by M. E. Rhines
My mouth went dry, making me cough instead of shriek. I sucked in water through my gills to moisten my vocal cords. “I demand an audience with him.”
Lennox laughed at the request. “You want King Odom to meet with a peasant?”
I floated up to hover over him. “The queen has told you once already I am not a simple peasant. I am a representative of Atargatis, holding as much authority as every mermaid in this room except the queen herself.” I boomed the words, casting them out as a reminder to everyone present. The second they’d shut me out of their telepathic conference, they initiated a challenge. They would not be allowed to forget my stature or the royalty that coated my blood.
To my surprise, Lennox shrank back just enough to tell me I had intimidated him, even if just for a moment. I would take that and use it to keep pushing. “Your king will meet with me. He will extend the same courtesy Queen Myrtle granted you when she overlooked your lack of title.”
Myrtle watched me with a tense gaze. “What exactly do you hope to achieve by meeting with him?”
“You mean besides avoiding bloodshed?”
“Something tells me this is more personal.”
“I intend to find out what reason he has to make such a request. Something tells me this is personal for him, too.”
“You seem to hold an awful lot of weight for an ambassador.”
Lennox and I approach Atargatis’ gate, preparing to take leave.
A long, arduous voyage was ahead of us. One that terrified me to no end. While I had ventured outside the kingdom’s wall many times, it was never with the intention of seeking out another clan. Even on my journeys to the Florida Keys to visit Fawna and Pauline, I frequently found myself turned around and lost. How in Poseidon’s ocean I was going to manage traveling thousands of miles from home was unfathomable.
In this circumstance, I had to rely on the knowledge and direction of not just a stranger, but also an enemy. Lennox guaranteed the queen he knew the way. He had managed to find Atargatis, so there was no reason to believe any different.
I found myself out of control and in unfamiliar territory. The weight of it pressed heavy on my shoulders.
“Are you going to explain?” Lennox prodded further.
I shrugged. “There’s nothing to clarify. Myrtle trusts my judgement.”
“If I had ever spoken to King Odom the way you mouthed off to her, I would be dragged up to land, strung up by my feet, and stoned.”
“That sounds terrible. Would he really do such a thing?”
“Of course he would. You know better than anyone how cruel a monarch can be. You lived with Calypso, after all, and her tirades were legendary even in my part of the ocean.”
We crossed the threshold to outside waters, though I paused a moment to press a hand against the iron gate. Lennox continued without me, forcing a short end to my silent goodbye.
A hard kick of the tail was all it took to catch up to him. His clumsy, human-like feet trudged the ocean floor. Compared to the humans, he moved with ease, though at a much slower pace than me with my tail.
“I find it so curious how you knew about Atargatis, yet I never heard whisper of Finfolk.”
“King Odom believes in discipline, but he doesn’t cut us off from everyone else to obtain it.”
“Do you think that’s out of necessity more than a desire to offer you freedom?”
He shoved his fingers along his scalp, rubbing at the short strands of fiery red. “Why would he need to allow an open border?”
“Didn’t you admit your clan struggles to obtain basic resources?”
Lennox’s eyes shifted nervously into the open water. “I don’t think it makes a difference what his reason is.”
I followed his gaze, half expecting to see a group of sharks by the way his color faded, but found nothing more than murky blue water. His look was unmistakable to me, however. It was a kind of fear I knew by heart. The kind that lingered even after danger had left. When Mother ruled Atargatis, everyone in our clan wore it without reprieve. My comments against his kingdom triggered the reaction. Out of habit, he’d searched for punishment.
“You know he can’t see you, right?” I asked. “We’re at least four thousand miles away from the Orkney Islands.”
“Right.” He snorted, a smirk on his face. “Reflex, I guess. You don’t talk bad about royals, you know. It just isn’t done.”
“Things are different with Myrtle.”
He sputtered, then traced the patch of raised skin on my cheek with his finger again. “You never told me where you got this.”
“It wasn’t from Myrtle,” I insisted. “Cruelty is not her way. You witnessed her patience, particularly with me, first hand.”
He thought on the statement before nodding. “Okay, so it wasn’t the queen. Who was it, then?”
I brushed his hand away, then thrust my tail against the ocean to create some distance between us. “I’m not sure why you’re so concerned with a little burn.”
“What should I be concerned with if not my traveling companion?” he shouted from behind me.
“For starters, you might consider how long this journey is going to take us. A goliath grouper swims faster than you walk.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Am I slowing you down?”
“You’re behind me, aren’t you?”
“Could be I’m just enjoying the view.”
I sucked in my lips, pinning them between my teeth to keep a stupid grin from forming. My hands moved around my back on instinct, shielding my tailfin from view. “What an audacious thing to say!”
“Maybe, but judging by the way your voice just got so high, I don’t think you mind much.”
Pivoting my tail, I turned to face him. “Why are you flirting with me?”
He held his palms toward the surface. “You’re a pretty mermaid, and I must admit I find your feisty nature intriguing. Why not?”
