by Brooke Moss
Ten feet away from me, lost in the crowd, Ian surfaced just long enough to nod at me.
I bit into my lip so hard I tasted blood. I couldn’t lose it now. It’s time. Perla’s voice was so quiet that I almost assumed it was my own thought.
“Stop!” I screamed. Perla lifted me far enough out of the water that the top of my dress was visible.
Mer heads turned all around me. Some gasped and moved away as though I were covered in infectious boils. Others gaped at me with unabashed curiosity. In one swift movement, several Mer surrounded me, making a protective border between the rest of the clan and me. Together we moved forward, coming closer to the rise in the water at the base of the cliff. As we moved, the Mere Monstrom came into my view, turning my stomach and sending my heart leaping into my throat.
The moonlight did little to illuminate what appeared to be its back. It was a massive dome in the water rivaling a 747 in size. There were gills, though. That much was clear by the grating breaths it took in and out, sucking with it debris like driftwood and large chunks of seaweed. Spikes lined its back, each one splitting into two needlelike barbs at the top. Sharp clusters of coral grew in thick patches across its flesh like an impenetrable armor.
A stench wafted off of its exposed scales, and it turned my stomach inside out. It was like a dumpster filled with garbage and spoiled fish…but a hundred times worse. Death, rotting flesh, mud, murk. The Mer closest to it shook as they watched it, their spears pointed at the massive beast, waiting for it to strike at any minute. Fear shook my insides, rattling me in Perla’s arms. If this was just the Mere Monstrom’s back, I never wanted to see the whole thing. Not ever.
Darrow stepped forward and looked over the edge of the ten-foot drop down to the lake. Did I hear one of the clan protest?
This was it…my time to be strong. “No!” I yelled up at him. “You heard me!”
When Darrow peered down at me, he twisted his scarred face into a grimace—I prayed their special abilities didn’t include death-by-hard-stare. You? You certainly didn’t learn your lesson when you ran, did you? He stood up straight and clenched his baseball glove-sized fists at the other Council members. We should have killed her when we had the chance. Get down there and seize her. Now!
Two of the other Council members dove into the water, but Paddox, Ian, and three other Mer tackled them. The sound of splashing filled the air as the Council members were wrestled into submission, and the spiked ends of several spears were pressed against their throats. One more move toward the girl, and we’ll kill them, do you understand me, Darrow? Paddox snarled. We don’t want anyone to get hurt. We just want you to release the boy and for the Council to step down as leaders of this clan.
“Luna?” Saxon’s voice rang out. He spotted me through his puffed and blackened eyes. “Are you hurt? You…you shouldn’t have come.”
“I’m fine.” Drawing strength from somewhere deep inside of my belly that I didn’t even know existed, I leveled my gaze at Darrow. “I’ll be much better as soon as that bastard lets you go.”
Be careful. Perla remained behind me.
You’ve got some nerve showing up here. Bascom joined Darrow at the edge of the cliff and grinned down at me wickedly, the moonlight catching on his teeth. He swept his stare over the crowd. Tell us, Paddox, do you really expect the Council to disassemble?
One of the spears went into the Council members skin just a centimeter, sending a small trickle of blood running down his neck. Paddox narrowed his eyes. This clan doesn’t need to be led by fear. There’s a better way.
Bascom brought his foot down on Saxon’s shoulder, pinning him to the ground. There is no other way. Our sacrifice tonight can attest to that. He thought there was a better way for Mer to live, and now it’s going to get him killed.
Perla’s voice rang out next. My son did nothing violent! He is peaceful and kind, and he hasn’t made a sport of hurting humans the way some of us have. His human companions have done nothing but strive to keep our kind’s existence a secret. Now you’re going to murder him, all in the name of tradition?
Darrow stepped right to the edge of the cliff and bellowed down at her. Your son is being sacrificed because he disregarded hundreds of years’ worth of tradition. Instead of obeying the clan’s utmost law, he put us all at risk by revealing our existence and whereabouts to the humans.
