Sirens and Scales

by Kellie McAllen

  “I can’t understand why you love lightning so much. It’s dangerous. What if you were struck?”

  Meriya’s eyes rolled back so far into her head they almost hit her brain. “Like that’ll ever happen.”

  “Who would I tease if you were roasted, toasted, and burnt to a crisp?” Her fingers grasped a strand of brown hair and moved it out of Meriya’s eyes. Tandy teased her a lot, but she knew how to get a rise from Meriya.

  Dark blue eyes peered lovingly at Meriya, who had no features in common with her two sisters. Her mother always said she took after her grandmother. Tandy and Jovie were both graced with blond hair like their parents, though Jovie’s was a shade darker than Tandy’s.

  Tandy loved Meriya unconditionally. Their parents both worked at the palace, which took up most of their time, so Tandy had practically raised Meriya.

  Sliding her arms around Meriya’s shoulders, Tandy pulled her into a hug. “Let’s get back home before your absence is noted.”

  2

  Rowan’s face felt a light caress, bringing him back to awareness. Sand scratched against his back and legs as he shifted, a moment of panic overtaking him before he realized where he was. Had he fallen asleep on the beach again?

  Fluttering his eyes open, he took in the dark, gray storm clouds circling overhead. He pushed up on his elbows, wincing in pain. As his vision cleared, he was stunned to find a girl sliding back into the ocean. This girl, however, wasn’t graced with legs, but scales. She was a mermaid.

  Mermaid? His head ached, but he was sure she wasn't a figment of his imagination.

  A gasp lodged itself in his throat. She possessed beautiful, long, brown hair braided all over. Even with a lack of light from the clouds above, her purple scales still had a sheen to them. Rowan noticed a large split in one of her fins, a trail of blood left behind her on the sand before the ocean raced up the beach to swallow her whole and erase her existence.

  “Wait!” Rowan thrust a hand out, begging her to come back. He was too late. A cough wracked his battered body making him sit up, spitting out the salty brine choking him. “Bleh. That’s nasty.”

  The dreamlike quality of the moment passed when he realized his father wasn’t on the beach. His memory of the previous events returned in pieces flashing before him. He’d been out on the boat with his dad, attempting to fish. There was a difference between fishing and catching. They’d only managed to appear to be doing the former before the storm clouds rolled in.

  Rowan shot to his feet, ignorant of the pain in that moment, and walked back and forth along the water’s edge. “Dad,” he screamed, cupping his hands around his mouth. Met by only the sounds of crashing waves, Rowan was undeterred.

  “Hey! Mermaid, bring him back,” Rowan demanded, shouting so loud his voice became hoarse from the effort and his throat burned. Could she hear him? He knew she was out there somewhere.

  He fell to his knees on the wet sand, sinking his fingers in, and then balled them into fists squishing the sand between the gaps. His eyes burned with unshed tears.

  The storm was unexpected, coming out of nowhere. The waves leapt above them for what felt like miles, making their vessel tip over. If the mermaid saved him, why didn’t she also save his father? More questions continued to race through his mind.

  His body tugged him toward the water, while his mind said it was useless to look any longer. His dad was gone, forever. They’d never go fishing again. Father’s grand tales and wondrous stories were gone. Rowan loved hearing about the trouble his father always managed to get into with his brother.

  His Uncle Terrance was all he had left now. His mom had died during childbirth. Would he be able to live with his uncle? He tucked his chin to his chest, fighting in vain to keep the tears at bay.

  Footsteps pounded on the wet sand behind him and a woman slid to a stop next to him, kneeling down.

  “Are you okay?” She inquired in a calm voice despite her wide eyes.

  When Rowan didn’t answer, she began to look him over, brushing his hair out of his face to find a cut on his forehead. She found no blood on his arms or legs, but he had several bruises blossoming to the surface. “I’m going to get you help. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  Rummaging through her purse, she produced a cell phone, punching in a number and pressing it between her head and shoulder as she continued her exam.

  Rowan zoned out, not paying attention to the one-sided conversation between her and the phone.

