Mertal was the mermaid. She was a goddess. The Goddess of the Sea.
His breathing grew more rapid. Caine didn’t need to torture her with angels. Or imprison her like the vampire. He just needed to keep her away from the water. As a mermaid, she would never be free until she was in the water. She would grow old and die without ever knowing why she didn’t feel right. Why her skin felt too tight.
The blurring magic of The God Finder faded away. And he gripped the edge of the windowsill to keep from falling. It was hard to breathe. Hard to pull air in and out.
At the edge of his vision, he saw shapes in the sky. The angels are coming! How did they know we were here?
“Guys!” he said, turning, he realized he’d stopped the conversation. Swallowing, he tried to keep his voice normal. “Lots of big birds out today.”
Surcy frowned. Tristan just stared, and Daniel gave him a look like he was nuts.
“You don’t see a lot of birds out here,” Mertal commented, giving him a strange look.
Which is when he finally saw it hit the others.
Surcy rose. “We should go.”
“But you just started talking about this offer of yours,” Mertal said, wiping her palms on her gown.
Daniel stood and held out a hand to the older woman. “What she means is that we’d love a tour of your lands?”
His demon-magic swelled in the air. Perhaps it was because Mark had just used The God Finder, and every one of Mark’s sense seemed heightened, but he could feel the coaxing magic sliding over her body, moving inside of her like a smoke with a purpose.
The magic was instinctual, like an angel flying. The angels couldn’t detect when they used it, but they tried not to use it too often. It had the risk of someone realizing that they were doing something they wouldn’t normally do and getting suspicious.
“I guess that makes sense,” the woman said slowly, then grabbed her gun with one hand and took Daniel’s hand with the other. “But there really isn’t much to see.”
She and Daniel led the way.
Surcy dropped back beside him. “I can’t teleport out of here either.”
He nodded. “There’s something strange about this place. But, we can’t worry about that now. We need to get her to the ocean.”
“The ocean?” Surcy frowned. “Which one?”
“Any one.” He picked up his pace, his gut tightening as they opened the front door.
The angels were getting closer. It’d be a race to see who reached the border of the shield first.
“This is my garden,” Mertal laughed. “Well, an Arizona garden anyway.”
She held Daniel’s elbow, and he tugged her toward the path leading down the mountain. “Why don’t you show us down there first?”
A cough exploded from her lips. “Alright. But slowly. The dust makes my cough worse.”
Mark’s tension grew like a ball in his chest. They didn’t have time to hobble down the hill. He counted... eight angels coming right at them. All of them were equipped with weapons, but he wasn’t sure it would be enough. To fight, yes? To get the woman and Surcy out safely, he doubted it.
“Let’s speed up,” Mark said, trying to swallow down his panic. “We have another... eh... appointment soon.”
The older woman made a noise of disapproval. “Young people are always in such rushes.”
Daniel continued to speak to her in a low voice, but their pace picked up. They wove around the hill and finally reached the ground at the same time as the angels. The eight massive men struck the ground, folded their wings and hid them with a glamour, then revealed themselves to the woman.
She cried out. “Where the hell did you come from?”
One of the angels was familiar. Frink. Of course’s it’s fucking Frink. How many times do we have to kill this asshole?
“Well,” the angel began, his long, dark hair falling forward to hide part of his cruel face, “funny seeing all of you here.”
Mark moved to stand in front of Surcy and grabbed the dagger from his side.
“Get out of our way,” Tristan said, pulling his sword from his back. “Or do you wish to die again?”
Frink smiled. “No need to be rude. Especially when we’ve been kind enough to come here with a warning. This old woman just happens to have a very special curse. If she steps foot off her lands, she’ll die.”
“That can’t be possible,” Mark said. Could it? The woman had to have left her lands at some point in her life.
The older woman raised her gun and pointed it at Frink. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you better head out of here.”
“You’ve left your home, right?” Surcy asked, touching Mark’s arm.
Mertal didn’t look back at her. “I have... just not lately.”
“Because every time she gets sicker and older,” Frink said with a smile. “And one more trip out will cost her her life... or at least weaken her enough for us to take what we want.”
What if he’s right?
“Get out of our way.”
Suddenly, Mertal spun and pointed her gun at them. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m going to go back to my house, and none of you are going to stop me.”
I have to believe that I wasn’t sent here for nothing. If I’m right, we just need to get her to the water.
“You have to come with us,” Mark insisted.
She pointed her gun at Mark, eyes narrowing.
Daniel swore and stepped in front of Mark, reaching for her weapon.
The sound of her gun going off echoed around them. Mark’s gaze moved to Daniel, and his jaw dropped. She’d shot him, right through the chest.
“I—I,” she stuttered.
Surcy raced to Daniel’s side and caught him as he fell. Blood drenched his chest and stomach. More blood splattered their entire group.
That won’t kill Daniel, but not having his help against the angels might kill all of us.
“He reached for me,” the old woman added, lamely.
Tristan grabbed her gun and tossed it onto the desert floor. “If you wish to live, you will leave with us. If you remain, these men will kill you.”
