by Devyn Quinn
Mason caught her hand between his, wishing desperately he could return the energy he’d taken from her. She’d given her all to help ease his pain. And I can’t even help her, he thought bitterly. She is beyond me in so many ways.
He felt a sickening sensation, as if he stood on quicksand. Not for the first time he began to wonder if the two species—human and Mer—could find common ground.
Addison had learned the hard way that using her Mercraft was taxing and demanding on her body. She needed a quiet place to rest.
“I’m sorry,” Mason said softly. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She gave his hand a little squeeze. “I’m actually feeling better now.”
Relief softened his strained features. The press of his anxious concern lessened. “I’m glad.” He leaned in closer, as if to touch her cheek lightly with his lips.
Addison turned her head. Yes, came the forbidden thought. This was what she wanted—needed. She needed physical contact. She needed to cling to him and to draw strength from him.
But it never happened.
At the last moment Mason held himself back, as if suddenly remembering they were not entirely alone. He immediately straightened. “Is there anything you need?”
Feeling strangely embarrassed, Addison shook her head. On one level she felt an intimacy with Mason that went down to the very bone; yet she was perfectly aware that this was a man who barely knew her—and whom she barely knew—except for the brief moment of passion they’d shared.
The profound emotions she felt toward him were confusing and disturbing. She was finding it harder and harder to keep him at arm’s length and to work with him on a nonpersonal, nonsexual basis. All she wanted was for him to crush her in his arms and smother her with kisses.
She inwardly groaned. Surely she wasn’t… in love. It was so simple and so obvious that her throat squeezed tight in panic.
What now?
It was something she didn’t want to think about. She wasn’t ready.
“Caffeine and sugar always put me back on my feet,” she said with forced enthusiasm. “Let me grab a soda, and I’ll be ready to get back to work.”
Pushing herself off the bed, she rose, swaying a moment before regaining her bearings.
Hovering at a discreet distance, Dr. Robinson stepped up. “Are you sure that’s all you need?” she asked in the voice of a concerned medical professional. The look on her face was more than a bit skeptical.
Her eyes closed briefly. Pressing a hand to her stomach, she resisted the urge to lie back down. This was no time to be as delicate as a hothouse bloom. They had work to do. “I’m fine.”
“If you say so,” Robinson echoed doubtfully.
She turned to Mason. He was still dressed in the tattered remains of his wet suit, and the tight material clung to his muscular body like a second skin. It was all she could do to keep herself from staring at the way it hugged around his hips.
She quickly thrust naughty thoughts out of her brain. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to the water. My gut keeps telling me there’s something up with the dolphins. They seem to want to communicate.”
Mason turned to Commander Hawkins. “Are the dolphins still following us?”
Activating the nearest com-link, the commander requested an update. “Yes,” he answered, “the dolphins are still circling the ship.”
Addison nodded. “Good. Looks as though they’re willing to stick around.”
Mason indicated the rueful state of his wet suit. “Give me a few minutes to get changed, and I’ll join you.”
His words reminded her that she, too, was still dressed for diving. Fortunately, her suit hadn’t been damaged like his, which pretty much meant she was good to go. Although she much preferred swimming au naturel, the taboos humans had about nudity prohibited her from discarding her clothing until after she dived. She’d never understood why people wanted to hide themselves under layers of clothes when being in the buff felt so much better.
Their world, their rules, she thought. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder what things would be like if her kind had prevailed. How different would the world be today if mermaids had never been driven from the water?
“If you don’t mind, I think I would like to go into the water alone,” she said.
Mason’s gaze hardened. There was a faint sense of resistance about him, as though he were putting up some invisible wall to shield himself. Suddenly he was the captain helming this mission. “Why?” he asked curtly.
A strange prickle went down Addison’s spine. She couldn’t miss the vibrations emanating from him—a wave of resentment and suspicion. It completely startled her. Why the sudden shift in emotions? And how could she even tell what he was thinking? Was the psi-link still intact in some way? She felt totally keyed to his emotions. She wondered if it had something to do with his being conscious when she’d shared her breath with him underwater.
She forced a smile. “I can’t keep you from coming along. I simply wanted to see how they would react with just a Mer in the water. They only attacked Magaera’s soldiers, which seems to mean they know the difference between us.”
“It is interesting that they didn’t go after you.” He looked away uneasily.
Cold awareness rushed over her. The conflict Mason felt against the Mer was unmistakable. She sensed he was trying to temper his mistrust, and failing.
For an instant, she felt the sting of revulsion. People were sometimes dumb as rocks. Mason was no exception. Not only had she proven herself loyal to humans her entire life—she’d just drained herself to the point of fainting to heal him.
She quickly pulled back her resentment. It’s not personal, she reminded herself. He just doesn’t trust my kind. People just needed to be educated about the Mer.
Addison tamped down her own annoyance. She knew he was doing his best to be open-minded. She would have to be patient. “That proves to me that some kind of thought process must be at work.”
“Are you sure you can handle going in so soon?” His even, neutral voice betrayed nothing. Nevertheless, his body language betrayed a hint of antagonism.
