I watched Lucia slither forward on her belly and enter the foamy surf.
The intent to kill danced in the reflective silver of her eyes. So, why wasn’t I angry? Where the hell was my fury temper?
“Of all the times to conveniently disappear, now isn’t one of them. A make out session with Oanen? Yes. Two minutes from being sushi? No.”
The oracle opened her mouth wide and tested the air with her forked tongue. Then, she ducked under an incoming wave and started in my direction, her body zigzagging smoothly through the turbulent water.
I shivered again and rowed harder, keeping my seat by bracing my feet against the next one. The oars groaned under the strain of my effort to move faster.
“I am not going to be eaten by a twenty-foot snake.” Yet, the waves fought me, reducing the forward thrust of each stroke.
Lucia drew closer.
I lifted the oars out of the water and took one from its holder, ready to use it as a weapon. If beating her with it didn’t work, I’d shove it down her throat.
At the last moment, her head dipped under the water. The boat lurched forward, away from the island with increasing speed. The swells grew bigger, nearly unseating me as the boat powered over them. I set the oar down and gripped the sides of the boat instead, wondering what Lucia was doing. Behind the boat, the island rapidly grew smaller.
Just before it vanished into the dark haze of the horizon, Lucia stopped pushing. I released my hold on the boat and scrambled to pick up the oar once more.
Lucia’s large, wet body flew out of the water and landed in the boat with me. Her tail pinning the oar in place, she opened her mouth. I reacted without thought and punched her in her exposed throat. She jerked back and hissed at me.
“What’s wrong?” I taunted. “Don’t like it when your food fights back?”
She shifted to her human form, white gown in place and weirdly dry. With a hand covering her throat, she scowled at me.
“As much as I desire to discover the taste of young fury, I’m not yet ready for a journey to the underworld. So, I’ll bait my trap like they baited theirs.”
“What?” I asked.
“It was no accident you made it to my island, an island hidden by magic even from the land and air creatures here. You made a mermaid mad by stealing her sweet human, and she thought by sending you to me, I would take care of her problem. Usually, I would be inclined to help if it fills my belly. But, I’m not foolish enough to do anything that might gain the attention of the gods.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Aren’t they dead or sleeping or something?”
“Or something,” Lucia answered, shifting her attention to the waves around us. She picked up the oar and put it back in its place. When she turned her eyes to me, the pupils were wide and reflective again.
“Row, Megan.”
“Why?”
“As I’ve said, I’m inclined to do things that will help fill my belly. I do very much enjoy the taste of mermaid.”
That Lucia wanted to use me as bait to catch another mermaid for dinner was now very clear. But, what would happen to me once she got her mermaid?
I stared at her for a moment, considering my options. Nothing had really changed. I still needed to get back before dark.
Exhaling slowly, I gripped the oars and struggled to make more progress away from the island. The further I got, the warmer I became. I should have felt relief because I was returning back to my version of normal, but there was still so much wrong with my current situation. That I was losing daylight and not gaining much distance didn’t worry me as much as what would happen when I lost sight of the island. There was no sun, and I had no GPS to guide me.
As I rhythmically pulled at the water, the sky lightened briefly. Then, the first snowflake fell.
“Shit,” I swore under my breath.
Lucia’s gaze shifted from the water to the sky, and she smiled.
“Be a good girl and go for a swim,” she said softly.
Before I could tell her to go to hell, she shifted forms again. Her tail lashed out and hit me hard across my back.
There was no stopping my graceless topple from the boat. The freezing water slammed into me face-first. Any heat that I generated was ripped from me just as quickly as it appeared. The choppy waves kept me under and rolled me several times, disorientating me. When I opened my eyes, it took a moment for me to focus in the murk. Churned up by the storm, bits of weed and debris floated here and there in an otherwise still, underwater world.
I kicked hard toward the frothing of motion above me, and my head finally broke through the surface. Gulping a breath, I looked around for the boat and spotted it several yards away. Lucia was nowhere in sight. I shuddered at the thought of her slithering in the water with me as I started toward the boat.
Waves washed over my head as I swam. I tried not to think about Lucia or how cold the water was or how to get back to the shore. Instead, I focused on my current goal. I just needed to get in the boat. Another wave hit me. It knocked me under water and rolled me once.
Again needing to find my way back to the surface, I opened my eyes and almost choked at the face staring back at me. The mermaid smiled. Lightning fast, she snagged my hair and started towing me deeper.
My temper flickered then ignited, and water bubbled off of me in a rush. The mermaid didn’t notice until I grabbed her arm. She squealed, the sound hurting my ears even underwater. With her free hand, she swiped at me, just missing my face with her claws. I released her and watched her dart away into the surrounding darkness before I kicked my way to the surface.
