Swim

by M. E. Rhines

  Mami Watta threw her head back, releasing a hoarse laugh that echoed through the room. “Oh, Angelique, don’t you see? Those brainless, half-dead merfolk believe themselves to be damned and haven’t a clue how soft their punishment truly is. No, my dear, I’m not afraid of becoming one of them, not because of my sins. This curse I’m living, it is my punishment. I died centuries ago!”

  Shock and understanding settled over me. “Your… fate. This is it? Keeping guard over the dead and watching them move on while you stay forever. That’s the sentence the sea chose for you?”

  “That’s right. It’s almost amusing, when you think about it. The very entity I’m charged with protecting is keeping me captive. I’ve had hundreds of lifetimes to perfect my craft of sorcery, but I can only use it as the ocean sees fit within the confines of my own ratty kingdom. I’ve grown to be the most powerful sea witch in all the world, but I can only use a fraction of my power.”

  With an arched brow and a smile so smug it put Lennox’s to shame, I delivered a debilitating blow. One I knew would knock this wretched woman off her high horse and splash her to the seafloor with the rest of us bottom dwellers.

  “Second-most powerful.” I articulated each word, slowly and deliberately, savoring the way she blanched.

  “I beg your pardon?” She gaped, the damage to her pride spread wide across her face and pointed shoulders.

  “On second thought, make that third.”

  “All right. I’ll take the bait, Angelique, but just for fun. Who in the name of Poseidon do you think could so much as equal me and my abilities?”

  “My mother, Queen Calypso.” I spat the name, the taste stale and foreign on my tongue. The first time I admitted my bloodline to someone outside of Atargatis, and it was to aide a Fin-man—a creature not much unlike a human. She would be mortified if she heard me now, probably cut my tongue from my mouth entirely.

  Mami kicked her tail, swimming at me at a blinding speed. Before I could react, her skinny fingers wrapped around my throat. Her weight slammed into me, catapulting me to the ground with her on top of me. I bucked and struggled, walloping her with my powerful tail as hard as I could until her grip loosened enough for me to flip her over.

  I hovered over her, taking a nasty pleasure in the way the vein in her forehead bulged as she heaved in angry breaths.

  “How dare you come here,” she screamed, smacking at my chest and arms.

  Steadying my dagger, I pointed the tip into her throat. She eyed the blade, going still at the sight of it. Her brown eyes dilated, and I waited for her to call to her spirits for help. To my surprise, she remained silent save the sound of her gritting teeth.

  “I take it you’ve heard of her,” I said with a chuckle. “Make no mistake, Mami Watta, whatever history you have with Calypso has nothing to do with my presence here. Lennox and I stumbled into your kingdom by mistake, not design.”

  Mami’s bottom lip quivered, betraying the fear she tried to hide. “Says the girl pressing a blade into my jugular. A knife tainted by black magic, no doubt. Just enough poison to finish this old hag off and send her down to the underworld.”

  Flicking my tail, I put some distance between us and lowered my arm. I wondered, for a moment, if the knife would be enough to protect me, anyway. To my knowledge, it harbored no poison on its metal. In my experience, a mortal weapon did little to fend off the supernatural, and that was exactly what Mami Watta was. Better to let her think it enchanted as a precaution, I decided, even as I retreated a bit farther.

  “It was her curse,” Mami howled, emboldened by the space. “Your mother is the one who conjured it, and it was Calypso who assigned it to me. That witch trapped me here, casting me out to live in the middle of the ocean with no one except these half-dead monsters to keep me company.”

  I shook my head, trying to make sense of her claim. “You said the ocean laid it on your shoulders.”

  “No, I said the ocean decided my fate… and she did. When Calypso and I clashed, it was the water who chose a side.”

  “Why would she do such a thing?” I asked, not sure if I meant the ocean or my mother.

  “Because it was her way,” Mami spat, her entire body shaking. “We were friends once. My sins were hers and hers were mine. She had a flare for evil, a dark side unmatched by any mermaid I’d ever met, including my own. It was a trait I admired in her. Until she turned that viciousness on me, of course. The sea, she did nothing to stop your mother. Only watched as she murdered the merman and the humans. Our all-powerful ocean feared Calypso, too, I think.”

