by S. M. Welles
I swam to the edge of the water and pulled myself onto the rocky bank. A dozen nereids backed away and crouched by the wall. I sat on the lip and let my feet stay in the water. Keeping contact with it helped me keep track of where my company was and how many there were. The glow worms and such cast the cenote in a mix of greens and blues, and bioluminescent fish swimming among the monsters kept getting blocked out by dozens of froggy silhouettes. I was surrounded by hundreds of nereids.
“Amphitrite’s little demon pet has come back to play,” the monster nearest me said. “It’s been a long time. He doesn’t visit often enough.” Others cackled. The ones on the bank began to inch closer.
I got to my feet and water dripped onto the rock and back into the pool. My company shied away. Their skittishness was partially an act. If I provoked them, they’d eagerly tear into me. This was just a game to them, to see how long before I cracked. I took in their sheer numbers and let out a resigned sigh. I was already on the verge of cracking. First the water show after lockdown, then the stunts in the train station and La Havre, and then my lash-outs versus Tethys. What was one more? “This visit’s gonna be much shorter. I’ve got things to do back where I belong.”
“What things?” another asked.
“Take care of my crew, make a few deliveries, and try to get rid of my curse.” It didn’t matter whether or not I told them the truth or anything at all. They just liked to bicker with me. I was the sideshow freak in this place, and I felt like it.
“No!” A third said. “Forget about them. Stay with us and play.”
“Stay cursed. It’s more fun that way!” More cackling.
Something cold pawed at my hand. I spun and put up my fists. A naiad crouched before me and didn’t flinch. She was smaller than the nereids, had breasts like a woman, and bigger lips and wider hips than her male counterparts. She looked up at me with her bulbous eyes.
“Why do you hide in your human shell? Your demon form is so much more fun.”
“Human is boring!” another shouted.
“Says you,” I said.
“Says all of us!” another said. More voiced their agreement. The cenote echoed with dozens upon dozens of voices. The nearest creatures began creeping towards me again and their voices unified into a chant.
“Demon, demon, demon!”
I glared at the nearest monsters. “No,” I said firmly. They stopped their advance. The chanting lost its uniformity and the word “no” rippled out among them, some saying it in disbelief and others questioningly, but at least it got them to stop goading me.
The nereid who’d woken me stood on its hind legs and held up its arms. “No!” The rest fell silent, letting the sound of water drizzling into the pool fill the humid air.
At the creature’s full height, it stood no taller than my stomach. It glared at me, undaunted by our size difference. None of them frightened me, not even their sheer numbers. They filled me only with dread and misery.
“Then we will make you!” it said.
Several tackled me into the water and we went under with a big splash. The sound of bubbling and swishing filled my ears, along with their dolphin-like calls. I rolled and flailed, and they let go. No sooner had I figured out which way was up did they tackle me again. I flailed some more, shaking them off, but not before they pulled me a little deeper. I swam for the surface, got a gulp of air, and they pulled me down by my ankles. The struggle began anew.
I fought my way to the surface several times, getting a little closer to shore with each gulp of air. They were toying with me. I knew it. They knew I knew it. I also had to concede it was probably a matter of time before they got what I didn’t want, but I’d exhaust all my other options first.
Right as my face broke the surface for the millionth time, I opened my mouth and gulped down water instead as they prematurely yanked me back under. I coughed it out only to suck in more water. I began to panic as I fought the urge to inhale. My chest tightened. I’d only black out for a while if I drowned in this place, but who knows how long that’d be on Earth? I couldn’t afford to waste my opportunity with Jessie.
I called water to me and launched myself and several nereids onto the rocky shore. My attackers let go as I landed on my hands and knees and coughed up water. I gagged a couple of times, then gasped for air. A few tried to sneak up from behind but I swept them away with a crescent of water. They began chanting for my demon form again.
Ironically, I wasn’t entirely sure what my demon form looked like. No one had ever held up a mirror to my transformed body. I just knew it was fifty feet tall, had fishy features, a grayish-blue hide, and a few extra abilities my human self lacked.
I looked at the water teeming with monsters, and then at the cenote’s dark opening a hundred feet above me. There were plenty of outcrops and plants to help me climb up, out, and back to consciousness, but they’d never let me climb unmolested. This left me with another idea I doubted would work, but I had to at least try or I’d never know.
I charged the nearest monsters. They parted for me like a school of sardines fleeing from a shark. Once I reached the wall, I turned around and charged through them again. They’d filled the empty space between me and the water. I leapt out over the water and cannonballed in, then let myself sink until my body lost momentum. I called a ton of water to me and rocketed myself up into the air. The opening rapidly drew closer as it felt like I was riding an elevator. The monsters watched my escape attempt, stupefied, but then some of the ones still above me leapt off their perch and latched onto me. They knocked me sideways and off my column of water. I angled it back under me and willed it to keep lifting me, along with my excess baggage. My head ached with the mental strain and my ascent slowed, then several more latched on and I couldn’t maintain concentration anymore. We free-fell and splashed back into the pool.