Refusing to drop her gaze, Addison squared her shoulders. It was true she was tired, but the time to rest would have to wait. She didn’t want to let the opportunity slip through her fingers like so many grains of sand. If there was a way for her kind to perhaps communicate with another seafaring species, she wanted to find it.
“I’m ready,” she insisted.
Chapter 17
Kenneth Randall wasn’t the kind of man to stand around and do nothing. Whenever there was a problem to be taken care of, he went to work to solve it. Usually he managed to find a solution, however impossible it might seem to others.
But having his wife literally snatched out from under his nose put him up against a wall. To make things worse, Mermaid mania was in full swing. Curious eyes looked toward the Mediterranean Sea, watching and waiting with bated breath to see how Magaera would choose to present her people. Would the Mer queen continue her open hostilities toward humans, or would she choose to open diplomatic channels and negotiate peacefully?
Even though the news hadn’t caused mass rioting in the streets, it did bring out several factions and religious groups that were firmly against the Mer and their integration into human society. It seemed every political pundit or talking head on television had something to say about the matter. Many were worried about immigration and the social impact a water-bound species might have on the economy.
No one could seem to agree where the Mer truly belonged.
Even though he’d managed to get a crew together and get the DreamFever back into the water, the return trip to Ishaldi was proving to be a difficult one. The US Navy was running a blockade along the perimeter of the dead zone, redirecting all seagoing traffic away from the problem area. Only ships carrying authorized personnel were allowed in.
His wasn’t one of those ships. But Addison was aboard the Sea Horse and
working with the USET team. And since his wife was a hostage on Magaera’s island, he felt he should be allowed in to offer assistance. Although the powers that be had given him a flat refusal when he’d requested to join the team, he couldn’t be stopped. He’d simply go around the blockade and rendezvous with the Sea Horse. They’d have to torpedo the ship to get him out of the water.
Hands tightening around the railing of the port bow, he sighed. It was stupid. It was stubborn. But it was the only plan he had to work with.
They can’t stop what they can’t see. Gwen was going to try to use her Mercraft to shield the boat from all eyes when they passed through the prohibited zone. Although she wasn’t sure she could project enough energy to conceal something as large as a ship, she was willing to give it a try.
Walking across the deck as though his feet were made of lead, Blake slowly edged his way toward the railing. “Why the hell do you have to stand so close to the water?” he groused.
Kenneth turned. Despite his fear of deep open bodies of water, Blake was doing his best to keep his nerves under wraps. The man did not enjoy sailing; he had no use for the sea. He was there only to support Gwen. Even though Blake spent most of his time in their cabin bent over the toilet, the man earned an A for effort. It couldn’t be easy for him to put aside a lifelong fear.
“There’s no way to fall overboard,” Kenneth said. “It’s perfectly safe.”
Blake eyed the roiling clouds in the distance. The wind skipped across the choppy water. “Say that when the storm’s tossing our asses overboard.”
Kenneth shrugged. “The weather report says the worst of the storm will probably detour around us. We’re on the edge, so it shouldn’t be bad.”
“You can bet I’ll be nowhere on deck when the damn thing hits,” Blake grumbled.
“You should get Gwen to work on easing that sea sickness.”
Blake adamantly shook his head. “No, I’m not going to be a baby and whine. I’ll tough it out.” He reached for his belt line, pulling his waistband out. “Hell, if nothing else, I’m losing those pounds I’d started to put on. The woman can cook.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s in our cabin. She can’t make a connection with Tessa. She thought maybe you could.”
Disappointment twisted his heart. “That doesn’t sound good. If her own sister can’t communicate with her—” His throat tightened. He couldn’t finish the sentence.
Sensing his unspoken distress, Blake raised his hands. “Now, let’s not worry until we know for certain. Gwen says harming Tessa would only defeat Magaera’s purpose. She’s got to keep her alive.”
Even though it was a difficult thing to do, Kenneth tamped down his worry. He knew that much to be true. When a Mer died, so did her soul-stone. If Magaera wanted to use Tessa’s psychic resonance, she’d need Tessa alive to do so. Otherwise, Tessa’s stone would be useless, devoid of psi-energy.”
Kenneth nodded. “So, what does Gwen want to try?”
Blake shrugged. “I don’t know. Come and see, I guess.”
They left the deck, making their way to the cabins below.
Gwen sat on the floor in the middle of the room. An assortment of crystals and other semiprecious stones were spread out around her.
Kenneth stopped in his tracks. At first glance she looked exactly like Tessa, so much so that strangers often mistook the sisters for one or the other. It was only after spending time with them that their individual personalities came to the forefront.
He watched as Blake bent, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Figured it out, honey?”
She smiled up at him. “Slowly but surely.”
“Anything I can do?” he asked.
“You can leave.”
Blake’s brows rose. “Excuse me?”
She gave him a cheery smile. “The less psychic interference in the room, the better. I just need Kenneth here.”
Blake sighed like a put-upon man. “I always get left out of the fun,” he said with a mock pout.
Gwen kissed the tips of her fingers, then waved him the kiss. “I’ll make it up to you with a long shoulder rub later this evening.”
