FLOOD

Ocean King

I was so distracted by the calmness of the water around us that it took me a second to realize what was going on in the other boat. There was a splashing sound, and the water around them began to broil. Cain’s grandfather was yelling suddenly, leaning over the side with the shotgun pointed at the water.

There were only two figures in their boat now. What had happened to the third man? How had he disappeared so fast?

I braced my hands on the railing, staring over the side at the spectacle across from us, and beside me, Eli gave a shout of alarm. The water around our boat had begun to bubble as well, and then slowly something began to surface.  A flash of violently red hair, large black eyes, and a pair of pale, milk-white shoulders.

My mouth dropped open. There was a woman in the water, and she was staring straight at me. More yelling from the other boat made me glance over on time to see Cain’s grandfather stumble backwards onto the deck, yanking his gun out of the grip of another woman who had just shot up from the surface of the water. I caught a glimpse of shiny, wet scales before she plunged back down into the depths of the ocean.

“Mermaids!” I hissed at the woman, and beside me, Eli made a noise of sheer astonishment.

“Mermaids are real?”

Before I could comment on the stupidity of his statement, or point out that his family had been experimenting on Jotun for years, the woman spoke.

“Valka Nystrom, Aegir Sea God welcomes you.” The woman pulled back her lips in a bright smile, which was ruined by a row of sharp teeth flecked with blood. “My sisters have distracted your enemies. Come.”

I glanced at Cain’s boat again. Cain was still crouched beside the wheel and his grandfather waved the rifle around. Every time the surface broiled again, the old man would let off a shot, which echoed across the water and made Eli and I jump.

“Don’t worry about the mer-sisters, they swim swiftly.” She smiled wider. “His iron pellets will not touch them.”
            “Well…thanks,” I said lamely. Though I was grateful for the help, my people knew better then to trust mermaids. We had all grown up with stories about them. They lied and cheated and tricked you. Men walked into their arms, smiling, only realizing later that they’d embraced their own death.

“I am Cassa,” the mermaid said. She beckoned with her fingers, and I noticed she had long, sharp nails. “Come, come.”

I wasn’t a fan of the way her eyes kept drifting to Eli. And the fact that she was beckoning towards the water. It seemed like she expected us to follow her into the sea. “Look, thanks for your help, but neither of us can breathe under water.”

The mermaid, Cassa, tipped her head back, bathing her ropy red locks in sea water. She laughed, and then locked eyes with me, smiling again. I was beginning to hate that smile. “You have the touch of water about you, love. You can breathe as well as I can.” Her black eyes drifted back to Eli. “He will be provided for.”

I didn’t know what that meant, and I didn’t like it. “I’m sorry, we have to go.”

“You deny a summons from the king? He greatly desires to see you.”

The water around Cassa was stirring, and shapes appeared below the surface, hair waving like seaweed, more bare shoulders and white skin. Other mermaids were swimming up to the boat. Nervous, I tugged Eli back from the railing.

“Tell the king I’m sorry, send my formal apologies.”

Cassa pursed her lips. “Very well, but he send a gift for you, in case you need it.”