Mermaid Tails

by Sasha L. Miller

  "We'll wait," Giato promised. He gave Mihail a reassuring smile. "Thank you, miss."

  That cracked a real smile on the woman's face, but she only turned her attention to the person behind Giato. Taking that as a cue, Giato and Mihail crossed the room to the sitting area. Mihail tugged his arm free, settling in one of the chairs furthest from the front door. Giato took the seat next to him, hoping it wouldn't take long to meet with Durante's assistant. He was hungry, and they still needed to find lodging, since he doubted the University would have anything for them.

  Mihail was fidgeting with a bit of string that had come loose from the cuff of his shirt, watching intently as people approached. People came and left the little sitting area, and it was, as the woman at the counter had warned, close to an hour before a man approached the waiting area and announced their names.

  "That's us," Giato said, standing quickly. Mihail followed suit, fumbling his bag, which had been resting in his lap.

  "Come with me, please," the man said. He was short, slim, and had a fairy look to him, though Giato wouldn't bet his life on that being true. There were small humans, after all. He wore the same forest green uniform that the people at the counter did, and he carried a black portfolio in one arm. "I'm Mirko Vitale, the assistant to Mr. Durante."

  "I'm Giato Affini, and this is Mihail," Giato said, belatedly realizing he didn't know Mihail's surname. or if he even had a surname.

  "A pleasure," Mirko said, offering a small smile. He seemed distracted, but he didn't wait for more pleasantries. Instead, he turned and headed back into the labyrinth of hallways. Giato quickly lost track of the twists and turns they took as they walked deeper into the University. They crossed outside long enough for Giato to get a glimpse of the lake, and then were back inside a building that smelled of woodsmoke, grass, and mushrooms.

  Mirko didn't pause, heading up a flight of stairs, and Giato sincerely hoped they were getting an escort back out of wherever Mirko was taking them, because he had no idea where they were. Mirko finally paused to open a door and let them into what looked like a laboratory but could have also been a library. There were books everywhere—in bookcases around the room, stacked on long workbenches, on the small desk near the door, on the floor, which was no way to treat a book.

  There were also spell components everywhere. Mushrooms, shimmering rocks, a few dragon scales that made Giato's hackles rise, and several other herbs and animal bits that he recognized. Why the dragon scales, though? Giato shifted, uneasy, but he wasn't going to ruin Mihail's chance at freedom because of something that might be easily explained.

  "You have a curse that needs tending?" Mirko asked, flipping open his portfolio. He balanced it on a stack of books in the center of his desk, frowning at a page in front of him. "Mr. Durante is very busy, so depending on the nature of the curse, it may be a while before he's able to work with you."

  "We can wait," Giato said firmly. Hopefully Mirko didn't mean weeks or months. Mihail gave him a look that Giato ignored. He would wait, to make sure Mihail was all right.

  "Describe the curse, please?" Mirko asked. He glanced at Mihail curiously, as though expecting Mihail to volunteer something.

  Giato didn't wait for Mirko to ask, instead running down the circumstances, from the how and why of Mihail being cursed to the death of the Delacroix mages responsible for the curse. Mirko nodded, his forehead scrunching in concern as Giato spoke. He made a few notes, humming in acknowledgement a few times as Giato spoke.

  "Is that all correct?" Mirko asked Mihail when Giato finished. "Nothing more to add? I can get you paper and a pen if you'd like to write anything."

  "I covered it all," Giato said, offended. Mihail flashed him a smile that melted away his ire, though, and shook his head in response to Mirko's question.

  "All right," Mirko said. He ignored Giato's outburst, flipping through his portfolio to reach a calendar that was covered in writing. Giato's heart sank. That looked busier than he'd prefer. Weeks was looking more likely. Mirko mumbled something to himself, making a few annotations on the page, and then looked up at Mihail. "Are you able to be back here at first bell tomorrow morning? We have a short opening. I can't promise you'll get more than to discuss—" Mirko paused there, glancing at Giato, before continuing "—but that's the soonest I can get you in. The next open slot isn't for two more weeks."