  I leaned in, my tail tingling with anticipation. Mother never spoke much of her life before us; it didn’t surprise me she had friends across the ocean that I’d never heard about, much less enemies. What I couldn’t understand was…

  “If you were friends, why would she curse you?”

  “Why do you think?” She held her arms out, palms faced toward the sky. An orange glow started, but she squelched the power before it grew.

  “You became too strong.”

  “That’s right,” Mami groaned. “I was a threat to the domination she so craved. So, she killed me, but only halfway. Before the final drop of blood left my body, she placed a spell over me, cursing me with an eternal life of servitude.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and flitted forward. “You have every reason to feel a world of hatred for my mother. I won’t defend what she did; it’s inexcusable. All I ask is that you let me go, along with my Fin-man. Don’t force me to call on my mother’s power.”

  Mami went still, her arms still extended at her sides. She closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and inhaled sharply. “I can’t feel her anymore. Her presence has been missing from the currents for some time. She’s dead, I suspect.”

  “No,” I snapped, lifting the blade again. “Calypso is not dead, only contained. Don’t you recall? I said you were the third most powerful sorceress in the sea. Someone else has put the queen away where she can’t harm anyone any longer.”

  She opened her eyes to look at me again, this time with an intense, scrutinizing stare. Her eyes swept over my face as if memorizing every line and freckle. “I should’ve seen it. You have the same darkness in you as she did.”

  “You’re wrong,” I insisted, my fingers curling around the butt of the blade so tight the muscles burned. “I haven’t surrendered to the wicked the way she has.”

  “Oh, but you will. It’s only a matter of time before the evil catches you. And now, without my help, it will consume you.”

  “I won’t allow that to happen.”

  She snickered and leaned in. “I suppose that makes you the second greatest sea witch in the ocean, then, yes? Have you inherited her… special talents?”

  “It isn’t me you should concern yourself with, Mami Watta. My magic is no match for yours, even on my best days.”

  The revelation brought some light back to her face, chasing away any hint of surrender. “That’s quite the stupid thing to admit to someone within striking distance, wouldn’t you say?”

  I lifted my shoulders in an uninterested shrug. “Perhaps. Then again, I suppose after having a hand in removing my own mother from the throne, there is little left to fear.”

  “You defeated Queen Calypso? A weak-powered mortal with a skinny tail? I find it hard to believe.”

  “Not on my own,” I admitted. “I had some help. My sisters. Of course, Myrtle, my aunt, helped. It will be the same army that will come after you if something happens to me.”

  “Myrtle,” she echoed, a flash of recognition darting across her face. “The legendary sea witch you speak of, no doubt. She’s out of her mold-infested cave, I take it?”

  “You knew her as well?”

  “My dear, who do you think it was that gave your mother the idea to put her away?”

  I lunged forward, sticking the knife just inches from the stupid grin across her face. Her hands flew up in submission, and she crouched to the seafloor, cowering away fro
m the blade. “You’re just as guilty as Calypso then,” I accused, fighting the itch to bring the blade down into her flesh. For years, Myrtle suffered in exile, and I had this creature to blame for it.

  “Yes, I know I am. That was a long time ago, Angelique. I’ve changed, same as you. We’re not so different, you and I. In fact, I should thank your mother. It’s because of her gift of time that I managed to mend my ways.”

  “Says the mermaid who just went through a table to get me!”

  “I was startled, dear, that’s all. You can understand that, can’t you? The daughter of my nemesis showed up out of nowhere. By accident, I now understand. This matter doesn’t need to end with bloodshed.”

  “That’s right, it doesn’t. No mermaid, or Fin-man, should have to die here today. You’ll let us go then, I assume.”

  “Angelique, try to understand; I can’t just let him go. You are welcome to leave at any time, but Lennox must meet his end.”