“Okay,” Blake grumbled. “I get the hint. I’m going.” He left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Watching the two of them together, Kenneth felt a twinge of jealousy. It wasn’t right that Tessa had been taken from him. He brooded, thinking, She should be here. With me.
Gwen sensed his dissatisfaction. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I know how you’re feeling. She was snatched right out from under our noses, and there was nothing we could do to stop it.”
Her words unleashed a torrent of guilt that pummeled him from all sides. “I couldn’t defend her.” His hands curled into tight fists, which he drove into his chest. “I had a gun in my hand and it still wasn’t enough to protect my wife.” He cast a dark look toward the stones scattered on the floor. The impulse to grind them into dust beneath his heels was hard to resist. Damn the Mer. It was because of them that he was in this situation.
A look of fright crossed Gwen’s face. She held her hands over the stones as if to protect them. “Ken, don’t do it. I need these.”
Kenneth reined in his anger. He’d forgotten how sensitive Gwen was. Not that she needed the talent. His frustration was probably broadcasted loud enough to be picked up through radio frequencies.
He drew a calming breath. “Sorry. Every time I think that Magaera’s got her hands on my wife, I get a little crazy. It doesn’t help that she’s got that fucker Jake nipping at her heels like a faithful hound.” He shook his head. “I’m dying to kick his scrawny ass.”
Gwen relaxed. “Make yourself comfortable and pay attention. I’m going to need you to concentrate.”
Kenneth hunkered down in front of her. He eyed the glittering assortment she’d spread out around her. Although he didn’t exactly understand the science behind a Mer’s magic, he knew they used various stones for the transmutation of energy. Each stone had a meaning and use. Used separately, they could be dangerous. Grouped together and arranged in a certain configuration—such as in the Ri’kah—the stones could become a weapon of mass destruction.
Because they had never been trained, Tessa and her sisters had been forced to learn the hard way. Sometimes their efforts were hits; other times they were misses. Of the three sisters, Gwen showed the most talent with psi-kinetic work. It wasn’t hard for her to make small objects appear and disappear at will. Unfortunately, the side effects were severe, leaving her exhausted and in the grip of massive migraines.
He eyed the stones. “What if we tried to teleport her out? We’ve managed it a few times successfully.”
Gwen nodded. “I’ve thought about trying it, but there are too many variables against success.” She held up a finger. “First, we have to assume that Magaera has taken Tessa’s soul-stone, at least to rob her of her abilities. I would also guess that she’s tried to manipulate it in order to let her through the sea-gate. So we have no real way to home in on her.” She held up another finger. “Second, we don’t know how magnetic interference from the sea-gate will alter psi-kinetic travel.” She held up a third finger. “Last, we don’t know what we’d be pulling back to us even if we managed to catch hold of something on the other side.”
He tried another tactic. “What if we went to her?”
Gwen shook her head and raised a fourth finger. Kenneth didn’t like the way the odds kept stacking up against them.
“Four, we don’t know where, exactly, we’d be landing. One miscalculation and you could end up in the middle of a wall or the floor. I can pretty much guarantee you would not survive physically materializing into an inert object.”
He grimaced. “It does sound gruesome.”
Gwen stuck out her thumb. “Here’s the last one. Even if I got you there in one piece, I can’t guarantee I’d have the energy to pull you both back out again.”
He scrubbed his hands across his face. “I gu
ess that makes sense,” he said reluctantly.
“But there are other things we can try to communicate with Tessa.”
“How?”
“I’ve been working with a few of Tessa’s stones, trying to pick up her vibrations.”
“Can you do that?”
Fingering one of the stones, Gwen nodded. “Since these are Tessa’s stones, they are mostly keyed to her rhythmic energies. I’m hoping to be able to tap into that and use it to open a psi-channel.”
“I don’t understand a word you’re saying, but if it can be done, do it,” Kenneth said firmly.
Gwen picked through an assortment. Closing her eyes, she rubbed each between her palms. After a few minutes, she selected one stone in particular, a rough cluster of crystal quartz. “This one,” she said. “I can feel her vibrations inside. She works with this one a lot.”
Kenneth looked at the mass of milky white stones. “What’s so special about that one?”
Gwen held the stone, about two inches in diameter, between her thumb and forefinger. “This is also a base stone of all magic. The clusters can be used to amplify other stone energies. It’s also used to enhance psychic ability, especially when used in meditation.”
“What do I do?”
She handed him the stone. “It’s pretty simple. Just hold it.”
Kenneth accepted her offering. Cradling it in his palm, he lowered his gaze to the whitish cluster. Small ribbons of color flashed deep inside, as though a tiny heart pushed the illumination through its veins.
“It’s still energized from the last time Tessa worked with it,” Gwen explained quietly. “I’m hoping we can use this to connect with her.”
He lifted his eyes. “How?”
Gwen made a certain hand movement, graceful and birdlike. “Focus deeply on the stone,” she advised. “Keep your breathing level and even.”
Kenneth looked at the stone and tried to relax.
“Watch the lights inside the crystal and try to make your heartbeat match its rhythm.”
Attempting to follow her instructions, Kenneth gazed at the tiny sparks of light inside the crystal. Pretend it’s Tessa, he thought. Just reach out and touch her.
