Light skimmed the dark ocean surface. The debris grew thicker, clanking along the boat. Bridget shivered. “It’s been torn up. What in the world could have caused this much damage? There’s nothing out here but water.”
“It’s wood,” Dev said, his tone strained, “All of it wood. And did you see what he was wearing? This doesn’t make sense.”
“Film crew? Maybe the pyrotechnics went awry.” Bridget frowned. So far it was the only idea she had that sounded reasonable given the facts.
“No, they would’ve had backup ships for everyone.” Dev turned. “Tom, tell Jon to check our bearings. I want to make sure we haven’t drifted off course. Check the sensors and make sure there are no reefs around this area.” Dev visibly swallowed. “Everyone else, keep searching for survivors. With this much wood, the ship was way too big for just one man.”
For a long time everyone was quiet, as they looked through the floating debris, listening past the sound of wood bumping the sides of the fiberglass ship. A blast from the horn sounded over the water, much louder than any yell. They listened to the silence that followed the abrasive noise. Time crept by slowly and no one called out in answer.
“There,” Tom said to her left. Two divers were in full gear, ready to go into the water. “What is that? Do you see it?”
They watched as a sail snagged on a broken beam drifted by. A wrist had tangled on the mast, but the rest of the body was below the surface. Dev sent the divers into the water to see if the person was still alive. Though, when they dragged the body of a man out of the water, they were not surprised that he was long dead. He was dressed much like the first strange man now below deck.
“See if he has any ID and then wrap him in a blanket,” Dev said softly. Bridget heard him whisper under his breath, “Poor souls.”
Bridget rubbed her eyes. They’d had a long day at sea collecting samples, but they weren’t tired as they focused on the endless ocean and their new rescue mission.
“You should get changed from those wet clothes,” Dev said. “I don’t need you getting sick on me way out here.”
Bridget nodded and gave one last glance over the water before going below deck to the female sleeping quarters. The quarters consisted of several cots lined along the walls. As there were more males than females aboard the ship, they had more room in their quarters than the men had. Changing out of her wet clothes into warmer blue jeans and a thick hooded sweatshirt, she quickly pulled the bun from the nape of her neck, only to wind her long hair up. When she finished, a strand of her black hair clung to her pale hands. Her fingers shook, and she clenched them into a fist, wiping the hair strand against her jeans.
Death at sea was a risk they all took on the water. The ocean wasn’t something they’d ever be able to control. Even as she admired it, the reality of what it could do humbled her. Bridget heard the cries of the survivor, though he again spoke in his native tongue. He sounded so terrified. Bridget wanted to go to him, but knew her help was needed on the deck. She made her way topside.
Two more bodies were pulled from the wreckage, but there were no more survivors. Each corpse only added to the mystery, as the men were all dressed in the same period costume, and the only papers they found were handwritten parchments in a foreign language. Only a few words could be made out, as the water had caused most of the ink to run.
Still, after an hour passed without any luck, no one suggested giving up the search. Jon was having a hard time getting anyone on the radio, but insisted that they were still on course. Steven reported that the survivor was asleep. They’d given him a shot of morphine from the emergency medical kit to put him out since he wouldn’t calm down.
They crossed through the thickest part of the debris before circling around. The horn sounded intermittently over their heads. Aside from the debris, there was no sign of a ship, making them believe that it had been alone on the water before it had sunk.
Bridget closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath. The salty air stung her face, and she drew the hood of her sweatshirt over her head. Suddenly, the ship rocked, hit on the starboard side. A loud crash punctuated the startled screams of those onboard. The boat tilted so violently that she fell over, slamming into the deck. Several of the scientists slid into each other as the ship righted itself once more.
Bridget hung onto the rail, pulling herself up. Her body tense, she searched desperately to see what it was that had hit them. The boat tipped again, this time knocked from the port side. Several screams sounded, louder than before. One of the scientists fell overboard into the dark water.
“Where is he?” Stevens yelled. “Jerry?!”
