Melusine felt movement in the depths below her. The Siren Eel.
“Now,” said Levi. He climbed in and then grasped her upper arm with his free hand, helping to haul her aquatic body into the boat. The human scent of him filled her nostrils as she flopped over the side of the hull, stirring the monstrous thirst deep inside her. Her vision faded in then out then back in.
“Are you saving me, my love?” Her vocal chords purred. But it was then that she saw his ears were stuffed with leather buttons, drowning out her siren song.
She didn’t know if he could still hear her and was responding to her question, or if he was just telling her how things would be. But he looked down at her while the shadow under the water grew in size as it got closer to the surface. “I need the beast to open its mouth out of the water or I’ll never get that explosive device in. It will come out for you.”
Levi dropped the crossbow into the boat and dug his hand into his pocket to pull out a round silver orb. Melusine picked up the crossbow, her hunting instincts still intact, just as the creature rose out of the lake.
An ear-splitting howl emerged from the beast, its jaw widening, ready to consume them—from the airship to the boat—and pop them in like peanuts between its fangs.
Lying on her back, Melusine shot off arrows, the force of the thrust embedding them deep into the creature’s palate. Out of the side of her eye, she saw a silver flash thrown by Levi, then another one. The beast swooped down, its nose knocking the airship loose of its mooring on the boat. The airship rode the wind, Edwin gripping the hull tight as it looped about in the storm.
And then the Siren Eel exploded.
In a gruesome fireworks display, blood and gore burst into blue-red blooms. Chunks of eel flesh and bone and teeth eddied through the air and landed with violence into the boat and water. A six-foot long bit of the tail fell onto the boat with such force it tipped the vessel over and ripped a hole in the hull. Levi and Melusine were thrown from the deck into the water.
Once immersed, Melusine fought her way through debris to find Levi. The vessel, though small enough, was heavy and was sinking fast, its thin smoke stacks pointed like javelins towards the bottom of the lake. And Levi’s body was threaded between two of them, intact but trapped.
His arms and chest were wedged between the smoke stacks, and the stacks themselves had been bent as the boat was overturned. Melusine could not have snared him better if she’d tried. He could get out, of course, it would take some strength and some time, but he could do it. Except there was no way for him to breathe.
The veins riding his muscles swelled as he struggled with the metal pipes. His face was red with exertion, his cheeks puffed out with stale air. Each effort moved the metal a little bit, but he was running out of time.
Melusine swam over to him, her mermaid body humming, the darkness inside her expanding. He narrowed his honey eyes at her but continued to push at the smoke stacks. A little more and he’d be free. But not yet. A voracious hunger roared through her, one that she knew could only be stemmed by the taste of the man in front of her. Bubbles escaped his lips, little bits of air released. Soon, she thought. Soon his human body would panic, ready to take a fatal breath.
While his arms were still pinned to his sides, she reached over and plucked the leather buttons from his ears. His face paled and his eyes widened as he realized what she intended to do.
“Levi,” she sang.
The metal poles had almost bent enough for him to slip through, but his lungs betrayed him. He opened his mouth to take a breath.
Melusine put her lips over his.
Chapter Nine
As Melusine’s mouth hovered over Levi’s, as the taste of him filled her senses, the monster inside her clawed to get out. It was the same sensation she’d had when she’d leaned in to kiss Reuben ten years earlier.
That night when she was fifteen, the desire to own Reuben had pulsed hot through her veins.
“He’s waiting for your kiss,” said the beautiful mermaid. Melusine hadn’t paid attention to the taunting edge in the creature’s voice.
Melusine brought her head forward. But just before her lips brushed his, she saw blood trickling out in thin lines from the corners of his mouth. He whimpered and opened up, a thick pool of red where his tongue should have been.
The shock of it sent her falling backward, her heart thumping in her ears.
“Oh, come now.” The mermaid grinned, her teeth jagged points tinged with blood. “I may have already eaten the best part, but there’s no need to act offended.”