  "That's fine," Giato said. Maybe they could have a fix in the morning. Even if the idea stung, it was better than dragging this out for weeks longer. "Do you have any suggestions on an inn we could stay at that's relatively close?"

  "You can stay in the University barracks for tonight," Mirko said after a lengthy pause. "After that, you may need to find other accommodation. You can ask at the desk about that." Mirko opened a desk drawer and dug through it, pulling out two green-colored slips of paper. He wrote something on them, and then passed them to Giato. "They'll direct you to where you can get a meal and a place to bed down for the night. If you stay further, you'll get a different pass, and if you choose to get outside accommodation, the desk can give you recommendations."

  "Thank you," Giato said. He tried a smile, but Mirko only shut his portfolio and turned to leave the room. Giato and Mihail followed, and Giato tried to tamp down his unease. There was something odd going on here, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Putting it aside for the moment, Giato followed Mirko back out to the front desk. He kept better track of the hallways this time around, finally noticing the colored floor titles that led through the areas they were traveling. He couldn't guarantee he could retrace their steps, but hopefully another time or two through the University would cement the path in his head.

  Mirko left them at the desk, and another worker took them under her wing there, dragging them off to the barracks and getting them settled with a small room that was barely bigger than Giato's washroom. There were two small beds in the room, and the worker showed them the washroom at the end of the hall and then took them to the mess hall for the promised meal.

  By the time they were finished eating, it was early evening, and Giato was exhausted. Mihail had looked pensive, but Giato hadn't tried to converse. He was tired, and he wasn't even sure what he'd say. He had reservations but nothing concrete, and nothing he wanted to put out there. He didn't want to put Mihail off of this, not when it was the only chance he might have at breaking the curse.

  Back in their little cubby, Giato collapsed into one of the bunks. He took a deep breath, then turned to see Mihail putting on his cloak. Giato sat up, but Mihail shook his head and mouthed, stay.

  "Where are you going?" Giato asked, swallowing a yawn.

  Mihail made a walking motion with his fingers. He shrugged, shifting from foot to foot. Probably nervous about the meeting in the morning.

  "Going for a walk?" Giato guessed. Mihail nodded, quirking a smile. Giato hesitated—he should go with Mihail—but what if Mihail wanted time alone? "Want me to go with?"

  Mihail shook his head. He folded his hands and rested his head against them, then pointed to Giato. Giato snorted but obligingly lay back down.

  "Be careful," Giato said. Mihail nodded and waved, then left the room. It was unbearably quiet without him there. He never said a word, but he never needed to. Giato could always sense his presence, feel the way the room shifted around him, hear the quiet noises he made as he moved. Giato debated following after Mihail, to make sure he stayed safe, but then dismissed that idea. Mihail would find out and be upset, and if the University wasn't safe, Giato didn't know where would be.

  Sighing, Giato relaxed into his pillow and shut his eyes. He'd doze until Mihail returned, and then get some real rest.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Giato woke the next morning stiff and cramped, the blanket he'd fallen asleep with tangled around him and his neck at an awkward angle hanging off the edge of his pillow. The room was quiet, and when he straightened himself out and sat up, Mihail was already awake. He sat on the edge of his cot, a soft frown twisting his lips that
rapidly turned into a smile for Giato.

  "Morning," Giato said, then roughly cleared his throat. He rubbed his hands over his face, wondering if Mihail had slept. He looked tired and worried, despite the smile he'd given Giato. Or maybe Giato was still half asleep and unable to read Mihail's expression. "Sleep well?"

  Mihail nodded and shrugged at the same time, which Giato took to mean 'sort of.' He'd slept much the same too used to Mihail being close to really sleep well without him there. The added strangeness of the narrow bunk hadn't helped either. Standing, despite the urge to straighten out his blankets and try to grab a few more minutes of sleep, Giato stretched.

