Spell or High Water

by ReGina Welling

  Her father plopped Nixie down in a chair next to her mother and sank in on the other side. “We have a problem, Asherah.”

  Now You Are Mine

  Conall groaned and tried to roll over, only to find himself restrained.

  He tried to open his eyes, but found it difficult to do.

  What had happened? His mind was a little fuzzy, and he couldn’t remember. Why was he so fuzzy?

  Finally, he managed to pry his eyes open.

  The room didn’t look familiar. Had the other guys changed hotels on him?

  He was alone in a spacious room, lying on a comfortable bed. It was a four-poster, and the canopy over the top looked like a huge, beautiful seashell. The scientists wouldn’t have chosen this room.

  He realized he could raise his hands a little, and they bumped into something in front of his face. What the—?

  It was a little like the air-filled plastic used to cushion items in a shipping box. He poked it a few times. It was softer, not plastic, but it moved when he poked it.

  Then he realized that his hands were moving through ... water?

  It was water.

  He was underwater, restrained in place, with some sort of air bubble helmet keeping him alive. Quickly, he pulled his hands down. He’d hate to accidentally poke a hole in his life support.

  “Hello...?” he called out.

  Nixie balanced a tray with breakfast foods as she carefully swam down the hall from the kitchens. Cook had assured her that this was what humans liked for their morning meal. It had seaweed arranged around strips of what cook called bacon. Nixie wondered where the bacon had come from — land or magic?

  Either way, she hoped the man would like it.

  Her man.

  Her father hadn’t been pleased last night when she’d told him the man was hers to be responsible for, and neither parent had been pleased as they’d tried to convince her to revoke her claim to him.

  She’d just kept repeating that the man was hers and, finally, her father had sat back with a frown on his face. “Why do you have to be so stubborn, Nixie?”

  “Tell me what you know about the man, Father.”

  With a sigh of resignation, he’d said, “The man you have claimed is Conall McKenna from Scotland. He won’t like that you’ve claimed him.”

  “I doubt he’d like that I captured him, either.”

  “What will you do with him?” her mother asked.

  “I don’t know yet.” But she’d known she had to keep him.

  She knocked on the door of the bedchamber he’d been placed in.

  “Come in,” he said.

  Opening the door, she swam through.

  “Oh,” she said, relieved. “You look so very much better this morning.”

  He tried to sit up, but couldn’t.

  She set down the tray and went to him. “Now that you’re awake, I’ll release you from the restraints. They were afraid you’d hurt yourself because you were thrashing around in pain last night after they took out the harpoon.”

  “I was harpooned,” he said, remembering the pain, the shock of being hit.

  The beautiful mermaid’s smile lit up the room. “You saved my life.”

  “Did I?’

  “You were very heroic. Even my father had to agree.”

  “Who is your father?”

  “The king of the merfolk in this region.”

  He stared at her. “You’re real.”

  “Yes.” She reached out and touched his hand and tingles flew up his arm. She jerked her hand back, surprise on her face, so he wondered if she’d felt the tingles, too.

  “You’re a mermaid?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “I’ve brought you breakfast.”

  “What do merfolk eat for breakfast?”

  “We eat seaweed and smaller mollusks and crabs.”

  “So you don’t have a singing crab around?”

  “Like in The Little Mermaid?” She smiled. “No.”

  Shocked, he said, “You know The Little Mermaid?”

  “Of everything that has happened to you, that’s what you are most shocked at?” She gave a light tinkle of a laugh.

  “I like mollusks and crabs.”

  “And bacon, I hope,” she said, helping him to sit and turning to lift the tray.

  He felt along his shoulder. “I was harpooned in the shoulder, but I can’t feel but the slightest bump. It’s all healed over.”

  “Our surgeon is the best in the seven seas.”

  “Still, how could he have healed me?” He stopped. “Wait. How long have I been out?”

  “Just overnight.”

  “This is all so amazing.” Mind-boggling, actually.

  She set the tray down in front of him. An air bubble similar to that around his face encircled the food.

  “Bacon?” He laughed. “And pancakes? This looks amazing. But how am I supposed to get the food from one air bubble to the one around my head?”

  She lifted a piece of bacon. As it passed through the outer edge of the air bubble, a smaller air bubble formed around it and stayed around the bacon until it entered the bubble and then his mouth.

  He chewed. “This is amazing.”

  She smiled. “You already said that.”

  Finding himself starving, he snarfed down the food. Then, sitting back against the headboard of the fancy bed, he asked, “What will happen to me now? I need to get back to land.”

  “First we meet with my father, who has told me to bring you to him when you are well.” She smiled at him, running her fingers along his arm. “Know this, Conall McKenna. I am responsible for you now. You saved my life. Now you are mine. You belong to Nixie, 24th Princess of the Underwater Court.”

  His heart shouldn’t have leaped at those words, but it did. He didn’t mind at all being hers, and that shocked him even more.

  How did she know his name?

  You Humans Are So Irritating

  Conall walked through the water — how strange to be able to just walk through — beside Nixie, a princess of the underwater court.

