“I believe him when he says it wasn’t him.”
“Are you quite sure about that?”
“Yes!”
The truth was Tameka still wasn’t one hundred per cent sure, otherwise she never would’ve tried to kill him. Even now there was a question over his involvement, and she believed Asha. The memories in her head of that day were real, even though they weren’t hers.
Maybe Red did kill them, but he’s a different man now. He’s brave and gentle and he’s in love with me.
If he had murdered her parents, could she forgive him?
No. It would be a deal breaker.
“Are you sad?” Asha asked. “Are you sad because you think your precious dragon killed your parents?”
“I still don’t understand why you’ve been doing this to me,” said Tameka, shoving her complicated relationship with Red aside for the moment. “What’s the point? Was it all so I would get angry and kill Red?”
“That was part of it. The other part…”
Tameka fired the gun. Asha fell to the ground, her left knee bleeding.
“You shot me!” Asha cried. “I was going to tell you the truth!”
“Why?” Tameka asked. “Why would you tell me the truth just because I have a paltry human weapon trained on you? You could kill me in a second if you wanted. Hell, I bet you could rip my head off with your bare hands.”
“I could.”
Tameka shot Asha’s other kneecap. Her sister screamed in pain.
“Try walking after that,” Tameka spat. “Bitch.”
Asha tried to get to her feet, but she slumped back to the ground again. The blood was pouring out all over the wooden decking now, staining it red/green. The moment she tried to leave, the moment the wounds started to heal, she’d shoot her in the knees again.
“This is not a nice way to treat your sister,” Asha complained.
“But it is the way you treat scum,” said Tameka. “Scum like you.”
Tameka kneeled down in front of her sister, pressing her hand against Asha’s shattered, pulpy kneecap. The mermaid squirmed in pain.
“Why are you telling me the truth?” Tameka demanded. “Or do you want me to see if you can heal from a bullet to the heart?”
Asha spat at her.
“Tell me,” Tameka ordered.
She felt so far removed from her self that she imagined herself as a new persona. This was pissed off, betrayed, vengeful goddess Tameka. She was glorious. This Tameka wouldn’t take shit from anyone, not even her own sister.
I’d have a breakdown over shooting Asha later.
Asha’s eyes met hers. They were pearls of malice. “I told you the truth because I saw you when you came for me today. Your eyes were water. I was scared. I thought the only way to save my own life was to be honest.”
“My eyes were water?” Tameka exclaimed. “Make sense.”
“I cannot let you scare me! I am a mermaid. I have been a mermaid for thousands of years. You are nothing compared to what I have seen.”
Something in Asha’s words caught her attention. “You’ve been a mermaid for thousands of years? That makes no sense unless…”
Tameka should’ve realized the truth sooner. This thing wasn’t her sister. She never was.
“Where’s Asha?” Tameka asked.
She knew where Asha was, deep down. Her heart had always known. She just needed it confirmed.
“Your sister was killed by the same dragon that killed your parents,” Asha explained. “Why do you think the memories I gave you just abruptly ended? Asha was bitten in half and her remains tossed into the ocean as if she were just shark bait.”
Tameka shook her head. ‘No…”
“I found her body, and a mermaid flesh sorcerer gave me her skin and her memories. Asha’s remains were turned to ash and spread over the ocean a long time ago.”
Tameka stood up, mourning her sister all over again. She felt such anguish that she wanted to scream her rage and grief for all the world to see. Even after getting her memories back she’d been clinging to a tiny slither of hope that Asha could be saved. It was impossible now. Her sister was dead.
My whole family is dead.
“The dragons took your family from you,” said Asha. “You must despise them.”
“You can give up your manipulation shit right now,” Tameka spat.
“I am only stating the truth. Do you want them to get away with it? Do you want them to go flying around without paying for what they did? I have Asha’s memories. I sometimes feel as though I am her. I know I am upset that they took her life.”
“I am upset, and I’ll deal with the dragons in my own way, but for now…”
Tameka shot Asha in the left knee again, noticing she was slowly trying to crawl away. She shot the other knee again for good measure.
“Why did you want me to hate the dragons?” Tameka asked.
“You are not ready for that,” said Asha. She was panting, in severe pain. Tameka didn’t give a shit. “You are too human.”
“I’ll tell you what I’m ready for. Or do you want me to put another bullet in you? I’d be more than happy to oblige. Now that I know you’re not really my sister I won’t have nearly as much guilt.”
But I will, won’t I? I’ll see this mermaid’s exploded kneecaps in my dreams for the rest of my life.
“Do you remember the first time we met?” Asha asked her.
“You rescued me after Vincent threw me in the sea,” said Tameka.
“And how long do you think you were under the water that day?”
Tameka shrugged. “Maybe two minutes?”
“You were in the water for six hours. Didnt you think it was odd that it was night when you fell in, and day time when you got out?”
She had remarked on that at the time. She’d just assumed she’d fallen unconscious after Asha dragged her onto the pier.
