by Jamie Davis
Mistress Chessie, I wonder if we might discuss what you wanted to know about Sylvie. I promised to bring her here to you when the time came for her to hatch. It’s been a few months, but as you can see, she is doing well.
Well? Chessie said. If that was the case, why isn’t she talking?
Um, I’m not sure. Was there something I was supposed to teach her?
Ariel spoke up from the water. I think what the Great One means is, why didn’t you teach the dragon to mindspeak?’ I wondered about that, too. All the dragon does is make strange little sounds in reply to things you say.
A happy “Eeeep” punctuated Ariel’s words.
I didn’t know that was a thing, Quinn replied. She realized she was out of her element here and knew what she had to do. Perhaps Sylvie should live among her own kind.
What? Here with me? I have no desire to have her here, making a mess of my cave. It would take weeks to teach her at this point. You have bonded with her, so you must teach Sylvie to mindspeak.
Quinn hid her relief at not having to leave Sylvie here, but problems with what Chessie had said soon replaced the feeling. She raced through her objections. She didn’t know what to do. She never learned an ability, it just appeared when she needed it. The only other person she knew who could mindspeak was the lake dragon Gil out in western Maryland.
She pulled up her HUD and tried to see if she could concentrate on learning mindspeak as a skill. If she could turn it on and off, she might be able to figure a way to teach it to the little dragon.
Nothing happened.
Ariel cleared her throat. “I might have an idea, Quinn. If you’re both open to it, that is.”
Before she thought it through, Quinn replied, “Sure, anything.”
Ariel smiled. “Excellent. I figure I could come by your place two or three times a week. Together, we could try to teach Sylvie. I’m sure if we put our heads together and worked with her, she could learn. I learned from birth, and I think I could translate what my parents did into a plan to teach the dragonling.”
She squirmed a little inside at the thought of spending a lot of time with Ariel. Quinn regretted her earlier flirting on the boat. That little harmless interlude couldn’t be allowed to go farther, though. Now, they would see each other several times a week for who knew how long.
Quinn’s stomach churned. Avery could show up any day. Having Ariel around could make things awkward if anyone got the wrong idea.
“Come on, Quinn,” Ariel said. “I think it would be fun to spend some time together. You and I are the perfect match for this project.” She punctuated her words with a wink.
Chessie’s voice rumbled inside Quinn’s head. I accept this solution. You will work with the daughter of Poseidon. When you next return, you will bring to me a youngling who can properly communicate.
Um, I’m not sure how long it will take. It might be a while.
You and the mermaid have two seasons. I’ll expect you back around the time of the vernal equinox. Understood?
Quinn wasn’t sure when that was. She looked at Ariel for help.
The mermaid laughed. “The first day of Spring, silly. Looks like I have lots of things to teach you, too. This will be fun.”
Chessie’s mind voice took on an edge. Take the youngling and go. I tire of this. Make sure you teach her well, Huntress. You and she are bonded. Mistakes made now will be magnified as she grows.
Quinn started to reply but stopped when the huge, triangular head turned so the great yellow eye stared at her from barely a foot away.
There is one more thing. I have felt a coming upheaval but didn’t understand until you came close. It is tied to you somehow. It foretells the coming of significant power coupled with an evil I have not felt in many, many centuries. The youngling will feel it soon too if she hasn’t already. Beware, Huntress. Grim times come your way.
Quinn wanted to say, “So what else is new?” but she kept her mouth closed. She had an idea what the great dragon was talking about. It was time to warn the clan to get ready.
As the dragon settled her head once again against her body, blending into the surrounding rocks, Quinn said, “Sylvie, you heard the big dragon. Time to go.”
“Eeeep.” Sylvie pushed off of Quinn’s shoulder and dove into the center of the pool. Clearly the little dragon understood more than she could communicate.
Ariel laughed again and dove too, leaving Quinn alone with the sleeping dragon.
