by Maya Daniels
“Do you always think so much?” I hear a lady’s voice in my head that jerks me out of my reverie a little.
I look at the lady. “Yes, sorry. My mind works nonstop. I can’t help it,” I tell her with my thoughts.
“It must be exhausting,” she says, and turns around swimming towards her scrolls. We follow behind her, and I’m thinking, You have no idea.
“As a matter a fact, I do. My son is just like you.”
She looks at the man pulling me beside him, and when I look at him, he grins at me. I can’t help but smile. He pulls me past rows and rows of neatly stacked scrolls that are glowing like they have some shield around them so the water doesn’t destroy them. How interesting. I find everything so beautiful. We come to a sitting area with plants like seats, and as the lady sits on one, the plant conforms to her body like foam. Very cool. I’m being dropped across from the lady and my friend sits between us.
“So you can’t breathe underwater?” she asks, just like her son did.
“No, I can’t. Well, it’s not like I’ve tried. I just know I can’t,” I tell her. It is so much easier talking like this. I think I’m going to ask Meda to do this often.
“Oh, stop thinking and pay attention, girl!” I hear the annoyed voice of the lady. “And stop calling me ‘lady.’ My name is Ophelia,” she tells me.
“Very nice to meet you, Ophelia.”
“Well, at least you have manners.”
I was just about to protest when I hear my friend’s voice, “Mother.”
I guess this can work like a conference call. Ophelia starts laughing and so does her son. It’s so strange to hear people laughing in your head.
“I like you,” says Ophelia. “You remind me of a friend I used to have.” I smile at her a little. I guess her friend is not around anymore.
“Thanos tells me you are Semiramis,” she says, narrowing her eyes. My friend has a name now.
“You didn’t know his name?” I guess Ophelia hears everything.
“No, I didn’t until now.”
“And you let him drag you into the depths of the ocean?” She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“Of course, why not? What will he do, drown me?” I think that’s funny, but her next words pull me up short.
“There are many things mermen can do to your women that are worse.” She’s watching me to see my reaction.
“We have our own who do worse too, don’t worry, we don’t need mermen for that.” Seriously, I didn’t come here for a lecture.
“Yes, you are correct. Thanos, she is definitely Margaret’s grandchild,” Ophelia says to her son, and that stops me in my tracks.
“You knew my grandmother?”
“Of course. We were good friends.” She smiles sadly. This makes me like her more.
“I’m sure Thanos told you why I’m here.” I throw it out there, so we can get back on track. I hope time is the same here as above the water, I don’t need another six months gone. I shiver at the thought.
“Yes, he did. But I don’t understand why you want to take the potions. We have been protecting them for generations and they are safe.” She has a good point.
“I understand that, but as long as those potions exist, Tiamat will keep searching and killing for them. They need to be destroyed,” I tell her. I’ve set my mind on this, and we all agreed it’s the smartest thing to do.
“I see,” is all she says, and she gets up. “I’ll be right back,” I hear her say, and she swims away.
“She liked Margaret very much,” I hear Thanos say and I look at him.
“I’m happy to meet one of her friends,” I say.
“You know you are one of us, right?” That gets my attention.
“A merwoman? Me? No, you’re mistaken. I’m a water elemental, not one of you.” I smile. It’d be cool to have a tail for sure, but I like my legs, thank you very much. I hear him laugh. It’s still a strange feeling.
“I meant a long time ago. The Semiramis came to be when a merman loved a human woman. She was taken from him, but she was with child. From that child, the Semiramis lineage was born. That song you were singing speaks about their love. After she was taken, he spent every day singing to the mountain in the distance, hoping she would hear him and come back, but she never did.” He’s talking about my ancestors, and even if I didn’t know them, because of what he just told me, tears run down my face. No one should suffer like that.
“I wouldn’t have told you if I knew it’d make you cry,” he says regretfully.
“Oh, don’t mind me. I cry about everything, it’s just how I am,” I tell
him honestly. I’m emotional, I can’t change who I am, so I’ve learned to accept it. “So I’m half merwoman? Is that what you are saying?”
“Yes, half mer, half land walker.” He smiles. How interesting. “Although you were born a fire elemental, the water is more natural to you because of who you are in your blood. That’s what I’ve heard mother and Margaret say, anyway.”
Well, that makes sense, I guess. Ophelia comes back carrying a box made of mother-of-pearl and decorated with precious stones. It’s absolutely beautiful. She hands it to me, and I carefully take it and open it to see three glass bottles sitting inside in different colors—red, blue, and yellow. They are so beautiful with their crafted stoppers that look like blooming flowers, and yet so many people have died because of them, including my grandmother.
“I don’t know how I’ll carry this with me to the surface,” I tell Ophelia. My bikinis don’t exactly have pockets, and I told Remi we would forget something. I should’ve grabbed a bag or a backpack.
“It’s okay. Thanos will help you until you are safe on the land.”