They dragged me down while I let the pounding in my head subside. I used water to launch myself back onto shore once more, then sat against the wall and caught my breath. The nereids and naiads gathered around and above me, close enough for me to punch them. They snickered and babbled away, trying to goad me into fighting them with little pushes and pawing at me.
“We know who you want,” one creature at my feet said. “No Rhode for you. Demon pet can’t have her, so play with us!”
Another up high said, “Can’t have her!” a second shouted from up high, and then they all started chanting that.
I clenched my jaw, a scream lodged in my throat. Rhode was the woman that had won my heart so long ago. They taunted me with this truth every time, but it never got any less painful or enraging to hear. I wanted to prove them wrong just as badly as I wanted my curse lifted, but I was powerless to change the former. God, how I wished she could save me from this predicament.
Cackling, they latched onto my legs and tried to drag me back in, but I dug my fingers into nooks of a jutting rock and they couldn’t budge me. Dozens more swarmed in and claws pricked at my fingers and wrists. With their sheer numbers, they took away my advantage, prying my hands loose. They began dragging me back to the water. I clawed for purchase but their slimy hands held my limbs hostage. My boots touched the water. I had absolutely no advantage in this place, unless I sacrificed my humanity and gave them what they all wanted.
“Stop!”
They froze, holding me in place with the water soaking my ankles. I resisted the urge to struggle free. I really didn’t want more water in my lungs.
“What do you want?” a nereid in front of me said.
“You win,” I said humbly. “Let me go.”
“Demon?” Others echoed the leader’s question.
I lowered my gaze and nodded. My heart sank.
“No more tricks?”
“No more tricks,” I said. Bile rose in my throat. Throwing around water was one thing. Turning into a monster? Ugh.
They let me go and backed away a little. They were going to have to back up a lot more if they didn’t want to get squashed, but th
ere was no way I’d courtesy them with that warning. Squish as many as the buggers I could.
I removed my trench coat, held it out at arm’s length for all of them to see, and dropped it at my feet, then sat down and took my boots off, one at a time.
One nereid said, “Demon pet said no more tricks.”
I glared in the direction of the voice. “It hurts to outgrow what I’m wearing. Now shut up and wait a minute.” Dozens of them cackled. I set my boots on top of my coat. Socks weren’t a big deal to keep on but I removed them as well since they were sopping wet. I took off my belt and added it to the small pile, then looked up again. They began chanting “demon.”
I wondered if I could tap into demon strength real quick, just long enough to wash away enough monsters to clear a path to the opening. I’d accidentally dipped into demon strength back in Revivre and managed to fight off transforming. Maybe I could do it again…
No tricks? My ass.
I got to my feet, closed my eyes, and concentrated on the water as I held out my hands. They chanted louder and faster. I sucked in a deep breath and bent my knees, then surged upright and flung my hands over my head as I filled the cavern with a huge jet of water. I hosed off the shore and the wall near me. The chanting broke into screams and cries. I scored a line up the wall, sending dozens of monsters splashing into the churning pool. Once I felt my skin start to tingle, I let go of the water and hustled up the wall.
I clawed and scrambled my way up, thankful for the network of handholds. My skin crawled not only with my body trying to undergo transformation, but also with hundreds of eyes watching me climb. When my hands and arms turned a greyish-blue, I paused, closed my eyes, and fought against transforming. I pressed my forehead to the wall and put my handholds in death grips and willed myself to stay human. I was halfway up. I was almost free. I just needed a moment to—
A bunch of claws ripped my hands away and flung me off the wall. I sucked in a deep breath right before I hit water, then gave up my fight against transforming. That trick had been the only thing I hadn’t tried before. More hands clasped my limbs as my clothes started feeling tight against my body. They spun and tugged and pushed and twisted me in every which direction. I continued to grow, and once I ripped through my clothes, the monsters darted away. I silently bid my humanity farewell. Fins and dorsal sail sprouted out of my body. I developed webbed hands and feet, a tail, and a tough hide, and then exploded to full size. My skin stopped tingling and I turned the cenote into one big firehose. I jetted up and out of the pool and through the opening before any of them could react. The last thing I saw was the pitch black opening, and then I was free. I became aware of the lockdown contain under my human back. I smelled metal, rust, saltwater and musty air. And my skin was tingling.
I didn’t bother resisting. I sat up and frantically undid the buttons to my trench coat and shrugged out of it, then winced as I unlaced my boots. They were squeezing my feet. I kicked one off while removing the belt pinching my expanding waist, then had to use both hands to pry off the other. Lying back down, I closed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest, then let my body explode to full demon size in the waking world. My feet slammed against the wall and I slid along the floor until I was done. To my relief, I didn’t bang my head, and my dorsal sail was collapsable like that of a marlin. I lay there and caught my breath.
There went another set of clothes…
My sensitive hearing picked up a soft pair of footsteps approaching the container door. There was a polite knock, followed by Rammus’s voice. “Captain?”
“I’m back.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“How long was I gone?”
“The sun just went down on your last night of lockdown, so eight days. Your voice sounds like you’ve transformed again.”
“I have,” I said unhappily. “How’s the crew holding up?”
“We’re all alive. Really beat up but alive. We’re tied down in Alexandria, but I can round up the crew and throw the lines if you want me to. We’re all supplied up and ready to go Dakar.”
