Goddess of the Sea gs-1

by P. C. Cast

  "There's an exit they can use in the cockpit," said the colonel. He motioned for the master sergeant to get to the back of the plane, then he caught sight of CC still standing there. "Move, Sergeant!" He turned and headed to the rear of the plane, expecting CC to follow him.

  CC meant to go to the rear of the plane and toward safety, but instead she found herself climbing over equipment and cargo until she was standing next to Sean's body. CC swallowed, trying hard not to be sick. There was blood everywhere. The two seat belts had kept his body from being hurled forward by the impact, and the pillowcase, now totally soaked with blood, was still wrapped securely around his head. His face was turned away from her, and all she could see was the strong line of his chin and neck. His skin was no longer golden brown. It had turned the chalky color of ash. CC forced herself to place two fingers against the spot where his jugular vein was. No pulse. His skin was already cool beneath her fingertips.

  The plane heaved even farther down at the head. Now CC could see that the ocean was lapping around the gaps in the side of the plane.

  "Sergeant!" the colonel's voice bellowed from the rear of the plane. "Where the hell are you?"

  "Here, colonel!" she answered, crawling on top of a mound of cargo so she could be seen. The rear of the plane appeared to be raised up, and CC could see that the officers had one of the doors open. While she watched, one of the captains attached a tether to the deflated life raft, pulled a cord on it and threw it out of the door. With a whooshing noise the raft inflated.

  "Get over here, now! This thing is sinking fast."

  She looked back at Sean's body. It should have been her. Because of his kindness, he had taken her place and now he was going to be entombed in a lonely, watery grave. The thought was unbearable.

  "We have to take Sean with us," she called back to the men.

  "No time. The boy's dead. There's nothing to be done for him," said the colonel. At a signal from him, the master sergeant jumped out of the plane.

  "I'm not going without him," CC said, surprised at the calm sound of her voice. Her heart was pounding, and she felt her hands trembling, but knew with a certainty that defied logic that she had made the right decision.

  "Get up here, Sergeant. That's an order."

  "No, sir. I'm not leaving him here."

  Suddenly there was the sound of metal ripping, and CC felt sun on her face. She looked up to see a clean tear slicing a gap in the ceiling almost directly above her. The nose dipped farther forward, and CC had to struggle to stay on her feet.

  "Goddamnit! Damnit all to hell!" CC could hear the colonel approaching before she saw him. He was cussing like crazy and yelling orders. "Unbelt the boy and get ready to get the fuck out of here!"

  CC rushed to get Sean's seat belts undone and had just finished when the colonel climbed around the last of the debris. Without looking at her, he grabbed Sean's body and hauled it across one shoulder in the traditional fireman's carry.

  "Keep up with me!" he yelled at her. CC was only too happy to comply with that particular order.

  They were almost to the door when the entire front section of the plane tore free and sank with amazing speed. The tail area had been high above the water, but now that the rear of the plane was freed of the dragging weight of the flooded front, it flopped heavily down to sea level. To CC it felt like she was standing in an elevator that had just dropped several stories. She and the colonel fell hard to the floor. Water started rushing in through the open door.

  The colonel regained his feet quickly. He grabbed CC by the scruff of her uniform and Sean by his leg and pulled them to the door.

  CC had no time to think. The colonel tossed her roughly out of the door. She hit the water and went under, but almost immediately her life vest brought her bobbing to the surface like a human cork. She sputtered and blinked, momentarily blinded by saltwater and sunlight. She heard two quick splashes next to her, and in another instant the colonel's head broke the surface not far from her, along with Sean's lifeless body.

  "There." He pointed and CC could see the florescent orange of the life raft about forty feet in front of them. "Swim! We have to get away from the plane." He set off, sidestroking and kicking hard as he dragged Sean's body with him.

  Wishing desperately that she was a better swimmer, CC kicked and began stroking awkwardly after him. A horrendous explosion burst behind her, and she spun around in the water in time to see a flash of light and flame. The plane was an enormous, gaping monster that seemed to be thrashing and fighting against its death. And she was too close to it.

