In Over Her Head

by Judi Fennell

  Erica plopped her head in her hand and toed the bedside table. The hammock swung like the one on the marina deck last July when the heat index had risen to 103. With no breeze and stagnant air, her brothers had worked themselves into sweaty exhaustion. The oldest, Andrew, had called it quits and plunked himself in the hammock to escape the heat.

  No sooner had he closed his eyes than Tristan had seen his chance. Under the guise of cooling Andrew off, he’d dumped a bucket of ice on him, but they all knew better. A messy fight had ensued, with Erica getting in some great zaps with the garden hose before they’d all collapsed in hilarity. Nothing new for the boys; one-upping each other was a favorite pastime, but it didn’t mean anything. Family was all-important to the Pecks.

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  And now the family marina was going to go under because she was underwater. Sitting here, waiting for someone else to fix things.

  And what if Reel couldn’t?

  That’s what relying on someone other than herself did. First it ended her up in the water, and now possibly stuck here for the rest of her life.

  Her brothers would come home to find her—and the marina—gone.

  She couldn’t do that to them. To herself. She’d just have to suck it up and get used to the idea of a dozen barracuda outside her window. And that hammerhead?

  Well, she’d been here almost a week and hadn’t gotten eaten yet. She could make it a few more days. That’s all she needed. Just a few more days for them to escape, get the diamonds, and then she’d find some way to get to an island.

  Leaving Reel behind.

  Well, wasn’t he planning to take the diamonds to The Council and allow her to live her life in the sea?

  Sacrifices had to be made.

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  Chapter 18

  “So, what is it you’re willing to trade, Reel?”

  Ceto slithered off the sofa and drifted beside him. Reel headed for the snack tray, ostensibly for a shrimp. The blaze in her eyes when he glanced back let him know she wasn’t happy with his maneuver. Well, Hades, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t visited the idea of a relationship. He’d toyed with it once upon a while, if for nothing more than to get back at his father. But that’d be like cutting off his nose to spite his face when he really did not want to get involved with an ex-goddess.

  “You know I’ve got the power to keep her—both of you—here, yet still you came. What were you thinking, Reel? Did you really believe I’d hand them over?”

  Ceto threaded her long hair through her fingers, drifting a strand across her mouth like a savory anchovy.

  “Let’s just say that The Council ‘suggested’ I move things along a bit quicker than I would’ve liked. I hadn’t planned to show up begging.”

  “How had you planned to show up, Reel?” Innuendo laced her words, and he had to work his throat muscles to get the last of the shrimp down.

  “I’ve got that cave full of cut crystal you’ve had your eye on for years.”

  She glided toward him. “And the gold doubloons to sweeten the deal?”

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  Sure, why not take all his net worth? Mers had been bartering Human objects for as long as there’d been Humans on the oceans. Hundreds of selinos ago, it’d been easy to set your family up with the debris from a wreck or two, but now, with Humans able to scan ocean depths for their missing ships, it got harder to salvage before they were out in force.

  Most of the remains had been claimed by local families anyway. He’d gotten lucky when an earthquake had revealed an old wreck right in front of him. He’d laid claim to it before the earth had stopped moving, thanking all the gods (but one) that he’d never have to deal with his father over funds again. But when it came down to it, Erica’s life was worth more. His life? Well, his was a toss-up. But now that he knew Erica, had had time to be with her, was responsible for her for the rest of their lives… he needed those diamonds. No matter the cost.

  “Fine. You can have the crystal and the gold.”

  “I want more.”

  “I don’t have more, Ceto.”

  Her smile slithered across her face. She’d be a beautiful woman if bitterness hadn’t etched its scorn into her very marrow, giving her twisted lips, beady eyes, and a ticking jaw.

  “Of course you do, Reel. You’ve always had more. You’ve got exactly what I want.”

  The look she gave him made his skin feel like a thousand hungry hermit crabs had decided he was lunch. “Which is…?”

  “You.”

  “Me.” He exhaled. “Look, I’m as ego-inflated as the next guy, but I’m not that great of a catch, Ceto. Now Rod, he’s a whole different matter.”

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  “You don’t get it, Reel. You never have. I don’t necessarily want you, though…” She drew a finger down his chest, and he had to will his stomach muscles not to flinch. “That wouldn’t be such a bad thing. “ She circled him, running her arms over his chest and biceps.

  “I want your progeny.”

  “My prog… my kids?”

  “Of course. Your father would never destroy his grandchildren, nor hinder their mother’s ability to care for them.”

  Besides the fact that she was old enough to be his great-great-great-whatever grandmother, the idea of mating with Ceto was beyond repulsive. The woman had had more lovers than he, Rod, and maybe even Poseidon added together.

  “So you’re saying—”

  “I’m saying that if you want to save your Promised’s life, you’re going to have to provide me with a kid or two. That’ll earn you the diamonds.” She crossed her arms and, in that moment, Ceto represented every worst nightmare he’d ever had.

