by Brandon Witt
Still averting my eyes from his nudity, I watched as he continued several feet past the edge of the pool, then placed his left hand on the side of the curved marble wall for support. Reaching up with his other hand, he slipped one link of the chain onto a hook mounted beside one of the sconces. I hadn’t noticed it being any different from all the other fixtures evenly spaced over the room.
Once he had the chain secured, he turned and motioned for me to join him.
It took all my willpower to refrain from looking into the pool at whatever was at the other end of the chain. I couldn’t imagine what it would be or where the vampire king had managed to disappear from view. Maybe being a Royal gave a vampire magic that I wasn’t aware of—that list of ignorance seemed never-ending.
When I was less than three feet from him, Gwala made a show of extending his arms, palms up. “I take it that your desire is to have me clothed.”
“All things will be as you wish them.” There, I could get the hang of this game again.
Without a reply, he took the robe from me, unfolded it, and slipped it over his shoulders. For a moment, he let it hang loose, leaving him exposed. Having made his point, he cinched it at the waist.
Now clothed, he reached back, removed the chain from the hook, and began to pull it toward him without any effort, hand over hand, letting the links spiral into a small pile at his feet.
As determined as I’d been to not show any reaction regardless of what he withdrew from the water’s depths, I couldn’t suppress a gasp as a man’s hands broke the surface, a shackle on each forearm that led from chains that attached to a large circular bracket before connecting to the chain Gwala pulled toward him. Long, muscular arms followed, and within seconds a man’s head rose out of the water. Blue eyes locked onto mine. Hate pummeled at me from his gaze, so strong I actually took a step backward.
He didn’t thrash in the water as Gwala continued to pull him farther into the air. Despite his fury, his beauty was evident. Healthy, glowing skin and long red hair clung to the muscles of his bunched-up shoulders and chest the farther he was pulled out of the water.
He was naked to the waist, where some type of green skirt clung to him under the water.
After the man’s chest had surfaced, Gwala reattached the chain to the hook on the wall. The man’s form hung, partially suspended, arms above his head, his side coming to rest on the edge of the marble pool.
Gwala addressed me without taking his eyes off the man. “Get him out of the water.”
Surprised, I looked between the man and the king, trying in vain to understand what was going on—what was about to happen. Hesitantly, I stepped toward the man, already stooping to reach under his armpits.
“Use your power.” Though Gwala’s voice sounded bored, I was willing to bet he was moments from losing his patience with me.
It should be simple enough. I’d moved countless things throughout my life. The man’s expression left no doubt that the last thing he wanted was me doing anything to him.
With one final glance at Gwala—hoping he’d change his mind—and a rush of guilt, I flicked my finger up and over slightly with the intention of pulling the man out of the water without scratching his skin on the edge of the pool.
The man rose easily from the water.
His hands were already a foot above Gwala’s head when I realized what I thought was a green skirt wasn’t clothing at all.
“Holy fuck!” The awareness acted like a slap across the face, and my concentration broke. The man fell from where I’d had him suspended in the air and dropped back into the water—his descent stopped abruptly by the chains still securing him to the wall. His body jerked with such force that I was surprised his arms hadn’t been ripped from their sockets.
Despite the pain that had to have cut into him, he didn’t cry out. Only the contortion of his face betrayed how much the action had hurt. When his eyes opened once more, his hate had doubled, which didn’t seem like it should have been possible.
Unbidden, my hand rose to cover my mouth. “A merman.”
Gwala turned, hardness in his eyes. “Is there a problem, warlock?” He didn’t need to say anything else for me to know that he’d had his fill of both my incompetence and my unawareness of our supernatural world.
I didn’t reply and turned my attention back to the merman. I was so blown away by his existence that I had to focus more than I had the first time as I made his body rise in the air.
