by L. M. Brown
“I left her in the nursery before I swam here.”
Lynna breathed a sigh of relief.
Kyle stood and held his hand out to his sister. “Come on. Let’s head back.”
Lynna shook her head. “The babe can’t go into the water yet.”
“Why not?”
Lynna patted the moss beside her. “Sit down, Kyle, and learn a few things about merbabies.”
“I know as much as I need to about them,” Kyle replied, though he sat as Lynna requested.
“Merbabies who are born on land are born with closed gills,” Lynna explained. “It takes up to twelve hours for them to open.”
Kyle touched one of his own gills, hidden behind his ear where no human could see it, at least not unless they were nuzzling him there, as Jake was prone to do since his discovery of how sensitive they were.
“Twelve hours?” Kyle asked. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course I am. It doesn’t always take so long. It was around ten with Maurissa, but rumor has it males always take longer.”
“Bloody hell, Lynna, why did you come to land to give birth if you knew that?”
Lynna rolled her eyes, mumbled something about idiot mermen and gave a heavy sigh of impatience. “Kyle, you told me the gods are going to raise the city out of the water. What if I’d still been in the city, in labor, when they raised it?”
“I’d have made sure you weren’t,” Kyle argued. “I’d have got you to England where you had the choice of the pool or a comfortable bed.”
“I wasn’t going to go to England without Xane. I didn’t have time to track him down, return to you and go to England. I was in labor.”
There was no point in arguing with Lynna when she was in this sort of mood. The fact of the matter was, it was too late now to complain about how they could have done things differently.
Kyle tried to judge the time from the position of the sun, but he had got out of the habit during his time with humans. He could tell it was still morning, but not much more than that. Twelve hours waiting for the merbaby’s gills to open, then the swim back to the city… It was going to be cutting things very fine indeed.
“You should go back to the city and get Maurissa to safety,” Lynna said. “I’ll be fine. If you find Xane, tell him where I am.”
“I can’t leave you here.”
“Yes, you can. You must. Take Maurissa to your England and look after her until Xane and I can come and collect her.”
Kyle stood. “I’ll come back for you as soon as I can.”
“Don’t be a fool, Kyle. You need to take care of Maurissa. If I don’t make it, I want you to raise her as if she were your own.”
“I won’t need to bring her up, because I’m coming back for you and my nephew. Have you decided on a name for him yet?”
“I thought perhaps I might name him Xane, after his father, but his papa isn’t too keen on the idea. He suggested Lamar, after our father, but with Maurissa already named for our mother, I wanted to pick a name from the other side of the family. Xane wants to leave the choice to me and I’ve not decided yet.”
“Hopefully, you will by the time I get back.”
Kyle didn’t give Lynna time to argue with him again. He ran back to the beach, determined to get Maurissa to safety as quickly as he could. The sooner she was in England, the faster he could return for his sister and nephew.
* * * *
Kyle arrived in England with Maurissa and found a house filled with more people than he had ever imagined possible.
“Where’s Jake?” Kyle asked Fabian.
“I think he said something about ordering food for lunch. Finn’s downstairs, too.”
Kyle went in search of his lovers, knowing they would take care of Maurissa while he returned to Atlantis.
The house had never been so noisy. Babies were crying and toddlers were shouting. As for the adults, the sounds of frustrated confusion were almost drowning out the youngsters. Kyle had a great deal of sympathy for them all. He had found it difficult to navigate this strange land himself, even after Caspian had given him knowledge of the modern human world. He wondered if the god would be stopping by to assist the mer again or whether he would stay away this time.
He found his lovers in the kitchen with King Nereus and Justin, who were arguing about Justin’s sight.
“You do remember you’re supposed to be blind on land as well as off,” King Nereus reminded his son.
“Yes, I remember, but I think getting our people to safety takes priority here, Father.”
“What are we supposed to tell people when they realize you can see when you’re in human form, just like the Oracles can?”
Justin held out his arms. “It’s a miracle,” he declared with a wide grin.
The king sighed impatiently. “Can you at least try to take this seriously?”
Justin snorted. “I’d rather take the current emergency seriously and worry about everything else later. I won’t pretend to be blind when doing so could endanger the lives of others.”
“Very well,” King Nereus said. “We’ll discuss this later. Now, let’s get back to work.”
The two of them turned back to something they were studying on the counter, but Kyle couldn’t see what it was.
“Kyle!” Finn shouted across the crowded kitchen. “Did you find Lynna?”
“Yes, but we have a slight issue,” Kyle replied as he joined them.
“What sort of issue?”
“She’s on the birthing island.”
Finn stared at him in disbelief. “You never mentioned she was with child.”
“I didn’t know.”
“How’s that possible?” Jake asked as he poured drinks into every glass, mug and beaker they owned. “You’ve been visiting her recently. Surely you noticed.”
“I just thought she’d put on some weight,” Kyle muttered. “I didn’t want to say anything to her, and apparently she thought by saying nothing it would help fend off this so-called curse.”
“Actually, there is a curse,” Justin piped up from where, Kyle could now see, he and his father were studying a crudely drawn map.
