by Judi Fennell
Kai sat back on the couch. “We have lost some Mers, Reel. Kids on a dare trying to cross her garden, do-gooders who try to rehabilitate her—”
“That guy who’d shown up in that whale…” They all shuddered. “It’s not pretty.”
“So you’re telling me we have to go visit this person to get the diamonds.”
“Got it in one, sweetheart.” Reel took an oyster from the dinner tray.
“And The Council knows all this about her, yet they’re still sending us to her?” She poked Reel in the chest. He coughed, covering his mouth with a grimace.
“You know, you and your father really need to have a heart-to-heart to work out these issues you’ve got going.” She sighed, complete with water jets. Lovely. InOverHerHead.indd 104
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“So, let’s say I survive Miss Ceto. What’s going to make her hand over the diamonds?”
There was silence. Again.
Reel cleared his throat. “Well, sweetheart—”
“And you can stop calling me sweetheart. That charming little nickname is having the opposite effect. Spill, Reel.”
“Okay. Here it is. We’re going to steal them.”
Her lungs stopped working.
Oh no, they didn’t. She just forgot to breathe.
“Excuse me. Steal them? I have three words for you, sweetheart—ARE YOU INSANE?”
He was. Pretty much every male she’d interacted with in the last couple of days fit that description. And she was sick of it. Sick of the ocean, sick of being terrified, and sick to death her life was no longer in her own hands. From the moment Joey had pulled his little hide-the-diamonds-in-the-urn stunt—no, from the moment he’d decided to spend his lunch hour at the local motel-by-the-hour with some chippy—her life had spiraled out of control. She was not— not—going to visit a sea monster.
And she said so.
Kai, in her most soothing Mom Voice, answered.
“I’m sorry, Erica, but it’s not that easy. Besides being in direct disobedience to The Council’s order, Ceto has her own agenda. When she finds out she’s got something you and The Council want, and that The Council doesn’t want you to have it, she’ll be after you.”
“Why? What does she have against The Council?”
Kai looked at Reel who shrugged. “Hey, she just woke up this morning. I think she’s doing fairly well InOverHerHead.indd 105
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adjusting to our world. I couldn’t pile it all on her at once,” he said, helping himself to another oyster.
“Pile what on me?” She took the oyster he offered her.
“Our history. Ceto’s renowned propagating ability—
with any number of varied personages—is legendary. To the point that she was begetting so many denizens of the deep they were upsetting the balance. Supply and demand. Supply started dwindling. So The Council put out an edict that she could no longer procreate. To ensure it, they outlawed her lovers. You can imagine how well that went over. She’s been in a mood ever since.”
“Wait. They won’t let her have sex? That’s why she’s such a problem?” Erica swallowed the oyster, returned the shell, then brushed her hands. Ha. After Joey’s betrayal, she could tell Ceto a thing or two about how overrated intimacy could be. “That’s easily fixed. Give her a boy toy and she’ll be a happy camper.”
Angel shook her head and picked up a bowl of seaweed salad. “It doesn’t work that way. Ceto wanted one male. Poseidon. ’Til that happened, she’d bided her time with whatever male happened by. Now that’s not even possible, thanks to the edict. But she still wants him for her own. The fact that he’s already married isn’t a sticking point. For him, well, that’s another story. Actually, ever since he had a fling with her daughter, Medusa, Ceto’s been angrier than anyone’s ever seen her.”
“Wow. And I thought you and your dad had issues.”
Erica raised her eyebrows at Reel, helping herself to some shrimp cocktail, which, thankfully, someone somehow had managed to cook. Probably over a magma well, but she wasn’t going to be picky. “So she’s in a InOverHerHead.indd 106
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snit because some guy dumped her for a younger model?
Welcome to the world.”
A boom! shook the house. Five Mers cringed.
“Uh, Erica.” Reel grabbed her hand. “You might not want to go calling the god of the sea ‘some guy.’ He’s a bit touchy about his title.”
Poseidon? God of the Sea? That Poseidon?
And Medusa and Mers and sea monsters and talking fish and breathing water and… and… and…
She dropped the shrimp and fluttered her hands to her mouth to get more water going in—which was so wrong for so many reasons. What was it called when you hyperventilated underwater? Hyper-hydrating? Gargling?
The pretty pink walls started to spin, and she slumped against Reel.
“Quick!” Kai’s voice came floating from a distance.
“Get the rancid seaweed. She’s going to faint.”
Rancid seaweed? Erica’s eyes shot open. Rancid seaweed would leave an olfactory impression she’d never be able to erase.
She shook her head and straightened upright as the room settled down. “No seaweed. I’m good.”
Four pairs of jewel-toned female eyes were raking over her with worry. The lone set of male eyes? That wasn’t worry.
Damn if her stomach didn’t quiver when she met his gaze.
Which was so not what she needed to be thinking, thankyouverymuch. Not when faced with Jules Verne’s monster come to life.
She picked the shrimp off her lap, pointing the pink tails at Reel. “Explain to me how you and I are going to InOverHerHead.indd 107
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swim in and snatch a bunch of diamonds from under her nose. I’m assuming she has a nose?”
