To Kill the Dead (Hollowcliff Detectives Book 3)

by C. S. Wilde

  Dashing back into the living room, Bast’s brother took her in his arms, lifting her as easily as if she were made of paper. “Hold on, Detective.”

  Had this been Mother’s true plan? To expose Mera to the ones she loved? To let the government she defended put a bullet in her head?

  Using Bast to deliver the curse had been particularly cruel. Mother’s masterpiece, truly. The bitch wanted Mera to suffer before passing away. For her to die in shame, as a traitor to the country she served.

  In Mera’s book, there was no worse way to go. Mother knew her so well. If she could breathe, she would have laughed at the irony.

  A bathtub half-filled with water waited inside the bathroom. Dark wood coated the walls and floor, and a single mirror stood above the sink. The basin rested atop a small vanity, and a wooden stool stood next to the door.

  Rushing forward, Corvus placed Mera in the bathtub, making a small splash. But the water was too shallow and couldn’t reach the gills in her neck.

  Her skin, however, could filter the liquid into something she could breathe. It didn’t work with the same efficiency as her gills, but it was a secondary respiratory system—a biological plan B.

  Problem: with the clothes clinging to Mera’s skin, it felt like trying to breathe through a plastic bag.

  Hurrying, she removed her jacket and shirt, then her pants. Thank heavens she was wearing a black bra and panties, but the indignity of it didn’t pass unnoticed.

  ‘Better than suffocating to death,’ her siren countered.

  Very true.

  The moment her skin touched the water without a layer of clothes in between, Mera’s lungs stopped burning and her gills stopped aching.

  Slowly, she regained her bearings.

  Turning to a flabbergasted Stella, she opened her mouth. No sound came out; not because Mera couldn’t speak, but because she didn’t know what to say.

  “Why did you remove your clothes?” Stella asked. “Oh, it’s your skin, isn’t it? It works the same way as a frog’s! It can filter the water.”

  Mera nodded, waiting for realization to hit Bast’s sister.

  “Outstanding! Wait.” Excitement vanished from Stella’s features. “How did you know you could breathe through your skin?”

  Mera didn’t need to reply. Stella had already figured it out. Stepping back, she shook her head. “No way. No.”

  Mera tried to reach out to her, but she was stuck in the damn tub. “It’s not what it looks like.”

  “It was a revealing curse, wasn’t it?” Stella mumbled. “It turned you into your true self. It was always meant for you, not Bast.”

  “I’m still the same person.”

  “No, you’re not. You are dangerous.” Horror contorted Stella’s expression. “You could have blown us to pieces any time you wanted. Gods, you could have killed Bast!”

  “But she didn’t,” Corvus pointed out the obvious.

  “I would never hurt any of you, especially Bast. I would give my life for him. He’s my hart.”

  “Oh, you finally recognized your bond!” The Night King clapped loudly. “Took you long enough.”

  Stella snapped her head toward him. “You knew about this?”

  “About their bond or that she’s an akritana?”

  “Both!”

  “Sebastian lost all common sense when it came to her. They are connected by a golden string, that much was obvious.”

  Stella cocked her head to the right, seeming to agree.

  “As for her watery origins, they were revealed to me strictly by necessity. Her dead mother tried to kill us, you see.” He shot Mera a glance filled with sorrow. “With one of us, she succeeded.”

  Stella’s jaw hung open. “Your dead mom put the curse on Bast?”

  Mera nodded, her throat squeezing as she fought back tears. Once the water rose to her chest, she turned off the faucet. “She gave birth to me, but she wasn’t my mom.”

  Ruth…

  If she were there, she would know what to do, what to say. She would know how to get them out of this mess.

  “You put Bast in danger. You were supposed to take care of him.” Stella spun around, slamming both hands on her head. “Simply being aware of your situation could doom him. All of us, too! I need a second.” She stormed out of the room.

  “Stella!” Mera cried. “I’m sorry.”

  “One second!” she barked from the living room. “Fudgenuts!”

  Oh, she was mad. Mera had never heard Stella curse in English. Sure, fudgenuts didn’t exactly count, but knowing Bast’s sister…

  Yeah. She was pissed.

