Mermaidia: A Limited Edition Anthology

by Pauline Creeden

  “Did she return home?”

  “No, actually. I’m pretty sure she had a project to work on or special training. Something like that.” Talise crosses her arms. “I’m not answering another question until you tell me what’s going on.”

  “Selkies attacked the kingdom.”

  “That’s not funny, Rillia. Tell me… You aren’t joking?”

  I shake my head.

  “Why would they do that?”

  “I haven’t the foggiest notion why.” I rub my forehead. “Do you ever just want to swim and swim and swim and see where you end up?”

  “I wanted to do that after Jorah dumped me,” she says. “It doesn’t seem like that would be a good idea right now, though.”

  “I guess not.” I eye her. “Why are you here?”

  “I saw you leave the kingdom.”

  I gape at her. Did she see me shift?

  “But then Marius came up to me, and he asked me out.”

  “And?” I ask because I feel like it’s my duty as a friend to ask. Right now, dating is the last thing on my mind.

  “I hadn’t thought of him that way, but he is cute, so I told him yes. I figure one date can’t hurt, but an attack… That kind of makes me wish I said no.”

  “Why?”

  “Because. We should head back, don’t you think? It’s not safe out in the open waters.”

  I nod and go to swim, but a wave of dizziness washes over me.

  “Are you all right?” Talise wraps an arm around my waist. “You look a little green.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  Talise purses her lips and looks away. I’m hurting her. She knows I’m hiding something from her, but I don’t want to talk to anyone about Dad. I also don’t think I can risk telling anyone about what I shifted into.

  Swimming together, we return the Hydria. I’m so very lost, so very lost. How can I possibly handle all of this? I feel like I’m going around in circles, but I have to make my path, make my choice.

  “You should come over to my house,” Talise suggests.

  “I can’t. I should go see my dad.”

  “All right, but at least promise me you won’t swim out to open waters alone again.”

  I say nothing, and she sighs.

  “You’re impossible, you know that, right?”

  “Impossible not to love,” I lamely joke.

  She gives me a one-arm hug and speeds away to her coral house.

  I wait until she’s out of sight to return to the medical center. There are even more people there, but I don’t think there are more patients, only more visitors. I have to swim above most everyone’s head to be able to reach Dad’s bed of seaweed.

  For now, at least, he’s still sleeping. I would’ve felt even worse if I missed his waking. It’s bad enough that I left in the first place, and that I discovered something as terrifying as what I am is so much worse.

  A mermaid swims over. “You must be Finn’s daughter. Hi. I’m Doctor Reka.”

  I nod and shake her hand without saying a word.

  “I suspect your father will wake shortly. He’s been having some medicine as well as healing magic done on him but—”

  “Whoever is using healing magic on him needs to be fired,” I snap. “They aren’t helping him at all!”

  “Healing magic is not easily used, and it can oftentimes take multiple treatments for it to establish adequate medical care.”

  “Will he be able to swim again?”

  “Yes. I believe so.”

  “But you aren’t certain.”

  “No. It is impossible to know for certain. Perhaps with time and therapy—”

  “What is the point of healing magic if it can’t help a merman to swim?” I snap.

  “We are doing the best that we can, for Finn and for the others. Unfortunately, we lost another merman this morning.”

  I swallow hard and blink back tears. “I’m sorry. I’m being a brat. Of course there are others who need the healers more. I just… I mean…”

  Dad’s all I have, but I can’t bring myself to say that. My throat has closed up, and my tongue feels too big for my mouth.

  The doctor lays a hand on my shoulder and gives me a sympathetic squeeze before moving on.

  I do my best to block out the new and chaos of the rest of the medical center and take my position beside my dad. I hold his hand and tell him about this past semester.

  “Maybe the next time Fancies of Ravens play, we can go to the concert together. You’ll really like them. They’re a great group of sirens. They’re good ones, though. They don’t lure anyone to their deaths.”

