The Precipice (ON HOLD)

Chapter 3

Something moved to my right, but when I turned into that direction, there was nothing there.  Blinking, I thought about how my eyes still had to make the transition complete.  The water still stung my throat and pain shot through my brain as my voice began to screech.  It was the most awful sound I’d ever heard myself make.  Never, once, did I imagine my voice this ugly, like the screech of an injured bird.

My skin prickled, and a trail of blood floated into my vision.  Warmth blocked my nose, and the taste of blood mingled with the salt of the water.  I tried to close my mouth but found I couldn’t.  The impulse to keep singing was so strong that it made me dizzy, never really giving me the chance to breathe in between.

I had the fleeting fear that my blood would catch the attention of a predator, and I started to thrash, growing desperate with panic when my restricted arms and legs wouldn’t snap away.

The screeching abruptly shot up until it was only a vibration in the water, the frequency so high that my brain couldn’t pick it up.

Everything went abruptly silent when a hand went around my mouth, the urge immediately dissipating as warmth sprout from the slippery hand and into my body, unfurling in my stomach, dulling my senses.

Confused, I writhed, and a strong, unyielding arm wrapped around my small waist, surprisingly gentle but firm.  No matter which way I twisted, I couldn’t break free.

The water churned near my ear, and his voice whispered into it, bafflingly soft and seductive.  “Relax.  I won’t hurt you if you stop fighting.”

Panic filled me, but at the same time relief made me sag.  Had they heard me?  Sent a guard to help me?  My brow furrowed when I realised that he wasn’t releasing me, nor allowing me to speak.

Something slick brushed my leg and I tensed.  A merrow?  Why would they send a merrow?  Sure, they were warriors, but only Encantado guards were assigned to me, and they didn’t have tails.  Was this a stray, then?  I’d heard of them, but never really encountered one.  Until now.

Damn.

“Are you going to let me unbind you?”  I didn’t like the way he was pushing his nose into my neck, but I forced myself to nod.  If this was a stray, he wouldn’t be compelled to yield to Encante’s most sacred, unspoken law – no one could hurt the most precious treasure that kept their society stable.  Alive.

His hand left my waist for a moment to work at the nylon, and then he released me from the weight.  As soon as my legs were free, I shot forward, working my limbs.  It still hadn’t been an hour, so not all of my transformation was complete.  My hysti weren’t grown yet, which hindered my movement.  And as my rescuer was a merrow, he had the strength of a tail to easily catch me again.

He crushed me to his chest, his hand slapping to my mouth when I started screaming.  He was holding me so tightly to him that I couldn’t move my upper body.  I kicked with my legs, and I grew increasingly more confused at the weird feel of his tail.  It had too many bumps, like fins, and didn’t feel anything like the scaly dolphin’s tail of my best friend, a merrow.

“Stop it.  You’re coming with me whether you like it or not.”

I shook my head feverishly, anger making my skin flush.  I hadn’t gotten a glimpse of my rescuer/capturer, and all I knew was that he was strong.  If he was a stray and didn’t know anything about a creature like me, he wouldn’t hesitate to question the pull he felt towards my body.  In fact, I could feel the result of his arousal as my pheromones affected him.

He started to move forward, but it was all wrong.  It felt like he was sidling from side to side, much like how a water snake moves.  I tried to calm myself, but it wasn’t easy.  It could be no coincidence that I was captured twice in the last two hours, first by humans, who mysteriously just dumped me into the ocean without killing me, and then this strange sea spirit.