  “Corvus, won’t you go after her?”

  “You believe talking to her mother’s murderer will help?”

  He had a point.

  Pipe water tasted like metal and stale mud. Nothing compared to the crisp freshness of the ocean. The disgusting taste spread through her siren’s body, but at least Mera could breathe.

  “I assume the undead queen was a Wavestorm?” Corvus asked quietly as he dragged the stool on the far left closer to her. Sitting on it, he crossed his legs before pointing to her russet curls. “According to the books, the Royal House of Atlantea has hair the color of blood. Which makes you a princess, doesn’t it, Detective?”

  “Banished princess,” she corrected.

  “Ah!” A certain glee sparkled in his yellow irises. “A banished princess, like Bast used to be. Ironic, don’t you think?”

  “You’re saying he was once a banished princess?”

  Corvus pointed his index finger at her, a witty grin creasing his lips. “Who knew you had humor in you, akritana?”

  “Thank you.” Mera tapped the edge of the tub. “For your help, that is.”

  “Don’t. I did it for my brother. He would kill me if I let anything happen to you—not that you needed any help.” He leaned forward, like he was about to tell her a secret. “The rest of the nation, however, will not be so kind. The country fears your people, and fear is far more dangerous than hate. Do you understand?”

  She absolutely did.

  Leaning back, his forehead wrinkled as he studied her legs. “I always wondered why you lot never developed fish tails.”

  “Why would we need them? We waterbreak.”

  “Mera!” Bast’s voice boomed from the living room.

  “You’re too weak,” Stella urged, but his heavy, uneasy steps thudded on the wooden floor anyway.

  “Where is she?”

  “In the bath-roooom,” Corvus crooned.

  Bast rushed into the space, his good eye widened—his left one was closed thanks to the swollen purple bruise under his eyebrow. His fingers dug into the doorframe to stop him from falling.

  He was so weak…

  Without meaning to, Mera burst into tears. Happy tears, because her hart might be wounded, but he was there, awake and safe.

  Completely ignoring Corvus, Bast rushed toward her, kneeling by the tub.

  “Kitten,” he cupped her cheeks, sorrow beaming from his blue eye. “This is what the queen wanted.”

  “Yeah.” She laid a hand over his, rejoicing in his touch. “I’m lucky we came here and not a hospital. If we had, I’d be dead by now.”

  Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead against hers. “I know how we can remove the curse. The queen wore a strange locket around her neck. It’s where she contained the magic before releasing it on me.”

  Shit.

  The locket was back at the beach, near Mother’s chopped head.

  Mera shook, dreading the return. She couldn’t go back. Couldn’t face the red splatter on the sand which marked the spot where Ruth…

  Noticing her distress, Bast turned to Corvus, silently asking for an explanation.

  “The Captain fought bravely, but lost her life to the queen’s macabre.”

  “Halle fuchst ach.” Bast’s face contorted in grief, his eyebrows knitting together. “I’m so very sorry, kitten.”

  “It’s okay,” she assured
, even though nothing was okay.

  “The queen caught me by surprise. An undead shouldn’t be able to use magic.” He gritted his teeth. “I’ll be prepared next time, that’s a promise. I will get that locket.”

  “She certainly won’t put up a fight,” Corvus sneered. “The detective hacked her into pieces. Her akritana powers are truly remarkable.”

  Bast’s eye widened. “Did anyone else see Mera using water magic?”

  “It was a remote part of the beach with no bystanders. We were quite lucky.”

  Mera half-listened to what they said. Dipping her chin, she caught a glimpse of her face on the water’s surface.

  She’d never seen herself as a grown waterbreaker.

  Her reflection glared back at her with beady green eyes, a nose smaller than Mera had grown accustomed to, and thin, nearly non-existent lips. Her russet hair looked the same, if not fuller, as if minuscule red scales coated each thread. The green fins rising from her earlobes poked out through her red mane.

  She resembled Ariella Wavestorm so much, it hurt.

  “I’m a monster.”

  In every single way.

