by A Lonergan
I stood tall and followed my nose and my beast’s instincts that there was something amiss here but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. Then I smelled it.
The sickly-sweet scent of the gods and magic.
Glamour.
This was a glamour. Or there was one close, hiding something. I hoped Cristoff wasn’t hiding anything from me or it would be the last move he made. Anger boiled low in my belly and there was no stopping Beast from the hunt. I squared my shoulders and let my other senses take over.
I could feel my pupils dilating and a rumble vibrated up my chest. A wicked smile took over my lips and I knew Beast’s fangs were poking through onto my bottom lip. I inhaled deeply and pinpointed her location, she was close but invisible.
Before I could finish the thought, I walked through the glamour. My body shuddered as the glamour rippled around me. It took the breath from me and about knocked me to my knees. I braced myself and turned to see what the glamour had been hiding, almost afraid.
The glamour was hiding the beach, for miles on end. I couldn’t see where it started or where it ended and it frightened me.
The magic showed a rotting beach for as far as the eye could see. Storm clouds hung low over the black, rolling water. There was no sandy shore but jagged rocks instead and trash covering everything that might be considered appealing. This was powerful magic. Miles and miles of glamour was no joke and what I was looking at was scary as hell. No wonder the town in front of me was abandoned, at least that’s what I thought until I walked through another glamour wall. I couldn’t believe my eyes, the town was thriving but if I took another step backward, it was a ghost town.
Magic like this made my skin crawl and it was something I couldn’t understand and something I had never been able to do. Keenan had always had some type of magic running through his veins. My mother had said it when I first transformed into a bear. In fact, we had thought for sure, he would have turned too and when he didn’t, we were confused.
But this… This… was something else entirely. Another town hidden by so much glamour it would make a human sick just to look in its direction. The only thing that would make sense of it was… Well, the god’s handy work at it again.
As far as I knew, they were the only ones powerful enough for this kind of magic. This kind of magic would have to be done by a god, or require a large blood sacrifice, so much blood, not even a demi could survive through it.
I was so stuck in my thoughts and detective mode that I didn’t notice a woman break away from the crowd in the town’s square and walk my way. I felt Beast prickle but I paid no attention to it. There was enough magic here to scare any demi, much less beast.
She tapped on my shoulder and I felt myself jump, almost as if it were an out of body experience. Though, Beast was so close to the surface, it probably was. I knew my long canines were still showing and I didn’t mind that she saw them. Then I noticed what she was holding.
A baby.
A newborn baby by the smell of it.
Then everything clicked into place. The color of the woman’s eyes was blood red and her skin was so white it had a blue tinge to it. When she parted her lips to smile, her teeth were in sharp points.
I had always known that mermaids came to the surface to procreate but the details on that were very limited. This all made too much sense.
“You must be Crawley.”
I bowed low, knowing I wasn’t speaking to some low ranked mermaid. Low ranking families were only allowed to come to the surface for special occasions or one female per family. It was how they kept the population at bay. You couldn’t have too many mermaids, no matter how vast the ocean was.
“Yes, ma’am.” I looked into her red eyes, my beast wouldn’t allow me to be submissive.
“The beast has manners, how cute. Jessa is waiting for you, though, I have heard she is very head strong and it almost got her killed.”
My spine straightened at her words. “May I see her?”
“Yes, you may.” She turned around and swept her hand forward to the small cottage across the dirt road. It even looked like it had been hand-picked right out of a Grimm Fairytale.
“May I ask your name?” I paused before crossing line of mermaids standing in my way.
“I am Queen Cara.”
Cristoff opened the door to the cottage before my knuckles made contact with the wood. His skin seemed almost darker than it had before and it was still catching me off guard. I had never met a colored mermaid before. I hadn’t exactly met many mermaids though.
I pushed passed him to find Jessa asleep, or I hoped, on the small sofa by an even smaller kitchen. It reminded me of my home with how cozy it was. But my ceilings were higher. I had to crouch low as I made my way to her side. Her skin was glowing but she wasn’t waking up.
This girl had a thing for passing out. I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. We had things to get done and she just had to have a death wish.
“What happened?” I said, trying to control the anger starting to boil inside of me.
“She lets her curiosity get the best of her and didn’t let me ease her into the transition and she could have killed herself. Thank Poseidon I made it back to her when I did.”
I nodded my head and let my body sink to the floor. I crossed my legs and hoped this was all a part of something bigger than I understood.
Chapter 20
Jessa
Nothing happened. Usually when I tangoed in the oblivion big things happened.
Like Artemis came to visit me or Apollo tormented me in the darkness, while I desperately tried to escape. Or Poseidon throws me into an underwater world of mermaids and more fairytales. No big deal.
This time was different. I didn’t have comfort, or terror or even surprise. I was utterly alone with my thoughts to keep me company. Not that I didn’t mind, it was nice to be alone.
Then I just opened my eyes and my lungs didn’t burn and my head wasn’t pounding. I felt oddly refreshed but still smelled like salt, not much time had passed.
I hoped.