  I wince. Why am I talking to him about death? I almost hope he can’t hear me because, by the tide, that’s an open-mouth, insert-foot topic right now if there’s ever one.

  “I’m one of the fastest swimmers out of all of the merfolk at school. They’re talking about adding some sport teams to the school, like a regular academy. Track, field, swim… I might join just to see what all the fuss is about. Not track and field. I can run decently fast on legs, but I’m nowhere near as fast on land as I am in the water. Naturally, of course.”

  Hmm. My speed compared to other merfolk has always been astonishing. Could that be because of the hidden sea dragon inside of me?

  That’s not something I want to think about, so I change the topic to one I didn’t think I would talk to Dad about. Maybe my aunt. It’s not that I want to keep anything from Dad. It’s just… He probably doesn’t want to hear about boys from his only daughter, even if I am seventeen.

  “I think I might’ve mentioned Ezra before? He’s the leviathan shifter. Isn’t that…”

  I trail off. Ezra is a rarity. Most leviathans are leviathans and only leviathans. They can’t shift into a human form, but he can.

  And here I am, a mermaid who is also a sea dragon shifter. I’m also a rarity. Can it be that, deep down, I knew I was something else? Something like him? Is that why I’m drawn to him?

  “He’s a great guy,” I continue, struggling to remain calm and not freak out again. My emotions are all over the place. “I think you’ll like him. Maybe once you’re better, in a few days, before the break is over, maybe he can come over. What do you say?”

  I wince. He can’t say anything right now.

  I continue to talk to Dad about anything and everything that I can think up. He doesn’t flinch, or blink, or move a finger, but I just keep on talking, sometimes even pretending that he’s responding.

  Another doctor swims up to me, this one male. His arms are intimidatingly thick. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to leave.”

  “What? Me? Why?” I demand.

  “Because visiting hours have been up for an hour now.”

  I furrow my brow and glance around. The place has cleared out considerably.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…”

  “It’s all right, but some of the patients need to rest.”

  I nod dully. “Of course. I just…” I squeeze Dad’s hand. “I don’t want to leave his side.”

  “I understand.” He rubs his chin, holds up a hand, and floats over to another merman. I almost think he’s forgotten about me when he swims away, only to return to my side with a boulder in his strong arms. “You can stay if you’ll sit and no more talking.”

  “Not even a whisper?”

  “Not even a whisper. And try not to shout if he wakes.” He grins at me.

  “I’ll try not to. Thank you.”

  I sit and hug Dad, my head on his chest, and I fall asleep. When I wake, he still hasn’t moved at all. Again, I talk to him, hoping something will jar him to consciousness, but nothing does.

  Eventually, a doctor-in-training helps me to guide Dad’s unconscious form back to our coral house. They need his seaweed bed for another patient. There hasn’t been another attack, so I’m not sure what ails the new patient, but my main concern is my dad, so I didn’t even ask.

  My aunt isn’t here. I’m not sure where
she is, but she ate two of the barb-tailed dawn devfins. I debone the other three and am about to eat when a low groan sounds behind me.

  “Dad!” I cry, rushing up to him.

  “Rillia,” he says, frowning. “You don’t think that Ezra guy will ask you out anytime soon, do you?”

  “You heard me!” I giggle as I embrace him.

  He chuckles. “I did.”

  I draw back and notice his grimace. “Are you in pain? Are you hungry? Do you want me to fetch a doctor? Stupid question. I’ll be right—”

  Dad grabs my wrist. “You don’t have to get a doctor. Not just yet.”

  “But they need to know,” I protest, “and you’ll need to start physical therapy for your tail.”

  He scowls. “Yes, yes. Thirty-nine years old and I’m going to have to learn how to swim. Do you know that baby mermaids and merboys know how to swim as soon as they’re born? They swim in the amniotic fluid, after all.”

  I giggle and hug him again, more carefully this time. “I’m so glad you’re awake!”

  “Me too. Me too.”

