by Holly Kelly
“Wait. Are you saying you’ve never turned anyone into a mermaid before?”
“No, why would I?”
“Well, thank you for making me your guinea pig. Good thing your experiment worked,” she said, disapprovingly.
“Nicole,” he said, drawing out her name. “Changing your body was easy. I just didn’t realize how desperately you’d fight breathing in the water. It’s so natural for me, I… I just didn’t know.”
She moved away from Ty. “Well, I’m better now. But I’ll admit, I really didn’t want to do it.”
“I know. I’m sorry, love. Would you like to see my home?”
“Um, you live in Hawaii?”
He shook his head. “No, I transported us to my home at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea.”
She looked around. A palace towered in the distance. It was huge! With turrets, spires, and archways, it seemed to rise forever. In fact, she couldn’t see the top. Nicole remembered watching The Little Mermaid movie with Sara. The castle in that movie wasn’t a fraction as amazing as the one that towered in the distance. “Is that it?” she breathed.
“Yes. This has been my home for several thousand years. What do you think?”
“I think. Oh, dear heavens. I think… I don’t know what to think. Do you live alone in that?”
“I didn’t use to. It was once filled with my children, dozens of them. They’re all gone now. They died two thousand years ago.”
What in the world happened to them? Nicole didn’t feel it was her place to pry, so she didn’t ask. Still, her emotions were conflicted over his words. On the one hand, she was saddened by the loss he must feel for his children. On the other hand, what in the world was he doing fathering so many darn kids? And who were these women he was impregnating?
Instead of reprimanding him, she showed compassion, knowing how devastated she’d be if anything happened to Sara. “I’m sorry.”
“This is no time for grief. You’re here, Nikki. My heart is once again whole. And you gave me a beautiful daughter. I have a lot to be thankful for.” All signs of sadness were gone as he brushed a kiss across her lips. He tasted like the sea.
Nicole smiled, warmed at his words.
“Come on. There’s someone I need you to meet. A little warning, though. My servants are all sea creatures I’ve gifted with intelligence. Try not to be shocked by their appearance.”
“Oh, okay.” She swam forward and stopped, stunned at a realization. “Oh my gosh, I have a fin! Look at it!”
It was blue, scaly, and when the light caught it just right, she could see rainbow colors. And her breasts were covered in honest-to-goodness seashells.
“A seashell bra?” she said. “Seriously?”
He chuckled. “I thought you’d appreciate it.”
“Actually… no. I don’t. They’re cutting into my side.”
He waved his hand, and the seashells were replaced by scales that matched her fin.
“Much better,” she said, running her hands over her body. “I can’t believe it. I’m really a mermaid! But, why do I have scales? Sara doesn’t have scales.” Nicole found a seam at the waist, pulled the fabric back, and let go. She then did the same with the bra. It snapped tight to her body like it was made of spandex.
“That’s a covering—for modesty’s sake.”
“I like it. I really do. So what about you?” She swam forward and felt for a seam where his skin ended and his gray fin began.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m seeing if you can take yours off. Can you?”
“Not unless I was skinned.”
“So why don’t you need to be covered?” Nicole asked.
“Would you really like a lesson in Mer anatomy right now?”
Nicole smiled. “People have been wondering about that for thousands of years. Now I know all about Sara, seeing as I sewed her diapers and changed them for two years, but you…” She looked down at him and frowned. “I can see your pelvic fins, but… Wait a minute, what is that crease between your fins?”
“Nicole.” He scowled at her.
“Well, is that where your—?”
“Nicole! This is not something I want to go into now. Let’s just say I have everything I need. Now, would you please drop this topic?”
“Did I embarrass you? You’re not ashamed of your body, are you?”
“Of course not!” he shouted. “Gods, do you not have a filter?”
“Yes, but I try not to overuse it.” She smirked.
He shook his head and cracked a smile. “Let’s get you and your mouth inside, and I’ll let you meet my servants. Try not to embarrass them.”
“I won’t embarrass them.”
“Oh no, I guess I’m an exception.”
She chuckled. “I thought you weren’t embarrassed.”
He shook his head as he led her to the castle. A gigantic creature with thick, tangled tentacles clung to the side of the wall.
“Ge sheou fílenio mo,” Ty said, smiling.
The creature growled, and Nicole plastered herself against Ty’s side. He wrapped his arm around her. The beast’s tentacles slithered like thick snakes sliding over each other to climb the building. His bulging eyes seemed to search her. Behind the monster lay a massive stone door. Ty waved his hand, and the door rumbled open.
As soon as the doors closed behind them, Nicole said, “What in the world was that?”
“That was Megalostas, a leviathan. He’s been with me for years.”
“He’s huge.”
“You should have seen him three hundred years ago. He could fit in the palm of my hand.”
“Wow. What do you feed him?”
“Trespassers,” he answered, smiling.
Nicole’s eye widened. “You’re kidding, right?”
“You probably don’t want me to answer that.”