The corners of his mouth turned up, and he plucked one of the shrimp from her grasp. “Yes, she’s got a nose. And every other part my sisters and mom have. But don’t worry. We’re not going to sneak in. I’ve visited with her before.”
His mother sucked in a breath.
“Don’t worry, Mom. Not a daredevil thing. There are times when neighbors need to interact. To keep the water clean between them, so to speak.” Reel tossed the shrimp above his nose, catching it in his mouth as it floated down.
“Neighbors?” Erica gulped.
“Honest to Apollo, Reel. Haven’t you told her anything?” Mariana swam over and pushed her brother off the conch couch, settling herself next to Erica, thigh to emerald scale. She lifted a piece of something pink and fleshy off the tray, took a bite, and then waggled the remainder her way.
“Ceto lives by the trench off Puerto Rico. Reel has a base there. Pretty place, full of the tropical locals. He’s got a great collection of wreck salvage. You should see it sometime.”
“Yeah, like in about two days when they have their meeting with Ceto.” Pearl flicked her sister’s hair. Mariana glared back. “Whatever. I’m just cluing her in, which is more than our dear brother has done.” She shook a finger at the brother in question. “You know, Reel, you might think life’s one big joke, but turning a Human is a big deal in its own right. Now you’re going to lead her to the biggest monster the seven seas InOverHerHead.indd 108
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have to offer, and you haven’t given her the whole picture. It’d serve you right to end up disappearing in Ceto’s neighborhood.”
“Disappearing?” This was sounding worse each time she learned something new about this Ceto person… or whatever she was. “Why do I think there’s something more horrible the five of you aren’t telling me? Where exactly is Ceto’s neighborhood?”
Too quiet.
Again.
Cold invaded Erica’s veins. And it wasn’t from the surrounding water. What was so bad that they couldn’t tell her? Worse than being turned into a waterbreather—forever—and live her worst nightmare, befriended by an aquatic jokester with family issues, forced to retrieve stolen diamonds from the quintessential monster of the deep who lived somewhere off the coast of Puerto Rico…
Oh God, no.
“Reel?”
“Ceto’s neighborhood is the Bermuda Triangle.”
His words took a moment or two to register, but when they did—
Well, of course Ceto lived in the Bermuda Triangle. Why wouldn’t she?
Erica gripped the edge of the conch sofa. Had she really expected anything less? Atlantis, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus… why not the Bermuda Triangle? She couldn’t just be a normal turned Human, could she?
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And if that last question wasn’t nuts, she didn’t know what was.
Her brothers had always said drama followed her wherever she went. That she was incapable of fending for herself in any given situation. Why should her sojourn beneath the sea be anything different?
She wanted to hole up in a snail shell and tell The Council what they could do with their stupid declaration. They didn’t need the diamonds any more than Joey did. If Ceto had them, let them contact the sea monstress directly. She was going to stay in her shell where it was, well, if not particularly nice and cozy, at least it was safe. She flexed her fingers on the sofa’s edge. A sea cucumber squealed.
“Erica?”
The family was staring at her, Reel’s eyes the most worried of all.
Obviously there would be no snail shell to climb into and hide.
She released her death grip on the sofa, felt the cucumber sigh, and forced her hands to relax in her lap.
“The Bermuda Triangle. I’d thought it was a myth, but I’m guessing not.”
The twist to Reel’s lips validated her statement—and made her focus on how the bottom one was a mite fuller than the upper one and that he’d licked them recently…
Damn.
“Okay, then. The Bermuda Triangle. I’m assuming that not everyone who enters disappears, am I right?”
“Technically, there are a lot of disappearances in the area, but—” Angel lifted a different slate tablet off the floor and read from it. “According to your Coast Guard InOverHerHead.indd 110
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and confirmed by our Triangle Study Committee, the number of missing ships is no greater than elsewhere in the oceans. It’s simply that the Triangle is a heavily traveled area by your kind, so, percentage-wise, more ships go missing.” The tablet was relegated to her lap.
“Most, probably all, can be attributed to Ceto, but a significant number of your travelers, and ours, do make it through the Triangle and live to tell the tale. In most cases, there is no tale to tell. Perhaps Ceto wasn’t interested. Maybe she had a supply left over from her last disaster. Perhaps she found one of the passengers to her liking and kept him for a while. Whatever it is, and as I believe my brother indicated, visitors can and do make it out alive from her territory.”
She put the slate back under the table, bent her tail to the side, and rocked daintily like a child in a church pew. “I think your chances are fairly good, since Reel’s been there before.”
“Thanks, sis. You’ve put her mind at ease in a way my charm and good looks couldn’t.”
Erica rolled her eyes. “Is that all you think about?
What about the diamonds? What about The Council’s ruling? What about my life?”
Reel grabbed another shrimp and swam to her side in no time. When he draped his arm around her shoulders, she couldn’t suppress a shiver. And, damn, it wasn’t from fear.
His grin said he knew it, too.