  His dad was gone. His young mind didn’t understand how to process this information.

  There was no way his dad survived the waves out there. He remembered the mayday call his dad sent through the radio moments before the boat tipped and plunged them into the roiling waves.

  The kind woman placed a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his stupor.

  “Help is on the way. I’ll stay with you until they get here. Does anything hurt?”

  He shook his head, unable to speak as tears blurred his vision.

  Sirens called out in the distance, heralding their arrival. Rowan made to stand, but the woman pressed a hand once again on his shoulder.

  “Stay here and they’ll come check you out.”

  Rowan glanced back watching several police cars and an ambulance pull up, parking haphazardly.

  Uncle Terrance threw open the car door and ran to scoop Rowan up in his arms. “Oh, thank God, you’re alive!” The air in Rowan’s lungs left on a gasp as his uncle squeezed him tight.

  “I. Can’t. Breath.” Rowan managed to choke out.

  “Oh, sorry,” his uncle apologized as he dropped Rowan to the sand.

  "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Is anything broken?" Uncle Terrance fluttered around Rowan like a mother hen, checking him over. Once he was assured Rowan was okay, he went to the next order of business. “Where is my… your father. Did he wash up on shore with you?” He shuffled toward the water and looked around for his brother.

  “I didn’t see anyone else, sir.” The woman spoke up, garnering Uncle Terrance’s attention.

  “Ma’am?” Uncle Terrance’s forehead wrinkled up.

  “Sorry.” She extended a hand. “I’m Molly. I called nine-one-one for the boy. He seemed in shock and had some injuries.”

  Uncle Terrance shook her hand. “Thank you.” He let out a breath. “Thank you so much for looking out for him, but there wasn’t anyone else?”

  “No, no one I noticed. Just the boy.” Brows pulled in as she fidgeted with her hands.

  Uncle Terrance pinned Rowan with his stare, the same question in his eyes.

  “I… I don’t know. She didn’t bring anyone else to the beach,” Rowan answered as he looked past his uncle to the water.

  “She? What are you talking about?” Uncle Terrance turned to the ocean, the storm clouds before him nothing but a thin line on the horizon. The sun played peek-a-boo through what haze remained.

  Hesitating, Rowan wondered if he should have mentioned who rescued him.

  When he didn’t elaborate, Uncle pressed for information once again. “Rowan, answer me. Who are you talking about?” He used his stern voice, making Rowan’s shoulders tense. Uncle Terrance didn’t have any kids of his own, but he often filled in the role as Mom whenever he could.

  “There… there was a mermaid.” Uncle lifted a single brow, but Rowan forged ahead. “I s-swear there was a mermaid.” Rowan stuttered as he tried to convey the truth in his words. “She… she touched my face after she pulled me onto the beach. I opened my eyes in time to see her go back into the ocean. She was injured, too!”

  “Rowan, I…” His face fell, shaking his head. Did he think Rowan was a liar, or worse, crazy?

  “I’ll leave you all be,” Molly interjected, and Uncle’s gaze swept to the lady as she floundered. “I… I’ll just leave my info with one of the officers.” She dashed up the beach to one of the patrol cars.

  Uncle turned back to Rowan.

  “You have to believe me!” Rowan huffed before
turning his back on him, crossing his arms. The look on his uncle’s face told him everything he needed to know. He didn’t believe him. Even before he spoke again, he knew what Uncle Terrance was going to say.

  “People see strange things when they have near death experiences, Rowan. What you saw could be anything. Maybe you swallowed too much seawater.”

  Rowan tuned him out as the EMS ushered him into their truck. Everything blurred after that as medical instruments, questions, and shiny lights flew by. He checked out okay, a bandage patched over his head injury, but they still wanted to run a few more tests at the hospital.

  Rowan’s mind shut down, unable to process the grief of losing his father. Everyone he told about the mermaid either argued with him or smiled to appease his fragile state. Eventually, he would break down. They’d search the ocean and either find his dad or not. In his heart, Rowan knew he was dead.

