“The sea witch?” Dread soured Marcela’s stomach as her mind filled with images of the intimidating merwoman who lived in the blackness deep in the trench at the edge of the dropoff. There was no shortage of stories about the ancient merwoman. Many of the stories claimed that she had once lived as a human, had been happily married and even given birth to nearly a dozen human children. Other stories claimed she was a dragon who flew out of the water at night and circled the earth searching for children to devour. Whatever the truth of her story, she remained isolated in the darkness, alone with her secrets and her magic.
“Yesss,” the cuelebre confirmed. “Ssshe’sss quite powerful, you know.”
Marcela looked down at her tail, her gaze sliding over the glittering pale green scales. Was it possible that the sea witch could make her human? Could she bargain for…legs? She tried to imagine looking down at two limbs instead of one. What would it be like to have the dull flesh of a human instead of the shimmer of scales? Hinge joints instead of the smooth, rolling joints of her tail? She thought of the humans milling about on land, the sailors strolling about the decks of their ships. It didn’t look difficult…
Her heart pounded as she realized she was actually considering going to the sea witch for help. “I don’t know…” Her voice was higher than usual, a slight hint of hysteria tickling her ears. For a second she could have sworn she heard the beat of feathered wings, could practically smell that metallic scent that was unique to the angel. She blinked, putting a hand to her temple to try and stop the spinning of her head.
Slick scales grazed her cheek and she jolted in the water, startled out of her confusing thoughts. The cuelebre slid around her, dragging its slender body in a sort of caress against her face then slithering through the water, heading toward the gloom that heralded deeper water and the beginning of the sea witch’s territory beyond. Without consciously making the decision, Marcela found herself following him.
Her first glimpse of the whirlpools that formed a wall around the sea witch’s domain gave Marcela pause. The writhing, foaming waters had the power to twist a person’s body into nothing but a mangled mess of broken bones and scattered scales. Compared to the formidable wall, the stormy waves Marcela pushed through to reach a ship in distress were nothing but the lapping of low tide.
“It’sss okay. Follow me. When you passss the whirpoolsss you mussst keep ssswimming. Do not ssstop, no matter what you sssee.”
The little snake zipped ahead, sailing like a harpoon through the whirlpools. Marcela straightened her spine, holding an image of Patricio in her mind like a beacon of hope. His handsome face and deep, rumbling voice sent hot adrenaline rushing through her body and she glared at the whirlpools. With a burst of speed, she hurled herself through the thick water, shoving through it with the single-minded determination that she used for every task she set her mind to.
The swirling chaos pressed against her skin, bone-crushing pressure pulsing against every inch of her body. Bubbles erupted from her mouth as the air she had left in her lungs from her last trip to the surface was forced from her body. The delicate gills along the sides of her neck spasmed as the vicious water tried to force its way deeper inside her, opening her gills to the point of pain. Her forehead wrinkled with strain, but she pressed on until she shot out of the whirlpools with an audible pop.
A nightmare surrounded her. Marcela swallowed a cry of terror as the world was consumed by giant, towering plants, thick like a tangled bed of gargantuan seaweed. The fat trunks undulated in the water as thin slimy branches waved over her head. Marcela sobbed as she noticed the human heads at the top of each plant, round ghostly eyes following her as the branches swept toward her. Thin, ribbon-like fingers slid over her body, flexing and tensing as the polypis tried to grab her.
Something glistened to the side and Marcela turned her head. She screamed as she found herself face to face with the corpse of one of her people. Empty eye sockets like bottomless pits, the orbs eaten by scavengers long ago. Bones picked clean of flesh were held together only by the grasping tentacles of the polypis. Pink scales bobbed in the waves, the only proof that this corpse had once been one of her people and not some sorry sailor that had found his death in the sea.
One of the polypis locked onto her arm and Marcela screamed. A flash of silver flickered up ahead and the grip on her arm loosened. Marcela choked on her own fear as she drove forward in a burst of speed. The grip around her wrist vanished and she broke free of the macabre forest.
She covered her face with her hands. Her skin was clammy and her heart pounded so furiously that she was certain she’d be sick. From head to tail she trembled, violent wracking motions that threatened to loosen her scales. None of the stories, no matter how hideous, could have ever prepared her for the reality of the sea witch’s domain.
“You did not come here to sob in my garden. Cease the hysterics and face me.”
The sea witch’s voice wound around Marcela like the limbs of a great squid, caressing and squeezing with a not so subtle threat. Marcela raised her eyes and floated backwards, forgetting about the polypis as she got her first real glimpse of the sea witch.
The old merwoman peered out at Marcela from inside a cave constructed from sea-polished bone, human and merperson. White, milky eyes bulged from a pinched grey face, surrounded by tendrils of silver, tangled hair. Her pale body tapered down into lavender scales, split in the middle to leave her with two tails. Each scale gleamed, thick and sharp, more like teeth than true scales. Her spindly fingers caressed the sinewy grey eels creeping back and forth around her middle. The shadows cast by her grisly home only made her strange white eyes glow brighter, like pearls lit by the moon.