“What are you talking about?” asked Tameka. “I couldn’t have possibly stayed under water for all that time without drowning.”
“You cannot drown,” said Asha. “How do you think you survived the cruise disaster? Think back.”
She recalled the life raft plunging into the water, and the feel of the water entering her lungs, but after that it was all a blur. The next thing she remembered was waking up in hospital, crying out for her parents. The mermaids must have altered her memories some time in-between. It was then the existence of Asha had vanished from her memories.
How long had she been under the water that day?
“Did the mermaids do something to me?” Tameka sked, feeling violated. “Did they perform some sort of flesh magic on me while they were altering my memories?”
“They tried,” Asha admitted. “The magic did not work. But what was the point? You were already a gift to the world.”
“I’m just a regular human.”
“You are so much more. You are a water dragon.”
32
“Do I look like a water dragon?” Tameka demanded. She laughed, finding the whole notion absurd. “I look like a sexy black woman with perfect hair.”
“On the outside, yes, but inside you are a water dragon,” Asha insisted.
“Do you really expect me to believe that?”
“You are a water dragon, a perfect combination, a hybrid, the child of a dragon and a mermaid, and you are the most dangerous creature on the planet.”
Tameka stepped back, proving her status as the most dangerous creature on the planet by tripping over her own feet. She hit the deck, feeling numb, unable to comprehend the mermaid’s nonsensical accusations.
My parents are human.
I’m human!
“It is too much to take in at once,” said Asha. “But you know it is true.”
“I don’t know shit!” Tameka shouted.
“Really?”
She sunk back into her memories, trying to put all the pieces together. There weren’t any obvious clues, just little things that didn’t add up. She dismisse
d the two times she’d almost drowned. They didn’t mean anything at this time. There had to be something that screamed she was secretly a water dragon.
My ability to create new personas and inhabit them as if they were a real person inside my head. Reiner had told me that hybrids were fiercely intelligent but often had severe mental problems. Has what I’ve been experiencing merely been a form of schizophrenia all this time? Have I actually been mentally ill all my life and not known it?
She didn’t feel mentally ill. She’d had anxieties and stresses like any other normal human. Her personas were just a normal everyday gift, just like some humans could dislocate their shoulders or learn Chinese in less than a day. It didn’t mean she was a water dragon.
“You cannot think of anything, can you?” Asha asked. “That is probably because we made sure you would not change, even when provoked. But now you know what you are…”
“I..I can change into a water dragon?” said Tameka.
“With some practice.”
Tameka got up, looking into herself to see if she could find any trace of what she was. It only took her a second now that she knew what to look for. There was a part of her, deep down, that was screaming to be set free.
She grinned. “I can feel it.”
The water dragon was her true self. Her flesh body was only a way to interact with the lesser races to make them more comfortable. Her true form was a mighty water dragon, and it wanted out. It wanted to soar in the skies and swim deep into the ocean. It wanted to be free for the first time. She wanted to be free for the first time.
Asha was getting to her feet again. She was wobbly, still healing, but Tameka paid her no heed. All she could think about was the limitless potential before her.
“Wait a second,” said Tameka, realizing something. “The only reason you manipulated and lied to me was to use me as a weapon against the dragons, right?”
Asha nodded. She seemed desperate to get away, almost as if her life depended on it.
It did.
“But now that I know what a lying bitch you are you’re scared that I’m going to turn into a water dragon and kill you,” said Tameka. She grinned. “I probably am. I’m probably going to hunt you down from the beaches of Blue City to the deepest darkness of the Mariana Trench. I’m probably going to make you suffer unimaginable agonies before I finish you off.”
“I need you, Tameka,” Asha pleaded. “The mermaids need you. The dragons cannot be allowed to live.”
Tameka shook her head. “Why do you get to decide that?”
“Think about what they have done to you and tell me you do not want to make every single one of them suffer.”
“You’re still lying to me. Something else is going on. You want me to attack the dragons, but not because you fear them attacking you. You want them…out of the way?”
Asha made a run for the sea. Tameka ran forward and leaped onto her back. The two of them crashed to the ground. The mermaid elbowed her in the face and let off an almighty scream that threatened to burst Tameka’s eardrums.
What the fuck was that?
Asha jumped to her feet. “That was my siren call. Help should be on the way.”
“You’re too scared to take me on yourself?” Tameka sneered.
“Yes, I am! But soon you will be the one quivering in fear. I have an ally that would love to get their hands on you.”
“I can always shoot you again.”
Tameka kept her gun pointed at Asha (or whatever her real name was), hoping the mermaid didn’t realize she was actually out of bullets. She needed to leave and sort out all the new revelations. It looked like Asha wasn’t going to let her. Now that Tameka had turned on her she wasn’t going to be allowed to leave.
If the mermaids can’t have me then nobody can.
“Hello there,” said a voice from the shadows.
Galina Trade stepped out from the alleyway, the usual malicious smirk plastered onto her heavily made-up face. Her eyes were glowing ocean blue and her fists were clenched, ready for a fight.