  Adrenaline rushed through her body, and CC began swimming with everything within her. She didn't look behind her again, she just swam.

  Then she felt it. A piece of wreckage wrapped around her ankle like a mechanical tentacle. Terrified, she kicked and kicked, but it wouldn't come free. She tried to reach down to get it off, but she was pulled under the surface with such force that she thought her leg would wrench from its socket.

  Water surrounded her and the pressure on her leg was unrelenting. She tried to fight against it, but it was impossible. Her ankle had been securely captured, and she was being pulled to the floor of the ocean by the weight of the sinking plane.

  She was going to die.

  Panic rippled through her and she reached both hands up towards the fading light of the surface, struggling to kick against the enormous weight dragging her to her death. She didn't want to die—not like this—not so young. In that moment, CC didn't see glimpses of her life passing before her eyes, she just felt the despair of knowing that she was dying too soon, before she had ever really lived. She would never know the love of a husband; she would never watch her children grow and marry. Her chest was burning, and she knew it was only seconds before she would be forced to breathe in the deadly water.

  CC closed her eyes. Please help me, she prayed fervently. Someone please help me.

  Miraculously, the weight that had been dragging her under evaporated, and she was filled with an indescribable peace. She opened her eyes to find herself floating in a bubble of soft blue light. And she wasn't alone in that bubble. Suspended in the water directly in front of her, so close CC had only to lift a hand to touch her, was an incredibly beautiful young woman. Her long hair floated around her like a shimmering veil. CC thought it would be the exact color of her mother's buttercups, if flowers could shine and sparkle. The woman's face was a study in perfection. She had sculpted cheekbones and lovely aquamarine eyes that looked somehow familiar to CC. Her skin had the flawless complexion of a china doll. CC's eyes traveled down the body of the woman, who was quite obviously naked from the waist up. CC could clearly see her large, well-formed breasts. But what was she wearing on the bottom half of her body? Whatever it was glistened like it had been beaded with glass and colored in iridescent shades of blue and turquoise and amethyst. It fit her shapely body snuggly and tapered down to… CC felt her own body jerk in surprise. A large set of fins! She was no woman; she was a mermaid!

  CC stared at the incredible creature, knowing that what she was seeing, what she was feeling, couldn't possibly be real. Her lungs didn't burn anymore. But it wasn't that she was breathing, because she was still definitely underwater; it was more like she had been infused with oxygen. She decided she definitely must be dead, or so near death that she was experiencing some kind of amazing hallucination.

  The mermaid smiled tentatively at her.

  CC smiled back.

  Do you desire to continue to live, no matter the cost? The words were spoken clearly into CC's mind. She knew they had to have come from the mermaid, but her sensuous lips had not moved.

  Well, of course I do, CC thought automatically and nodded her head vigorously.

  The mermaid's timid smile was gone, replaced by a dazzling look of relief and joy. Without hesitation, the creature reached out and wrapped her smooth arms around CC in an intimate embrace. CC didn't feel any desire to pull away. Instead of being frightened or repulsed, she was mes
merized. The mermaid pulled CC gently against her body, and CC could feel the creature's naked breasts press softly against her fatigue shirt. The mermaid's curtain of gossamer hair surrounded them, and her tail wrapped around CC's legs. CC had always been firmly heterosexual, so she surprised herself when she felt her body respond and her own arms wrap around the mermaid's bare shoulders.

  Suddenly CC understood that what was happening to her wasn't anything as simple as a sexual experience; it was a magical infusion of the senses. Just as the moonlight had energized her on the night of her birthday, so now was this creature bringing her back to life. Every inch of CC's body felt flooded with electricity. She wanted to throw back her head and shout at the surge of fabulous sensations.

  Then the mermaid began to lower her face to CC's. CC closed her eyes as their lips met in a deep, intimate kiss. A wave of vertigo crashed through CC, and when she finally reopened her eyes, she was looking directly into her own face.