“Are your manners so horrible, daughter of Triton?” The sea witch snatched up a shrimp that had been scuttling over the arm of her macabre throne. She shoved it into her mouth, jaw flexing in one ominous motion. The crunch echoed through the water as her sharp teeth ground it to bits, shell and all, and she swallowed.
“I-I’m sorry.” Marcela swam forward, stopping as far back from the sea witch as she dared. “Greetings—”
The name died on the tip of her tongue, fizzling out in the wind of years of fear. The witch bared her jagged teeth.
“Is it still claimed that to speak my name is to invite disaster?” Bemusement lifted the corner of her mouth. “Can you not say it, even to my face? Even for the sake of showing me the respect I deserve?” Her voice dropped into a lower register for the last question, a not-so-subtle warning.
“Greetings…Melusine.” Marcela struggled not to choke on the name, even as the syllables tingled on her tongue. She cleared her throat. “I—”
“So, you’ve fallen in love with the angelic prince,” Melusine mused. “How very foolish.”
Marcela’s surprise at the sea witch’s knowledge was quickly overshadowed by a flash of embarrassment at her mockery. She’d been so certain that the rumors of Melusine’s power had been exaggerated, that the sea witch could not possibly have the spies everyone claimed. Marcela crossed her arms, huddling into herself as all the warmth in the sea fled from those eerie eyes. “I—”
“You’ve heard the stories about me, haven’t you, little princess?”
Marcela fought to meet her gaze, her spine aching as she forced herself to straighten. “I have.”
“Don’t speak with such confidence, you have no idea what is true and what isn’t.” Melusine thrust herself back against her throne, grabbing one of the eels and stroking its writhing body. “I myself played as a human for a time. I even amused myself with a human husband.”
She spoke the words lightly, as if the human had been only entertainment, but Marcela didn’t miss the brief flicker of pain in Melusine’s eyes. She wisely kept her mouth shut.
“It’s been centuries since I’ve been offered a chance for this sort of diversion.” The sea witch idly picked at her jagged scales. “You’ll have your legs—horrible, stumpy things that they are. I’ll enjoy seeing y
ou fumble around on land, trying to get the prince’s attention. Who knows, perhaps you’ll be able to catch his eye enough for him to take you to bed.”
Marcela tried to keep her thoughts from her face, but inside she was baffled. The sea witch was rambling, rushing ahead without Marcela having to ask for anything. If she didn’t know any better, Marcela would have sworn Melusine wanted Marcela to try and win the prince. But why would the sea witch care?
Suddenly light flared in the witch’s eyes. “Of course, using your pretty little voice would be cheating something awful. You must win him fairly, not sing a little song and enchant him. Come here.”
The sorceress’ voice cascaded down Marcela’s back like tumbling ice fragments from the winter sea. She shivered, even as she swam forward, unable to turn back now that she was so close. Despite the strange interest the sea witch showed her, the way she talked about Marcela meeting the prince as if it were a done deal was surprisingly seductive. It fed the warm feeling inside her that filled her mind with rosy images of lying in the prince’s arms, seeing him smile and knowing it was all for her.
In a movement too quick for Marcela to follow, the witch shoved her hand into Marcela’s mouth. Her jaw wrenched painfully as the sea witch’s hand slid down her throat, reaching much farther than she should have been able to. Marcela gagged and choked, hot tears burning her eyes and her mouth watering helplessly. She nearly lost her last meal as the witch grabbed hold of something deep inside her. Marcela wrenched herself backward as the witch finally pulled her hand from her mouth. Pain burned up her throat, and Marcela put a hand to her neck as if she could somehow soothe her throat through her skin.
“Speak as you like, but sing at your own risk. The sound will no longer be the haunting melody of your kin, but rather the croaking squawk of a sea bird.” Melusine’s eyes glittered. “Your songs are mine now. Consider them payment.”
Marcela tightened her hand on her throat, tears warming her eyes. The light shone in Melusine’s hand. If Marcela listened, she could hear her songs, all contained in the orb of magic, echoing in its curved boundaries like a prison. She looked away, fighting down a sudden surge of loss.
“Marcela…”
She glanced back. Melusine was admiring the radiant orb of Marcela’s stolen voice, her face softened by the warm glow. She gazed up at Marcela and for a split second, the sea witch looked…concerned.
“Humans are fickle, Marcela.” She leaned forward, out of the shadows so that the eerie light highlighted the sharp angles of her face. “And they are not to be trusted. Not with something as important as your heart.” She looked back down at the orb. “Are you certain you are willing to risk losing everything for this prince?”
A hot pulse leapt to life inside Marcela, hope that her dreams of Patricio could become a reality. She’d had such a little taste, she had to have more. Her throat still ached something fierce, so she merely nodded.
Melusine closed her hand around Marcela’s voice. “So be it.”
Before Marcela could respond, before she could even think of a proper response, a searing pain erupted in her tail. A scream ripped from her ravaged throat, a horrible, jagged sound that echoed in the current and bounced around the massive stones on the ocean floor. The sea witch’s blank white eyes remained unblinking as she flailed about in the water, gritting her teeth against the sensation of a heated blade sawing through her scales.
