Hidden Depths

by L. M. Brown

  “Come on. I’ll show you,” Isander offered, pointing the way back outside.

  Jake stood and followed Isander back into the open. Isander led him to the center of the island and up the hill to the building on the top.

  “This is the communal area for all the gods for great celebrations. At least, it used to be. I don’t think they’re in the mood for a party these days. They’re too busy fighting with each other or sleeping. Anyway, this is a safe area. Medina’s temple, I guess you know, and we’ve just come from Cari’s.”

  Jake gazed about the island from the high vantage point and saw dozens of temples scattered about the foot of the hill. He hadn’t imagined there were so many immortals. He wondered how many were awake.

  Isander pointed ahead of them. “The Isle of the Gods is in the shape of the symbol for infinity. The other half of the island has a volcano in the center. Andaman, God of the Forge, makes his home inside the volcano. He’s an ally to the mer, but he doesn’t have anything against Atlanteans. He doesn’t socialize much, though.”

  “Which is Cynbel’s temple?” Jake asked. “Just so I know to avoid that one completely.”

  Isander pointed at the building with the hole in the wall. “That’s the one.”

  “Oh… I thought it would be in better upkeep, with him being awake, that is.”

  “It was until he sent a blast at the wall to make a point.”

  “Which was?”

  “He was demonstrating what he would do to us if he caught me or Dolph anywhere near his territory.”

  Jake cringed. “Was that before or after he was going to castrate you?”

  “Probably at the same time. After all, he is a god,” Isander replied. “Anyway, it’s better to avoid all the rest of them, to be on the safe side, unless you run across a god who invites you in. Then you’ll be safe.”

  “What about Caspian’s place?”

  Isander shook his head rapidly. “No one—mer or Atlantean—is allowed to set foot in his temple. Even Cari only goes there when she absolutely has to.”

  “He’s that unsociable?”

  “You’ve met him,” Isander reminded him. “Caspian isn’t here much anyway, from what we’ve seen. According to Cari, he lives among humans most of the time.”

  “Has he always been so bad-tempered?” Jake asked. Caspian was a mystery to him and right from the start Jake had been curious about who and what he was.

  “Are my ears burning?”

  Jake and Isander jumped and spun around. The god in question stood right behind them. Jake didn’t know how long he had been listening, but the conversation was definitely over now.

  Caspian didn’t wait for a response. “My temple is right before you reach the beach separating the two halves of the island. I would recommend you bypass it entirely on your exploration of the isle.”

  Jake nodded, quick to reassure the god he wasn’t a threat to his peace and quiet.

  Caspian disappeared as swiftly as he had appeared.

  “As he said, his temple is that way.” Isander pointed to the location.

  “Are there no other allies?” Jake asked. “There are a lot of temples here, and not many who seem to be on our side.”

  Isander shrugged. “It rather depends on who you are, as well as what side you are on. Atlanteans who wish to help destroy the mer would be welcomed by Mariana and those gods and goddesses who think like her.”

  “And those who don’t?”

  “A few, like Medina and Cari, will tolerate our presence, even if we are Atlantean. Others, like Cynbel, won’t.”

  “And the mer?”

  “They have more gods on their side than us peaceful Atlanteans do, but I have no idea if it’ll be enough. Many of the most powerful gods still sleep. As sea dragons, we watched the war unfold as the gods turned on each other, each seeking to place the blame for the troubles on another. They wore themselves out, and without the Atlanteans to worship, or even remember them, they could not sustain their powers.”

  “So gods only exist while people believe in them?”

  “Something like that. They exist but they can’t remain a part of this world. Those who had strong ties with the mer remained conscious. The rest didn’t.”

  “Until now.”

  Isander sighed. “Until now. The war that started so many centuries ago is about to begin again, and I fear nowhere in the ocean will be safe for the mer.”

  * * * *

  Kyle couldn’t visit the sunken city without checking in with Dax. He and his first lover might have moved on, but they were still friends, and Kyle was eager to catch up with his news.

