by D. S. Murphy
“You look amazing,” he said. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers brushed my cheek and I felt a warm glow spread through my body. I tried to play it cool and took another gulp of whiskey.
“Maybe you should take it easy with that,” Sebastian said. I could tell he was only half kidding by the way he scanned the crowd. It was kind of sweet he was so protective, but also kind of annoying.
“Can we forget that someone is trying to kill me, just for tonight?” I said in a low voice, “Can’t I just be a girl who wants to get drunk and maybe make out on the beach for a while?”
“Make out?” he said, raising one eyebrow.
“Well, I’d consider it… if only I could find a handsome gentleman.” His eyes flew to my lips, and I licked them unconsciously. I realized, even though we were sort of together now, Sebastian still hadn’t kissed me. I understood why—he was protecting me, or maybe himself—but still. It was agonizing not to know for sure how he felt about me. A kiss wasn’t too much to ask, was it? I was sure tonight would be the night.
We sat on some blankets and listened to the music, watching the stars, the sea and the roaring bonfire. It was at least ten feet tall and shooting off sparks that went high into the dark sky and mingled with the stars. I could smell the woody smoke from the fire and the salty sea air. Someone had brought bongo drums and they gave a steady beat to the sound of the pounding surf and the crackling flames. Masked faces danced around the flickering light of the fire, the shadows and costumes making them looking like grotesque spirits. The whiskey warmed my body and made me feel relaxed and happy. I leaned back and rested my head against Sebastian’s shoulder. He put his arm around me, and it was perfect, for a while. Then I felt him stiffen. He lifted his chin like he was smelling something.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, staring at a spot away from the party, where the shore disappeared in darkness.
“Don’t hurry,” Patricia said with a smile. “It’s time to dance anyway.”
She and Jackie pulled me into the throbbing crowd of bodies surrounding the hot fire. I could feel the bass of the music and the pulse of the sea, throbbing through my body. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the music, dancing for I don’t know how long.
Then I felt someone rub up against me from behind, moving in sync with my body. He reached around me with his arms and I held unto his fingers. Then he started kissing my neck. But then I realized that his fingers were all wrong—not as long and thin as Sebastian’s. I opened my eyes and spun around to a pair of smoky brown eyes. Ethan.
He was shirtless, showing off the tattoos that covered his shoulders and arms. His chest and stomach muscles flickered in the light of the fire. His eyes were full of desire, begging for an answer. I had the impulse to pull him closer and let him kiss me, and I hated myself for it. Instead I shoved past him and started walking away down the beach.
“Don’t be mad, I had to take a shot,” Ethan said, following me.
My muddled mind was sharper as we left the crowd around the fire. A chilling wind blew my hair up and I tugged it behind my ears.
“You’re crazy,” I said. “You hardly know me.”
“I know you enough, and I know my feelings.”
“I’m with Sebastian.”
“Are you though? Are you really? Where is he then? I wouldn’t leave you alone for a second.”
My eyes searched through the party, but I didn’t see him either. Where was he? My stomach twisted in knots, as some part of my mind played the image of Sebastian and Roisin snuggling in the darkness somewhere.
“He just went to get me a drink,” I lied.
Ethan sighed and pushed his hair out of his face.
“You can’t trust him,” he said.
I hesitated before responding, trying to keep the doubt off my face.
“He told me everything,” I said. “And he’d never hurt me.”
“He doesn’t belong up here. He’ll get bored, and sooner or later, he’ll leave. They always leave.” Ethan was giving voice to my worst fears. I wanted to yell at him, to scream. But what if he was right?
When I first heard the shriek, ripping through the booming bass of the music, I thought maybe it was me. But Ethan whipped his head to the side and I knew he heard it to. He ran towards the sound and I chased after him. The party was in chaos—kids were scattering in every direction. Near the campfire was a dark shape lying at an awkward angle. I thought it was a log at first, until I saw the face. A dislocated arm had landed a few feet away, leaking dark blood into the white sand. Its fingers were still twitching.