Bridget was about to go and help when the boat was hit again. She saw a strange glimmer in the water, a brief passing of silvery blue light. Dev grabbed her arm as they were again tossed, keeping her from falling over the side like Jerry.
“We got him,” Stevens said as they pulled Jerry back up from the water.
“Submarine?” Bridget asked Dev, pointing to where she’d seen the glimmer. They were scientists and would look for the most logical answer first. Another flash passed by, this one silvery green. “Did you see that?”
“I’ve never seen a sub move like that,” Dev answered, “not even the small submersibles.”
“Aliens?” someone asked, pointing to another glimmer of light.
Bridget gripped the rail as they were again knocked on the starboard. “New, colossal species of Deep Ocean fish rising to the surface to feed?”
“I’ll go with that one,” Dev announced. “Someone get me the net and a harpoon. We’re going to try and catch this thing. Let’s see what we’re up against, shall we? Come on now! Move it, people!”
Dev clapped his hands. The scientists sprang into action. Some scrambled down to the cabin. Whatever was knocking the boat had stopped. Those left on deck looked over the side, trying to see anything that would give them a clue as to what was happening. Stevens got Jerry below deck and to safety.
“I wish we had a submersible,” Dev said. Bridget nodded. They hadn’t had a reason to take one on this trip. “We could stick it down there with a video feed and use it as a decoy.”
The ocean was calm once more for several minutes. Stevens directed the men to drop the net down into the water as Dev waited with his harpoon. Bridget watched, her body tense.
“Should we really kill it?” Bridget asked, always the scientist first.
“We may not have a choice,” Dev said, though she could tell by his face that he would love to catch the thing alive. “You saw what it did to that other ship.”
Bridget nodded. He was right, of course. A strange blend of scientific excitement and mortal fear beat in her veins. She held her breath, waiting.
The water stirred. A palpable tension worked its way over the deck as they all watched the net. It dipped into the cold water, jerking violently as it caught hold of something. Stevens ordered it pulled up. As it neared the surface, Bridget saw the purplish glimmer of diamond shaped scales and the splash of a long split caudal fin. The way it moved reminded her of silk in water. It was larger than any fish she’d ever heard of. A long, short dorsal fin ran up the back, but she couldn’t see the fish’s head. Then a male arm thrust up from the water. They all gasped in shock as the fingers moved.
“He’s still alive,” Stevens said, though none of them knew who the ‘he’ was. “That thing is swallowing him whole.”
The way the body was angled, it did look as if the fish had swallowed half the man’s body, starting at the feet. The men pulled the net harder, grunting in their efforts, but the sea creature and his victim didn’t surface. Then, the body shifted and Bridget gasped. By the way the scales blended into flesh, it didn’t look like a man at all.
“Merman,” Bridget whispered, trying desperately to see into the dark water. Such a discovery would be phenomenal. “Give us a better spotlight over here!”
“Shoot it, Dev,” Stevens yelled.
Dev leveled the harpoon.
The ship rocked violently, throwing off his aim, and he nicked the creature’s tail. Bridget saw the merman’s blood seconds before the net was jerked up, empty. It had been cut open and the creature freed.
Bridget yelled as she was thrown across the deck. The sound of the ship breaking apart beneath them pierced the night. Several of the scientists slid into the water. Bridget’s eyes met Cassandra’s before the woman went over the side. Bridget had never really gotten along with the woman, but it didn’t stop her from reaching out to grab at her arm. Cassandra’s fingers slipped through her grasp. The boat jerked again, coming apart in a way that should not have been possible. Water splashed over the edges. They were sinking, fast.
Bridget screamed. Then, as the first shock of cold water hit her skin, she took a deep breath, tears streaming over her cheeks as she held it. Time seemed to stand still as she sank slowly down into the black water. The pull of the sinking boat tugged her body as she went under the surface. She flailed her arms, trying to swim against the current that was dragging her down.
