Siren’s Desire: A Dark Tides Novel

by Devyn Quinn

  In a lot of ways he considered the sea to be female—capricious, beautiful, and deadly. On the calmest of days, she could be welcoming and warm. At other times she could be a storm-tossed tempest, thrashing with anger as she threw angry waves around. It didn’t come as any surprise that mermaids were a female-centric race. The feminine mystique seemed best represented by the sea.

  Although she really didn’t need to go through the pretense, Addison, too, donned a wet suit. The form-fitting neoprene clung to every curve, exposing her terrific figure.

  Every crew member who wasn’t tied up with other duties had gathered on the diver’s deck to observe. Although most of the action would be taking place underwater, no one wanted to miss a thing.

  Mason had already taken a few catcalls from the other divers about the hardship of volunteering to be kissed underwater by a pretty woman. Beneath the easy joshing, though, a sense of unease simmered. These men had already encountered the Mer in action. Being loaded down with bulky, malfunctioning equipment was like having rocks tied to their legs and then being tossed into the water. Even armed with UDGs, they didn’t have a chance.

  “You ready?” he asked as she approached.

  Addison flashed a nervous smile and gave the thumbs-up sign. “As ready as I’ll ever be, Captain.” Unlike him, she wore no swim fins or other equipment. “See you down below.” She dived over the edge. The water barely rippled as she disappeared beneath the surface.

  Drawing his mask into place, Mason followed her in. Water closed in from all sides as he began his descent.

  Although he preferred the full face mask, which allowed for better vision and communication, he’d had to settle on a half mask and mouthpiece that could be removed.

  They’d agreed beforehand to meet at a level of about one hundred fifty feet beneath the water. The day was clear and calm, lending its brilliance to the shimmering sea. Although it took a minute or two for his vision to focus, he soon caught sight of Addison.

  All he could do was stare, entranced.

  With a movement as graceful as any ballet dancer, she stretched out and rolled through the water. A series of flashy sparks briefly engulfed her body, chewing away the wet suit covering her skin. As quick as a blink her legs disappeared, replaced with a long tapering fishlike tail. As though lit from within, her scales glowed with a strange iridescence. The scale pattern covering her upper torso swirled over and around her breasts, offering the illusion that she wasn’t fully exposed.

  Catching sight of Mason, Addison twitched her tail, zipping through the water. A second later she floated a few feet away, like a hummingbird hovering in front of a flower. Her lips offered a welcoming smile. She gave him the diver’s signal for “okay.”

  Mason signaled back, and Addison made a few gestures indicating that he should remove his breathing apparatus.

  Mason was suddenly filled with anxiety. Once that precious source of oxygen was removed, he’d have absolutely no way to breathe. Images of being grabbed and dragged to the bottom of the sea flashed across his mind’s eye. Drowning wasn’t a pleasant or easy way to die, especially if the victim was conscious.

  A curse echoed through his mind. I’ve got to trust her.

  Mason removed his mouthpiece. Oh God, let this work, he silently pleaded. Addison swam in closer. Her hands automatically circled his shoulders, drawing him into a tight embrace. For a moment their gazes met. Mason felt the impact like an out-of-control semitruck plowing into a row of parked cars. Goose bumps rose along the back of his neck when she licked her lips. Feeling lust stir within, he tried not to think about the night they’d made love or of the deep kisses they’d shared.

  But he did, and his body responded with a vengeance that surprised him. It unnerved him a little to realize what this woman could do to him with the merest touch.

  Having lost his concentration, he accidentally swallowed a mouthful of water and began to choke. Air seeped from his lungs in a single quick rush. Without thinking, he started to thrash.

  Addison immediately reacted. Cupping his face between the palms of her hands, she pressed her mouth to his. Her tongue sought deeper penetration.

  Forcing himself to relax, Mason was vaguely aware of his hands circling her slender hips. The scales beneath his palms felt as smooth and soft as silk. For an instant all he could think about was what it had felt like to run his fingers across her bare skin.

