Sea of Secrets Anthology

by J E Feldman

  So many possibilities. None favorable.

  Moira was far away. Too far, even with the thread of Tuatha power that wove through their tenuous emotional connection like a shimmering silver cord. And she was farther from him with each passing second.

  The ship had dropped a couple of buoys and a life raft, but then had picked up steam again when no bodies had been seen on the surface waving for help or rescue.

  His heart pounded in helpless anxiety. He couldn’t feel her bright effervescent energy any more.By now, she was out of his reach, even if he took Selkie form and threw himself overboard in pursuit. In short, she was on her own.

  He could only hope he hadn’t lost her for good less than a month after he’d finally found her.

  And God help him, what in the world was he going to tell Manannan?

  Moira was prepared for the water to be cold. To be uncomfortable. She wasn’t prepared for the dive into it to be like plowing into a wall of darkness, or to be shoved and pushed as currents eddied around her in sullen, salt-gritty swirls.

  She had expected her mermaid tail to form, her feet to shift into broad flukes and her skin to coalesce into scales like miniature armor. She had not expected her scales to collect and absorb information like an array of radar tracking stations.

  She could sense schools of herring fluttering near the surface where algae and barnacles hung from jetsam, their reflective bodies casting tiny shimmers of moonlight into the murky deeps. Krill and plankton bobbed,quiescent without sunlight to stimulate their phytocells. Somewhat below her, napping in the cool night current, a large sunfish conserved its strength and dreamed of a jellyfish feast, so vivid in her awareness she could taste stinging tentacles on her own lips.

  Behind her, receding at a pace too rapid for her to catch, the cold iron frame of the gigantic ship sent ripples and disturbances through the universe, the grumble of its engines drowning out distant whalesong and dolphinclicks. And to her left, fifteen feet down, something that didn’t belong in her ocean. Something that radiated pain and distress, calling to her in a voiceless plea.

  Duncan!

  She tried to paddle with her arms, but wasn’t strong enough to do more than steer herself in the general direction. And time was short. Muffled bubble sounds and the subtle battering of tiny ripples in the larger current waves informed her burgeoning senses that the young man had lost the breath of air he’d gasped in self-preservation on the way down.

  Desperation and desire triggered her leg muscles. A powerful stroke propelled her forward.

  “Eep!” An air bubble escaped her mouth and headed for the surface. She grabbed her mouth, covered her nose, lips, and chin with her fingers while terror rose in her gut.

  I still don’t know how to breathe!

  Her one and only experience in the ocean had been the night she’d met Sean. He’d guessed at her heritage, told her she was part sea-creature, and they’d cavorted in the shallows surrounded by moonlight and the magic of first love. She knew she had flukes. But did she have gills?

  Her mother would say she was crazy. Jumping off a perfectly good boat, with a perfectly good almost-fiancé next to her, to save a kid who didn’t even want to be saved.

  Yet here she was.

  The cruiseliner’s turbines, at full power, had taken the ship at least a half mile.

  The groggy sunfish stirred, its fishy mind telling her it wanted to investigate the interlopers in its watery world.

  And…The kid was drowning.

  Help me. What do I do? She reached out along the fraying rope in her mind anchoring her to Sean, something she hadn’t even acknowledged but had taken for granted for weeks.

  “Breathe.” His worried voice, comforting and strong, resonated in her head.

  She gasped.

  Joy! Her empty lungs accepted the water as it cascaded into them, and found lifegiving oxygen within it.

  Another deep breath of rich, beautiful, smelly salt water, and she was ready. Flexing her knees for power and using her tapered fingers as keel and rudder, she launched herself like a guided missile toward the floundering young man.

  When she got near, he clawed frantically. His eyes pearled white and wide in the gloom. His legs churned the water into froth.

  She stopped, just beyond his frenzied reach, and bobbed in the lifting current. He didn’t have long arms or weapons, but he could seriously hurt her if he didn’t stop panicking.