Nicole shook her head and then looked around. The place was spectacular. They were in a wide hall, with high ceilings. She searched the room. There were no lights or chandeliers. The light seemed to come from the walls themselves, which were stone with colorful tapestries hanging all around. There were probably a hundred of them. Each piece of fabric was a work of art. All of them depicted things from the oceans—seascapes, sea creatures, and several stunningly beautiful people—some with fins, some without.
But nothing could compare to the mosaic on the floor. It was breathtaking. Colored rocks and seashells were embedded and sparkled all around. “Wait, just a minute,” she said as she let go of Ty and swam toward the high ceiling. Looking down, she could see a map of the world. The continents were black onyx, and the sea was made of colorful blues, greens, aquas, and white. “It’s beautiful!”
Triton swam up to join her. “Thank you.” He smiled.
“But why are the continents just plain black?”
“We don’t care much about the continents around here.”
“But they’re connected. You can’t forget we humans exist.”
He swam up to her and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I could never forget you, love. But the other humans—”
“Without balance between the four realms, all would perish,” Nicole said, but the words didn’t come from her.
Stop talking through my lips! Nicole shouted to the voice inside her head. It didn’t often take over her speech, but when it did, it always made her furious.
“What four realms? I only know of three.” Ty’s brows crunched in confusion.
“I don’t know what I was talking about.”
There are things I need to say to him.
No, you are not to talk to him. You just need to shut up and go away! What’s the deal with you lately?
Ty couldn’t hear her internal dialog, but she could tell he knew something wasn’t right. He confirmed her thoughts when he said, “Nicole, is there something you need to tell me?”
“No!” she said a little too harshly. “I’m sorry. No, I’m alright.”
Great, now he thinks I’
m crazy.
You’re not crazy.
Says the voice in my head.
“Okay…” Ty drew the word out. He took her hand. “Come on, I want you to meet someone.”
They swam into another room and right in front of her—like an image in a National Geographic video—was a giant squid, complete with a bulbous, cone head and ten tentacles.
“Philotheos, this is Nicole—my mate.”
Mate? Seriously, did he just call me his mate? “Um, hello, Felo…”
“Philotheos,” Ty corrected.
“Um, yes, hello Filothesis?” She looked to Ty for confirmation that she got the name right.
“Close enough,” Ty said, smiling.
She put out her hand to shake, and the squid jerked back. A small cloud of black swirled in the water.
Ty leaned over and whispered, “He doesn’t like to be touched.”
“Oh.” Good grief.
A silver-striped fish swam through a door into the room. “Is this another friend of—?”
The squid whipped a tentacle out, pulled the fish in, and wrapped all of its appendages around it, forming a ball. She could hear chomping noises as it jerked. Blood leaked into the water.
“I… guess… not,” she said, frowning and wondering what other surprises Ty had in store for her.
“Come on,” Ty said. “I bet you’re hungry too.”
Nicole continued to frown as they swam into an enormous circular room. Fish swam around the room as if they were swimming laps in a giant track. There were hundreds of them: colorful ones with long tails, lumpy, grey ones, long, sleek fish with sharp, pointy teeth, and many more she couldn’t even begin to identify.
“Um, are we going to be swimming laps before dinner?”
Ty smiled and shook his head slowly.
“You don’t mean… This room full of fish can’t be dinner?”
“You’re not going to be eating all of them, just one or two.”
“No, I’m going to be eating zero of them.”
“Nikki, if you’re going to live down here, you have to learn to eat down here.”
“But… I’m a vegetarian.”
“Since when?”
“Since… now.”
“Nicole Taylor, just give it a try. That’s all I ask.”
She frowned and then got an idea. “You’re a god; can you cook one for me?”
“No, I’m not going to cook one for you. But I’ll catch some. I’ll be right back.” He manifested a trident in his hand and shot through the center of the circling fish. Seconds later, he swam back, with three fish speared, one on each of the three points of his trident.
“Fish kabobs are served.”
Nicole winced. “They’re still wiggling.”
“Fine,” he said, pointing his finger at the squirming fish. They immediately went limp. “There, now they’re dead.”
“You killed them just by pointing your finger at them?” she squeaked in surprise. “If you wanted to, could you kill me that easily?”
“Great gods of Olympus, why in Hades would I want to do that?”
“I don’t know. If I ever annoyed you—”
“You’d already be dead,” he interrupted. “Many times over.”
She held back a smile. “Very funny.”
“I thought so. Okay, now here.” He pulled a fish off the spike and handed it to her. “Give it a try.”
She learned two valuable lessons minutes later. First, when you threw up in the sea, it went everywhere. Second, whatever dinner you were not eating made a wonderful clean-up crew. She could have gone without learning either of those lessons.
Ares heavy feet pounded against stone as he climbed the steps circling a high tower, miles above Siberia. Finally, he broke through the clouds. The clear, blue sky spread out all around him. The clouds were like a billowy carpet below.
The humans didn’t know about this place. Hades, the gods didn’t even know about it. Zeus and Ares alone came here. The tower was hidden from sight from all who might seek it out. And it was blocked from all who might attempt to transport here—which was why Ares must suffer the climb. Being an extremely fit god, he really didn’t tire from the exertion, but he grew quite bored with the journey. It took him the better part of an hour to climb to the top.