  The frisson of heat between them sizzled as their kiss deepened. The air shared between them shifted and thickened. A pleasant buoyant sensation overtook every muscle in his body. His panic faded as much-needed oxygen filtered into his chest.

  Addison slowly pulled away. The small, crystal soul-stone hanging around her neck glowed softly.

  Mason took an experimental breath. Though he’d half expected to suck in another mouthful of water, he was shocked to realize he could breathe.

  Damn! It felt wonderful. He flashed the okay signal.

  Addison smiled and nodded. She reached for the crystal around her neck. Closing her eyes, she extended her hand until her palm was pressed flat against his chest. A thrumming sensation buzzed over his skin akin to a light electric shock.

  She opened her eyes. “Can you hear me?”

  Though her mouth didn’t move, Mason could clearly hear her question echo through his mind. It was strange to have another’s voice in his head.

  “Yes,” he said, and almost choked on a mouthful of air.

  Addison laughed. “Don’t answer with your mouth,” she warned. “I’ve opened a light psi-channel between our minds so we can communicate with each other. I can sense your responses.”

  Mason nodded to show he understood. “I’ve got it, I think.”

  She gave him a quick thumbs-up. “It’s strange at first, but you’ll get used to replying with your mind instead of your mouth.”

  “I’d wondered how Mer might communicate beneath the water.”

  She gave a saucy flick of her tail. “Now you know.”

  Suddenly feeling weighed down, Mason slipped off his oxygen tank. Several pounds of cumbersome weight immediately dropped away. He struck out, skimming through the water with strong, easy strokes. Startled by his presence, an array of fish scattered every which way.

  “My God, this is wonderful.” He did a quick flip, and then another. “It’s like walking on air. This must be how astronauts feel in space.”

  Addison joined him. “There are a few advantages to being water-born.” Her laugh chimed through his mind.

  “You don’t have to convince me. I’m sold.” He looked at her with pure admiration. The sight of her in her mermaid form touched him as nothing else in the world could. His pulse spiked. He wanted her so much, it hurt just to look at her.

  She didn’t seem to be listening.

  Addison turned her head. “Do you feel that?”

  Mason stilled his body, letting himself drift with the current. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but the water buzzed with some sort of strange pulse. Just behind his hearing he thought he sensed some sort of low hum. The sound didn’t seem to be generated by a mechanical engine, and he couldn’t identify its source. Vaguely, he was aware of the high-pitched whine growing stronger. The water around them took on an eerie glow.

  An instant later the sea exploded, sending him flying through the water. He somersaulted head over heels, aware of searing heat tearing through his wet suit and burning its way across his back.

  Fighting to regain control, Mason propelled himself around to face his attacker. It took a moment for his vision to adjust to the murky depths.

  Slicing through the water at top speed, one of Queen Magaera’s Mer soldiers prepared to take aim again. He caught a flash of something that looked like a chain of colored lights encircling her right forearm. This, he knew, was the bejeweled weapon the Mer called the Ri’kah. Composed entirely of various crystals set into gold, it looked benign to human eyes. In the hand of a mermaid, the thing acted like a laser and could burn straight throug
h flesh with no problem.

  For ten, maybe twenty seconds, he couldn’t move. His entire body felt paralyzed. None of his training had prepared him for this.

  Chapter 15

  Damn it! This was the first time Magaera’s soldiers had ventured outside the perimeters of the dead zone surrounding the island. Once again, they’d been caught with their pants down. At least he wasn’t totally unarmed. The UDG was loaded and ready for firing.

  Mason thrashed around in a panic, trying to reorient himself in an upright position even as his hand automatically reached for the weapon holstered at his waist. His heart went into double time, pumping at an alarming rate. Amazingly, he could still breathe. Addison had told him the spell wouldn’t wear off unless he surfaced and took in air. That was the last thing he intended to do.

