Her Selkie Harem

by Savannah Skye

  I passed cautiously through the door and instantly turned left, questioning nothing, simply moving. Passing on through the eerily silent house, relief and melancholy coursed through me, blending with my own ragged emotions.

  I bit my lip to control myself. So close. I could sense it, I was so very close. I could not let her down now.

  At the back of the castle, an extension had been built to house an indoor swimming pool of Olympic proportions. I peered in through the glass-encased area and, seeing no one, stepped in. Gingerly, I walked along the edge and peered into the gleaming water, searching in vain for my friend.

  She was here somewhere, I could feel it, but--

  “Hey.”

  I jerked my head up and peered into the darkness in the distance, noting with a start that there was a guard at the very back of the room standing beside a metal door.

  The door behind which awaited Saorise.

  “Hello,” I replied, walking on quaking knees toward the guard.

  "Can I help you?" The inquiry was matter of fact but not suspicious.

  Yet.

  "I was looking for John,” I said cheerily, clenching my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering. “I just had a quick question for him.”

  "Which John?" he asked, scratching at his jaw with his thumbnail. “You’re not really supposed to be in this area.”

  "Sorry, um, brown-haired John," I hazarded with a forced smile. “I just started last week, so I don’t know anyone’s last name.”

  He squinted at me and then shrugged. "He’s working main gate tonight, I think. If there’s anything I can help you with, though,” he said, letting his gaze slide over me suggestively as he hiked up his pants.

  “Um, thanks, I’ve got work to do but I’ll take a rain check,” I said, swallowing back the bile rising in my throat.

  I turned to go, fighting the desperation I could feel rolling off Saorise from behind that door. I could only hope she was picking up on the message I was sending her. That she knew I was only leaving temporarily and would be back soon with reinforcements.

  I picked my way back toward the door, only to skid to a stop as the guard’s voice called after me.

  "What's your name?" I was glad that I was no longer facing him when the question came, because the look of dread on my face would certainly have given me away.

  I sucked in a steadying breath and turned back with another tight grin.

  "Helen."

  He cocked his head and let his gaze rove over me one more time before he stepped toward me, closing the last of the distance between us.

  "Let me see your ID."

  "Okay." I shrugged as casually I was able to at that moment and reached into my pocket, my brain racing through options and finding few. The one thing on my side was the fact that, although the man was suspicious, he was also pretty sure of himself - I was a slip of a girl and he wasn't expecting me to give him much trouble.

  Now, to make him regret that assumption.

  My hand came out of my pocket as a fist, which I slammed into his face as hard as I could. It probably hurt me as much as him, but the shock left him with his guard down and I followed up the punch by delivering my knee into his groin in a way that definitely hurt him more than me. As he doubled-up in agony, I grabbed him by the collar and hurled him into the pool, snagging the keys that hung from his belt as he went.

  It was safe to say that I had gone rogue and was now winging it.

  There was no way I had time to go back for the guys.

  I fumbled with the keys, finding one that fit into the lock behind me, and shoved my way in. The room beyond was lined with marble, floor to ceiling, and sunk into that floor was a marble tank about the size of two large bathtubs, but much deeper. The water rippled as I stumbled in and Saorise burst through the surface.

  "Sienna!" She was instantly tugged back into the water. In her excitement, she had apparently forgotten the chain fastened around her neck.

  I rushed to her. "Are you okay?"

  "I’m all right.” It was a lie. She was pale and thin and haunted looking, but she’d never looked so beautiful to me. “My skin's over there."

  On the far wall, on a hook, hung a pelt of smooth seal skin.

  "He keeps it in here with you?"

  "Just out of my reach. When he comes to visit, he makes me transform for him. It…" she trailed off and then pressed on, “gives him pleasure. And when he takes it away again. It’s like a death each time.”

  I could hear the hatred in her voice. The pain. The fact that William K. Mung put her skin there, within sight, to taunt and torture her said a lot about him as a person. I didn’t want to think about what else Saorise might have been through.