Her lungs burned, even as the cold seeped into her limbs. Within seconds, she couldn’t move. It was a dark, soundless, watery tomb. She couldn’t hear the struggles of the others. She couldn’t hear the creaking ship. Then, a small glimmer of light appeared before her. Was she dying? Was this it? The light faded as her mind dimmed.
One last thought passed over her before she let the darkness have her. Monsters. They came from below.
Chapter 2
Accursed, interfering mortals!
Caderyn struggled against the netting that trapped him. The humans didn’t know what they were doing, and hunters shouldn’t hunt if they didn’t know what they were after. The scylla were dangerous creatures. They were spirits of the water, mindless, reckless, forever searching. The mortals would never catch a scylla with a mere net.
Caderyn stiffened. He was close to the surface, so close he could feel the air burning his skin. If he breathed the surface air, he would die a painful death. He cut at the net with the sharp fin along his forearm, but it was hard to work against the jerking pulls of the mortals above him. It took all his strength just to stay underwater.
Looking up, he saw a gray-haired man with a sharp spear. The man was pointing it down at the water. Caderyn knew the weapon wouldn’t kill him, but it would hurt like the fire pits of Hell. Then his eyes focused on the woman next to a man with a spear. He only caught a glimpse of her face, the image distorted by the transition from water to air. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were a wide blue-gray, just like a stormy sea in the middle of the day.
‘Don’t move. Solon goes to ram the ship so we may free you.’
Caderyn heard Iason’s words in his head. All the Merr could communicate by telepathy in the water. He obeyed the order and stopped struggling, trusting his fellow hunters. Looking through the dark water, he could see perfectly in the inky depths. The first wreck had caused most of the sea life to abandon the area.
There were twelve hunters total, split up into four teams of three. Caderyn’s team, known simply as Solon’s Hunters, consisted of himself, Solon and Iason. Solon was the leader because he chose to carry the vial around his neck filled with the liquid that would paralyze the scylla, so they could catch it. The liquid was the only way to stop the fearsome sea creature. Because of this, Solon had to have the final say when it came to capturing the scylla. It was he who needed to get into position. The other teams were the Knights, the Soldiers and the Warriors. Caderyn had worked with his team for decades, so long that they had learned to trust each other and could usually predict each other’s moves.
The boat above him rocked, just hard enough to toss the mortals aside and loosen the net. Iason came up from below, taking his fin to help rip through the netting to free Caderyn.
‘Hit a snag?’ Iason asked, nodding at Caderyn’s tail.
Caderyn looked down in surprise. He was bleeding, but it wasn’t bad. ‘I’ll live.’
‘I see him,’ Solon interrupted. ‘He’s here!’
Caderyn watched a dark spot in the ocean drift by. It knocked the bottom of the ship, tearing into its hull. They’d been tracking the scylla for days, only to find it already had a target.
Solon swam by, his human arms stretching through the water as his tail fin thrust to the side to sharply change directions. He grabbed the vial from his neck, breaking the string it hung on. Caderyn and Iason quickly cornered the shadowy creature as Solon blew the contents of the vial over it. The scylla jerked up, straight into the ship.
‘By All the Gods,’ Solon cursed. ‘No! Stop it!’
Caderyn helplessly watched the ship break apart above them and start to sink. He made out the cries of the mortals overhead. Even as he cursed the foolish humans for trying to capture him, he felt sorry for them. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything he could do about their fate. It was just like the first ship. Most of the mortals onboard would die this night.
The scylla became subdued and quit moving. Solon grabbed him and dragged him down toward the ocean floor. The creature wouldn’t have the energy to fight for quite some time, but Solon wouldn’t wait around for it to regain its strength. Caderyn turned to watch as mortal bodies fell from above, flailing in the water.
‘There,’ Iason said, dashing to a human woman with flaming red hair. He watched as his friend grabbed her. She struggled, beating against him, but Iason was too strong for her frail body. Caderyn saw him lock his lips to hers, pulling her into his embrace.
