And as for her father?
He needs to be gone too.
“Father, I would make a competent leader,” she announced.
“You are young,” he said. “You are barely two-thousand years old.”
“Age is not important. Wisdom is important.”
“One day…”
She slammed the memory crystal into the side of his head. He reached out for her, grasping ineffectually, as the magic worked away at his brain. She’d had Calliope alter it to use as a weapon, originally to use against Tameka should she prove an irritant. Afalina had had no intention of using it on the water dragon. She deserved a much crueler fate.
The king’s eyes faded to white as the crystal drifted away. She snatched it and crushed it between her fingers until there was nothing left but dust.
“You were a competent leader,” she said, addressing the flesh husk that was once the leader of the mermaids. “But our species does not deserve competent. It deserves me.”
She used her tail to knock him over. He continued to bob in the slight current, alive but brain-dead. The look suited him.
The emergency siren sounded. Asha pushed the almost-corpse aside to swim out of her room into the corridors of the palace. The guards were in a rush, heading towards the council chamber. She didn’t bother to ask them what was wrong. She knew what was wrong.
She placidly swam up to the golden arched doorway of the council room, surveying the carnage within. Every single member of the council was dead. The entire chamber was awash with exploded corpses and the wails of those who had witnessed the slaughter.
“What has occurred in here?” she demanded.
I must be get my acting skills from my “sister.”
One of the guards pushed though the mingling body parts. He had bloody scales sticking to his uniform like clams.
“Princess Afalina, you must not look upon this,” said the guard.
“I have seen bloodshed before,” she told him. Her tone was regal and commanding. She thought it suited her. “Tell me.”
“An assassin entered the council chambers as they met to discuss the events with the kraken. They had some sort of magical device that killed all the councilors. It swept through them like a pulse of light, exploding them from the inside. It was brutal and quick.”
She nodded her head. “There is more terrible news.” She caught the sight of a red scale floating near her face. Something stirred inside her, a new emotion she’d never experienced before.
Pleasure. I take pleasure in killing.
“Another assassin attacked the king right in front of me,” she proclaimed. She was solemn, suitably sad for the occasion. “He is dead.”
The prime minister regarded the body of the last kraken with distaste. Red didn’t blame him. It was sad to see a species become extinct. The kraken had been the oldest paranormal ocean creature in existence.
“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” the prime minister complained.
Red smirked. “I thought you might want to say something more profound.”
The PM’s look was sour. “This creature brought disrespect to a once proud race and through her selfish actions revealed our presence to the pathetic humans who, predictably, want us all dead merely for existing. I won’t mourn her death for a single second.”
His step-father pulled the lever and the corpse slipped with an ungainly manner into the magical incinerator. The already rotting carcass of the last kraken was burned to ash in an instant.
This is a sad moment. Genocide is always sad.
“What will we do with the ashes?” Red asked.
Galina’s ashes were six-foot high, enough for a hundred funeral jars. They twinkled, almost alive. Red liked to imagine that the foul woman’s soul was howling in torment.
“I’m not sure yet,” the PM mused. “But the cold war with the mermaids is heating up to intolerable levels. We can’t let such potent magic go to waste.”
“The magic of the kraken is ancient and powerful.”
“Yes, that’s why I said it shouldn’t go to waste.”
The prime minister indicated for some cleaners to come in. They slowly started shoveling the ashes into metallic canisters, which were then sealed with a lid and a magical incantation. Nobody but a dragon would be able to get at the contents now.
“What about the humans?” Red asked. “I’m worried they could become a problem.”
The prime minister looked thoughtful for a second. “Leave me to think on that.”
Romana kissed him on the cheek before delightedly pulling him into a hug. Red’s mother was a very tacit person. She was always hugging and kissing people and touching their arms, almost as if she was afraid she might blink and lose them. It was an endearing feature, probably stemming from the fact her husband had left her her and all but one of her children had died. Reiner’s death had hit her particularly hard. She never had a chance to make amends with him. He suspected she’d regret her actions for the rest of time.
“Where’s Morgan?” she inquired.
Red’s mother was the most beautiful person in existence. He had yet to find a partner, male or female, who matched her beauty. She was statuesque, six-foot two inches tall, the tallest female dragon that had ever been born. Her cheekbones were sharp like razor blades. Her hair was long and chestnut brown, curling down to her human tail (even in human form, dragons had a small, fleshy tail at the lip of their back, no longer than an inch or two. Red had his surgically removed when he went to work for the BCPD). At the moment she was wearing a purple floral dressing gown, hugging herself tightly. It was cold in the palace today.
“He has work to do,” said Red, sitting down on an antique sofa. “You know him.”
“War with the mermaids is imminent,” she announced, sitting by him. She shivered. “I can feel it in my scales.”