“There is?” Kyle asked. “How do you know that?”
“My father told me,” Justin replied.
Everyone stared expectantly at King Nereus.
“Not that one,” Justin clarified. “Caspian, my adoptive father. I asked him about it once, and he told me it was something to do with his mother, though he didn’t say what exactly.”
“I still don’t see how Kyle can see his sister so recently and not notice that she’s pregnant,” Jake teased.
“Mermaid pregnancies are five months long,” Finn reminded him. “They don’t get quite as large as human women.”
Kyle nodded. “That isn’t the real problem, though. According to Lynna, it can be up to twelve hours before the babe’s gills open and he can enter the water.”
Finn immediately turned to the clock on the wall. “How long ago did she give birth?”
Kyle answered the unspoken question. “There should be enough time for me to get her back to the city and here. I just brought Maurissa to land to make sure she’s safe. Have you seen Xane?”
“No, isn’t he with Lynna?”
“She hadn’t seen him since before our arrival this morning. I’m going to go try to find him before I fetch Lynna. Let’s hope the babe’s gills open quickly.”
“Males tend to take a little longer than females,” King Nereus added, unknowingly reiterating Lynna’s words of earlier.
“Not always,” Finn said. “My mum told me mine opened pretty quickly, just six hours after I was born.”
“Let’s hope Lynna’s new babe is equally eager to reach the water,” Kyle said. “Now, who wants to look after Maurissa while I head back to the city?”
Suddenly the men in his life went quiet. It seemed no one was eager to volunteer for babysitting duties.
“Bring her here,” King Nereus said. “I’ll take h
er through to the pool, where the mermaids have set up a temporary nursery.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and Kyle headed straight back to the temple.
Finn glanced at Jake as he quickly ate his sandwich. He could tell something was bothering his lover, but in the midst of the current crisis, he didn’t have time to ask him what was wrong.
“We’ve evacuated all the vulnerable from the palace and to the west,” King Nereus said. “I think we need to look to the south now, which is the most densely populated part of the city and very close to the old nursery. Justin, can you and Lucas cover that area?”
Justin nodded. “Sure. I’ll go fetch Lucas and we’ll head back there immediately.”
“Excellent. Finn, I need you to swim north and spread the word that they’ll be next.”
Finn stuffed the last of his sandwich into his mouth and mumbled his agreement around a mouthful of food.
“Otus.” King Nereus waved over the temporary leader of the guards.
“Your Majesty?”
“I want you to ensure the guards are transporting all the weapons and armor they can carry from the barracks to the cave network. If you need more mer to assist with this, recruit anyone who doesn’t appear busy. You’ll need to ensure the gatherers are being adequately protected as they harvest as much as they can from the fields to the north and west. Most of the gatherers should be in the fertile lands in the west. You should also check the fruit gardens in the south, though I believe those have all been harvested this year already.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Otus bowed and spun on his heel to leave, walking right into Finn’s birth father, who had chosen that moment to visit.
Finn tried to imagine how the scene would look to his human father. Lots of naked men and women wandering around the house as if nothing was amiss. Only Jake was clothed at all.
“I take it you two aren’t coming into work today?” asked Malcolm, his eyes fixed on Jake as though if he looked away from him, he might suffer some horrendous fate.
“Sorry. I forgot to phone in,” Jake said. “Can you manage without us for a few days?”
“Yes, of course. I just wanted to check you were okay. When you didn’t come in this morning and Finn never arrived for the lunchtime rush, I thought I’d better stop by. Alex is holding the fort, along with May. Alex says you owe him a huge favor for making him work on his day off.”
“Tell them thanks,” Jake said. “As you can see, we’re in the middle of a bit of a situation.”
“So I see. Is there anything I can help with? More sandwiches, perhaps?”
“If you can spare any, that would be great, Dad,” Finn said. “We’ve got more mer arriving throughout the day and we’re already running short of food.”
“Dad?” King Nereus suddenly seemed to realize who had entered the room. “This is Malcolm?”
Finn nodded as the man who had raised him stared at his natural father. Should I introduce them or flee from the room?
“Yes, I’m Malcolm,” Finn’s father said. “And who might you be?”
King Nereus straightened his spine and stood straight and tall, towering over everyone else in the room. “I am Nereus, King of Atlantis.”
Malcolm paled. “Oh. Er… It’s nice to meet you.”
Finn didn’t think his dad sounded pleased to meet his father. Even though Finn had been mending bridges with King Nereus in recent weeks, he hadn’t talked to his parents about his visits. They knew he had been visiting the city and how he had been getting there and back, but other than that, Finn had kept his discussions with King Nereus to himself.
Malcolm faced Finn and he could see the questions in his dad’s eyes.
“It’s fine,” Finn said. “We’ve talked things over and you don’t need to worry.”
“You’re sure about that?” Malcolm asked.
“Very sure,” Finn replied. He took his father to one side and lowered his voice. “You’d better warn Mum not to come around here until the coast is clear.”
