by Anna LaVerne
A sheepish smile spreads across Aden’s face, “Yeah, well, life hasn’t been moving slow, either.”
“I guess I want you to know that I remember. I remember the first time I saw you when we were both running late to the Ring. I remember the night you spent with me after our shower, and how tender and perfect your company was.” My cheeks warm with the memory. “You are important to me . . .”
Aden turns to me, moving in and pinning me against the counter, his mouth inches from mine, “I have been burning for you for years.”
When his mouth collides with mine, my world spins. I need Aden; I have always needed Aden. And now for the first time in years, I feel like I have him. Aden started this all. If it were not for him, I wouldn’t have Morgan, Laki, and Breck. I also wouldn’t have gone against Poseidon. I chuckle mid-kiss causing Aden to pull back and give me a questionable look.
“Was it that bad?”
“Ha, no it was perfect, is perfect. I just realize how grateful I am for having run into you that first day. Then I realized if it weren’t for you and the others, I’d have never gone against Poseidon. And yet, I still don’t want to change a thing.”
Aden nods, “I’d have changed a few things. I spent many nights thinking if we would have just insisted to follow through with the Ring battle, none of this would have happened. We wouldn’t have been forced to spend twelve years without you. To you, it all happened yesterday because you are forgetting your time on land. But to us, it was twelve years of searching and failing time after time before finally finding you.”
The sadness I see reflecting in his eyes reminds me of Morgan’s, “I guess I haven’t really grasped how long it has been. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for my hasty decisions that caused this,” I reiterate.
“Don’t be sorry. You were thrown to the wolves by your own family and saved our lives.”
“All for nothing; you are still going to have to be put into the Ring and battle for your position next to me,” desperation fills my voice.
“You are a goddess, and as so, you are a pawn of the fates. I have no idea what their plans are, but for some reason, out of all the thousands of god children, they are interested in you. You’re important. Amphitrite wants to keep you safe, Aphrodite is missing in action because she did her duty, Ares wants to use you as a weapon against Poseidon. Poseidon is angry because your very presence disturbs his millenia of inaction.”
I still don’t feel like a goddess. I wasn’t raised as one, and annoyance washes over me everytime I hear the term. Every ounce of my being wants to deny it. The truth is I’m not a friend of the gods anymore. They have made my life insane, and if the fates are involved, I’m not in a fan of them, either.
When I don’t respond, Aden pulls me into a hug, rubbing his hand up and down my back, comforting me. Part of me wants to pull away instead of being lulled back into the false sense of security I always have around them.
“Have you ever made a sandwich?” Aden asks as he hugs me tight. The term sounds familiar, and I am certain I have eaten one before.
“Maybe,” I reply in all honesty.
His chest rumbles with a small laugh, “Well, then, I think it is time you learn.”
He pulls back, giving me a wink behind his glasses and returns to the bread on the counter. Before I know it, he is instructing me in how to make the best ham sandwich with tomato, onion, ham, and cheese. He pulls out a head of lettuce adding it “more for texture than taste,” he says.
Aden cuts the sandwich, we prepared together in the small galley, in half, handing a portion to me. I study the layers within before sinking in my teeth through the soft bread into the crunch of the crisp cool lettuce. “Mmm,” I say between bites, enjoying the simplicity of flavors. This moment adds to the list of memorable moments at sea, even if we are waiting for dark in the vain hope that Amphitrite will fall asleep. Savoring these little moments is what will get us through the big ones.
The afternoon continues with no hiccups and with calm seas. Aden and I relax on the pristine white sofa until we both drift off to sleep just before the sunset.
26
Someone nudges my shoulder, and my heavy eyelids fight the need to wake up. Aden moves from behind me on the sofa, and I groan in protest.
“Come on, you two love birds. It’s middle of the night,” Laki turns on the lights causing an instant severe pain to my eyes. The monster in me can’t help but to hiss like a creature of the night versus a creature of the sea. Aden takes my hand and pulls me to my feet. I cease my protesting and follow him quietly to the bow of the boat.
