Everywhere I looked, life blossomed, burgeoning out in a havoc of color, a dizzying dance of interplay. As I watched a massive fish passed by, at least five feet long, looking like some massive battle machine of the ocean. The belly was flat, as was the head. Four barbels protruded from the chin, and its sides were covered with scutes, ridged and bony. The tail reminded me of a shark’s tail, but I knew this was no shark, and its back looked like the serrated edge on a knife. I reached out as it passed by and caught hold of its dorsal fin, holding for just a moment before letting it go. The fish reminded me of some prehistoric dinosaur.
Garret pointed toward a massive patch of kelp. The fronds were whipping in the currents, but there was something behind them. He started into the thicket and I followed, swimming smoothly through the water. I had centuries of practice, and was grateful that Fata had insisted that both Sandy and I learn to swim.
Garret brushed aside a large bulbous stand of the seaweed. At first, all I could see was dark rock, but then, I became aware that the rock was actually moving—as if thousands of particles were darting around its surface. Another second and I recognized it for what it really was—an illusion covering the entrance of a portal. Garret swam through and I followed.
The other side of the portal led to a long tunnel of water below what felt like a mile of heavy rock. But it was short and we were out the other side in only a moment or two. Garret pointed toward the surface and we swam up, surfacing in an underwater cavern.
It was voluminous, cathedral size. The shoreline was rocky at first, then shifted to sand, rounding a corner behind one of the rock walls. I wondered where it led to, but given sirens were from the plane of water, I wasn’t sure it would be a good idea to find out.
Speaking of sirens…on the shore, sitting on a boulder, was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. Oh, she wasn’t movie-star pretty, but she was striking. She was tall, with legs that stretched out forever. And she was naked, leaving nothing to the imagination. Her breasts were full and ruddy, and her hips curved smoothly, no jutting bones anywhere. With a slightly rounded belly, and hair the color of dusk, she reminded me of a newly pregnant woman, glowing with life. But then, she lifted her head to look at us, and all pastoral thoughts fled my mind.
Irena’s eyes were ocean blue, but all the storms of the world played out in them. She smiled, cunning and feral, and sharp teeth glistened in her mouth, reminding me of a fox’s teeth. Crafty, she was, I could tell by the look on her face, and her strength filled the entire cavern. No wonder Garret had been smitten. I had half a mind to try my chances with her, but I knew it was the hormones talking. I decided to apologize for laughing at Garret. Even without her song, she had the sex kitten energy down pat.
Garret motioned for me to follow him as he pulled himself up onto the shore of the cavern. I suddenly wished I was wearing more clothes. The one piece might cover all my vital areas, but I hadn’t felt this vulnerable in a long, long time.
“So, you are the witch with a need for my garden’s herbs?” Irena’s voice was as melodious as she was frightening. It was a disconcerting juxtaposition.
“I’m Maudlin Gallowglass. And yes, I need some of your thistlestar, if you would be willing to help me.” I eased myself down on a boulder not far from where she was sitting. “I’m trying to undo a hex placed by the Meré on my best friend. They attacked her with a ghost snail, after their other attempts to kill her didn’t work.”
Irena shifted, her shoulders straightening. “So, you’re no friend to the merfolk, then?”
“I never really have been.” I decided it best to forgo mentioning my acquaintance with Gillymack. “And now, even less. They’re trying to kill the woman who means the most to me in my life, who’s had my back since we first met several hundred years ago. I’m not inclined to be friends with murderers.”
She looked so satisfied that it made me hope to never be on her shit list.
“Once you bring her out of her illness, will you go after those responsible?”
“Yeah, I expect I will. If we don’t, they’ll just try again.”
Irena pressed her hands on her knees and stood, once again, leaving nothing to the imagination. Apparently, the carpet did match the drapes in her world.
“Then I will help you. Come.” She motioned for us to follow her.
I cautiously stepped over the assorted shells scattered on the rocks, trying to avoid anything that might cut my feet. Behind me, Garret started to join us, but Irena whirled.
