Clashing Tempest (Men of Myth Book 3)

by Brandon Witt

  “A few millennia ago, I am uncertain of the exact number, the mer tribes lived in peace with each other. I am sure there were common disagreements and such, but no more than would be typical in any individual tribe or family. At this time, all mers were like us and the Synchi. None were immortal, but we were plentiful—an ever-growing and developing species.”

  Akamaii paused and looked toward Therin, possibly seeking affirmation or attempting to judge if he was aware of these facts or was going to challenge them. He did neither. Despite our increased time together, I wasn’t sure if the stoic mask he wore was hiding his distrust or simply his surprise. While there had been a lot Therin hadn’t told me at the beginning of our relationship, since the onset of this quest, there had been nothing he hadn’t been transparent about. If he’d had any inkling mers hadn’t always been immortal, he would have said so.

  Satisfied she was going to get no greater response, Akamaii continued. “Over the centuries, many of the details have been lost. I know not specific names or places. That does not change the truth of our history, however.”

  She paused again, swiping a long, stringy lock of hair behind her ear, maybe forgetting she no longer had the thick mass of hair she’d had when she was younger. She leaned forward slightly, putting weight on her arms as they crossed to rest on the curve of her tail. “I do not know how the discovery came to be, but the knowledge of immortality was imparted to one of the tribes. I do not know if it was an entire tribe or a solitary mer that discovered what would lead to the destruction of our people. Either way, the result is the same. A bargain was struck and our fate was sealed.”

  At this, she looked around the chamber, eyes darting all over the place. After a moment, I followed her gaze and realized she was checking each entrance, making sure no Scarus lingered about, though since she was directing her thoughts only at us, I wasn’t sure why it mattered. “I hesitate to tell you the true source of the immortality, but it may impact the success of this quest, which is imperative to my tribe. Though the Scarus are aware of the betrayal and that vampires were somehow involved, they are not aware of the specifics. While I would like to believe none of my tribe would give in to temptation that comes with such knowledge, I cannot take the risk. It is only passed on from queen to queen, and even then, it is the determining factor in the choosing of the next successor. I have passed over my own daughter and her daughter. Both fine Scarus, mermaids I believe I would be able to trust this secret to, but belief is not enough. It was not until Ewalani came of age that I had certainty that it would be this third generation of my womb who would not have the slightest temptation.”

  She searched the room before speaking again. Even as she did, she didn’t look at us but kept her gaze roaming the chamber. “Somehow, it was discovered that drinking from a vampire provided immortality. I do not know how such a discovery was revealed or who stumbled upon such an abomination, but that is the way of it, I suppose.”

  At her words, something tickled in the back of my mind. Seeing the vampire in the woods outside of Finn’s home all those months ago, threatening to kill Finn’s nephew unless I let him kill me. I couldn’t figure out why he wanted me so desperately, what made me so special. Later, I realized it was my mer blood, but that still didn’t explain why he’d wanted it so. Even so, even without all the puzzle pieces connecting together, it was enough to know that Akamaii’s story was true, and that it really was the key to all of this.

  Akamaii paused in her search of the room, zeroing in once again on Therin, judging his reaction. “It is said that the elders of the tribes met to discuss making a bargain with the vampires. I know not why, but the monsters were willing to let the mer drink from them and share in their immortality. For a price, of course. The mers had to sacrifice fifty of our own kind to their bloodlust as payment.”

  Therin’s composure faltered for the first time. “That cannot be. No mer would allow another of our own to be slaughtered for their personal gain.”

  The queen seemed satisfied with his reasoning, trusting this truly was unknown to him. “It was not only for their personal gain. How do you think the rest of your tribe and offspring gained immortality?”

  At this, Therin and Lelas both flinched, the implication that their long life had been paid for by the lives of others truly sinking in.

