Rising

by Kelly, Holly

  “I… uh…” Sara’s song ended in startled surprise. The guard’s statue-like form floated down to the floor. She turned to Xanthus and whispered, “Can all Dagonians do that?”

  Xanthus smiled and shook his head.

  Sara turned back to the stranger. He looked like any other Dagonian, maybe a bit larger and more muscular. About Xanthus’s size actually. But his eyes, they had the same blue luminescence as hers own! “Are you Triton?” she asked, suddenly timid.

  Triton nodded. He looked unsure.

  “Are you my dad?” she asked, hopefully.

  He gave a tentative smile. “Yes, I am.”

  “Majesty,” Xanthus said, “may I suggest we take this reunion to a more appropriate place?”

  Sara could hear the wailing of prisoners in the background. Xanthus was right. This was not the best place for a family reunion. Light blinded her for a moment and then her vision came into focus in the most beautiful seascape gardens she could have ever imagined. There were huge, colorful anemones, giant clams, coral the size of palm trees, hundreds of colorful fish, and towering sculptures all set in front of the most amazing castle she’d ever seen.

  “Sara,” Triton said. “I don’t know what I can say or do to make up for not being there for you. Living as a mermaid amongst the humans must have been very difficult for you. I’m truly sorry.”

  Sara shrugged. “You can’t help what you didn’t know. I don’t blame you for anything. Besides, I think I did all right.”

  “You ended up in Panthon Prison.” Triton’s voice was thick with regret.

  “I was there for a few hours.” She shrugged. “I’m just glad Xanthus found me. My husband is an amazing Dagonian, don’t you think?”

  Xanthus cleared his throat. “Well, actually, we’re not really married, Mou.”

  “What?” Sara asked.

  “The priest was a fake.” Xanthus cocked one eyebrow and shrugged.

  “He was? When did you find out?”

  Xanthus shrugged.

  Sara’s eyes widened. “You knew all along, didn’t you? And just when were you going to let me know?” Sara pushed him away.

  “Um, I just told you,” Xanthus said.

  “You should have told me as soon as you found out. There was no reason that we both needed to end up in prison. Oh, that reminds me. Josh Talbot. We need to go back to the prison. He needs our help.”

  “Who’s Josh Talbot?” Triton asked.

  “He’s a human, a deep sea diver. He was in the cell with me. He protected me from Slink and his friends. It almost cost Josh his life. I hope he’s okay. I couldn’t figure out how to take him with me. And I couldn’t bring myself to have Slink and his friends drown themselves. I hope my rash decision didn’t end his life.”

  “Don’t worry, Sara,” Triton said. “We saw him when we went to find you. He looked like he had things under control. And anyone that saves a daughter of mine will be well rewarded.

  “Now, I think it’s time I hear who took you prisoner. I want names. I want details and don’t leave anything out.” Triton looked Sara in the eye.

  “I’ll let Xanthus tell you. He knows more than I do. The situation was hard for me to understand since no one spoke English. I would like to know what was said, too.” Sara put her hands on her hips and fixed Xanthus with accusing eyes. He responded by pulling her into his arms. She didn’t resist. Instead, she wrapped her own arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest.

  Xanthus related the entire story to her father. Sara’s tightened her grip at the more shocking or horrendous accountings he told. He related to Triton every detail of what had happened. He even told Triton about his father’s epic hatred of the Mer and how, even now, he kept the body of a mermaid in his home. It was obvious why Xanthus had chosen not to tell his father about her true identity. In the end, he had laid all his family secrets out for the god to inspect.

  Her father’s response was surprisingly mild. “Very well, Xanthus. I can hear the anger and your wish for retribution in your voice. But I would rather you forget all that happened. Focus on taking care of my daughter and making her happy. I will see that all the guilty are punished and you’ll think no more on it.

  “Furthermore, I know you have your heart set on convincing the humans of the error of their ways and cooling the feelings of hatred your Dagonians have for them. Although I think it’s an impossible task, I understand your desire. I also know that in order for you to accomplish your goal, you must mingle with your enemy and live among them for a time. I will grant you as much time as you feel you need.

  “I also know that you love my daughter and wish to marry her. Here’s where the conflict in me lies. I have a desire to get to know this daughter of mine and I don’t trust the human’s at all. They are a selfish and self-serving people. But I can also see the great love my daughter has for you and I doubt she’ll want to live apart from you. So here’s my compromise—I will allow her to return to the surface with you under certain conditions. First, that she is guarded at all times, either by you or by other soldiers you trust to keep her safe. My protection does not extend into my uncle Zeus’s domain, so you’ll have to take special precautions. Then she must take at least three months out of each year to visit me, so that we may get to know one another as father and daughter.”

  “But…” Xanthus sounded like he was about to protest, but stopped himself.

  Her father gave a knowing smile. “You may accompany her on her visits if you wish.”

  “Thank you, Sire.”

  “Um, Father… I was wondering. I mean, if I’m going to be on land for a while. Do you think you could…?” She paused, losing her nerve to ask for her greatest desire.

  “Yes? What would you ask of me, daughter?” Triton looked confused at her hesitation.

  “Sire,” Xanthus said, “I believe she would like to know if you could gift her with human legs.”

  Sara braced for his response. He couldn’t possibly say no, could he? Maybe there was more to it than waving a wand or casting a spell. Perhaps there were rules against giving a mermaid legs.

  Triton didn’t answer. He simply slammed his trident against the sandy sea floor. The water around them drained as if someone had pulled a plug. As the water receded, Sara found herself on the beach of a beautiful tropical island. As the last of the water withdrew from around them, she could hear Xanthus growling in pain. Then a strange new sensation distracted her. When she realized what it was, she gasped, amazed beyond words. She looked down and found herself standing on legs.