“Not you. You do not get to visit my garden. Or my other garden, if you know what I mean. We’re done. I help your friend because an enemy of my enemy is my friend. I don’t help her for you.” And with that curt speech, she gestured for me to join her. “Hurry up.”
Giving Garret a wary look, I darted forward. I had to trust that she would stick to her word. Even if she couldn’t drain me dry of my life, she could still do some hefty damage with those damned teeth.
We rounded the far wall of the cavern through the wide opening, turning left. There, spreading out over a patch the size of a quarter acre, was a sunken garden of herbs. Irena lowered herself into the garden and I saw that the plants were growing in about three feet of water. I slid down the embankment into the thick beds. I wasn’t sure what the plants were—they looked as alien to me as the others at the bottom of the strait—but Irena appeared to know exactly what I was after. She led me halfway through one of the beds, then stopped by a delicate plant that resembled thistle, only it was brilliant blue and the prickles looked like soft hairs.
“Here—thistlestar. To counter the venom of the ghost snail, you will need more than a few leaves.” She began to strip the heads and leaves off several plants. I held out my bag for them, and she dropped them inside until the gallon-sized plastic bag was jammed full. Only then did she stop and rinse her hands in the water. She turned to me.
“You are a pretty one. If you were human, I’d love to drink you down, but then again, if you were human, you wouldn’t have the energy you do and that is so much of the allure.” Her voice was husky as she reached out and brushed my cheek, stroking her fingers down toward my mouth. “I can sense the pull of the ocean on you, yet you work…with fire?”
I nodded. “My strength lies in fire. But once, long ago, I was close friends with someone who rose out of the ocean. Her name was Fata Morgana.”
Irena froze, her fingers still against my cheek. She slowly withdrew her hand, cautiously stepping back. “Yes, that’s it. I can feel her there.”
“You know Fata Morgana?” I was about ready to pull out the small-world speech, but realized that Irena actually looked frightened. “What’s wrong?”
“Fata Morgana… I know who she is. If she loves you, you’re in danger. If she hates you, even more so. There are whispers and then there are legends. And sometimes the whispers are more deadly. Go, take your thistlestar and do not return here. Strike down the merfolk who attacked your friend. But just go.”
She hustled me back toward the edge of the garden and as I stumbled on my way up the short bank, she shoved me so that I was out and back on solid ground.
Once we were back at the shore, with another admonishment not to bother her again, she trundled us back into the water. Another fifteen minutes and we were back by the boat.
Garret hauled himself up onto the deck, then reached down and took the bag of thistlestar from me, and then helped me climb into the boat.
“What did you say to her? I’ve never seen her so eager to be rid of anybody without also being ready to kill them.”
“I told her I knew Fata Morgana.”
“I have no idea who that is, but if she scares Irena, then I guess I should be frightened, too.”
I said nothing else. Fata had a reputation, but I hadn’t realized it was so widespread. Or that she was so feared. There was reason to fear her, but Irena’s reaction had seemed overblown. Whatever the case, we had the thistlestar and Jordan could
make the antidote. And then we could figure out what to do about the merfolk. Feeling unsettled, I lay back in the boat as Garret steered us back to Bedlam.
Chapter 16
THE MOMENT WE docked, I called Jordan to tell him we had the last herb for the antidote. He instructed me to meet him at his office.
Garret waved me off. “I’ll catch up with you later,” he called as I headed toward my car.
“You know it—dinner and a movie on me. And Garret, thanks again.” I waved as, still in my bathing suit, I climbed into the driver’s seat of the CR-V. I was dripping all over but I didn’t care. I jammed on my sunglasses and headed for Jordan’s.
He was waiting for me. I handed him the bag of thistlestar and he whistled.
“Do you realize how much this is worth?”
I shook my head. “Sandy’s life is what it’s worth.”
