Déjà vu washed over me. This was the moment the oh-so-terrifying puffer fish had ignited the demon bomb. Yep, last time I’d made it a solid ten seconds before earning the condemnation of quarantine.
I swam forward, suddenly aware once more of my nudity. I tried to push the feeling aside, but it was difficult when I could feel the group’s eyes on my lower body. I guess I had equipment they’d never seen before. Or maybe it was just my legs. The center female made another motion with her slender hand—must not have been going her desired speed. I sped up until her fingers flicked in a halting motion. I stopped.
Cautiously, she wafted toward me, gaze not missing any detail as they ran over my body as she began to circle me.
Not to be outdone, I did some inspecting of my own. After all, this was my only chance to examine a mer other than my father.
She seemed equal in length to Therin, maybe even longer, her tail a black onyx that sparkled luminously in the flickering shafts of sunlight darting through gaps in the kelp. Her alabaster skin similarly caught the sunlight and glistened like mother-of-pearl. Her stern face was thin, not ugly by any means, but I was certain her visage hadn’t inspired the mermaid figurehead on the prow of ships. Her hair was as captivating as her face was unremarkable. It was black like her tail, but in the sunbeams, violets, reds, and blues gleamed. It billowed wildly, the current of the water manipulating the tendrils, first covering her breasts, then slinking up to surround her head. The motion brought to mind the nymphs on the cliffs with Finn—focus on the Mermaid Queen. No need to bring nymphs, or anyone else, into the picture. Was she a queen? She obviously was the leader or ruler. I guess humans aren’t the only ones with a hierarchy. Still, she looked no more than forty years old.
“You should not exist.”Her voice was cold, slicing through my thoughts, not hostile, just matter-of-fact.
“Uhm, I’m sorry?”I wanted to tell her that I agreed with her, that it was my act of trying to rectify that particular situation that had brought me to her doorstep. I kept my mouth shut, barely. For the thousandth time since everything went to shit on land, I reminded myself to not be a jerk. I never used to have to do that. If anything, I had been the Boy Scout of all Boy Scouts. Moody, but Boy Scout nonetheless. However, back then I’d just been a gay guy trying to make it in San Diego. I didn’t have demons, mermaids, vampires, and boyfriends to deal with. Fuck it.
“It is not a matter of fault.”Her crystalline eyes slid over to Therin, then back to me.“At least, no fault of your own.”She stretched out both of her arms.“Hands.”
Tentatively, I laid my palms out for her inspection.
She grasped the right one, turned it over and over in her hands, and traced the lines with her fingers. She followed the same pattern with the other. Furrowing her eyebrows, she looked up at me.“Your power comes from your hands?”
“My power?”
The creases in her brow deepened.“Yes. The fire. The fire comes from your hands?”
Fire. Duh, what else would she be talking about? “I guess. I’m not really sure where the power comes from. Sometimes it comes from my hands. Other times it seems to come from all of me.”
Judging from the darkening of her eyes, that had been the wrong answer.“Your father says you have mastered your power now.”
I hadn’t cared what anyone thought about me in quite a while. The need to earn her approval left me feeling even more exposed.“Yes. We’ve been practicing.”Mastered would not be the term I’d choose, but that probably wouldn’t be helpful to point out.
She nodded briskly.“Therin told you the penalty for killing a mer?”
My hands shot up of their own accord.“I wasn’t trying to—”
“I know. I did not say you were. The intention matters not, only the outcome.”She didn’t wait for another response.“Life for a life.”A flick of her tail brought her within a few inches of my face.“I am glad you have gained control over your power.”
I was able to get out a nod of my own, but no words.
“Therin also says that you are part demon. Is this true?”
A flash of irritation shot through me. I took a second to push it back down before responding. No need to test my level of mastery so soon.“It seems so, yes. It is new information to me as well.”
And good luck with your death sentence threats. I wish that was a possibility. The now familiar panic settled in my gut at the thought of the possible indestructible immortality. God, please let that be a misunderstanding of some kind. Twenty-three years and I was already exhausted. A thousand times eternity was too much to consider.
“I have the occasional dealings with demons.”She straightened her shoulders, as if anything could make her seem more dominating then she already was.“They are nothing but evil.”
No brainer, lady. What would you expect from a demon?
When I didn’t respond, her chin tilted a little higher. Suddenly, I realized the obvious. She was more intimidated by me than I was by her, which was hard to imagine.
“Well?”
Again, I held my hands out to demonstrate my nonlethal intention. Granted, a pointless motion, as I had no pockets to conceal a weapon. That, and the tiny fact of the whole waterproof fire stunt.“I’m not sure what you want me to say.”
Her gaze traveled over me once more.“You are demon, yet I sense no evil in you. However, with my little experience with demons, that may be an attribute you are able to camouflage.”
Therin appeared at my side.“Syleen, he is mer as well. Twice mer than demon. Not to mention human.”
“Watch yourself, Therin. You have already earned banishment by the evidence of your dalliances.”She flicked her fingers in my direction.“It is only by my grace that you are still a part of our family.”She held his gaze until he looked down in submission.“In any case, what difference could human blood make? At least the demons’ perversions are an innate attribute. Humans seek them out.”