  “And not just the Chromis.” Akamaii turned toward Wrell, pleasure in her features as she cast her words toward him like stones. “Every tribe save the Scarus and Synchi partook. Including the Volitan.” The venom in her tone was scathing. The change in her demeanor toward Wrell was all-consuming after his implied threat toward her great-great-grandson. Her eyes narrowed as she refused to remove her gaze from Wrell. “Your tribe was the one in charge of rounding up the allotted mers to be sacrificed. I am certain that is a surprise to no one. Least of all you.”

  A cloud had crossed somewhere above in the outside world, casting a shadow over Wrell’s face, blocking his reaction, if any showed. I doubted he would distrust any accusation made against the Volitan tribe.

  Lelas broke in, tentatively. “You are saying all of the other tribes came together and offered fifty other mers to the vampires in order to have immortality. How did your people and the Synchi avoid such a disgrace?”

  The queen gave her a withering glance, the first negative reaction she had offered toward Lelas, as if she’d let her down by not figuring out the answer to her own inquiry.

  “From what has been passed down, both the Synchi and Scarus were close to going to war with the rest of the tribes, which, at the time, would have been suicide, as all the tribes were relatively equal in number. Both we and the Synchi took the deal that was offered.” She motioned around the chamber with her withered hands. “Our own territory and the promise to be left alone.”

  Lelas’s brow furrowed. “Is that not the same thing as the other tribes? You were willing to sacrifice the other mers as long as they were not from your tribe and you were guaranteed your own safety?”

  I was shocked at Lelas’s blunt accusation, and the queen bristled. “It is not I who sit before you immortal and forever young.”

  Lelas hesitated slightly as the price of her life hit her once more. “I was not the one who made this bargain, my queen.”

  Akamaii smiled derisively. “Nor I.”

  Fourteen

  SONIA LIU

  The last tremors of his orgasm jetted into her moments before she drew in his final draft of blood. His upper lip was frozen in a curl above his teeth. If some unsuspecting wanderer through the forest found his body, they wouldn’t be able to determine if he’d died in terror or ecstasy—if his grimace was all they looked at, in any case.

  Sonia wiped her full lips with the back of her forearm, then licked it clean with one deft swipe of her tongue. She let out a contented sigh, languishing in the last few seconds of her brain’s silence. All too soon, the fear and anger would return. It always did. Glancing down, her gaze inspected the countless wounds.

  The man had been handsome. Young, strong, beautiful. Confident. Both in terms of his own worth and that life owed him happiness. There’d not been any doubt that he would have all he’d ever wanted. He didn’t think himself better than anyone else, but neither did he believe he’d needed to answer for all the world’s wrongs. The gorgeous Chinese woman who had stood illuminated in the moonlight at the edge of the beach as he’d finished a late-night surf had been another confirmation of all life was laying out before him. The fact that she hadn’t said a word or required any prompting from him before she beckoned and stepped into the trees was one more indication that he truly led a charmed life.

  It had been that very quality that had called to Sonia. That mix of unpretentious self-assurance and cocky innocence. It had brought another man to mind. The man she remembered beginning to fall in love with those last few days of her human life. She couldn’t remember his name now, not even his face. But she recalled that easygoing swagger.

  She’d finished feeding
from her father in her childhood home, expecting to return to find the monster still nestled in bed with the dead form of her mother. He’d been gone, disappeared as quickly as he’d arrived, taking her humanity and leaving her terrified and broiling in rage and hunger.

  Sonia had fled into the night, not in horror of her destroyed family, but needing something to tie her to her human existence.

  She’d found herself walking up to the man’s house. She remembered him rushing out of his front door, terror on his face as the girl he’d started dating wandered up his sidewalk covered in blood.

  He’d done a quick inspection of her body, checking for wounds, then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her small frame to him. Sonia hadn’t heard his inquiries of her health or of the night’s events. The thundering of his blood drowned all else from her senses.

  Her second kill was much less gruesome than her first. Not an ounce of her lover’s blood was wasted, and only one gaping neck wound marred his skin. Rage hadn’t overtaken her, only hunger. The only person to see them entwined let his living room curtains close, giving the lovers privacy.

