To Enchant a Mermaid

by S. L. Williams

  “He got involved with the witch.” I stood and stretched. “I told him not to trust her a long time ago. He should have listened.” I thought of the dark-eyed, black-winged succubus. “Her soul is corrupted. If evil wore a face, it would be hers.”

  “What she did to the Drogons is unforgivable.” She stared off. “They just disappeared. It’s as if they never existed. What could he have possibly traded the lives of his people for?”

  “I stopped asking that question a long time ago. You’ll go mad trying to figure out why Kwame does the things he does.”

  Cyntheria stared at me for a long while before speaking again. “Maybe Sarai can see what happened,” she said as she turned her gaze to the bed. “Ask her to scry with Sclena’s mirror.”

  “She doesn’t know how to control it. The mirror has a mind of its own.”

  We’d tried practicing with it, but I hadn’t managed to figure out how the damned thing worked. Sarai would ask to see one thing, and the mirror showed her another.

  “As temperamental as its owner.” She frowned. “It’s odd. I have never heard of anyone being able to see into it. Sarai is the first.”

  “Maybe it knows she is from the sea.”

  “Or maybe it’s her magic. You said tentacles sprang out when the curandera tried to get in her mind?”

  I nodded. “That’s what she says. I wasn’t there, and Etan wasn’t in the room when it happened.” The boy had no sense in that head of his. He never thought things through.

  She sat down at the foot of the bed. “Isn’t it a coincidence that the water disappeared when Dymphna tried to get through?”

  “You believe it was Sarai?” I pulled a chair from the table and placed it by the bedside. “I’ve never heard of a protection spell doing that. Can you imagine the amount of power needed to accomplish such a thing?”

  “It could have been a subconscious reaction to having her mind infiltrated.” Cyntheria slowly pulled the covers off Sarai’s legs and exposed the nasty scar from the Sobasom’s attack. She gently pressed down on it and pulled back when Sarai jumped and almost kicked her in the chin. “We have learned many things since her arrival. Sarai is stronger than we realize. I felt it when you brought her here after the attack. At first, I thought it was the poison from the Sobasom that kept you from completely healing her, but what if it was her magic?”

  I thought back on the day in the forest. It took me hours to control the fever that raged through her body. “I thought it was the salt in her blood,” I admitted.

  “None of us would have imagined it would be such a thing. Erecting a mental block is dangerous, and a high percentage of the time the recipient goes mad. The mind is strong, but easily broken.” She looked down at Sarai with warm tenderness, then she looked up at me with a deep frown on her pale lips, her white eyes full of consternation. “How do we remove it?”

  “Breaking it down is nearly impossible. The memories that were suppressed would come rushing forward along with the magic. It can burn her out or drive her insane.”

  Messing with the mind was worse than any physical abuse. The body could heal because it could be trained to adapt, but the mind was like a glass chalice; once broken, you could pick up the pieces and glue them back together, but the cracks would always remain.

  “Are you really going to let her go to the marsh?” She rose from the bed and walked over to the window.

  “I don’t have a choice.” I left my seat and joined her.

  The spirits were up and busy. The market was packed, and steam rose from one of the bathhouses on the far side of the city. A long line of new souls, all waiting to be cleansed, curled around the building.

  “Why not take her to the Sirensia?” She pushed the window open, and a sweet-scented breeze cleared the air in the room.

  “They haven’t replied to my letters, and as you know, we can’t just walk up to their gates.”

  The Sirensia were as reclusive as the merfolk. They rarely accepted visitors, which made sending and receiving correspondence difficult. No one knew much about the Sirensia, and the only one who claimed to have been in contact with them since Myrena’s disappearance was Etan. From what he’d told me, the Sirensia were not friendly. I didn’t want to send Sarai to them without knowing what kind of people she would be going to.

  “It’s better than sending her to the witch!” Cyntheria pushed past me and walked back to Sarai. “Look at her, Kamryn. She isn’t ready to go and see Isabis. You honestly trust that Etan will keep her safe?”

