Perilous Waters

by Diana Paz

They reached a place where the golden light amassed, forming an enormous, glowing sun beneath the surface. The mergirl dove directly into it. Angie followed after, knowing without looking back that the other girls did the same.

  Passing through the light filled every cell in Angie’s body with energy. Her magic sang as it coursed through her body, the world blazed with a gold so bright she squinted as her feet found solid ground. She breathed deeply as air, not water, touched her skin.

  She sank to her knees and took several great breaths, blinking to clear her vision. The golden light formed a barrier between them and the ocean. She twisted around to see Kaitlyn and Julia, both of them dripping wet, staring with wide eyes. Their gazes flitted across the strange space. Kaitlyn stood, her legs visibly trembling, but her chin lifted as she inched near Julia and Angie.

  Angie glanced around the room, finding the area beyond them divided into hallways, with stairs that spiraled down and away, and others that led up, all branching out from this golden room.

  Movement caught her eyes. She swallowed, seawater dripping over her lips. This room was filled with people… who were not quite people.

  She braced her hands on the smooth, marble floor in front of her, staring at the people as they closed in on them. A few of them shielded their naked bodies with seaweed and seashells, but most wore nothing at all, or used glimmering objects from the sea as one might wear jewelry, not to hide their bodies but to enhance their beauty. Fine scales covered their skin, and their hair ranged from red to gold to aqua and deep, navy blue. And all of them were perfect… beautiful in a way that made it hard to look at their faces for long without feeling her heart ache from the loveliness. “Nymphs,” she whispered. “Oceanids.”

  She tried to think over what she knew about nymphs, but the creatures of Mythos who hadn’t been cast into the nether had long since stopped interacting with humans. Little had been passed down about any type of nymph, much less ocean nymphs, other than the fact that they steered clear of the affairs of humans.

  The golden sea nymph who had helped them approached, tilting her head. Her lips parted and she made a sound like a song. The highs and lows blended together, her eyes beseeching. Angie shook her head. “Comprehend,” she whispered, searching the nymph’s mind for understanding, but her power didn’t form.

  Her heart jolted. “Comprehend,” she repeated, holding out her hands, but her mark remained unchanged. Instead of blazing white with the power of the Fates, the pale, gold-toned symbols remained motionless on her flesh in delicate swirls surrounding a small moon.

  She reached for Julia, who blinked at the abrupt contact, but their connection didn’t form.

  Angie withdrew, wondering why the anomaly didn’t cause her any alarm. “No… magic,” she finally said.

  Julia remained on the floor, resting back on her hands. “Really?” She held out one palm. “Illuminate.” When nothing happened, she lowered her hand. “Huh. Weird.”

  “Something is wrong with us,” Kaitlyn said, her voice slow and devoid of its usual acidity. “Not just the fact that we have no magic.”

  The nymph shook her head and began a new melody. If Angie listened carefully, her song seemed almost apologetic. She faced the nymph. “You can understand us, even though we don’t understand you?” The nymph nodded and Angie thought for a moment, struggling to keep her mind on track. “Do you know of the Daughters of Fate?”

  The nymph sang a soft song in reply. Angie shut her eyes a moment, her brows knitting together. “We can’t use Comprehend,” she said, her lashes lifting. “Or any of our powers.”

  “But why?” Kaitlyn asked.

  “We might be in a Timeway.” She pursed her lips, finding it difficult to recall much of the knowledge she had spent her life learning about. “I think… if this is a Timeway, magic doesn’t work here the way it normally does. Time doesn’t, either.”

  Kaitlyn shook her head, her brows knitting beneath locks of wet hair. “Timeway?”

  Julia shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I’m drawing a lot more blanks than usual.”

  “So am I, come to think of it,” Angie murmured.

  The nymph’s brow puckered. She beckoned with her hand and walked away from the room with the golden light.

  “One thing’s for sure,” Julia said. “We’re magically blocked.”

  “So… pretty much screwed,” Kaitlyn said.

  Julia gave her double thumbs-up. “Bingo,” Julia said. “Why aren’t we more bummed about this?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s see where the nymph leads us,” Angie said. “They might have Brian.”