  Dax lived with one of the Oracles, and, as such, he was pretty easy to find. The Oracles, three merpeople bound to Cari, the Goddess of Prophecy, were housed within Cari’s temple.

  “Dax, how are you?” Kyle asked as he waved from the doorway, two guards blocking his entrance.

  “Let him past,” Dax ordered. “He’s a friend.”

  The guards obediently swam to the side, letting Kyle into the room.

  “When did you get here?” Dax asked. “Did Finn come with you? Was Jake happy with you coming here? He must be missing you so much.”

  Kyle laughed and shook his head. “Finn has come with me and we arrived a couple of hours ago. I’ve been catching up with Lynna.”

  Dax snorted and rolled his eyes. “And here I was, thinking you’d come all this way to see me.”

  “Well, I did think about heading back without seeing you, but I figured you might sulk if Lynna told you I’d been here.”

  “Damn right I would,” Dax replied with a grin. “So, what does Jake think about you coming all the way here?”

  “He’s fine with it—or he was a couple of hours ago. He’s no doubt wondering where we’ve gone to by now.”

  “What do you mean? Jake is here, too?”

  “Not in Atlantis, but he came to the Isle of the Gods with us.”

  “Are you saying you didn’t swim here?”

  “That’s right. Thanks to Medina, we now have a shortcut to the city and can visit here whenever we want.”

  “Really? So we’ll be seeing a lot of you now?”

  “Probably,” Kyle agreed, “if Kai’s okay with that.”

  “Why don’t you come through and ask him yourself?” Dax asked. “He’s in the next room, practicing his fighting tactics with the guards.”

  “You’ve let him loose with a spear?”

  “Like I could stop him.”

  Kyle followed Dax through the archway and found Kai jabbing at one of his guards with a spear.

  “Kai, we have a visitor,” Dax called. “You’ll remember Kyle?”

  Kai spun around, his opponent taking advantage of his distraction to disarm him.

  “Kyle? Why are you back in the sunken city?”

  “I’m visiting my family. I hoped to convince Lynna to move to England, but she’s being stubborn about the idea.”

  Kai swam closer. “I’m glad to see you. I owe you an apology for the way I acted when I visited your home in England.”

  “There’s no need,” Kyle assured him.

  “Yes, there is. You were hospitable, and I returned your kindness with rudeness and temper.”

  “You were jealous,” Kyle said. “I understand that reaction more than you can know. I kissed Dax when you had a prior claim to his affections. I should have been more understanding of your feelings and I’m sorry for my actions, too.”

  Dax sighed loudly. “If we’re all done apologizing, how about we turn to more pleasant topics?”

  Kyle definitely agreed with that. “I’ve lots of news for you from Delwyn,” he said. “He’s safe in England with Fabian. They’re both staying with us for the moment.”

  “Is he happy?” Kai asked.

  “Yes, he is.”

  “What about Marin?”

  Kyle sighed. “He’s not doing so well. He’s determined to avenge Calder’s murder, and I think that’s the one thing keepi
ng him going. He isn’t eating properly. I don’t think he’s sleeping more than an hour or two a night, and there’s nothing we can do to help him.”

  “He loved Calder,” Kai said. “I think they’ve been together since Marin’s first mating season.”

  “His heart is broken,” Kyle agreed. “There’s no cure for that.”

  Kyle wondered whether it might be allowed for Kai to see if he could use his powers to locate Kyle’s mother, but he knew having visions of events so far away was tiring for the Oracle. He might also be in trouble with King Nereus were he to discover Kyle had asked Kai to help him without getting the ruler’s permission first.

  “Is that Kyle I hear?”

  Kyle moved aside so Ula and Undine, the other two Oracles, didn’t swim into him. Undine, who had replaced Delwyn as the Oracle of the past, was newly blind and struggling to navigate the rooms.

  “Undine, I heard you were the new Oracle,” Kyle said. “How are you enjoying your new position?”