  I never claimed Etan would keep her safe. The only thing he had to do was go back and face Isabis. He had spent the last few weeks searching for a way around their agreement. If he couldn’t find an alternate replacement...I shook the morbid thought from my mind.

  “I will accompany her.” I walked to the door.

  “You?” she screeched. “Are you ready to be confined to Irkalla?”

  I put my hand on the knob and looked up at the ceiling. I knew she was going to react negatively to the news, and I wasn’t about to argue with her. I knew the risks associated with the journey, but I wasn’t afraid of Isabis, just like I didn’t fear death. My time would come when the gods willed it.

  “I’m going to bed. If you need anything, let me know,” I informed her before stepping into the hall. The day had been long, and I was tired. I didn’t want to think for a few hours.

  My own magic was growing by the day, and I was struggling to keep it restrained. It wouldn’t be long before it took complete control and consumed what was left of me.

  I thought I had gotten used to the knowledge of my impending demise. I didn’t fear it like I had when I was young. With time and plenty of meditation, I’d been able to morph my fear into acceptance.

  I learned my blood right wasn’t an enemy I could fight with hand or blade. It gave me power I never wished for and that I could hardly wield without physical pain. A blessing and a curse, the blood oracle claimed it to be. The ability to nurture or destroy. The power of death contained within a mortal body.

  I didn’t feel very nurturing, and the only thing being destroyed was my body. I didn’t have long before I became a permanent resident of my kingdom. Life was throwing things at me back to back. I felt like I was being tested.

  The land was in a drought. Sarai had to face the witch of the marsh. Etan was struggling with his problem, and that dreaded Icarian was up to no good. I had to think about all that while dealing with my own turbulent power.

  “Momma, I need your guidance,” I spoke my frustration into the air. “It seems like so much. I feel like I’m letting things slip through the cracks. Show me what I need to do next. How should I proceed?”

  I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. With that simple exhale, all uncertainty and confusion cleared, and a path was laid out in front of me.

  One step at a time, son, I heard Mother’s voice in the back of my mind. One step at a time.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Sarai

  I was in my room, packing the new clothes Cyntheria had left out for me. Kamryn was hovering over my shoulder with a pinched expression on his face. We were going through our plans when he brought up Xiomara. He wanted her to come with us and wouldn’t tell us why.

  “Xiomara doesn’t need to go.” I stamped my foot down. “I don’t need company.”

  “The witch isn’t the only thing you have to worry about. The marsh is full of dangerous creatures that call its waters home.” He handed me a pile of black fabric.

  “I can defend myself.” I stuffed the rolled pair of pants into the sack. “I will have my knives.”

  Kamryn sighed. “I know that, but even the mightiest warrior knows when to be cautious. Safety comes in numbers.”

  “I would rather have Cyntheria accompany us,” I mouthed. “She doesn’t hide things from me.”

  He looked up at the ceiling and groaned. “Cyntheria hates the marsh. Asking her to come with you would be cruel.
Plus, she is a phantasm, so she would be of no use outside of Irkalla.” He looked up and smiled softly. “You shouldn’t hold a grudge against Xiomara. She was trying to keep you from stressing. She didn’t mean you any harm.”

  He was right, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her after our ride in the woods. She let me worry for hours without a hint of guilt, and if I hadn’t pried the truth from her, she wouldn’t have told me at all.

  Her behavior left a bad taste in my mouth. It seemed small, but it made me question her loyalty.

  “It isn’t a grudge. I just wish to be treated the way I treat others. I wouldn’t hide anything like that from her.”

  “I understand where you’re coming from, and I respect it,” he said softly. “But before you cut off a friendship, no matter how short-lived, remember that you may one day be in the position to need that person.”

  I closed my bag and threw it on the ground. There was no point in arguing. Xio would be arriving with Etan and Rylo later on in the evening. We would spend the night planning, and as soon as the sun rose, we would head out to the marsh.