  Mermen stood sentinel as they approached a set of double doors, then they opened the doors to admit them.

  She smiled up at him. “Follow me.” And she flicked her tail and swam through.

  He walked in after her, much more slowly.

  The room was large, and mermen lined the walls on either side. It must be the official throne room, because the king sat on a throne. Frowning.

  Nixie lowered her head a little before her father. “I have brought the human as you requested, Father.”

  Conall stopped next to her, lowering his own head slightly, then looking up into the king’s eyes.

  His rather mesmerizing eyes. There was magic in those eyes.

  “Your majesty,” he said, “I am honored to meet you.”

  The king tipped his head. “I am still deciding if it is an honor to meet you, human.”

  Nixie crossed her arms. “Father,” she said in a warning tone.

  “My daughter seems to think it is an honor, so I am pleased to meet you, Conall McKenna of Scotland. I understand you saved my daughter’s life.”

  “He did,” Nixie said.

  “Can he not speak for himself?” the king asked.

  “I can, Your Majesty. I jumped in front of the harpoon meant for your daughter.”

  “So you did.” The king nodded. “Well, that makes things more difficult, because I now have to get your consent for what I meant to coerce you to do.”

  Conall watched the king warily for several moments, while the king looked up at the corner of the room as if thinking. Finally, he brought his gaze back onto Conall. “Do you wish to be released?”

  “Of course,” Conall said. “I will always choose freedom.”

  “Then I give you an ultimatum and an assignment. Succeed and you will be released.”

  “Father!”

  “Shush, Nixie. This supercedes your invocation of the Carta.” He looked back at Conall. “We h
ave a common enemy. This is not the first harpoon used this month. We had a death of one of our own three weeks ago.”

  “Father, you didn’t tell me,” Nixie said, obviously shocked.

  “I didn’t want to frighten you, and we thought it was just an accident. But now that there have been two harpoonings, I believe it is intentional. What are the intentions of you and your crew here at Moonchuckle Bay?”

  “We believe there is a passageway from Loch Ness, where I live, and Moonchuckle Bay, where you live, and we believe that Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, travels between. We came in search of Nessie.”

  “And what will you do if you find her?”

  A thrill ran through Conall, and a slow smile bloomed on his face. “So she is real.”

  “Of course she’s real, and she is, indeed, here in Moonchuckle Bay.”

  “If we find her, we hope to photograph her and mostly hope we may swim with her.”

  “That is all? You wish her no harm? Will perform no scientific experiments on her?”

  Conall’s eyes widened in shock. “Of course not. We’re marine biologists, dedicated to the study and preservation of marine life.”

  The king studied him. “Then perhaps a meeting can be arranged. If you serve me well in this assignment.” He frowned at Conall. “What are your intentions for my daughter?”

  Surprised, Conall looked at Nixie. Hesitantly, he said, “I understand I belong to her now, though I don’t understand what that means, exactly.”

  “But what are your intentions?”

  Conall paused. “I would like to get to know her better, Your Majesty.”

  The king sighed mightily. “You humans are so irritating.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be.”

  “I, King Starfish, give you this assignment. You will return to land, with my daughter and three of my merguards. Learn who is firing harpoons and bring them to me for punishment.”

  Conall narrowed his eyes. “How will your people go on land?”

  “They will have legs, of course.”

  “Oh. Of course.”

  “Do you accept?”

  He glanced at Nixie, who looked stunned and excited at the prospect. “Yes.”

  A Werewolf In A Green Monster Suit

  The three mermen and Nixie rigged a net for Conall to sit in and they began swimming rapidly toward shore.

  They had swam up onto the back side of the bay, away from the parking lot and tourist spots, so no one would see them rising from the water, especially the person who was responsible for shooting the harpoon.

  A large school of fish swam with them, as if escorting them to land.

  It wasn’t long before they reached the shore. They swam as close as they could, then pushed themselves up to a standing position. As Conall shed the net and stood, he was amazed to see a pulse of low light and, in the moonlight, he saw the four of them standing, their tails gone, each on two legs.

  They wore colorful loincloths, Nixie’s matching her swimsuit top, and the men’s darker in browns and blacks and dark blues. The five of them walked from the water and onto the deserted beach.

  The men walked gracefully, but Nixie staggered to the left and plopped down into the sand with a giggle. A merguard helped her up.

  “Is this your first time with legs?” Conall asked, amazed both that mermaids could switch between tails and legs, and amazed that if they could, this was her first time doing so.

  “Yes.” Nixie’s face beamed with joy as she looked down at her legs and then up at him.

  “What do we do now?” asked the tallest, dark-haired guard. Man. Merman. Whatever.

  “First,” Conall said, “what are your names?”

  The dark-haired man said, “I am Murtagh and this”— he pointed toward the shorter, bulkier man — is Quayly. We are of the Royal Guards and will protect you with our lives, if need be.” He motioned toward the younger man. “This is Marinus, the king’s personal assistant.”

