by Amy Sumida
“Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis?” I sometimes felt like Torrent was speaking another language.
“Sonar hurts not only whales and dolphins,” Torrent explained, sounding a little like my high school science teacher. “It can harm sharks and bony fish as well. As if the shark hunting wasn't bad enough.”
“But what do you mean that all the humans will die?” Trevor's brows came together.
“Sharks eat fish,” Torrent shrugged.
“Yes,” I made a motion for him to continue.
“If they're not there to keep the fish population down,” Torrent sighed, like this was basic stuff we should already know. “Then the fish will consume all the algae.”
“Uh huh,” I widened my eyes at him. Get to the damn point.
“Vervain,” Torr huffed. “Where do you think the oxygen comes from?”
“The Rainforest,” I rolled my eyes. “Everyone knows that.”
“The Rainforest?” Torrent gaped at me. “Do any of you try to learn about your planet or do you just take whatever's spoon fed to you and accept that as fact?”
“I...” I gaped at Trevor and he just shrugged.
“The world is seventy-one percent water,” Torrent shook his head. “Just because you don't like the water, doesn't mean it's useless.”
“I never said it was useless,” I huffed.
“Seventy to eighty percent of the oxygen on planet Earth comes from algae,” Torrent finally dropped the big bomb. “Algae is probably the most important organism on the planet and if the fish eat all of it, humans will have no air to breathe.”
“Shit,” I whispered.
“Yes, I told you it was bad,” Torrent sighed.
“Very bad,” Kirill nodded.
“Anyway, we should go talk to Kanaloa,” Torrent advised. “I'll bet he knows about the mermaids.”
“You're right,” I sat up straight. “That's a fabulous idea. If anyone knows about mermaids, it would be a god of the sea.”
“Thank you,” Torrent's cheeks got slightly pink.
“Are you blushing?” I gaped at him. “Is it even possible for you to blush?”
“If you prick me, do I not bleed?” Torrent straightened.
“I don't know,” Trevor looked him over, “do you?”
“Sorry, Torrent,” I shook my head as I slapped Trevor. “I wasn't thinking.”
“It's okay,” Torrent shrugged, “and just for the record, I do. Bleed, that is.”
“Well hopefully not today,” I shot him an apologetic grin.
Chapter Fifteen
Kanaloa had a beautiful home right on the beach in Lanikai, a wealthy neighborhood on the Windward side of the island of Oahu. It was two stories tall with lots of huge windows, which had made spying on him a lot easier back when I'd suspected him of hosting the Darkness and basically being a murderer. I was very relieved to discover that he had nothing to do with the crimes and even more relieved that he would never know of my suspicions.
The house was modern looking, one of those boxy affairs with a flat roof and cement walls, but its exterior was adorned with flat copper sculptures of sea life. The turquoise patina of the copper softened the harsh cement and gave it some charm. I walked up the wide slate flagstones to the overly tall front door and slid Trevor a nervous glance. We had no idea if Kanaloa would even be home and I felt kind of rude for showing up on his doorstep unannounced.
I rang the bell and stepped back to wait with our little group. Kirill, Darius, and Torrent had come along with me and Trevor, Darius was once more wearing his ridiculous detective outfit, which he thought made him look like Humphrey Bogart. At least this time he was wearing pants with it, the first time it had been shorts and he'd ended up looking more like a flasher in a fedora than Bogie.
The door swung open and a beautiful brunette stood there. She was thin and glamorous with a bikini clad body that deserved to be on display constantly. I didn't blame her one second for walking around like that(okay maybe one teensy weeny second), I probably would have too if I had that body. Her glamorous form was really a glamor though, as in a fey magic that made her look human. In reality, she was much thinner and her skin was pearl white. Her hair matched her skin with just some opal shimmers to distinguish it, and normally her eyes were really big and really blue. At least their color was the same or I wouldn't have been able to equate this form with the real her at all.
“Queen Vervain!” She cried in delight. “I had no idea you were visiting today or I would have put on something more appropriate.”
