by Melissa Haag
My temper flickered then ignited, and water bubbled off of me in a rush. The mermaid didn’t notice until I grabbed her arm. She squealed, the sound hurting my ears even underwater. With her free hand, she swiped at me, just missing my face with her claws. I released her and watched her dart away into the surrounding darkness before I kicked my way to the surface.
I breathed in deeply and looked for the boat again. Any progress I’d made in my first attempt to reach it had been lost. Diving under the water this time, I swam hard. The heat from the run-in with the mermaid stayed with me until I surfaced again. I shivered slightly as I focused on the boat, which was much closer this time. Going under once more, I powered my way toward my reprieve from the stupid lake filled with asshole creatures that all wanted to eat me.
When I surfaced, the boat was right there. I closed my hand over the side in relief. Before I could pull myself up, though, something pried my fingers off. Unprepared for the loss of support, I went under again. This time, there were more faces around me. At least a dozen mermaids.
They darted my way, teeth flashing. Something fell into the water. The explosion of white bubbles made it impossible to see what, but I suddenly knew. Lucia hadn’t left the boat. She’d been hiding, waiting for her bait to work.
I kicked for the surface, the need to get out of the water that very second overriding everything else. The mermaids not near the churning bubbles grabbed for me. I managed to kick one in the side, but another one bit my arm. My breath left me in a scream of rage. The water started bubbling off of me again, and the mermaids trying to keep me under darted away.
Kicking toward the surface, I grabbed for the boat but it moved just out of reach. I ducked under the next wave and looked around. Lucia bolted past me, hot on a mermaid’s tail. Her abrupt appearance sent the mermaids who held the boat scattering. I swam hard for the vessel, staying under water until the last moment. Once more I took hold of the rim and tried to haul myself over the edge.
With a grunt I fell into the bottom of the boat. Laying there, I listened to the waves and caught my breath. My arm ached. I lifted it and studied the tiny punctures that formed a wide crescent. Dark green goo oozed from it already.
“We’re not done yet,” a voice yelled.
The boat tilted sharply to the side.
I snarled, sat up, and grabbed an oar ready to beat back the finned bitch trying to return me to the lake. The water erupted upward, dousing me yet again. Not that I paid much attention to that as I dropped the oar and wildly grabbed for the side of the boat to keep from falling out.
Lucia’s body soared out of the water, sailing overhead. I tracked her progress, slack jawed at the sight of the mermaid she had by the tail. The mermaid squealed and thrashed as they slammed into the water on the other side of the boat.
A wave jostled the boat, snapping me from my stunned slouch against the seat. I grabbed up the oar, slammed it into place and started rowing. I no longer had any sense of where I was. It didn’t matter. I just knew I needed to get away from the fighting before I went in again. My arms and legs ached; and outside of the water, away from the mermaids, my fury temper wasn’t keeping me warm enough. I couldn’t seem to stop shivering, and I doubted it had anything to do with the snow, now falling in earnest, or the fading light. Glancing at the bites on my arm, I forced myself to row harder.
My hair froze to my head as I strained.
Several times, I saw Lucia’s body rise only to disappear again. When something burst from the surface near the end of the boat, I thought it was her. Instead, a mermaid landed on the seat in front of me. She immediately shifted from fins to legs, hissed at me, then stared out at the waves.
One minute the mermaid sat there, the next Lucia exploded out of the water, snatched up the girl, and swallowed her whole before plunging back into the depths of the lake.
I forgot to row as I stared at the space where the oracle had disappeared.
“That should have been you,” a familiar voice said.
The boat tipped and, unprepared, I went over the side again. I barely felt the cold as the lake swallowed me whole. I kicked hard toward the surface, tired and pissed. My head bobbed through a wave, and I looked around for the boat. It rocked nearby.
Before I could start in that direction, Lucia’s head surfaced near mine. She circled me twice, her oddly bulging body skimming the surface. I didn’t miss the way her middle wiggled from the inside. Revulsion filled me but no anger. What was wrong with me? How could the mermaids be wicked, but not the mermaid-eating oracle?