By the time the merman was fully out of the water, he was a couple of feet above Gwala. He had to be nearly seven feet in length, maybe longer. Despite my horror over what I was doing to him, I couldn’t help but be captivated by him. He was a fairy tale come to life.
Carefully, I eased him toward Gwala. Forcing him to hover longer than he needed to, I took a deep breath, terrified I was going to drop him. Slowly, I lowered his body to the cold marble. His fins touched first, then curled beneath his tail as he descended to a level where he could sit up.
“This is my prize bull.” Gwala moved toward the merman and stretched out his hand to run his fingers through the merman’s long hair.
The merman jerked his head away, the motion causing his muscles to ripple across his chest and his tail to slide out from under him. His fins slipped back into the water.
For an instant, I thought he was going to throw himself back into the pool, but before a full second passed, Gwala was behind him. He had the chain wrapped around the merman’s throat. He jerked on the chain, tightening it and yanking out hair that had gotten entangled. With another pull, the merman was lifted slightly off the ground, the weight of him causing the chain to cut into his tender flesh. One more swift jerk and Gwala released his hold, allowing the merman to rest on the floor once again.
This time, when Gwala stroked the red hair as he addressed me, the merman didn’t attempt to avoid his touch.
“He knows I won’t kill him. He is much too important. That doesn’t mean I won’t disfigure him.” Gwala let the chain fall. It formed a collar around the merman’s neck, leashing him still to the wall.
I barely managed to stop myself from using my power to help the merman. The thought of Cynthia trapped somewhere above me held me in check.
“The mers are your main responsibility. They are a task you must master in a matter of days, as Omar will no longer be attending them. I do not care what you and Schwint must do in order to achieve magic at this level, but do it. If you believe that a greater infusion of my blood is needed, say so. You will drink from me, as my blood will have the most power. As I have stated, I do not believe it will increase your ability, but it may help you in other ways that will be necessary.”
I tried to pull my gaze away from the merman to look at Gwala, but I couldn’t. I was captivated in horrified fascination. Every tiny motion from his fins in the water caused his emerald scales to sparkle in the light from the sconce over his head. Already the strands of his hair were drying to straight orange ropes.
“Come touch him.”
At Gwala’s command, I was finally able to look away from the merman. “Excuse me, Your Majesty?”
“I said touch him.” He stepped away as if making room for me to come closer. “If you are to control them and keep them alive, you need to understand them as much and as quickly as you can.”
It was going to be my job to control them and keep them alive? I already hated myself for simply watching the abuse the merman was enduring.
Tentatively, I walked toward them, then paused as I came within a couple of feet of where his tail curved over the edge of the pool. I started to kneel down to be on the same level as the merman, but Gwala’s voice made me pause midmotion.
“He will kill you, if he can. Once you’ve mastered your power to control them that will no longer be an issue, and with me beside you, there is no such chance. However, be aware when you are with him the next time.”
From the hate continuing to pour from the merman, I knew Gwala wasn’t exaggerating in
the slightest.
“Touch him.”
Feeling like I was simultaneously reaching toward the jaws of a lion and attempting to touch the Holy Grail, I paused. I forced my gaze to hold the merman’s. “May I?”
Any illusion of gentility slipped away as Gwala sneered at me. “You do not ask his permission. While you are nothing more than a witch, he is nothing more than a cow confined to a field. You will command him. Do not forget the position to which I have elevated you!”
I lowered my head in a nod, both to show deference and to regain control of my expression.
Looking again at the merman, I no longer looked in his eyes. Feeling dirty, I stretched out my fingertips and touched his forearm, then quickly withdrew.
“I am running out of patience, warlock. I have shown great mercy to both of your sisters and the two fairies. Not to mention, the rest of your family is not outside my reach.”
I caught the man’s gaze again, trying my best to beg forgiveness through my eyes.
The merman’s expression didn’t change. Nor did he try to stop me as I stretched out my hand again and stroked my palm over his chest and up over his shoulder. His skin felt almost human, only slightly firmer. Thicker, maybe. Definitely stronger than my own. My gaze followed my hand over his skin, which glistened like the surface of pearls in the reflected light.