“We’re not going to hurt you!” I screamed up at him. “We can help you! Don’t you understand that?”
Your kind has never helped the Mer. Your kind has only captured, performed experiments on, and killed our kind. Bascom pressed his foot into Saxon’s shoulder even deeper, making him cry out. The only kind of human we don’t have to fear is an altered human…or a dead one.
“No!” My teeth were chattering, but not because I was cold. It was pure adrenaline. “We could help you right now. We can work to make the lake cleaner and safer for your clan. Maybe if the water weren’t toxic, your females could carry younglings without having to alter humans against their will.
The Mer stirred around me, and someone in the crowd called out. Is that true?
Perla looked around, her eyes narrowed and red-rimmed. It very well could be. But we’ll never know if we don’t take the chance. The Council prefers brute force and intimidation over seeking out peaceful resolutions.
Brute force? Darrow cackled. You haven’t seen brute force yet.
Saxon struggled underneath Bascom’s foot. Don’t threaten my mother or I’ll—
You’ll what? Bascom drew back his fist and pounded it into the back of Saxon’s head.
I gasped and tried to wriggle out of Perla’s grasp. “Keep your hands off of him!”
Darrow split his face into a grin. Why don’t you come up here and make us, human?
Ian moved forward. If protecting the existence of Mer is our utmost law, why don’t you tell the clan what you did tonight?
A murmur rippled through the crowd, and Perla spoke over the hum of activity. My son tried to abandon the clan. Rather than putting the clan at risk or facing death, he decided to leave Pend Orielle. So the Council went after Saxon to a gathering of human kids at a hotel in the town. They risked exposing us all, rather than just letting Saxon leave.
A merman toward the back raised his spear. You risked exposing the entire clan just to obtain Saxon?
Darrow pointed down at me. We had no choice. The sacrifice had to be made, and the condemned had escaped!
Another voice was heard. You should have let him go. A chorus of scattered agreements followed.
I coughed as a wave splashed me in the face. “He offered to exile himself, risking his own death, just to stand up for what he believed in!”
I looked at Saxon watching me make my impromptu speech from the ground above with Bascom’s foot pressing on his back. “There’s no reason why your people should be forced to do something they don’t want to do to be allowed to live. You can’t control people by force—sheltering them and limiting where they go and what they do and who they love. You have to let them make their own choices about which path they’ll take.”
You pathetic little girl. Darrow snarled, pointing to where the Mere Monstrom waited. We’ve been protecting your kind from this beast for centuries. The only reason humans aren’t getting slaughtered in the lake every single day is because of our sacrifices. If my generation of Mer die off because of a sudden case of conscience and an unwillingness to pull a human under the surface, then you will all die. Do you understand that?”
A shudder bolted through my body. The thought of the Mere Monstrom going ballistic on all of the boaters and swimmers in Pend Oreille made me want to scream. What in the world would we do? But that didn’t mean that the Mer needed to sacrifice Saxon to satisfy the monster’s bloodlust. There had to be a better way. I was a human. I came from a civilization that had machine guns, nuclear bombs, and the Internet, for hell’s sake! Surely we could find a way to rid the water of this disgusting beast.
“We can w
ork together.” I pointed a mile down the shore to the row of lights that were the nearby town of Bayview. “Humans and Mer. We can join forces, and—”
Are you kidding? Darrow contorted his face in fury. If humans go looking for the Mere Monstrom, they’ll find the Mer. And then every one of us will either be dissected in a laboratory or murdered. You’re almost as stupid as you are ugly!
“Watch your mouth!” Saxon snapped from his spot under Bascom’s foot. As soon as the words came out, the foot collided with his temple. Saxon closed his eyes and groaned.
“Stop hurting him!” Anger blazed beneath my skin. “Do you really think leading your clan with fear is your only option?”
Darrow leaned forward with pure contempt in his eyes. You don’t know anything about my clan. He jerked his head at one of the other Council members. Kill her.