  “You ask me to spare your life so that you can kill the man I love?” The words spilled out, and I found myself just as startled by them as Mami was. We stumbled away from each other, eyes wide and confused by the admission.

  Mami’s hand rested on her chest. “You love a Fin-man?”

  There was no denying the truth. When it had happened, I wasn’t sure, but it was true. Here I was, risking my life and my mother’s name to save him. There was no other explanation. I truly loved Lennox, regardless of what he was and the threat he posed to my clan.

  Sea rays batted their fins in my stomach as I came to terms with the potential consequences that waited for us, but in this moment, it didn’t matter. What mattered was saving the man I loved. I nodded, admitting in an almost inaudible whisper, “I do.”

  “Praise Poseidon that your mother isn’t around to hear such a thing.”

  I swallowed the guilt. “My mother has a sordid history with every clan in the ocean, I suspect. It would be impossible to find someone she hasn’t a grudge against.”

  “You may have a point, dear, but a Fin-man? They’re practically human!”

  A giggle erupted in my chest, the sound festering between us as a peace offering. “The mermaids in my family have a thing for legs; what can I say?”

  “Mermaids always gravitate toward the males their mother hates the most. It’s the way it has always been. Alas, if I let you leave with him, in love or not, not only will I have to deal with fearless Fin-men at my door, but the spirits out there would think I’d gone soft. It would be an invitation for chaos.”

  “You worry too much about what they think. The Finfolk would not know; I would make sure of it. As for the ghostly mermaids, they’ve seen enough of your treachery, haven’t they? They know you’re a force to be reckoned with.”

  She thought on it, but shook her head in the end. “If your mother has taught me anything, it’s that it only takes one moment of weakness for your enemies to pounce.”

  “What if I forced you to? Or at least made it look that way. I could drag you out there, my knife to your throat, and make you demand they release him.”

  “I hardly think they’d be convinced I was brought down by a teenaged mermaid and her dagger.”

  “Not just any dagger.” I held it up, pointing it toward the ship’s ceiling to show the length of the blade. “A blade doused in Queen Calypso’s poison, wielded by none other than her vengeful daughter.”

  Mami swam forward, placing her hand on my shoulder. “And then, you’ll leave us in peace? I don’t need to be worried that Myrtle and her army will fall out of a magic-made current next, do I?”

  “I promise you, I won’t breathe a word of your whereabouts to her. I’m sure she’s long forgotten you, and I’ll never so much as mention your name. Myrtle is the forgiving sort, anyhow.”

  The old mermaid squinted at me over her nose. “I like you, Angelique. You’ve got your mother’s spirit and fight, but you reject her anger. I meant what I said before; it’s plain to see how much you struggle to keep it at bay, but I respect you for your effort.”

  “Thank you, Mami Watta. I hold a deep admiration for you as well. There aren’t many mermaids who could handle the fate you’ve been given with such grace. Perhaps one day I can find a way to remove the burden from you.”

  “Don’t trouble yourself, dear.” Mami positioned herself in front of me, then lifted my knife-holding hand to her neck. “The ocean is filled with far more important things than an old mermaid with a chip on her shoulder.”

  The sharp side of the blade sliced through the rope binding Lennox’s wrists with minimal resistance, even with my unskilled hand. The frayed cord fell away, exposing the red, sensitive skin underneath. He rubbed at the irritated flesh, blinking at me with a tight grimace, a strange expression somewhere between relief and agitation.

  “You didn’t swim away,” he grumbled.

  I laughed, throwing myself at him and wrapping my arms around his neck. “As if you expected I would.”

  The corners of his mouth twitched, threatening a smile, but he was quick to regain control of it. He patted my back with a stiff, unsure hand. “You shouldn’t have stayed.”

  “You save me, I save you. That seems to be our thing, doesn’t it?”

  He opened his mouth to speak, but Mami’s voice boomed in the distance. “Be gone!” Her ghostly servants watched from her side. “And may you never return!”

