by Bonnie Lamer
“Are you going to do mine?” Eliana asks me.
A round of “No!” echoes around us from various mouths on the beach. I turn and glare at each and every one of them.
Ignoring my glare, Isla steps forward. “It would be better if I did it. We do not want the whole realm to be wearing a black bikini.”
Eliana raises her brows in my direction and I sigh. “Just something no one is ever going to let me live down.” I reluctantly add, “But, Isla is right. She should create your suit. Subtle is something my magic still hasn’t learned, so the whole realm could end up wearing a wetsuit.”
Isla creates a black wetsuit for Eliana that matches the ones Kallen made. I ask Kallen to make me the same thing because despite my love for black bikinis, I don’t need a bunch of Mermen ogling me. Not that they won’t in a skin tight wetsuit, but I feel better without all that flesh showing. Plus, the water can get a bit chilly the deeper we go.
When we are finally ready, I step to the edge of the water and put a foot in. It’s warmer than I thought it would be. The flipper on my foot helps. I walk forward awkwardly a few feet, flippers were not meant for wading, until the water is up to my knees. I wave to the others to join me. “Come on, we’re wasting daylight.” Not that there is any daylight under the sea. When they have joined me in the water, I open a passageway to the Mermaid realm. “We’re going to jump from ocean to ocean,” I explain. Extending an arm, I point through the passageway. “Oh, and those islands in the distance? Those are actually giant turtles. Whatever you do, don’t disturb them. They wake up really cranky and will try to eat you.” I turn my head to hide my grin. It’s fun watching other people get shocked like I always do when going to a new place. They are not really in danger from the turtles, though, since we are so far away. They are also not being dropped on top of them and almost being eaten like Kallen and I were the first time we came to this realm together, so I don’t feel too guilty for teasing them a little.
Reaching through the passageway, I feel the water in the Mermaid realm. It’s warmer than ours. I am about to dive in when I am picked up and tossed through the passageway by my grinning husband. He dives in after me. Normally, I would come up sputtering. But, since I did the breathing underwater spell, I simply glower at him and slap at his arm without surfacing. Kallen swims out of the way before I can reach him, though. I shake my head and laugh. At least he’s still trying to have a little fun regardless of how dire the situation is.
Eliana and Josh are much kinder to each other. They both dive in on their own. It takes a minute for them to actually believe they can breathe underwater, and their cheeks are puffy with their held breath. Kallen and I wait patiently for them to give in to the magic. Finally, they let out the breaths they are holding. When they realize they really can breathe underwater, and I am reasonably convinced that they are not going to freak out, I surface and close the passageway.
Turning to Kallen, I say, “I didn’t want to get too close to the palace. You know how testy the guards get when we just pop in.”
“Good thinking,” Kallen nods. I love how his hair, which is due for a trim, floats all over in the water. I should have put mine in a braid, though. It’s going to be a tangled mess by the time we are through here.
“How far away are we?” Eliana asks, glancing around trying to see something in the dark water.
“About a five-minute swim,” I tell her. “The village is that way.” I point in the right direction, and we can just barely make out softly glowing lights.
“Our presence has probably already been noted,” Kallen tells us. “Expect to be greeted by guards before we reach the village.”
Eliana and Josh look a little nervous, but they nod and begin to swim. Leading the way, Kallen directs us toward the village. He is a faster swimmer than I am, but he tries to match my pace instead of forcing me to match his. Eliana does the same since it would be easy for her to just zoom through the water. Josh is a strong swimmer and has no problem keeping up. In fact, I’m slowing him down, too. These people are only reinforcing my need for more exercise. I really should stop teleporting so often. It’s making me lazy. And slow.
Kallen was right about our presence being detected. About two minutes into our swim, we are approached by two Mermen. I try not to laugh when Eliana and Josh catch their first glimpse of them. Hearing that Merpeople are real, and actually seeing them are two different things. To make the picture even sweeter, the Mermen are carrying tridents, the Merpeople weapon of choice. Those and attack octopi. Hopefully, we won’t run into any of those. They are a little more difficult to reason with.
