The Mermaid's Madness

by Hines, Jim C.

  “If she can take care of everything with her magic, what does she need these two for?” Hephyra jabbed a finger at Talia and Danielle.

  Talia scowled.“If everything works the way Morveren describes, Snow will be fine. Personally, I don’t have a lot of faith in her judgment.”

  “So send Lannadae,” said Hephyra.

  Lannadae’s scales puffed out at that suggestion, and her fear was easy to read. She didn’t speak; she simply turned to Morveren, eyes wide.

  Morveren shook her head. “She’s a royal. The moment her scent fills the water, they’ll know she’s there. If she were older, her scent might be strong enough to wrest control from her sister. But young as she is, I can’t think of a faster way to get you all killed.”

  “We’ll be fine.” Danielle hugged herself against the wind. She felt exposed and a little embarrassed. Childbirth had left its lines on her, and she couldn’t help comparing her body to Snow’s unblemished form. But her discomfort was nothing compared to Talia’s. Talia was as stiff and tense as Danielle had ever seen her. She refused to look at anyone. Words would only make her more uncomfortable, so Danielle simply asked, “Can we please hurry?”

  “Snow can transform herself.” Morveren crawled toward Talia. “I’ll take care of these two. I’ve rested enough to do that much.”

  Talia’s hand shot out, catching Morveren’s wrist. “Touch me and I’ll break your arm.”

  Morveren tugged free and backed away, scowling. Danielle moved between them. “Talia, she’s not going to hurt you.”

  “I know that,” Talia whispered. “I know it’s the only way to reach Lirea, but I don’t like people using magic to tamper with my body. I don’t want her touching me.”

  Danielle did her best to swallow her own anxiety. “I’ll go first.” She sat down on the deck, gasping as her backside touched the cold, wet wood.

  Her palms grew slick with nervous sweat as Morveren pulled a scale from her tail and prepared to cut her skin. Danielle forced a smile for Talia’s sake. Morveren’s hands were swift and steady, completing the cuts almost before the pain hit. Almost.

  Soon Danielle’s legs were crushing together. She clenched her jaw, biting back a shriek. Her nails dug into the deck as she waited for the shock to pass.

  Morveren turned to Talia, the bloody scale still in her hand.

  “You’ve got to be joking,” said Talia.

  “What if Snow casts the spell instead?” Danielle asked.

  “No,” said Morveren. “She should conserve her strength for Lirea. I can—”

  “I’ll do it.” Snow lay on the deck, wearing nothing but her choker and Lirea’s harness. Her red-scaled tail flapped against the sailcloth curtain.

  Talia sat down and closed her eyes. “Make it quick.”

  Danielle studied her own undine body. Her torso was thicker, similar to the way it had looked in those first weeks after Jakob’s birth. Her hair felt coarser, and there was more of it than before.

  “I hate this,”Talia whispered. She hadn’t made a sound during her transformation, but her face was sweaty. Her tail was a deep blue, fading to green near the fins.

  “You’re beautiful,” Lannadae said. “You all are.”

  “You shouldn’t waste your power playing color games,” Morveren said, frowning.

  “But Talia looks so much better in blue,” Snow insisted, climbing up onto the railing. Before Morveren could respond, she dropped backward into the water.

  Danielle reached over to take Talia’s hand. For once, Talia didn’t pull away. “It won’t last long,” she said. “Snow will remove the spell as soon as she can.”

  Talia took a deep breath, then straightened. “I guess we’d better follow to make sure she doesn’t get into trouble. Come on, Princess. The sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll be able to shed these scales.”

  “I’ll take the Phillipa west to make sure we’re out of sight,” said Captain Hephyra. “I’d come with you if I could. Spawning season sounds like fun.”

  “You’re as bad as she is,” Talia said, gesturing toward Snow. She shook her head and dove in after Snow.

  “Remember your promise,” said Morveren. “Please bring my granddaughter back to me.”