Lucia stopped scanning the water and focused on me.
“Such a tasty looking bit, you are. So pale with pretty blue lips. You’re getting tired.” Her tongue flicked out.
“What happened to not angering the gods?” I asked.
She chuckled.
“Smart little fledgling. That hasn’t changed. But there are a few mermaids who might be willing to risk that.” She looked out over the water. I followed her gaze and saw several heads watching us.
“This has been fun, my sweet treats,” Lucia said. “We’ll need to do it again soon.” The mermaids hissed at her. “If you happen to kill Megan before sunrise, bring her to me. I wouldn’t mind a taste. In fact, I might even reward the one who brings her to me.”
She dove under the water, disappearing from sight.
The mermaids and I stared at each other for a moment. They went under. I bolted for the boat.
Within seconds, someone grabbed my ankle and pulled me beneath the surface. I kicked hard and connected with a body part. A squeal rang out. A hand grabbed my bitten arm. Fingers caught my hair. Claws raked my side, setting paths of fire in the skin over my ribs.
I could barely think through the pain as another blazing trail ignited over my thigh. My struggles to get free lost their strength and slowed. I was angry. But, I was so tired too.
Hands gripped my head, turning me and forcing my attention to the wide eyes only inches away from mine. The familiar face smiled.
“You’re mine,” she said. Her grip tightened as she tugged me upward. The mermaids holding my arms and legs didn’t let go but followed as Merbitch and I broke through to the surface.
“What’s wrong, Megan?” she asked. “Where are your threats to boil us alive now?”
“Go to hell,” I said. My tone lacked its usual bite, and I knew I was in serious trouble.
“You wish. I’m going to enjoy this.”
“Spare me your villain monologue and just do what you need to do.”
She hissed at me and slashed a claw down my neck. I grunted at the burn.
“Do you know what that venomous snake eats when we don’t bring her a human? Us! Our brothers and sisters.”
“Do you think I care or that I’ll give you pity after you tried to feed me to her? Feed Ashlyn to her? You really are stupid.”
She pulled her hand back, looking pissed enough to tear my face off as she swung forward. Before her claws could touch me, an eagle’s cry split the air.
My pulse jumped in hope and fear. Before Merbitch could dive under, she was ripped out of the water. I looked up in time to see her dangling from Oanen’s talons. She screamed and thrashed as he climbed higher into the sky.
A hand locked around my ankle.
“Oan—”
Water closed over my head once more. A second later, a very large and very pissed griffin plunged into the water. The mermaid holding me squealed and tried to flee, but Oanen’s beak caught her fin and ripped it clean off.
I grinned slightly, feeling vindicated as I slowly drifted toward the surface. I bobbed there, my blinks becoming slower as I waited for Oanen to emerge. He did several moments later in a shower of water with a mermaid by her tail. He flung his head to the side, and I watched her go flying.
He turned toward me, his golden gaze sweeping my face. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him, my fear of hurting him gone. I had no heat left in me.
“I am so glad you�
�re here,” I said. “Rowing sucks.”
His beak nuzzled my hair for a moment before he started to bump me. He didn’t quit until I floated on my back.
“You could have just said, ‘float’ you know,” I mumbled.
He jumped out of the water, hovering above me. His talons circled my torso, and with the heavy beat of his wings echoing around us, he pulled me from the waves. I wrapped my hand around his leg and closed my eyes.
Vaguely, I knew there were things I should have been doing, like wondering why I wasn’t burning Oanen or asking how he’d found me; but my brain felt too fuzzy to focus. Instead of trying to force my mind to work, I focused on nothing.
Wind and pelting flakes of snow buffeted my face. That stinging burn was nothing compared to the agony growing inside of me. A shudder coursed through my body, and Oanen cried out.
“I’m fine,” I said. “I’m just sick of smelling like fish. Take me home, bird boy.”
