by Devyn Quinn
“So how long have you been working in genealogy?” she inquired across the open countertop.
Jake had already mentally prepared his answers. The simpler he kept the facts, the better it would be. “I’ve worked in archaeology about sixteen years.” It was easy and convincing to say because it was true. “But recently I’ve turned my attention toward helping families locate lost members. You’re actually my first case.”
Toting two cups of perfectly brewed cappuccino, Kendra joined him in the living room. “I have to say I’m very excited to know I have cousins.” She handed over a cup. “I’ve always felt there were more of us out there.”
Glad to exchange the mutt for the coffee, Jake cut his gaze toward Kendra’s neck. The stone he expected to see hanging there was missing.
She doesn’t know.
Instead of nurturing the symbiote inside her daughters, Gail Newsome had chosen not to tell them. Over time it had probably died, leaving them mere humans. That was a shame, too. Gail’s daughters probably had no idea of their true heritage.
Pity. He liked the Mer race.
Jake sipped his coffee. The brew had a slight mocha flavor and was delicious. “Do you have any idea why your mother might have cut ties with her family?” he asked.
Kendra sat down. Peetems jumped up beside his mistress, curling up on a couple of throw pillows. At least the mangy beast was somewhat well behaved. “Honestly, I’m not really sure,” she answered. “I think there was some sort of family quarrel, over property or money.”
“That’s a common reason for family rifts,” Jake opined as though he really knew what he was talking about. It sounded like something logical to say.
She seemed to agree. “Mom sometimes mentioned her mother had cheated her in favor of her sister. Beyond that, she wouldn’t say much more. As far as I know, they never spoke again after she left home. That was in Maine, I think, but I’m not clear on all the details. My mother was very secretive about her past.”
My goodness. The girl was going to be a fountain of information. The gods were truly smiling on him today.
“The records I uncovered indicated that your mother passed away in 2009. I couldn’t find a cause of death, however.”
Smile vanishing, Kendra Newsome stared into her cup. She shook her head. “It wasn’t pleasant,” she finally said, releasing a deep sigh. “In fact, all we’ve wanted to do is just forget.”
Jake immediately sensed her tension and knew he’d stumbled onto something important. He leaned forward in his chair. “I’m sorry to bring back bad memories. I’m also sorry to say her sister Jolesa is also deceased.” Give a piece of information to get a piece. It was a fair trade and one he didn’t mind talking about. It wasn’t like it was his own mother.
Kendra nodded. “I see.” A pause. “How did she pass away?”
Jake dug back through what he knew about Tessa’s past. “She and her husband—David, I believe his name was—were killed in a car accident about fifteen years ago.”
She gasped. “That’s terrible. Her children must have been quite young.”
Jake sipped more of his frothy cappuccino. “They were.”
Curious blue eyes met his. “How many cousins do I have?”
Jake parceled out the information. “Three. Tessa is the oldest. She’s thirty now. Then there’s Gwen. She’s about twenty-seven. The youngest is Addison. She’s just a couple of years older than you.”
Kendra put aside her forgotten beverage. “Wow. Just wow. It’s so great to know all this. It felt so strange to think Sandra and I were the only two left from Mom’s side of the family.”
Jake put on his coyote’s grin. The meeting was going so much better than he could ever have imagined. “Well, the good news is you’re not. You have three cousins who very much want to meet you—if you’re willing, of course.”
Kendra’s face lit up. “Of course I am! Sandra is, too. I want to know everything about Mom’s people.”
“The girls have wanted to know everything about their aunt, too,” he said, carefully maneuvering the conversation back toward the person he held the most interest in. “They will be disappointed—that they missed the chance to meet her.”
Kendra suddenly crumbled. Eyes going teary, she plucked at a nearby Kleenex box. “That was tough.” She dabbed at her red-rimmed eyes.
Peetems raised his head, looking at his mistress through quizzical eyes. Recognizing her distress, he moved closer, laying his head on her lap. The animal was clearly devoted.