“No. I… just take it easy for the night. No one ever complains about us being late. Just go tell them I’m back and to get some rest.”
“Are you alright, Captain? You sound pretty shaken up.”
I fell silent. My mind was cycling through my nightmare escape. I wasn’t quite back into reality yet. I considered answering the question before ignoring it. “Go rest. We’ll have a crew meeting in the morning after I see how injured you all are.”
“Alright, Captain. Try to get some rest yourself.”
“At least I’m stuck on my back this time.”
* * *
Once dawn arrived in Egypt’s time zone, I was free to revert back to human. It took a bit of concentration but it wasn’t hard; just left me coated in sweat and in need of at least a towel so I could walk around my ship with some dignity. I told Rammus about needing a towel when he returned to let me out. He retrieved my sandals and a towel, then opened the door long enough to deposit the objects inside. I felt around until I found them.
I winced at the sunlight peeking out over the horizon as I stepped out with coat and boots in hand, and the towel around my waist. I checked my boots for tears and frayed seams, yet saw none. I checked my coat as well, just in case, but it only needed a really good wash or three to get the blood out. A light wind kicked up and I grabbed my towel with my free hand. No way I was in the mood to tromp around in my birthday suit.
Rammus gave me a studious frown.
“How’s it look?” I held my chin up and looked at the blushing sky. Rammus stepped closer and turned my head both ways, touched the entry wound spot, then let go and stepped back.
“Not sure, Captain. You’re covered in dried blood. You’re kinda spooky to look at right now.”
“Ah. All the more reason to hurry up and shower.” The sweat on my chest and arms were tinted pink, and the sweat lines running from my neck a blood red. I could only imagine what my neck, face, and backside looked like.
“I’ll take those for you,” he said, holding out a hand for my coat and boots. “I’ll bring you some fresh clothes so you can head straight to the showers.” I handed them over. “It’d be best not to let anyone see you like this.”
“Who else is awake?” I started walking along the deck. The wind gave me goosebumps.
Rammus walked with me. “Mido might be. And if he’s up, Jessie tends to be. They’ve really taken to each other. I wonder if that’ll help your chances of lifting your curse.”
I opened the hatch and descended the steps, then lowered my voice to reduce chances of waking anyone. “Might not have any effect. I just don’t know. I’ve never had that happen with the other three avatars.”
“Well here’s hoping for the best.” He gave me a tilt of an invisible cap and headed for the cabins. I crept the other way and snuck into the showers.
Thankfully, no one was in there. Not even O’Toole. I turned a shower on then went to a sink mirror to see why my bloodied appearance was so spooky. I flinched at first sight and even turned away, but then I went back and looked again. I looked like a fresh zombie with my gaunt face and dried blood caking my upper body. My back was covered down to my towel, and I had a bald spot over the exit wound in my skull. No wonder.
I took a slow shower, making sure to thoroughly remove every last fleck of dried blood. Red water and suds ran down my legs and swirled into the drain. Just lovely. I’d need to eat and drink extra to make up for the five days my body took in zero food and water. My curse repaired my body on the first night, so it had basically been a breathing corpse for a five days. I left the water running while I wiped the mirrors and checked myself for any missed spots. My hazy reflection lacked any red; just pink skin from lots of scrubbing in hot water. I toweled off and donned the shirt and cargo pants Rammus left me, then tied my boots and headed for the galley. As much as I craved coffee, I probably needed a few days before ingesting any caffeine. I w
as feeling pretty woozy.
I entered the galley on silent footsteps and paused next to the fridge. Mido and Jessie had their backs to me while they stood before the coffee maker dripping a fresh pot. Jessie groaned and leaned against Mido.
“Man, I can’t believe my head is still sore.”
Mido wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her arm. “It’s a deep cut. It’s gonna take a while. I’ll pamper you a bit after breakfast to help take your mind off it.”
“Thank you.”
My heart wrenched at the sight of them. I could see bandages only on Mido, but to hear Jessie in pain hurt me as well. If only I could lend my demon healing powers. It was so unfair that I could shrug off even death while everyone else got old, bent, and broken. The only marks I kept were scars, physical and emotional.
He reached for something on the counter. “Here, I’m gonna put this away real quick.” He peeled away from her, a carton of light cream in hand, and he froze in place at the sight of me.
“What’s wro—?” Jessie covered her mouth and gasped, then slowly lowered her hands. “Are you okay?” she asked me.
“I’ll more or less be fine once I get enough food and water in me,” I said quietly. This was my first failed death with this crew. Even though they all knew I couldn’t die, witnessing me get shot in the head, then walking around a week later had to be confusing and jarring. I had a nice little circle of a scar in the crux of my chin and neck, and a slightly larger one near the top of my head. I raised my chin. “You can look if you need to. I know this has to be real strange to see me up and about, even after all you know.”
Mido put away the cream and they both came over and took a good look. Jessie said, “The scar itself is actually not that bad. No one’s gonna see it unless you look up.” She looked at my bald spot and involuntarily shuddered. “Maybe you should wear a hat until your hair grows back.”
“Eh. Just don’t look.”
