Merou’sexpression was curious.Priddy had seen it before somewhere, butcouldn’t quite pin it down.“Why do you still call themhatchlings?”
“Oh, sentiment, I suppose.Force of habit.After all, it’s onlybeen three days.”He turned to the girl.“You didn’t do badly atall, Hatchling Four.I suppose we should name you now.What wouldyou like to be called?”
“Jennifer, please, sir.”
Priddy turned and smiled at her.She sounded like an ordinaryRosewarne girl, accent and all.“That’s a bit pedestrian,” Merousaid, frowning.“Still, at least it meanswhite wave.Very well.”
“Thank you, sir.And nice and easy forhimto understand.”
“Yes.You’ll have to be very careful with him until his brainssettle down.Next time, leave him in the pod for longer.Do you seehow he’s still all caught up in the things he was worried aboutbefore?”
“Yes, sir.For now.”
Kitburst into unexpected laughter.“Jennifer,” he said, reaching backto take her hand.“Of course.You know what Geoff Blades can do?Hecan go and fuck himself, that’s what.”
“You see?”
Priddywas losing ground in this exchange.“Wait.Merou, are you tellingme these are the same ones you sent to rescue Kit after thewreck?”
“Yes, and it was fairly irresponsible of me.A hatchling’s asliable to eat her first human as save him.Still, I didn’t havemuch choice.”
“But they were...they were little kids.”
“I know.All kinds of things about them are hard for topsidersto get their heads around.Speaking of which...”Merou sighed, andceded his place to Jennifer, who promptly curled up at Kit’s sideand looked as comfortable as if she’d been there for years.“Youtwo are Hatchlings Three and Six, aren’t you?”
Both ofthe godlike boys sprang to attention.“Yes, sir,” the taller onemanaged, putting out a hand to catch his sibling.“Sorry, sir.Three hasn’t got the hang of the legs.”
“That’s all right.It’ll come.Tell me, Six, how are the restof your brothers and sisters?”
Now Priddy recognised Merou’s expression.He’d never seen itin his own household, but he’d envied it at school sports days andon the sidelines at junior-league football matches.A mix of prideand worry—as far as possible, the look of a perfectly ordinary dad.Priddy got up in fascination.He went to stand at Merou’s side, puta hand through his arm.“These areyours.”
“Yes.They’re why I had to run off on you just before ourpicnic.Their mother was setting down her egg batch, and trust me,you donotignorethe call of a birthing mermaid queen.”
“You...went to do the thing.With the sperm.The ecstaticoutpouring.”
“Just so.Kerenza and I don’t have many dealings with eachother, but she’s very fine, and apparently I have certain desirablegenetic traits as well.”
Priddy looked at the beautiful children.His head wasspinning.Missus and kids—you know how itis.“Apparently you do.But there were moreof them, weren’t there?”
“Yes.Six here is about to tell me about the rest.Aren’t you,son?”
“Yes, sir.Sorry, sir.Only two dead that I knowof.”
“I see.An excellent rate of survival.”
Priddyturned to him in horror.“I saw five of them out at the boat.Arethese the only ones left alive?”
“I warned you it was difficult.In fact, these three adults arethe only remaining survivors of a brood of almost a hundred.Theones you saw in the water looked like human children, Priddy, butthey weren’t.For the first few days of a mer-child’s life, it’smore akin to a baby shark, and about as intelligent.Then it goesthrough a rather ravenous carnivorous phase before it’s able toorder its dinner suavely in a fish restaurant.Isn’t that so,Six?”
Theyoung man looked distant and embarrassed, as if he might have topull a fisherman’s thighbone from between his teeth at any minute.“Yes, I’m afraid it is so.”
“Their appetites lead them into conflict with all kinds ofcreatures bigger than themselves.Only the sharpest and best ofthem make it to the developed phase of their existence, andprobably just as well.Imagine if all those hungry monsterssurvived!”
“But they’re yourkids.”
“Yes, these ones now are.The rest were my...well, fish-eggsis the closest word, and it’s hard to grieve over those.”He put anarm around Priddy’s waist, gave him a knee-melting glance.“You’llunderstand it better when we have a batch of our own.Now, Threeand Six, since you’ve survived, you too will want names.Anyideas?”
“Jacques,” the boy called Six said promptly.“After yourfriend, who knew how to keep a secret.”