I breathed in deeply and looked for the boat again. Any progress I’d made in my first attempt to reach it had been lost. Diving under the water this time, I swam hard. The heat from the run-in with the mermaid stayed with me until I surfaced again. I shivered slightly as I focused on the boat, which was much closer this time. Going under once more, I powered my way toward my reprieve from the stupid lake filled with asshole creatures that all wanted to eat me.
When I surfaced, the boat was right there. I closed my hand over the side in relief. Before I could pull myself up, though, something pried my fingers off. Unprepared for the loss of support, I went under again. This time, there were more faces around me. At least a dozen mermaids.
They darted my way, teeth flashing. Something fell into the water. The explosion of white bubbles made it impossible to see what, but I suddenly knew. Lucia hadn’t left the boat. She’d been hiding, waiting for her bait to work.
I kicked for the surface, the need to get out of the water that very second overriding everything else. The mermaids not near the churning bubbles grabbed for me. I managed to kick one in the side, but another one bit my arm. My breath left me in a scream of rage. The water started bubbling off of me again, and the mermaids trying to keep me under darted away.
Kicking toward the surface, I grabbed for the boat but it moved just out of reach. I ducked under the next wave and looked around. Lucia bolted past me, hot on a mermaid’s tail. Her abrupt appearance sent the mermaids who held the boat scattering. I swam hard for the vessel, staying under water until the last moment. Once more I took hold of the rim and tried to haul myself over the edge.
With a grunt I fell into the bottom of the boat. Laying there, I listened to the waves and caught my breath. My arm ached. I lifted it and studied the tiny punctures that formed a wide crescent. Dark green goo oozed from it already.
“We’re not done yet,” a voice yelled.
The boat tilted sharply to the side.
I snarled, sat up, and grabbed an oar ready to beat back the finned bitch trying to return me to the lake. The water erupted upward, dousing me yet again. Not that I paid much attention to that as I dropped the oar and wildly grabbed for the side of the boat to keep from falling out.
Lucia’s body soared out of the water, sailing overhead. I tracked her progress, slack jawed at the sight of the mermaid she had by the tail. The mermaid squealed and thrashed as they slammed into the water on the other side of the boat.
A wave jostled the boat, snapping me from my stunned slouch against the seat. I grabbed up the oar, slammed it into place and started rowing. I no longer had any sense of where I was. It didn’t matter. I just knew I needed to get away from the fighting before I went in again. My arms and legs ached; and outside of the water, away from the mermaids, my fury temper wasn’t keeping me warm enough. I couldn’t seem to stop shivering, and I doubted it had anything to do with the snow, now falling in earnest, or the fading light. Glancing at the bites on my arm, I forced myself to row harder.
My hair froze to my head as I strained.
Several times, I saw Lucia’s body rise only to disappear again. When something burst from the surface near the end of the boat, I thought it was her. Instead, a mermaid landed on the seat in front of me. She immediately shifted from fins to legs, hissed at me, then stared out at the waves.
One minute the mermaid sat there, the next Lucia exploded out of the water, snatched up the girl, and swallowed her whole before plunging back into the depths of the lake.
I forgot to row as I stared at the space where the oracle had disappeared.
“That should have been you,” a familiar voice said.
The boat tipped and, unprepared, I went over the side again. I barely felt the cold as the lake swallowed me whole. I kicked hard toward the surface, tired and pissed. My head bobbed through a wave, and I looked around for the boat. It rocked nearby.
Before I could start in that direction, Lucia’s head surfaced near mine. She circled me twice, her oddly bulging body skimming the surface. I didn’t miss the way her middle wiggled from the inside. Revulsion filled me but no anger. What was wrong with me? How could the mermaids be wicked, but not the mermaid-eating oracle?
Lucia stopped scanning the water and focused on me.
“Such a tasty looking bit, you are. So pale with pretty blue lips. You’re getting tired.” Her tongue flicked out.
“What happened to not angering the gods?” I asked.
She chuckled.
“Smart little fledgling. That hasn’t changed. But there are a few mermaids who might be willing to risk that.” She looked out over the water. I followed her gaze and saw several heads watching us.
“This has been fun, my sweet treats,” Lucia said. “We’ll need to do it again soon.” The mermaids hissed at her. “If you happen to kill Megan before sunrise, bring her to me. I wouldn’t mind a taste. In fact, I might even reward the one who brings her to me.”
She dove under the water, disappearing from sight.
The mermaids and I stared at each other for a moment. They went under. I bolted for the boat.
Within seconds, someone grabbed my ankle and pulled me beneath the surface. I kicked hard and connected with a body part. A squeal rang out. A hand grabbed my bitten arm. Fingers caught my hair. Claws raked my side, setting paths of fire in the skin over my ribs.
I could barely think through the pain as another blazing trail ignited over my thigh. My struggles to get free lost their strength and slowed. I was angry. But, I was so tired too.