I’d never felt so tired before in my life. As much as I wanted to blame it on all the swimming and rowing, I couldn’t. Pain ate at me from the inside. Not wanting to worry Oanen, I forced myself to relax as much as I could in his hold. I focused on the steady thump of his wings, the howl of the wind, and the crash of the waves. It didn’t help. Tracing the feathers under my fingers did. A little.
My heart ached with how much I’d missed him. I couldn’t wait to get back home, shower, and snuggle under a tower of blankets with Oanen wrapped around me. The thought of being warm sent another shiver through me.
He made another sound, but I didn’t have it in me to comfort him.
My fingers gave a final stroke to his ankle feathers then stilled. The oozing mermaid bites and cuts were sapping me of everything. Only, this time, I wasn’t burning up. I was growing colder. So cold, in fact, that after a few minutes, my shivers stopped. I knew that wasn’t good. But, sleep pulled at me, and the agony of my injuries began to fade. I sighed, ready to give into the exhaustion.
Oanen’s eagle scream jolted through me, and I opened my eyes to see the shoreline and Eliana’s car illuminated by the glow of her headlights. Home.
I exhaled heavily and closed my eyes again, dangling loosely in Oanen’s grip. My back gently touched ground.
A moment later, Oanen’s warm arms wrapped around me.
“Do you have a blanket?” he said. “Anything. She’s so cold.”
“Cold?” Eliana said, sounding worried. A hand brushed my forehead. “No. We didn’t bring a blanket. Here. Take my jacket.”
Material covered my torso. It didn’t help.
“Megan, open your eyes,” Oanen said.
I wanted to. I just didn’t have the energy.
His lips pressed against my forehead then my temple, leaving little patches of heat that too quickly faded.
“You’re scaring me,” he said softly. “I can hear the beat of your heart. But, it’s too slow, and I can’t feel anything. Please, Megan. Open those pretty eyes.” His hold on me tightened.
My heart ached for Oanen. I tried harder to open my eyes. To move my hand and stroke his hair. I had nothing left. What was wrong with me? I’d never felt sick in my life, but now…it felt like I was dying.
Twenty
“Please, Megan,” Oanen whispered again. “Get mad. You need to warm up. Don’t leave me.” His voice broke on those last words.
Held tightly against his chest, I wished I could hold him in return. Touch him. Talk to him. Now was my chance. I was cold enough that I could actually do all the things I wanted to do without hurting him. Instead of moving though, I just lay there, trapped inside of myself.
He pulled away and touched his lips to mine. The light press of heat against my cold skin started a flutter in my belly.
When his lips left me a moment later, I wanted to beg for him to come back.
“Don’t stop,” Eliana said. I heard her shuffle closer.
“What?” Oanen asked.
“I could feel something from her. It was faint but there. Kiss her again.”
His hand cupped my face.
“Come on, Megan,” he said softly.
My fingers twitched at the feel of his mouth brushing gently over mine. The warmth of his exhale washed over my face as his fingers traced the curve of my cheek. Heat ignited in my stomach, hard and fast. It burned through me, setting each cut and bite ablaze. But there wasn’t any pain, only the taste of Oanen.
Determined not to waste my chance, I lifted my hands and threaded my fingers through his hair. With a relief-torn sound, he deepened the kiss. The first touch of his tongue to mine felt like it set fire to my skin. I groaned and slid my hands from his hair to his bare chest. I’d been so hungry for him. For the feel of his arms around me. I wanted to hold on and never let go. I wanted him over me. In me.
A hand slapped down on the top of my head, cooling all my Oanen-centered thoughts.
I jerked back and looked up into his golden eyes. The heat I saw reflected in his gaze made my insides curl with delight. However, the sparks of passion that continued to pop and flare inside of me, couldn’t seem to ignite again.
“Oanen,” Eliana said, sounding strange, “your eyebrows just grew back. Go stand by the car.”
He pulled away from me with obvious reluctance, and I hungrily watched his retreating backside.
“And put some clothes on,” Eliana added.
I tilted my head up at her and noted her pure black eyes as she watched Oanen follow her orders.