“No!” Melusine screamed.
“He’s all yours, half-breed. There’s no shortage of human boys. I’ll find another.” She let go of Reuben’s arm and he sunk under the water.
Melusine struggled to wrap her arms around Reuben and drag him to shore. While she did so, tears falling hot against her cheeks, the monster slid back off to the depths of the lake. More blood seeped from Reuben’s mouth, but his eyes had lost their luster. Melusine listened for his heartbeat and heard none.
A searing pain broke over her legs, hips and heart. She fell into a pocket of high grasses and allowed the dark shroud of oblivion to consume her. When she woke, it was hours later. Seagulls picked at her hair.
The boy next to her was dead. His mouth hung open to reveal a missing tongue.
Scales no longer covered Melusine’s body, but since then she worried she could become like the creature she’d met in the lake that day. That she, too, was monstrous at heart.
But now, today, immersed in the water with her mouth over Levi’s, she knew the truth and knew she was no beast, no matter what dark magic coursed through her veins. She did not have the fangs and claws of a mermaid, and she did not have its heart.
Levi tried moving away, but she grasped the back of his head with her hands to hold him to her. His lips and tongue tasted sweet and salty and lit a fire of longing in her core. But she did not hesitate. She exhaled a long breath into Levi’s mouth, giving him enough air to escape.
He sucked it into his lungs and held it there. The pupils of his eyes had expanded to nearly overcome the amber edges. He frowned at her as she helped him shove the smoke stacks apart one last time. The metal gave way and Levi disentangled himself, then kicked upwards to the surface.
She wrapped her arms around her waist and hung motionless in the water. She felt hollowed out, as if Levi had taken her very soul with him when he left. But he was alive. That was all that mattered.
Her mother’s curse had worked. It had driven away the man she loved. He saw her for a monster, just like Mother said he would. Melusine took a deep breath through her gills, the cold water easing the ache in her ribcage. She didn’t know how much time passed while she floated, staring at nothing then dully swimming forward, no idea where to go. But the gray light that had been filtered through the water dimmed until night settled over the lake.
Melusine wriggled towards shore. She lay there, a strip of damp beach her pillow, her body stretched out, water covering her to her shoulders like a blanket.
She slept alone. Just as the curse intended.
The next few days Melusine searched the lake for anything like her. The possibility of spending eternity all alone under the water haunted her more than she wanted to admit. She came across no other lake monsters – only sturgeon and pike and perch.
And then one evening, not far from a small sail-steamer cutting through the water, something stirred behind her. She turned. There was the most unusual beast she’d ever laid eyes on: a man in submarine armor of an oval copper helmet, an India rubber suit, and weighted boots which held him to the lake floor. A long pipe led out from the top of the helmet to an even longer tube snaking up to the surface. A round window in the helmet revealed the man’s face.
Flipping her tails, Melusine moved closer then stopped. There was Levi, his face pale behind the glass. His eyes were soft and pleading and brought a tingling rush to her chest. He held out his hand, fingers outstr
etched, as if he wanted her to take it. She stared at it, then him, barely daring to hope he’d come for any other reason than to slay her.
But she laced her fingers through his and swam upwards, tugging him and his heavy boots along. When they broke through the lip of the water, Levi pointed to the steamer. It was not large enough to be used for cargo, but the size of boats sometimes taken out for pleasure. It was half-sail, half-vapor, as were many of the newer vessels. Two golden sails sectioned like ladies’ fans donned the mast and one thin smoke stack puffed out clouds of fog. Levi and Melusine made their way over to the boat, where a rope ladder hung over the side of the metal hull, Zahn holding it steady. Levi did not let go of her hand, pulling her with him, even though with his suit and her tails navigating the ladder became ridiculously clumsy. By the time she flipped over the side of the boat and landed on deck her confusion was total. Why was she here?
Zahn helped take the heavy helmet from Levi’s shoulders, then stood above her. He looked almost tidy in a proper set of trousers and waistcoat. A look of exultation made his face glow as beamed down at her. “Miss Doré! You’re magnificent. Absolutely magnificent.”