  Bast lifted her chin, drawing her attention to him. “So am I.”

  His eye became pitch black, and his fangs sharpened. Large, draconian wings without any scales flashed into existence next, their silver surface smooth like dolphin’s skin. They spread as much as the small bathroom allowed them to, towering over her.

  “There. As we truly are.”

  Mera watched the male before her, her creature of night and stars. How she loved him... Propelling the water, she rose slightly, enough to plant a kiss on his lips.

  “Min hart,” she whispered.

  A throat cleared from the doorway and Bast’s wings disappeared into thin air, his eye turning back to normal.

  “Enough, lovebirds. We’re not out of the woods yet,” Stella remarked as she entered the space. “I’m sorry I stormed out, Mera. It was a lot to process. I know you’re a good detective and that you’d never hurt Bast.” Shuffling her left foot in a circle, she studied the floor. “I’m proud to call you my friend. It’s just that… Gods! You’re a siren, for crying out loud.”

  Mera motioned to her own body. “Yeah. I kind of noticed.”

  Chuckling, Stella shook her head. “Let’s get you back to your human shape, but first…” Approaching Bast, she gently touched his face.

  A sapphire gleam spread from her hands, and within moments his purple eye deflated. The bruises across his body vanished completely.

  Bast patted his chest, then touched his face. “Since when can you do that so quickly? It usually took you half a day.”

  “I’ve been practicing.”

  Standing up, he trapped his sister in a tight hug, his fingers digging onto her flesh. “Thanks sis, but mostly, thank you for keeping Mera’s secret.”

  “Of course I’m keeping it, you baku!” She slapped the side of his head. “She doesn’t deserve to be hunted down and killed. Mera might be a siren, but she’s also one of the best officers out there. She catches the bad guys, and that should count for something.”

  “Yet, it won’t,” Corvus added. Before Bast could ask, he raised his palm. “I won’t say a thing, even to Ben. Snitching on the detective would be dishonorable. Besides, I like having you both at my mercy.”

  Ah, there he was, the cunning Night King Mera knew.

  “Let’s go.” Bast stepped closer to his brother, then turned to Mera. “We’ll be back soon.”

  “I’m coming too,” she insisted.

  “No, you’re not. We were lucky the beach was empty during the fight. If you come back and someone sees you—”

  “High tide was rising when we left, so the necklace could be underwater. With Azinor still out there, I can’t risk any of you going for a swim.” She got to her feet, the water running down her pearly skin, as she pointed at Corvus. “I don’t have long before I start suffocating, so winnow us there as fast as you can.”

  Chapter 30

  The moment they blinked onto the beach Mera bolted toward the water, ignoring the red radius splattered on the sand near the drift lines—where Ruth had taken her last breath.

  Diving through the waves, she didn’t stop until crisp saltwater surrounded her. Her belly nearly scraped the sandy bottom from the shallows, but as long as she kept fully immersed it didn’t matter.

  Her gills gulfed the liquid around her madly, as though Mera had spent the last fifteen years incredibly thirsty.

  There, beneath the waves, she was free and endless.

  How she’d missed the seawater coursing through her body, the currents calling for her… But she was there for a reason and that reason was not waterbreaking. Rising to the surface, she found Bast standing further back, the waves lapping lazily past his waist. His long hair matched the color of the moon, his blue eyes trapped on her.

  Standing up, she approached him, unable to contain her giddy joy. “It’s been such a long time! I’d forgotten how wonderful it feels.”

  “Seeing you happy is always a delight, kitten.” He admired her with a soft smile before planting a kiss on her lips.

  Mera returned the kiss, relishing in the softness of his mouth against hers, until she glanced at the shore, where Corvus stood on watch.

  Not far from him, the spot where Mera had killed Mother stood completely bare. Every piece of Ariella’s body was gone.

  Detaching from Bast and turning toward the open ocean ahead, she swallowed dry. “Get out of the water.”

  “I prefer waiting for you here.” He crossed his arms. “Don’t worry. I won’t be caught by surprise again.”

  Maybe he was right. Maybe she was overreacting.