“I have to believe we can stop it.”
“We we all be lain to waste; dragons, mermaids, and humans. It’s a pity. I like humans.”
Romana often liked to visit the human world to visit parks, theatres and art galleries. She adored human creativity. She would wear a magical veil to lessen her beauty so as not to cause a panic. She’d learned the hard way that a beauty such as hers would make her stand out like a mermaid flapping about on a deserted beach.
“Can we take a moment to talk honestly about something important?” his mother asked.
“I thought we were always honest,” said Red.
She pushed her hair back as it fell over her face. “I love Morgan. I really do. He was once a fine Prime Minister for our people. But his handling of the water dragon and mermaid situations have brought nothing but trouble. The death of the last kraken could have been avoided. We have humans looking for us, wanting to either study us or kill us. He has made a mess.” She stared him in the eye, making him shudder at the intensity of his mother’s Medusa-like gaze. “You have made a mess.”
Red nodded. “I have. I admit that. My feelings for Tameka blinded me to events.”
Romana placed her hand on his shoulder. She was sympathetic now.
“I understand love,” she said, smiling. “I truly do. But the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Your feelings for the water dragon clouded you. It can’t happen again.”
“My feelings for Tameka are the only thing that can save us. Do you think…”
The dagger slid his way so fast he almost didn’t see it. But he had quick reflexes, mainly due to his mother’s teachings. He stopped the thrust of the weapon with the back of his hand before it reached his face. The blade shattered as it hit his rock hard skin.
Romana smirked. “Impressive.”
“Why did you try to kill me?” he demanded.
“I wanted to see whether you’d gone soft.”
Red smiled and pulled the dagger out of his mother’s hand. He flew across the sofa, pinning the dagger against her throat. They both knew such a weapon wouldn’t even make a scratch, but the fear on Romana’s face was evi
dent. She truly thought he was going to kill her.
“Use that anger when protecting her,” she told him. “Use that anger to protect the world.”
He pulled away, dropping the dagger. “I was so angry…”
“I tried to kill you. I tried to kill you and yet you still refused to hurt me.”
She stood up, dusting down her dressing gown with her hands. He couldn’t tell what she was feeling. His mother could mask her emotions well.
“You disappoint me,” she said. “You really do.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
She sighed. “I won’t kill you, because you are my son and you come from a powerful lineage, but I have to do something. My love for my people supersedes my love for you.”
Red backed away, sensing something terrible was coming. The look in his mother’s eyes was one of thunder and vengeance. He’d never seen her like this before. She was terrifying.
She pulled something out of the pocket of her dressing gown. It appeared to be some sort of glowing green crystal.
“Loving her has made you soft,” she said, smiling chillingly at him. “But you can forget her, just like you’ve forgotten so many other things that were painful.”
“What is that?” he demanded.
“It is an artefact that I had the dearly departed Galina recover for me from our home Earth over a decade ago. It’s much like the one that was used on Tameka to change her memories. I’ve used it many, many times.”
“You’ve used it on me?”
“You couldn’t forgive yourself after you destroyed that human vessel so many years ago. You were on a mission to take out a group of mermaids who were planning to attack us. A ship carrying humans got in the way, and you killed virtually everyone on board – Tameka’s parents and sister included.”
Red shook his head, disbelieving every word. He wouldn’t do something like that. He could never kill so many humans.
But she’s telling the truth. I know she is.
He nearly fell to the floor as the revelation crippled him. “I…I really did kill her family.”
“And you become so caught up in grief you tried to end your own life.” Romana smiled, fixing him with her motherly gaze. “I couldn’t lose you, and so I sent Galina back to our home Earth to find something which I’d thought I’d lost forever. I used this crystal to heal you.”
“You took away my memories!”
She nodded sadly. “And I’m afraid I’m going to have to do it again.”
“Get away from me!”
She thrust the crystal against his head. He cried out as he felt his brain explode.
“What happened?” Red asked.
He was staring at the ceiling of the palace. He sat up, finding his mother kneeling by his bedside. She was holding out a goblet of water. She appeared distraught.
“What happened?” he asked again.
He was in his old room in the palace. He hadn’t slept here in nearly five years. He’d actually missed the place. It smelled comforting.
“You have picked up a human virus,” she explained. “The palace doctors say you’ll be fine.”
“I feel awful,” he admitted.
She laughed. “Don’t worry. You’ll be able to return to work soon.”
He yawned, feeling the aftereffects of the virus. His head throbbed abominably. How did humans cope with such ailments?
“You were telling me about the water dragon,” said Romana.
Red pulled a face. “That woman doesn’t deserve her lineage. If I’d known what a vile piece of work she was I would never have appointed myself her protector.”