  “I love it,” Undine replied. “I especially liked that I could discover what happened to you after you vanished with Prince Finn. I don’t need to ask if you’re happy in your new life.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “I didn’t realize you knew each other,” Dax commented.

  Undine laughed lightly. “Oh, Kyle and I are very well acquainted. We once spent a mating season together, didn’t we, darling?”

  Dax gaped at Kyle, his eyes wide. “What?”

  Kyle decided not to tell Dax the truth about his night with Undine, where they had pretended to have sex to fool the guards who were keeping an eye on them. “Oh yes, it was a lovely night. I’m surprised you remember me, Undine. You were so wonderful. I’m afraid I didn’t last very long, did I?”

  Undine played along, as Kyle hoped she would.

  Dax stared at her, then Kyle, and back again. “You had sex with a mermaid?”

  Kyle tried to keep up the pretense, but he couldn’t stop his laughter from bubbling up.

  Despite the current danger to Atlantis, he was happy to be there, catching up with family and old friends. He might have known Undine for a single night, but she had been kind to him and he was happy for her now. As an Oracle, Undine would have been cursed with infertility, and as such, she would never have to suffer through a pregnancy that might kill her, as her last one nearly had.

  All too soon it was time for Kyle to leave. Jake would be wondering where he was, and he was worried that he hadn’t heard from Finn since they had parted ways.

  Kyle was halfway to the king’s audience chamber when he spied Finn swimming toward him, flanked by two guards.

  “Finn? Are you under arrest?”

  Finn shook his head. “No. Everything is fine. My father has insisted I have bodyguards while I’m here. This pair have the joyful task for the day.”

  Kyle waved the guards away. “I was Prince Finn’s bodyguard when he resided in Atlantis permanently. I’ll take over those duties from you now.”

  Finn’s expression of relief was short-lived.

  “I don’t think so,” the first guard said. “I don’t know you and we have orders from King Nereus.”

  “This is Kyle, Prince Finn’s lover,” the second guard said. Kyle recognized Morgan, a friendly merman from his birth clan and a perfectly capable guard. “I’m sure he won’t let anything happen to his charge.”

  “Prince Finn is our charge,” the first guard argued.

  Finn cringed every time they referred to his title and Kyle had a feeling he might smack one or both of the guards if he didn’t get him out of there soon.

  “Are you ready to go home?” Kyle asked.

  “Definitely. Is Lynna joining us?”

  “No, she’s digging her fins in the sand. I’ll come back again in a few days and see if she’s thought things through.”

  “Is she likely to?”

  “Not at all, and now that she knows how easily we can visit, she’ll use it as an excuse not to come with us.”

  “Maybe you should have lied and told her you’d swum here?”

  “I thought telling her about the temple would set her mind at ease. Knowing there’s a way to get there without swimming all the way should have made her happy. There’s so little risk to Maurissa now that I thought she’d agree immediately.”

  “Some of our people have stronger ties to the sea than others,” Finn reminded him. “Not all mer can live on land.”

  “There are few who can,” Morgan added. “Though I never thought Kyle would be one of that number.”

  “Me neither,” Kyle replied. Being in the dark depths of the ocean now made him realize how much he had missed it.

  They arrived at the temple and Finn placed a seashell necklace he had bought for Medina at the marketplace into the bowl.

  “We’ll be back soon,” Finn said. “There’s no need to follow us through the portal. I’m only to be guarded in Atlantis.”

  The guards nodded, and Finn activated the portal so he and Kyle could return to the Isle of the Gods.

  Chapter Seven

  A few weeks later

  Kyle sat in his usual seat near the back, during the aquarium’s monthly staff meeting. He didn’t want to be there at all. He couldn’t believe how stubborn Lynna was being about coming to land. That she wouldn’t even consider a short visit was something he hadn’t anticipated. Her insistence that he would talk her into staying wasn’t entirely unfounded, and he hated that she knew him so well.

  If Cari’s latest prophecy was correct, there wasn’t much time before the humans discovered Atlantis, then it would be over for the mer. Unless they were evacuated—and the question was, where to?—the humans would have definitive proof of the existence of merpeople.