Another body was lying nearby. I froze, trying to make sense of the carnage I was seeing. The raging fire seemed to spotlight the dark shapes that were spread out on the now empty beach. I heard a shout and looked up. On the other side of the fire, Sebastian was fighting with two large men. They were throwing impossibly fast punches, which Sebastian deflected one-by-one. Merrow. They had him pinned with his back against the cliff. A third man was standing close to the fire, holding a girl up by the throat. She struggled against him as he lifted her towards the roaring flames.
I didn’t stop to think. I dashed towards them and rammed the guy with my shoulder, tugging the girl to safety with my free arm. I felt like I’d run into a brick wall, but the force of my blow tipped him off balance, and he stumbled into the fire. I could smell searing flesh as he began to scream. He pushed off the burning embers with his bare hands, and when he stood up again his clothes were on fire. He ran towards the sea, a pillar of bright yellow flame, and sank into the water with a great billowing of steam and smoke.
“Run,” I told the girl, shoving her towards the path leading up the hill. That’s when I saw Travis. He was wearing a full body penguin suit, which would have been kind of adorable, except for the dark red stains spreading across the white surface of the costume. Another merrow was standing next to him, with something jagged wrapped around his knuckles. He hit Travis with a flurry of punches, puncturing new holes in Travis’s body before taking a sideways swipe at Travis’s neck. The cut was so deep I thought his head was going to fall off. I almost vomited as Travis, now spurting blood from multiple stab wounds, crumpled into a heap.
It was too late to save him, so I turned back towards Sebastian. He was pinned down now by three merrow. They forced his arms behind his back and pushed him into the sand.
“Let him go,” I said, approaching them, brandishing my toy weapon.
The one in front laughed. “Now who’s this sweet young thing?” Like the others, he had long hair and a coral necklace, and looked like he hadn’t showered in months.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Sebastian growled.
“Or what? You would have been my commander, you know, if you’d stayed… but you’re just a deserter now. Don’t think your father can protect you. You burned that bridge when you ran away.”
His father? What are they talking about?
“If you touch her, I’ll kill every one of you.”
Sebastian’s captors laughed so loudly, I didn’t hear the fourth merrow until he was right behind me. I whirled around to face him but he caught my wrists in vice-like grips. I could feel the pressure against my bones.
“Now that we’re all here, and you’ve calmed down,” he said, kicking some sand towards Sebastian, “maybe we can talk like civilized merrow.”
“This is what you call civilized?” Sebastian snorted. “You just killed a handful of people. Kids.”
“A handful? That’s nothing. You know I would have slaughtered this whole town to get to you.”
“What do you want, Ajax?”
This merrow was almost a head taller than Sebastian, with massive shoulders. He had thick dark eyebrows and long eyelashes that made him look like he was wearing black eyeliner.
“Your father sent me,” he said. “It’s time for you to come home.”
“Why now? What’s changed?” Sebastian said, still struggling against the merrow
who were restraining him.
“Anicetus has decided to move ahead with his plans. The royal family has been missing for decades, they probably aren’t ever coming back. Consider this a final warning.”
“He found the device, then?”
“He’s decided to do it the old fashioned way—open war. Soon, merrow will pour over the lands like a knife through hot butter. We’ll kill all the humans and take the land back for ourselves. He’d rather have you with him, but he won’t let your absence frustrate his plans any longer.”
I felt sick to my stomach. I thought a merrow invasion was just a hypothetical possibility, but now it was actually happening. Even worse, it seemed Sebastian had lied to me about it—he was much more involved than he’d let on.
“Here’s the message. If you don’t come back and take your place at your father’s side in three moons, you’ll be branded a traitor to your people. Personally, I’m hoping you decide to stay and die with the humans. They’re so weak and fragile, it’s like breaking eggs—there’s no pleasure in battle without resistance. We’ll start with this town, and make a pile of bodies so high it blocks out the sun.”
