“Take us over there,” I shouted to Joni. “We can help him!”
Joni nodded, pulled on her reins, and her wyrm turned violently, almost throwing me from its back in the process.
We crashed into a crowd of swarming sharks, and I slashed at as many as I could. But when the black cloud of dissipated sharks cleared, red filled the water.
“Evan!” Joni shouted into the blood-filled waters.
There was no response. Joni flicked her wrist, and the wyrm exhaled forcefully into the blood, clearing the waters.
Lying on the seafloor was a bitten wyrm, and the severed torso of the second wyrmrider.
We didn’t have time to linger. I swung my blade down on another shark as it approached my position.
Joni directed her wyrm down toward the corpse of her companion. “Annabelle, I need you to strike the bodies.”
“But they’re dead. There’s nothing I can…”
“They were bitten. If you don’t, they’ll be turned.”
I nodded. Zombie sharks were bad enough. But a zombie sea dragon? I shuddered at the thought as I quickly sliced my blade into the other wyrm’s body, and then struck the severed torso of the one Joni had called Evan for good measure—though without his head attached, I wasn’t entirely sure it was necessary.
“Like I said,” Joni continued, “we have to get out of here.”
“But wait, where’s Agwe?” I asked.
Joni looked around and shrugged. “Protocol dictates that once we arrive, he’ll use our cover to flee to safety. He should be back in Fomoria.”
“Fomoria?” I asked.
“The Vilokan of the Sea,” Joni explained. “But for my people, for the Druids, it’s always been Fomoria.”
I clung to Joni’s waist as I did my best hold myself on the wyrm. Pauli had managed to wrap himself around my waist and curled his tail around one of the saddle straps for good measure. Pauli was good for a lot of things—but I never in my wildest dreams thought he’d be doubling for a seatbelt on an underwater sea dragon.
I could feel the water pull on my hair as we practically darted through the water. Bright lights illuminated what looked like a massive city ahead—the Vilokan of the Sea or, as Joni called it, Fomoria.
As we drew nearer to the underwater city, I gasped—which produced the odd sensation of salt water rapidly filling my lungs. The city was breathtaking, even when approaching it from afar. A giant translucent dome of some sort encapsulated the entire place. It looked like a snow globe, though the dome was tinted with a blue hue. We tend to think of the ocean as blue—but that’s only because it reflects the sky. In waters this deep everything is basically dark. The dome that surrounded the city produced a light that illuminated the sea for miles around it. It was bright and magical. It gave the city light, most surely, but it also likely doubled as a wall. I suppose if you’re protecting an underwater city from potential intruders, a simple wall wouldn’t do much good since invaders could simply swim over it.
Inside the dome stood massive spires, glistening like the pearl that also formed Joni’s helmet. These weren’t like any buildings you’d see on land, not in New Orleans or any other city. These were massive columns, twisted, and pointed on the top. They gave this underwater city what I’d normally call a stunning skyline—but being God knows how many leagues under the sea, there was no skyline, technically speaking.
As we approached the city, a part of the shell opened as if some kind of intelligence within it had detected our presence and was welcoming us in.
The city was even more beautiful from the inside than from the outside. Like Vilokan—or what was once Vilokan—the city had narrow paths. There were no streets, however, since in this city people were not limited to horizontal travel. They could move up and down through the city’s waters with as much ease as they could pass between them. The spires had open balconies appearing in random positions—at least they seemed random from my perspective—up and down their length.
Joni’s wyrm slithered between the spires as we approached a larger collection of towers—an underwater castle of sorts. The wyrm settled in the water on the edge of a giant platform—not a balcony exactly, but a large horizontal floor that was elevated about twenty feet above the seafloor. Joni dismounted the wyrm, and I followed suit. Before I could follow her, a giant Merman stuck a giant trident in my way.
“None but La Sirene may pass.”
“Excuse me?”