Ophelia looks at her son like she wants to tell him he better do what she says. It makes me want to laugh. I think it’s time to go. I try to wiggle out of the plant, and Thanos comes to help. He takes the box in one hand and takes my hand in the other. I float towards Ophelia and give her a one-armed hug.
“Thank you very much, Ophelia. It felt like a little piece of my grandmother was here with me,” I tell her. Her eyes sparkle at that and she pushes me away.
“Go now, you silly girl, you’ll make an old woman cry. I expect you to come back one day and spend time with me.”
She turns around to hide her tears and we head out, Thanos pulling me with him. It seems he swims even faster on the way up, but I’m happy to be on the surface with the others as soon as I can, so I hold on tightly to his hand. We reach the surface sooner than I thought and I gratefully remove the bubble from around my head. It feels wonderful to breathe fresh air.
“Ah! Air!” I say out loud, and Thanos laughs.
“I forget how much humans enjoy that.”
“Well, at least you think I’m human,” I tell him, and he frowns.
“What else would you be?” He looks confused.
“Well, I’m a witch, so I’m not really human.”
“Ah, yes. Well, you look human, so you are to me. I call every land walker human,” he says sheepishly, and it makes me laugh.
“You, my friend, can call me whatever you like. I’m very grateful for your help. You may have just saved my life,” I tell him.
“I will always do everything I can to help you, Semiramis. All you need to do is ask. On that, I swear,” he says solemnly. I can’t help it, I give him a hug.
We swim towards the boat next to each other, him carrying the box. As we get closer, I see my friends moving around and I wave. They look at me, but don’t wave back. I guess it took longer than they expected, so they are upset. We reach the bottom of the boat and I call out. “Remi, a little hand here if you don’t mind. I can’t pull myself up with everything.”
Remi leans over, and she looks pale. I guess she really is deathly afraid of water, she looks ready to faint. Thanos puts his hand under my foot and pushes me up so that I’m level with Remi, and I start to bend down to take the box from him when someone grabs me by the hair and l
ifts me into the boat. I can hear Thanos calling my name, but I’m a little busy staring at a very handsome, albeit a bit violent man. I can hear Remi whispering really fast, telling Thanos what’s going on.
“Hey, take it easy!” I snap at him, and try to get his hand off my hair. I think he ripped half of it off. As I’m twisting to get him to let go, I get a good look at his arm and I see the heart-shaped tattoo. I stop twisting that very second and slowly look up at his face again. He’s got silver hair, and his blue eyes, like two icebergs, are looking at me.
“Hello, my love. It took me some time, but I’m finally here.” He smiles at me.
“Enlil?” I say in shock. How is he here? He’s a god. He can’t just decide to be here.
“Ah, no! I don’t use that name anymore, my love, it’s a new age. You can call me Zack from now on,” he says proudly, and I gape at him. This is crazy.
“All right, Zack,” I tell him, “What are you doing here? Even better, how are you even here to begin with?”
He shakes me because he still has a hold of my hair.
“Why do you ask? Did I interfere with your boy toys here?” he growls in my face. “Was the human not enough? You needed a merman, too?”
He raises his voice and is practically yelling at me. I hear commotion and look sideways to see Philip holding onto Derik, who looks like he is struggling to get loose, I imagine to try to help me, so I hope Philip doesn’t let go anytime soon. Next to them, Meda sits quietly with tears running down her face, and Jezzinta has clenched fists and fire coming out of her eyes. I need to think of something or we’re all screwed.
“You know, I actually would’ve been very happy to see you if you hadn’t pulled half my hair out,” I tell him, and stop struggling. I guess that throws him off, because he lets my hair go and looks at me with narrowed eyes.
“Yes, I’m sure you would have.”
“Why wouldn’t I? You think I didn’t miss you?” I ask him, and touch my head where he lifted me. There’s blood on my fingertips. He looks at my hand and comes closer.
“Did I do that?” I nod. “I’m sorry, my love, but I’ve told you many times, I will melt the flesh of the man that touches you.”
He’s getting upset again. I look around at all the people I love. I need to protect them, no matter what, just like my grandmother protected me. I did my part and got what they needed to stay safe. I look up at Zack.
“Let’s go then, my love. Let’s go to your realm and be done with humans and witches and everything.” I come up to him, and put my arms around his waist. He is still watching me. “I want to be with you, away from everyone and everything. Let’s just go! It’s been a long time.” I lean my cheek on his chest and pray he agrees. I feel his arms go around me.
“Ah! I have missed you!” He kisses the top of my head, and it stings
from the smallest touch, but I squeeze my eyes and make sure I don’t make a sound. I can hear Meda weeping behind me.
“Come, let’s go. This whole scene here bores me,” I tell him.
“Mmm, I think you are right, my love. We need to be alone.”
He starts opening a portal. I look to the side, straight at Remi. I can’t look at Derik at the moment, or I’ll do something stupid and get us all killed. She is looking straight at me, tears running down her face.