  “We don’t have that kind of time.”

  Her grin was feral. “It only takes once, Reel baby. Physiologically, my system’s ready to go since your exalted Council has kept me in limbo for all these years. The question is, are you up to the task?” She stroked her hand over the part in question.

  Reel had to swallow to keep that snail snack from coming back up. Zeus, he didn’t know if it’d even be possible to comply with her demands. His gono had gone into hiding.

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  “Erica stays where she is until I’m satisfied.” She licked her lips. “And I mean that in every sense of the word.”

  The back of his neck prickled. Hades, he wished he’d had more time. Damn The Council for sending them off too quickly.

  “So, when were you thinking…?”

  “No time like the present.” She sidled up to him, her hands stroking his back, and the sensation was worse than any sting of a jellyfish he’d ever gotten. He had to get out of this.

  Reel slid his hands up Ceto’s arms. Pity she was a manipulative, soul-destroying, self-centered sea-witch. He couldn’t find one ounce of desire for her—which would prove to be a huge problem if he was going to follow through. Good thing he didn’t plan to.

  “All right, Ceto. I can handle that. It’s not as if it’s all that much of a hardship, right?” He let a twinkle glimmer in his eye. “But if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right.” He brushed her hair back from her face, willing the disgust out of his eyes. He leaned in close, his lips brushing over hers.

  “Let’s do this with the perfect atmosphere. Might as well enjoy ourselves.” His cheek skimmed hers and her breathing quickened.

  “We’ll watch the moon break the horizon together, some nice kelp wine, the beauty of the stars. Get some anglers up to provide mood lighting… then we’ll come back h
ere and,” he blew into her ear, “get down to business.”

  Her cheek trembled next to his.

  “What do you say?” he whispered.

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  Ceto gulped. Good.

  “I’d say all the stories I’ve heard about you are true,”

  her voice unsteady.

  He allowed himself to smile against her hair. Thank Zeus for his reputation. He was going to need it to keep up the pretense. And, Hades, if he had to actually go through with it, he was going to need every ounce of expertise he’d garnered in creating that reputation.

  “I’ll need the diamonds.”

  Ceto pulled away. “You’re good, Reel, but not that good.” She brushed her hair from her face and crossed her arms under her shell-fillers, the tips of which let him know exactly how successful his tactic had been.

  “I’m not a fool. I know you’re trying to come up with some way out of this, but let me give you more food for thought. Number One, the only way you’ll get the diamonds is if I give them to you. Number Two, this is your chance to get back at The Council for all the crap they’ve put you through—creating heirs with me is sure going to tweak Nigel’s fins, not to mention your father’s. And Three, Erica’s life is hanging by my whim. Screw this up, and she’s shark food.” She snapped her fingers and two electric torpedo rays appeared. “Since we’ve got a few hours until moon-up, you can spend them saving your strength. You’ll need it.”

  “And the diamonds?”

  “I’ll get your diamonds. When you’ve, er, done the deed, you can have your precious stones.”

  “And Erica.”

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  to do.” She ran her tongue over her lips as he departed with the rays.

  Admittedly, it wasn’t the best plan, but he’d deal with his inability to fulfill his end of the bargain when that time came. In the meantime, he’d have to see about getting around these bozos.

  They zipped around his head, flashes of electricity sparking over their spots. Like spinner dolphins herding their prey, the torperes forced him down a corridor opposite from where Erica had gone. Ceto wasn’t taking any chances. There’d probably be locks on the doors of the room he was destined for, which would just make for more of a challenge. It wasn’t like he didn’t have experience escaping locked chambers. Hades, half his life had been spent eluding his father’s punishments. Not to mention the entanglement Alana had tried. He just needed the right opportunity.

  Before tonight.

  His jailers kept circling to the point that it was driving him crazy. He couldn’t see a thing because where one spotted gray body ended, another matching head began, so he pulled on their tails to slow them down. Unfortunately, he was rewarded with a jolt of electricity so strong his arms sizzled up to his shoulders.

  “Hey, guys, watch it. I was just going to ask you to slow it down some. You’re giving me a headache.”

  The rays stopped. “Headache,” Dufus One chortled.

  “Good one,” was Dufus Two’s educated response. Dufus One poked Reel in the back of the neck, this time the jolt nothing more than a minor sting. “Come on, bud. Ceto said to put you in your cell until she wants ya. I got other things to do. Get moving or we’ll have to knock you out.”

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  Which he did not want. He’d never been beyond her great hall whenever they’d had their “neighborly” visits, so he had no idea where these tunnels led. He needed to find out.

  Which meant ditching his guardians first. The corridor up ahead gave him an idea. As the passageway narrowed around them, the rays circled their oblong bodies faster, closer, trying to get him to drop a few feet to where it was wider. Nothing doing.