Shivering, Levi peeled off the rubber suit, the woolen pants and shirt underneath it soaked. His face was ashen as he collapsed next to her. “I much prefer the submersible. This outfit would make a fish seasick.”
“It’s the air pressure,” said Zahn, fiddling with a wheel on a large metal tank that was connected to the hose. “I must not have gauged it correctly.”
“At least we found her before I got too ill –”
“Found me?” Melusine sat up, her scales screeching against the deck. “Why did you take me here? Whose steamer is this?”
“I’d better go see what our little pilot’s up to!” Zahn nearly tripped on his own feet in his haste to get away.
Levi watched Zahn disappear behind the sails, then said, “This boat is mine. I’d have used it for the Siren Eel hunt, but I make it a rule to never endanger my own equipment.”
“Only Sir Aldridge’s equipment,” she said.
“Especially Sir Aldridge’s equipment.” He let out one quick laugh, then tipped his head back, eyes on the sky. The storm had calmed down, the wind now only gentle breezes. The pewter clouds had faded to silver. “This vessel…it’s the one I used to hunt mermaids after my brother’s death.”
Melusine’s heart was suddenly fierce and wild inside the cage of her chest. She started towards the edge of the deck, but Levi wrapped his fingers around her forearm.
“Stop.” His voice was quiet, but firm. “You saved my life.”
“That makes us even.”
He shook his head, small droplets of water falling from his hair. “Sirens…mermaids…don’t save lives. They take them.”
“I’m not a mermaid. I’m Melusine. I’m a woman cursed to become a monster the moment I fall in love.” She swallowed. “I fell in love with you.”
She tugged away from him, but Levi tightened his grip. “Come closer.”
A tremor of uncertainty shimmied over her spine. She was not far from freedom; in seconds she could haul herself overboard and into the water. Yet she leaned towards him anyway.
He put a hand to her face and traced a soft line from her cheekbone to her chin, then to her lips. “That submarine armor did me in. I’m about to pass out,” he said. “And I want a kiss from the woman I love before I do.”
His lips touched hers briefly, then he pulled back to stare into her eyes. She blinked away tears, her heart filling with hope. Could he really love her?
He covered her mouth with his, an urgency in his kiss that made her stomach float like an airship unmooring. His lips were on her lips, then her neck and earlobe, her body tingling under his warm breath. As he kissed her collarbone, he instinctively gripped her hips.
“Ah!” Levi shook his hand, tiny pearls of blood forming where his skin made contact with the barbs on her scales. “It’s better than a chastity belt.”
“And most likely more effective.” Melusine’s voice broke as she spoke.
“But I’ve just the thing!” He dug into his trouser pockets and pulled out his soaking wet pair of gloves.
Levi brought his lips to hers once more, his gloved hands pulling her close. She spread her fingers into his hair, gripping him. The skin at the back of his neck was soft, so unlike the roughness of his chin which was now rubbing against her shoulder in a way that made her body hum. Even her tails pulsated at his touch.
Her tails. Oh, good Lord. There was no way she could do this.
“What happens now?” she whispered and gently disentangled herself from his arms.
He studied her, his gaze lingering on the curve of her mouth, the length of her neck, the rise of her breasts. He stared at her lower body for a moment, gloved fingers gently running over her scales.
“We’ll figure it out,” he said.
Melusine nodded, but a soreness blossomed in her throat.
“We can go anywhere. I have our money, from Sir Aldridge. He was intending to cheat us out of your half, but I persuaded him otherwise.” A slow smile spread across Levi’s lips.
“How so?”
“His little airship landed in a tree. Upside down. Embarrassing for a man of his stature. I happened upon the scene and wouldn’t help him down unless he kept to his word on the full payment.” He turned to her. “Although part of me wishes his exploits had ended up in the broadsides.”