The Mermen stop when they are ten yards away. “Halt! What business have you here?”
They don’t recognize me? I thought all the Merpeople except the Queen know and hate me. Maybe not. I start to feel all warm and fuzzy inside until the other Merman snarls, “She is the Witch Fairy.” Did he have to say it with such disdain in his voice? My ‘Maybe the Universe Does Hate Me’ complex grows larger every day.
“So, you’re popular here,” Eliana murmurs softly. Okay, add another notch up the complex ladder.
“I kind of blew up the Queen’s palace the first time I came,” I admit. “The old Queen, the one they think I killed,” I clarify. Then, I have to expound upon that because even though it does explain the magnitude of the hatred swimming toward me from the Mermen, I don’t want my friend thinking that I actually did kill the Queen. “My doppelganger from another universe is the one who killed that Queen. A lot of the Merpeople still believe I did it, though.” I don’t understand why. The evil doppelganger from another universe alibi is very plausible.
Eliana cocks a brow. “Some of this would have been nice to know before we arrived.”
“Sorry,” I say sheepishly. I am so used to everyone I travel with knowing my history, I didn’t even think to fill her in before we came. “I’ll try to be better with the details on our future trips,” I assure her. I’m not sure we have enough time for me to lay out all the details of my unfavorable interactions with other beings, though. It could take weeks. I am going to pretend that does not say anything about my personality.
While Eliana and I are having our hushed conversation, Kallen is addressing the Mermen. “We have urgent business with the Queen.”
“I have not been informed that the Queen is expecting you,” one of the Mermen sneers. He’s really good at the sneering thing. I could take lessons from him. I wonder what he charges per hour.
“Look,” I begin in my best conciliatory tone. “I know you guys don’t like me. But can we cut through the crap? The fate of the universe depends on us talking to Queen Arie.” That came out harsher than I meant it to. I may not truly understand the meaning of the word conciliatory.
So, it’s not surprising that I get bland, doubtful expressions in response to my words. “You always seem to have an emergency, Witch Fairy.”
Putting my hands on my hips, I remind them, “Um, it wasn’t me who let the Sirens loose, now was it? But, I’m the one who fixed it for you.” Technically, not true. It was a bunch of higher beings who fixed it, not me. I simply asked them for their help. Not going to point that out right now, though.
The cocky expressions leave the Mermen’s face. They huddle together and have a hushed conversation, glancing our way often. I really wish they would speak louder. I am not above eavesdropping. After a moment, the Mermen finally turn back to us, resignation in their eyes. They know I’m going to make it to the village with or without their help. I try hard to keep the smug smile off my face.
“We will bring you to the Queen, but the Cowans must return to their realm,” one of the Mermen insists.
I shake my head. “Sorry, they’re with me.”
Tridents suddenly pointing toward us, one of the Mermen growls, “We may not be able to stop you, but they will not make it to the village.”
Well, I’ve had enough of these two and their machismo. It’s bad enough when I have to breath in excess te
stosterone in the air, I certainly don’t want to swallow it in the water. I might end up with hair on my chest or something. So, I make their tridents disappear, taking away their advantage over Josh. He can probably take both of them in a fair fight. “Either accompany us, or get out of the way,” I snarl back. Kallen has moved closer to me, ready for a fight. Eliana and Josh have taken up defensive positions, as well. They look so prepared that I can’t help but wonder if they have had any special training involving fighting under water. I’ll have to ask later if that’s in the Homeland Security playbook.
The Mermen want to fight. It’s in their eyes and their body posture. But, they are not stupid. They know they are outnumbered and out powered. Without another word, the Mermen turn their backs to us and use their fish tails to zoom through the water ahead of us toward the village. We follow at a slower pace. And yes, it’s me setting that slower pace. It’s not like there were a lot of opportunities for me to improve my swimming skills in the mountains in Colorado. The fact that I currently live next door to the ocean is completely beside the point.