  Another sizzling blast tore past his face mask. Without knowing where he was aiming, Mason lifted the heavy gun and pulled the trigger. A flash of steel bolts tore through the water. His aim was true, striking the Mer in the chest. A mix of bubbles and blood emanated from her open mouth. Her body quickly disappeared into the swirling depths.

  A flash of movement caught the corner of one eye.

  Mason whirled around. He saw Addison thrashing between three Mer soldiers. The women had her covered no matter which way she turned. She was putting up one hell of a fight, making sure the women couldn’t get a solid grip on her. Their scale patterns were entirely different from Addison’s iridescent one, making it easy to identify her.

  Fury boiled inside him, but he wrestled it aside. He had to stay focused. Losing his concentration would be more than detrimental to the task. It would most likely cost him his life.

  And Mason didn’t intend to die today.

  “Addison, are you okay?” he screamed into her mind. Adrenaline seared through his veins. He’d been drilled in underwater combat, but he’d never imagined using it against a cadre of nasty mermaids. It almost seemed too ridiculous to comprehend.

  “I’ve got my hands full,” she responded. Shoving an elbow in the gut of one of her assailants, she launched herself toward yet another.

  But this was a fight Addison couldn’t win.

  Mason caught a flash of silver, long and sharp. One of the Mer soldiers was armed with a blade, which was another very effective underwater weapon. Even though Mer technology might seem primitive, the creatures knew how to defend themselves. No wonder they’d once ruled the seven seas. No man stood a chance against an angry Mer in the water.

  Mason raised the UDG a second time, aiming his weapon toward the nearest target. Another laser blast split the water in front of his mask, almost blinding him with its brilliance. These Mer clearly weren’t going down without a fight.

  Without really thinking, he let instinct guide him. His forefinger mashed down on the trigger. A series of bolts flew out, silent and deadly. Less than a second later an eerie red blossom spread around the Mer’s abdomen. She thrashed and jerked violently. But she wasn’t giving up.

  Mason propelled himself closer. As much as he hated the brutality of war, he’d have to deliver the kill shot. Even if they were women, these bitches were bad to the bone.

  The Mer’s weapon was still in her hand. Catching sight of her aggressor, she slashed the blade toward him in a vicious arc. Although she had no chance of making contact, her move clearly proved her to be a dangerous foe.

  Mason lifted the UDG. This time he took care with his aim. He didn’t want to miss or accidentally strike Addison. The single bolt he unleashed found its mark immediately, smacking the soldier right between the eyes. Her scream of rage came out as a flurry of furious bubbles.

  Gotcha, he thought as the Mer’s now-motionless form was dragged into the depths.

  Refocusing his attention, Mason looked around quickly to get his bearings. The water was churning all around him now, making it difficult to see. He squinted through the murk, trying to locate Addison. Horror swept through him when he realized she’d been snared. Magaera’s soldiers had somehow surrounded her, then subdued her with some sort of netting that looked like long strands of silver webbing.

  “Addison!” Her name roared through his mind with such force that his temples pounded from the intense pressure. Terror rippled through him, overriding the pain of the searing flash burn across his back.

  “Surface!” she said silently to him. “Get out of the water!”

  Mason shook his head. There was no way he’d abandon her. By God, there was no way he’d let her be taken captive. Not Addison. She was too much a part of the team to lose. They needed her—desperately.

  He refused to let himself acknowledge the other thoughts lurking beneath his subconscious mind. He needed her.

  Mason swam furiously toward her attackers. Suddenly hands appeared out of nowhere, gripping his ankles and jerking him backward.

  Flailing in surprise, he kicked out hard, desperate to dislodge the Mer who’d caught hold of his legs. His movements to defend himself felt clumsy and sluggish beneath the water. Let go, bitch! he snarled even though she couldn’t hear or understand him. He caught a flash of her twisted grin. She was holding on tight and wasn’t even close to letting go.

  He swung his weapon around, aiming for her face. But his finger never mashed the trigger. More hands darted out of nowhere, curling around his wrist and pulling his arm in a violent backward motion. Seconds later he felt a sharp rush of heat as his shoulder and arm separated. Shock almost caused him to lose his breath. His hand involuntarily opened. The UDG slipped from his grip and disappeared.

