Seascape

by Stephanie Burke

  Elanna was in danger, and it was up to him to save her!

  Chapter Seven

  Not again, Storm frantically thought as he raced to where he was picking up signs of Elanna and her distress. This can’t be happening again!

  He streaked forward, fighting against the waves that suddenly seemed less hospitable, fighting against his own physical limitations that wouldn’t allow him to move swiftly enough, fighting against time.

  Dark thoughts and memories flooded his brain, caused his body to shiver as he undulated through the waters, leaving his queen and the stranger behind.

  He remembered, how he remembered.

  The bright red billows had floated up through the water. The acrid taste of it had filled his mouth and blinded his eyes.

  How far one single drop of blood could taint the water red, blot out the sun, and kill the warmth of the living seas.

  * * * * *

  Keep fighting, Elanna’s mind screamed, but her limbs refused to get the message.

  Slowly, so slowly they jerked, barely fighting at all. And then movement slowed.

  A great weight was pushing against her chest, her mind was starting to grow hazy. What was the use in fighting anyway? It was so much easier to rest.

  Tiny bubbles began to flow from her mouth, her nose, the corners of her eyes. Tiny little bubbles flowed like those in champagne. They flowed upwards, softly, merging to form one celebratory line.

  Why not celebrate? The sea had her wish, had her way. One less human to destroy it, one less person to pollute it.

  Now her dead body would feed the fish, give the creatures life.

  Not a bad exchange, Elanna thought with the last of her functioning mind. Too bad she had to die to be of help, though. She just liked life so much!

  Then she was falling, drifting, slowly sinking downward. Funny, but this felt so familiar! But before, there had been a flash of greenish-blue hair and very light eyes.

  She blinked.

  Oh, there they were.

  * * * * *

  Storm reached Elanna just as her body began a death spiral.

  How did she get out this far? was his second thought. His first was, Oh my God! I can’t live through this again!

  But as he reached her, her eyelids blinked at him. There was still time.

  Clamping his mouth onto hers, he began to pull with all of the strength in his lungs.

  She had no gills or openings to force the water through, so he pulled it from her body, through his, and back out to the sea, returning it to its rightful place.

  Then with one mighty heave, he forced in as much oxygen as her lungs could hold.

  Careful of his sharp teeth, he clamped her mouth tighter, and wrapped his strong arms around her.

  It may not work, but he had to try.

  Then he felt it, the healing powder filling her body. He felt it start to work on her, oxygenating the suffocating cells, turning her pale blood rich and vibrant again. He felt it repairing the damage to her lungs, and nostrils. He prayed it was not too late to protect her brain.

  If those cells were lost, nothing would be able to save her.

  So intent on keeping her alive was he that he never noticed when first Sting and then Amadala appeared at his side.

  “Ish!” the queen shuddered as she saw who Storm held in his arms. “It’s a human!”

  Sting remained quiet, but he observed the other man’s actions.

  The way he had taken off earlier at the first hint of this female’s troubles made him think. What was this woman to him?

  “Storm!” Amadala cried. “Storm! Stop that at once! You have no idea where it has been!”

  Storm paid them both no heed, he just kept breathing into her mouth, praying her eyes would blink, praying he would not have to see another woman he cared for perish!

  “Well, if you won’t stop this foolishness, I will put an end to it!” Amadala growled as she raised her hands in preparation to yank the human female out of her chosen mate’s arms.

  “Stop!” Sting commanded softly.

  His calm words did more to stop Amadala than any yelling would.

  “This is obscene!” she countered, glaring at him with her pink eyes, her long hair flowing gently around her. “My chosen should not be toying with a human female, and a dead one at that!”

  But before any answers could be called out, Elanna began to jerk.

  Yes, Storm thought as he felt life return to her limbs.

  There is somebody kissing me, Elanna thought. And he needs lessons!

  Having her mouth mashed like this was most unpleasant! And what was he trying to do? Make her boobs bigger by blowing them up from her mouth?