“Now I know how he got you in every lifetime,” I hear her whisper just as I’m pulled through the portal and hear Meda and Jezzinta cry out my name, above Derik’s gut-wrenching howl.
14
It’s already been a week since I walked through that portal with Enlil—sorry, Zack, as he likes to be called now—and so far, I’ve managed to avoid any touchy-feely encounters by telling him that I’m having a difficult time adjusting to this realm and maybe it had something to do with bleeding from the way he manhandled me at the boat. I didn’t think he would believe me, but to my surprise, he’s been very nice and understanding. I’m not fooled, don’t worry. I can tell he has an agenda, and I’m on high alert every minute of every day. I think about how the others are, but only sometimes, so I don’t drive myself insane. They’re safe and alive, and that’s all that matters right now.
I’ve been wondering aimlessly through this palace that is my home now, followed by two guards that Zack appointed, saying it’s for my protection, but I don’t need protection from anything else but him. They wear metal chest armor, black leather pants, boots and silver metal masks that cover their faces. There are only two holes, so you can see their eyes. I guess he wants to know my every move, that’s why they are my shadows 24/7. They even stand inside my room, one at the door and one at the balcony, while I sleep. It’s very unnerving, to say the least. I’ve also been turned into a dress-up doll, where every morning a new dress is brought for me to wear, because Zack likes elegant things. I want to shove them down his throat, but I smile politely and thank him for it every breakfast, sitting next to him.
So this is what I do. I walk through hallways, gardens and back to my room every day. I need to move so I don’t lose my shit. A cage! That’s what this is, a cage. Golden, but a cage nonetheless.
Remi wasn’t kidding about the women, either. There are tons of them here, all tripping over their own feet to get his attention—dressing up or undressing as much as they possibly can, as the case may be. They rub themselves on him, sit in his lap, rub his shoulders or feet while he soaks it up and I sit there watching it all. I feel like emptying my stomach in his lap daily, but I breathe and switch off. I’m there, but yet I’m not. I’m just going through the motions like a robot. I’ve perfected it by now. I could almost believe myself, that I’m happy to be here.
While the charade is happening, I think of my friends. Have they destroyed the potions? Are they happy? My friends will miss me, I know for sure, but Jezzinta and Meda have each other, Remi has Philip to keep her well, and I pray every day that Derik finds someone who deserves the love he has to offer. Nothing else matters. I don’t matter. I did my part. That’s what I keep telling myself every day, and it gets easier, with time, to believe it. I even make up all sorts of scenarios in my head about their lives and smile at my imagination. Zack thinks I’m smiling at him, and he’s over the moon, full of confidence that I’m going along with his plans. I don’t care; he can think whatever he wants. I also give advice to the women, when I get a chance, on how to get him to their rooms. That way my room is just for me—well, me and the two cyborgs following me. I say cyborgs because they don’t talk to me, only short commands, and they show no emotions. I can’t even feel their energy. It’s like they’re the walking dead. It’s spooky.
Yesterday I found a silver lining in my cage—a library so large it might take me a lifetime to read it. I’ll die a happy soul in it, so that’s where I’m headed at the moment. No one is ever there, as though they might catch a disease if they touch the books, but it works for me. As I walk through the huge double doors, the smell of books and dust hits me like a wave and I breathe it in. It’s the most beautiful smell in the world to me. I go to pick a book out of the thousands there and it takes me a while to choose. There’s everything from every era, from every civilization known to mankind and unknown, too. Obviously I go for the unknown. It’s more intriguing. The one I read yesterday was a story about Enki, the god of fresh waters, and Inanna. It spoke how Enki was the keeper of ‘ME,’ the rules of the universe, but one night they both got drunk and Inanna tricked him to give her the ‘ME.’ By the time he figured out what was going on, she’d fled to her city and hid them. He tried everything, but he was too late to get them back. It made me laugh. That sounds so much like Inanna. If she sets her mind on something, she’ll do it—unlike me at the moment.
I search through that section to find something else that will make me smile, and I come across a thick book with leather covers and no title. That’s strange. I pull it out and huff a little because it’s quite heavy. Nothing written on top of it either, only a horned cap embossed into the leather like a stamp
of gold. Interesting. I carry it to the table where I sat yesterday. It’s a long wooden table with carvings of branches and leaves on the legs and trim. There’s a lamp sitting on top so you can read through the night if you wished, and I took advantage of it last night. I drop the book with a loud thud on the table and pull the chair in. After reading a few pages, I realize it’s a book about Enlil. It’s about how he became who he is, his life, his victories, his relations with other gods. It figures. He would keep a book about himself to feed his ego and narcissistic personality. I was just about to close it and take it back when a paragraph caught my eye. It mentioned Anzu and chills ran up and down my spine. What the hell is Anzu doing in a book about Enlil? So I start reading.