  "How long until our appointment?" Giato asked. He scrubbed both his hands through his hair, hoping they'd have time for proper baths later. He didn't enjoy being travel-worn, even if he'd spent most of his time in dragon form. Mihail looked worn as well, though Giato personally thought it was a good look on him. His hair was mussed, though he'd pulled it back and had it bound, and his clothing was wrinkled and in need of a good pressing.

  Mihail's mouth twisted in frustration—a common expression for when he didn't have an easy way to answer a question. He leaned over the edge of his bunk, his bound hair falling over his shoulder, and dug out a pen and a notebook from the bag he'd left leaning against the side of the bed. Soon, but time for breakfast.

  Giato nodded. He excused himself briefly to go to the washroom to clean up. Once he felt moderately clean and had tried to salvage the mess that was his hair, he returned to the room they'd been given. Breakfast was a short affair. The mess at the University was a self-serve affair of mostly pastries and some fruits, though a large number of all of it. Mihail stuck to the fruit, looking fascinated by most of it, while Giato piled up a ridiculous number of sweet pastries to consume.

  They ate in comfortable silence, something Giato was well used to at this point. Mihail looked pensive, occasionally smiling whenever Giato caught his eye. Giato wanted to ask what was bothering him, but he knew Mihail would simply shrug it off, and there was little Giato could do to press him when he couldn't talk and only ever wrote simple sentences.

  Once breakfast was consumed, Giato placed their dishes on the carts at the edge of the room that seemed to serve that purpose. Mihail trailed behind him, worrying at his bottom lip.

  "Do you remember where we need to go?" Giato asked. "I have a terrible sense of direction on the ground."

  Mihail offered a smile at that, though it quickly disappeared. He nodded though and turned to lead the way from the mess. They ended up back at the main hall, and Mihail went past the main counter—which was only half staffed at this hour—and toward the hallways behind it.

  Mihail had a better memory for the corridors than Giato; he got them back to Durante's office without hesitation. Giato started to recognize some of the landmarks—a particularly rough patch of paint, a missing floorboard, the brief glimpse of the lake. Mihail hesitated only when they reached the office, lingering outside the open door, and Giato took that as his cue to take the lead.

  Stepping into the office, Giato surveyed it. There were four people in the room: Mirko, a fairy with dark hair and pale skin, and two humans. At least, Giato was fairly certain they were human. They didn't have the air of a non-human. The man was scowling as he cradled a steaming mug, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but in the room. The fairy looked like he'd rather be asleep, leaning heavily on the worktop behind him. Mirko looked displeased by something, holding his portfolio in the crook of his arm.

  The woman looked the most awake, speaking quickly about something to do with spellcasting—Giato didn't catch what before she stopped talking, turning toward them with a wide smile.

  "You must be our morning appointment! Come in, come in," she said, gesturing them over. Mirko noted something in his portfolio.

  "I'm going to go work on those permit applications," Mirko said. He nodded to Giato and Mihail, and then walked over to the desk where he'd set up their appointment the previous day and settled behind it.

  "My name is Hanne Aleshire," Hanne introduced herself. "This is Renato Durante and Vadka Zimar. Renato and I will be working to help break your curse."

  "Nice to meet you," Giato said. His gaze dipped to the worktop table, where, sure enough, the dragon scales he'd spotted the previous day were still sitting. He swallowed the bit of unease at the back of his throat. "I'm Giato Affini, and this is Mihail. He's the one with the problem." He wanted to ask who Vadka was, but the man didn't look as though he particularly wanted to answer any questions. Potentially ever.

  "Let's talk in the back room," Hanne suggested, gesturing to the doorway that was open at the back of the workshop. There was another door, closed, and Giato hoped nothing bad lingered behind either door. He was probably letting the whole thing get to him too much. He wanted to find a problem, so he could come up with a reason for Mihail to stay with him.

  Pushing those thoughts away, Giato followed Hanne as she led the way to the back of the work room. Mihail followed him, though Renato lingered, saying, "I'll be right there, Hanne."