“Yeah, but on the open market, this would fetch over five thousand dollars, it’s that rare. This is enough to make three potions.” He began washing it in the sink as I sat on a leather chair, drying off.
“Will the rest of the herb keep? I thought it had to be used fresh. Isn’t there a danger somebody might steal it if it’s that rare?” Word had a way of getting around and I had learned very quickly that, as much as I loved Bedlam, there were a number of untrustworthy people living in town, just like any other place on the planet.
“I can distill the essence. I’ll cryogenically freeze it and nobody has to know it’s there except for you and me. It may not work for this exact antidote, but I can use it for other, equally important spells where it won’t need to be fresh.”
He sorted out one-third of the herb and carried it over to his workbench. The bench was filled with beakers and Bunsen burners and laboratory toys, and it made me want to go to school and take a chemistry class just so I could mess around with the gear. “This will take me three or four hours to distill what I need. I promise, I won’t leave it. We don’t know who might have been following you. I’ll lock the door and set a ward so that nobody can get in.”
He sounded so serious that I decided to go have a talk with Delia about the merfolk. We couldn’t just let Sandy run around again once she was out of her coma. Irena was right, we had to go after the merfolk who had tried to kill her, though I wasn’t sure how we were going to do that.
“Can I use your bathroom to change?” I smelled like the water, but right now, that was the least of my worries.
“Right through there.” He pointed to a door at the back of the room.
I slipped into the large bathroom. There was no shower, but it was large enough for a wheelchair, and there was a wide window to the side. The window was frosted, so I felt comfortable changing my clothes. As I peeled the bathing suit off, it occurred to me that we might be able to set a trap to lure out whoever had tried to kill Sandy. We just had to make her recovery widely known and then stage a public appearance that would give them a chance for another attack.
I slipped into my jeans, then fastened my bra and pulled my tank over my head. Quickly braiding back my still-wet hair, I bundled the swimsuit into a plastic bag and stuck it in my tote bag.
There was something bothering me, though. I looked around, making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, but there was nothing I could see. I started to turn, but something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. Without blinking, I pulled out a small can of hairspray and quickly sprayed it in the direction where I thought I had seen something.
There was a loud shout, and then a figure appeared, falling to his knees. Gillymack! A talisman rolled out of his hand and I recognized it as a charm for camouflage.
“What the hell? Jordan, come here!” I tackled the merman, taking him fully to the floor. “If you’re the one who hurt Sandy, I swear I’ll hand you over to Aegis and let him drink you dry.”
“No, no! I didn’t!” He struggled briefly, then stopped as Jordan yanked open the bathroom door.
“We seem to have a spy. In fact, he was watching me as I changed, the pervert. What are you doing here? What do you want?” I was so pissed I started bitch slapping him.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody,” he pleaded, trying to protect his head. “Stop hitting me!”
Jordan tapped me on the shoulder. Reluctantly, I stood, giving Gillymack a sharp nudge with my shoe as I did so.
“Why don’t you call Delia and ask her to come over?” Jordan grabbed Gillymack by the collar, dragging him to his feet. “And you get to come with me. I have just the place to keep you.” He motioned for me to stay where I was. “I’ll put him in the stasis chamber. While it won’t put him to sleep, it will keep him from using any form of magic, and I can bolt the door from the outside so he can’t pick the lock.”
“You sure you don’t need any help? I’d be glad to help you.” I flashed Gillymack a look that made him cringe.
“Please, don’t let her touch me! I’ll behave.”
“You’re pathetic, you little worm.” I took a step forward, raising my finger.
Jordan dragged him to the door. “You’d better behave or I’ll let her take another shot at you.” I could tell he was trying to restrain a smile.
“No, please no.” Gillymack stopped struggling.
I peeked around the door, watching as Jordan shoved him into the stasis chamber where we had kept Bubba until we had been able to change him back. He bolted the door and, trying the knob, satisfied himself that it was thoroughly locked before he returned.
I had my phone out and already punched in Delia’s number. What I felt like punching was Gillymack’s face. She came on the line.