  I don’t pull back, not wanting to see his face as I blurt out, “I wish Mom could be here.”

  “If only wishes came true.”

  It’s a little awkward hugging Dad as he’s lying down, but he can’t move much right now, not with his tail.

  I draw back. “It might help to keep your mind off things if you talk about her,” I say, trying to sound nonchalant.

  But, as always, Dad doesn’t say anything. He’s never talked about her a lot.

  “Please, Dad, tell me about her,” I beg. “I’ll go out and hunt down any fish you want to eat.”

  “You should do that anyhow,” he says. Her voice sounds a little more feeble than it did when he first woke up.

  Leave him be. Drop it. Most of all, don’t hound him.

  “Was she a shifter?” I blurt out.

  Dad blinks a few times. “Why would you think a crazy thing like that?”

  I swim back, glance around, and figure there’s enough room. Now, if I can just do it again…

  It’s not until I try to feel what I felt before—the swirling, powerful emotions within me—that I’m able to turn into my sea dragon again.

  “She was either a shifter or a sea dragon,” I inform him.

  Dad blinks some more, opens his mouth, and shakes his head. “I must be dreaming,” he mutters before falling back asleep.

  Chapter 4

  The fear I feel as me shifting back to my mermaid self in seconds. I dash over to Dad and shake him, trying to wake him because if he isn’t asleep, if he’s in a coma or worse…

  But he blinks his eyes open. “I’m tired,” he grumbles. “Can’t an old man get some rest?”

  I snort a laugh, something I haven’t done since I was a little girl. “You scared me!”

  “You scared me,” he grumbles.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you awake.”

  “That’s not what I’m referring to.” He stares at the ceiling of our coral house, and I think a tear of his adds a drop to the ocean.

  “I… I only just learned that I could do that,” I offer shyly.

  Dad says nothing.

  “Won’t you please tell me about her? I don’t even know her first name. Aunt Mishell won’t tell me. She always says to talk to you, so I’m left swimming in the dark without a hope or a prayer of finding my way out of the cave of ignorance.”

  He closes his eyes.

  “Give me a paddle,” I beg. After a second, I sigh. “I’m sorry. You need to rest and recover, and here I am, trying to get you to talk about something you never wanted to before, so why would you now? I’ll go and get—”

  “You’ll stay here.” Dad opens his eyes. “Your mother was strong and fierce. She was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. When I met her, I knew she was the one.”

  “Instantly?”

  He nods. “Not because of her looks but because she was standing up for a siren who was getting teased. A siren is only as powerful as his or her voice, and this one had throat cancer as a child. A piece of his voice box had to be removed, which affected his voice and his powers. Some sea dragons at the academy teased the siren, saying he shouldn’t be allowed to attend, and your mother put them into their place.” Dad grins.

  “So, she was human when you saw her?” I press.

  “Yes. She had an affinity for the sea, and I… It didn’t matter to me that she wasn’t a mermaid. I loved her from the start.”

  “Was Mom a shifter then? Or a sea dragon?” I hold my breath and think about Nixie. Maybe her song isn’t that far-fetched after all.

  “It’s going to sound pathetic, but you know I won’t lie to you.”

  I nod. Dad’s never lied to me.

  “I don’t know,” he says simply. “The only times we swam together, we were both human.”

  I gape at him, shocked on two accounts. How could it be that he doesn’t know what kind of paranormal creature Mom had been? Then again, I don’t know the kind of paranormal creature of every single student at the academy based on looks alone, so maybe that isn’t too surprising after all, but to swim as a human?

  “Wait. How? How were you able to be in the water and not automatically regain your tail?”

  Dad laughs. “It took me years and years of practice to be able to hold off the transition.”

  “Why did you want to do that?”

  “When I was young, I used to sneak off to the surface all the time. I would see a lot of kids playing on the beach. I wanted to play with them, but I knew I couldn’t so long as I was a merboy.”

  “You wanted to play so badly with the kids that you learned how to become a human in the water? What game were they playing?”