A full moon is reflecting off of the calm sea. The atmosphere is still and full of tension. That moment of hunting just before the prey realizes they are being hunted. My sense of knowing causes my stomach to figuratively drop into my feet. I start to pace as the four men talk about the direction they are heading. I hear nothing of what they are saying.
“This isn’t right,” I interrupt them all.
“You don’t want to go to Atlantis now?” Breck questions in his surf boy way.
“Yes, No. I mean I want to go home, but this,” I gesture to the sea before us, “is not right!”
“It is just the middle of the night. Things are calm, nothing to worry about,” Laki shakes off my concern.
Morgan’s eyes narrow in on the water, “It’s placid like if we were on a lake with no wind . . .”
“Exactly,” I reply, exasperated by it taking them so long to notice something so obvious.
Three of the four mouths make an “O” shape of understanding. Morgan’s face stays blank as he debates the next course of action.
“I don’t think it matters the direction we go at this point. Might as well push on towards Atlantis,” Morgan says. That instant, everyone drops out of their stupor and are spurred into action. They run around getting things ready to move, including raising the anchor. Morgan disappears to the wheelhouse, while I stand near the railing watching the sea, waiting.
The vessel begins to move, and and a slight breeze lifts my wavy hair. My body can no longer stand idle. I hurry down into the bowels of the yacht to the weapons room. Piece by piece, I add the armor gifted to me by Amphitrite. The scales of the bodice reflect different colors in the light. I add the skirt and then begin to load my person with weapons. Throwing knives about my waist with my dagger. I strap the two scabbards to my back, placing my swords in each one. My hair is twisted and tightened into a severe bun on the top of my head. I take two very sharp long knives to pin it in place. My feet stay bare, and I do not put on any pants. My skirt barely covers my nether regions, but it won’t matter. This battle will be in the sea.
I make my way back to the bow, where I find Aden still in his shorts, but shirtless and holding a long sword. He is as prepared as I. Next to him is Laki, holding a black gun and a crossbow with quivers strapped to his back.
“Where is Breck?” I ask, knowing Morgan is steering the Yacht.
“He is watching the other side,” Aden responds, not taking his eyes from the sea.
I nod then turn to walk to Breck. Two sets of eyes on each side are better than one. When I approach Breck, he turns briefly to acknowledge me standing next to him. He is wearing shorts, like the others, and is bare chested. He has two swords strapped to his back, like I do. The leather criss-crossing the front of his chest. His blond hair hangs loose about his shoulders.
“It is two in the morning,” he observes, looking at the watch on his wrist.
It is the first time I have heard the time.
“We are being hunted,” he adds turning to look at me.
“They are already here. These are the moments before they attack. To be honest, us trying to outrun whatever is out there, is silly. I wish we could just jump in the water and attack first to kill the suspense gnawing at me.”
“Me, too, but it is hard to attack when we don’t know what ‘it’ is,” Breck responds with his eyes still inspecting every wave of the water, looking for a distu
rbance.
“What is it waiting for?” I ask, not expecting a response and not getting one.
A few moments later, the yacht is hit from beneath the waves, sending us all reeling on the deck. I grab the rail to brace myself against the onslaught. Breck takes hold of my arm to help keep me upright, “Where is it coming from?” I ask, even though I know very well where it is coming from.
Morgan appears on the deck next to us, shouting something about the sonar. I have no idea what that means. Bracing myself with the rail, I pull free of Breck and start working my way to the other end of the boat. I have to make sure Aden and Laki are okay. Morgan and Breck see me moving and join me.
Water crashes into me from the choppy seas below. The sea is no longer calm, however, the sky is still clear, and the moon is still bright. When I wipe the salt water from my face, I see the white underbelly of tentacles reflect in the moonlight before it dips below the water again. I watch in horror as I notice more pop out of the water.
“Poseidon has sent his beasts!” I shout and release the rail to run full speed to Aden and Laki.
When I round the corner and spot them, Aden has just chopped off a tentacle that made its way to the deck. Laki is currently using a sword to take chunks out of the creature’s other tentacles. I stop myself from shouting at them both because they need all of their attention in that moment.