  The sunfish circled behind him, its bulk a glistening shimmer in the darker shadows. It turned to face her and poked its snub nose between young Duncan’s flailing arm and his ribcage. The kid released the last of his air in an anguished scream, but his frantic movements stopped.

  Now Moira could act. Keeping the sunfish between them, she grabbed his wrist in both hands, leaned in, and locked her mouth on his in a semblance of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. She breathed oxygen into him, over and over again, until his frightened squirming subsided and he stopped fighting the water surrounding him.

  That was close.

  He was stabilized. Time to head for the surface. With any luck, they’d be able to find something — maybe even a lifeboat — to cling to while they waited for rescue.

  Sean knew they were overboard. Surely he’d have a search party, the Coast Guard, someone, looking for them, Wouldn’t he?

  She pointed up, and Duncan nodded vigorously. She swam behind him and enveloped his chest with her arms, securing him.

  The sunfish faced them both, and — bowed. There was no other name for it.

  She smiled. “Thank you.” Not exactly words, not exactly thoughts, but somehow she was sure the creature understood her.

  If only Sean were this easy to read!

  Her heart skipped a beat. At least she’d be back with him soon. She hoped. And then he’d better answer some questions . . . .

  Before she could pump her flukes to ascend, a vortex swirled around her. At first she thought it was her imagination, but as the sensation intensified over a matter of milliseconds, she realized it was not anything she’d concocted. It was real.

  She lost her grasp around Duncan’s chest. A strong upwelling current lifted him in giant spirals, surface-bound, while a countercurrent pulled her inexorably in the other direction.

  Down.

  Down and away.

  Into the midnight blue waters where sunlight never penetrated. Away from the light and warmth of the surface. Down into the unknown and unknowable. Away from the man she’d started to love and plan a future with.

  She closed her eyes as the vastness of the sea swallowed her.

  “Hello, daughter.” A deep voice spoke in a sonar-enhanced tone. “Welcome to my world.”

  A.R. Johnston

  Biography

  Tears on the Water

  A.R. Johnston

  “Daddy? Is there really a monster that lives at the bottom of the lake?” A tiny quavering voice spoke.

  A deep chuckle was the reply and the handsome man reached down to fluff the little girl’s blonde curls. Her bright blue eyes looked up at him with concern. She kept glancing at the lake in front of them.

  “I mean it, Daddy. I’ve heard some of the stories. There is a monster that lives in the middle of this lake.” There was a six-year-old’s concern in her voice. She clutched at his hand as they both looked out over the rising sun coming up over the mountains and the glassy sheen of the lake.

  McKinnely looked down at his daughter, giving her a bright smile before scooping her up into his arms making her giggle. She snuggled close into him, wrapping her small arms around his neck.

  “I would never let anything happen to you, Rue. We take care of the lake and it will take care of you. Remember that,” he spoke in all seriousness.

  She smiled, clinging to his neck and planting a kiss to his cheek.

  “I love the lake, Daddy. I feel like I’m home when we come here. I will always try to keep it safe,” she declared.

  “I know, my lovely little Rue. That is why you
will be the owner and the guardian of this lake someday,” McKinnely spoke softly, kissed her forehead, hugging her closer to him.

  He would have to start teaching her all about what it meant to be the guardian. Everything in the lake, everyone he amended to himself. There was so much more that needed to be protected. McKinnely wondered how much time he actually had to do his job. Things had been restless in lately. He knew within every fiber of his being something was going to happen.

  She giggled in his arms and he looked at her. “The pixies keep telling me. They seem to like me and I like them too,” Rue smiled giggling up at her father, her eyes bright.

  McKinnely looked down at his daughter with surprise. “You’ve been talking to the pixies?”

  Rue squirmed and he put her down. “Of course I talk to them, Daddy. I’m going swimming now.”

  McKinnely watched in wonderment as his daughter fiercely walked into the water and dove. A pixie lighted on his shoulder.

  “She will be a great guardian, Kin,” the four-inch pixie warrior spoke, his wings sparkling in the morning light.