“Miss me, monkey?” I asked.
Her gaze dipped to me.
“I’m so mad at you. Don’t ever make me do this again.” She gave my hair a slight tug, making it clear what she never wanted to do again, and lifted her hand.
“I thought you liked the taste of fury,” I said, batting my lashes at her.
“Fury. Not lust.”
“Liar,” Oanen said from near the car.
I glanced his way, and all the passion I had for him slammed back into me. Only this time, it didn’t feel so good. The heat flared to life in the wounds, burning them with molten pain. I made a sound, and Eliana reached for me.
“Don’t,” I managed to say. “Not this time.”
Oanen took several steps in my direction, and I held up my hand.
“No. I’ll be okay.”
I wasn’t sure I would be, though. I couldn’t remember it hurting so much the last time I’d healed. Everything ached. Pain radiated through me. Anger swiftly followed. None of this needed to happen.
“Talk to me, Megan,” Oanen said. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m hurt, and I’m pissed,” I said.
“Hurt? Where?”
I pulled back the sleeve of my steaming shirt to expose the mermaid bite. Green sludge dripped from my skin to the melting snow beneath me.
“None of this needed to happen,” I said, echoing my earlier thought. “Oanen leaving to search for my mom. My trip to the damn lake for the oracle. Every single bite and scrape. It’s all the result of adult bullshit.”
Another intense stab of pain bolted through me. I clenched my teeth against the need to cry out and waited for it to pass.
“If my mom hadn’t taken off,” I said when I could speak, “or if anyone in this place would just tell the truth for once—”
The next piercing shard of agony tore a scream from me. The smell of something burning clogged my nose as I struggled to inhale.
“That’s right. Breathe, Megan,” Oanen said. “Focus on me. On the sound of my voice.”
I opened my eyes, which I hadn’t realized I’d closed, and found Oanen squatted down a few yards from me. His face was red and beaded with sweat. Just behind him, Eliana stood with wide eyes as she stared at me.
“Sweet Jesus,” she said softly.
Panting with pain, I looked down at myself. Flames licked my skin around the bite, burning away my sleeve.
Was this how I healed?
Before that thought fully settled in my mind, the fire spread,
racing up my arm. I looked at Oanen, panic coursing through me as quickly as the flames were consuming me.
“You’re okay, Megan,” he said. “It’s not burning you.”
“The hell it isn’t! It hurts like a bitch.”
“Look at your skin. You’re fine.”
I looked down again, seeing he was right. Why was it hurting then? I groaned again as the inferno inside of me burst outward. The roar of flames filled my ears, and my skin tightened to the point it felt like it would split.
Then it all stopped. I fell to my knees, panting and tired and wondering at what point I’d gotten to my feet.
“She’s okay, Oanen. Why don’t you get your shirt?”
I lifted my head to look at the pair. Eliana held Oanen’s arm to keep him from coming toward me. His eyes met mine, and my heart melted at the worry I saw there.
“I’m okay,” I said.
“Go get her your shirt,” Eliana said, nudging him toward her car. “She needs a minute.”
I frowned and looked down to see how much damage I’d caused my clothes. My mouth dropped open. I wasn’t wearing a thing. Crossing an arm over my boobs and shielding my nethers with a hand, I looked up again. Oanen had already turned around on his way to the car.
Eliana gave me a sheepish smile.
“Looks like you might need to start stashing clothes, too,” she said.
“I really hope that kind of thing will not be a regular occurrence,” I said, carefully getting to my feet. The now exposed sand beneath me had melted into an irregular sheet of glass.
“It looked like it might be.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged slightly and lifted the phone she held, turning it so I could see the picture she’d taken. I was floating in the air, arms flung wide, consumed in an inferno of flames. My mouth was open, and my head flung back. Everything about me was on fire. Even my hair. I squinted and stepped closer, trying to ignore the fact that I was completely exposed in the picture.
“What’s that behind me?” I asked as I stared at the twin flames that extended from either side of me.