Hands gripped my head, turning me and forcing my attention to the wide eyes only inches away from mine. The familiar face smiled.
“You’re mine,” she said. Her grip tightened as she tugged me upward. The mermaids holding my arms and legs didn’t let go but followed as Merbitch and I broke through to the surface.
“What’s wrong, Megan?” she asked. “Where are your threats to boil us alive now?”
“Go to hell,” I said. My tone lacked its usual bite, and I knew I was in serious trouble.
“You wish. I’m going to enjoy this.”
“Spare me your villain monologue and just do what you need to do.”
She hissed at me and slashed a claw down my neck. I grunted at the burn.
“Do you know what that venomous snake eats when we don’t bring her a human? Us! Our brothers and sisters.”
“Do you think I care or that I’ll give you pity after you tried to feed me to her? Feed Ashlyn to her? You really are stupid.”
She pulled her hand back, looking pissed enough to tear my face off as she swung forward. Before her claws could touch me, an eagle’s cry split the air.
My pulse jumped in hope and fear. Before Merbitch could dive under, she was ripped out of the water. I looked up in time to see her dangling from Oanen’s talons. She screamed and thrashed as he climbed higher into the sky.
A hand locked around my ankle.
“Oan—”
Water closed over my head once more. A second later, a very large and very pissed griffin plunged into the water. The mermaid holding me squealed and tried to flee, but Oanen’s beak caught her fin and ripped it clean off.
I grinned slightly, feeling vindicated as I slowly drifted toward the surface. I bobbed there, my blinks becoming slower as I waited for Oanen to emerge. He did several moments later in a shower of water with a mermaid by her tail. He flung his head to the side, and I watched her go flying.
He turned toward me, his golden gaze sweeping my face. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him, my fear of hurting him gone. I had no heat left in me.
“I am so glad you’re here,” I said. “Rowing sucks.”
His beak nuzzled my hair for a moment before he started to bump me. He didn’t quit until I floated on my back.
“You could have just said, ‘float’ you know,” I mumbled.
He jumped out of the water, hovering above me. His talons circled my torso, and with the heavy beat of his wings echoing around us, he pulled me from the waves. I wrapped my hand around his leg and closed my eyes.
Vaguely, I knew there were things I should have been doing, like wondering why I wasn’t burning Oanen or asking how he’d found me; but my brain felt too fuzzy to focus. Instead of trying to force my mind to work, I focused on nothing.
Wind and pelting flakes of snow buffeted my face. That stinging burn was nothing compared to the agony growing inside of me. A shudder coursed through my body, and Oanen cried out.
“I’m fine,” I said. “I’m just sick of smelling like fish. Take me home, bird boy.”
I’d never felt so tired before in my life. As much as I wanted to blame it on all the swimming and rowing, I couldn’t. Pain ate at me from the inside. Not wanting to worry Oanen, I forced myself to relax as much as I could in his hold. I focused on the steady thump of his wings, the howl of the wind, and the crash of the waves. It didn’t help. Tracing the feathers under my fingers did. A little.
My heart ached with how much I’d missed him. I couldn’t wait to get back home, shower, and snuggle under a tower of blankets with Oanen wrapped around me. The thought of being warm sent another shiver through me.
He made another sound, but I didn’t have it in me to comfort him.
My fingers gave a final stroke to his ankle feathers then stilled. The oozing mermaid bites and cuts were sapping me of everything. Only, this time, I wasn’t burning up. I was growing colder. So cold, in fact, that after a few minutes, my shivers stopped. I knew that wasn’t good. But, sleep pulled at me, and the agony of my injuries began to fade. I sighed, ready to give into the exhaustion.
Oanen’s eagle scream jolted through me, and I opened my eyes to see the shoreline and Eliana’s car illuminated by the glow of her headlights. Home.
I exhaled heavily and closed my eyes again, dangling loosely in Oanen’s grip. My back gently touched ground.
A moment later, Oanen’s warm arms wrapped around me.
“Do you have a blanket?” he said. “Anything. She’s so cold.”
“Cold?” Eliana said, sounding worried. A hand brushed my forehead. “No. We didn’t bring a blanket. Here. Take my jacket.”
Material covered my torso. It didn’t help.
“Megan, open your eyes,” Oanen said.
I wanted to. I just didn’t have the energy.
His lips pressed against my forehead then my temple, leaving little patches of heat that too quickly faded.
“You’re scaring me,” he said softly. “I can hear the beat of your heart. But, it’s too slow, and I can’t feel anything. Please, Megan. Open those pretty eyes.” His hold on me tightened.
My heart ached for Oanen. I tried harder to open my eyes. To move my hand and stroke his hair. I had nothing left. What was wrong with me? I’d never felt sick in my life, but now…it felt like I was dying.