  "I don't think any of these is for the chain," I said, rifling through the options on the guard's key ring with shaking fingers, very aware of the splashing behind me that told me he was dragging himself out of the pool.

  "Doesn't matter, just get the skin."

  I did as she asked, tossing the skin into the water beside her, and Saorise spun into it. As she did so, her slim neck expanded and the silver chain around it strained, then broke.

  Though I had never seen her as a seal before, the expression on Saorise's face was one that I instantly recognized. Joy. Hope at the lure of freedom.

  Unfortunately, it seemed that our celebration would be short lived.

  "Stay right where you are." The guard, dripping wet and walking a little bowlegged, blocked the door and pointed a dripping handgun at me. "Make a move and I will kill you." He turned to Saorise with a snarl. "And if you make a move, then I will still kill her. The boss likes you too much to kill."

  Saorise barked angrily at him but did not move.

  "I've called for backup, they'll be here soon. Now, transform back before I do something ugly."

  Saorise bared her teeth.

  "Change back or I will shoot your friend. Not in the head. In her leg. Then, maybe her arm. And I will keep shooting her until you behave yourself and change back."

  Saorise rolled out of her skin.

  "Put it back where it belongs," he snapped.

  Saorise took the skin back to the wall, passing me as she went, and I heard her whisper, "Do you trust me?"

  "With my life," I murmured back.

  "In the pool. NOW!" Saorise shouted as she dove at the guard, barreling toward him with all her strength. He stumbled back in shock and she clawed for his eyes as I lurched past toward the massive pool. I hesitated at the edge as the sound of gunfire broke the silence, but a shove to my back sent me careening into the warm water.

  I kicked frantically, trying to get some distance before bobbing to the surface, but the sound of gunfire rent the air again. Saorise swam up beside me and took my hand, holding me beneath the water until a familiar burning stole over my lungs.

  And then, suddenly, the sound from above stopped. Saorise released my arm and urged me up until our heads broke the surface.

  “Are you hit?” I gasped, staring at her to determine she appeared unharmed, before turning my gaze toward where I’d last seen the guard. He lay there now, his gaze lifeless with three muscular, furious males standing around him.

  "Come on," said Connor, urgently. "His friends are on their way."

  Saorise’s brothers had appeared just when I needed them.

  "How did you...?" I asked as Patch helped me out of the pool and Declan pulled up his twin sister, squeezing her hard in brief but touching reunion.

  "When you gave Saorise back her skin, we were close and she was able to contact us and tell us where to go," explained Patch. “Now, we’ve got to get out of here before his backup comes.”

  We rushed out toward the exit and then skidded to a stop, lurching behind a massive marble table as gunfire rang out again.

  This was bad. A band of guards had the exit blocked and were armed. The Selkie’s were strong, but how could they defeat a trained, if small, army with guns?

  "Don’t fire. You’ll hurt the female
!" a thin, reedy voice that I somehow knew could only be William K. Mung himself, called from behind his guards. "Descend on them and shoot the rest but protect her at all costs."

  Connor looked at his brothers, his face a grim mask of fury. "Ready?"

  Ready for what? I wondered.

  But Patch and Declan both nodded, as did Connor. Then, as one, they darted out from behind the table, diving forward and spinning into their skins as they hit the pool water.

  The guards rushed toward the edge of the water, firing continuously as the three males began circling the pool, faster and faster, in dizzying speed.

  "Aim, you imbeciles!"

  I held my breath as the half-dozen guards regrouped and tried to get a bead on their targets, but, suddenly, Connor burst from the water, knocking guards left and right with the force of his momentum. Patch followed.

  Guards scrambled to retrieve lost guns in a panic as their eyes went wide with stunned shock. Wild shots went off, ricocheting from the walls, and howls of pain echoed through the room.