  “We will.” Danielle studied the railing. There was no graceful way for a mermaid to climb over. Well, Talia had made it look graceful, but that didn’t count. Danielle scooted forward and grabbed a belaying pin to pull herself up. The wood scraped painfully against her chest. She twisted around, balancing on her hips. Her weight shifted, and her body tilted toward the water.

  She overbalanced and fell, and her back hit the water hard. Her body sliced into the water. She pushed away from the ship, kicking to the surface. Her muscles launched her higher than she intended. This body would take some practice.

  “We’ll be waiting for you,” Captain Hephyra shouted.

  “Thank you!” Danielle waved, then blushed when she realized the sailcloth curtain no longer shielded her from view. Her cheeks burned. She sank lower and swam over to Talia, who had kept close to the hull. Lowering her voice, she said, “Let’s not tell Armand about this part.”

  “Personally, I plan on drinking until I’ve pushed the whole thing from my mind,” Talia answered.

  “Lirea’s will is strong, but her thoughts are chaotic,” Morveren called down. “Brute force won’t help you. Use her confusion to trick her into following.”

  “I will!” Snow leaped from the water like a dolphin, then vanished beneath the waves.

  “Be careful, Cinderella!” Lannadae shouted from the ship.

  Talia snorted and disappeared after Snow. Shaking her head, Danielle followed them both.

  To Danielle, the sea had always been an impressive thing, but ultimately dull. Water was water, fish were fish, and seaweed was seaweed.

  She soon discovered how mistaken she had been. Swimming through the ocean was like flying through another world. Her body felt light as air. The currents were gentle winds, pushing her to the right. Those winds grew stronger and colder the deeper she swam.

  Dark shapes passed beneath her. A school of fish, or creatures larger and more distant? There was no way to be certain.

  For the most part, she stayed close to the surface, skimming just beneath the waves. She kept her arms at her sides, imitating Snow’s movements. The water washed over her face, rinsing the sweat from her body.

  Breathing water for the first time had been a shock, but after a few coughing fits, she had finally mastered the trick. She doubted she would ever get used to the water flowing through her gills, or the sensation of her neck opening and closing with each breath. Equally difficult was learning to clamp shut the muscles deep within her chest, sealing air in the bottom of her lungs to help her float.

  Her stomach hadn’t cramped this badly since she had Jakob. Her tail muscles seemed well adapted for swimming, but her stomach and back would ache for weeks. Either she still didn’t have the movement quite right, or else she simply lacked the strength and endurance of a true undine.

  Still, they were making better progress than any human could, having closed more than half the distance to shore. She looked back at the Phillipa. In the moonlight, the ship was a shadow the size of her fingertip.

  “How far to Lirea?” asked Talia from up ahead.

  Water fountained from Snow’s lips, clearing her lungs. She grabbed the doll in one hand and closed her eyes. “She’s directly ahead. We should be there before sunrise.”

  Danielle turned onto her back. Swimming this way used different muscles, bringing some relief, though it meant the air chilled her wet skin. At least now she understood why the undine went without clothes. Her sword belt tugged at her hips with every stroke of her tail. How much slower would she have been with clothes dragging against the water?

  She dove deeper to escape the wind, doing her best to keep up with Talia and Snow, both of whom were in better physical condition. Something brushed her tail fin, and she streaked to the surface, ye
lping in alarm. She ducked her face back into the water to see a school of mackerel passing beneath her.

  Snow laughed and splashed Danielle with her tail.

  “They’re nothing to be scared of. You’re a bigger fish than they are.”

  “Barely.” Some of those fish looked almost as long as Danielle.

  “Stay close to Talia,” Snow said, still giggling. “She’ll protect you if we have to face any killer tuna.”

  Danielle closed her eyes and whispered silently to the closest fish.

  Moments later, Snow shrieked and leaped from the water. “They nibbled my tail fin!”

  Danielle smiled and kept on swimming. As the water grew shallower, she began to notice the rocks below. Back home, the seabed would have been covered in white sand and stones from the cliff. Here, rocks jutted from the bottom like broken claws. Some were high enough to rip open any ship unlucky enough to pass this way.

  “Where is this place?” she asked.