  3

  “Where in Poseidon’s name have you been?” Dad’s nostrils flared. Meriya could see the wispy, white hairs within and her body shuddered.

  Gross!

  She shifted uncomfortably, the stone chair in her father’s room scraping into the tender flesh of her back as she leaned far away, trying to escape her father’s wrath. Her sisters never needed to tattle on her. When Dad couldn’t find her, he knew exactly where she’d went.

  Lowering her head to avoid her dad's angry stare, she noticed the split in one of her fins. The injury only served as a reminder of her many faults.

  Ever since, she’d been on the receiving end of one lecture after another from her father. He never found out she rescued a human, only that she went up to enjoy the lightning. Now, it seemed any time she sought a small taste of freedom, her father criticized her for her poor choices.

  Her silence condemned her.

  “You know the surface is dangerous. Humans are treacherous creatures. They take more than they can eat, they dump their trash in our waters, and they care nothing for the earth they walk on.” His face flushed; he waved his arms through the water to drive his lecture home.

  She twisted her hands in her lap, not really seeing them, but seeing the boy as she pulled him onto the beach, remembering that day in vivid detail. Did he survive? Did he wonder how he wound up on the beach?

  "Meriya! Are you even listening to me?" Her dad's voice snapped her out of her daydream, his brows were drawn together, his mouth in a hard, thin line.

  “Yes. I’m sorry, Daddy, but…”

  “No buts! You know the rules, yet you continue to disobey them. I can only hope… never mind.” A hand scrubbed roughly down his face, bubbles trickling out of his gills as he exhaled.

  “Dad?” She wasn’t sure where this conversation was going or why he’d been looking for her. Being the youngest of three sisters meant she rarely even got a glance from him unless she was in trouble.

  “The Chancellor came to see me today to discuss a betrothal.”

  Betrothal? Was her oldest sister, Tandy, going to be joined? Her face lit up and she straightened in her seat. “That’s great news!”

  Her father slouched against the wall, relief washing over him. “I’m glad you’re taking this so well.”

  “Why wouldn’t I be excited for my sister? It’s about time…”

  “Meriya—”

  “…she settled down and started a family. She’s getting up there in age, you know.”

  “MERIYA!” Her dad bellowed, cutting off any further rambling. “Close your mouth and listen to me.”

  Meriya made a motion of sealing her lips and kept quiet, but the excitement was hard to contain as she squirmed with joy for her sister.

  “This betrothal is not for Tandy or even Jovie.”

  “It… It’s not?” She fumbled over her words, grimacing.

  “No, this betrothal will be between you and the Chancellor’s only son, Cayson.”

  “Ewww! Have you seen Cayson? I don’t want to join with him.” A sour taste coated her tongue and she scrunched up her nose. Cayson was hot, but his soul was as black as the obsidian from which the palace was constructed.

  “I am your father and you will do as I say. This union could solidify our two families. Think of the recognition you’d get. I’m not a high-ranking official. This pairing will elevate your status and give you the life you deserve.” His eyes softened, the wrinkles around his eyes smoothing out.

  “Why can’t he have one of my sisters? They’re all prettier, anyway.” She folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes, reminded of the differences between her and her sisters.

  Her Dad’s anger came back two-fold. “Room! Now! You have no right to question me or the Chancellor.”

  “But…” She slithered out of the chair and tried to give her dad a wide berth on the way to the door.

  “Enough buts! You’ll sit in your room and think about your manners. A family of such a high pedigree will not take kindly to your rudeness. Do not ruin this for us!”

  Us? The only thing getting ruined right now was her life, not his. What did he get out of this whole arrangement? She fumed on the inside.

  As his voice filled up the room, his hand shot out and pointed toward Meriya’s room. Fearful of the magic those hands created, she’d already swum out the door. His anger was one thing, but the intensity with which he wielded magic was frightful.

  Meriya had never seen her father this livid, but she’d never felt so used. Did he really think she’d go into this arrangement quietly? Betrothals happened all the time in her kingdom, but only among the upper class, so this blind-sided her. Her family was part of the middle class. Her dad held no title, no property, and no shells of honor. He was a mere palace guard, but a good one.

