by Munt, S. K
‘Aahh!’ Lincoln’s cry from his human throat came out as garble, and he flailed in his arms, eyes bulging, bubbles rushing out of his wide-open mouth as he screamed. Ardhi dragged him down further, relishing the absolute power surging through his muscles. When the water grew darker and colder and the stream of bubbles began to dissolve, he tugged Lincoln towards him, one final burst before the deed would be done.
‘Only I can make her happy!’ Ardhi cried, his voice sounding loud and manic, even to his own ears. But the euphoria rising within him cancelled out any reservations about his course of action-he’d come too far to repent now-his beautiful world would never have him back, but at least Tristan and Lincoln would be lost to their own as well. ‘Watch me prove it!’
With that, Ardhi doubled his tail and brought the hard fold into the centre of Lincoln’s soft, human torso, forcing out any remaining oxygen and letting out a roar of victory when the human went slack in his arms.
⁓
‘No!’ Ivyanne screamed when Lincoln was pulled under. She duck-dove, shooting underneath the boat. Suddenly, the water swelled unexpectedly and Ivyanne had to make herself sink to get out of the boats’ way. The prop hurtled past her face, giving her a fright, until she saw that it wasn’t spinning.
But things were dire-now that the boat was behind her, it was blocking the floodlights from Tristan’s yacht, making visibility a huge issue. Needle Island was only one hundred meters away, but she knew the area well, and she knew she swimming down into the trench which was popular with the die-hard fishing crowd-herself included. Now, she was negotiating the inky water with outstretched hands, certain only that Ardhi would have dragged Lincoln into the depths, and knowing that she’d see nothing.
To prove her helplessness, something sharp suddenly tore down the side of her tail- from hip bone to knee before she managed to jerk away, wincing. She hoped it hadn’t penetrated beyond the soft tissue insulating her legs from her scales-or she’d have a nasty scar for a few months. The hand on that side suddenly brushed against something equally unforgiving and she jerked it away. Oyster Rock. Well, at least she knew where she was. Instinctively, she veered right, then ducked down once more, letting her memory negotiate her path through the oyster rock and down to where the coral was softer.
Come on come on come on! She screamed internally, not wanting to make a noise and alert Ardhi of her pursuit. For a whole thirty seconds she shot through the water, feeling for vibrations of any other life form, but locating nothing. Ardhi’s lightning strikes had been conducted by the salt water, but it had still infused the immediate area with a sort of charge, numbing her senses.
After a minute, Ivyanne began to panic. She didn’t need a breath, but she needed help. She pushed herself back up to the surface and broke it, launching herself as high out of the water as she could do attract Bane’s attention.
‘Lights!’ she gasped, flipping so that she angled back down. ‘I need lights!’ Before she could get an answer, or even confirmation that she had been heard, Ivyanne was under again, ten feet and sinking fast. Twenty more seconds of silence and darkness followed, but just as Ivyanne let out a frantic sob for everything she was losing, something smashed into her so hard that it knocked the wind out of her. Bubbles shot out of her mouth.
‘Ardhi?’ She shrieked, turning slightly, trying to make out the other merman-but she was answered with a muted boom of thunder from above and nothing else.
Recovering Ivyanne pivoted and dove again, heart stopping momentarily when she felt something softer rub up against her cadual fin. Ivyanne made herself sink lower, said a quick prayer, then reached down, feeling around for the obstruction while the other hand held her stomach where she had been hit. When she felt limp fingers glance off hers, her heart gave a hard, hopeful thump. She gripped the hand and with every ounce of strength she had, vaulted up towards the surface, tagging Lincoln’s prone form behind her. Halfway up, the lights found her, illuminating the immediate space around them. She looked down as she strained for the surface, seeing Lincoln’s peaceful but lifeless face through the red cloud of water in her wake.
⁓
The deed was done. Now she’d know-they’d all know, his power and his devotion. Ardhi released Lincoln’s lifeless body, and took off, not even slowing when he felt Ivyanne’s own soft and yet strong body collide with his. Now was not the time to ponder, but to flee. When Ivyanne realized her own gratitude, he’d be there to witness it-one way or the other, even if she never knew it.
⁓
When Lincoln came to, he flinched to see three concerned faces staring down at him. One he did not know, one he’d thought he’d known, the third, tear-streaked and radiant-was one he’d always know.