Then the snoring hit me. And I knew I was in good hands. When I sat up, I noticed Cristoff sitting across the room from me next to the red brick fire place. I was a bit confused and I knew it showed on my face. Crawley was sprawled out on the fluffy rug in the middle of the room, sound asleep.
“Gain a new insight?” Cristoff didn’t sound hostile but his posture said otherwise.
“Not really, guess I just needed a good rest.” My throat felt clogged and sounded like it too.
“Fair enough.” he said, aloof.
“Where are we?” I pushed my hair from my forehead and tried to catch my breath. Everything was going to change soon and I had no doubt, it wasn’t going to be an easy journey.
“Mermaid territory.”
“That narrows it down,” I scrubbed my hands down my face and desperately wished for a tooth brush and possibly, a comb.
“Mermaids are very selective on what humans and gods know. We are a small monster population that is vulnerable under the sea. Excuse me if I don’t give away too many details.” Cristoff folded his arms over his chest.
“You don’t have to explain that to me. I realize that I am not the only one that is being tormented by Apollo and his henchmen.”
“You’re partially right.”
“Oh?” It was time for me to cross my arms over my chest, though the movements were slow and hindered because of how stiff my clothes were from the salt water dried into them.
“You aren’t being hunted because you are a monster. You aren’t being hunted because you are an abnormality that isn’t supposed to exist. You have no idea how hard it is to be a monster.”
The guilt set in deep at his words. He was right. I wasn’t a monster but I was being hunted none the less.
Cristoff continued on, not waiting for me to respond. “If anyone should understand, it’s that big guy sleeping at your feet. He is definitely an abnormality.” He
rubbed the scruff on his face, thoughtfully. “We have a lot of ground to cover but we won’t be walking. We’re a small party, magic won’t be a big deal, but once we find the Centaurs we will have to travel on foot.”
“Guess it’s time to wake up Crawley.” I pulled my hair band from my wrist and roped my hair up quickly.
“He’s been awake this entire time.” Cristoff smirked down at the floor. “It’s that right, beasty boy?”
“Ugh, wasn’t that a band?” Crawley sat up slowly and gave me a knee buckling smile. I forgot the smart retort I was going to throw at him when he did that.
“The only music we have under the sea, is our own. We don’t stay up to date with human frolicking. There is no need to when there is magic.” Cristoff formed a glowing ball on his hands and raised a dark eyebrow at us.
“Speaking of magic. Whose magic is powering all of this glamour?” Crawley tried to stand to his full height but it was impossible with how low the ceilings were.
“I was wondering when you would ask that, though I didn’t mean to leave you hanging out there either. I was going to give you both the proper tour but Curious over here couldn’t help herself and wanted to see a merman naked.” Cristoff said it so calmly, I almost missed the end of his sentence.
He wasn’t entirely wrong and that’s what horrified me the most.
Crawley was the first one to recover. “I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t have been curious too.” He grimaced.
Cristoff started to laugh then and it was a beautiful sound, magical. “I saw the way you were looking at me out there in the water, Beast, but I didn’t think you really swung that way.” He wagged his eyebrows at Crawley and I was even mortified.
I hadn’t seen this side of Cristoff before and I wasn’t sure I wanted to see more of it. I preferred the gruff, almost mean, Cristoff. Because I didn’t know how to handle the joking one. I still wasn’t sure what had happened while I had been out and that must have been where the turn of personalities had come into play.
Cristoff and Crawley were bantering back and forth before they started to exchange punches. I stood there horrified when they both stopped and started laughing like they were old friends or something.
What the hell had happened while I had been asleep?
Cristoff was laughing when he started to talk again but not to me, Crawley this time. “Time for that tour, guys.”
Crawley had to bend down to leave the cottage and I just followed behind them, feeling more lost than I ever had. I guessed it made sense that they got along now. They were both haughty, prideful monsters. They had a few things in common, at least.
“This is our small town, and as Crawley already mentioned, its hidden by glamour. To the rest of the world, this is just a ghost town, in the middle of nowhere, on a rotting beach. The humans think this place is haunted and we have no problem feeding that fear.” Cristoff stopped and scratched his head. “A few thrill seekers had tried to come and make this like a bucket list thing but nothing a little magic can’t scare.”
He spread his toned arms wide and stood over a mosaic tiled mermaid in the center of the town. The artwork was spectacular and brightened up the entire square.
“Visitors aren’t exactly welcome here. For many reasons that I shouldn’t talk about. The time we spend here, we are happy and content and safe. That’s what matters.”
Crawley looked around, nonchalantly. “This is where highborn come to conceive and have their children.”
Cristoff gave him a sharp look. “When I mentioned safe… I would like to keep it that way.” There went that new friendship.
“If you can trust anyone, it’s her.” Crawley gave me a long, sad look.
I stood there stunned, staring at Crawley until Cristoff cleared his throat.
“It’s about time for us to get going. Cyclops and Centaurs are nomadic, it’ll be almost impossible to hunt them down but hopefully they’ve left a trail for me. I told Cent I would come back but I had no idea it would be this soon.”