Joni turned. “Please excuse me, Annabelle. I’ll send for you tomorrow. I am sure you have questions, and Admiral Agwe would surely prefer I answer them on his behalf.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Admiral?”
Joni nodded. “When a wyrmrider falls, the duty to inform his next of kin falls to me. It is a sacred duty that I must see to immediately. Until then, Titus here will see you to your quarters.”
I looked at Titus, up and down. His massive mer-tail was, admittedly, intimidating. Though that was even less impressive than his chiseled six-pack and his massive arms. He wasn’t the sort of Merman I imagined other Merfolk tended to fuck with.
Chapter Three
He was rugged, as far as men with tails go. He had one of those resting I-want-to-kill-something faces. He was like a living mugshot. Precisely the sort of guy I’d normally be attracted to if, one, he was human in the lower-half and, two, if I could look at him without wondering how many bodies he’d left in his past. Dark and broody is my thing. But murderous psycho killer? A girl has to draw a line somewhere.
“Follow me,” Titus said with a gravelly voice.
He took me through the same door Joni—whom they apparently call La Sirene—had passed through moments before. From there, we swam up through an oblong opening in one of the inner spire walls. Pauli slithered through the water beside me with ease.
“These will be your accommodations. You are free to explore the city. But I must warn you, the folks around here do not take kindly to land walkers.”
“Land walkers?” I raised my eyebrows.
Titus narrowed his eyes. My heart raced.
This dude is so creepy! Isabelle said.
I coughed over my shoulder, signaling my agreement with her observation.
“I suppose you’d call yourselves human,” Titus said. “But we are human, too.”
“Aren’t you Mermaids?”
“That’s a sexist term.”
“What? You have to be kidding… I mean, what do you call male Mermaids anyway?”
Titus cringed. “Mermen. Obviously.”
I bit my lip. “Good to know. I guess I’ll refrain from using the M-word from now on. Never thought about political correctness in Mer culture.”
Titus nodded. “As I was saying, take caution if you choose to explore our city. Not all will be so welcoming to your presence as I have been.”
I chuckled. “You are welcoming? Sorry, that’s just not the vibe I was getting.”
“I get that a lot.”
“That you don’t appear welcoming?”
“People say I look like an asshole.”
“You don’t,” I lied. “I mean, not literally.”
Titus squinted—probably trying to imagine a literal asshole in his mind. “I’m actually something of a teddy bear.”
“Sure you are,” I said. “I’ll take your word for it.” Wasn’t going to argue with him. If a man that scary wants to fashion himself as a teddy bear, far be it from me to try to convince him otherwise.
Titus huffed as he turned to leave.
“So you said we can explore the city?” I asked before he swam out of the room.
“You may.”
“Any suggestions? The trip down here, not to mention fighting off zombie sharks, has given me quite the appetite.”
“There’s a McDonald’s just around the corner.”
I looked at Titus incredulously. “Seriously?”
“No, I am joking. It thought that was obvious. It’s actually a Long John Silver’s.”
I chuckled. “I
get it. Seafood joke, right?”
“No, it’s really a Long John Silver’s.”
“How the hell do they fry their shit underwater?”
“Long John’s serves fried shit on land?”
“No, not literal shit.”
“So now you aren’t being literal? What is metaphorical shit?”
“Shit. You know, stuff. The words are interchangeable.”
“Land walkers are weird,” Titus said as he turned again to go.
I didn’t stop him this time.
Well, I guess we’ve got some time to kill before we meet up with Agwe and Joni tomorrow…
I nodded.
“See any joints flying rainbow flags on the way in?” Pauli asked. “I’d like to try and get some tail.”
“Funny,” I said. “But no. Still there has to be something better than a Long John’s. That place gives me gas anyway. I wonder what Mermaids… err… Mer people do for fun anyway.”
Maybe we should just get some rest. Titus said that we might not be welcome.
I sighed. “Isabelle, don’t be a party pooper.”