“I'm so sorry to show up unannounced, Gruach,” I waved away her concern. “You look amazing, don't worry about it. We weren't sure how to contact Kanaloa so we decided to take a chance and see if he was home.”
“Oh yes, he is,” she stepped back and waved us in. “Come on in, he's just making some coffee. Would you like some?”
“Yes, thank you,” I looked at the others and they all nodded.
“Great,” she led us into an airy living room with white furniture and glass sliding doors, open to the salty breeze. There was a large yard edged on two sides by a high wall but at the end facing the beach, the wall was low with steps leading down to the sand. “Please relax, I'll go let him know you're here.”
Only a minute or so went by before Kanaloa came rushing out to greet us. He had on board shorts and no shirt, displaying his magnificent body and detailed tribal tattoos of squid and octopus. His blue eyes brightened when he saw us, standing out against his dark skin.
“Vervain! Trevor!” He came forward and shook our hands. “What a great surprise. How are you?”
“Well, thank you,” I nodded.
“Let me go grab the coffee. I just wanted to say hi first,” he rushed back into the kitchen and emerged a few minutes later with a coffee tray and Gruach. “Here we go,” he put the whole thing down on the coffee table between us and started pouring mugs for everyone. “So I've been meaning to thank you, Vervain. Gruach told me she went to you to ask about me and you gave a glowing report.”
“Well I only told the truth as I knew it,” I shrugged, thankful now that I hadn't warned Gruach off of him before the truth of his innocence came out.
“You set my mind at ease and allowed me to accept his invitation,” Gruach handed me a cup of coffee. “I appreciate your honesty as well. Things are so tenuous between the gods and fey right now, I wasn't sure if I could trust him and I'm glad I did, we're very happy.”
“Wonderful,” I nodded and took a sip. “Um actually we didn't come for a social visit but because we saw some news footage of what appeared to be a beached mermaid and we're concerned.”
“Yes, I saw it as well,” Kanaloa got suddenly serious. “I'm worried about the merfolk, they've kept themselves hidden for so long but now the military sonar may push them out of hiding and I don't know what that would mean for them.”
“So it's true then,” I hadn't really believed it until that moment. “There are mermaids.”
“Well, they're not the mermaids of human myth,” Kanaloa shrugged. “They share the same beginnings as humans, evolving from apes, but when apes started venturing into the water for food, some of them evolved to become aquatic. That's actually the reason humans began to walk upright, the apes did it to keep their head out of the water.”
“So humans stayed on land and these merfolk went into the water?” I gaped at him. “Human scientists would freak out over this.”
“And both the merfolk and religions would suffer,” Kanaloa said seriously.
“Religions?” I frowned at him.
“This would be another notch for the evolution theory,” Trevor concluded. “I don't think the religions would hurt too much, they'd probably just say that god created the merfolk too. Belief is a hard thing to shake.”
“Still,” Kanaloa shook his head. “I don't think it would be a good thing for either the gods or the merfolk. They would be hunted and studied. You know how humans are. I'm actually glad to have you here, I have
no idea what to do about this and I could use some help.”
“Well what do we know?” I tried to think it through logically. “Torrent thinks they function with sonar like whales do.”
“Yes, you're right,” Kanaloa nodded to Torrent. “But the frequency is very low. When the Navy sends out a sonar blast, the average strength is two-hundred-thirty-five decibels. To give you an idea of how loud that is, human hearing can be permanently damaged at eighty-five decibels.”
“See,” Torrent nodded. “Like a rocket blasting off.”
“Yes, exactly,” Kanaloa agreed. “It's killing them and the whales. Then there's the ones who are simply disoriented by the sonar and end up beaching themselves, like that merman caught on video.”
“So how do we stop the Navy from using sonar?” I looked around the group.
“We don't,” Darius shrugged. “They need it for navigation purposes and enemy detection. There's no way they'll stop using it, we just need to get them to use it at a lower level.”