As he was speaking, I couldn’t stop staring at his hands. He was wearing some kind of band around his knuckles, embedded with jagged rows of shark teeth. They were stained red with blood and glistened in the firelight. Travis’s blood.
“It was you,” I said, half to myself. “There were no shark attacks in Brighton. It was the merrow.”
“I see you’ve already told your girlfriend about us, then.” Ajax said. “Your father’s not going to like that. I can see why you like her though.” He reached up to stroke my cheek. I pushed his arm away with the toy shield and then hit him as hard as I could with my plastic sword. It bent pathetically around his stiff neck. His eyes widened. “She’s fast. Not entirely human, are you darling? A bit of merrow in you, it seems. Maybe we should put a bit more merrow in you.”
He ripped away my top, exposing my bra. I covered myself with my hands.
“You wouldn’t.” Sebastian said. “Lying with a human woman is forbidden.”
“Haven’t you heard? Your father repealed that command. Spoils of war and all that. First time in several centuries, so I’m really going to enjoy this.” Ajax licked his lips at me and the other merrow chuckled. Sebastian strained against them and shouted, his eyes wild. They kicked him in the stomach, then forced his face into the sand with his hands behind his back.
I felt ridiculous in my Wonder Woman costume, now hanging in shreds around my waist. I wasn’t a hero. I couldn’t even protect myself. Ajax wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him. His bloody hands pawed at my skin, leaving fingerprints. It made my flesh crawl and bile rise up in my throat. As much as I resisted, I was no match for him. This was actually going to happen.
Suddenly there was a flash of light, and Ajax dropped me to shield his eyes. I looked up and saw Ethan, his tattoos burning brighter than the bonfire—as bright as the sun, like ignited magnesium. He threw his palm out towards me and Ajax went flying backwards. With his other hand he tossed a dagger. I saw a flash of light as it tore past my head and implanted itself on another merrow’s shoulder. Sebastian took the opportunity to roll to the side, knocking over the merrow holding him. I jabbed one in the eye and reached for Sebastian’s hand, but my fingers never reached his. Ethan tossed me over his shoulder and charged towards the path leading up the hill. I glanced back to see Sebastian break free and chase after us.
“Run!” I yelled. We were at the top of the path before we saw the flashing lights. We were surrounded by police cars. Dark silhouettes stood in front of the car lights, flooding the area.
“Freeze right there!” a voice shouted. I heard the click of a gun being cocked. Ethan dropped me like a bag of flour and raised both hands above his head.
29
“Explain it to me like I’m simple,” said a policeman in a blue uniform, leaning across the desk. His dark moustache looked like a permanent coffee stain on his upper lip. We were in a gray office with fluorescent lights. The plant in the corner was dying. They’d put is in here ten minutes ago and then cop was the first person we’d talked to. The badge on his chest said O’Hara. He looked exhausted, but I could feel something else too, a dark thrill at having a real case to work on.
“We already told everything to the officers who brought us here,” Sebastian said. “We didn’t see anything. It was dark. It happened too fast.”
“Sure. Right. But look, here’s what I know. A bunch of kids were drinking on the beach. A fight broke out and got out of hand. We received some frantic calls, and then show up to find seven dead bodies.”
Seven? My mouth dried up and I felt weak. I was glad I was already sitting down. I couldn’t get the picture of Travis out of my mind, lying there like penguin road kill.
“Seven kids, killed real gruesome like,” O’Hara said, taking a slow sip of coffee from a chipped mug. “Then you three come barreling up the hill. My men said it looked like you were running.”
“Oh yeah, running towards the police lights,” I scoffed. “That makes a lot of sense.”
“I was bringing her up to safety,” Ethan said. “Have you ever seen me voluntarily surrender myself to the police?”
“No, but what’s it been since we last brought you in here—two weeks? I never would have suspected something like this from you though, vandalism or B&E maybe, but this level of violence…” he threw a stack of photographs on the desk and nodded at them. “This makes me sick.” The polaroids showed a gruesome amount of detail, illuminated by the bright light of the camera flash.
