The Merman King

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Bridget’s eyes widened as all eyes turned to her. “Uh, yes, we have reason to believe that ingesting seaweed—”

  “It works,” Olivette stated loudly. “I saw the king breathe the surface air and live. As you may have felt, the dome is caving in, but you have survived the ending of a world before and you can do it again. Follow your king as he leads you back to the surface.”

  Murmurings of doubt and fear sounded.

  Lucius nodded at her in thanks. “Listen to my wife—your queen.”

  The tremors started again. Screams filled the halls. Olivette barely registered the fact that he’d made the announcement that officially married them. This was hardly the wedding of a girl’s dreams.

  “Get to the surfacing area,” Lucius ordered. “Everyone to the ocean. Stay with the hunters.”

  Lucius waved Brutus to his side. “Put hunters in the ocean. Swim them in groups away from the dome. Try to keep them calm. We’ll have to feed them the seaweed in the water. This is a full-scale evacuation.”

  Lucius turned toward her and held her hands. “I need you to go to Crystal Cave and help keep people calm as they go into the ocean. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Lucius…” She began to shake her head in denial and stopped. She didn’t want to leave him. Not now. “I love you.”

  “And I you.”

  “Be safe,” she whispered.

  He leaned over and kissed her. “This is not our end. We’ll find a way.”

  She hoped he was right.

  Olivette nodded and went to do as he asked. She hurried through the hall, stopping beside Bridget to ask, “Will you and the boys come with me to the surfacing area? I need your help.”

  Children were too important to her husband and these people. They needed to be as close to safety as possible, even if that safety was the cold darkness of the abyss.

  Though it must have been hours and nearly a thousand people that they’d helped into the water, it felt like mere seconds. Some were calm. Others cried. Still others tried to refuse. Many had not been in the water for hundreds of years. In the end, they all ended up in the water.

  The dome continued to shift and move. Olivette turned to Bridget. Her sons were already in the water with their father. “It’s time. You should go in the water with your family. You can answer everyone’s questions from out there.”

  “What about you?” Bridget asked.

  Olivette waved a woman into the cave. She carried a giant bundle in her arms. “This way. Ladies Lyra and Victoria will be waiting to guide you on the other side. Follow the tail in front of you and stay with the group. Everything will be all right. The king has a plan.”

  Bridget grabbed her arm and insisted, “What about you?”

  She looked at the door, hoping as she did each time that the next person to come through would be her husband. “I can’t leave yet.”

  Cassandra joined them. “That’s almost everyone from the palace. The hunters are searching for stragglers.”

  “You should go with Bridget into the water. See if Lyra and Victoria need help,” Olivette said.

  “Where are we going to take all of them?” Cassandra asked. “Do we think the surface world is ready for an invasion of merfolk?”

  “Lyra knows of a few places. She said her father and brothers would help relocate us. I have friends along the Washington coastline,” Bridget said. “We might have to split up the population, but we’ll think of something.”

  “There are several islands in the Caribbean that have no population,” Cassandra suggested.

  A man and two women entered the caves.

  “We’ll figure it out,” Olivette said. To the newcomers, she gestured to the water. “Follow Ladies Bridget and Cassandra. They’ll show you where to go.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lucius felt the emptiness of the dome as he looked up at the falling sky. Water poured in like a waterfall to fill the valley below. It swallowed the town, flooding the streets and the houses, erasing centuries in a few short seconds. Part of his heart broke in that moment as he watched the end of the world for the second time in his long life. He listened to make sure he could hear none of his people still trapped within.

  “Lucius!”

  He turned at the panicked sound of Olivette’s voice. She ran out of the front gates of the palace toward him.

  “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in the surfacing area?” he demanded.

  Her eyes rounded as she took in the sight of the dying world. “Wow. That’s… This is really happening.”

  He kissed her and held her close. The anxious thud of her heart beat hard against his chest. He felt her fear and how hard she was trying to hide it.

  “We are the only two left,” he said. “Hrafn and Cain led people out through those tunnels we found in the countryside.”

  A loud crack sounded as the dome broke apart. Pieces of the shell dropped in a rush of water. A wave flowed forward from the town, lapping up at them from the palace gates.

  “It’s time.” Lucius grabbed her arm and ran with her through the palace. The walls cracked around them, stones falling as the dome shifted under the new pressure of the ocean flood.

  They ran toward the surfacing area. The ceiling cracked, falling in chunks to block the entrance to the Crystal Caves.

