A Tale That Could Not Be [Book 2 of Selvina's Tale series]

Chapter 6: The Royals

Just a little longer. A few more minutes, that's all I need.

Eric held on to a floating piece of wood with as much strength as his weak body could muster. The gigantic crocodiles were swimming nearby, feasting on the large rower that had been taken overboard. They rolled over and over, ripping chunks of flesh off of the man's body with expert efficiency. The rower had once struck an imposing figure but he was nothing more than floating pieces of meat now. Eric assumed the crocodiles would come for him next after they finished with his shipmate. It wouldn't take them long to finish feasting on him and even less time to feast on Eric's own scrawny body.

So this is how I die, he thought dismally. He had once entertained thoughts of escaping Pan's clutches and finding refuge in some city or village where he would marry a beautiful woman, raise a family, and live the rest of his life in peace. Now all that awaited him was to be torn in pieces.

Why even hold on? he asked himself. There was nothing left to live for. He might as well give the crocodiles an easy meal and die quickly. Shifting his gaze to the side, he eyed Pan's ship anchored in the distance. He was too weak to swim that far and even if he tried the crocodiles or sharks would get him before he ever reached the ship. The toothy reptiles lay between him and the shore thus that way, which was much closer, was closed off to him. The only way left was down.

So Eric let go.

His body sank quickly, devoid of any buoyant fat that might keep him afloat. The sky turned to water, dancing and shifting in glittering fractals. The sun was poking through the clouds, Eric noticed. Perhaps the gods were offering him a farewell. Closing his eyes, he let the water surround and embrace him in its ever-intensifying grip. The temperature dropped and light soon vanished. He felt a pounding in his head and before long his ears popped and the water wrapped about him like a cold blanket that continued to squeeze him harder and harder. It would not be long before he'd be unable to hold his breath and have to let it in, where it would fill his lungs and kill him. It wasn't the most painless way to die but it was an effective one nonetheless.

The pounding in his head grew so severe and painful that he lost all strength. Here it is, he thought. His last thoughts were of home, before his parents lost everything and he had gained foolish dreams of grand adventures on the sea. Eric opened his mouth to allow death's hand to flood in.

Instead, soft skin slapped over his lips and he felt a smooth arm wrap around his waist. Eric opened his eyes, curious and confused, but the water was too dark to see anything. His body seemed to be rising, which made no sense, but he didn't fight the sensation. As far as he knew he was already dead and the gods were taking his soul to their kingdom in the clouds.

Within a few moments he could see the surface of the water, high above, with sun glowing on its surface, shining and glinting like moving glass. His lungs ached and his head still pounded painfully but just before he blacked out his face broke the water's surface and the hand keeping his mouth closed slipped away.

Automatically, his body gulped in huge breaths of life-giving air and his eyes adjusted to the light. The clouds were steadily floating away and the sun was beginning to conquer the sky, making the ocean appear like liquid diamond. Eric glanced to the side in the direction the hand over his mouth had gone to and momentarily forgot to breathe.

There, bobbing in the water just a foot away, was an intensely beautiful woman with long brown hair, round yellow eyes, pouty lips, and a slightly upturned nose. She eyed Eric warily, as if preparing to flee and yet fighting herself not to. Movement caught his eye and he looked down, where he noticed the naked woman's legs were instead a scaly fish's tail.