Jake subtly probed. “I take it her death was unexpected.”
Kendra stroked the dog’s head with an absent hand. “Yeah, it was.” A pause, followed by a quick rush of words. “Mom chose to end her own life.”
Oh, dear. That was something he hadn’t expected. In all the death records he’d found, including the obituary, a cause of death wasn’t revealed. Now he knew why. Obits rarely mentioned suicide as a cause of death. “Was she ill?” he ventured, attempting to keep his voice neutral.
Kendra frowned deeply. Minutes ticked by before she finally answered. “I am sorry to say it, but my mother was schizophrenic. It was a struggle for her to control what she called ‘the beast inside.’” A single tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly swiped it away. “I’m afraid it got the better of her.”
Despite his detachment from the matter, Jake felt his stomach roll over. A Mer out of water, he thought. Like her niece Gwen, he suspected Gail had also attempted to suppress her true nature. It must have been a battle she couldn’t win.
He gave her a few minutes to regain her composure. Mention of her mother obviously opened a deep psychological wound for Kendra. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
Stifling her tears, Kendra pulled her shoulders back. “It was a relief, actually.”
“Oh? How so?”
A blush of embarrassment stained her cheeks. “Mother’s black spells would just put your nerves on end,” she explained. “Literally, she would drive you crazy with her imaginary world of queens and mermaids and all sorts of crazy nonsense about the sea.”
Putting on his best clinical face, Jake nodded. “I see.”
He shifted in his chair, leaning forward to encourage intimacy. “You mentioned earlier your mother might have felt cheated over some money or property.”
Kendra nodded. “Yes, that’s true.”
He had to jump in with both feet and hope he hit solid ground. “There are some family heirlooms your mother inherited. Tessa has expressed an interest in regaining some of those pieces.”
Kendra’s hand drifted toward her dog. She gave the hound a reassuring scratch behind the ears. “Heirlooms?” she repeated. “Such as?”
She didn’t seem disturbed, so he pressed on. “Your grandmother split some pieces of the family jewelry between Jolesa and Gail,” he explained. “Your mother inherited the larger and most valuable piece.”
The girl blanked. Nothing computed in her mind. “She did?”
Jake held his breath. Here was the moment he’d anticipated for days. “Yes. It might have been a rather large piece, such as a scepter.”
She thought a moment. “No, I don’t think Mom ever had anything like a scepter. Isn’t that something like a king or queen would have?”
Hope dimmed. Damn. Disappointment balled in his chest, heavy and leaden. He imagined the unseen thing slipping through his fingers. Queen Magaera would not be pleased. “Something like it.” He kept his answer vague.
“She did have this really gaudy trident.” She rolled her eyes. “My God, it was the ugliest thing.”
Jake’s heart damn near stalled. “Trident?”
Kendra absently shredded the used Kleenex she held. “Yeah, my father donated it to the Mimosa Springs Museum of Art after Mom died.” Balling up the mess she’d made, she offered a smile. “Sandra’s boyfriend, Damien, is an artist and he created a life-sized bronze of Poseidon for the museum’s Mythical Forces display. Dad decided to let him have the piece to complete his s
culpture.” She waved a dismissive hand. “It wasn’t like it was valuable or anything. Just a lot of junky fake stones. Ugly thing, really.”
Jake felt his blood pressure drop. His mind was working a mile a minute to process the information.
The scepter was on display. In a museum. For all the public to see.
Jake sucked in an excited breath. Holy shit! He’d just hit the mother lode.
Nevertheless he deliberately forced himself to keep a neutral expression. No reason to let the cat out of the proverbial bag. “Neither you or your sister wanted it?” he asked, keeping his voice bland.
Kendra pressed her lips together. “Frankly, no. The damn thing was part of Mom’s craziness and we didn’t want it around after she died.”
Jake lifted a brow. “Part of her craziness?”