  In what had to have been her last vestige of humanity, Sonia had looked at the man’s lifeless face as his head lolled to the side, and though she felt no remorse, she decided he deserved a resting place. She vaguely remembered digging into the earth to bury him. She couldn’t remember where or how she’d transported the man’s body without being seen. The only thing that had really stood out was her wonder at how easily her willowy fingers had torn through the dirt and rock, and how effortless it was to dump his body into the hole before covering it once more. At the end, she’d lifted her fingers to the moon, inspecting. They were covered in dirt but didn’t have a scratch. Even her long nails were perfect crescents.

  Whatever had reminded Sonia of her old lover was gone now as she lifted herself off the destroyed form of the man she’d lured deeper into the forest. Already the heightening sensation of anger and fear began to seep back into her. Without another glance at the corpse, she stepped over to her clothes, which had been discarded a few feet away. No need to dispose of the body. Such trivialities weren’t necessary on the Cathedral’s acreage. Even if there had been concern over some human discovering what was left of him, the wildlife in the jungle would put the rest of him to good use.

  Not bothering to wipe the man’s blood from her skin, Sonia stepped into the glistening black silk sheath dress. Gwala had given it to her the night she’d arrived at the Vampire Cathedral. He’d said something about it being from a big designer, from one of those interchangeable fashion capitals of the world—Paris, Milan, she didn’t remember. It could be from Wichita for all she cared. She vaguely recalled worrying about how she looked in clothes. Spending countless hours primping and adjusting. That human creature was so foreign to her now. At times, her anxiety settled on that aspect as an outlet. It made her want to rip off her skin in an attempt to find the girl she had been, hiding somewhere in her body, knowing if she ever found her, she’d devour her with more fury than any other kill she’d given in to yet. Weak, pathetic creature. If she were still in this skin, Sonia would find a way to destroy her.

  “You look ravishing, Sonia.”

  The soft voice cut through her turmoil, and she turned, looking down at the dark-skinned teen. She gave a small nod. No need to offer any form of thanks. Gwala was constantly commenting on her beauty.

  “You are more lovely than any creature I have seen in five millennia. Even more beautiful than Menos.” He extended his hands, wrapped his fingers around Sonia’s narrow arms, and pulled her toward him. Angling his head, he licked at the drying blood on her skin.

  “Did you not find what satisfies you this night?” Sonia stared up at the stars through the tangle of branches overhead, neither repulsed nor soothed by the lapping of his tongue. In the distance, a howler monkey screamed. Others took up the call, filling the night with deafening cries that made it seem an ancient breed of dinosaurs was crashing through the foliage. When she’d arrived in Costa Rica, that sound had been one of the very few things that had startled her since her transition.

  Neither she nor Gwala reacted to the roars.

  He paused in the cleaning of her skin and moved to a new patch of blood on the underside of her jaw. “Not this evening, my dear. Earlier this day, I was satiated. I was not hunting tonight, and I know you prefer to do your capturing alone.”

  As he began to lick her skin again, she tilted her head, giving him better access. While she felt no pity for the children Gwala preferred to dine on, she found his particular affinity for sustenance and entertainment to be a proclamation of weakness. Learning of this proclivity had nearly caused Sonia to leave Costa Rica and return to San Diego.

  She’d followed him without thought the night he had found her. She’d seen the power in his eyes, the proof of his long existence despite his near-childlike appearance. Her impression of power had been confirmed when she’d discovered the countless centuries he’d survived.

  When she fed and fucked, she sought the most powerful man she could find, and the fact that Gwala sought out the young seemed to announce his frailty. However, even with that one flaw, power seeped from the ruler of the vampires. She wouldn’t stay with him for eternity, but for the time being, she would remain. She would observe, learn, and gain all the strength and power she could take in. Then she would leave. Then she would destroy the monster that had taken her life.