  Julia stood. “And Ethan, too.”

  Angie rose to her feet, but her lids fluttered at a sudden wave of dizziness. She took a few deep breaths to clear her mind. What was the matter with them? Why weren’t they racing through the hallways looking for Brian and Ethan? Why wasn’t she overwhelmed with concern over David, who would be defenseless up on the sand until they unfroze time? She should be more concerned about having no magic. She should counting things to steady her mind and tapping her fingers along her thigh to soothe herself, but the light coated her skin and seeped into her very essence… warming her… reassuring her. She rested her palm against her temple and shook her head, as if that would free it from its sluggish state.

  “There is something about this golden light… something almost hypnotic.” She only knew that trusting this—this nymph—felt absolutely natural. Everything would be all right.

  They followed the nymph’s lead as she took them away from the central room and into an alcove. Rather than walls of golden light, the rest of the enclosed space had transparent walls that showed a clear picture of the sea beyond. Angie avoided touching the strange surface as they hurried forward, worried that it might be fragile like the walls of a bubble. What if one touch burst the entire segment and flooded them with seawater?

  Julia didn’t seem to share the same concern. “Cool,” she whispered, reaching her hand toward the wall.

  “Wait—” Angie cried, but Julia’s fingers already brushed along the clear membrane.

  “It’s so soft,” Julia said.

  Angie’s worry still hovered at the edge of her mind as she watched the pliant surface give beneath the trail of Julia’s fingers. What if Julia pushed too hard? “Be careful,” she warned, glancing behind her and realizing the room of golden light was no longer within view. She was no longer influenced by its strange, calming spell. Her own worries and concerns welled in her mind. The weight of the entire ocean bore down on her, and she began tapping her fingers against one another, the calming rhythm helping to steady her runaway thoughts.

  The nymph turned a corner, her hair falling in incredible locks of curling gold with glints of copper, well past her thighs. They sped beyond an open room with cushions strewn about the floor. Nymphs lounged upon them, their slanted eyes growing wide as the girls entered. Haunting songs rose and fell, questioning and curious in tone.

  She and the girls raced to keep up, rushing past another open room with more cushions. Low tables with food were set throughout. Onward they went, up a staircase until the nymph’s hurried pace came to a halt. Upstairs, a corridor rounded a large pool with a trickling fountain in the center. The circular hallway housed doorways, each one curtained by streams of gauzy cloth that looked like woven silk. The mergirl advanced to the centermost doorway. The curtain fell in soft, pale strands of cream and gold. She brushed aside the curtain of cascading material, a slight glow leaving her fingertips as they made contact.

  Behind the curtain, Ethan’s silver eyes peered at them from beneath his shag of drying black hair.

  “Ethan.” Julia rushed ahead. Angie felt a pang of sympathy for her friend, watching as she skidded to a stop before reaching him, shoving her hands behind her back. “Is-is Brian okay?”

  His eyes tensed. “I don’t know.” He returned his gaze to his brother, who lay stretched out on a bed of cushions. His chest moved rapidly. On his right side, a gash
opened his leg. Despite the pool of crimson beneath it, the wound didn’t cause Angie worry until she saw the black lines curving beneath the surface of his skin.

  Scylla venom.

  ~ Chapter 8 ~

  Julia

  Julia’s breath caught at the sight of Brian lying unconscious on the satiny cushions.

  She didn’t think. She didn’t hesitate. “Restore,” she said, holding her palms out, but no light formed… no magic burned through her veins or warmed her blood.

  “No magic,” Angie said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Remember?”

  Julia’s fingers curled against her palms. “Then, how are we going to help him?” Julia’s throat became tighter with each word. “How does being here do any good at all?” She turned from Angie in frustration and watched Brian. Her heart beat as though it would explode. “We need to get out of here. Brian needs healing and we have no way to help him unless we can use Restore.”

  Angie’s fingers began the twitchy, tappy thing they did whenever she was worried.

  The nymph stepped forward, her voice echoing like a song.

  Angie’s face fell. “I can’t understand you. I’m sorry.”