‘I didn’t die?’ he gasped. But the next thing he knew, he was choking.
The unfamiliar boy turned him onto his side, thumping his back as coughs jerked Lincoln’s curled body. ‘That’s it!’ he said soothingly. ‘Get it out.’
‘Thank god!’ Ivyanne’s voice was trembly, an edge of hysteria to it. She was pulling away from his face, her features blurred but majestic. ‘No you didn’t die.’
‘Just,’ Pintang whispered. ‘Ivyanne got you out and was about to revive you but your eyes opened on their own. Thank goodness.’
‘Ardhi?’ Lincoln croaked, between watery gasps.
‘He got away.’ Ivyanne said sadly. ‘I had to get you to the surface.’
For the first time, Lincoln realized that her wet hand was clenching his. ‘Help me up,’ he managed, as the last droplets of water evacuated from his chest. His head was pounding, making him dizzy. Had he really just fought off a merman in a stormy sea? Or was he really having a nightmare in his own bed? If it was the latter, he’d have to see a shrink about it. Adrenalin was pumping through his veins almost violently.
‘You should probably stay on your side for a while, man.’ The strange boy said in a thick American accent-twice as obvious as Tristan’s own. His skin was the color of hot chocolate, his eyes dark and full of consternation. ‘You’ll be weak for a few days.’
‘I feel fine.’ Link said honestly, realizing it was true. The dizziness had already subsided. His clothes were soaking though, weighing heavily on him, and he was cold-but he didn’t feel as thrashed as he’d expected. Then again, he’d expected death. ‘Now that the water is out of me, anyway.’
Ivyanne pulled on his arm so he was sitting, but kept one of her hands bracing his back from behind. Lincoln saw she was soaking wet, wearing only a strapless bikini top with a towel knotted around her waist. He knew at once then when she’d saved him, she would have been in her true form-one he’d never glimpsed but imagined to be sensational. He wanted to kick himself for missing it.
Then he was instantly annoyed at himself for already focusing on her beauty over the fact that he’d just almost died. This was the second time she had saved his life-how much harder would that make it to forget her?
‘He looks okay,’ Pintang, also soaking wet, also wrapped in a beach towel, eyed him. ‘What did Ardhi do to you Lincoln?’
‘Aside from literally making him sleep with the fishes?’ The other boy joked. He then turned to Lincoln and winked. ‘I’m Bane, by the way. The insignificant suitor.’
Lincoln’s eyebrows flexed. ‘Hey.’ He managed to say, wondering if he’d died and was now in hell and being forced to watch the parade of perfect people. Bane was almost as good-looking as the other two! No wonder Ivyanne had found herself in a conundrum! The truly puzzling part was how Link had ever managed to turn her head at all!
‘We should siren him now.’ Pintang said quickly. ‘While he’s still half out of it. It’ll make it easier.’
‘Siren me?’ Lincoln’s heart skipped a beat. ‘Why? I’ve seen the shell! I can’t say a word!’
‘But you’ll be haunted by this forever.’ Ivyanne’s face was apologetic. ‘Besides, too many people know you know, Link. You’ll be less paranoid if you’re oblivious to that fact, at least.’
‘And I don’t want a pay-reduction because my brother tried to kill you.’ Pintang said humorlessly.
Lincoln backed up against the wall. He didn’t want a mermaid-induced lobotomy! And he definitely wanted the mermaids off his pay-roll! But there was a groan from across the room, and it drew the focus from him.
‘He’s coming to!’ Bane cried, his face flushing with what could only be relief. ‘Tristan! Mahalo!’
‘Oh!’ Ivyanne’s arm fell from Lincoln’s back, and she vaulted over him, her bare feet kicking up scales, which shone like metallic confetti right across the boat deck. ‘Oh my god!’
‘Tristan’s hurt?’ Lincoln leaned forward, frowning as the others surrounded Tristan, who was lying on a bench seat near the steering ever, a bandage wrapped around his torso, a blanket covering the rest.
Ivyanne looked back at him. ‘He dived in to save you-Ardhi stabbed him. We thought-’ she looked away. ‘Honey? Can you hear me?’
Something inside Lincoln shattered when he heard Ivyanne calling out to his rival so fondly, fear and desperation so distinct in her tearful voice. It stung that she’d left his side so easily, but he shook off the bitterness. He’d almost drowned, yet he was okay.