  Xanthus rushed over in a panic. “Sara, are you all right?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.” She beamed.

  He grabbed her, horrified. “Are you sure? You’re not hurt?”

  Sara shook her head.

  “You think I would cause my daughter pain?” Triton bellowed.

  Xanthus turned toward her father. “But why do I have to…”

  “Your type of change uses less of my power.” Triton shrugged. “Besides, you can handle it. In fact, I’m considering having you travel by Heitach and report to me monthly.”

  Xanthus paled.

  Triton laughed. “That was a joke, Dagonian.”

  Xanthus breathed out a sigh of relief.

  Sara smiled as she pranced around, enjoying the sensation of the sand beneath her feet. Then she began to skip. It was all so amazing, a beautiful feeling. Her legs felt as if they’d always been a part of her. She could walk, run, skip.... She felt nimble, as if she could dance and twirl, maybe even cartwheel. She stopped herself before she tried that. She’d hate to break these new legs.

  She turned to Xanthus, who was talking to her father.

  “She looks like she’s been on human feet her whole life,” Xanthus remarked, amazed. “I don’t understand—it took me months to learn to walk.”

  “Get used to it, Dagonian,” her father replied. “She’s my daughter. I’m willing to use more of my power on her than I would on you.”

/>   Sara sprinted to her father. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into his wide chest. “Thank you, Dad.” Her heart swelled to near bursting.

  Sara looked up to see the Guardian of the Sea with a tear in his eye when he responded. “You’re welcome, baby.”

  Sara felt a sharp tingle trace along and around her cheekbone in some unseen design. “What was that?” She touched her fingertip along the path.

  “It is my mark. To warn all who see it that you’re under my protection. No Dagonian or any other creature of the sea would dare harm you while you carry that mark. Just remember, it’s only seen in the water. On land you’re still vulnerable.”

  Sara stepped away from her father’s embrace.

  “Now,” Triton said, “one more question before the evening falls. Do you want me to marry you both now or do you want to wait for a big wedding fit for the daughter of a sea king?”

  “Well, I don’t know.” Sara turned and approached Xanthus. He reached out and took her hand. “Would it be better to wait until after—you know. When I’m not fertile?” Sara whispered the last word so that only Xanthus heard her. She could feel her face burn.

  “We already did.” Xanthus smiled. “And I can’t tell you what a relief it is.”

  “So what is your answer, daughter?” Triton raised an eyebrow.

  She and Xanthus stepped into each other’s arms and answered in unison. “Now.”

  Triton should have dropped Gael and his father on a sand dune in the middle of the Sahara Desert, but Sara made him swear to her that he wouldn’t kill them. And even though technically, it would have been the heat and baking sun that killed them, Triton knew his daughter wouldn’t see it that way, so he did the next best thing. He turned them into humans and left them stark naked on the Kansas plains, surrounded by hundreds of miles of dry, golden wheat fields.

  They deserved much worse, but a guilty conscience can make a god do things out of character. Actually, a guilty conscience was out of character for a god and lately, he seemed to have more than his ungodly share.

  Triton’s heart clenched as he thought of the tragic story that was his life. He could no longer blame his father and the Dagonians, although he’d tried for over two thousand years. Now he acknowledged that any other god would have done the same thing his father had done if they had been so severely disrespected and humiliated. And the Dagonians… Well, they were just following orders.

  The destruction of his children had been his own fault. It had been his fault for not teaching them respect, for not giving them boundaries, for overindulging them. He’d seen how Sara had turned out—so selfless, humble, and kind. Under Nicole’s mothering, his daughter had flourished.

  Triton fisted his fingers in his hair and crumpled into himself at the pain that was still there when he thought of Nicole. It had been twenty years, but he could still taste her on his lips, feel the shape of her body in his arms. She was the beauty that nearly crushed a god into oblivion—the most amazing, exquisite, and perfectly maddening woman he’d ever met.

  Triton had blamed Aphrodite for his lapse in judgment, but if it were her magic that had caused the torrid love affair, why was he still tormented by the memory of the human girl? The magic should have faded long ago.

  Regardless of where his feelings came from, he could no longer bury himself from the memory of them or the pain. Nicole was his daughter’s mother, the mother who had raised her. He could not continue to hide. He would have to confront her.

  He wished for a moment that he’d had the courage to ask Sara if her mother had found happiness with another man, but he couldn’t bear to ask. Some all-powerful god he was.

  He had to see her. He had to see if she was happy, see if she had found love. He dared not hope she could ever learn to love him again, learn to trust him again.

  It took all the courage Triton could muster to flash himself to Nicole’s home. He took in the view of her bright, yellow house and his heart sped up double time. Before he lost his courage, he stepped up to her front door. He was terrified. He remembered every detail of the day he had left, the day she had shredded his heart with her pleas that he not leave.

  Now that he was back, what kind of welcome would he receive? A loving one would be too much to ask. An angry reception would be what he deserved. A dispassionately civil one would be too much to bear.

  By the gods, he was over-analyzing this. With his heart pulsing under his ribs and his chest trembling with nervousness, he raised his fist and rapped on the door.

  I'm a mom who writes books in her spare time: translation--I hide in the bathroom with my laptop and lock the door while the kids destroy the house and smear peanut butter on the walls. ;) I was born in Utah but lived in Salina, Kansas until I was 13 and in Garland, Texas until I was 18. I'm now back in Utah–"happy valley". I'm married to a wonderful husband, James, and we are currently raising 6 rambunctious children. My interests are reading, writing (of course), martial arts, visual arts, and spending time with family.

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