Just saying, it wasn’t that long ago we saw most of Vilokan drown. Not really in the mood for going out on the town.
I shook my head. Isabelle was the sulking type. Her way of paying respect, I suppose. When I was hurting—and I very much still was—my inclination was the opposite. Party my ass off. Live it up. Distract myself however I can. The last thing I wanted was to be left in an underwater room, floating around and thinking about how many lives were lost during the course of the last twenty-four hours.
“I say we celebrate,” Pauli said. “After all, Annabelle won the Trials! That makes her our High Mambo.”
I snickered. “The High Mambo for all twelve people or whatever who made it out.”
“Oh honey, I got more than that many out. But I see your point.”
“I say we celebrate the lives you saved.”
“I’m all for that!” Pauli exclaimed. “Do they serve beer down here?”
I shrugged. Beer wasn’t my thing. Alcohol in general never appealed to me. Mostly because I never really experienced the effects for more than a few moments. Isabelle’s presence had a side-effect of basically detoxifying my body the second alcohol hit my bloodstream. “Well, just know, you can drink all you like. But Isabelle’s magica won’t allow me to really get drunk, and I don’t like the taste.”
“Can she just sober me up when all is said and done, help me avoid a hangover?”
“Probably not. Healing drunks is harder, in some ways, that healing a severed limb. Isabelle could do it, if she had the reins. But without Mikah’s remedy down here, I’m not about to cure your hangover so I can basically experience one myself without the advantage of at least having enjoyed the buzz before. Not to mention, how much can a boa constrictor really drink?”
“Okay, okay,” Pauli said. “I get the point. So no bars.”
“So no alcohol, because we don’t want an underwater headache… and no Long John Silver’s, because if it starts coming out the other end down here…”
“Pauli!” I said. “I don’t really want to think about it.”
“Well, you know, everybody poops. Haven’t you read the book?”
“Who hasn’t? But I wonder how the Mer folk do it. They don’t seem to have butt cracks on the back of their tails.”
“They have to have a hole tucked away in there somewhere.”
“Do they?”
“Of course! Again, see the book! Everyone eats. So everyone poops. If there is a Long John Silver’s here, there’s definitely a lot of shitting going on.”
“Why are we talking about this anyway?”
“Beats me! You started it.”
“No I didn’t.”
No, you did start it, Annabelle…
“Hush, Isabelle.”
Isabelle chuckled. You said something about how Long John’s gives you gas.
“But Pauli brought up the shits.”
“That’s true. I was the one who talked about poop. Such a fun word to say, isn’t it? Poop.”
I snickered. “We’re so mature.”
“So manure, you mean?” Pauli asked.
I stared at Pauli blankly.
“Oh come on. It wasn’t my best, but I’m trying here.”
I busted out laughing. “It really wasn’t funny. But now I can’t stop laughing about how unfunny it was.”
“I guess I’ll never be a stand-up comedian,” Pauli said.
“Of course you won’t. Because you can’t stand up!”
“Now that was low, Annabelle!”
“You would know, on account of always being low to the ground…”
Pauli zapped himself onto my shoulders on a flash of rainbow-colored light. “Head and shoulders above you, bitch!”
Can we just go? So we can get this night over with?
“Isabelle… did someone shove something up our butt that I didn’t notice? Because you’re sure acting like it.”
I’m fine.
“No you aren’t. If it’s about Vilokan… all the people…”
It’s about Letty…
My chest tightened. It hadn’t occurred to me that when Vilokan flooded, my dog was stuck at the academy kennel. Fuck… my dog… our dog. Isabelle and I have seen a lot of death. Nothing like the scale of what happened in Vilokan. You’d think the loss of so many human lives would weigh heavy on someone. The fact is, so many people had died that I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. It was like this massive, dark cloud that hung over me, too horrific to even begin to ponder. But thinking about my dog… that made it real. For the first time since we’d gone under the sea, it felt like I was drowning… I could barely breathe.