“And there's something else,” Gruach said in a small voice. “Tell them,” she nudged Kanaloa in the arm.
“Recently, the US Navy has started using the maximum levels of sonar with repeat blasts throughout what appears to be a predetermined area of the ocean.”
“What?” Torrent gasped. “They could kill every mammal in the area.”
“Yes, exactly,” Kanaloa nodded, “and there's no reason for it. I think there's someone behind this.”
“As in a god?” I cocked my head at him. “You just said this would be bad for gods. Why would a god do this?”
“The same reason some of them instigate war among the humans, Godhunter,” he gave me an intense look. “To scoop up the dead as sacrifice. Merfolk have just as much energy as humans and any who die from inter-species conflict...”
“Can be taken as sacrifice,” I finished in a soft voice. “Fuck, this is even worse than I'd thought.”
“Look, I was planning on doing some more investigating,” Kanaloa offered. “I need to go talk to the merfolk and see what they know. How about I contact you when I know more?”
“Okay,” I fished out a business card(no it doesn't say Godhunter on it) and handed it to him. “This has my personal cell number on it as well as Moonshine's number.”
“Great,” Kanaloa looked it over. “I need to go check out your club one night anyway. I heard it's pretty wild.”
“If I don't pick up, you can leave a message for me with whoever answers at Moonshine,” I gave him a small smile. “You should definitely swing by though, it is pretty amazing, even for water lovers.”
“Speaking of which,” Kanaloa put an arm around Gruach. “Any of you care to join us for a swim?”
“Uh...” I looked at Trevor for help but he just laughed.
Chapter Sixteen
“I can't believe you're already showing,” I resisted the urge to rub Samantha's belly. I always thought that was kind of rude but I admit it's kind of like trying to not push a big red button.
“Yeah, this baby's growing fast,” she eased herself into a chair, “but it's not too surprising. The gestational period for a lion is a hundred-and-eight days.”
“That's like three months!” I gaped at the belly. “No wonder you look so huge. Do you really think you'll give birth so soon?”
“I don't know,” she laughed, “this is the first Intare baby ever born, right? It's not like there's a precedent.”
“Right,” I took a seat next to her at the table. We were on the veranda, enjoying the view of the setting sun with some coffee and cookies, hers was decaf. “What about the Froekn? How long do they take to give birth?”
“Froekn are pregnant for three months usually,” she shrugged. “But wolf pregnancies last only sixty-three days so I guess the human aspect makes it take a little longer. I wouldn't be surprised if I gave birth around the end of January or early February. That would make it around four months.”
“Damn, it's like the belly that ate the world.” I eyed her stomach and then it moved. “What the hell?” I lurched back.
“The baby's kicking,” Sam laughed. “It likes your voice.”
“Or it really hates it and wants you to make me stop talking,” I laughed.
“Do you want to feel it?” She put her hand against her stomach. “It's right here.”
“Uh okay,” I guess it wasn't rude if they offered.
I leaned forward and laid a hand against her stomach. Right beneath my fingers I felt the baby and I knew it was her little hand pressed against mine. Her. It was a girl. My vision went a little wonky and I saw her, eyes closed but aware. She felt the link between us and was simply reaching for it. I could see the golden line of it connecting us, my magic fueling her, helping her grow as much as her mother's nourishment was. It was a strange and intimate connection, one I didn't want to tell Sam about yet. I wanted her to have her baby all to herself for as long as possible.
So I sent a little comforting wave of energy to the baby, reassuring her that we'd meet soon enough and that for now, she needed to focus on getting bigger. I let my love magic rise and sent a couple butterflies down our connection to bless her and let her know how much she was already loved. I felt her delight in it, the soft warmth of feeling safe and wanted. Then I let her go.
“Do you want to know the sex of the baby?” I finally asked.
“You saw it?” Sam's face filled with understanding.
She knew my magic was the source for the baby's immortality, so I guess it wouldn't be a long leap to realize what would be happening between us. Still, I didn't say anymore than I needed to, as much as we were connected, this wasn't my baby, it was Sam's and Fallon's.