“Will do,” Malcolm said. “Now, I’d better get back to work. I’ll send Alex over with some sandwiches when it slows down later. Is there anything else you need? Clothes, perhaps?”
Finn shook his head. “Maybe later, but right now food is a priority.”
Jake finished his own lunch and jangled his car keys. “I’m going to head to the supermarket and pick up some baby stuff. We need food suitable for babies, nappies and goodness knows what else.”
“Take Summer with you,” Malcolm suggested. “She’s already stocking up and she knows what to look for.”
Jake nodded. “Good idea, because I’ve not had any experience with babies, mer or otherwise.”
Finn kissed Jake goodbye, grabbed a quick drink of juice and headed back to the temple…and the portal.
* * * *
The sunken city was in chaos when Kyle returned. Mer were swimming in every direction, shouting and yelling for family and friends as they tried to ensure their loved ones were safe.
Kyle searched every face for Xane, but he could find no trace of him. He suspected the merman was searching for Lynna and that they were simply missing each other. It also occurred to him that Xane might have figured out that Lynna was on the birthing island and gone there himself.
After a full circuit of the city, Kyle decided that was almost certainly the case and swam for the birthing island once more.
“Lynna? Xane?”
“I’m over here,” Lynna called.
Kyle ran in the opposite direction to where he had found his sister earlier. He found her in a shallow rock pool, her babe in her arms.
“Have his gills opened?”
“Not yet,” Lynna replied. “I needed to transform to ease the pain from giving birth. As you can see, he has his fins. Aren’t they pretty?”
The pure black scales of the youngster’s tail were as unusual as they were beautiful.
“His great-grandfather on Xane’s side of the family had the same coloring,” Lynna explained. “You never had chance to meet him and we lost him last year. I think perhaps Xane might like to name our son after him.”
“What was his name?”
“Cian.”
Kyle smiled as he considered his nephew. “I think I like that one.”
Lynna sighed. “I take it that you didn’t find Xane?”
“No. I’ve not seen him. I thought maybe I’d missed him and that I’d find him here with you.”
“I wonder if he’s escorting his family to the cave network,” Lynna suggested.
“He should be caring for his mate,” Kyle replied.
“His great-grandmother is very frail and lost her sight many years ago. She isn’t the strongest swimmer, either. She dotes on Xane. He’s probably been helping her get to safety because he knows I can take care of myself.”
“You’ve just given birth.”
“Yes, thank you for reminding me.” Lynna rolled her eyes. “I managed it perfectly well on my own, like every other mermaid does. Xane will return for me when he knows the rest of his family is safe.”
“He would have been better off taking them to the portal,” Kyle pointed out.
“Xane and his family won’t live among humans, and I don’t want to, either. As soon as we’re settled, wherever our people end up, we’ll come for Maurissa, too.”
“What about Cian?” Kyle asked. “Don’t you think it would be safer for him in England?”
“Merbabies can’t survive the first few weeks if they’re parted from their mother.”
“Then you should come to England,” Kyle stated. As far as he could tell, this was the obvious solution to all their problems. He didn’t understand why Lynna couldn’t see this too.
* * * *
Finn swam from house to house, calling as loudly as he could for all youngsters and the elderly to make their way to the palace. There were few mer left in the area, and most of them did as he suggested. Unfortunately, there was a handful wh
o were reluctant to leave their homes. Finn tried to explain the danger they were in, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
Knowing he couldn’t waste too much time and that there was still a huge area of the city where word might not have yet reached, Finn carried on swimming and calling out to anyone who might hear.
Those who were reluctant to travel to England, Finn directed to the cave network. Since the caves were relatively close by, some of the mer agreed to go there, to err on the side of caution, in case the city truly did rise to the surface that night.
Finn could tell some of the mer didn’t believe what he told them about the gods and their plans for the city. Luckily, most of the inhabitants had witnessed the previous altercations between several immortals, so at least knew they existed, even if they didn’t accept the rest of his warning.
“Sea dragons!”
The cry of terror came from outside the city but was loud enough and came from so many at once, Finn could hear it from where he swam.
He gripped his trident tightly and tore through the ocean toward the shouts.
He met the fleeing merpeople swimming in the other direction.
“Sea dragons are burning the gathering fields to the north,” one of the mermen shouted when he saw Finn.
Finn nodded and swam for the fields. They were quite a distance from the city and past the boundaries the dragons used to protect. If they were attacking the fields, then they were doing so on the orders of Mariana. The Goddess of Sea Creatures despised the merpeople, despite her supposed love and protection of those of the sea.
The mer had only recently discovered the truth about the sea dragons, in that they were Mariana’s priests, transformed to sea dragons hundreds of years ago. Now they were no longer collared, and instead of protecting the mer, they were helping their mistress drive them out of Atlantis.
When Finn arrived at the gathering fields, there were no merpeople in sight. There was also nothing left of the fruits the mer had been growing in the area. The two sea dragons had destroyed every last plant with sea-fire.
More worrying than that, they appeared to be heading to the lands to the west, no doubt intending to bring about the same destruction there.