The beast falls away from the side of the yacht, and Morgan shouts, “Come on, we need to make it up top!”
I shake my head, thinking we need to jump in the water, but instead, I give my trust over to Morgan. He knows boats better than me. We all make our way to the top, and I don’t even know what the area is called. It is the same place Breck and I practiced days before.
“What now?” I ask them as we all stand prepared with our weapons drawn.
Laki takes his gun and fits it with a dart, “Now I try to take out a few of these things from here.”
I watch as he steadies himself and his gun on the railing and adjusts the scope. “How can he see them?”
“The scope allows him to see in the dark,” Breck answers.
Laki holds his hand up and fires off two shots, “One down.” He turns slightly looking for another target, “Fuck, guys,” he mutters.
“What?” Morgan asks in alarm.
“There are hundreds of them,” Laki says as he begins to fire shot after shot counting each one he hits and cursing each miss.
“Six . . . seven . . . . Fuck!”
“They are going to manage to sink us soon, what are we even dealing with?” Aden asks.
“Giant squids,” came Laki’s surprised voice , and I am reminded of the one I killed while saving my men.
“I killed the one by attacking its eyes.”
“Then you dragged its beak and threw it at Poseidon’s feet, we all saw it. Was it easy?” Morgan truly wants to know.
“No,” all I can give them is the truth. The pending doom sends my spirit crashing.
“I am going to run out of tranquilizer darts,” Laki says, bringing our attention back to him as he reloads.
“They will sink the yacht,” Aden repeats his assessment.
“Take as many out as you can, and then we will return to the deck and attempt to postpone the inevitable sinking until daylight. If we are forced into the water now, we won’t be able to see,” Morgan sets a plan into place.
“I am trying,’ Laki grinds out just before saying, “Twelve.”
They must be smaller than the giant I battled before, which is a good thing. I hope.
“I’m out!” Laki shouts, standing up and dropping the gun, “Let’s go!” He pulls his sword free, and we all fall in step behind him. Each one of are ready for battle against giant squids sent to end us.
Someone flips a switch on our way down, lighting up spotlights, allowing us to see the sea more clearly. It is a frightening sight. What I thought were waves moments before, I now see are a massive number of tentacles weaving in and out of the water like serpents. My body shifts ever so slightly. My fangs pop through, and the fins on my arms become exposed. I take the bow of the yacht all to myself slicing through every tentacle that surfaces within reach.
My being is moving on pure instinct to kill, but I’m not killing anything. All any of us are doing is cutting free tentacles that are pulling on the edges of the yacht. We can’t do anything about those beneath it. To make all of it harder, the yacht is still rocking ferociously making it hard to stay on our feet. There is no way we can hold the inevitable off until daylight.
I look to my right, briefly, to see Laki fly through the air with a giant tentacle wrapped around his waist. My mouth opens, and I wail in anger and in frustration. It carries on the cool night air and across the water. In that moment, my body changes. I don’t just grow a tail, but instead, I am growing larger. My clothing magically stretches with the growth. My weapons resize themselves within my hands. The yacht begins to tilt forward beneath my now giant legs.
In one solid movement, I push off the deck and dive within the dark waters to rescue Laki. My size now rivals that of the squids swirling around. My eyes adjust ever so slightly to the dark water allowing me to barely be able to see the rapid movements of the squids below.
I cannot rely on my eyes, so my other senses take over, and I let loose. Laki is nowhere to be seen, these beaked monsters had better hope I find him alive. My massive swords swipe through the water, slashing into giant squid after giant squid. The attacks on the yacht have ceased, and I now sense them coming after me from every direction.
I push deeper into the sea in search of Laki’s red glow, all while fighting the neverending onslaught of Poseidon’s beasts. The moment I see a red flash in the dark, I know I’ve found him. I fight my way in his a direction. All I can make out is his lifeless form floating freely in the water between the arms of the fighting squids.