  McKinnely nodded. “I know. When did your family start talking to her?” He glanced at the small man with red gold hair and startling purple eyes, dressed in the latest Ken doll sumMer clothing line with a sword at his side.

  The pixie flew around to look at McKinnely straight on. “Ryn was watching her make a faerie garden and just had to get in on the action. Sorry, I know that’s not what you wanted,” the pixie spoke, his wings turning a slight blue color with worry.

  McKinnely smiled. “It’s fine, Zax. She needs to learn sometime. I just thought I would be the one introducing her to it all.” He shook his head in wonder, looking out to watch Rue dive under the water again.

  The pixie’s wings turned back to gold. “Ya, well, kids will do what they want and change the heck out of your plans,” Zax laughed, looking out to Rue. “Look at Ryn right now, following her. Ryn loves your little girl. My girl will guard yours with her life. Just like I do for you.”

  McKinnely smiled. “And I would do the same for you, Zax. I appreciate everything you do. Have you heard anything lately?”

  Zax’s attitude changed in an instant, his lips set in a grim line as he sat on Kin’s shoulder again.

  “No, but something is off.”

  “I know. I feel it. I haven’t been able to get ahold of Krill yet.”

  “Damn scum sucker always takes his time.”

  Kin chuckled. “True. But time moves differently in the water. I just wish he would hurry the hell up.”

  “Ryn, don’t get your wings soaked! You’ll have to swim back and the sun fish will try to eat you,” Zax shouted.

  A zip of pink skimmed over the water. “I’m fine, Dad. Besides, it’s fun trying to outswim the sunfish,” a high-pitch reply came back.

  Rue’s head came up out of the water. “Come in, Daddy. It’s so warm and there are so many fish!”

  McKinnely chuckled. “Coming, my little petite poisson.”

  Ruelle was extra special. McKinnely had fallen for one of the Merfolk of the lake. Ruelle’s mother had chosen to leave to be with him. It had been true love, but Daryah had started to die only a few days after Ruelle was born. There was no explanation for it. It was like all of Daryah’s life force had been given to their daughter. Daryah had nothing left and quietly slipped away. McKinnely had brought his wife back to the lake, wrapped reverently in silk. With Rue in her bassinet crying on the shore, McKinnely had carried Daryah into the water. With his heart breaking, he had given her back to the waters she came from.

  Assan, the ruler of the lake and waters, thereby had taken Daryah from him. He had stood in front of McKinnely with a sad smile.

  “I shall take her home to receive the burial of our people,” he spoke softly. “She loved you with all she had, Kin. She wanted you and Ruelle. You’ll bring her back to know her family?”

  McKinnely had smiled back. Daryah had always called him Kin and it had stuck.

  “Thank you, Assan, and of course I’ll be bringing our daughter back. It’s part of her more than me. She’ll have a deeper connection to you all.”

  Assan nodded. “She will always have a home here. It will be interesting to see if she can be in the water with us. Only time will tell.”

  He watched from just below the surface at the reef. He was fascinated with the little human who was diving and swimming in his father’s lake. He was told the little girl would be the new guardian.

  “You will have to watch over her when she’s here, Orin,” his father had told him.

  He sat on a rock at the reef and watched her, absently petting the eels that swirled around him. He swished his tail, iridescent green scales sparkling in the sun. His handsome young face and black hair bobbing with the small waves on the lake.

  Orin had been swimming around the reef with his friends when he saw the new little guardian on the shore. The others had teased him about being so entranced by the little land dweller.

  “She’s the new guardian. We have a responsibility to watch out for her,” Orin had frowned at them, trying to sound and look more adult than he was.

  He was the son of the ruler of these waters, but sometimes he hated the responsibility of it all. He was like any other kid that just wanted to have fun. Was that really too much to ask?

  “Your dad is ruler, not you. Come on, Orin, let’s go scare the girls,” his friend Rush spoke in a whining voice.

  Orin shook his head. “How am I ever going to learn anything or show Dad I’m ready for more responsibility if I don’t stay and watch?”