But by the look of the blood soaking through the crisp white bandage around Tristan’s ribs, golden boy was at risk of a lot more than a lobotomy. And if he truly had taken a knife to the ribs to protect Lincoln, then Lincoln needed to be grateful, not envious.
Tristan groaned again. ‘Lincoln?’
‘He’s alive! We all are! You must have passed out from the pain.’
‘Ardhi?’ he coughed. His usually velveteen voice sounded raw.
‘Gone, but we’ll find him.’ Ivyanne leaned down and planted a kiss on Tristan’s forehead.
Lincoln flinched, witnessing it. So she hadn’t been lying-she really had developed feelings for the other man. Accepting that was like swallowing pungent seaweed.
‘Never do that again, okay?’
‘You know I can’t promise that...’ Tristan rolled his head to the side, his eyes meeting Lincoln’s-the expression within them subtly empathetic. ‘Bet you wish you didn’t get out of bed this morning, hey?’
‘That’s pretty much it,’ Lincoln said, not adding that watching Ivyanne fawn all over him, was making him wish Ardhi had finished the job. ‘Thanks though.’
‘Figured I owed you one.’
‘You really did.’ Lincoln smiled tightly. ‘Appreciated.’
‘I called mum!’ Ivyanne said softly to Tristan. ‘Aubrielle is going to meet us at Bracken and see what she can do for you. If it’s too deep, there’s a doc up north who can help us. Mum’s already sent out a bunch of people looking for Ardhi.’ She looked back at Lincoln. ‘I don’t suppose you saw which way he went?’
Lincoln shook his head, sifting through the nightmarish, watery events he had just been subjected to, looking for a clue. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I think he thought I was dead sooner than I was. The weirdo kissed me, shoved me down and then bam-he was gone. Is that some sort of mer mafia thing?’ he joked. ‘The kiss of death?’
Four heartbreakingly beautiful heads whipped around and regarded him with four sets of beautiful albeit stricken eyes. For ten seconds, there was a stunned silence.
Ivyanne was the first to break it. ‘He kissed you?!’ she demanded, abandoning Tristan and swooping down beside him. ‘Lincoln, are you sure?’
‘Oh-’ Bane’s hand went to his mouth. His dark eyes were wide, appalled.
Lincoln made a face at Ivyanne. ‘Does that sound like something I’d spread around if I wasn’t?’ he joked. ‘It was my first, and I prey, last gay experience. Can’t say I enjoyed it much-it felt more like he was sucking the life out of me, and I blacked out. Asphyxiation, you know?’ he shuddered. ‘When I came to my senses enough to realize I was checking out- permanently, everything was getting darker and Ardhi was gone. It was just me, some fish and I think maybe a dolphin?’ he frowned, realizing that he was babbling. But it was strange-he just felt so amped. ‘Though it’s out of season for them. Hope it wasn’t a shark! All that blood in the water...’
‘No!’ Pintang’s wail was so sudden, so tortured, that Lincoln flinched, chills racing through him at the woeful sound.
‘Nai’a?’ Bane asked him with wide eyes. Lincoln had no idea how he was supposed to respond to that, so he looked back at the stricken cleaning-girl.
Pintang threw herself down, smashing her head against the floor, towel sliding down slightly. ‘No! NO! Ardhi no!’ she shrieked. Bane went to embrace her, but she threw him off. ‘Get off me!’ she sobbed. ‘Everybody leave me alone!’
Tristan struggled to get up, his tanned complexion more waxen now that his blood loss seemed to be compounded with shock. His eyes were fixed beyond Lincoln, on Ivyanne, his expression one of horror and anticipation.
Lincoln swiveled to look at Ivyanne, amazed to see her staring at him with utter disbelief, one hand in her mouth, like she intended to swallow it whole.
‘What did I say?’ Lincoln asked weakly, shooting a nervous glance at Pintang.
Tears began to run down Ivyanne’s face. ‘When we kiss underwater, Link.....’ she began haltingly, eyes unfocused. ‘When we, suck out the air.... it’s to blow our own in.... if Ardhi-’ her voice broke. ‘If Ardhi did that to you-it was to give you his life. And then we become dolphin. So if you saw one-’
Lincoln wasn’t following. It was all too big for his small life. ‘Are you telling me that Ardhi’s dead?’
‘Not dead exactly, but lost to us.’ To his surprise, she reached out and took his hand. ‘And that means you’re one of us now, Link. A mer. Ardhi gave you our gift.’