  Disorientated, CC blinked and shook her head, but the image of the petite, waterlogged sergeant didn't shift, it simply smiled back at her.

  Back at her? How could that be? CC turned her head to look for the edges of a hidden mirror and noticed the wealth of blond hair that was floating around her. She reached up to stroke its slick mass.

  We must part now.

  The voice was back inside her head, and CC's fragmented attention refocused on her mirror image. CC watched as hands that should have been her own reached into the neck of her uniform top to pull the silver chain over her head. Then the CC look-alike draped it over "her" head.

  Keep this. It is your talisman, a part of your magic, the internal voice said.

  Then the woman that looked like CC raised her arms and tilted her head back so that she appeared to be reaching for the surface.

  I wish you well. Blessed be, little sister.

  The soft light that they had been floating within refracted into a fireworks of rebellious blue. The body that CC should have been inside of was bathed in an eerie aqua-white glow, and with an intense explosion of light it was propelled violently up to the waiting surface. Caught in a tremendous wave of backlash, CC felt herself hurl end over end away from the site of the plane wreck. Everything became confused and dreamlike. CC had no control over where she was being pulled. It felt like she had been caught in an underwater tornado. The whirlpool was pulling her farther and farther down into the depths of the ocean, and even though she was having no problem breathing, she was still terrified of the black nothingness beneath her. So she struggled, swimming around and through different levels of turbulent currents.

  Finally she broke through the wall of swirling current and found herself in a tunnel of calm water. Exhausted, she allowed herself to float for a moment, trying to sift through her scattered thoughts. What had happened to her? Was she dead? What should she do next?

  The water in her little tunnel of calm was comfortable, denim blue, but outside of it, the dark and tumultuous currents through which she had struggled still surrounded her. CC could see them seething and frothing dangerously. She peered behind her and saw nothing but darkness. Ahead, farther down the tunnel, there was a faint, flickering light. That way, she thought blearily and kicked hard to propel herself forward. Even as tired as she was, CC noted with surprise that she had never swam so strongly and effortlessly before—it was like she had been shot from a liquid cannon. The dark sides of her watery tunnel blurred as she streaked past.

  And then the spot of light was just ahead of her and she burst up, breaking the surface to find herself in a luminous grotto. Her vision was blurred with fatigue, but she could just make out a ledge around which calm water lapped softly. She forced her leadened limbs to move, and with an effort that left her quivering and gasping, she hauled her body out of the water. Curling into a fetal position, CC finally gave into unconsciousness and slept.

  Chapter 6

  The rhythmic sound of water lapping against rock woke her. CC opened her eyes slowly and was greeted by the sight of sparkling blue crystals. She shifted her body and stared around her, amazed at the beauty of the rocks. If laughter was a color, she thought, it would be this exact shade of blue. She reached out to touch the side of the cave with her perfectly shaped cream-colored hand… and stopped.

  That wasn't her hand. Her gaze moved from her hand to her arm. It was long and graceful and looked like it had been carved from living marble. In shock, she sat up. A mass of luxurious blond hair was swept over one of her shoulders so that it cascaded down the front of her body, covering her torso like a silken shawl. She could just make out the mauve tips of her well-endowed breasts peeking through the blond curtain. With shaking hands, she pulled the gorgeous mane back out of her way and looked at the rest of "her" body.

  The flawless skin tapered down to a voluptuously curved waist. Just where her hips started to swell, skin gave way to closely woven scales. Where legs and feet should be, instead there was a tail that ended in an enormous, feathered fin.

  "Holy fucking shit; I'm a fish!"

  Unaccustomed to using such harsh language, CC's first impulse was to cover her mouth and look around frantically to make sure her mother hadn't heard her, but the jerky movement of her upper body caused her tail to flip in response. It felt kind of like she had just twitched her legs to keep her balance and they had responded—together.