  He supposed at least Lynna was safe in the palace and close to Medina’s temple. She knew where to go and what to do if the worst happened.

  The meeting was nearly over when Natalie rose to address the room. Kyle sank low in his seat. Maybe she wouldn’t notice him.

  “The aquarium anniversary party is all arranged, but we’re still missing a few responses from you guys. “Beth, are you going to make it this year?”

  Beth laughed. “Yes, and I’ve managed to convince Rob to stay away from the booze. He’s so embarrassed about what happened last time.”

  Natalie snorted. “The least said about that the better. I think the memory of your husband limbo dancing into the buffet table is one we’d all rather forget. I’ll mark you down as a yes. Now, what about you, Kyle? Can you make it?”

  Kyle groaned. So much for hiding at the back of the room. He’d avoided the party the previous year, even though he’d have liked to have attended and gotten to know his colleagues in a more social setting.

  “Come on, Kyle. You’ll have a blast,” Natalie urged. “Can I put you down as a yes? Do you have a partner to bring with you?”

  Kyle flushed. He didn’t hide his sexuality at work, so everyone knew that if he did attend, he would be bringing another man as his plus one, but no one knew he lived with two men.

  Some of the staff had met Jake as he dropped him off at work, but no one knew Finn even existed. As much as he hated to admit it, he was as reluctant to draw attention to their unique relationship as Jake and Finn had been. He could tell Jake and Finn were making every effort to ensure he felt secure in his relationship. Now came the opportunity to show he could do the same.

  “Can I bring two guests?” asked Kyle, his voice cracking as he spoke. His face heated as everyone in the room seemed to stare at him.

  “We usually limit the party to employees and their partners,” Natalie replied. “I thought you were seeing that man who sometimes drives you to work?”

  Kyle cleared his throat. “I am, but I’m in a relationship with someone else, too.” There! He’d said it. It was out in the open.

  Natalie smiled coldly. “And how exactly do you intend to stop the two men you’re cheating on from spotting the other?”

&nb
sp; Kyle gaped at her when he realized his words had been misunderstood. “They know about each other,” he explained, his face heating even more as his other colleagues continued to gape at him. “We all live together…um, the three of us, that is. We’re, er, you know…”

  Suddenly Kyle understood how hard it had been for the others to say out loud what it was they shared. He wished he hadn’t chosen to reveal their ménage like this. He should have spoken to Natalie alone. Then, if she allowed him to bring two guests, let the rest of the staff draw their own conclusions.

  “Oh.” Natalie studied her clipboard. “I guess I’ll put you down for plus two. Um, yes, well…that’s everyone, I think.”

  Natalie hurriedly took her seat and the manager of the aquarium rose to say a few words of thanks and encouragement, as he did every month.

  Bill held a magazine in his hand and waved it at the front row. “I assume you’ve all seen the reports?”

  Kyle had no idea what the man spoke of, and from the shaking heads around him, neither did anyone else.

  Bill huffed and opened the magazine to an article that he showed the room. Kyle couldn’t even see the title from where he sat.

  “As you all know, we’ve recently installed a new tank at the far end of the shark tunnel. It’s intended to be viewed both from above and also from underwater, just as the tunnel itself is. The safety inspectors are due here in a month or two to ensure it meets the specifications for holding our newest arrivals, which are expected before the end of the year. But, until then, I think we can use it to capitalize on this latest discovery by presenting our visitors with their very own mermaids.”

  Kyle’s heart raced. He had to see what was in the magazine.

  “But there’s no such thing as mermaids,” someone near the front pointed out. “I read that article yesterday, and all the experts say it’s a fake.”

  “Yes, yes,” Bill replied. “I know what they’re saying and I agree. The funds used on the expedition could be put to much better use than trying to convince the world that mythical creatures exist. I’m not suggesting we go out in a boat and try to catch one.”

  “Then what are you suggesting?”