  The nymph’s lips formed a soft, disappointed pout. She spun around and pointed to Brian, kneeling beside him and motioning toward the dark, vine-like marks beneath his skin.

  “Scylla venom?” Angie asked. At the nymph’s emphatic nodding, Angie added. “Our magic can’t help him, even if we were to try.”

  The nymph sighed, pressing her fingers to her temple.

  “Venom,” Julia cried. “He isn’t… he won’t…” she couldn’t bring herself to say the words lodged in her chest.

  “Their venom doesn’t kill,” Ethan said, his voice gravelly and his eyes downcast. “But it may as well.”

  “Oh no,” Julia moaned, remembering the vision she had seen in Angie’s basement. Brian had become a monster, but she hadn’t believed it could happen. He had never been mixed up with the magic before. “The venom will turn him Scylla.”

  “Scylla,” Kaitlyn murmured. “Are those the ones with claws and seaweed hair and a mouthful of fangs?”

  Julia’s heart pounded like it would break her ribcage open. “If Brian turns into one—”

  Angie cut her off in a hushed tone, her gaze flitting to Ethan. “We will find a way to save him.”

  “We have to,” Kaitlyn added, her eyes narrowing on Brian’s unconscious form. Her whisper hissed against Julia’s ear, making her flinch as she continued. “Do you realize the advantage the Sorceress will have if she takes Ethan’s brother? Ethan will never fight him, and our power can’t kill creatures.”

  The thought of Brian as a creature made Julia feel sick. She realized Ethan watched them. She shifted uneasily.

  Julia chewed on her lip. She remembered the icy, claw-like hand on her leg, the glimpses of serpentine eyes. She had seen enough gorgons and minotaurs to know that creatures were nothing to mess with. If Brian had been bit by one, they had to act fast.

  “Why would the creatures be able to come now?” Kaitlyn asked.

  “I don’t know. The only thing I can think of is, the Sorceress has already gained so much power in another timeline, that she was able to open a portal. Unless… maybe this has to do with the nymphs and Scylla, who have been warring each other for centuries. I wish I could speak with the nymphs and get more information.”

  Julia’s eyes remained transfixed on Brian. Whatever was going on with the Scylla and nymphs would have to wait. The black lines beneath Brian’s skin crept and curled up his neck and down his right arm, causing alarm bells to sound in Julia’s mind. “It’s getting worse,” she said. “There has to be something we can do.”

  “Even if your magic alone can’t help him, we need to get him back to the surface,” Ethan said. “Nymphs aren’t exactly on our side.”

  Confusion cast a shadow over Julia’s thoughts. “But… they saved him.”

  “Meliah saved him,” he said, casting the mergirl—the nymph—a meaningful glance. “That doesn’t mean she has her people’s approval.”

  “Meliah?” she echoed. How did Ethan know her name?

  The nymph… Meliah… glanced at the doorway as a low voice sang out. She frowned slightly but moved past them to brush aside the veils, revealing another sea person. His body glowed faintly, like all the other nymphs’ bodies did. Julia almost believed the underwater world was lit by them.

  His perfect, chiseled face looked at them with disapproval before he turned to Meliah, speaking in a deep song that sent shivers up Julia’s spine. The sound was like music, like what she imagined angels would sound like. The girl began answering before the man finished his song, and their words melted together, high and low, so aching and beautiful that Julia held her breath.

  Angie placed a hand on her arm, as if she wanted to form the connection. When nothing happened she lowered her eyes. “I forgot we can’t use Convey here,” she said, dropping her voice to a whisper. “If I remember correctly, mortals are forbidden from entering this realm.”

  “I could kind of tell he doesn’t want us here,” Julia said, eyeing the sea-dude’s hard-set features.

  The man’s harsh song ended. His face darkened and his jaw clenched. He leaned toward Meliah, who lifted her chin even as she took a half-step back.

  “Uh oh,” Julia whispered. “This guy doesn’t look happy.”

  “Way to state the obvious,” Kaitlyn whispered back.

  Meliah’s face was set in determined lines. She turned from the guy. He nodded tersely and left, though not without a disgusted, sweeping glance at them. Meliah let go of the curtain and crossed the room. Her eyes locked on Brian’s motionless form before she faced Julia.