In front of me, Eliana suddenly comes to an abrupt stop and whips around. I am barely able to keep from swimming into her. Twisting my own body, I turn to see what she is staring so intently at. It takes a moment for me to see and feel it. A Merman is coming toward us. Fast. And his trident is at the ready.
Pulling on her power, Eliana calls to the water around her. A funnel begins to form between us and the Merman. It grows until it is a force so strong, the Merman gets sucked into it. He begins spinning around and around in the water, unable to free himself from the clutches of the underwater hurricane.
Behind us, I feel Kallen draw magic. Turning, I see him holding off the two Mermen who want to defend their own. “How does this Cowan have the power to control our sea?” one of the Mermen demands.
“Because she is not altogether Cowan,” I smirk over my shoulder. Gesturing toward the Merman still flailing about in Eliana’s trap, I ask, “Who is he, and why was he about to attack us?”
It takes a moment for the Mermen to answer. I’m not sure if that’s because they are having a hard time figuring out who it is since the guy is spinning around and around, or if they just don’t want to tell us. I suspect it is a bit of both. Finally, one of them admits, “I believe it is Soola. He was a nephew of the previous Queen.”
Ah. That makes sense. “If Eliana lets him go, will you keep him from attacking us? We really don’t want to hurt him.”
There is some muttering on the part of the two Mermen, but they finally agree. I nod to Eliana and she stops the water from spinning. We don’t even have to put up any defenses to ward off another attack. The Merman she had in her water hold is so dizzy, all he can do at the moment is relieve his stomach of all its contents. Gross. He definitely had shrimp for lunch. Seaweed, too. And, now the undigested bits are rapidly floating toward us making our little group scatter. Personally, I find it is a great motivator to swim faster than I was before. The other two Mermen also follow us out of the path of the vomit.
“Go with them,” one Merman says to the other, his face a bit green now, and it’s not because of the seawater. “I will take care of Soola.” He must really like the guy, because the guard looks about ready to lose his own lunch. His cohort nods, and we all gladly swim far away from the area.
The rest of our swim to our destination is uneventful. We swim through the village as Merpeople gather to see what the commotion is about. I note that both Kallen and Josh valiantly keep their eyes averted from any of the topless Mermaids. Smart guys. Then again, Mermen do have impressive torsos. Eliana and I keep our eyes glued straight ahead, as well. Fair is fair, after all. I assume they are all in such great shape because they have to swim everywhere they go, which is great cardio. Not to mention their low fat diet of fish and seaweed.
Finally, we arrive at the Queen’s rebuilt palace. We are allowed in, and Arie and Kai are waiting for us in their throne room. Only one of them is pleased to see us. Glancing around, I say in lieu of a greeting, “This place looks great.” They have completely restored the palace to its previous state of grandeur. Well, as grand as an underwater palace can be, anyway. They are pretty limited in their ability to accessorize due to the corrosiveness of salt water. There is a lot of brightly colored coral on the walls and their thrones are carved from pearly white shells. There are several rocks around the room that I assume are meant to be chairs. At least, until I look closer at them. Turns out, they’re sea turtles. Now I don’t know if they are pets or furniture. It’s probably best to just float in the water rather than sit.
“Thank you,” Arie says drolly. She may be more pleased than her husband to see us, but she wants to get to the point of our visit. Her no nonsense personality is one of the reasons I like her. Which is evident in her next words. “Now, please tell us what horrible event has transpired to bring you here today.” Staring curiously at Eliana, she adds, “I would also like to know more about this Cowan who can control the sea.” News travels fast in the Mermaid realm. Or, Arie could feel Eliana’s power all the way from here. Probably option number two.
“These are our friends, Eliana and Josh.” Turning to them, I say, “This is Queen Arie and her husband Kai.” Kai scowls at me for not introducing him with a title, but I ignore him. Mostly because I don’t remember exactly what his title is. Kallen really is much better at this stuff than I am. Speaking primarily to Arie, I explain, “Let’s just say that Eliana isn’t entirely Cowan.”