Kendra Newsome let out a long-suffering sigh. Now that she’d started talking, she seemed eager to keep going. “She claimed the thing belonged to some mythical goddess who had given her people command over land and sea. It was sad, really. Her delusional state only got worse as the years passed.”
“Uh-huh.”
By this time Jake wasn’t listening. Her words had become little more than a drone in his ears. No, his mind was on the scepter, the valuable, coveted piece he’d traveled halfway around the world to lay his hands on.
There was only one problem.
How the hell were they supposed to lay hands on a scepter that was part of a public display?
The Mimosa Springs Museum was a place of pride and enjoyment for all citizens and visitors of the community. The goal of the museum was to create a stimulating environment reflecting the city’s diversity and character through pieces put together by local artists. Though not always consistent, many of the displays had an eccentric charm.
In typical Florida fashion, the museum had the look of an overdone mausoleum; the grounds were lush and perfectly kept and the inside, done in muted grays and whites, had a hushed atmosphere of cold reverence. The paintings and statuary on display ranged from the absurd to the avant-garde.
Jake had spent two days scoping out the museum and how best to breach its security system. He’d decided a full-on assault in broad daylight would be the most successful and striking way to make a statement. He didn’t anticipate any trouble for the simple plan he’d devised.
The museum’s staff was small. Attendants were on site to guide visitors through the displays or point the way toward the restrooms or gift shop. Aside from simple black velvet ropes strung around at random, there was no obstacle between the public and the pieces on display. A few security guards milled through the browsing people, looking thoroughly bored and totally uninterested in their staid surroundings.
It was into this quiet refuge from the blazing Florida sun that Queen Magaera and her attendants marched, clad in full battle regalia and weapons at the ready.
Many people turned and watched with interest as the Mer swept across the granite floors. The museum often hosted performance-art pieces, and most simply assumed this display was one of them.
Jake himself followed closely at Queen Magaera’s heels, smiling and waving to onlookers. Yes! He loved to be the center of attention. He’d decided it was time for the Mer to make a showy entrance—announcing to the world they were here and ready to reclaim their place in the human world.
The Mythical Forces exhibit was one of the most popular, given the city’s proximity to the sea. Although most expected something in the tradition of classical sculpture when thinking of Poseidon—perched on a ledge with a sea-nymph simpering at his feet—what the artist presented was another thing entirely. The thing—and it was just that—looked like a heap of tin cans arranged into vaguely human shapes.
Jake frowned in disapproval when he saw it. Oh. My. God. It was a travesty to call the display art. The trident looked tacky perched against the bronze heap. No wonder the family had pawned it off on the public. The next-best place for this hot mess would be a garbage dump.
As he’d been told, the final piece belonging to the collection of Atargatis was indeed a three-pronged trident—an elaborate staff of pure gold set with a slew of precious jewels. He thought it ironic a relic dating back thousands of years should be mistaken for nothing more than faux rocks and plain worthless metal.
Magaera’s eyes widened with recognition. “By the goddess.” A smile curled the corners of her mouth. “I never thought I would see it in my lifetime. It is blasphemy to see it abused by such careless hands.”
Jake couldn’t help smirking. “It’s just like I promised you,” he reminded her. “I told you I’d recover it for you.”
Magaera glanced toward him. “You have indeed proven yourself, my consort. And for it, you shall be well rewarded.” She marched toward the stone god, intending to claim her prize.
A surprised attendant rushed over. “Excuse me, miss!” she called out. “You can’t touch that.”
Hand moving to the dagger strapped at her side, one of Magaera’s guards immediately cut the woman off. “You may not approach Her Majesty,” she growled. Her orders from her queen were clear. She was to take out any unexpected obstacles that came into their path.
Nobody would get near Magaera and survive.
The woman stepped back, confused. “Nobody told me we were supposed to have a show today,” she stammered.
By now more than a few curious people had begun to gather. A few clapped, encouraging the performance to continue.
One of the guards, as huge as a pro linebacker and looking just as menacing, came running up. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.