I nearly flinched away but caught my reaction in time and hid it, though I didn’t notice as my hand traveled back across his chest. For a moment I was back with Brett as we swam in the ocean. His body warm against mine, seconds before our first kiss. His skin nearly sparkling in the sunlight. One more piece of the puzzle fell into place. It was enough to send me reeling into insanity. Yet somehow it made perfect sense. So much of what we hadn’t understood, tried so desperately to figure out, was explained by this one creature’s existence.
Tears burned my eyes, and I squeezed them shut, refusing to give in to them. The smooth skin under my hand morphed into an even more muscular chest covered in blond hair. It was Brett held captive once more in the vampire’s clutches.
Once I was certain no tears would fall, I opened my eyes and found the merman’s expression had changed. While I wouldn’t qualify it as friendly, a level of confusion had replaced some of the hate.
I swiped across his chest slowly once more, this time taking in the small ridges that crisscrossed over him. Unconsciously, I leaned closer. Sure enough, there were welts all over his torso. I was willing to bet they would be much more noticeable out in the sun in full light.
I pulled my hand away and stood, waiting on Gwala’s next instruction.
He moved closer and ran his fingers through the red hair once more. “From your reaction, and judging from what seems like a disgusting lack of knowledge of the supernatural world, I assume you did not know of the mers’ existence.”
I shook my head. “We believe them to exist only in legends and stories.”
“That is common for most. Even the vast majority of vampires know not the truth about mers. That is how it should stay. Even vampires within the Cathedral.”
“Yes, sire.” Did he really think I was going around gossiping with the vampires that were holding me captive?
“What questions do you have? I will explain all that I can in the effort to help you master the skills you need quickly.”
The core of me revolted at the state of the captive in front of me. I should be fighting to set him free. Not in awe of his existence, much less getting a training session about the care and feeding of a merman. “What skills do I need to learn? What will I have to do with the mers?”
Gwala nodded. “Good. I’m glad you’re getting your senses back. Right to the point. I like that.” He stepped closer, reached down, and squeezed the merman’s shoulder so hard that blood seeped from beneath Gwala’s fingernails. “Stay.” He unwrapped the chain that still hung loosely around the merman’s neck and repositioned it on the sconce. It was taut enough that the captive’s arms were suspended several inches off his lap. I wasn’t sure how Gwala expected him to go anywhere.
Gwala seemed momentarily distracted by the crimson stream running down the merman’s body. Giving himself a slight shake that caused the firelight to bounce off the silver of his robes, he returned his attention to me. “You must be able to purify the water. I cannot say how long it can stay stagnant without negative side effects, but I do not want to find out. The mers must be kept healthy at all costs.”
Peering over the side, I again looked down at the bottom of the pool. I didn’t think that would be such a challenge after all. Purifying the water sounded like it might be similar to some of the things Schwint and I had been practicing. I nearly told him as much but realized it might be smarter to play my cards a little closer to the vest—both in terms of buying me more time and in the likely event that I wasn’t able to do it as easily as I thought. We’d been practicing with cups of water, not pools of it. Still, it didn’t look that deep. Without moving, I sent my awareness away from me, focusing my intent on the water. Nearly as quickly as I had changed the material of Gwala’s clothing, the presence of life forms crashed into me. They were in such great quantity that I couldn’t number them. Possibly hundreds. I could sense them stretching out for miles beneath us.
Even as the realization hit of how much more water I’d have to effect with my power, I realized another issue. Salt water. Mers wouldn’t live in fresh water. That could cause an issue as well. We hadn’t practiced with salt water.