  Julia nearly backed away as Meliah approached.

  “Wh-what is it?” she murmured, looking into the nymph’s eyes and noticing the gold flecks sparkling from within their ocean blue depths. The nymph’s song seeped through the air. Matching her slow, drawn-out notes, Meliah’s hands lifted until they touched one of the seashells strung throughout her hair. The power of her song, along with her mesmerizing eyes, left Julia feeling warm and dizzy. In another moment, she would need to sit down.

  The nymph held her gaze a moment longer before drifting to Brian’s side. The fog lifted from Julia’s mind. She was left with a strange pressure in her palm. She looked down and realized Meliah had left a seashell in her hand.

  “Whoa,” she murmured, examining the pale iridescent item. A gift, or a token of some kind. She would need to ask Angie about it later.

  The male nymph returned and she tucked the small shell in her pocket. His condemning gaze fell over Kaitlyn, Angie, and then finally to Julia, who couldn’t help thinking that she already had enough moody guys in her life.

  The sea-dude handed Meliah a long, glass-like blade. It gleamed against their golden bodies. Ethan stepped forward, but Angie said, “Trust her. She’s the only one who can help him.”

  The tension didn’t ease from Ethan’s face as he watched his brother. His helpless body remained unconscious as the nymph held the crystal blade only inches from his heart.

  Meliah brushed back the hair from Brian’s brow, her own golden locks falling over him. Her gaze drifted down his face to his chest, her hand trailing after, tracing the black lines that curved beneath his skin as the soft hum of her song rose and fell in time to his breathing. She rested the knife across his chest and rose to her feet. The crystal glowed with magic that seeped into Brian’s body.

  What was she doing to him? Should they be trusting her? Julia caught Ethan’s gaze and her heart plummeted. If anything happened to Brian, it would be all her fault. It was just another thing to add to the pile of reasons why Ethan would hate her until the end of time.

  Meliah relaxed against Brian again. She ran her hands across his flesh. The black lines along Brian’s skin curved like ivy down the length of his arm and well past his neck, up his jaw and cheek. The girl brushed the backs
of her fingers against his face, continuing her soft song. The crystal knife in her hand gleamed.

  Julia swallowed as Meliah lifted the knife. Her heart beat wildly. The sharp edge flash like ice and Meliah’s song rose, her eyes growing wide. She drove the tip of the blade into her own luminescent forearm, her voice cracking as she sang. A drop of golden liquid appeared at the site of the wound, followed by a stream that trickled down the side of her arm in a steady flow. Her breath hitched and she forced the blade deeper, her slim shoulders hunching forward like an injured animal.

  “No,” Julia murmured, taking an involuntary step closer, ready to stop her. She couldn’t see someone hurt and just do nothing, but Kaitlyn held her back. With a soft cry, Meliah drew the blade in a deep line across her skin. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she held her arm above Brian’s wounded leg, letting her golden blood flow over the gash.

  Tears welled in Meliah’s eyes. Her short, whimpering breaths grew faster. The male nymph began a low song that made Julia want to cringe. It sounded like a roar. Like thunder. He tried to take the blade from Meliah’s hand but she stopped him with a lift of her chin and a flashing glance. Whatever she said next caused him to thrust her hand aside and leave the room.

  The black poisoned lines continued to spread. They curled around Brian’s face like a vine looking for a foothold. All the while the sea girl’s blood continued to pour from her arm. Julia rubbed her own arm and almost turned away.

  Pale, golden blood soon completely covered Brian’s wound. Meliah’s swallowed tightly. Her lids lowered. With a deep breath, she brought her arm up to her lips.

  “What’s she doing?” Julia whispered.

  Angie shook her head vaguely. Her gaze remained fixed on Meliah, who now moved her mouth across the wound on her arm. A slight crease formed between her delicate brows. When her lashes lifted, golden fluid glistened on her lips.

  She leaned forward, positioning herself over Brian. In one hand, she still held the crystal knife. Her other hand slid up Brian’s torso and neck until it reached his jaw. With a soft caress of her thumb, she parted his lips. Then, she pressed her mouth to his.