  We would all enter together, but I would go to the witch’s hut first. If she refused the mirror and things got rough, the others would come for me. Kamryn, Etan, and Rylo would find a way to hold her back while I escaped. He wanted Xiomara to come so I would have someone with me if I did have to leave them behind.

  I was nervous. That much I couldn’t deny. Cyntheria had tried to sit down and teach me about the various predators that lurked where air, earth, and water met, but anxiety let the information go in one ear and dumped it out the other.

  “Sarai,” he called me back to the present. “The packing is done. Would you like to go for a walk?”

  “Yes,” I mouthed. “I would love some fresh air.”

  He smiled warmly and offered me his arm. “Then let us leave, my glorious friend.”

  ∞∞∞

  Large puffy clouds drifted across the bright blue sky. Jewel-toned birds flew in lazy circles over our heads.

  The city was quiet, the residents having returned to their marble tombs until the sun set once again. The lack of activity was peaceful. I could hear the birds cheerfully singing and the soft whisper of the wind between the leaves of the hollow trees.

  “I see why you chose to stay,” I mouthed, “but why do you hate Nueva Vida?”

  “I don’t hate it there.” He stopped walking. “It just isn’t home.”

  “You could have stayed in Nueva Vida and became king.”

  Shadows deepened the lines of his face. “I didn’t want to become king of Nueva Vida,” he gently tugged on my elbow, and we resumed our walk. “There is nothing for me in that city. Why do you ask?” He looked at me from the side of his eye.

  “You’re different here. Back in Nueva Vida, you walked around with a scowl on your face, and you hardly left your room or the kitchen. Here, you smile and seem more…alive.”

  “Am I such an open book?” He laughed, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes.

  “Not really. When I first met you, I thought you weren’t capable of emotion.” I smirked. I never would have imagined that we would have become so close.

  He threw his head back and roared. This time, his laughter was real. “I’m not used to someone paying such attention to me and my shifting moods.” He wiped his eyes. “You’re right, though. I do feel a sense of freedom here. I am not restricted by mortal concerns. The dead don’t stress, and they don’t aggravate.”

  “They don’t scare you?”

  A smile lingered on his lips. He raised an eyebrow. “Do we scare you?”

  I closed my mouth with an audible click. Was I afraid? Of course not. I didn’t even understand what was going on until I had already befriended Cyntheria and had visited the Shadow Market countless times.

  Back home, we didn’t have phantasms. Once we merfolk passed, we returned to the sea in both body and—what Kamryn claimed us to have—soul. Death was rare in our communities, but when an elder returned to the goddess, we celebrated their life and set out a memorial in their memory. None ever stayed behind as ghosts.

  “No,” I mouthed. “Aren’t they just like us, but without bodies?”

  “That’s how I see it.” He shrugged. “I fear the living over the dead.”

  “Who do you fear?” I dared to ask. “Is it the queen of Icaria?”

  His head whipped around. “Who told you that?”

  “I overheard Rook and Phadrah talking about her while you were healing. She wanted her to help you, but Etan refused.”

  “So he has some sense.” Kamryn shook his head. “Come. Some things shouldn’t be mentioned on nice days like these. Those pretty sunflowers don’t want to hear it.”

  He stopped and traced a large yellow petal with the tip of his finger. “Did you know that sunflower petals are good for healing and strengthening?”

  “I didn’t, but that is nice to know.” I reluctantly allowed him to change the subject. “Like calendula.”

  “Yes, they both heal, just like calendula…” He lowered his hand and walked into the sunflower field. “Come, Sarai,” he called. “Let’s get lost, if only for a moment.”

  The velvet petals of the towering flowers brushed against my skin as I passed. I ripped the band from my hair and allowed my scalp the freedom to breathe.

  I followed Kamryn to a circular clearing where a lone tree with golden leaves stood proudly. Gleaming black apples dangled from the branches, their sickly sweet aroma filling the air.