Jake snorted a chuckle. “I’d suggest you all step back and let the lady have her treasure.”
The guard reached for the nearest Mer’s arm. “I think it’s best if you all leave the building right now.”
It was the biggest mistake he would ever make.
And his last.
The Mer soldier lunged, grabbing his left wrist. She twisted his body around and took him to his knees in one clean, easy motion. Dagger simultaneously unsheathed, she dragged the sharp edge of the blade cleanly across the man’s throat.
The guard’s limp body pitched facedown onto the cold stone floor. A faintly guttural sound escaped him, the last he’d make. A great pool of blood fanned out around his head and shoulders.
At first there was silence. Dead, awed silence.
And then it dawned on the onlookers. This was no act. It was absolutely real.
The crowd freaked, scattering in all directions, a mass of hysteria and panic.
Jake’s vision wavered, but he forced himself to hold steady amid the carnage. I’m not the one doing the killing, he reminded himself. In his mind, his hands were unsullied by the taint of cold-blooded murder.
Braving the stampeding crowd, another security guard ran into the fray. The poor man wasn’t armed with anything more than a walkie-talkie and pepper spray.
Armed with the deadly Ri’kah, another of Magaera’s soldiers raised her arm. A quick burst from her weapon heated the air. The laserlike blast struck the man dead-on. He dropped in his tracks, dead before he struck the floor. His chest was an empty hole, his heart and lungs instantly fried to a crisp.
Heart pounding like a jackhammer, Jake gagged as the smell of burning flesh permeated the air around them. He clenched his teeth against the rise of nausea.
Silent minutes ticked by. The horrified bystanders had disappeared, leaving them standing amid the chaos. The distant wail of sirens sounded in the far distance.
He surveyed the damage. Though unpleasant, a display of force was necessary to show the Mer were capable of defending themselves. As for those who died, they’d have to be written off as collateral damages. “I believe you’ve proven your point,” he commented drily.
Brows drawing together, Magaera’s icy blue gaze glittered. “They are humans,” she snapped through a glare. “Their lives have no meaning.”
Jake was aware of her eyes blazing. Aware of
her rigid posture. Aware of the hostility emanating from her in waves of blistering heat.
He looked into Magaera’s eyes, which held no sign of remorse or regret. She was a true queen, proud and fierce in her determination to lead her people. Nothing would stand in the way of her merciless ambition to reclaim a place for the Mer in the human world.
“There’s no turning back now,” he warned. “This will mean war.”
Lips set in a hard line, Magaera gave the dead bodies a twitchy stare. As a queen, she had never been accountable to fear, suffering, regret, nor compassion. She embraced honor on her own terms. Wielded justice according the laws she had written.
“So be it. If more come, then more will die.” Stepping up to the statue, she triumphantly reclaimed the last surviving piece Atargatis had fashioned for the queen who ruled Ishaldi. She lifted it above her head in triumph.
Placing their hands across their chests, the Mer soldiers dropped to one knee in reverence. “At long last, we have our soul back.”
Magaera smiled, baring her perfect teeth. “And the human world shall bow to my will.” She brought the trident down, striking its tip against the stone beneath their feet. “Behold the power of the goddess!” She began a low crooning, a chant rising and falling with a strange rhythmic cadence.
Jake’s eyes widened as the trident instantly came to life, its bejeweled length lighting up like a Christmas tree at midnight. The entire length of it glowed, becoming nearly transparent in Magaera’s hand. Jagged flickers of sparking colors moved along it. A pulse of sheer power emanated from it, lighting the walls and floors with an effervescent intensity.
“Our people shall rise again from the waters that have consumed us.”
The electric tension surrounding them grew and throbbed. Lightning flared above their heads. The stone around them began to crack.
Jake clenched his teeth as thunder seemed to snap the air apart around them. It was akin to the force Tessa had summoned when she’d destroyed the undersea chamber surrounding the sea-gate. Except it was much more powerful and potent.