  "My language would be the least of the things I would have to explain if my mother was here," CC blurted. The sound of her voice wasn't even her own—instead it was perfect, complete with a sensuous accent and a soft, breathy tone. "And to think I've always wanted to be gorgeous like Marilyn Monroe." CC shook her head at the irony. "Now that I am, I'm a…I'm a…" Semihysterical giggles broke from her mouth.

  Swallowing back her hysteria, she closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. Breathe deeply, breathe deeply she told herself—it wouldn't help for her to loose it now. Another deep breath, then she reopened her eyes and looked at her body again. And she couldn't wrench her eyes from her tail. CC told her legs to kick, and the feathery fin lifted gracefully in response. The blue light of the grotto was reflected in the scales, and her tail glinted with a myriad of brilliant sequins. CC had to acknowledge that it really was very beautiful. With a shaking, hesitant hand she reached out and touched the shining surface of fishlike flesh and was instantly surprised by the soft warmth under her fingers. Now that she was touching it, she could tell that the tail wasn't actually made of fish scales at all, it was more like the skin of a dolphin, just colored with amazing shad-ings of blues and purples. She stroked herself, enjoying the slick smoothness of her new skin. It was like being wrapped in liquid silver, she thought, only instead of one color, it was countless fantastic colors.

  And she felt incredibly powerful. She could actually feel the energy that simmered within her body. She cocked her head, as if listening to that newly found strength, and she realized that the water seemed to call to her. CC could almost hear its voice asking her to come frolic within its depths.

  Maybe she was dreaming, or even dead, but the thought didn't hold any horror for her. Whatever had happened to her, she still had her own mind, and she most certainly was getting a bigger dose of magic than she could ever have imagined possible in her old life.

  CC dipped the finned end of her tail down so that it broke the surface of the enticing water, and then with a ripple of muscle she flipped it up again. Warm seawater rained in a glistening arch around her; wherever it touched her body she felt it as a lover's caress.

  Leaning forward, she gazed into the calm water of the grotto at her remarkably changed reflection. The only familiar thing she saw was the amber teardrop that dangled between her bare breasts.

  "I'm her." The beautiful creature's lips moved as CC spoke. "Somehow I'm the mermaid now." She remembered watching her own body lift toward the faraway surface. "And she's me."

  A tremor ran though her, and she raised a hand to touch the curve of one perfect cheek. Totally engrossed in
studying her refection, CC didn't look up at the sound of a disturbance in the water.

  "Undine, need I remind you of the lesson the gods taught Narcissus?"

  A deep, mocking voice made CC gasp and jerk back in surprise. Not far from her ledge a huge man floated in the water. His torso was bare and he was powerfully built. His hair was so blond it was almost white, and it fell in a thick wave past his shoulders. He would have been handsome, had it not been for his sneering expression.

  "But of course I must admit that you are truly spectacular." He dropped his voice to a seductive purr. Then, noting her expression, he added. "Are you surprised to see me, sister dear?" He floated a little nearer CC's ledge. His storm gray eyes were intense. "How could you doubt that I would pursue you?"

  "Wh-what?" CC's lips felt numb, and she shrank back.

  "Please, let us not play your tiresome games. Our father demands you return, and you know how angry Lir can get when his demands are not obeyed." Slowly he floated even closer to her.

  CC was confused and frightened. What did this man want and who was Lir?

  "When Lir noticed that you were missing again, I graciously volunteered to find you and bring you home."

  He wasn't looking in her eyes, instead his gaze kept shifting from her breasts to the jointure in her tail at the place where her thighs would meet, if she had thighs. His hot stare made her feel intensely uncomfortable and completely naked. She scrambled back until she could go no farther and was pressed firmly against the side of the cave.

  He reached CC's ledge and placed his hands on the edge of it. With a quick flex of his powerful arms, he raised himself partially out of the water, and CC gasped again.

  His muscular torso tapered down to meet the glistening skin of a mer-creature. CC's eyes grew round with shock. Merman, she amended as she watched the hard pulsing flesh surge from a slit in his tail where a human man's groin would be. This creature was quite obviously male.