Anguish washes over me. I wail so loudly, the water vibrates all around me, and the squid are temporarily stunned. I take advantage of the moment and slice my way through, cutting entire bodies in half to get to Laki. I take his limp body within my arms and sit on the ocean floor, holding him. Looking up, I can make out the squid regrouping to attack again. The only thing I can do is wail again. I release all I have into the ocean while at the same time begging for help. Once again, my voice stuns the squid around me, and I take that as my chance to swim to the surface with Laki in my arms. He is small in comparison to my new form.
As soon as I lift him to the deck of the yacht, I am jerked back below the water by tentacles wrapping around my massive tail. One grabs my arm, pulling me down. I’m forced to thrash, trying to free myself, but the suction cups hold on tightly. When that doesn’t work, I use my one free sword to cut them loose from my tail first, but as soon as I do, a tentacle wraps around my waist, jerking me back.
Light has begun to filter through the water, signalling how long this fight has gone on. Every limb of my body is now being held hostage by the tentacles of Poseidon’s beasts. I have failed, and Poseidon has won. I release one last song to my men saying goodbye. Every note leaves me in an attempt to paint a picture of the times we have had together. I close my eyes, releasing my pain in darkness, ready to die.
Moments pass, and then suddenly, a tentacle attached to my arm loosens. I open my eyes to see a shark as large as myself biting into one of the giant squid holding onto me. Renewed hope rushes through me, feeding the fight within. I’m not done. I assess my surroundings while I watch more great white sharks appear and begin tearing into the squids one by one.
Soon, I am free and fighting by the sharks’ side, killing squid after squid. It takes little time before the water is littered with bits and pieces of beasts with majestic sharks swimming through. Not one of them attacks me.
I shake off the aftershocks of battle and remember Laki is in bad shape on the yacht. I surface in the water and look over the edge of the railing. My pure size prevents me from being able to climb on. Not knowing wha
t else to do I cling to the rail and try willing myself to return to my normal size. It isn’t long before two arms take mine, lifting me over the rail. Morgan and Aden are standing over me when I hit the deck. I peer across, seeing Laki continue to lay lifeless. No, it can’t be. I can’t lose him.
I crawl across the deck to him and do the only thing I can think to do. Biting into my wrist, I draw my blood forth and place it upon his mouth. I squeeze the wound, pushing my life force into him. A song of healing flows forth from my mouth, urging him to drink. Minutes pass before his chest moves, taking in air, and his eyes open ever so slightly before fluttering shut again. I finally feel him clamp down upon my wrist and begin to suck my blood from me. That’s when I pull myself from him and watch my wrist heal.
I continue to sit on the deck. Looking past Laki out into the ocean, I see the sun rising above us, and the dorsal fins of hundreds of sharks around us. The only thing I can do is to offer my thanks. Allowing instinct to lead me, I stand and approach the railing.
One more time, I bite into my wrist and sing a song. I hold my wrist out above the water, and when the blood hits, the water turns blood red in a perfect circle expanding in an unnatural manner within the water. The sharks begin swooping through the bloodied body of water one by one.
“My blood is for you. I offer this as my gift. Now you are blood of my blood, my brothers and sisters.”
The sharks answer in their own silent way. Hunters of the sea, violent and strong are now related to me. My voice goes forth releasing my song of thanks into the water. My wrist heals just before I turn to my men.
“Our yacht has survived, Laki is alive, and I am a goddess of sharks.” I burst out laughing. There is no way to tell if I am laughing because I am losing my mind, or if I am laughing because of all the things that could have saved us, it was bloodthirsty sharks, and I am a bloodthirsty mermaid. The irony is not lost to me.
I turn back to my men. Aden has Laki by the arms, and Breck has him by his feet to carry him to his bed. I have no idea what happened on the yacht after I dove in after Laki, but they are all beat up, so I know their fight had to be as intense as mine. I pause briefly to look over the ocean at the sunrise one more time. Today is going to be a long day. I take note that the yacht is still moving. Somehow, during it all, the boat kept going, and we swam along and fought with it.