  Closing her eyes, Mera focused.

  Slowly, the ocean revealed itself to her. A school of fish swam on the far left, algae danced to the rhythm of the tides deeper ahead, and turtles crossed the currents from a mile away. They were all stamped in her essence, for Mera was the ocean and the ocean was Mera.

  Crabs strolled lazily off-shore, their pinched legs ticking against the sandy ocean floor, next to an egg-shaped form surrounded by body parts. Mother’s arms, legs, hands, all neatly stacked onto the sand, forming a circle.

  Turning to Bast, tears prickled her eyes. An irrational fear took over, not of death or Azinor, but the panic of possibly never seeing him again.

  Mera’s hand moved in a swift circle, and waves rushed toward Bast so quickly that he couldn’t fight back.

  He’d been expecting an attack from an enemy, not her.

  “Mera!” Planting his feet on the sand, he fought her magic, but they were in the ocean and the water was her element. “Fuchst ach!” he bellowed as the waves surged upon him, finally knocking him over and taking him away.

  Mera’s water magic rushed furiously around Bast while the waves dragged him toward the sand. Thankfully, he wasn’t strong enough to winnow just yet.

  “Keep him safe!” she shouted to Corvus before going under.

  Waterbreaking for the first time in years, Mera dashed into the vast blue. Her lungs burned as water filled them completely, but only a little. She hadn’t been using them anyway.

  It took her a few minutes to reach the spot with the circle built out of the late queen’s parts. The silver locket lay right in the middle, half-buried in the sand.

  A trap, obviously, or an offering. Although she doubted Azinor was the giving type.

  “Show yourself, dickface,” she snarled at the endless sea.

  Only silence replied. Tides ruffled her hair, fish swam at a distance and miles ahead, whales crossed lazily through the currents.

  Well, she had to take the bait. Swimming down, Mera quickly snatched up the locket before leaving the eerie circle.

  The ocean was dark, but a waterbreaker’s vision adapted quickly. Aligned with her naturally built sonar, Mera could see as clearly as day. She would certainly sense if someone approached from a mile away.

  Yes, she migh
t seem utterly alone, but the tides couldn’t have stacked Mother’s remains so neatly on their own.

  “Why did you bring her back?” she shouted to the vast penumbra ahead.

  The locket’s metal felt awfully cold in her palm and Mera shivered, but not because of the cursed object reverberating in her bones.

  Azinor was out there, watching.

  Looking down, she found Mother’s upper chest on one side of the circle, nearly opposite to her disfigured head. Next to it, a bony, motionless hand clawed at the sand.

  The queen’s body had been turned into a puzzle, as if somehow, Mera was supposed to put the bitch back together.

  Ariella didn’t move, didn’t blink. No magic wafted from her. She was definitely dead, and a certain relief washed through Mera.

  At least that.

  “I raised your mother because I wanted to,” a deep tone called from the ocean ahead.

  A male appeared out of thin water, floating close to the other end of the circle, keeping himself not too far, but not too near. His emerald irises shone brightly, almost as if he were a cat in the night.

  The dickface had masked his presence with his magic, a skill few waterbreakers possessed. Mera certainly hadn’t mastered it.

  At first sight, he resembled a human male with no hair on his head. His strong, corded muscles stretched across his body. He didn’t have fins on his ears or gills on his neck. Nothing about him denoted he might be a child of the sea.

  Dark inscriptions similar to the ones decorating the locket ran across his flesh, covering his entire trunk, chest, and arms, only to stop slightly above his collarbone. The male wore pants that clung to his skin; the same thin, stretchy fabric her people used for their bodysuits. His feet were bare, and his skin had an intense grayish hue that wasn’t normal for either waterbreaker or human.

  “The queen is precious to you,” Mera stated, her entire body tense. “That’s why you’re keeping her.”

  Smiling through impeccably white teeth, a certain pride beamed from him. “You are also precious to me, in a way.”

  Yeah, right.

  The squared lines of his features, together with his piercing gaze, made him somewhat beautiful, the same way one would find a tiger beautiful before it lunged at one’s neck.