“Yes? What’s up?”
“Need you over here at Jordan’s asap. And bring handcuffs and something to keep a merman from escaping.”
She didn’t ask any questions. Just said, “On my way.”
As Jordan continued to work on the herbs, washing them before adding them to one of the mixtures he already had brewing, I paced, my arms crossed. Had Gillymack been responsible for all of this? Had he tried to kill Sandy? The side of me that was ready to throttle him wanted it to be that simple, but a little voice inside whispered no.
Gillymack might be a con artist, and a thief, and he might even be a pervert, but he wasn’t a killer and I knew that deep down inside. As much as he made me want to smack him, he wasn’t the type to go wingnut and try to off somebody. But then, if he hadn’t done it, what was he doing here? Was he working for whoever had it out for Sandy?
“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor,” Jordan said after a few minutes. “Delia will be here soon. Why don’t you sit down?”
“I can’t help it. I’m restless.” I smiled, though, to take the edge off my words. Finally, I crossed to one of the chairs and flopped down in it. “How do you have the patience for this work? Medicine seems like it takes a lot of patience.”
“It does. And it’s just part of my nature,” Jordan said. “I like making people feel better. I like finding the answer to problems. Both are part of my job.” He carefully added ten drops of some tincture to the leaves and liquid, and a loud foof sounded as a whirl of smoke billowed up. Then he stood back and sighed. “That’s it. Now we wait, and in about three hours, I can strain it and we’ll give it to Sandy.”
I caught my breath. “Are you sure it will work?”
“There’s never any guarantee to life, but Maddy, it should work. By everything I’ve read, this antidote should bring her out of the coma. So relax, breathe, and—oh look, Delia made good time.” He stood as the sheriff tapped at the door and peeked in.
“What on earth is going on?” Delia inhaled deeply. “Damn, whatever you’re brewing is pungent.”
“I’m brewing up an antidote for Sandy’s coma. Meanwhile, I’ll let you and Maddy here deal with the Meré. Here’s the key.” He tossed me a ring of keys. “Just bring them all back. It’s the one with a big ‘S’ marked on it.”
“S is for ‘stasis’?
” I grinned, catching them.
“You got it.” But Jordan was back deep in whatever he was doing with the mixture—it looked to me like he was stirring it at random intervals, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t some enchantment going on I wasn’t picking up on.
“Come on.” On the way down the hall, I filled Delia in on everything that had happened.
“That sounds like an intense trip. I’m glad you made it back safely. Sirens are nothing to mess around with. They’re deadly and they have absolutely no sense of human ethics. Or witchly honor, or however you want to put it.” She shook her head. “But I just can’t see Gillymack trying to kill Sandy. Besides, he’s ostracized from the Meré society. Why would he try to help them?”
“I don’t think he’s trying to help them, but he’s sure as hell up to something, and I want to know what.” I’d had enough time to calm down and it struck me how ludicrous the thought of Gillymack being a killer was. But at least one of the Meré was to blame, and he might have a clue as to whom.
I unlocked the door and let Delia go in first. When Gillymack saw me, he stumbled out of the chair he was sitting in.
“Don’t you let her come after me,” he said, waving a finger at me.
Delia laughed. “I don’t think I could stop her if she wanted to hurt you, but calm down. She’s not going to kill you.”
“At least not right now,” I mumbled. “But damn it, Gillymack. What the hell are you doing in here? Did you follow me?”
He slumped back into the chair. “Yeah, I did.”
“Why? Are you really involved in this mess? Tell us the truth or so help me, I’ll find the most painful truth spell I can find and force it out of you.”
Delia gave me a pointed look, but said nothing.
Gillymack seemed to be debating whether I meant what I said. Finally, he shrugged. “All right. I know you went to get the thistlestar today and I figured you’d have extra. I know how much it’s worth. I was hoping I could…borrow…what you didn’t need.”
Siren's Song (Bewitching Bedlam Book 3) Page 22