“Don’t touch her!” Saxon thrashed under Bascom’s foot, blood dripping from his temple. “I swear to you, Darrow, if you hurt her, I’ll—”
You’ll what, Saxon? Darrow stood upright and looked out over the lake like some sort of royalty. I think she should wait until after our sacrifice is made. Make her watch what we’re doing to Saxon. Let her last thoughts be about how she caused this.
“Don’t listen to him, Luna.” Saxon’s voice was garbled by bloody, swollen lips. Bascom’s foot came down on his head again with a sickening thud.
I sucked in a shaky breath. “If you’re going to kill me, then fine. But you should know this.” Perla squeezed my middle from underneath the surface. “Your clan isn’t going to put up with this brutality for much longer.”
Oh, really? And who exactly is backing you up in this tirade?
Out of the water emerged the Mer who’d circled around me, Ian included. Some held spears, others just snarled up at Darrow and the Council, ready for a fight. Perla kept one arm around my waist and emerged at my side. I am. I will not stand by and watch you murder my son. If you kill him, you’ll have to kill me too.
Saxon clawed at the dirt. “M-mother?”
I am! Ian’s yell made several heads near him turn. Humans shouldn’t be altered against their will. They can help you. I know they can.
Isolde rose out above the water next to us. I am!
Isolde? Though the surprise was clear on Darrow’s face, he didn’t appear exceptionally intimidated. That is, until the barrel of my father’s rifle pressed against his neck.
Release my son. Nathanial stood holding the gun while Hayden and the other members of the Mer rebellion emerged from the woods. Spears were drawn, ready to fight as Bascom, Darrow, and the other Council members looked around in shock. With a swift swing, a dark-haired mermaid knocked Bascom out cold with a stick as wide as a baseball bat, then dove down into the water with an arch, shifting as she went. Hayden ran up after her and pressed the sharp end of a spear against Bascom’s neck, and everyone—including Saxon—froze.
I stand beside the human too. Nathaniel glared at Darrow. Nobody—human or Mer—should be forced to hurt another to be allowed to live.
I didn’t realize I’d held my breath until Isolde spoke next to me. I don’t want to live this way anymore, Darrow. I don’t want to live in fear of humans…or of the Council. We can find another way to coexist.
Darrow raised his hands slowly. How about we discuss this calmly?
I said release my son. Nathanial shoved the gun against the spot of skin where Darrow’s neck and jaw met. And step down as Council member. It’s time for a new way of life.
Darrow dropped his voice an octave. I’ll never let the Council fall—
He was interrupted by the scuffling sound of Bascom spinning around and grabbing Hayden’s foot, knocking him off of his feet. Once he was down, Bascom’s fist clenched around his throat. As Bascom stood back up, Hayden’s feet lifted off of the ground.
Hayden! Ian bellowed from below.
Kill the human, Darrow ordered.
Before the order could be carried out, the sharpened end of Hayden’s spear sank into Bascom’s side with a sickening thock. Hayden landed back on the ground as Bascom sank.
Hayden dropped the spear and stared down at his bloodstained hands. “I…I…”
Now there’s been bloodshed, Nathanial! Darrow cried. We have every reason to fight back with the intent to kill.
You’ve never hesitated to use bloodshed to scare the clan into doing what you want. Nathanial cocked the gun loudly. I’ll say it again…release my son.
You’ll have to kill me first. Darrow clenched his teeth together. The Mere Monstrom is waiting for a sacrifice. It’s up to you who will go. Your son and his mate…or you and your son. You can decide.
Hayden helped Saxon back to his feet and untied his hands. “Luna!” He scanned the water for me. “Get out of here! Get away! Now!”
I swallowed the lump of fear closing my throat. “I’m not leaving without you.”
Perla looked around at all of the surrounding Mer. Is this the best you can do? Sit idly by and watch Mer get murdered for unjust cause? You should be ashamed of yourselves!