“If I were you,” Melusine said softly. “I would start swimming for the surface. Humans don’t have gills.”
Chapter Four
“What in the name of Zeus?”
Patricio leaned over the cool stone of his balcony, his wings rising to balance him on the stiff breeze coming up the face of the cliff from the sea. He squinted against the blinding sunlight, straining to see what was causing the sudden commotion in the water. Less than fifty meters from the rocky cliff that held the royal palace, the sparkling blue surface had erupted in a spray of saltwater and foam, a flash of silver catching the sun’s rays and throwing the glittering shards into his eyes. He shielded his face with his hand, blinking against the glare. That sparkle looked familiar…
His shoulders went taut. “The cuelebre.” In seconds he was stepping up onto the edge of the balcony, balancing on the balls of his feet in preparation. He glared out over the water. “Now that little snake will get what’s coming to him.” Launching himself off the balcony, Patricio braced himself for the buffet of wind as his wings caught the current and hefted him into the sky. He kept his eyes locked on his prey’s shimmering scales. Another flurry of movement erupted in a series of splashes right next to it. Patricio squinted. Something was holding on to the cuelebre. It looked human.
“The little beast has rescued someone?”
The words sounded ridiculous when he said them out loud, but Patricio couldn’t shake his impression that whatever the cuelebre was struggling with needed help. He flew faster, pushing at the air with his wings and tucking them closer to his body as he dove through the air, practically falling toward the water. At the last moment, he thrust out his wings, catching himself so he could hover over the surface of the sea. He nearly forgot to keep beating his wings as he recognized the person clinging to the serpentine pest.
“You?”
The mermaid from the other night turned her face up to him. Her green-grey eyes were cloudy and dark, too much white showing around the irises. Her pale shoulders trembled as she clutched the tail of the cuelebre, holding on as if terrified she’d drown. Which was ridiculous, considering she was a mermaid. He waited for her to speak, but she only coughed, sputtering and choking as if she’d swallowed too much seawater. She bowed her head in a fit of coughing and nearly dunked her head underwater with the force of it. She gasped and flailed about again, panic clear in every twitch of her arms.
“A little help would not go amissssss.” The cuelebre beat its delicate wings frantically as it struggled to remain in the air despite the mermaid’s tugging.
“Help what?” Patricio gestured at the mermaid in bewilderment. “Is she injured?”
“In a manner of ssspeaking.” Its mouth shot open and its pink tongue flew out as the mermaid floundered again.
Putting thoughts of crushing the miserable serpent in his grip out of his mind, Patricio flew in a loop, dipping low to the water to snatch the mermaid up into his arms. He nearly crashed right back into the waves as her lower half broke free of the surface.
“Legs?” He blinked at the body he now held in his arms—the human body. Flesh as pale as the inner shell of an oyster, generous curves that filled his hands and pressed pleasantly against his chest. Crimson hair fell in waves down her body, providing what little modesty was to be had when being carried, naked, in someone’s arms.
The former sea maiden moved her lips, but no sound came out, only a whisper of breath. Violent trembling racked her petite form and the icy cold of her skin leached the warmth from Patricio’s flesh.
“You’re freezing. But, no, you can’t be freezing. Mermaids don’t get cold, your bodies adjust easily to any temperature.” He blinked at her legs. “Of course, mermaids also have tails.”
The mermaid appeared oblivious to his rambling. She stared along with him at her new form, oddly enough looking as confused as he was. It was distracting, seeing the long expanse of her new legs, smooth skin as soft as a gentle breeze, not a single mark or scar to taint their beauty. Her hips were lavish swells and he had the wild, random thought that they fit his large palms perfectly.
Her bottom lip trembled, from cold or emotion, Patricio wasn’t sure. The sight of the plump flesh filled his mind with the memory of their kiss, the soft slide of her lips against his, her body curled against his side on the beach. Heat flared in his blood and he tightened his arms around her, enjoying the soft give of her body under the firm pressure of his hands.
“I would do anything for you.”
Like the ear-splitting screech of a sea gull, the memory of her glazed eyes and inst
ant declaration of affection shattered the pleasant haze of his imagination. The heat in his blood cooled at the echo of the sickly sweet voice so often used by those his curse had vanquished. The attraction he’d felt, the delicious sizzle of arousal that he experienced all too rarely, ruined by the false emotions inflicted by the witch’s spell. He ripped his gaze from the mermaid’s new body and violently beat the air with his wings as if it was responsible for stealing her from him. This was why it was better to be alone, to shut others out before he could be tempted to let them in. He clenched his teeth. He would get her warm and safe and then find out what in the North Wind had happened to her. After he was satisfied she would be all right, he would wash his hands of her for good.
Something cold touched his chest and Patricio leaned back to see her slowly leaning closer to his body, her shoulders hunched. Despite the fact that she was obviously freezing, she seemed hesitant, her body vibrating with tension in his arms. Stifling a sigh, he nevertheless tucked her more firmly against him, silently letting her know it was all right to cuddle closer.
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