  Giato spared a glance back when they reached the doorway to the backroom. Renato had leaned in close to Vadka and was saying something quietly, his voice inaudible over the distance. Whatever he said made the scowl slip from Vadka's face, and Giato ignored the pang of jealousy in his stomach as he observed the casual way that Vadka brushed the hair from Renato's face and ran his fingertips along Renato's cheek.

  Maybe he'd eaten too many pastries at breakfast.

  Turning away, he followed Mihail into the room Hanne had led them to. It turned out to be a smaller version of the work room, with several additional chairs, a small sofa, and a long counter along the back wall that was covered in paper and several bits and bobs of spell components. Giato recognized most of them, but there were several items he didn't know.

  "Have a seat. When Renato gets back, we'll get started," Hanne said. She left them to pick their seats, moving over to the counter to fetch some sheets of paper. Mihail sat on the small sofa, and Giato hesitated only briefly before sitting next to him. Mihail seemed to appreciate his closeness, if the way he leaned closer was any indication.

  Hanne turned back around, then paused. "Which of you is cursed? Or is it both?"

  "It's Mihail." Giato inclined his head toward Mihail, and Mihail raised his hand slightly. He wanted to ask more questions, but he waited, not wanting to jump the gun. Hanne would no doubt explain things—or Renato would. Giato still wasn't sure who Hanne was or what she did. Perhaps she was another assistant? But why would Renato need two?

  As if summoned by Giato's thoughts, Renato entered the room. He smiled at them but didn't say anything, taking a seat across from where Mihail and Giato sat.

  "All right, let's get started. There's some paperwork we'll need to have you sign, and we need to go over the options we offer here," Hanne said. Renato seemed content to let her take the lead, and Giato focused his attention on her. "The University has given us leave to research curses, using Renato's latent magical ability to break magic. As such, we have two ways to go about this. The preferred option is to let us try to break the curse using spellstones and directed magic. The second, less desirable option, is the simply break the curse."

  Giato opened his mouth, but Hanne raised her hand. "Let me explain why that's less desirable before you jump on it." Giato subsided, sinking back into his seat by Mihail.

  "To break a curse like that drains Renato's mage energy entirely. He's unable to use his magic for several days, and the subject is bedridden for a few days after breaking the curse." Hanne shifted the papers on her lap. "If we're able to break the curse using spellstones and directed magic, that takes less of a toll and keeps him and the subject able to function."

  Renato shrugged. "We do it, though, especially if the curse can't be broken with our other methods. The other methods are..."

  "A work in progress," Hanne filled in when Renato trailed off. "They're experimental—they
won't hurt, but there's no quick fix that way."

  Giato glanced at Mihail. He preferred the break-it-and-done method, but it wasn't his choice. Mihail looked pensive, but he didn't make any indication as to what he wanted. He'd probably go with Hanne's 'preferred' method, if Giato had to guess. Mihail didn't like putting people out, and it sounded like the outright curse breaking option would do Renato no favors.

  "Here's the paperwork," Hanne said, handing it to Mihail. There wasn't much to it, only a handful of pages lined with clean, neat handwriting. Giato leaned closer, curious, and scanned over the pages as Mihail read. Mihail angled the pages so he could read them more easily.

  The papers went into more detail on what Hanne had just explained. Apparently the University and the Crown were funding this study to allow mages to more easily break curses without the input or assistance of the person who had cast the curse. It also stipulated that if they decided to break the curse outright—the 'less desirable' option—that there would be a fee of 100 gold involved to compensate for the time Renato couldn't spend working for them.

  "There's a fee for having you break it? What if the spellstones don't work?" Giato asked. The money wasn't an issue. He could make that happen without any major issue.

  "If you'll read on," Hanne said, with a hint of exasperation, "you'll see that only applies if we are unable to get the spellstones to work. If you decide to have the spell broken after a few days of trying, then the fee applies, or if you choose that option now. I warn you, however, that we have to schedule out the breaking in the future, and that will likely take a few weeks, during which the University won't supply you with room and board."

  "Mihail?" Giato asked, because it would be his decision. "I can afford it if you want to just break it and be done."