking of the boat increased. The storm was coming. The disappointment on his face clouded his features. But he turned and left, heading back up the stairs. I bit my bottom lip as I watched him. Did he actually remember me? How could that even be possible?

  I swallowed and turned back toward the kitchen when I heard a crash upstairs and the screams of several women.

  My heart seized in my chest.

  Sebastian broke through the kitchen door and stood just behind me. "Did you hear that? What is going on upstairs?"

  I shook my head as the thunder continued to roll. The engines below my feet cut off and below deck grew quieter.

  "Let's go check. This storm was not predicted for the evening. I'm not sure how the party will fare." Sebastian pushed past me and darted up the stairs.

  I continued to stand as though my feet had grown roots and planted me to the deck. Some of the kitchen staff pushed past me and asked me questions that I neither comprehended nor answered. I didn't have to go up to know what had happened. The prince had been thrown overboard by Aria's goons. Soon she'd have him pulled back onto the boat, or he would die in the process. My fate was about to be decided.

  Eventually, the panic overhead increased and the stomping went well beyond what I'd expected from the event that Aria had orchestrated. My curiosity roused, I headed up the steps. When I reached the top, I found two men pulling Aria over the side of the boat. She panted and spewed water from her mouth. Had she attempted to breathe the sea water? If she had, she would return to her mermaid state, but it would have been three days too early. The full moon was the key to peaceful transition from land to sea and vice versa.

  Aria's hair was stuck to her face like bits of red seaweed and her pink dress was thoroughly drenched. She wailed, "The prince!"

  The other women whose dresses were still dry wailed with her. The waves tossed the boat back and forth violently and thunder still rolled overhead, but it had yet to rain more than a drizzle. The clouds parted in some areas, and stars were peeking through the sparse cover. The storm would be ending almost as quickly as it had begun.

  But where was Evan?

  "The prince is still in the waters!" someone shouted.

  "We can't find him."

  Men held four spotlights over the side of the ship and the beams of light danced over the foaming waves. But not a person could be found among them. One of the men shouted. "Nothing. It's been ten minutes and we still can't find him. He's lost."

  My heart sank, but I felt my creation magic churning still in my core. The prince wasn't dead. I leapt forward. "Look harder. Don't stop. He must be out there."

  The men blinked at me. The ladies of the court wailed their agreement, Aria's voice joining the others. Some other men had lowered small john boats into the choppy sea.

  Overhead, the thunder rumbled again, but it seemed that the storm had moved farther away. The drizzle ceased as well, and the waves began to smooth. Sebastian came to my side. "Strange storm to come up so suddenly and disappear just as quickly. And the prince falling into the sea with your lady during that short time."

  My head whipped toward him. Did he know?

  His worried eyes lighted upon me, and he patted me on the shoulder. "Stay safe and don't do anything you'll regret later."

  I opened my mouth to respond, but no words would even come to my mind. What should I even say in response? He turned and headed back toward the kitchen without another word. My gaze returned to the sea where the spotlights danced atop the waves searching for some clue that would lead them to the prince, but there was not a single sign pointing to where the prince might have gone. The row boats below had continued the search and returned an eternity later. At least those several minutes had felt like an eternity to me.

  One of the men from the boat shouted up. "We are not more than a mile from the shore. He may have swum back."

  The men aboard the ship nodded in agreement. "We'll stay here and keep searching take two of the rowboats and head toward shore. See if you can find him."

  I searched my heart and called on the magic from my core. I could find him still, since my magic had not yet been broken. I searched and closed my eyes. His heart felt weak and his body barely conscious. The men were right. He had headed toward shore. Before I could think another thought, my body sprang into action. I leapt from the deck of the ship and soon felt the water’s embrace.

  Chapter 8

  "Are you crazy?" one of the men asked as two others pulled me into the nearest row boat.

  I shook my head, feeling the breeze on my skin in a way that I'd become unfamiliar with. I reached for my cheeks and found the veil missing. It didn't matter. I shook my head toward the men. "No. I'm a mage, and I can locate the prince."

  They blinked at me, and the man whose hands were on my shoulders removed them and shrunk back. I heard someone whisper the word "witch." I frowned. "Stop being so ignorant. A witch uses magic for destruction and cannot call upon the magic of creation. The magic I use is given as a gift from birth, and I only keep it through providence and staying on the right path. Now let's go."

  The men stared at me, open-mouthed, until the eldest smacked the other two across the backs of their heads. "Get rowing," he demanded and then looked my way. "Which direction?"


  A smile came to my lips unbidden, and I pointed. "That way."

  Grunts, but no protests, came from the men who rowed the boat in the direction I'd pointed. Behind us came a loud splash, and I turned back, seeing what looked like Aria's pink dress in the ocean waves as she attempted to get the attention of another of the row boats. I frowned, but refused to worry about the wretch. "Row faster. He's dying and we need to hurry."

  That got the men rowing with renewed vigor.

  I hadn't expected where my sense of Evan would take me, and when the mouth of the cave came into view, my stomach sank. Winds blew through the opening along with horrid wails and screeches. The eldest in the boat made a cross over himself. "Lord, have mercy on us."

  "He's in there," I cried. "And the tide is rising. We need to get him before the waters rise more."

  The man shook his head and the two at the oars refused to row. "We can't go in there. We'll be cursed. The prince is already cursed and may as well be dead if he's in there."

  "Ignorant wretches. The cave is not haunted or cursed. That is just a stupid rumor. But the prince is in there and he will die if we don't get him out before the tide comes in." I scanned their faces, but saw no change and no will to move forward. I shook my head. "This is ridiculous."

  Without another word, I leapt into the waters and swam for the opening in the cave. The water was rising. I could feel it in my heart and core now that I was immersed in the waves. The temptation to take the water into my lungs and resume my kraken form overwhelmed me, but I resisted. I didn't want to pay the price of returning to the sea before the appointed time. There were laws in nature that were not to be broken, even when you didn't know the repercussions of that choice. The cost could be great or miniscule. I didn't know which but didn't want to find out for myself.

  Once I reached the opening to the cave, it was almost completely submerged. I held my breath and ducked under, pulling myself back to the surface for my next breath once inside. The cave was almost completely overwhelmed by the sea. At the other end of the cave, I could see the faintest light that signified the land's entrance. I was happy to see it wasn't blocked yet.