Quinn shook her head and dove after them, clicking the wild magic icon in her HUD as she sliced into the cool water.
The mermaid and the young dragon waited outside the cave’s entrance. As soon as Quinn appeared, they both headed back toward the boat. Quinn called out with her mind, Hey, wait up. She kicked off the side of the entrance with her powerful flippers and swam after them.
Quinn caught up with the pair after a few minutes. Then they veered to the left, heading for deeper water.
“What’s up? The boat’s that way.”
“But the striped bass are schooling. Come on. We can catch a few for each of us, and Sylvie can have one of her own.”
“Aren’t they all bigger than she is?”
“That’s why she’ll need our help. Come on. I’ll show you how the big girls fish in this part of the world.”
Quinn swam after them and drew her Bowie. She knew how to fish. She’d learned that much from her time with Gil at the lake. This would not be that hard.
Except it was.
Ariel and Sylvie made it look easy. The schooling fish were faster and more agile than the trout she’d gone after in the lake. Ariel and Sylvie seemed to anticipate the school’s movements.
Quinn struggled every time she got close to skewering one of the fish, each as long as her arm.
Ariel’s pleasant laugh sounded in Quinn’s mind. You’re tensing up. Fish in the sea are used to big predators swimming nearby. You have to relax and swim with them so you can be ready for their turns.
Quinn forced herself to relax. Ariel was right. She swam with the schooling rockfish. Before long, she got the hang of anticipating the movements.
Got one! Quinn exclaimed.
Ariel waved, a fish in each hand. Outstanding work. I think this is enough for tonight.
Sylvie had also caught one. She floated nearby, already tearing into it, taking big gulps of the fresh fish.
Quinn swam closer to the others. It looked like Ariel had already taken a bite out of one of them, too. Her stomach churned at the thought of eating fish raw underwater like that. It was one thing for Sylvie, but with Ariel, it didn’t seem right. Then she thought about the merpeople and where they lived. It wasn’t like they could cook their food underwater.
Quinn shrugged and smiled as Ariel took another bite with her shark teeth.
I haven’t had fresh rockfish in so long, Ariel said. It’s so good this way.
I’ll take your word for it. Do you want mine too?
Don’t worry. I don’t expect you to eat it like this. There’s a built-in cooler on the boat. You can take yours home. I’ll bet Paddy or one of his cooks can make you a delicious meal out of it.
Quinn nodded. She thought that was a much better idea.
Quinn, Ariel, and Sylvie left the school of fish and headed back to the boat.
When they reached the bobbing hull, Ariel propelled herself up and over the side with a flip of her tail. When Quinn’s head broke the surface, she shifted back to human form. She coughed a few times to clear the rest of the water from her lungs, then reached up and climbed up and over the stern using the handholds there. As she stood on the deck, she looked around for Sylvie.
The little dragon was already out of the water. She perched on one of the seat cushions and had her head and long neck buried up to the shoulders in the side of the fish. Her long neck slid out, trailing bits of fish guts she held in her mouth. Sylvie chomped a few times, making quite a mess before swallowing what she’d pulled out.
“Eeeep,” was
all she said before going back for more.
Ariel sat on deck nearby, drying her tail with a fluffy towel.
“Got any more of those?”
“Sure. They’re in the chest beneath the seat cushion over there.”
Quinn walked over and lifted the cushion. A lid beneath revealed a small linen storage full of fresh white towels. Quinn grabbed one and started drying herself. The chilly night air had raised goosebumps all over her, and she wanted to get back into her clothes.
Changing in the open felt weird to Quinn, even with all her experience playing sports and changing in front of other women. This felt different. Ariel still hadn’t gotten dressed, and Quinn had to strip out of her swimsuit and into the clean underwear from her backpack.
She persevered, moving quickly and pretending not to notice when Ariel, with human legs now, stood and walked naked past her to the bow.
Ariel, her hair somehow magically flowing and dry now, said, “Let's head back. I put your fish in a chill chest. You can come over to my apartment and fry it up when we get back if you want.”