I wiped the tears from my eyes as Pauli curled around my ankle—his way of trying to comfort me. I forced myself to inhale, then released my breath forcefully, as if I could somehow exhale the pain.
There was nothing we could do about it. “You’re right, Isabelle. I’m at a loss for words… but we can’t afford to dwell on it.”
Isabelle remained silent.
There was only one way put the loss out of my mind—to find a distraction. To go out and try my damnedest to lose myself in whatever kind of good time this underwater world had to offer.
Chapter Four
It was incredible how many Merfolk really lived in this underwater city. They swam easily between each other, passing between the buildings, going from place to place. So far, I hadn’t spotted anyone else who didn’t have a tail.
I felt out of place. The regular wide-eyed stares from passersby didn’t help. Every murmur, every whisper I heard, I was sure they were talking about me.
I’d never been a minority, really. Even being a girl, I went to a girl’s school. I always fit in—rode the latest fashion trends, drove a cool car, whatever. Aside from my affinity for eighties hair bands and nineties alternative, which set me apart from most of my peers, I was always what people had expected me to be. Then I went to the Academy. I wasn’t the only white girl there, but we were certainly a minority. Now, here… wherever this was… I stood out even more, and it wasn’t like I could do anything about it.
“Isabelle, any way we could sprout a tail? You know, try some of that shape-shifting magic?”
Not unless I’m in charge… and I’ve told you before, shifting is dangerous.
“Yeah, yeah… I get it. I could lose something of myself in the shift.”
But Joni did it…
“That how she got the tail?”
Must be… I mean, she’s a siphon. She can use any magic she comes into contact with. Amplify it.
“And this place… it’s full of magic, it seems.”
Maybe she can help.
“Probably. But I guess I’m just a guest here. Not like I really need a tail.”
“Honey, if you want to know about feeling out of place, try walking a mile in my shoes,” Pauli said.
I bit my lip. No shoes�
� he’s a snake. The joke was too easy, so I let it slide. “Who needs to fit in anyway, right?”
“Honey, in the fashion world there are two strategies: ride the trends, or set the trends. Most people ride the trends… but the trendsetters, those are the ones with all the power. So you’ve got legs. Show those babies off!”
I laughed. “Legs aren’t like a new wardrobe, it’s not like they go in or out of style.”
“In the world of magic, anything is possible, honey! Just do you, girl! When all the Mermen can’t stop staring at those legs of yours, you’ll be the envy of all the maids.”
I laughed. In truth, I’d always liked my legs. One of my better features, and I’d never been shy about showing them off. It was strange, to tell the truth. To suddenly feel self-conscious about having legs at all. One thing about Pauli though—he has a way of boosting pretty much everyone’s self-confidence. Aside from the fact that he’d basically nicknamed me “bitch,” which was a term of endearment for him, having him around always made me feel a little better about… well, everything.
I heard a thumping beat from a distance—it was loud enough that I could subtly feel the bass pass through the waters. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Sounds like a club!” Pauli exclaimed.
Isabelle sighed in my mind—she wasn’t much for big crowds. She was more of the stay at home, curl up with a good book type of girl. Probably not an option down here—unless Amazon makes an underwater Kindle. Come to think of it… I think they actually might.
We moved toward the sound of the beat, feeling the waters around us ripple from the bass even more the closer we got to it.
As we approached I noticed most of the Merfolk going in and out had some kind of bio-luminescent kelp all over their bodies.
“Holy shit!” Pauli exclaimed. “It’s a Mer rave!”
“Hells yeah!” I exclaimed. “This is just what we needed tonight!”
As we passed through the entrance, a black-haired, black-tailed Mermaid—looked totally “goth” in a badass kind of way—handed me a strand of kelp.
“Killer snake!” the girl said.
“This is Pauli,” I said. “The rainbow glow is all natural.”
Watery Graves Page 2