  “How are we going to get out?” Olivette asked. She’d somehow managed to stay calm until that moment. She ran toward the rocks and tried to pull them. Lucius managed to slide one, but the entrance was too blocked.

  ‘My king?’ Demon’s voice called from within the water.

  ‘The way is blocked. We’ll meet you on the other side,’ he answered. ‘You have my wishes if I don’t make it.’

  “What did they say?” Olivette demanded. “I know that mind link look you get.”

  “We have to go out the other way,” he said.

  “What other way?”

  He looked up.

  “Shit,” she whispered. “I’m scared, Lucius. I don’t want to drown.”

  “I won’t leave your side. I promise. Just hold on to me.” He hated her fear but knew he had to get her to safety. He ran with her back out of the palace. The water had risen to the gates.

  “Don’t let go,” she begged as he took her to the water’s edge.

  “Don’t try to resist. Gulp as much water as you can into your lungs. It will be over soon.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

  Before she could pull away, he leapt backward, diving with her in his arms into the cold ocean water flooding his world. The currents carried him and he transformed. He swam with all his might while trying to hold on to his wife. She thrashed in his arms as he expected she would. Her eyes met his and he saw she held her breath.

  ‘I love you,’ he told her, hoping she’d hear.

  Olivette’s lips parted to release bubbles. She closed her eyes tight and breathed in.

  As the water filled her lungs, she squirmed anew.

  He wished he could take her pain, but all he could do was hold on tight as he swam them through the street. The current pushed them toward the mermaid statue before he was able to propel them upward to the top of the dome. Fish passed him, carried by the water. He dodged a squid on its way down.

  Olivette stilled in his arms. He fought with all his might against the rush of water as it tried to toss him back and forth.

  Suddenly, he felt the flicker of a tail against his.

  His wife’s eyes met his once more, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as she helped push them up with her tail. Lucius swept his arms for greater control. Together they made it to the top of the dome. His hand touched glass as the currents churned beneath them. He pulled them toward the crack and held on. He waited a few moments as the burning in his muscles subsided.

  Olivette reached up, and they pulled their bodies out of Atlantes.

  The water vibrated with the fear of his people. Lucius followed the sensation, pulling his wife behind him. />
  ‘Stop,’ Olivette said, her voice faint.

  He obeyed, turning to see her. ‘What is it?’

  She pointed behind them. The dome’s light was fading into darkness.

  ‘We have to join the others,’ he said. ‘We’ll be safer in numbers.’

  ‘I hear them,’ she said. ‘So many voices.’

  ‘And they hear you,’ he warned. ‘Until you learn to control it.’

  ‘I love you, Lucius. Forever.’ She squeezed his hand.

  As they swam to join the others and lead his people up toward the surface, he didn’t let go of her once. He was proud to have her by his side, his queen.

  The hunters were already passing out seaweed rations and ordering more picked. Demon and Brutus hurried toward them as the news of their survival rang throughout the abyss.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  Two years later…

  Olivette sat on the shore watching the water for signs of her husband. The choppy water didn’t worry her as it hit the beach. He led the others on an expedition for the special seaweed they needed to keep in their diet, like a multivitamin to be taken once a month to stop from feeling sick in the surface world. It was found in deep ocean, but they hoped to farm it closer to home.

  Life was much different here than in Florida, but it felt safer for the Merr people as they settled into isolation. Not everyone stayed with the group. There were those who’d wandered off to different parts of the globe, some as far north as Nova Scotia and the coasts of Scotland. Others chose to settle uninhabited islands in the Caribbean. Most stayed near Olivette and her husband along the rocky Washington coast.

  The ocean called to her like a siren’s song, urging her to dive beneath the waves. She resisted with relative ease. The pull to swim was especially strong during the full moon. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. He should be home soon. She felt him nearing the shore.

  ‘Is it safe?’

  She smiled, hearing Lucius in her head.

  ‘Yes, my love,’ she answered. ‘I walked the coastline. No surprises.’

  Moments later she saw a man surface, then another, and another, until nearly twenty Merr appeared from beneath the waves. They navigated the shallow waters onto the rocky shoreline, crawling with their hands. Dark mesh bags hung over their backs, filled with the precious seaweed. The bright colors of their many tails decorated the brown rocks for a few moments before fins disappeared and scales turned to flesh. Several of the naked men nodded in her direction as she stood and carried two large beach bags toward them. She set them on the ground and began handing out towels. The mermen thanked her before moving to disappear into the trees, heading home.

  “Thank you, my queen.” Brutus winked as he took the towel. “Any word from my brothers about the hunt?”