“So I gathered,” Arie replies dryly.
“The reason we have come,” Kallen butts in to get the conversation moving in the right direction, “is that the Phoenix is refusing to die.”
Rude of him to butt in, but it gets the desired effect. Arie stares at him in wide-eyed horror. Next to her, though, Kai starts laughing. “Impossible,” he claims when he can catch his breath.
Giving her husband a warning glance, Arie turns back to us. “Explain,” she demands. She is not as disbelieving as Kai is.
Kallen does the honors, explaining in detail about the Phoenix and her riddle. When he is finished, he says, “We need a Mermaid to accompany us when we return to the Phoenix.”
“You want a Mermaid to accompany you to the desert in the Cowan realm?” Kai asks in disbelief. It is obvious he is questioning our sanity at the moment. He can get in line. I am constantly questioning my sanity. “She would die,” he points out as if we don’t know most Mermaids and hot, dry places don’t mix.
I have been mentally debating our options all the way here. Really, we only have one unless we want to lug a giant fish tank full of seawater with us. Biting my lower lip, I blurt out, “Not if she has the ability to grow legs.” The MerQueen is the only one who has a magic amulet that will give her legs when she needs them. It can give her consort legs, too, but we don’t need Kai with us. He would just be a giant pain in the butt the entire time.
Rage jumps onto Kai’s face like it’s a rabid squirrel looking for a fight. Leaving his throne and rising to his full height in front of us, he growls, “I will not send my wife on a fool’s errand with you.” If we weren’t underwater, I am certain we would see spittle shooting from between his lips as his anger affects his speech patterns. Which means it’s still probably there mixing into the water, and floating toward us, we just can’t see it. Gross.
Kai should not have said that he won’t let his wife accompany us. Arie’s face sets in hard lines, and she reminds him, “I am Queen. I decide where I go and what I do.” Kai’s face flushes a deep red, but he doesn’t contradict her in front of us. They are definitely going to have more words on this subject after we leave, though. That is obvious.
“So, you’ll do it?” I ask despite the death glare Kai is sending my way. I’ve already faced the fact that he and I will never be friends, and this is just one in a long line of death glares he has sent my way.
Without a glance in her husband’s direction, Arie says evenly, “I do not see that I
have a choice. I will need to make arrangements for my departure, but I could meet you in your realm on the morrow.”
A grateful grin spreads across my face. “Thank you, Arie.” I’ve always thought Arie was one of the most reasonable rulers of the realms. And, she doesn’t try to steal my husband, literally, like the previous MerQueen did. That’s always a plus.
Another thought hits me before we turn to go so the couple before us can continue their argument in private. “Um, think you could convince one of the Siren women to come, as well?”
With a nod, Arie replies, “As we have sheltered the rebels for centuries, I believe one will accept my invitation.” At this point, she might agree to anything just to get us out of here. Her and Kai’s relationship has become tempestuous since she became Queen, and she doesn’t want us to witness more of their coming fight. Neither do we, so we are more than ready to get out here.
I am truly grateful, though, that Arie will talk to the Sirens as that saves us a trip to wherever the Sirens live. I’ve never actually been there, but I know it’s quite far from here. They didn’t want to risk the Mermen being influenced by the Sirens. Also, as Arie pointed out, they are much more likely to agree to her invitation than mine since I am the one who asked the higher beings to pass judgement over their race and take their power away. Some people get sensitive over such things. Go figure. “Thank you!” I say with a sincere smile and turn toward the exit.
“Xandra, you have not explained who your friend is,” Arie calls after me. She really must be curious if she wants us to linger a bit longer to explain.
I glance toward Eliana who nods slightly. Turning back to Queen Arie, I tell her, “Eliana has the essences of two Egyptian gods within her. Ra and Isis.”
After the initial shock wears off, Arie nods in understanding, and says more to herself than us, “That explains her command over the sea.”