  She opened her eyes and immediately the sharp sting of salt water forced them closed again.

  Then she felt the pressure; it was all around her, surrounding her like a blanket. Where was she?

  She lifted her arms and pressed them against cool male flesh, trying to force him away from her, but the arms held her fast.

  What was happening?

  She began to struggle, to fight against the arms holding her, and then she felt the upward movements.

  Water! She was in water! Its liquid warmth flowed from her head to her feet, dragging at her as she was moved towards the surface.

  But what had happened?

  “Follow him!” Amadala ordered Sting, as she took off after Storm.

  Sting followed without argument, because he intended to anyway.

  Storm sighed in pleasure as he felt Elanna come to life in his arms.

  He was not too late! She was alive, and apparently functioning, he decided as he felt her start to struggle.

  He could almost hear her words of complaint as he decided to move her upwards so he could see if she could breathe on her own.

  As they broke the surface, Storm disconnected his mouth from Elanna’s, laughing at the pop that was heard, so tight was the seal.

  He never realized how desperate he was to save her until that moment. And a lot of it had to do with that incident, but mainly it was because he didn’t want to see this human female die.

  Elanna sucked in a deep breath, the sound of her breathing loud and forced as she tried to gulp in air—sweet air!

  She blinked rapidly, trying to get her hands up to wipe at her eyes, but then realized that she was still in a tight clench.

  “Don’t!” a voice said and she looked up into a pair of almost white, glowing eyes.

  “Fish Boy?” she gasped, still blinking rapidly to dispel the sting. “Storm?”

  His name came to her like a bolt out of the blue. He had saved her before! He was not totally human, and he had saved her again.

  Storm threw back his head and began to laugh. His deep boisterous laugh filled the night sky and rose to the heavens! Elanna was alive and already back to her old prickly self! Thank the Creator!

  “Storm,” she began, then was cut off by a bout of coughing, her body ridding itself of the few remaining drops of water. “What happened?”

  “You tell me,” Storm began as he loosened his hold on her, delighting in the feel of the warmth returning to her body and the soft movements of her legs. “I leave you for a few moments and then you decide to go exploring!”

  “I…” she began as she closed her eyes to think. “I remember a party? No! Bright lights?”

  She broke off again as she coughed up more water, then continued.

  “The stars were dancing, Storm! It was so beautiful!”

  Storm’s eye’s narrowed in suspicion.

  “Elanna, did you open my pack?”

  Elanna’s eyebrows crinkled in confusion as she tried to recapture the memory.

  “I think I opened a bag, a small bag.”

  “Oh hell!” Storm groaned. “You can never trust a human!”

  “What?” Elanna shrieked. “What do you mean, trust a human? You were the one who left the stuff with me in the first place!”

  “I was the one who gave you spec
ific instruction not to touch my pack!” he returned. “Or are you a child that cannot obey simple orders?”

  Elanna flushed brightly! It was kind of her responsibility not to go into the pack and to open a substance of unknown origin without proper training. But damn it! She was human! She made mistakes!

  “Silence on the defensive front?” Storm added when he saw the look on her face.

  “I should have not opened the pack,” she finally agreed, glowering at him.

  “And I have saved you twice now, is that correct?”

  “Yes,” she sighed, wondering where he was going with this line of reasoning.

  “Then you have to help me out, sort of like a trade off?” he asked, slyly.

  Looks like he found a woman after all!

  “Yeah,” she agreed. “I’ll help you. But I have no idea how I can be of service,” she pouted, poking out her lower lip.

  She hated being beholden to anyone, especially half-human fish boys with deadly powders in their packs.

  “Great!” Storm crowed, just as the surface exploded in movement and a pink head popped up right beside her!

  “What is going on here?” the woman demanded, her pink eyes glowing softly in the night sky. She glared at the human who was wrapped all around her safety net. How dare that…that…female put her arms around her way out?