  Kamryn walked up to one of the low-hanging limbs and plucked one of the strange fruits. He tossed it from one hand to the other before wiping the already shiny skin on his cloak. “You say we are friends.” He took a bite of the apple. “And that friends don’t hide things from each other.”

  I watched as the red juice tinted his lips. “That’s right.”

  I reached up for one of the apples, but Kamryn gently pushed my hand away. “You won’t like them,” he warned. “If you’re not used to the effects, the fruit will make you hallucinate.”

  I drew my hand back and cradled it against my chest as if I had been burned. I wasn’t used to Kamryn telling me no or speaking to me with such force. I felt like he’d caught me stealing.

  “No, please don’t look like that,” he said gently. “I have seen and experienced what the fruit can do, and I wouldn’t want you to go through it without proper training by the fae.”

  Curiosity erased the sting of denial from my mind. “You trained with them?”

  “I lived with them. When we turn seven, it is customary for royal children to leave their homes and study the ways of different courts.”

  I couldn’t imagine leaving Rotan and staying in a foreign sea at such a young age. “Why?”

  “To learn about our neighbors, to immerse ourselves in their culture. Sometimes friendships are cultivated that later become alliances.”

  Why it was done was understandable, but I still didn’t like the age they were sent out. At seven years old, I was barely allowed out of the castle with heavy guard.

  “And you were sent to the fairies?” I raised an eyebrow. “Did you enjoy your time there?”

  “Most of it. The time I spent with the forest and moon folk will always hold a special place in my heart.”

  “Did Etan go with you?”

  He stiffened. “No. He was sent to Icaria.”

  “That makes sense.” I turned and looked at the sea of flowers. “That’s why he and Phadrah are so close. He never told me he actually lived there.”

  “Sarai,” Kamryn called. “Do you love Etan?”

  Words fled from my tongue. Did I love Etan? I took some time to think of what the meaning of love meant to me. Was Etan trustworthy? Was he loyal? Truthful? The answer to all those questions was yes, but I wouldn’t call it love. Not romantic at least.

  “Do you?” His eyes desperately searched mine. “You don’t,” he answered his own question. “If you did, you wouldn’t h
esitate to say it. You would scream it from the highest mountain for the gods to hear without second-guessing.”

  “I care for him. And I am thankful for what he has done for me, but I don’t love him in that way.” I laid down and closed my eyes. The day really was perfect. The sun was out, a cool breeze balanced its heat, the air was sweet, and the grass soft.

  “I wish time would stop,” Kamryn spoke my thoughts out loud. “Sometimes I wish I could disconnect from the world.”

  I rolled onto my side and met his gaze. “We could run away.” I ran my fingers down the side of his face. “And forget about everyone.”

  “I wish I could.” He closed his eyes and leaned into my touch. “You make me feel, and I’m not sure how to feel about that.”

  My heart felt as if it would fly from my chest. I made him feel. “You say it as if it’s a bad thing.”

  I wanted to pull him into my arms and tell him everything would be okay. That what he felt, I felt too. I knew things were different between us the night I asked if I could come home. What was growing between us was scary, but it was beautiful.

  “I’m a man who can’t afford to feel. Not like this.” He sat up and stared out at the sea of flowers. “I’m a dead man walking.”

  I sat up and frowned. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s the truth.” He picked at a blade of grass. “I am of the King of Irkalla, and with that title comes great responsibility.”

  “You’re doing a great job. Everyone is happy.”

  “I wouldn’t say all that.” He chuckled. “The ones you see are happy. The ones in the other six circles feel differently.”

  “Six circles?”

  I didn’t understand what he meant. Was he referring to the different districts in Irkalla? I had been to most of them with Cyntheria, and all the residents in those districts seemed content.

  “Yes. Irkalla is made up of seven circles, or some call them cities. The one where we have been staying is the first circle and the one closest to the living realm.”

  I soaked in the information like a sponge. I couldn’t imagine the amount of stress on his shoulders. It explained why he was trying to fight his feelings for me. He was a busy man, and he had no time for love when he had seven cities to run.