The whole world tilted crazily. Lincoln snatched his hand back, resting it against his heart. ‘But how?’
‘Magic!’ Ivyanne sniffled, offering him a weak smile. ‘Like I told you.’
‘I don’t understand!’ Tristan was sitting, paler now, shaken. ‘Did he say anything to you?’
Lincoln nodded. ‘He said he was the only one who could make Ivyanne happy,’ he whispered, heart racing as it all began to come into focus. ‘He said he’d finally prove it, and that she would love him for it.’
A fresh wail escaped Pintang, and Tristan looked like he was going to fall off the chair. His head snapped up to regard Ivyanne, astonishment too weak a word to correctly describe how thrown the handsome blonde man appeared to be.
‘Ivyanne....’ his voice broke. ‘Ivyanne do you understand what has happened? Ardhi told me that if he couldn’t have you, that I couldn’t-’ he pointed to Lincoln. ‘But why him? Why would he choose him? A human?’
‘I don’t know!’ Ivyanne cried, getting to her feet. ‘I can’t even think-’ she spun on Lincoln, staring down at him, her eyes looking twice the size in her face, magnified by tears. ‘Did you tell him Lincoln?’ she demanded. ‘About us? About it all?’
Lincoln nodded, feeling guilty and not quite knowing why. ‘He tried to tell me I had no right to you, and that no one could ever love you like he did... so I put him straight.’ He shrugged. ‘I yelled at him, about how long I’ve known you, about what I’ve gone through, and how I’d never love anyone else and that you’d abandoned me for Tristan too! I said that you loved me, but you’d sacrificed us to do the right thing!’ He looked at all of the dumbstruck faces wildly, feeling helpless. ‘I’m sorry! But I thought he was going to kill me, so I didn’t see why I shouldn’t.’
‘Don’t you guys get it?’ Pintang finally erupted. ‘God you’re all so stupid! Ardhi thought Tristan was unworthy, so he wouldn’t surrender you to him. But when he found out that you two go way back-’ she paused to glare accusingly at Lincoln before whirling back on Ivyanne, ‘and that you loved Link most of all-he decided to offer up his life for your happiness!’ The words left her in a furious rush. ‘It was his way of proving that he valued you above himself, your highness. Something he’s been trying to tell you for months, but you didn’t listen!’ She picke
d up the first aid kit which was sitting beside her, and hefted it into the control panel of the boat, a scream of frustration ripping out of her lungs. The towel covering her slid off completely and Lincoln averted his eyes. ‘And now my brother’s dead- because of you three! Because no one could see what he could offer-and no one cared!’ she backed up. ‘Now you know, but it’s too late! I hate you all!’
With that Pintang turn and dove off the deck, towel falling away, her smooth skin glistening in the light before she dissolved into a shimmering spiral which plowed into the water almost noiselessly.
‘Oh no!’ Ivyanne shrieked, moving to go after her, but Tristan held her back. ‘Pintang!’
‘She needs to be alone Ivyanne.’ Tristan said quietly. ‘Or at least, with her mom and dad. Just give her time-she’ll calm down.’
‘Calm down? Ardhi’s dead!’ Ivyanne sank to her knees and beat at her temples. ‘Dead because of me!’
‘But Lincoln and I are alive because of you.’ Tristan whispered. ‘Even if Ardhi hadn’t done what he’d done-you found Link in time to save him.’
‘He’s right.’ Bane’s accent sounded further away. ‘Because of you, Ardhi didn’t die a murderer, so you’ve spared his family that shame.’
Lincoln’s heart was hammering like crazy-freaked out by Ivyanne’s meltdown and astounded to have seen a real mermaid in motion, but unable to compute the full implications of it all. He forced himself to get to his feet, feeling now, a strength he hadn’t noticed prior, like a current was surging through him, like whatever Pintang had just done, he could do if he tried.
I’m a mer, he thought, unable to make his spinning brain focus on any one of the people speaking frantically around him. It was like they were far, far away, and he was floating on a tidal wave of ecstasy. But then, as a wave breaks against the shore, Lincoln’s own surge came crashing back down, allowing him to focus on his current situation. Bane was starting the boat.
‘What are you going to do?’ Tristan was asking Ivyanne. His toffee colored eyes were saddened, and weary. ‘I mean, now that he’s one of us?’