  In the confusion, Declan, now swimming at what seemed like an impossible speed, burst from the water like a torpedo.

  I heard William K. Mung's shriek, "Nooo! Get away fr-” before his voice was choked off, his scream cut short.

  The remaining guards fell back and I soon saw why.

  Declan held him about the neck. One squeeze of the young Selkie's muscular arm and William K. Mung would be no more. And from the look on Declan's face, nothing would have given him greater pleasure than to snuff out the man who had caused his sister such distress. I had never met a kinder, more peaceful individual than Declan, but now his eyes burned with a fiery rage I could barely believe.

  “Don’t do it, brother. He’s not worth it,” Saorise called to him softly. “If we kill him, we’ve got to kill the rest of them, too. Look at them. Most didn’t even know about me. About our kind.”

  I glanced around the room and knew she was right. Only a couple of the guards seemed to understand at all what was happening. The others that weren’t bent over in pain, seemed in shock.

  Connor stepped closer to Declan and flexed his fingers. “I hate to say it, but she’s right. Let’s let the authorities do their job.”

  Patch dug a cell phone from the bag lying at his feet and held it high.

  “I took pictures of everything. Even that Picasso in the hall that was apparently stolen from the Louvre in 2010. I already sent them, along with a signal for Leanne to contact the police about all the stolen art and antiquities here, and a tip that there was a female imprisoned here who managed to escape. We have just enough time to secure these guys and get out before they get here. Don’t stoop to his level, brother. We got what we came for.”

  We held our breath until Declan nodded slowly, watching as Patch bent to retrieve sets of handcuffs from his bag.

  With Mung still in Declan's clutches, Saorise, Patch, Connor and I made short work of the guards, locking them in Saorise’s prison before cuffing a hollering Mung in front of the door with a note pinned to his sleeve like a child detailing his crimes.

  Just as we finished, we heard sirens in the distance.

  As we moved to leave, Declan slowed as he passed Mung, bending close to the other man and holding his gaze.

  “I will be watching you for all eternity. If and when you get out of prison, if I hear even a peep about you hurting anyone again, I’ll come and finish the job I started.”

  The man paled and struggled against his chains as we turned to go, Patch leading the way back through the house to the basement stairs. At the door that led down to the pumping station, Declan followed the rest of us through.

  We ran downstairs as fast as we could, and as we reached the second flight, we heard the door burst open above and a muffled voice hollering, “Police, stand down!”

  We reached the pumping station and, again, Declan jammed the door behind us.

  "Come on, Sienna," said Connor.

  "Wait," Saorise looked puzzled. "What are you doing? We can't get out that way."

  Connor scoffed. "That's how we got in."

  "No, that way."

  The plan to get out had been to continue down the river, letting the current take us on under the Mung estate and out the south side, but that was the way Saorise was now pointing.

  "There's a grill at that end to catch waste coming out of the castle. We can't get past it."

  A look of horror crossed Connor's face. He did his best to mask it before his sister saw.

  "We'll have to go back the way we came. Sienna?" Connor said softly.

  I nodded. "I understand. I’ll tell you if I need your breath."

  What was unsaid between us was that if he was swimming against the current, he would not be able to make the return journey as quickly as he had the inward one. And I had barely survived that. I tried not to show Saorise my fear.

  "We'll go ahead, create clean water for you," said Patch.

  It might only make a split second of difference, but anything to help Connor go faster.

  We had no time to think, no time to come up with alternatives, we had to move now. I joined the guys in shedding my clothes - the cold water would be almost unbearable but the weight and drag of my clothes made them a luxury we could no longer afford.

  We dived into the water, the guys and Saorise changing as they went. I wrapped my arms around Connor's strong neck, filled my lungs, and we were gone.

  Strangely, I was less panicked this time. The knowledge that these might be the last moments of my life were tempered by the knowledge that Saorise was safe. I had done what I had set out to do and while I would definitely rather go on living, if I were to die now, then I would do so knowing that I had done the most important thing I was ever likely to do in my life. And I would die with people who loved me.