The infant in his arms squirmed and squeaked, apparently bothered by the frigid breeze blowing across its skin. The babe had probably never experienced cold until now. The bowels of Hades’ realm were always blazing hot. That was the way those Underworlders preferred it.
Despite the cold, the scratches on Ares arms burned from where the mother clawed him. He could have healed the injuries immediately. Instead, he chose to hold onto them, as he also held onto the anger. The mother had forgotten the events of that night. She’d fought with all the power she could muster. He deflected the blasts of her puny god powers easily, but then she’d clawed him like an animal as he picked up her baby. Now she didn’t remember she’d ever borne a child—he suppressed the memories himself. He suppressed the memories of this child from all the gods in the Underworld. But the mother would feel his anger and loathing every time he was forced to suffer her presence on Olympus. She should have respected his position—as second in command to his father, Zeus—she should have denied him nothing! Not even her child.
Finally reaching the top, Ares stepped up to a large, wooden door. It swung open at his silent command. He stepped into a round, stone room with wide windows. Zeus stood before a curtained wall. Ares admired the raw power that radiated from his father. He subdued it when others were around, but there was no reason now. Up here, above the clouds, he let his radiance shine brightly. If Ares were a human, his eyes would have burned away in their sockets.
“Son! I see you do not disappoint,” Zeus said as he stepped forward and lifted the blanket. Zeus closed his eyes and breathed in deeply the scent of burning oak. “I can feel the power of this one. Incredible! Fire burns hot within you, son of Kharon.”
“Father…” Ares was hesitant to speak his mind, but his father needed to hear. “In the last week, three more goddesses discovered they are with child. That makes five pregnant goddesses. One or even two, we can handle. But five? We may have to let them keep some of these infants.”
“They are not keeping them.”
“But Father, we’d have to alter the memories of all the gods and goddesses in the Greek Pantheon. That would take more power than—”
“Bring me the five mothers,” Zeus interrupted.
“What?” Ares thought he must have heard his father wrong.
“I said, bring me the mothers. Give them any reason you want, but bring them to me.”
Ares couldn’t think of why he would want these women. Only one of the goddesses was from Olympus. Of the others, two were from the Underworld and two from the sea. One of the goddesses was Amphitrite, wife of Poseidon. Toying with her while she was carrying the sea king’s child was dangerous. Ares hoped his father knew what he was doing.
“What if their husbands insist on accompanying them?”
A smile crept across Zeus’ face. “Let them.”
“I must warn you that one of them is Amphitrite,” Ares said.
“Excellent,” Zeus said.
Ares couldn’t help the astonishment in his voice. “Is it time?”
“It’s time,” Zeus answered with a wicked smile.
Triton’s stone necklace burned against his skin. Someone summoned him. It was early in the morning. Perhaps Nicole was still sleeping. Triton floated comfortably in his sleeping chamber, wishing he could sleep a bit longer. Why didn’t sea creatures need his help in the middle of the day? It was always in the dead of night or early in the morning.
He closed his eyes and focused on the origin of the summons—the Indian ocean, deep in the Somali basin. A vision opened before him. Darkness, pain, the smell of rubble, and the whimpered cry of a Dagonian child. Triton’s brows pressed in confusion. This was the first summons he’d h
ad from a Dagonian in the last two thousand years. After the cursed race killed all of his children, they feared Triton’s wrath—as they should. He would have struck down an adult for summoning him. But a child—never. Still, why would this child choose him to reach out to? Why not Calypso? Still, he couldn’t ignore the call of an injured child. Triton’s eyes shot open. He raced out of his room and nearly plowed Nicole over.
“Oh, wow. You’re in a hurry,” she said.
“I have to go. A Dagonian child needs my help.”
“I thought you didn’t like Dagonians.”
He frowned at her. “It’s a child. I’m not completely heartless.”
“I’m sorry. I know you’re not. Let’s go.”
“What? No. I’m going—you’re staying.”
“Why? Is this child being attacked by an army?”
He shook his head.
“A sea monster?”
“No, he’s trapped in a cave.”
“Well, then there’s no danger to me. I’m coming with you. Maybe I can help.”
He pressed his lips together in a line. “Fine.” Wrapping his arms around her, he flashed them across the world. In a moment, he found himself in the center of a hundred Dagonians. He heard Nicole gasp as she tightened her grip on him. The crowd fell silent—shock written on their faces. But one female didn’t seem to notice his dramatic entrance. Either that, or she didn’t care. She was pulling rocks from a pile of stones at the entrance of a cave, sobbing as she went.
Triton turned to Nicole.
“Go,” she said before he could speak.
He let go of her. Swimming up to the woman, he could feel desperation emanating from her in waves. Triton knew at once that her son was trapped in the rubble. She was beyond terrified. Her desperation so great that she was on the verge of panic.
“Iris,” Triton said, softly. She didn’t respond, just kept up her digging. The water tinted red around her. Her fingers bled as she clawed at the jagged rocks.
He placed his hand on her shoulder. “Iris, I’ll save your child.”
She slapped his hand off. “My baby’s buried! I have to get him out!”