He made his way toward the dirt road but I couldn’t help but feel like we were missing something. “Don’t we need a bag? Or food? Or something?”
Cristoff gave me a confused look. “Oh, right, you aren’t used to traveling with someone with powerful magic.” He rolled his eyes.
“Excuse me? I traveled with you for months and we were starving. Least you forget, what you put me through.”
“It wasn’t personal. I had a princess to protect and you were extras that didn’t matter when it came to her. Magic is a little finicky and doesn’t always provide for everyone. Don’t forget, we started out with a large party.” He pulled his shirt over his back and showed crisscross scarring there. “Glamour is a great thing. I can hide these, but the scarring is more than skin deep. I did what I had to, to survive and I will do the same for you. Revenge is more important to me, now and it’s important to Poseidon, as well.”
I didn’t expect my first glamour to be so gloomy. One minute I was standing on the side of paradise, wind in my hair, sun on my face and the next- not so great. It was like walking through a portal or going to another dimension. My mind wasn’t ready for the shock of it, that was for sure.
Rain pelted my face and the wind ripped my hair down from where it was perched on my head. Tendrils of hair smacked my eyes and cheeks angrily. Crawley raised his eyebrows at me awkwardly, like he wanted to say something but he wasn’t sure what.
I was right there with him. I wasn’t sure if I could trust Cristoff just yet but I knew I still had baggage I needed to get rid.
“You aren’t going to use me as a trade if push comes to shove, right?” I planted my feet to the sand and tried to look intimidating, but I wasn’t sure it was working.
Cristoff wrinkled his eyebrows at me and shook his head. “I told you, I had to do what I had to do to keep Cora safe. Right now, my orders are for revenge and to keep you safe. Cora made sure to add lots of fine points into her ordering around before we left and probably after.”
“After? But how would you know this far away from her?” I asked, confused.
“A royal decree is a royal decree. It minds me, mind, body and soul. If she were to order me home, my soul would hear her and you wouldn’t matter anymore.” He rocked on his feet. “I am her soldier, to do with what she will.”
Here I was worried about the games the gods were playing, with trying to compromise my free will; Cristoff didn’t have that luxury and I felt sad, mortified even.
“Don’t make that face. It isn’t too bad. It’s just to guarantee that we are loyal to the royal family, no matter the circumstance. She did it to ensure that you are taken care of and safe on this journey.” He bowed to me and took my hands in his. “I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. But Crawley,” He threw a wicked grin over his shoulder. “He’s on his own.”
I wrinkled my nose at their strange bro-mane and wondered if it was appropriate to gag. But also took a mental note to tease Crawley about it later.
Chapter 21
Crawley
It had been days. It felt like weeks. The magic on Keenan’s cabin was growing thin and Cristoff was deathly allergic to the magic warding it anyhow. We were confined to tents and camp fire. Camping out wasn’t too terrible until all of the members in your party stunk terribly and hated each other’s company after a few hours.
Beast had been doing the hunting but he was kept on a tight leash. He was growing too antsy for my liking and the last thing we needed was for Beast to be stuck and have free reign. Cristoff had started to become reclusive and distant while Jessa was still suspicious of him. I didn’t blame her from what she had told me but I didn’t mind Cristoff’s company.
I would bet he was cool dude before all the Apollo shite happened to him. I saw glimpses here and there of the rough, cocky dude that just needed a good friend but then he would slink off into weirdo territory and I didn’t go there. That was off limits. Friends were weird things to have anyway and almost always co
llateral damage.
Working as a team was fine but when it came to survival, it was different. I had never worked well with large teams, even small ones I had my issues with. My beast was too dominant and territorial to work with others for too long.
Jessa had sulked off into the woods minutes ago, in search of somewhere to clean herself. I knew I would be following suit as soon as she returned. Cristoff sat on an overturned log in front of me and offered me no company. He sent mixed signals worse than a woman. Or as Jessa would say: Me.
I overturned my borrowed shoes and dumped a handful of sand out of them. We hadn’t seen a beach in a while and I was still finding the little morsels everywhere. I hated the beach for that single reason. Once you brought some home with you, it was hard to get rid of it all. I ruffled my hair and more grains fell out, even though I had been sure I had ridded myself of all the sand and salt on my body.
I let out an exasperated huff of air and laid back in the doorway of my tent with my feet still facing the fire. We were back in the mountains and had been for a few days. Apparently, Cyclops liked to stay hidden in the wooded areas. It made sense but I didn’t understand the trail Cristoff was following and my beast certainly didn’t either. Whatever he was following was probably invisible or magic related. The rabbits I had caught and skinned earlier was slowly roasting over the flames and the smell of it was making my stomach rumble.
My beast wasn’t easily content with living off of berries and roots. The rabbits would suffice until I shifted too often and my appetite increased. I had to keep a very tight leash on Beast or things would get gnarly too soon. I needed to save all of that for the real fighting. But at the pace we were going, I doubted it would be anytime soon.