“You think I’m pretty?” My mind tossed the notion around, but was unable to hold the concept. Insecurity chased away the flattery before it could be missed. “You’ve been traveling alone for quite some time. I was the first mermaid you saw, that’s all. It’s called imprinting. Lots of mammals do it, I hear, and you’re more of a mammal than anything else.”
“Where I come from, we just say thank you when someone pays us a compliment.”
It was the respectable way to respond, yet I would not give him the satisfaction. “Back to the issue at hand. How long will it take to get to Finfolkaheem?”
“Wow. You’re an expert at evasion.”
It was not lost to me that I thought the very same thing about him when we first met. If I permitted myself time to think about it, I imagined I’d find many similarities between us, and I feared evasive was just the start. Don’t think about it. The bait he dangled before me would not distract me this time. I crossed my arms in front of my chest, refusing to take it.
“Two or three days, tops,” he finally answered.
I shook my head. “That’s not possible. I did the calculations. Finfolkaheem is four thousand miles away. At best, we can travel five miles an hour.”
“How long do you think I care to be stuck with you, Angelique?”
“I don’t particularly care for you either, Lennox, but it’s simple mathematics. Or do they not teach basic arithmetic in Finfolkaheem?”
He lifted a brow, looking offended. “Who said I didn’t like you? Using your logic, it would take us more than two months to get to my kingdom. That’s a long time to be alone with one person, no matter how much you like them.”
“You’re right,” I conceded. “I don’t think I could spend that much time with my own sisters without ripping their hair out.”
“I might just pay a bit of silver to see that. I’d wager on you being the victor, too. You’ve got spunk, I’ll give you that.”
My mouth twisted, and my lips curving almost without my consent. “Thank you.”
“There it is. The proper way to receive a co
mpliment.”
I clucked my tongue and shook my head. He really was a blowfish.
“Jeez,” he grumbled. “You really thought it would take us that long? And you came anyway?”
“Of course I came. A life is at stake.”
“Why does it matter to you what happens to the old queen anyway?”
“I’ve witnessed enough bloodshed in my short years in this ocean. If I can prevent a single drop more from polluting the waters, I will. It’s my duty.”
He blew out a strand of bubbles, a look of between admiration and haughtiness spreading across his face. “Save the fishes, mermaids and all.”
“That’s right. Now, what’s the plan? How do you intend to cheat the laws of logic?”
“Remember who you’re talking to, mermaid.” Lennox twisted his wrist, exposing the shimmering palm of his hand to the small amount of sunlight on the seafloor. A ball of water appeared in the center. It was a perfect sphere of pulsating waves and angry whitecaps, converging into a single orb of swirling liquid somehow separate from the water surrounding it.
I was so enamored by the magic he showed me I almost didn’t notice the way his limbs trembled with effort. A vein on his forehead bulged, and he scrunched his reddened face into a distorted look of pain. When he could hold it no longer, the globe dissipated into a burst of bubbles.
I looked around; our surroundings were unchanged. “Nothing happened. Were we supposed to transport or something?”
Lennox heaved over, resting his weight on his knees. I held his shoulders to keep him from toppling forward as he tried to catch a breath. He sucked in water, coughing and hacking as it assaulted his lungs.
“When was the last time you went up for air?”
He didn’t answer; he didn’t seem capable of it. The process of harnessing the ocean must’ve used up the last of his oxygen reserves. The pink of his cheeks turned ashen, washing out even the freckles on his face. Snapping a finger in front of his eyes elicited no reaction. My heart pounded in my chest as I watched his life slip away before me.
The panic seemed so familiar.
His eyes, the way they darted back and forth, seeing everything yet taking in nothing. The way his limbs danced and twitched, searching for something to grab, but unable to grasp anything at all.
The scene sent me back to when Mother was the ruler, and I sat at her side. Proud and commanding we were, the other mermaids of Atargatis bowing to our power. How many humans died at the end of Mother’s trident, sharing the exact same dread Lennox felt now as his chest burned and ached for just a tendril of air?
Stop, I ordered myself. Holding my own breath, I clawed out of the memory. Abuse and cruelty was no way to rule. As much as I wanted my place on the hierarchy restored, I wouldn’t resort to Mother’s way of obtaining it. This was not a human dying in front of me, and I was not Calypso.
I would never be Calypso.
Acting quickly, I tossed one of his arms around my shoulder and hoisted him up. It didn’t take much work to lift him from the seafloor. Once I had a good grip on him, I shot up toward the human world.
We broke through the surface at a rapid speed, sending us airborne. Stinging rain and gushing winds greeted us, along with the distinct sound of a boat’s motor. My tail was halfway exposed before I realized I had overshot our rate of ascent. Dark, ominous storm clouds offered enough darkness to warrant hope that the sailors hadn’t caught sight of us. While I could hear them, their vessel, and their chatter, I couldn’t spot them anywhere along the horizon.
Lennox spit water out, then hauled in a deep breath of air. I sank down into the water until moisture pooled around my gills.
“Do you feel better?” I asked, watching him closely for signs of recovery. The blue around his lips stayed stubborn, but he seemed more alert and aware.
“I’ll be all right,” Lennox claimed between strained breaths. “Thanks for the lift.”