“Humans need protecting, even though most of them are…scum.”
Tameka Hamilton was the worst of the worst. She was opinionated and stubborn and emasculated him at every opportunity. She was so dense and naïve the mermaid had actually convinced her to kill him! Sometimes he thought he actually hated her she repulsed him so much. Yet he had a job to do. He knew his duty, and he never shirked his duty.
The sea was peaceful, so calm she could skip a rock across the surface. There was no evidence that anything had happened here. She knew things wouldn’t stay like this for long. The dragons knew the mermaids were trying to attack them through her, and the mermaids had some huge plan set in motion. Now the humans were involved. Things were escalating, and she didn’t like it one bit.
I’m a water dragon.
I’m a fucking water dragon.
She stared down at her hands. They still tingled from the power they’d emanated.
She stuck her hands in the sky and shouted, “I bring forth the power!”
Nothing happened.
She concentrated again, imagining herself as the savage, beautiful water dragon she’d been that night. Still nothing happened.
What am I doing wrong? I want to change back! I want to fly and be free again!
She wished Red would hurry up and tell her everything she needed to know about water dragons. His vagueness was infuriating.
I can’t believe I’m in love with that annoying bastard.
She smiled, thinking about his eyes. They really were his best feature. She couldn’t wait to stare into them as they went on their date.
“The sea is mighty calm today,” said a voice behind her.
Tameka imagined Asha out there, swimming about, causing untold evil. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on the bitch. She was pretty sure a water dragon was more powerful than a skanky mermaid any day of the week.
She turned to the old fisherman and smiled. She had a pretty good idea who he was. Her dreams had more or less confirmed his identity.
“I see you got my Facebook message,” she said. “Amon Godfrey.”
He nodded.
“Did you see the kraken?” she asked him, feeling bold.
“She was a mighty beast to be sure,” he said, grinning.
Tameka nodded. “She was. A pity she was evil.”
“She was an affront to her once mighty race. Perhaps it’s a good thing they weren’t around to see what became of her.”
Tameka sat down on a bench, watching as a work crew worked on fixing the marina. The old, abandoned place was being redone now. It was going to be a tourist attraction apparently. Humans could be scared of krakens and dragons, but they sure as hell were going to make as much money out of them as possible. She saw someone wearing a T-shirt on the way over with what she thought was a water dragon on it.
Yippee. I’m famous again.
“Humans have a great capacity for ignorance,” said the fisherman, sitting by her. “But even this they couldn’t ignore. The world has changed.”
Tameka nodded. “For the better?”
“I’ll get back to you on that one once all the bloodshed is over.”
He sounded cynical, but he was right. “Not all humans are scared by change.”
“There are dragons in the government. Hopefully they can temper the more conservative senators.”
She looked at him, shocked. “Really?”
“I was one of them once upon a time. I used to be on the local council, assigned to this very waterfront. I covered up a lot of incidents that occurred between the dragons and the mermaids.”
“So you admit you’re a dragon.” Tameka smiled. “Dad.”
The fisherman laughed. It was the loud, booming laugh of a man who had a hearty sense of humor. She liked it. It reminded her of Santa Claus.
“So who’s my mother?” she asked.
“She’s called Afalina, and you’ve already met her.” He stared her right in the eye, never looking away. Tameka felt like her whole world was about to crumble yet again. “She was posing as your sister.”
Tameka nodded, taking it all in.
“Fuck,” she muttered.
“Where’s Mommy?” the voice cried.
Doctor Robert Clinkenbeard paced, indecision and anxiety eating at his gut. He’d given the hybrid every excuse under the book to explain why Galina
hadn’t turned up, but he was running out of ideas. How could he tell her that both her mother and father was dead? He didn’t know what she’d do. He’d hoped her grandmother’s visits would calm her, but the only thing they did was reinforce the fact that her parents weren’t here.
Piper, one of the witch nurses, said, “I can send her to sleep again.”
“She’s sleeping too much,” Robert complained.
“It’s the only way to keep her happy.”
They carefully avoided the corpse on the floor, flayed alive only five minutes earlier. Jose had been a good nurse, and he’d treated Annie well until she’d murdered him. It could be one of them next.
Robert nodded. “Send her to sleep.”
“I will, but there’s a chance she could be becoming immune to it,” said Piper. “What happens then?”
“We pray.”
Annie screamed again. Doctor Clinkenbeard shuddered and walked away.
* * *
The End
The series will continue in “The Dragon’s Fist” due out in 2018.
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Cate Farren loves cats, Dr. Pepper and Supernatural. Her favorite places in the world are Lake Como and Banf.
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By Water’s Edge
Kelly Anne Blount
By Water’s Edge © 2017 Kelly Anne Blount
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