  “The northern edge of Hilad,” said Snow. “The land is the same black rock, completely uninhabitable. Some say dragons scorched the land. Others believe the earth itself opened up, belching fire over the entire town.”

  Danielle studied the shore. The sky ahead was lighter, illuminating a half-submerged wall rising from the water. Low arches as wide as a ship allowed the water to pass through the wall. Beyond, she could make out the ruins of a palace. Broken towers stood to either side of a larger structure with a teardrop-shaped roof.

  “They say the bones of a former Hiladi emperor are entombed in the rock,” Snow said.

  “How do you know all this?” asked Talia.

  Snow shook her head. “When we get back, I’m sealing you in the library until you’ve read at least five books.”

  Danielle pointed to a mottled, serpentine creature arcing through the water in front of the wall. “Does your library tell you what that thing is?”

  “A kelpie,” said Snow. “A big one. Imagine a cross between a giant horse and a sea serpent. The undine use them to haul their belongings when they migrate. They’ve been known to ride kelpies into battle, too.”

  Danielle glided through the water, trying to get a better view of the kelpie. Kelpies, she corrected, spotting a second. Each animal was probably half the length of the Phillipa. A third kelpie raised its head farther down the wall. Silhouetted against the faint orange light of dawn, the head appeared vaguely equine. She could just make out the shape of several undine clinging to the kelpie’s body beneath the head.

  “Lirea is beyond the wall,” said Snow, staring at her doll.

  Talia was double-checking her knives. “Can your magic get us past the merfolk?”

  “I’m offended you even have to ask.” Snow tightened the knot holding Lirea’s doll to her harness. “The kelpies might be trickier. But the merfolk shouldn’t give us any trouble. If Morveren was right, they’re not going to worry about a few strangers.”

  Danielle was beginning to feel a little distracted herself. The water tasted different here. Both sour and sweet, the faint tang made her mouth water and her heart beat faster. She found herself exquisitely aware of the waves caressing her bare skin.

  Snow shivered. “Have any of you ever wondered how a merman and a mermaid—”

  “No,” snapped Talia.

  “But don’t you want to know where the mermen keep their—”

  “Snow, please.” Danielle raised a hand to stop her.

  The taste of the water took Danielle back to those first nights with Armand. The feel of his hands exploring her body, the way her skin had tingled and tightened at his touch.

  “It wouldn’t have to take long.” Snow swam up behind Talia. “Don’t be such a prude. We could—”

  Talia put both hands on Snow’s head and dunked her beneath the water. Snow popped up a moment later, sputtering and wiping her face.

  “I’m going to find Lirea,” Talia said. “If you’d rather mount a merman than save Queen Bea’s life, don’t let me stop you.”

  Snow shook her head. “I was joking, Talia. What’s the matter with you?”

  “With me?” Talia shouted. “You’re the one who’s been acting like this is some sort of holiday. Giggling over your new magic, staying up all night with your mermaid friend, and now you want to run off to have a quick romp with a merman?”

  “You know, I wondered why you only brought knives along this time,” Snow said. “Usually you carry a lot more weapons. That was before I figured out you’ve got one of your fighting sticks wedged up your ass.”

  Danielle swam between them. She had seen Snow and Talia argue before, but not like this. “This isn’t helping.”

  Talia turned away. “It’s making me feel better.”

  “The water carries Lirea’s scent, remember?” Danielle said. “The closer we get to the shore, the more we’ll be . . .”

  “Aroused?” Snow asked. “You know, if we could bottle this stuff, we could make a fortune.”

  Talia shook her head. “And you think something’s wrong with me?”

  Danielle took another gulp of air. “Keep your heads above water. Breathing air seems to dilute the effect.”

  Danielle swam past them both. The air helped, but she could still smell Lirea’s scent. If the water was affecting the others the way it was her, this was going to get a lot worse before they reached Lirea.

  She braced herself as she swam toward the shore. She wasn’t sure what exactly to expect. An orgy of merfolk thrashing about in the water, or something more . . . human?