  “I’m Conall.” He glanced at Nixie, who was looking at him as if he hung the large moon reflecting off the dark night water.

  Murtagh repeated, “What do we do now?”

  Nixie leaned to the right, put out her arms, pinwheeling to keep her balance, and again fell to the sand.

  “First, pick up your princess again.” He smiled.

  Conall said, “It would be good to get some clothes for you gents and lady that help you fit in more with the townsfolk. And I’m going to call my fellow scientists and ask them to come pick us up.”

  “You must not reveal that we are merfolk,” Murtagh said in a warning tone.

  “I won’t. You’re just people on another boat who found me floating in the lake and brought me to shore, saving my life. We won’t mention that I got harpooned because then they’ll wonder why I don’t have a wound.”

  “Let me help you.” He took hold of Nixie’s arm, again amazed at the zing of attraction. He let her, wobbling, across the sand of the beach in the direction of the main road. “First we’ll have to walk toward town because I don’t have my cell phone with me.”

  “Walking takes a lot of energy, doesn’t it?” Nixie asked Conall. They’d been hiking from the lake toward the road for nearly an hour and were now in shade provided by a grove of trees.

  He stopped and looked down on her. “I guess it takes different muscles than you’re used to using with your tail.”

  “That’s true. With my tail, I just have to flick my fin and I move easily through the water. My legs are beginning to grow tired. I didn’t expect that, especially so soon.”

  The guards formed a semi-circle around her.

  Murtagh said, “We would be honored to carry the princess.”

  Nixie laughed prettily. “I don’t think they do that on land.”

  Conall said, “It might be a good idea, until we see other people.” He turned to the guards. “How many times have you been on land?”

  Quayly said, “Twice.”

  Murtagh growled, “Thrice.”

  When Marinus said, “Twenty-nine,” the other two guards frowned at him. The younger merman shrugged. “The king has me speak to people on his behalf, and some of those people are on land.”

  Conall stifled a laugh at the expressions on the older guards’ faces, and his estimation of Marinus rose. “We can take turns carrying the princess, two at a time.”

  Nixie sighed. “I don’t want to be carried. If human women can walk on two legs, so can I. If I need to pull on my magic to recharge my energy, I will.”

  Conall looked at her. “You have magic?”

  “We all do,” Marinus said.

  “Do I?” Conall asked, hoping.

  “If you’re fully human, probably not, though humans have a certain magic all their own.” Marinus smiled. “But probably not the kind you’re hoping for.”

  A pastel light swirled around Nixie and she smiled. “I can do it now. Let’s go.”

  And she took off walking ahead of them, setting a brisk pace, barely wobbling now. She’d caught on quickly.

  Conall exchanged a glance with the guards.

  Murtagh scowled. “Do not be admiring the princess, human.”

  “Can’t help it,” Conall said, and set off after her.

  He came through the trees and caught up with her at the road, where a car had stopped beside her, and two guys were chatting with what looked like a bikini clad woman to them. Two guys with tattoos and piercings. Two guys who didn’t need to be admiring the princess.

  Behind him, the guards growled.

  Conall strode up, and the men looked at him and frowned. “We got capsized and have been walking back from the lake. Can I borrow your cell phone to call for help?”

  “Sure, man.” The closest man handed him a phone and then stared behind Conall. “Who are those guys?”

  “Just friends.”

  “You have weird friends. Just sayin’.”

  “You have no idea.” Conall texted Brayden to let him know he’d be ca
lling, because, hey, who answers cell phone numbers any more if they don’t know who’s calling? Lucky for him, he had a great memory for numbers. Two minutes later, he called.

  When Brayden answered, he said, “Where are you? We thought you’d been killed. There are still boats searching for you on the lake. For your body. Because we thought you’d been harpooned and then dragged under.”

  “I did get dragged under, but came up in another part of the lake. I don’t remember much because I hit my head.” He hated to lie, but couldn’t reveal the merfolks’ secret. “Some boaters found me and took care of me last night, then brought me in to shore today.”

  “And then you got capsized? Man, dude, you’ve had a bad day,” the pierced guy said.

  Conall nodded. Too many lies already. He walked away from the truck and continued to talk. “Can you please come pick us up? We got capsized coming in to shore and my new friends and I need some clothes and a good meal. Oh, and bring the van. There are five of us.”

  You May Call Me Bubbles

  Everything was new. Every. Single. Thing.

  Walking was amazing, though more tiring than Nixie would have ever imagined.

  Cars moved very fast, even faster than she could swim, and she was a fast swimmer. She knew because Conall’s friends came to rescue them. Conall had warned them to say nothing about what had happened but to let him talk, and they were to talk about other things.

  As she rode along in a large vehicle called a van with a man named Brayden driving — one of the men in the picture and one who laughed a lot and gave her admiring glances — she asked for him to roll down the window and hung her head half out, enjoying the sensation of wind on her face.

  Conall had smiled at her. “I guess that’s a new sensation, right?”

  Marinus was in the front seat, Murtagh and Quayly in the middle bench seat, and she sat with Conall in the back seat.