  There were plenty of other mermaids more glamorous than her in her mind. Meriya’s only redeeming quality was her intelligence. Every test was aced, every assignment turned in. She was at the top of her class, except for the case of magical abilities.

  She’d yet to be selected for a position within the kingdom because she didn’t excel in any one area of magic, unless brains counted, which they didn’t. Without magic, she’d be assigned to one of the lower-class jobs. A servant, trash collector, or worse, exiled.

  Not to mention, marriages of convenience between a noble-born boy and a beautiful wealthy girl, were what forged connections between rival families.

  Throwing herself on her bed, Meriya buried her face in her seaweed pillow, muffling her screams of frustration. Life wasn’t fair. She beat her fists on the pillow on either side of her head, releasing all her anger. She very rarely lost control, but this news brought her to a breaking point.

  Boys were cute and a nice distraction, but her one true dream was to study the submarine volcanos simmering on the east side of the kingdom. They fascinated her. Most were inactive, jagged mountains on the ocean floor, but some still had red glowing ooze leaking from them, quickly cooling, and steam hiding the mountains behind a misty veil of mystery.

  The dormant volcanos gave them the material needed to build the palace which sat in the middle of their kingdom like a black shiny beacon, its turrets towering over the village below.

  Obsidian.

  The beautiful centerpiece also helped name their kingdom; Obsidia.

  Are you okay? Jovie asked. She had to be close to use telepathy, but Meriya wasn’t in the mood to chat.

  I don’t want to talk about it.

  Meriya buried her face deeper into her pillow, trying to block out the world. The door creaked open and the bed dipped beside her as Jovie laid down, draping her arm over Meriya’s waist in comfort.

  “I heard Dad yelling at you. I… I’m so sorry, Meriya.” Her arm tightened around Meriya. “Cayson is awful. Why would Dad betroth you to such a horrible person?”

  Lifting her head, Meriya swiped at the errant tears. “Joining with him would be the worst thing. He’s horrible to me at school and… and… he’s not even that cute.”

  “You know he’s cute, he’s just not pleasan
t to be around, but what if he ended up being nice to you? Wouldn’t it be worth it?” Jovie asked as she finally sat up next to Meriya.

  “Whose side are you on?” She lightly punched her sister in the arm.

  Jovie stuck her tongue out. “I’m on yours, you dork, but I’m trying to put a positive spin on this. I don’t think Dad is going to back down.”

  “No, maybe, I don’t know.” Meriya’s thoughts felt scattered like bubbles rising to the surface. Her Dad should have never agreed to this. “Is my happiness the cost required to bring our families together and elevate our station?”

  Meriya reached behind her to grab her pillow, bringing it to her face to scream out the rest of her frustrations. This wasn’t how her life was supposed to happen.

  “Wonder what Cayson thinks of all this,” Jovie mused.

  Flopping down on the bed, Meriya huffed, a whirl of bubbles dancing around her face. “He probably thinks this is an awesome idea. Now he can torture me for the rest of my life.”

  “Hmm, probably.”

  Jovie’s hands wove in the air creating an intricate pattern. Before Meriya knew it, a flower appeared in the water, made entirely out of bubbles.

  Giggling, Meriya poked her finger through the delicate flower, hearing the bubbles pop in multiples.

  Jovie’s powers manifested early. She could control wind and was able to make anything out of bubbles. Meriya only wished she could figure out what her inner magic was.

  Jovie’s antics still lifted Meriya’s spirits, which she appreciated, but that didn’t change her fate.

  Both girls sat in silence for quite some time letting their thoughts ruminate, or fester, depending on the direction.

  “Hey, um… tomorrow,” Jovie probed. Meriya arched a brow. “Let’s go visit one of the shipwrecks. That always seems to make you feel better.” Jovie ran her fingers lightly through Meriya’s hair, the soft strands floating around them. “It’ll do you some good.”