Too Deep

Hunter

"Oh?" I lifted a haughty brow. "Like what?"

"That they can only emerge during a full moon, every thirty years."

Thirty? Why thirty?

"Why is that?" I laughed. Trying to feign that his words hadn't hit me like a slap in the face.

That was perilously close to what Malius said.

"Because the king of the Mer says it is law. Can't have them flitting about on land all the time you know."

King of the Mer.

I'd never heard of such a thing.

That seemed odd. I'd spent much of my life next to or on top of the water.

"Why not?"

"Because they are predators. They hunt humans."

Hunt?

"For food?"

"No." He bumped my shoulder with his. "For sex. Real aggressive, relentless sex."

"Ooh." I gave a mocking fear sound. Faking a terrified shiver.

But his words were sinking through me like stones in a pond.

I imagined, if I didn't already know the things I did, this whole tale would sound incredibly ridiculous.

I was saved from further commenting by his next words.

"But seriously though, he couldn't have that. Because eventually the humans would come hunting them...Again."

"Again?" I queried. Unable to resist what was clearly bait, to get me to ask for more.

"Well, the tales say that they did years ago."

Humans hunted Mer?

Why?

"So how did that end?"

He shrugged. "Man got tired of chasing them. So, he gathered spell-casters that made guardians to keep them in the water."

"Guardians?"

"Yeah. Things powerful enough to hunt them down."

"So, what happens when they do emerge?"

"The guardians show up."

"How do they know."

"They have a way of...Sensing it." He shrugged.

"What do they do?" I asked slowly.

The man gave a loud chomp with his teeth.

"Every kitty likes fish." He gave me a broad wink. Rising he dusted off his red shorts and adjusted a tye-dye tank top before offering me a hand.

I shook my head at that cryptic statement. "I think I'll sit here and read awhile."

"As you wish." He turned and began walking away. Whistling as he went. Lightly kicking through the sand.

"Hey!" I called after him. Making him slowly turn.

"What's your name?"

"Hunter." He called back.

I laughed. "Okay, guy."

He waved and continued walking away. Hands linked leisurely behind his back. Looking at the tracks in the sand as though they were fascinating.

***

"Did you really think I wouldn't find you out here?" Said an unwelcome male voice.

Thinking at first that Hunter had returned, I blinked bleary, sleepy eyes open. Seeing bare, tanned, feet. Submerged in the sand next to me. Black pants trailing hard formed legs. Which were belted just below a taut abdomen and hard chest and shoulders.