  “Two more scylla have been brought out of the waters and they went back to track a third,” she said. “They’re being rehabilitated near the old lighthouse. Bridget said they’re growing stronger and showing no signs of translucence. Victoria is there helping out.”

  Brutus grinned, wiping his face with the towel. The black scales near his eyes disappeared. “These are truly blessed times.”

  “Tell your wife and brothers that we will have dinner at our house on Sunday,” Olivette insisted, as he continued up the shore. “Lyra’s brothers are visiting, and she wishes for us all to make them welcome. Iason and Cassandra are also swimming up from the Caribbean next week, too, to let us know how the settlement there is doing.”

  “Aye, my queen.” Brutus lifted his hand in an acknowledgment without turning around. “We’ll be there.”

  As always, Lucius was the last out of the water. He liked to make sure everyone made it home safely. She reached into the bag and took the last towel. She carried it toward him, careful not to step in the saltwater. He crawled on his hands up the rocky shore before turning around and brushing the water from his tail with his fingers. The sunlight glistened on his beautiful scales, highlighting the threads of pearl within. The transformation from Merr to human still fascinated her, even after two years.

  “Welcome back, my love,” she said, as he stood.

  Instead of taking the towel, he wrapped his arms around her and dried his body by pressing against her. He kissed her softly. “You look beautiful.”

  Olivette giggled, not caring that he got her wet. Her legs tingled at the dampness but she didn’t shift. “How was your swim?”

  “I’m more concerned about you.” His smile dropped. “What happened? I felt something while I was away.”

  Olivette pulled out of his arms so he could dry off properly and went back to the beach bags. She reached inside to pull out a printout she’d made from an online paper. She handed it to her husband. “They’ve arrested him.”

  “Him?” Lucius frowned as he looked at Tanner Tapert’s picture. The blue scales around his eyes had not fully disappeared, and they darkened in his aggravation. The former senator’s aide wore handcuffs as he was being led through a line of reporters. Lucius stiffened, instantly growing angry. “Oh. Him.”

  “Those anonymous letters I wrote apparently sparked an investigation. They have quotes from some of the women on the boat about how he was manhandling them the night I was thrown over. Others came forward, and now at least a dozen rape victims are speaking out. They’ve taken his passport so he can’t leave the country as he awaits trial.”

  “This is a good thing. Why are you upset?” He dropped the news article in the bag and pulled her into his arms. The sound of water crashing on rocks surrounded them as she thought about it.

  Finally, she said, “I feel like I should have done more. There are so many women who have been hurt by him.”

  “Oh, my darling queen, you have done much. You drew their attention to him and made them look into his actions. And you protected the thousands of your Merr subjects by not exposing yourself to surface scrutiny. You found us this place and helped us settle. The surface has changed so much. Had we been left on our own, we would not have survived. Cameras and internet? How could we have imagined such a thing? We would have been exposed the first week.” He kissed her forehead. “You said it yourself. If you came forward and claimed he threw you overboard in the middle of the ocean with no proof of it happening, no proof of rescue, no evidence, and the fact you were still alive, no one would believe you. They had to find the facts for themselves, and they have. He has been exposed for the monster he is.”

  “I know you’re right. I should be content with the fact that justice is being done.” She picked up the empty beach bags and hooked her arm through his. She led him up the shore toward the dirt path that would take them home. “I think I just needed to hear you say it. I’m too much in my own head when you’re gone. I hate not being able to hear you in my thoughts.”

  ‘I am always within you, my love, even if you cannot hear me,’ Lucius’ voice whispered in her mind.

  ‘I love you, my king, come what may, I will always love you,’ she answered.

  Lucius grinned and swept her into his arms. The towel slipped from his waist and fell onto the dirt path. He didn’t bother to pick it up as he carried his wife home.

  The End

  Thank you, readers, for your love and support of the Merr. As they transition to the surface world, King Lucius has requested that if you happen to be looking out at the ocean and see something not fully human, please do not take pictures. They mean you no harm.

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  About the Author

  New York Times & USA TODAY

  Bestselling Author

  Michelle loves to travel and try new things, whether it's a paranormal investigation of an old Vaudeville Theatre or climbing Mayan temples in Belize. She's addicted to movies and used to drive her mother crazy while quoting random scenes with her brot
her. Though it has yet to happen, her dream is to be a zombie in a horror movie. For the most part she can be found writing in her office with a cup of coffee while wearing pajama pants.

  She loves to hear from readers. They can contact her through her website.

  www.michellepillow.com

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