  Reel refused to budge and the rays, followers ’til the end, kept their vigilance, circling inches from his skull. The zigzag of electricity dulled to a low intermittent shudder.

  Slipping the knife from his shorts, Reel flipped it open behind his back.

  The corridor angled, the jagged limestone narrowing even more. The rays cut their circuits altogether to make it through the narrow space without crossing power. Just what he’d been counting on.

  He jabbed the knife into Dufus Two’s belly, at the same time grabbing Dufus One’s neck.

  He hadn’t counted on one thing.

  Idiots they may be, but they had instinct working for them. When threatened, torpedo rays did one thing—

  turn up the power full steam.

  The metal knife blade carried the current right through him.

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  Chapter 19

  If Erica swam one more circle around this cavern, she was going to be certifiable when she got out of here. What was Reel planning? What had Ceto done with him? She had to have done something because Erica had watched the multi-tailed mer-monster swim in the

  “bay” for the past ten minutes, and Reel was nowhere to be found.

  She rested her head against the rough edge of the window slit as Ceto’s now buttercup yellow tails flitted from one area of the garden to the next. Salvaged items from shipwrecks stood like garden pedestals ringed by soft pink conch shells. Sea fans and soft coral colonies grew on them, turning a marble bust of Shakespeare into a Dali-esque sculpture. A Grecian urn became a strawberry pot for sea anemones. Emerald crabs, red sea stars, and purple sea urchins wove among the hydroids blooming all over the avant-garde statues. Gardening seemed like an odd pastime under the sea. What was there to take care of? There certainly weren’t any roses to prune, and whatever Ceto kept picking up was going into a small bag instead of onto a compost pile. Still, the Mer monstress was methodical about it—

  The diamonds.

  It had to be.

  Who’d have ever thought of keeping precious stones in plain sight?

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  Joey, for one.

  Ceto, it seemed, was another.

  That pathway to Ceto’s palace suddenly took on a whole new meaning. This garden vault idea was brilliant, actually. No one would ever think she’d hide them there. With all the iridescence of the abalone and pearl, the neon colors of the fish, and flashes of sunlight, no one would notice a few twinkling crystals. So what was she doing with them now?

  And where was Reel?

  He couldn’t have just left her here, right?

  Erica pounded her fist against the wall. Well, as much as one could pound underwater. Damn it. She really needed to get out of here.

  A half-dozen gobies swam in through one of the thin gaps, their tittering getting on her nerves. Show-offs. Just because they could swim through that narrow slot like it was a door…

  She kicked off the wall and swam to the intricately carved oak door the barracudas had escorted her through. It’d be futile to bang on it, but the hinges…

  The hinges were on this side of the door. That meant it wasn’t supposed to be a prison at all. She dolphin-dove to the column of coral and removed the hammock. Wrapping the netting around her foot, careful not to leave any skin exposed, she kicked off one of the smaller coral outgrowths.

  Her brothers had locked her in their fort one hot summer day after she’d gotten too close to the hideout where they’d brought their girlfriends. Luring her inside with the promise of seeing what was so special, they’d laughed when they’d slammed the door and locked her in. InOverHerHead.indd 161

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; A half hour later, their father, panicked and sweating, had ordered Andrew to open it. That had been it for the lock on the door.

  And Dad had shown her how to remove hinge pins. Ceto couldn’t keep the grin off her face as she swam through her garden. What a week this had turned out to be. Finally, after so many boring, wasted selinos, revenge was in her grasp.

  She sifted through the shells and stones in her hand, finding the one she wanted. Poseidon had thought he’d won, sentencing her to life without reproducing. That’s what she did. Who she was.

  Where was the balance to the seas now? More and more Humans were encroaching in the waters. Thousands setting off in sailboats, depth-divers in her trenches, running cables and testing bombs on the ocean floor. Barges spilling refuse all over the place. Those oil rigs, for Zeus’s sake! They were an abomination. Humans weren’t fit to live upon the seas. They certainly didn’t know how to care for them.

  And now, because of the gods’ fascination with the race, she’d been demoted to token sea monster. Where once her children had patrolled the seas, now she didn’t have any. Well, any The Council knew of. She swam to the next spot with six tail twitches, turned portside one body length, and scooped up another handful of detritus. They were so smug, The Council. Thought they had her contained. Ha. Just wait. With Reel in her possession, there’d be no stopping her.

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  And the stupid cronies had sent him right into her lair. Fisher must really hate his son. She couldn’t understand why. So, yeah, Reel didn’t have much of a purpose—or a tail—but he was the Mer’s son. That had to count for something. She swallowed a lump in her throat. The Council had thought prohibiting her from reproducing would hurt her in a power play sort of way, but what they didn’t realize was that it hurt her in her heart. Yes, she was a sea monster, destined to create havoc, but she was also a woman. Women were the bearers of life. As an Immortal, formed of the Elements, it was her first priority. And they’d taken that from her.