  A second head emerged quietly on her left side, a black eye and inky hair flowing around it, stared intently at her.

  She coughed nervously.

  Slowly, the man emerged, his size rivaling Storm! He too was all muscle and long hair, but he was frankly more intimidating than her Fish Boy! He had to be, uh, Fish Man?

  Her head swiveled from Storm to the dark stranger, and she finally decided on Fish Boy the Second. He had to prove himself to be a man, and the only finned person to even start doing that was Storm.

  Instinctively, she gripped Storm tighter, looking for protection from the familiar source. He hadn’t let her down yet!

  “Queen Amadala,” Storm began formally. “I present to you my chosen mate.”

  “Mate?” Amadala screamed.

  “Mate?” Elanna said, before a quick squeeze cleared the confusion off of her face. “Oh, yeah! Mate! That’s me! I’m the mate!” She smiled sickly at the woman’s outraged face.

  “This is impossible!” the queen cried out, her face turning crimson in her rage. “You’re not even the same species!”

  “You know what that means?” Storm said, laughter in his voice as he hugged Elanna tighter, one palm forcing her head into his neck, a cozy pose that gave them the look of intimacy.

  Elanna, not wanting to struggle and make a scene, coughed once, then tucked her face deeper into his neck, noting that he smelled like the sea. Besides, it seemed safer to put as many vulnerable points of her body in protective custody, away from those pink slashing eyes.

  “Yeah, we are getting mated.” A deep voice said to her left, causing all parties to jump in surprise, all but Storm, anyway.

  The dark-haired man had spoken yet there was a gleam of triumph on his otherwise calm face.

  “No!” wailed Amadala, just before the dark one moved faster then a blink, and had his arms around her, like a set of manacles chaining her to a rock!

  “Yes,” he breathed, a sentiment strangely echoed by Storm as he buried his face in Elanna’s hair, trying in vain to stop a chuckle. “Free again!”

  Chapter Eight

  “As fun as this whole day has been,” Storm sighed with oh, so sincere regret, “I feel it is time that my future mate and I take our leave.”

  “Not so fast!” Amadala snarled, turning bright pink eyes on her so-called right hand.

  “Very fast,” Storm interrupted. “So fast, in fact, your fins will spin! My female has just been injured and I must see to her needs!”

  “She looks fine to me!” Amadala screeched as Sting held her closer, his one black eye glinting with delight as he adjusted his patch over the other.

  “Looks can be deceiving,” Storm replied dramatically as he pulled Elanna closer to his body, noting the actual shiver in her arms and the slightly dazed look in her eyes.

  Whatever she had gotten into was leaving her body, but it was taking its own sweet time about it. She was still being affected.

  “Exactly,” Sting suddenly piped in, rather helpfully. “Appearances are deceiving, and I am sure the queen believes what you are saying about the human.”

  “Exactly!” Storm said, nodding his agreement.

  “That is why we will have your mating ceremony tomorrow so that the queen can no longer deny what is before her.”

  He glared at his reluctant mate, but the amusement in her face seemed to say check and mate!

  “Right! Tomorrow! First thing… Tomorrow?”

  Was this guy trying to help or harm?

  “Tomorrow!” Sting insisted. “Then my mating will take place and everyone will be happy.”

  “Tomorrow?” Elanna mumbled, still a bit confused as to what was taking place.

  She suddenly felt pounds heavier, even though she was being supported by the buoyant water and Storm’s strong arms. This was all a bit too much! Her mind wanted to shut down, but common sense told her to stay awake and find out what was going on!

  “Tomorrow!” Sting insisted. “I’m sure the council will approve.”

  “Approve? Of all the stupidity!” Amadala snarled, turning her piercing anger towards Elanna, who was still trying to stay up to speed.

  “Tomorrow?” she mumbled again. Tomorrow suddenly seemed very important! Wake up, she mentally yelled at her brain. We need to follow this!