  “Catch.” He laughs. “I had no choice. By the time I could sneak out of the coral house and reach the surface, the beach was too crowded for me to walk on the land to gain my legs. Most of the time, they would throw the ball back and forth in the water, not on the sand.”

  I giggle. “Spoken like a true little kid,” I tease.

  “Yes, well…” Dad shrugs. “I can prove it.”

  “Dad, no. Not now. You need to conserve—”

  He’s already done it. His tail, the bit visible above the seaweed blanket, is gone.

  Dad moves the blanket away. He’s wearing shorts, not pants, and I can see how broken, bruised, and battered his legs are. The skin is raw, torn in parts, but there’s no open wound at least, no bleeding, and no pus.

  “It doesn’t look so bad as legs,” he mutters. “My tail looks so much worse.”

  “You’ll be able to swim in no time. Walk too,” I promise.

  “I intend to. For now, let me rest, and don’t bother the doctors. Not yet. I assume they have others to help?”

  “Yes, but you should be looked over.”

  “Soon,” he promises. “Soon. They would probably say I need to rest anyhow.”

  “Yes, but you need to eat too.”

  “Hmm… After I sleep.”

  “Dad…”

  But he’s already asleep. It’s probably a good thing that he is. He’s right. He does need to rest and recover his strength, but I have so many more questions for him, and not all of them are about my mom.

  Since it’s been a long while since I last ate, I devour the barb-tailed dawn devfins. It might be a good idea for me to rest, too, but instead, I go out and hunt for more fish for Dad.

  Adra swims up to me after a couple of minutes. “I hope your father is recovering.”

  “He’s doing better, thank you.” I eye her. “What do you know about the attack?”

  “Only what my father told me. Oh, and the king and queen don’t want war.”

  “No one wants war, but sometimes, it’s necessary, and that time is now!” I say hotly.

  Adra shakes her head. “They disagree.”

  “What are they planning? What if there’s another attack?”

  “They’re making plans to bolster
defenses, but I believe that’s it.”

  “That’s it? That’s not good enough!” I narrow my eyes. “Where was the battle fought?”

  “Near the Forgotten Falls. Why?”

  “No reason.” I glance toward the east.

  Adra moves to float before me. “You aren’t going there.”

  “Why not?” I demand.

  “Because it’s not safe!”

  “Then come with me.”

  She hesitates. “Rillia, the selkies aren’t there anymore. There’s no reason to go there.”

  “Maybe there will be something there, something to explain why they attacked. If the monarch wants peace, we first have to learn why the attack happened. Otherwise, how can we make certain there won’t be another attack?”

  She says nothing.

  “You can’t argue with my logic,” I say, almost gleeful.

  “You are going to get yourself killed,” she grumbles.

  “Then watch my tail,” I suggest.

  Adra closes her eyes.

  “Fine. Don’t come. I don’t blame you. I really don’t. Just don’t tell the guards, okay?”

  “Rillia—”

  “Promise,” I demand.

  “It’s not smart to go alone!” she cries.

  “The fewer who go, the better. The larger the party, the more likely we are to get caught. It’ll be fine. I won’t be gone long. Dad needs me.”

  I can see her churning that over in her mind.

  “You won’t be gone long,” she murmurs to herself.

  “Not long at all, and I’ll be back that much sooner if I go now.”

  Adra sighs, but she doesn’t move to stop me as I swim up above her and head for the falls. Of course, there isn’t a true waterfall in the deep of the ocean, but the Forgotten Falls had once been above the sea line. I think an earthquake sent it down into the depths, and there’s still the high ridge and the lower portion where the falls fell into.

  There are even more guards along the perimeter of our kingdom than when I returned from the academy, but the ocean is

  There’s no one here, nothing at all. I spy a few places where rocks had been knocked away from their long-held perches, the indentations from their absence evident in the hard-pressed sand of the ridge.

  Only a few merfolk-lengths away, I spy a stain on the rocks.