Mertal paled. “But—“
Daniel fully expected the angels to attack in that moment. But they didn’t. They remained on the other side of the barrier, glaring.
“What are they waiting for?” he whispered to Surcy.
She looked up from where she held Daniel. “I don’t think they can cross the barrier.”
That makes no sense. Surcy could.
The old woman spoke, voice shaking. “My papa always said that it kept out anyone who wished to do us harm. Maybe he wasn’t so crazy.”
Mark looked at the little stone statues encircling her property. Perhaps their magic was stronger than he imagined.
Tristan moved to stand closer to him. “What do we do now?”
“We need to get her to the ocean. But Surcy can’t teleport us out until we get to the other side.”
“So, you and I shall fight them, and she will get Daniel and the woman to safety.”
It was the perfect plan. The angels wanted the Immortal and Surcy. If they could get them to safety, Mark and Tristan could handle the rest.
Mark nodded. “I guess it’s our only choice.”
Tristan slid to Surcy’s side, whispering to her in a low tone.
Frink followed the exchange with narrowed eyes. “You’re making a mistake. You have no idea how bad of one.”
“And of course we trust the word of one of Caine’s thugs,” Mark said, anger rising within him.
Frink smiled, a smile that sent shivers running down his spine. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Help me with him,” Surcy asked the old woman.
Mertel complied, her gaze wide.
They got him standing, braced on their shoulders. His face was pale. His expression grim. Demons might heal from almost anything, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell.
> Surcy looked at them and nodded.
Tristan shifted into a fighting stance, and Mark did the same. Then, Tristan transformed. His skin became the color of wet stone, and his stone wings formed on his back. Power flowed from him. Mark’s chest squeezed. He longed for his druid’s staff, but such a thing was nothing more than a dream.
This sword will have to do.
They stared at the angels. Their enemies called their glowing soul-blades into their hands and glared. Tension sung between them.
He and Tristan moved slowly, crossing the barrier a short distance from the angels.
Instantly, they attacked. Tristan stood his ground, striking sword after sword as if he were a titan of old. Mark fought differently, moving, and weaving through them with the grace of a druid. The angels were fast, and strong, but even though two demons could have never survived against them, they were more than just demons. And they wouldn’t go down easily.
Mark was surprised when Surcy teleported away behind them with the old woman and Daniel. None of the angels rushed after them. In fact, none of them seemed to care.
An angel sliced his arm. He swore and rolled, prepared for the next attack. Two angels lifted off the ground. His gaze moved from them to the one who rushed him.
Tristan roared and severed the head from one of the angels. Then, the gargoyle turned to face the next opponent, his expression enraged.
Mark parried one sword and sent his blade through the chest of another angel. As he began to pull his weapon back, a sword went through his chest from behind. His blade slipped from his fingers, and blood spurted from his lips.
An angel’s arm came around his throat.
“We got you,” Frink whispered into his ear.
The world swirled as he was teleported away.
Chapter Six
Surcy pulled Daniel and the woman with her to the ocean, erasing her teleporting trail, so that the angels couldn’t follow them. When she felt sand beneath her feet, she was breathing hard from the exertion. Opening her eyes, she stared at a sea of brilliant blue waters.
Her gaze moved to look all around them. White sands stretched out in the other directions. Empty of any kind of intelligent life.
Thank goodness, we’re safe!
Daniel sank from her shoulders, falling onto the ground. She looked down at him, her fingers itching to comfort him, but he forced a grim smile.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
Of course that’s what he’d say while bleeding everywhere.
Deep down she knew he’d heal, but he didn’t have to act like it was nothing more than a scratch. She longed to ease his pain, if only by a little bit.
But I doubt he’d let me.
And then, she heard someone gasping. Turning to the old woman, she saw that Mertal was grabbing her chest, dragging in deep breaths, her eyes wide in panic.
Please, no...
“Are you alright?” Surcy asked, hesitantly touching the woman’s shoulder. Hoping she was just terrified after shooting a man, seeing a fight, and being teleported by an angel.
A terrified human I can handle. A curse? Not so much.
But this was not just terror. Mertal continued to gasp and grab her chest, her gaze growing more distant with each passing second.
Something was wrong, and Surcy had no idea how to fix it.
“What do we do?” she asked, but when she turned to Daniel, he’d passed out in the sand.
Panic clenched her heart. “Mark said you’d be fine, if we just took you here, so why aren’t you?”
Surcy didn’t understand, and her head felt light. The sun’s rays seemed to grow more intense overhead as she struggled to decide what to do.
The old woman collapsed, her knees sinking into the wet sands along the shore. Her face growing paler. Her eyes closing.
“What do I do?” she asked again, looking around. But for the first time, she found herself with no one to guide her. Should – should I teleport us back?
No, they’d be right back in the angel’s hands, but she couldn’t just let Mertal die either.
Taking Mertal’s hand, she knelt down. “I don’t know what to do. You’re some kind of goddess. Taking you here should have saved your life, but I don’t know what else to do.”