Melusine imagined Edwin’s ruined airship hanging from a tree branch, its owner trying to keep his top hat on while dangling in the air. It was enough to make her laugh.
But Levi stilled. “I’m sorry it took me so long to come back to find you, Miss Doré. I should not have—”
“No. No need to apologize,” Melusine said. “Please. Don’t.”
By now the sun was well behind the city, the sky orange laced with lavender. Melusine yawned, fatigue a sudden weight upon her.
Levi gathered her into his arms and picked her up. “Let me show you the sleeping quarters, Miss Doré.”
Mahogany paneling lined the walls of the cozy area, a large porthole looking out over the water. Levi set Melusine down on the bed, on top of soft quilts and pillows, covering her with a cotton blanket. It caught upon the small spines on her scales, but Levi finally got it over her. He was still pale and he gave her a weak smile.
“Rest,” he said. “I need to put on dry clothes and get some rest myself.”
He kissed each of her eyelids closed. “See you in the morning.”
When she woke again, the sky visible through the porthole was a bright blue. She shifted on the bed to get a better view, the bedsheets sliding easily over her skin. She clutched the blanket, all of a sudden dizzy as the intoxicated buzz of realization hit her.
The door to the room burst open, and Levi stood there with the Chicago Tribune in his hands. He said nothing, but his jaw was set, his eyes dark. He threw the newspaper onto the bed and ran both hands through his hair while she read the headline: MELUSINE DORE: FRIEND OR FIEND?
Skimming the article, she came across the source of the news. “According to Sir Edwin Aldridge, Miss Doré is, in fact, one of the very beasts she claims to protect us from. Chicago is outraged.” She glanced up at Levi and set the paper aside.
“I’ve no doubt he’ll come looking for you, armed with harpoons and angry citizens,” Levi said.
Melusine shrugged and leaned back against the headboard. “Let him come.”
Levi shook his head. “We’ll leave here. Leave Chicago. Because if they see you—”
Melusine let the blanket fall down to her waist, her naked breasts barely hidden behind the veil of her hair. “Let them see me.” She threw off the blanket entirely. “Let them see all of me.”
Levi’s mouth dropped and he gripped the bedframe. Melusine dragged a hand down the curve of her hip, her palm resting on her bare thigh. Her scales were gone, only the marks left from the ones she’d torn out remained. Her fins w
ere feet again, and the skin around her ribcage was free of gills.
She lay naked on the bed, a smile the only thing dressing her. The curse had failed; Levi hadn’t seen her as a monster. And he hadn’t fled.
The curse no longer had a hold on her. She had ten years of being afraid to love that she wanted to make up for.
“Looks like we won’t need to leave Chicago, after all,” she said.
“Good.” Levi loosened his cravat, a slow grin building on his face. “Because I was hoping we could stay right here.”
Melusine stood and unbuttoned his waistcoat and shirt, sliding her fingers inside. His chest was warm and solid, his stomach ribbed with muscle. He bent to take her mouth in his, his tongue skimming her lips. He cradled her chin in his hands and his kiss traveled from her lips to her cheeks to her eyes and back again. “I love you,” he whispered over and over again. “I always have.”
Melusine had never felt more alive or more certain of what she wanted. Every bit of her body ached to touch Levi. To have him touch her.
Pressing his forehead against hers, Levi held her gaze, his eyes lit with desire. “Well, Miss Doré…”
“What is it, Mr. Cannon?”
Levi pulled his gloves out of his pocket and threw them over his shoulder. “I won’t be needing these.”
Melusine lifted her eyebrows. “But I thought you never got your hands dirty.”
“I believe the time has come for me to get dirty, Miss Doré.” His hand swept over her hips and upward, his thumb grazing the underside of her breast. He brought his lips to her ear and whispered, his breath sending a delicious tickle down her spine. “Very dirty.”
About the Author
Katie Hayoz was born in Racine, WI, but ended up in Geneva, Switzerland, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and two cats. She loves to read and devours speculative fiction like she does popcorn and black licorice: quickly and in large quantities.
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