  I think that sanguine attitude helped me, maybe gave me a little extra time as my thumping heart was not wasting oxygen as it had on the way in. But as my lungs tightened in the encompassing blackness of the tunnel, then, inevitably, the physical panic set in.

  I clutched Connor tightly. I could feel his muscles straining as never before as he fought against the roaring current. I stroked him with my hand, trying to let him know that it was alright. Whatever happened, it was alright.

  As I had before, I tried to release my breath in slow, eked out bubbles. But as I emptied my lungs, there was no sign of the outside.

  I tugged on Connor’s neck, felt him slow and then stop, but it was no good. I couldn't hold on any more, I simply couldn't.

  Water flooded my lungs. Darkness closed in. The panic gave way to a receding of consciousness and I allowed myself to tumble into the opening void, my last thoughts were of the joy on Saorise's face when she had first seen me.

  At least she was safe. That would have to be enough…

  Chapter 20

  Color swirled behind my eyelids and a piercing knot of pain slipped into my consciousness.

  “Sienna?”

  I opened my eyes and blinked to clear them.

  "Sienna?”

  Saorise's voice rang from above me and I tried to focus on her face.

  "Saorise?" I croaked, the effort making my throat ache as if I’d swallowed glass.

  "You're alive!" she whispered, her wan face suddenly full of joy as she drew me against her and squeezed.

  "You, too," I whispered back, relief coursing through me in waves.

  I was ensconced in clean sheets on a firm mattress, but not my own. My whole body hurt, like I’d been put through a meat grinder. Especially my lungs, but none of that mattered now. My friend was alive, and so was I. We were bent, but not broken. It was time to rejoice.

  "I'm not sure which is more amazing. I was sure you were a goner,” she said, her face going pale again at the thought.

  What had happened to me? I could barely recall now. All I remembered was an endless pit of darkness that swallowed me whole. And then? Nothing.

  My heart stuttered as I s
tared into her eyes. "Did I…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word, “go somewhere for a minute?"

  Saorise nodded, still not letting me go. "Longer than a minute. Much longer. And you nearly didn't come back."

  "How...?"

  "Think of it as Selkie CPR. I drew the water from your lungs, and my brothers..." Saorise paused. "This is one of those things that is going to sound weird until I explain it properly."

  "I'm getting pretty used to those things."

  "They each gave you some of their blood. And, in turn, gave you some of their power and of their lives."

  I stared at her in stunned surprise. After all they’d suffered at the hands of humans, surely such a sacrifice was too much to ask.

  “What do you mean? Are they sick now because of me?” I demanded, jerking away from Saorise and struggling to stand. “Where are they?”

  “We’re here, love. And if you don’t get back into that bed, we’re going to make you regret it.”

  Connor stood in the doorway, flanked by his brothers. All three looked like they’d been through the ringer. Mussed hair, dark circles beneath their eyes, strain around their mouths. We’d all likely be suffering so PTSD after all this for a while, but there was no question seeing me awake and Saorise hale and hearty beside me assuaged some of their heartache.

  Connor’s gaze drank me in as he stalked over to the bed.

  “What did you three do?” I demanded, trying to hold onto my anger and fear but trembling with emotion at the sight of them.

  Saorise stood and melted into the background as Connor sat on the edge of the bed and dragged me against his chest.

  “We did what we had to in order to save the woman we loved. Same as you would’ve done for us,” he whispered into my hair.

  I wrapped my arms around him, breathing in his masculine scent, letting it comfort me.

  “But you gave up--”

  He pulled back to stare down at me. “We each gave up a little, Sienna. A handful of years in a life that would’ve been far too long without you in it. A bit of power to make sure you had the strength you needed to come back to us.”

  “And we’re none the worse for wear,” Patch said, holding up his bicep and flexing with a grin.