“Any time. Scratch that, no. Don’t cut it that close anymore, okay? Seeing you like that brought back way too many memories.”
“Yeah, sorry. It’s easy to lose track of how long I’ve been down there. Sneaks up on me when I try to control the currents.”
“Then I’ll help you count the days. Just hurry up and catch your breath before someone sees us.”
“Just… give me a minute.”
“I don’t think we have a minute, Lennox.”
The distinct sound of propellers assaulting my life source sounded. Thunderous and intrusive, the noise sent adrenaline spiking. My tail went stiff, leaving me frozen and exposed to the ever-encroaching vessel.
Strands of my damp curls whipped around in the storm, almost blinding me. Through the tangles, the silhouette of a massive fishing boat battled with enormous waves. The swells seemed to target the fishermen directly, slamming into the sides and over the deck.
As the ship came closer still, I could make out the humans onboard as they scrambled around like a sea of silverfish desperately attempting to outswim a pod of sharks during a feeding frenzy. Only a few stood strong at their post, hauling something I couldn’t quite make out from the water.
What are they doing?
Every inch of common sense should send their captain to order high speed toward land, yet they only inched forward, stopping every few feet for the brave few to continue their mission.
A soft whisper broadcasted inside my head. The sea in all her glory spoke to me, telling me to flee while she drove the trespassers away. With my whole heart, I wanted to obey, but my muscles wouldn’t move. A mixture of fear and curiosity kept me in place until the boat came close enough for me to see exactly what bounty they found so valuable that they would risk their lives to obtain it.
Fish. Hundreds, if not thousands, of the ocean’s creatures thrashed about inside the nets. Fishermen hauled them up, then tossed their collection aside with a stomach-turning thud that carried into the air. Mackerel, tuna, shrimp—they all gasped for air, choking on the dryness around them. My heart and stomach twisted at their suffering. Before I knew it, I was lunging forward.
An iron grip slammed into me, gripping my shoulder before tugging me back under the water.
“What were you thinking?” Lennox demanded, his voice crisp with agitation. “Did you ascend too quickly and catch a nasty case of the bends?”
I wiggled away from him. “Let me go! I have to help them.”
“You can’t. Those humans are trawling. They’re fisherman; it’s what they do.”
I didn’t care to hear what he had to say. No explanation could justify the quantity of food they took from us. A fish here and there to feed one’s family was one matter, but raping the entire ocean for commercial gain was another.
“Let them trawl on their own land. They have their own food sources. From what I’ve been told, humans use food as another means to gain wealth. It’s wrong. They misuse animals on land and there’s nothing I can do about that, but I won’t let them exploit ours as well.”
He sighed, sagging his shoulders in a way that told me he sympathized with my cause, but wouldn’t allow his position to be persuaded. “Listen, you don’t understand—”
Before he could finish, I shot off in the direction of the vessel. I understood my limitations; there was no way I could free the fish they’d already captured. Their fate had been sealed. But I would be damned if I was going to let those disgusting humans drag more to their death.
Lennox shouted behind me, but his legs were no match for a mermaid. I barreled the fork of my tail against the water, hurtling forward. Brine tore into my retinas, stinging on impact and clouding my vision. A flew blinks cleared the haziness, revealing a long rope extending from the fishing boat to the bottom of the seafloor.
Following the lead, I made a swift descent until I found the net on the other end. The boat above dragged the attached line along, swooping the mesh across the ground to collect any unfortunate animals in its path. Meshwork opened wide around a school of shiny silver fish like the
mouth of a massive sperm whale, swallowing them whole.
Gears grinded from above, causing the water around me to quake. I jumped at a loud clank, then watched as the loose line went taut. The net lifted from the seafloor and hoisted upward toward the fisherman above.
“Oh no you don’t,” I seethed through gritted teeth and dashed after the sack.
My fingers curled around the mesh as I gripped it tightly, then flipped my tail over my head. With every bit of strength I had, I kicked my tail, inching us down. Muscles in my back and tailfin burned, screaming with pain as I fought against the human’s machinery. The resistance was too great. Whatever contraption retrieved the net was far stronger than me, and it wasn’t long before my body collapsed from exhaustion.
Holding tight with my fingertips, I let the thing drag me up and up, my tail dangling uselessly under my torso, until faces could be made out through the ripples of the surface. I cursed myself in those last few moments.
If I was stronger or smarter, I’d have found a way to save them. I loathed Lennox for not helping. He could’ve used his dagger the set them free, but he was nowhere to be seen. An unserviceable, vile creature. It should be Lennox inside this net counting the moments until death, not these poor, innocent fish.
In the time my hatred distracted me, I realized too late I had held on too long. A warm, angry dryness touched the flesh of my face as it emerged into the human world, revealing itself to two sailors who leaned over the rails of their ship. Their mouths hung open, and one of them rubbed his eyes with his fists.
“You see that?” asked the one with a scruffy black beard.
His younger mate blinked hard, watching me with an unsure gaze. “I think we’ve been off land too long. We’re hallucinating.”
“Can’t both be hallucinating the same thing, dummy. It’s a girl!”
I cocked my head at them, wondering what they might do.