  The sight filled me with a potent cocktail of regret and longing. Mami Watta seemed genuinely remorseful for her past, and I wished we had parted on more favorable terms. She deserved a second chance, like the one the fates gave me. I couldn’t shake the feeling there was more to come of our encounter. While I wasn’t bestowed the gift of precognition, something told me we weren’t finished.

  Mami and I would meet again.

  “We better get going.” I ushered him toward the open ocean, away from the danger in this kingdom. “Do your thing, Fin-man.”

  He cracked his knuckles and gave me a curt nod, the glower setting itself deeper into the lines on his face. “Right. Guess we know who’s in charge then, huh?”

  “Lennox…” I laid my hand on his bicep, but he shrugged it off and drew his hands together. As he closed his eyes, a familiar whirlpool started in his palms. He cast it out, opening the tunnel for us to continue our journey.

  Once the current was stable, he held out his hand. “My knife.”

  “Of course.” I handed it over, and he sheathed it at his waist. “I’m glad they didn’t hurt you.”

  Without responding, he dove into the vortex head-first, leaving behind a trail of bubbles for me to follow. I darted in after him, stunned to find he had already managed to get far enough ahead there was no trace of him to be seen. Kicking hard, I hurried forward, intent on finding him and setting things right. It was time Lennox learned the truth—about me, my mother, all of it. He deserved to know.

  I could only hope he would accept me, former sins and all.

  My voice traveled the rushing water in his direction as I called his name. The ocean spun past the way it had before, but the fact that my tail was now in working order provided enough comfort to keep disorientation at bay. This time, I was in control, which meant I could almost enjoy the way my heart raced from the incredible speed we traveled. To marvel at the way streaks of color zipped by in a blur, without fear of crashing.

  It didn’t take me long to catch up to Lennox. As fast as he was, his feet were no match for my tail. I was built for the terrain. He glanced back at me, a stern darkness in his eyes.

  “Lennox, wait!” I planted myself in front him, blocking his path in the narrow tunnel. Given the force with which the current pushed us forward, there was no way back. He couldn’t get away from me now unless he exited the vortex, something I doubted he would resort to. I readied my tail, prepared to swim after him just in case.

  “What do you want, Angelique?” He averted his gaze, careful to look around me instead of at me.

  “Can you stop being so
manly for just a minute? I get it. You don’t like giving up control to a mermaid, but—”

  “You think this is about gender?”

  “Where you come from, women are servants, nothing more. Isn’t that right?”

  His eyes bulged, and he clenched his fists at his sides. “That has nothing to do with this!”

  “Then explain it to me, Lennox.”

  “Like it or not, I know more about nearly everything outside of Atargatis than you do. I told you to wait for me; you promised you wouldn’t move. Because you just had to challenge me, you put us in danger.”

  Tears welled up, but I pinched my arm to distract myself. Crying wouldn’t help anything. “I’m sorry, okay? I should’ve listened to you and stayed put. You’ve got more experience than me, it’s true. But it wasn’t about challenging you, I swear. Mami found me; I didn’t go looking for her.”

  “It doesn’t make a difference. You should’ve told her to go tangle herself in a net, not follow her to her lair. I almost died because of your stubbornness!”

  “There’s no way I would’ve let that happen, Lennox. You mean too much to me.”

  He bounced in place, needing room to pace but finding no space to move more than an inch or two. “What were you thinking, Angelique?” he shouted over the roar of the rushing water. “I need to know. What did that witch offer you that was so tempting you risked both our lives?”

  I took his hand, brushing the top of his rough, scarred knuckles with my thumb. Out of anyone, Lennox should know all too well what kind of consuming blame and self-hatred I lived with. Except, the way I saw it, he was far less guilty. He killed by order of his king, while I committed murder because I loved the power it filled me with.

  My touch seemed to soothe him, and he let out a shallow sigh. “She offered me salvation,” I admitted. “A type of forgiveness I could only dream about obtaining.”

  “And you believed her?”

  “Yes, obviously, or I wouldn’t have gone with her. And… I think I still do. Lennox, she didn’t ask for anything in return; how could I refuse such an offer? As much as you and your clan despise her, I believe she wants nothing more than peace.”