  She gasped the first time one of the undine passed beneath her. This was an older merman, his matted hair streaming over his back like seaweed. He glanced up, frowned, and rose to the surface.

  “Who are you?”

  Snow’s choker pulsed with blue light. The suspicion faded from his face. Smiling, Snow said, “Could you please tell Lirea we’ve come to join her tribe?”

  He swam uncomfortably close, until his green tail fin brushed theirs. “Welcome. You’re wise to join us while you still can.”

  Danielle glanced at Snow, wondering what that meant. Snow gave a tiny shrug.

  “Lirea lives apart from the tribe for her own protection,” the merman continued. “I will bring you to Nilliar, the queen’s spearbearer. She can—”

  Snow frowned. “I’d really like to meet Lirea.”

  “Even if Lirea were willing to see newcomers, I’m afraid that would be impossible. Her home is inaccessible to undine.” He took Snow’s hand and pulled her close. “There’s no hurry, if you and your friends would prefer—”

  “No,” said Talia.

  Danielle winced, but the merman didn’t take offense.

  “Does Lirea really mean to war against the humans? In our tribe, humans and undine were allies.”

  The merman paused. “Which tribe would that be?”

  “Does it matter?” Snow asked. Her voice was playful, but a pulse of light from her choker hinted at the magic she was using to manipulate the merman.

  “The Ilowkira were friends with the humans,” he admitted. “But Lirea means to restore the undine to our former glory. To unite us all and give us back our rightful place as rulers of the sea. Those who refuse will face her wrath, human and undine alike.” His eyes practically shone. Had he been human, Danielle would have thought he was in love with his queen. How much of that was due to the strange taste Lirea fed into the water?

  “And the gold?” Danielle pressed. “What are we going to do with human treasure?”

  “That is Lirea’s concern, not ours. Come, let me bring you to Nilliar.”

  Snow frowned and rubbed her thumb over her choker.

  “No, thank you. I think we’ll find our own way.” Another flash of magic, and the merman was swimming away.

  “He doesn’t even question why they’ve turned against their friends,” Danielle said.

  Snow turned to face the ruins. “Humans obey poor leaders all the time. It’s even harder for an undine to questi
on their royalty. There’s a reason the blood of a royal mermaid can be used to make potions of mind control. Though he seemed more . . . fanatical than I would have expected.”

  “Come on,” said Talia. “Let’s get Lirea before someone else comes along and tries to help.”

  “How close do you have to be to work your magic on Lirea?” Danielle asked.

  Snow pursed her lips. “I’ll have a better chance if I can see her. I should be able to make her trust us long enough to lure her back to the Phillipa. But there’s a problem.”

  “Isn’t there always?” Talia asked.

  “He said she was inaccessible.” Snow grabbed the doll and closed her eyes. “Lirea is inside that palace.”

  Which meant getting past the kelpies, through the wall, and sneaking into the palace. Danielle watched the kelpies patrolling the water. They stayed out from the wall, avoiding the shallows where the rocks might cut their bodies. This wouldn’t be easy.

  Another undine passed beneath her. Danielle blushed when she realized it wasn’t one undine but two, their bodies pressed together so tightly she couldn’t tell where the man’s fins ended and the woman’s began. They were singing a low harmony which grew faster with the undulation of their tails. Danielle didn’t need to understand the melody to feel the urgency in their duet.

  “They won’t all be that preoccupied,” Talia said.

  “They will be when I’m finished.” Snow adjusted her choker.

  “You’re going to enchant every merman and mermaid in the tribe?” Talia asked.

  “Let me try to distract the kelpies instead,” Danielle said, hoping they couldn’t see her cheeks burning. “We can swim through in the confusion.”

  “How?” asked Snow.

  Danielle turned toward the closest of the kelpies. Large as they were, kelpies were still animals. Sharks are following us, she said. Many, in the deeper water. Please help!

  The closest kelpie surged through the water, earning a startled cry from one of his riders. His speed made the undine look like clumsy humans still learning to swim. Before Danielle could react, the kelpie was racing past her. The water buffeted her as the kelpie went off in search of sharks.