Mertal coughed and struggled to speak. “At... least... I got to see... the ocean.”
Surcy looked from her to the water. Some instinct she didn’t understand kicked in, and she swept the woman into her arms. Carrying her out into the water, she continued moving until the waves reached her chest.
The older woman smiled. Her breathing slowed. “I’m in the water. It feels... as good as I always imagined. After all of my dreams about the water, none of them compared to this.”
She smiled, grateful the water seemed to be helping the human.
And then, Mertal grabbed the seashell around her neck. “Let me go!”
Surcy frowned. “But—“
“Let me go!” And now, her voice held power.
Surcy obeyed, releasing the woman. Mertal sank beneath the water. Waves crashed over them, and Surcy lost sight of her under the water. When the foam cleared, the older woman was gone.
Her heart sank. “Mertal? Mertal!”
Looking around herself in a panic, she dove beneath the waves. Over and over again she searched, but there was no one to be found. Time stretched out, and still, there was no sign of her.
Staring in fear at the beach, she saw that the waves had reached Daniel. Stomach turning, she slogged through the water and onto the beach. Dragging Daniel further from the water, she stroked his hair while he lay in her lap. Then, pulled back his shirt to see his wound. Already the skin was pulling together, and the bleeding had stopped.
You’ll be back to yourself in no time.
And yet, she had lost the goddess they’d worked so hard to save. She felt sick, her stomach twisting and turning like a wild animal.
I’ve got to go back and get Mark and Tristan. She just hoped she could grab both of them and safely escape.
Something splashed in the water. Stiffening, she sat up and looked out at the waves. There was nothing... and yet, she’d seen something.
Another splash, and this time she was sure she’d seen a tail.
Gently setting Daniel’s head in the sand, she stood and walked back to the edge of the water. A minute later, a woman rose above the waves. Her hair was the color of the sun’s rays, and her eyes were the shade of a clear ocean. Her shoulders were bare, and her skin pale. She hummed with power.
An immortal creature.
Surcy moved closer, as if compelled by a force more powerful than herself. When she nearly reached the woman, she saw the seashell necklace hanging around her throat.
“Mertal?” she whispered.
The woman smiled. “Mertal... yes, that was my human name. The name I held when I was imprisoned.” She swam closer until she was only a foot from Surcy. “But that’s not who I am. I’m the Goddess of the Ocean, Queen of the Merpeople.”
Surcy’s eyes widened. “A mermaid?”
She flicked her tail, and her blue and green scales sparkled in the morning light. “Does an angel truly not believe in mermaids?”
Surcy felt her cheeks heat. “I’m sorry, my queen.”
The mermaid inclined her head in the most regal way imaginable. “Thank you. Thank you for returning me to the waters and bringing back my memories.”
She looks so happy. Too bad she can’t stay here.
Surcy stiffened at the thought and took a deep breath before speaking. “Caine and his followers will come for you again. There’s a sanctuary we need to take you too.”
The queen reached out and touched her cheek, her hand ice cold against Surcy’s skin. “I will never leave the waters until I return to my throne in Zudessa. But take heart, we will be prepared for Caine this time.”
Surcy nodded, her words caught in her throat.
“You have no idea what it was like to slowly die in a mortal
shell, far from my waters. It wasn’t just my body that faded with each day, so did my connection to the ocean. Caine sought to break it from me and take my powers. Over many lifetimes he tried various ways to take my powers, but he didn’t know how. This time, he understood. That should frighten you and your demons. Somehow, Caine has figured out the secret to stealing our gifts. Each of us is different, but this is the lifetime I think he may be successful.”
Surcy swallowed the lump in the back of her throat. “Thanks for the warning.”
The mermaid dropped her hand and smiled. “You’re lucky you’re no longer under his control. Even though I can feel your heart aches at the loss of your wings.”
Surcy felt her heart give a painful squeeze.
“Believe me,” the mermaid said, sinking into the waters. “Nothing is worth the price of your freedom.”
She swam away, her beautiful tail flicking the water as she dove and played within it. Surcy held her breath, transfixed by the power of the Immortal. She was so lovely, and her happiness at being back where she belonged seemed to radiate from within her.
She’s happy.
Surcy envied her. She still had no idea where she belonged.
Reality came sweeping back to her, and she turned back to the shore. Walking out of the water, she checked on Daniel one more time, then took a deep breath. She needed to snag her demons and teleport back as quickly as she could. And this trip had already taken far longer than she’d planned.
Hold on, boys, I’m coming.
The world shimmered around her as she returned to the desert. Her soul-blade leapt into her hand as she appeared where she’d left her angels and demons... only, the angels were gone. And so was Mark. Only Tristan remained, his expression grim.
“What—?”
“They took Mark,” Tristan said, his tone one of complete disbelief.
“Why?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, but I think they were after him all along.”
After Mark? That doesn’t make sense. What could they possibly want from him?
She closed her eyes and felt for the angel’s trail. The one that would tell her where they had teleported to, but they’d erased it, as expected.
Mates of the Realms: The Complete Collection: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Box Set Page 48