A stir started to move the water around me as the Mer moved in all directions, building ranks between us and the cliff according to size. I heard voices—so many voices—declaring they’d had enough. That they were done being too terrorized to dare speak their minds. That they wanted the Council brought down…once and for all. There was another war cry like the one I’d heard in the alcove, and then the Mer all started moving forward, toward the rocks, their spears raised and fists cocked, ready to fight.
And then the Mere Monstrom made its presence know. It lashed its tail. A massive tail, at least two hundred feet long and covered in long quills that could have driven through the trunk of a tree—or the bow of a boat—rose out of the lake, and came slapping down with a violent crash. I watched in horror as several Mer flew into the air, then smacked down on the water with bone-crushing velocity. It sent waves in either direction and thrust Perla and me into the rocks.
Hold on! She positioned herself in front of me. The side of her body landed with a crunch. She grunted and her eyes rolled back.
“Perla!” I shook her shoulder. She didn’t respond. Instead, her arms around me went limp, and she slowly sank under the water. “Perla, no!” I grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back up, but another pair gripped me around the waist, hauling me away from Saxon’s sinking mother. Fear, regret, and sorrow all filled me like stones, and I started to drop into the water myself.
It’s OK. Ian pressed his face against the side of my head. The bellows of all the Mer caught in the crash zone beneath the Mer Monstrom’s tail filled my head, making my brain throb. Let her go. She’s safer below.
“It’s gonna eat us all!” I screamed, thrashing.
Ian held me tighter. Not if it gets a sacrifice tonight. Now take a breath, Luna.
The tail rose a second time, sending throngs of screaming Mer scattering in all directions.
Take a breath. Ian’s voice came a little more forceful.
As soon as I sucked in, we dove deep into the lake. His tail pumped up and down, pushing us further and further away from the commotion.
I looked up, and in the wavering moonlight far above us, I saw the silhouette of hundreds of Mer—some injured, some not—swimming for their lives. Some were grabbing the wounded and dragging them to safety, the dark outline of the Mere Monstrom thrashing as they flailed. The tail landed back in the water with a thundering boom, sending more bodies flying out of the water, and out of sight.
The Mere Monstrom’s cry hit me like a Mack truck with no brakes. The shriek grated on my bones so deeply, my marrow curdled. It twisted me into a ball, and when I opened my mouth to cry out, the air in my lungs escaped in three large bubbles that danced above my head toward the sky. I grabbed for Ian, squeezing his wrists as my lungs closed in on themselves, begging for mercy.
Stay with me. Hang in there. Ian cradled me in his arms, turned, and swam upwards. My lungs burned and head ached as we mov
ed. When we broke the surface, the harrowing cries of the wounded filled the night.
“Luna! Get out of here! Go!” I opened my eyes and saw Saxon struggling in Darrow’s grip. Nathanial was in a heap on the ground with a trickle of blood coming from his hairline, and the gun was nowhere to be seen. Hayden was now treading water below the cliff.
Did you honestly think you could beat me with human weapons? Darrow’s voice rang out. I was placed on the Council for a reason. I am committed to upholding the rules and traditions of the Mer who came before me. How dare you attempt to rebel against centuries of established laws!
He walked Saxon to the edge of the cliff, so close that I could see his toes hanging over the rock. Pebbles fell down, plopping into the choppy water under their weight. You cannot argue with the Mere Monstrom! It demands a sacrifice tonight, and I’m going to give it one to keep this clan safe! Darrow’s steely gaze landed on me, and he yanked Saxon’s arm behind his back, making him yowl in pain. I’m going to keep this clan safe. There will be no rebellion. There will be no change. This is how we live. This is how it’s done.
“No!” I buried my face into Ian’s shoulder. I was so tired. My heart was empty and hollow. Saxon would die. And once he was gone, I would follow shortly thereafter.
The ear-splitting sound of a gunshot filled the air, hitching my breath in the back of my throat. Every Mer in the lake was rendered completely still, and when I dragged my gaze back to where Saxon was dangling above the water with his arm millimeters away from dislocating, I saw Isolde walk up behind Darrow.