  Cursing and groaning as white-hot pain radiated up his arm, Mason struggled to wriggle away from his assailants. But his efforts were for naught. Magaera’s remaining soldiers quickly overpowered him, wrapping him up like a fly in their silvery netting. He’d been bagged.

  Damn it, he didn’t want to go down like this.

  Mason thrashed around, determined to give the Mer all the hell he could muster. His efforts were for naught.

  The mermaids swimming around him simply smiled. They’d won and they knew it. He was little more than deadweight to be towed.

  Mason twisted around in the netting until he was able to catch sight of Addison. She was wrapped up tight from her neck to the tip of her tail. A mixture of fear and anger contorted her expression.

  “They want us alive,” he said, hoping their telepathic link was still intact.

  “That might not be a good thing,” she responded.

  In Mason’s opinion, being a prisoner of war was a step up from being dead. As long as they were alive, they had a chance to fight their way out of captivity. If Magaera thought she’d be able to pump him for information, she was wrong. He wouldn’t say a word, no matter the torture levered against him.

  Suddenly, Mason caught sight of a dozen long bodies, straight as missiles, skimming through the water at top speed. At least six feet long, maybe longer, they undulated gracefully as they propelled themselves toward their targets.

  He jolted, swallowing a scream along with a mouthful of salty seawater. Sharks?! Spluttering and choking, he fought to regain his breath. Oh, shit. There was blood in the water, and the beasts were probably on the prowl.

  Immediately breaking into two groups, the creatures sped toward the Mer. One big white body collided with the nearest soldier holding Mason. The impact of the blow forced her to release her hold on the webbing. They rolled together, a mass of flailing fins and tails.

  As the second mermaid holding his netting attempted to drag him out of the melee, a second creature barreled toward them. As it came closer, Mason caught a glimpse of its head before it smacked into his captor. These weren’t sharks, as he’d first believed, but dolphins. The dark stripes covering their leathery blue-gray skin had thrown him off. He couldn’t pin down a species that bore such a distinctive pattern.

  The dolphins came from all sides, ferociously attacking the Mer soldiers by using their massive size and girth to separate them from their captives. Their bodies whipp
ed furiously, turning the water around the Mer soldiers into an unfathomable vortex.

  Mason tore at his bonds. He was drifting helplessly, swept away from the action by the current.

  One of the dolphins broke away from the group. Swimming toward him, it stopped when they were almost nose to nose.

  Relief flooded through him even as he squirmed against his bonds. As if understanding his plight, the dolphin swam around him, working its long snout into the silvery strands and tugging them away. A few minutes later, the netting was loose enough for him to work his way to freedom. During the fracas he’d lost both his swim fins, but that didn’t matter. He hadn’t even noticed. He was free.

  By now the water around them had calmed enough for him to see clearly again. Swimming forward, he caught sight of Addison. She was still snared. A couple more dolphins swam around her, tugging at the webbing with their teeth. The remaining Mer had vanished.

  Relief flooded him. Addison was safe, and that was all that mattered.

  Addison struggled to remain calm as the dolphins tugged at the net binding her arms and tail. Magaera’s Mer had trussed her up tighter than a Sunday chicken, giving her little room to wriggle. Those bitches came out of nowhere, she thought angrily. She believed she could handle herself, and she’d been proven wrong. She wasn’t as good a fighter as she wanted to believe. The fact was she had very little experience fighting against others of her kind. She’d gotten her ass whipped, and more.

  She eyed the dolphins. Four were swimming the perimeter around her while two more worked to free her from the clinging strands of webbing. One didn’t often encounter dolphins in the waters of Penobscot Bay. She’d heard stories of dolphins aiding humans in distress, but these creatures had certainly gone above and beyond the call of duty. Like a brigade on the march, they’d charged in from nowhere, ready to fight. They’d easily outnumbered and overtaken the Mer, driving them back.