“Look, sweetheart,” he said, waving the shrimp, “it’s Ceto or Vincent. Or Hammerhead Harry. Or any one of a number of other threats in this realm. The good news is you’re with me.”
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“Remind me again why that’s a good thing?”
He tried to pull off Injured Ego, but the cockiness in his grin gave it away. He ate the shrimp. “Ceto likes me. We get along. I pose no threat to her, since I’m not the heir to the throne. We’re kindred spirits, Ceto and I, if you will. Two beings thwarted by the will of the gods.”
“My heart bleeds for you, truly. But that’s you and Ceto. What’s she going to do when I come calling? Are you saying she’s just going to hand the diamonds over on the basis of your… what did you call it? Oh yeah, charm and good looks?”
Mariana snorted and Pearl turned her head. Angel scribbled something on her tablet, while Kai suddenly became extremely interested in her seaweed salad. Reel glared. “I’m sure she and I can come to some type of agreement.”
“How? Are you going to volunteer to be her boy toy?”
He couldn’t suppress the shudder. “Are you insane?
That’d be suicide. When Ceto’s finished with a guy, she’s finished. And so is the poor victim. The only one to escape was Poseidon, but then, he’s a god.”
Mariana snickered. “Isn’t that what you’ve always thought of yourself, Reel?”
“Funny, sis. Go call Oryx or something.” He turned back to Erica. “My point is, I’ll come up with something to get the diamonds. Getting in isn’t the problem.”
“I want to come with you,” Pearl chimed in.
“Over my speared body,” Kai said just as quickly. “I’ll not risk another of my children to that… that… monster. It’s bad enough your father is in on this farce of a judgment, but at least Reel’s got a cordial relationship with Ceto. You know how she feels about the rest of us.”
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The girls nodded.
“Why is that?” Erica wanted all info up front. The track of Reel’s eyes up and down her body could have been a physical touch for all its subtlety.
“Competition. She doesn’t like any.”
This just kept getting better.
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Chapter 14
After a night spent in Angel’s room on another soggy mattress someone had salvaged from one shipwreck or another, Erica felt, if not refreshed, at least ready to face the day—until she saw what Reel was fastening to a utility belt around the black running shorts he wore.
Knives that would make a samurai proud. Then there were the nasty harpoons slung over his back like a quiver of arrows.
He nodded toward a wooden table when she swam into the living room. “I’ve got a set for you.”
After running her fingers over the bore-holes a creature had made in the once-smooth oak, she picked up the belt. Four nasty but manageable knives in scabbards hung from the Home Depot special. At least the buoyancy of water helped with its weight, but it still hung low over her hips, pulling on the ties of her bikini bottom.
“This isn’t going to work.” She hiked the neon garment up again, only to have the sides of the bikini roll under the belt. Saturated leather skimmed her thighs.
“You don’t have any clothes around here I could wear, do you?”
“My sisters might. Human luggage is full of all sorts of things one can pick up at the local market.”
“Local market?”
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“Sure. The Salvagers have
to make a living.” He went back to adjusting his weapons.
Salvagers, vent workers, fishermen… these Mers had a working economy every bit as diverse as her own. How could her kind have missed it?
Angel, of course, was the best source for the castoffs, and while the cocktail dresses were tempting, knives did not go with sequins. Jeans were out since they’d weigh her down, and forget about a skirt.
“You wouldn’t have a wet suit would you?”
Erica asked, setting the clothing over the back of a salvaged chair. Though why she bothered, she didn’t have a clue, because, invariably, Angel’s tail created ripples that caused the clothing to drift to the bedroom floor.
Angel shook her head. “I see those all the time with your divers. I like to collect unique specimens.” She picked up a fur coat. “Like this for instance. It’s so bulky and heavy. Why would you wear it?”
Erica took the poor, waterlogged mink. Patches of the fur had already disintegrated. Angel must not have had this piece for long. “It’s worn over clothing to protect from the weather. And it’s definitely not going to do me any good down here.” It billowed onto the bed. “How about a pair of shorts and a t-shirt?”
“What about a swimming outfit?” Pearl asked from the Doric-column-framed arch of the adjoining room, holding up a one-piece. “I picked it up for Angel’s birthday, but it sounds like you need it more.”
Angel’s eyes lit up then dimmed in the space of a fin flutter. “Oh well. I’m sure another one will come along.”
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Erica tried to quell the sick feeling in her stomach. For Angel to get her treasure, one of her own kind would have to meet with a travel disaster.
She took the bathing suit and said a prayer for its owner. A quick trip to the aquatic adaptation of a bathroom had her in the suit in a few minutes. Her image in the salvaged mirror above a steamer chest made her grimace. The flesh-toned suit must have belonged to a Sports Illustrated or Victoria’s Secret model because the mesh inserts made it more provocative than her bikini. But it stayed up with the Utility Belt of Death around her waist, and that’s what counted.
She left Angel with a few questions answered, not to mention a show of the biomechanics of her lower limbs, and joined Reel in the living room, adjusting the lay of the mesh on her body. “So what’s the plan?”