  Rush gave him a look of disgust, shaking his head. “You’re only eleven turns, Orin. We’re supposed to be pulling pranks and chasing girls.”

  “Rush,” Orin made an aggravated sound. “I gotta do this. My Dad would pluck my scales if I don’t listen to him.”

  “I guess. Just seems unfair that you have to do it. I just wanna go have some fun.”

  “Ya,” Orin sighed. “But I gotta. I’ll catch up with you all later. Tell Swish to stay away from fishing lines, would ya? Hooks in the scales are horrible to get out.”

  “Ain’t that the truth. That boy is as dumb as a leech sometimes,” Rush muttered and chuckled.

  Orin laughed. “Go on. I’m sure I won’t be too long.”

  Rush nodded. “Fine. See ya soon then.”

  Orin took a spot on the reef and had listened to the conversation of the current guardian Kin and the pixie. There was something going on with the lake. He didn’t know what it was either. He was too young to sit in on all the briefings his father was having, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew something wasn’t right. He had heard all of the whispers about a sea witch in the area, but there hadn’t been one in the area since the times of Candra. There had been a great battle and the water had turned red with blood of the Merfolk, but Candra had literally turned the tides. She had been that strong even though turning the tides was something only royals or even gods of the sea could do. She had beat back the sea witch and now they were at peace.

  The lake had been quiet and serene for many years after. The unease was something that seemed to be coming in from the deep vents that linked up to the Atlantic. Not all Merfolk liked saltwater and enjoyed the fresh waters at Tunk. His family ruled the surrounding area for millennia or more with the help of McKinnely’s family. They helped keep the lake clean and safe from the outside world.

  Orin’s father had said the reason it was McKinnely’s family was because of Candra. She had been an elder of the Merfolk, a very respected oracle. Humans barely listened to each other. What were the chances they would listen to Merfolk who came out of the water? They would destroy them all because they weren’t like them. Humans always destroyed that which they did not understand.

  All creatures of the waters needed protecting, from humans and themselves. If something wasn’t done, everything they enjoyed as Merfolk would cease to exist. She had foreseen the need of making a guardian for
them. Someone to watch over and protect the waters of the surrounding area. She had climbed from the waters of Tunk Lake, becoming human so she could do something about it. She had mated and married a magic user. Together they had become the guardians and protectors of the lake and local waters. She and her family on the land left it to each generation to do so.

  But the newest guardian would be different because one of her parents had been a Mermaid and not just a descendant of Candra. She would be the best guardian and protector the lake and sea had seen since Candra herself. Or so Orin’s father had told him, so he watched over Ruelle whenever she was at the lake. Just like the little pixie did. Everyone loved her and would fight to see she was well looked after.

  It had been close to a year since McKinnely really felt the unease in the water. There had been deaths, but they had been shrugged off as normal. The fishing grounds had changed slightly, but that wasn’t anything new either. McKinnely smiled at the now seven-year-old Rue sitting with her life jacket on in the boat. They were going across the lake in the speedboat and not the sedate canoe or kayak. There was a meeting with the Merfolk so time was of the essence.

  “Go faster, Daddy!” she laughed, clapping her hands.

  He glanced at her again. “Alright, my petite,” he smiled and revved the boat a little faster.

  It was like a storm instantly appeared, the sky becoming dark as night with lightning streaking across. The wind picked up with great force and the waves started to crash up and over the sides of the boat. McKinnely instantly started to slow the boat motor, not liking what was going on. Rue started to whimper curling into a ball on the floor.

  “Daddy? What’s going on?”

  “It’s ok, Ruelle. We’ll go back to shore,” he spoke assuringly.

  Kin turned away and grimaced because he really wasn’t sure they would make it back to shore. They were too far away and they were in the deepest section on the lake which led out to the Atlantic. He could hold his breath longer than most to be able to go diving and swimming with the Merfolk, but not in this section of the lake. He could only hope Assan and the other Merfolk would show up soon to help get them to shore safely.