“Yes,” I gave her a secret smile. “Do you wanna know?”
“Of course I want to know,” she hit my shoulder. “I hate calling the baby an it.”
“You're going to have a girl,” I giggled. “Finally, another female Intare.”
“I'm going to have a daughter,” she smiled wistfully.
“Yep, tiny dresses and shoes and purses and-”
“Relax Auntie Vervain,” Samantha laughed. “Your inner diva is showing.”
“I can't help it,” I shrugged. “Boys are no fun.”
“The fun that can be had with boys is what got me into this situation,” she tapped her belly.
“Well, hopefully not boys,” I rolled my eyes. “That's just gross... and criminal.”
“Ugh, you're not supposed to say things like that to a pregnant woman.”
“You started it,” I huffed. “Oh and by the way, a thought occurred to me the other day.”
“How very unusual,” she said seriously. “You should have wrote it down.”
“Shut up, you ass,” I grimaced. “I realized that now that the Froekn are energized again, as it were, you actually could have the first Intare-Froekn baby. That is, if you want another child after going through the horrible pain of labor.”
“And you called me an ass,” she shook her head.
“That was payback,” I sipped my coffee serenely.
“Wait,” she frowned. “You changed my eggs to Intare. How would I have a part Froekn child?”
“I'd have to change them back,” I cocked my head at her. “Which is why I'm bringing it up. Just think about it, you've got plenty of time.”
“I don't know if I'd want to put them through another change,” Sam frowned.
“They're not actually babies yet,” I chuckled. “They're eggs, remember? I don't think it'll be that big a deal.”
“Oh, well,” she tapped her belly thoughtfully. “I don't know. I wouldn't want my children to feel bad because they'll be so different from each other.”
“I don't think they would unless someone told them that being different was a bad thing,” I tried to think about how children behave. “But you never know. Talk to Fallon. Like I said, you've got time. You don't even know if you want another baby yet.”
“Oh I do,” she gave me a
big grin. “Maybe four or five.”
“I'm sorry to inform you that you'll have to find a new place to live if you want to have so many children,” I said seriously. “Might I recommend a farm or maybe a cottage on the other side of the territory?”
“Shut up, Vervain.”
“Am I interrupting?” Kirill came out of the front door with a satchel slung over his shoulder.
“Not at all,” Sam hefted her weight out of her chair and picked up her coffee cup. “I need to go find Fallon and tell him we're becoming farmers.”
She waddled away and Kirill watched her with a little frown of confusion.
“Did she say farmers?” He looked to me.
“It's a joke,” I waved it away with a smile. “What's up? Want some coffee?”
“No, I vant you to put your coffee down and come vith me,” he held a hand out to me.
“Oh how very mysterious,” I grinned and let him pull me to my feet. “Where are we going?”
“It's a secret,” he smiled and escorted me down the stairs and out to the pool. “Tell me, Tima,” he handed me the bag he was carrying. “Have you ever rode a lion before?”
“No,” I slung the bag over my shoulder. “Now that you mention it, I haven't.”
“I zink it's time I took you for a ride,” he started removing his clothing and I couldn't help but enjoy the show.
“Oh, I agree one-hundred percent,” I looked over his muscled biceps as he bent to remove his jeans.
All my men had wonderful bodies but Kirill's body just seemed more real to me. Out of all my lovers, he was the only one who had been human first and his body looked like a human body. It was fantastic but it was human, without the height or breadth of a god. He was just an amazingly built man. He didn't have the immense Viking size that Odin did or the Froekn physique of Trevor, which was slightly leaner than the muscle-bound Vikings. He didn't have Azrael's angelic perfection which seemed to go all the way down to Azrael's sculpted calves. I swear, it was like Az was made to wear those stupid strappy angel sandals. Kirill was nothing like Arach either, with his sidhe height and dragon strength. Arach was leaner than Trevor or Az but his body could never be mistaken for human.