Quinn smiled while she struggled to come up with an answer that wouldn’t upset her new friend. She needed Ariel now that she was supposed to help teach Sylvie. At least the mermaid’s teeth were normal again.
She played it cool. “The way you finished off that first fish, I didn’t think you cooked your food.”
“Nah, I was just showing off. I like a good lemon butter sauté as much as the next girl.”
“Good to know. Still, I should probably be getting back. Sylvie gets cranky, the later it is. I wouldn’t want her to set fire to your drapes.”
“Oh, sure. I understand. Maybe another time,” Ariel didn’t hide her disappointment. Her eyes brightened. “Hey, I do need to catch up with you for those mind-voice classes for Sylvie, though.”
“Yeah, we need to do that,” Quinn said. “Once I get back, I can get with you to schedule a time to start the lessons. I should call my mom now so she can meet us at the marina.”
“Sounds good. I’ll bring the bass we caught and make you the best fish fry you’ve ever had.” She flipped her hair around and headed back to the cockpit. Soon, the engines fired up, and Ariel steered the boat back toward Baltimore.
Quinn winced. That hadn’t gone exactly as she’d hoped, but at least she’d avoided going home with the mermaid tonight. She stole a glance at her behind the wheel as the boat cruised over the waves.
The moonlight shone on the black curls that cascaded down Ariel’s back. Quinn cursed under her breath. Why were things so complicated all the time?
Chapter Eleven
Naomi waited at the end of the pier as Ariel brought the boat alongside. Quinn took one of the lines and jumped to the dock, leaning back to hold the boat in place. Sylvie leapt into the air and circled overhead.
“Thanks for the lift,” Quinn said. “I’ll get in touch with you about those lessons for Sylvie.”
“I can’t wait. It’ll be fun to hang out again. Toss me the line.”
Quinn did as she asked.
The mermaid quickly coiled it on the deck and returned to the cockpit. She waved as she pulled away from the dock and headed for the main channel.
Quinn glanced at Naomi.
Her mother stood there with her eyebrows raised, then glanced at the boat.
“Relax, Mom. Nothing happened.”
“It didn’t seem like nothing. She seemed pretty excited to come see you again.”
“Chessie suggested she could help train Sylvie. That’s all. I think she’s up for the challenge.”
“She’s up for something, that’s for sure.”
Sylvie landed on Quinn’s shoulder, bobbed her head once, and said, “Eeeep.”
Quinn rolled her eyes at both of them. Without answering the questions in her mother’s amused expression, she started toward the parking lot. Naomi fell in behind, following in silence.
A few minutes later, they were on the road home. Quinn checked her phone to see if there were any messages or even an email from Avery. She needed to talk to her girlfriend. Staying grounded with their relationship would help how Quinn felt at the moment. Ariel had called it some sort of attraction magic, but that didn’t make how she felt any better.
Quinn sighed as she put away her phone. Nothing new. She was worried about Avery and the girls. With what Chessie had told her before leaving the cave, that worry had turned into fear.
“Do you want to talk about it?” her mom asked.
“The old dragon said some things that concern me.”
“About Sylvie?”
“No, about trouble coming. I think it has to do with the ones chasing Avery. Chessie mentioned evil of a kind she hadn’t seen for many centuries pursuing innocence. Doesn’t that sound like something coming after Avery and the others?”
“It could be. Did the dragon say anything about when?”
“Only that it was coming from the south and she could sense it now. How far can a dragon sense stuff like this?”
Naomi shrugged. “I have no idea. We should take this back to the group. Miranda might have some ideas on how we could tap into what Chessie detected. You have a tracking ability. That could be enough if we could combine the two.”
“Chessie said Sylvie might be able to sense it. Maybe that’s a way to narrow our search some?”