  The only thing equal to Sonia’s beauty was her intelligence, and it was not lost on her that her driving force and her behavior were in conflict. She hated the vampire that had raped her and turned her into a monster like himself, all the while she did the same thing to countless men. So frequently in the past many months that she’d long ago lost count. Despite her willingness to acknowledge the hypocrisy in her fury over the very act she endlessly repeated, sans altering the nature of her victim, it was a compulsion she didn’t fight.

  Nor was she unaware that, given the choice, she would not return to her human life. That woman had been weak and fragile. She’d been caught up in frivolity—beauty, love, friends. She’d allowed herself to be used, to be destroyed. Without cause, without reason or explanation. This creature, the woman she was now, was indestructible. The only thing she knew of that could destroy her was the child-man continuing to wash her skin clean.

  On some level that disgusted her, she was grateful to the vampire for giving her this gift of strength. When the thought edged into her mind, she shoved it away. She would not be indebted to the one who created her by destroying what she was before. She refused. She would obliterate his existence.

  In her moments of unhindered clarity, she was fairly certain that she was probably already capable of destroying him. Even so, she wasn’t ready yet. She’d seen him several times within the walls of the Vampire Cathedral in the nearly two months since she’d arrived. Only weeks before, he’d brought in that lovely Latin woman. It had been the closest she’d been to attacking him. Seeing the girl’s long dark hair drag the ground, the vampire’s feet stepping on it as he carried her to lay in front of Gwala’s throne, had been nearly more than she could handle. She hadn’t been ready. She’d rushed from the Cathedral, slaying more men than she could remember before the sun rose the next morning.

  Her understanding that she mimicked the atrocities done to her only fueled her rage. Stoked it to greater heights when she acknowledged she still feared him. She would destroy him. She would. After his destruction, she was uncertain what would cause her to live. Maybe nothing. Hopefully. His destruction, then hers. Finally, her mind would quiet and there would be no more fury. No more fear.

  “Oh, Menos.” Gwala let out a soft moan as his tongue made its way over Sonia’s clavicle. It was not the first time he’d called her the moniker of his queen. Either he was unaware or simply unfazed, because he’d yet to correct himself. Sonia didn’t know much about Menos, only that she’d reigned over vampires with Gwala for a couple of thousand ye
ars. That, and that she was beautiful. Countless times a day, Gwala compared Sonia’s beauty to Menos. So much so, that Sonia had to make a conscious effort to refrain from rolling her eyes. While she wasn’t concerned about Gwala’s feelings, she had no doubt how he would react at such an offense. She’d seen several of his subjects slaughtered in the months since her arrival.

  It had been times like this that caused Sonia to expect Gwala to attempt to have sex with her, even after discovering his obsession with children. Despite being lost to time, reliving moments with Menos when he was with Sonia, he’d never been more sexually aggressive than kissing and licking her skin and commenting on her beauty. If he had, Sonia would have let him, though his physical form repulsed her on a sexual level. Despite its feminine beauty, his power and seemingly unlimited years were enough to allow her to ignore the picture her eyes perceived. He was not a weak adolescent boy. He was a monster who’d lived since three thousand years before Christ’s birth. Thankfully, his physical desire of her had yet to be an issue, and she was beginning to trust it never would.

  Gwala stepped back, having cleaned the rest of Sonia’s skin. “I covet your company on the sea this night, my beauty.”

  The request surprised her, not that it was a request—no one said no to Gwala. Still, he’d never wanted her to go to the ocean with him before. Since her arrival, Sonia had not left the Vampire Cathedral for any other reason besides her desire to feed. Gwala had made it clear she could go wherever she wished, but she lacked the desire. The Cathedral and its surrounding territory had enough to see and experience. She had no desire to be among humans, besides to feed from them. The Cathedral was the first thing to capture her fascination since her birth into vampirism. The place seemed as otherworldly as vampires themselves. Despite all the other supernatural species she’d encountered at the Square in San Diego, they seemed like nothing more than glorified humans. This place had no hint of humanity about it.