“Ethan didn’t do anything,” I said. “In fact he saved us.”
“Saved you from… who exactly?”
“The guys who did this to us, obviously,” I said, pointing at the bruises on my arm and my ripped clothes. Sebastian looked suitably victimized, with deep purple bruises on his face and body, a gash on his forehead and a split lip. I knew he’d heal instantly once he got back in the salt water, but I was glad he looked a little roughed up. Ethan looked… pretty damn good, considering—though a good portion of his shirt had been burned away. With his surprise attack and distance combat he’d escaped without a scratch.
But we’d left seven bodies behind. Seven kids from school. Extinguished in seconds by powerful merrow. And they said it was just the beginning.
“Maybe it was your other friend here,” O’Hara said, grooming his moustache with a tiny comb. “New in town, isn’t he? Couldn’t find any background data on him. No ID, no emergency contact, nothing. Just this driver’s license he picked up a few weeks ago, which lists the Runkerry house as his address.”
“My parents are very private people,” Sebastian said. “Their wealth makes them targets, so they fly under the radar as much as possible.”
My fingers were twitching like crazy. I needed to talk with Sebastian, but we hadn’t had any privacy since the police picked us up. One of the lights started flickering and it heightened my anxiety. I had to get out of here.
“It was dark,” I said quickly, “but this is what I remember. Four large men. Dark hair, dreadlocks, wearing some kind of shell jewelry. Does that help?” Sebastian nodded, and after kicking him under the table, so did Ethan.
“Even so,” O’Hara said, “I think I’d like to hear it from all of you, individually. Ethan, let’s start with you. With your rap sheet, you might be looking at some jail time for this one.”
O’Hara grabbed Ethan by the arm and led him out of the room. When we were finally alone, Sebastian reached for my hand. I pulled away.
“What the hell was that?” I whispered. “Seven kids? This is nothing like what happened to Bedelia. I thought it was illegal to interact with humans.”
“It seems the laws have changed in my absence,” Sebastian said, staring at the floor.
“Yeah but—they knew you. Were they friends of yours?”
“Did it look like we were friendly?”
“It’s your fault they’re here, isn’t it? They were looking for you.”
Sebastian didn’t answer. He’d put his wall up again. I wondered what Ethan was telling the police. I was pretty sure he was smart enough not to mention killer mermaids, but what if he tried to pin this on Sebastian somehow?
Just then I heard voices I recognized outside the room. When the door opened again, I caught sight of Patricia and Jackie.
“Your friends backed up your story,” O’Hara said when he came in. “Several large, adult men, with dark hair and dreadlocks. There’s also at least one girl who says you saved her life. Looks like you’re a hero. And Aedan is going to give me hell if I keep you here much longer, so we’re going to let you go—conditionally.”
“You,” he pointed at Sebastian, “go with my colleague here. We’ll take your fingerprints and put you in the system.” A woman with long red hair and a tight uniform guided Sebastian down the hall. I stood up to follow him out but O’Hara blocked my path with his arm.
“You know,” he said quietly, “this reminds me of another case I worked on years ago. One of the only unresolved murders in this town’s history. The murder of Ethan’s uncle, Colin. He was stabbed, but we never recovered the murder weapon. It was right about the time your mother disappeared. Something about that night never sat right with me. The other strange case of course involves Father Murphy and your grandmother Phyllis, though those bodies were never found.” He leaned closer and I could smell whiskey. I couldn’t tell if it was from his breath or if I’d spilled some on my clothes earlier.
“What are you implying?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“Nothing, unfortunately, except that all the dead bodies in this town seem to lead back to the Daly women. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but with Ethan involved, that seems unlikely. I’m not saying you’ve done anything wrong,” he sighed, lowering his arm, “but it’s also obvious you know more than you’re saying. You’re a piss poor liar. I understand maybe you’re trying to protect your friends. Or maybe you don’t feel safe after what just happened. But if you know something else about these murders, please come talk to me. Anytime. Seven bodies.” He shook his head slowly.