“It’s late now, or early, depending on which way you view these things. I’m sure the others are in bed. Is this urgent enough to wake them when we get back, or can it wait for morning? Did you get any sense of how close this evil was?”
“Not sure. It felt like Chessie was giving me a heads up to get ready, not warning me of an impending attack happening right away.”
“That’s good, at least. We’ll get you and Sylvie back to get some rest, and I’ll spread the word for a clan meeting in Taylor’s workshop when you get up.”
Quinn nodded. “I need some sleep to clear my mind. It’s been a long night.”
By the time they got back to O’Malley’s, the pub was closed. They used their keys to go in via the kitchen entrance. Quinn could barely keep her eyes open as she trudged upstairs to her apartment. Shapeshifting and all that swimming when they’d hunted the fish had worn her out.
Sylvie was tired, too. As soon as they entered the apartment, the little dragon flew to the bedroom. She’d already curled up on the pillow beside Quinn’s by the time she got there.
“Get some rest. I feel like we will be busy for the next few days.”
A long, lazy, “Eeeeeeep,” came from the pillow. It trailed off at the end, and Quinn glanced down to see the little eyelids closed.
Stripping down, she pulled on a t-shirt and climbed into bed beside the little dragon. She fell asleep nearly as fast.
A loud noise woke Quinn. She sat up and tried to see what it was, except she couldn’t see anything.
That wasn’t true. She could see grayness all around her. It was like that line on the horizon just before the sunrise started, the point between light and dark.
Quinn put her hand down and pressed on her bed. It wasn’t there. The surface upon which she rested had that same gray nothingness quality to it. It yielded a little when she pressed it—not as much as a mattress, but soft. Like the color gray.
“This has to be a dream.”
Quinn’s voice came across muffled by wherever she was. She had dreams, and some of them were vivid, recalling traumatic situations in which she’d found herself. None of them were like this. This was something else. Somewhere else.
A thundering boom sounded in the distance. Another just like it followed. It sounded like someone was trying to break down a wall or door.
As soon as the thought greeted her, the grayness thinned, revealing a long, unending stone barrier. It extended left and right and up and down for as far as Quinn could see.
The boom sounded again.
As the noise faded, she noticed the massive iron door for the first time. How had she failed t
o see it until now?
Six tiny figures sat on the gray floor in front of the door. Quinn tried to see more. As soon as the thought occurred to her, her body moved closer to the six.
She didn’t walk or run. She zoomed over, like when you blow up a picture on a camera.
Six girls of various ages and sizes sat there, five around a taller redhead.
The boom sounded again. This time, the iron door shook under the impact.
The girls all winced. The redhead noticed Quinn for the first time. Her head cocked to the side as she studied the Huntress.
The intense scrutiny, even from one so young, made Quinn check herself. That was when she noticed she wasn’t in her nightshirt. She wore the Huntress garb from her VR persona.
“Hello, Huntress.” The redhead held Quinn’s gaze.
“You know me, little one? Do I know you?”
The girl shrugged. “It’s your dream. Do you know me?”
“I think so. You’re one of the girls with Avery, right?”
The girl nodded.
The crash came again.
The redhead winced along with her fellows. None of the others had turned to look at Quinn. All kept their attention on the girl in the center of their circle.
“Why are you all in my dream? Can you carry a message to Avery?”
The redhead paused. “I’m not sure. I think we’re here to tell you something important, something you have to know.”
“It’s about whatever’s trying to open that door, right?”
“Yes. It’s almost time, Huntress. You will be called upon to assemble your entire clan. The risk will be great, and you could lose all of them. Would you do that to save us?”
Quinn started to give an automatic answer. Of course she—
Faces flashed through Quinn’s mind: Taylor, Avery, Tadpole, Clark, and her mother. Each had the vacant gaze of the dead, their features splashed with blood and gore.
Doubt filled her.
She remembered how Miranda had died. The thought of losing the others the same way filled her with dread. Would she sacrifice the ones who mattered to her most to save six girls she hardly knew?