Caderyn searched the mortals, gliding his arms back and forth to hover in the water. The men drifted past. He wished he could save them, help them, but all he could do was keep the current from pulling them down and push them toward the surface as he silently wished them luck. He lifted the ones he could reach in time. Then, seeing a female, he swam for her, dodging the bulk of the ship as it sunk past him. Her wide blue eyes struck him. It was her, the one he’d seen watching him. She was dying. Her body didn’t flop, and her eyes stared lifelessly out at him from her pale skin. A string of bubbles left her parted lips. Strands of black hair brushed him like soft sea grass as he came close to her.
Caderyn grabbed her body to his chest. She was as cold as the ocean. Instantly, he pressed his lips to hers, suctioning them around her mouth. He sucked the water from her lungs only to replace it with the air he filtered through his gills. She didn’t move, but he could feel her heart beating lightly against his chest as he held her close. His body heat would only sustain her for so long before death came to claim her.
For all intents and purposes, the hunt had been a success. The scylla was captured and would roam the sea no more. Swimming into the depths of the abyss, Caderyn left the wreckage behind him. The further away he moved from the surface, the more ocean life swam around them. The ferocious deep sea life wasn’t bothered by him, and Caderyn ignored them in turn. It was dark, but his Merr gaze cut through the blackness like daylight, his eyes glowing softly as he looked around. He sensed the ocean as if it was part of him. Gliding down, he weaved, dodging a baby squid.
The woman’s breasts were soft against him, making a hot wave of desire flood his veins. It had been so long since he’d found release with something other than his hand or a pleasure nymph. He could do nothing about that now, but it didn’t help his concentration as he focused on breathing for her.
Caderyn pushed himself to the limit, swishing his tail in hard, fast stokes. His body burned, each muscle tingling with the exertion. His gills fluttered against his neck, straining to give her more oxygen, to keep her alive just a moment longer. It wasn’t easy breathing for two and swimming hard at the same time, but he refused to give up on her, refused to let go. Too many had died on the way down—more than he would like to count. He was tired of losing people and so he willed this one woman to live.
As he swam, the woman’s legs spread, slipping along his waist as they trailed behind him. Her arms did the same about his neck. It felt as if she held him. Caderyn gave the dive all
he had, pushing down into the deepest depths of the Abyss, knowing he didn’t have long before she was dead.
‘Hold on,’ he told her, knowing that she wouldn’t hear his thoughts as she wasn’t Merr. It didn’t stop him, as he continued, ‘Just a little longer, hold on.’
Chapter 3
Caderyn unlatched his lips from the unconscious woman as they broke the water’s surface. The air was sweet, as he gasped for breath. Breathing didn’t hurt him down here as they were in Crystal Caves, the sacred heart of their city. The caves were located in the palace of Atlas, the capital city of Ataran, home to the Merr race, far below the world of the humans above.
Solon was already gone from the surfacing area. The cave guards would have helped his friend haul the scylla to a holding cell where it could be further examined. Iason remained in the caves. His body had already transformed back—his tail was replaced by human legs, his fins had retracted into his body and even his gills had molded back into his neck until he looked as mortal as any man from the surface world. His friend was naked, kneeling beside the red-haired woman that he’d rescued from death. None of the hunters thought anything about the nudity, since they never wore clothes when in the ocean.
Caderyn placed his woman on a rocky ledge next to the bank. It was shallow enough that the water didn’t cover her face and deep enough that it lapped along the sides of her temples when he moved. Her face was pale, her lips edged with blue. They were an odd contrast to the pitch black of her hair.
With a flip of his fin, Caderyn pushed up, swinging around to sit beside her. He pulled himself from the ocean, brushing the water from his scales. His tail dried quickly, and he watched as flesh replaced it. When he could again stand as a man, he lifted the woman from the ledge and pulled her onto dry land. He gently laid her by her friend. Pushing his hair back from his face, he wrung it out, listening to the water dripping onto the rocky floor.
The Mighty Hunter Page 2