“You hurt me,” said Galina. “Do you know how long it took for that bruise you gave me to go down? Four hours!”
“I can give you another one and we can compare healing times,” Tameka suggested.
Asha stepped forward and enveloped Galina in a hug. Tameka was surprised. She was beginning to deduce that they were friends but not that they were this close.
They’re both ancient. They could’ve known each for for a millennium.
“You called?” said Galina.
“She knows everything,” said Asha. “She is not going to work for us.”
“I’d say that’s a shame, but I’d really much rather kill her. Does she know how to change into a water dragon yet?”
“No.”
“Then this will be immense fun. It’s been a while since I’ve allowed myself to go on a full-throttle homicidal rampage.”
Tameka held her hands out for peace, trying to hold off the inevitable. There was no way she could fight a kraken, especially now.
“If you’re going to kill me then tell me why you’re forcing all those people commit suicide,” said Tameka. “Please, tell me.”
Galina smiled. “That would give you closure, yes?”
“Well, not really. I’m just curious.”
“Good. You can die curious you annoying little flea. I’m not telling you a thing.”
“The only reason I can think of is that they’re somehow a threat to you. But how can random humans be a threat to you?”
“Those humans needed to die or…” Galina composed herself. “You know what? I will tell you. I’ll tell you and I’ll kill you.” As Tameka prepared for the truth the last kraken laughed. “Only kidding. Just die.”
A flash of lightening lit up the night sky. Galina screamed as her body started to contort and stretch. This was different to when she’d seen Red change into a dragon. For him the process had been instantaneous. Galina seemed to be in agony.
“I’m going to destroy you!” Galina screamed.
Tameka decided to make a run for it when there was a vast release of light. A massive blast of air exploded, sending ripples around the area where Galina was standing. The ground shook as if in an earthquake. The sea was pushed back as if the tide was going out. The old hut blew away as if it were made of paper. The decking on the pier flew into the wind. Tameka dug her fingers into the earth, clinging on for dear life. She knew if she was sent flying she’d die.
What the fuck is going on?
As sudden as it had appeared the wind stopped. Tameka slumped back to the ground, banging her chin. She bit her lip, tasting blood in her mouth. Bits of wood fell around her like confetti. The air was still. Calm.
She stood up, taking in the impossible sight before her.
“Oh fuck no,” she breathed.
The majestic figure of the last kraken was revealed in all her terrifying, nightmare inducing glory. She was at least one-hundred feet tall with a wealth of thick tentacles that flapped and gyrated. Her mouth was almost a beak, revealing a chasm of serrated teeth inside. Her whole skin was brown/grey, pulsating and wet. She was basically a giant fucking squid.
Tameka took a deep breath as a giant tentacle came her way.
33
Yenay opened her door, yawning. “What do you want?”
“Have you seen Tameka?” Red demanded.
She surveyed the two dragons, two trolls and a witch standing impatiently before her. Red sighed with annoyance. After shooting Asha, and instantly regretting it, they’d made their way back to Tameka’s apartment, only to find her gone. Vincent had been there, claiming that Tameka now had her memories back but had gone off on some errand. The troll annoyed him by the simple fact that she hadn’t bothered to ask where she was going.
“I thought she was in bed?” Yenay asked.
“It’s a long story,” said Vincent. “We’re worried about her.”
Bethyl looked upset. “I can’t seem to fi
nd a trace of her with my magic. I can feel her, but it’s like she’s blocking me. She’s either really, really angry or…dying.”
Yenay sighed, grabbed her coat off the rack by the door, and stepped outside her apartment. She said, “Are you guys brain-dead? When she’s had a bad day she always goes to find her sister. It’s obvious where she’ll be.”
Red felt like an idiot. He should’ve realized this himself, yet he’d been too anxious over finding Tameka.
What if her sister tells her I shot her?
He’d deal with Tameka’s temper later. For now, he needed to find her. Something had happened to her when she’d gotten her memories back, something vital. What had she learned that had caused her to run out like that?
As they were heading down the stairs they felt the earth move. The entire building shuddered for a second before becoming still again. They all stopped, looking at each other. Earthquakes were quite common in Blue City. They didn’t scare Red. Yet this one did. Something was different about it, something magical.
I have an awful feeling about this.
He ran down the stairs, heading out the door as fast as he could. His gaze went straight to where he knew the old marina was located. That’s when he saw her, the top of her enormous bulbous head sticking out, plain for the world to see. You had to be blind not to see her.
“This is very bad,” he muttered.
The others came to a stop behind him. Yenay actually shrieked in terror.
“What the last kraken is doing is going to affect us all,” said Bethyl, her voice grave. “That’s if she doesn’t kill us all first.”
The giant tentacle slammed down onto the ground with the force of a thousand punches. The impact threw Tameka into the air like she weighed nothing. When she landed back on the ground she felt every bone in her body quiver.
Sirens and Scales Page 342