Keeping the pool filled wouldn’t be too hard. All the molecules and elements were already there, and I simply needed to multiply them. Keeping the water pure might be just as simple, but there were too many variables. For one, I had no idea what other conditions the water might need. Dad had tried his luck at a marine aquarium when I’d been young. He’d killed several rounds of fish before giving up. Probably not a good sign. With my luck, I might accidently change the entire enclosure to fresh water or get a wrong pH level and kill them all.
Despite my questions about my capabilities, this task was one I wouldn’t feel guilty about completing. I wouldn’t be doing them any harm. If anything, the mers were depending on me to keep them alive.
“May I take some of the water to my room? To practice.”
“I would expect nothing less. You and the fairy need to have this figured out in the next few days. There are others besides just the mers depending on your success.” Either Gwala was losing his subtlety or he simply didn’t care to pretend that I was anything other than a slave he was keeping by threatening my family.
“And what other things must I do for the mers?”
“You must help them mate. Specifically, you must help this one mate.” He ran his hand down the merman’s hair once more.
Certain I’d misheard or not understood something, I looked at the merman’s face. He didn’t meet my eyes, instead gazing down into the pool. From his expression, he’d retreated somewhere far away from here.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I understand what you mean.” I knew exactly what he meant, but I couldn’t keep the question from escaping my lips. The reality seemed too horrible to be possible.
“Mate. I mean mate. Surely, you’ve heard of fucking. You are to help this merman mate with every female who is not already impregnated.”
Despite myself, I looked toward the merman’s lap, inspecting for a penis of some sort. I saw only flat, disc-shaped scales. I’d never before thought about how mermaids might have sex.
The merman’s eyes flickered to me, catching me inspecting him. I felt my cheeks flush, and I looked away in shame. “Why would he need me to help him mate?”
Gwala raked his nails over the merman’s shoulder as he spoke, and I instantly regretted bringing the attention back to him.
“He does not need it. However, my prize bull refuses to copulate with the females of his species of his own volition. Perhaps he is of your persuasion.” At the thought, Gwala trained his gaze on me, his face growing even
sterner. “His sperm is for the females. Not for you. It is not to be wasted.”
I felt my jaw fall open and screamed inside my head for it to close. It just hung there. I had no idea how to respond to such an edict. I was revolted at the thought of using the captive in such a way.
Nonplussed, Gwala continued, removing his claws from the merman’s skin and gesturing to where a human male’s penis would be. “The consequences will be swift and sudden if you use him for any sexual gratification. He is only to be mated with females who are ovulating. Another task you will learn. You will need to be aware of the mermaids’ cycles and when they are the most fertile. Besides keeping the mers alive, this is your main responsibility within the Vampire Cathedral. It did not take Omar long to accomplish these tasks, and from what I’ve been led to believe, you will be much greater in power than he. Perhaps you can even decrease the gestation time. Granted, Omar did not have to learn on a male as stubborn as this one. If he wasn’t producing such quality offspring, I would end his life myself.” He stroked the male’s cheek. “Unfortunately, he is worth the trouble.”
“Why is it you need the mers to mate? Why him?”
At my words, the merman broke out of his reverie and looked up at me, eyes wide.
Gwala glowered at me.
I unconsciously took a step backward.
“I am inclined to tell you that it is none of your business. However, I did tell you to ask any questions you have, and the more understanding you acquire, the greater and sooner your power will come into effect.”
This time, it was Gwala who seemed to get lost to something beneath the surface of the pool—focusing on some event in the past. “The first mers did well for many, many centuries. Though I will admit they soon needed the services only a witch could provide, as most of them refused to mate as well. It seemed I’d found a system that would last for all eternity. However, over time, due to inbreeding, the offspring began to lose their potency. I admit, I should have seen such an issue arising, but it never even entered my mind. I assumed the mers were above such imperfections.” He looked up at me, as if just remembering I was with him in the room. “They didn’t have two heads or malformed tails, nothing as revolting as that. And while they were still good for gratification and continued to taste of nothing else under the sun, they’d gradually lost their potency.”