  “Why stupidity?” Storm asked, his voice suddenly deep and angered.

  “Because she is human!” Amadala pointed out, as if that one obvious fact escaped everyone.

  “She is also my choice!” Storm snarled. “The council once deprived me of my choice, only to face disastrous consequences.”

  As he spoke, the formerly calm seas began to stir and churn. Sudden fat waves crashed against them, lifting them and lowering them in such a way that both Sting and Amadala had to make an effort to stay afloat.

  For once, Amadala’s pink eyes showed a hint of fear and she instinctively reached for Sting.

  “I don’t think that this is the time…” she began, but was cut off.

  “Then what is a good time, Amadala? When shall we discuss what the council has cost me, what I have lost, and what I willingly gave up, but can just as easily take away again?”

  Elanna tightened her grip on Storm, the rocking waves turning her stomach, and tried to latch onto what he was saying. Who had taken something from him? It was getting harder and harder to concentrate.

  “I don’t think…” Amadala began again, partially using Sting as a shield, but again Storm ignored her.

  “That is the problem with you royals,” he snarled. “You never think!”

  Lightning crashed and thunder boomed in the clear skies as he gave vent to his frustrations.

  There was a lot running through Storm’s head right now. The pressure Amadala applied to him, her attempt at manipulation, his manipulation of the situation, and foremost, the near loss of Elanna.

  He would not lose another one!

  The council would not interfere in his life again!

  The reason he stepped down from his position was because…

  “Storm? I don’t feel so well.”

  It was Elanna’s calm voice that snapped his attention from the pit of rage where his mind had been sinking.

  She sounded so weak and lost, so unlike the woman who he had sparred with all day.

  He turned to look at her, noting the pale skin and the dazed eyes.

  “I have to get you to safety,” he said, once again sounding like a doctor, calm and levelheaded.

  As the sudden fury that engulfed them just as quickly disappeared, Amadala took a deep breath and noticed who she was clinging to.

  “Ugh!” she groaned as she
quickly released Sting’s arm and looked around to see if anyone saw the breach.

  She had no idea why she had clung to the dark-haired man while fear made her blood thick, but she had. And looking at him, she saw he had noticed as well.

  “What do you need?” Sting suddenly asked, turning away from his pink-haired minx to watch the Merman pull his fury within and focus on his mate. “How can I help?”

  “I need to take her below,” he said finally, tearing his eyes away from the small figure Elanna made huddled against him. “I need to find out what she inhaled and I can’t do that here.”

  “How?” Sting asked, still keeping his distance from the man.

  He had no idea what went on between Storm and the council, but he felt the man’s sincerity when it came to the human. His brief flash of temper had shaken the seas, and Sting wondered if, like him, Storm was a Child of Triton.

  “I’ll breathe for her, but I need my pouch from the beach.” He nodded his head in the direction of the small island where he had left Elanna earlier.

  “I can get it,” Sting said and took off towards the shore.

  “How can he grab it when he can’t go on land?” Amadala asked as she watched Sting take off, her fear of Storm forgotten as he suddenly took on his old personality. “I’d better go and see what that man is up to.”

  What he was capable of was more like it. If Sting possessed half of the powers that Storm suspected, he would be a very dangerous man, indeed.

  And her scrutiny was in no way because his muscular frame easily cut through water, the inky dark hair sensuously moving around his body, or the thickness of his tail fin! She was reconnoitering the enemy! Yes, she was just seeing what she was up against. Well, at least that’s what she told herself.

  Storm looked down at Elanna, noticed her watching him, and tried to smile.

  “Elanna, I am taking you home with me,” he said finally, moving her around so she faced him.

  “You live under the sea!” she sang softly, losing her train of thought. “Under the sea! Where the…. Where the…. I forget the words.”

  “Elanna!” Storm sighed. She was kind of cute as she looked up at him with big innocent eyes. This was not the same woman who had christened him Fish Boy, but this side was fun to watch, too.