Rising (28 page)

“Amintah would have provided the perfect means of killing you with no evidence pointing toward me. But since he decided not to cooperate, I’ll have to adjust my plans.

“
I still have to produce your body for Xanthus to answer for his actions, and I need to gather evidence to nail my brother for his criminal behavior.” Gael smiled a crooked smile.

“
Now, I think it’s time we got down to business.”

An explosion of pain pierced
Sara’s belly. She looked down and saw Gael pull out a long, curved blade from her stomach. Blood billowed like crimson smoke from her wound. “Maybe we’ll have better cooperation from the
other
sharks in this area. Don’t be afraid for my safety if you don’t see me.” He chuckled. “I’ll be fine. I’m just going to watch them rip you apart from a distance. I’ll be back to chase them off and collect your body when you’re dead.”

With that
said, Gael smiled and left, stirring the cloud of blood in his wake. Sara was in shock. She could taste the coppery flavor of her own blood as it thickened in the water. She pressed hard on her belly, trying to stem the flow. She didn’t know if the wound was fatal, but the way she was bleeding, she feared it could be.

S
ara had to get out of here. She jerked forward, her movement unnatural and awkward. She wished she’d had more time to practice swimming. She thought she was getting pretty good at it, but put a knife through her gut and she couldn’t swim a lick.

The
blood clouded the water, making it difficult to see. She’d closed her eyes for just a moment and felt a bump from behind.

“Who’s there?”
Sara asked, her voice weak. She pried open her eyes and saw nothing but red haze. Soon, her eyes closed again. There was another bump, this time from underneath. Sara thought it must be the bottom of the ocean because it remained pressed against her body. She still had the strange sense of floating, though. Sara continued to have soft bumps coming from different sides.

S
ara tried to swim several times and each time she flicked her tail, there was another bump. Her eyes were too heavy to keep open and she was too weak to call out anymore.

She didn’t know how long this lasted, but a
fter a while, she heard a strange humming. It was faint at first. The tones rose and fell like voices but they spoke strange words she couldn’t understand. They grew louder and insistent—almost angry. Sara tried to see who spoke, but she couldn’t quite get her eyes open.

Then the ground disappeared from under
her and she floated. Or maybe she died. Sara wasn’t sure. Hands began pulling her, touching her, pressing on her belly. Hadn’t she just been doing that? Sara was relieved when the pain began to fade.

Warm, sweet-scented water caressed Sara's skin as she floated. Each breath of water brought soothing floral smells and tastes. A hum of music tickled her eardrums and made her smile. It was a strange song. Each note flowed into the next as an odd dance of tone and melody. She’d never heard anything like it.

S
ara felt fingers weave through her hair, and then tug in a rhythm that reminded her of when her mother used to braid it. Someone
was
braiding her hair. Who could be doing such a thing?

M
aybe it was an angel. She must be dead. Why else would she be feeling such a sense of well-being? She remembered what had happened. Gael had stabbed her, trying to coax the sharks into attacking her. But they hadn’t come. She must have bled to death.

Now Xanthus would never find
her. How could he ever find her here? She was in heaven, out of reach, even for him. A sob shook her chest and pain shot through her stomach. Wasn’t she supposed to feel no pain?

Sara’s
eyes blinked open. She was in a large, underwater room. The walls were made of stone. Immense glass windows displayed an incredible view of coral reefs. They seemed to reach up and over the underwater building, cocooning it in a dome. All around the reef swam an array of tropical fish.

She glanced arou
nd the room. The ceiling reached over twenty feet high. There were two very large sculptures on either side of the room. They were of dolphins breaching the surface, waves curling up the sides of their bodies.

A beautiful voice lilted in
Sara’s ears, singing words she didn’t understand. She turned to see who was singing. A young Dagonian, about her age, hovered nearby. Black, intricate braids floated in a halo around her head. The Dagonian woman’s face was breathtaking. Her eyes were dark, her skin the color of toffee. She held Sara’s braided hair in her hands. When their gazes met, the Dagonian woman blinked, and then her eyes widened in horror. Unfamiliar words burst from her mouth just before she let go of Sara’s hair and darted out the door. The flowing swish of a blue tail floated out behind her.

Was
this a dream? She looked like a mermaid. Her tail was different from Sara’s—blue, not flesh colored. And it was much more beautiful. Xanthus was wrong when he said her fin was perfect. It was much too plain.

Sara chided herself. T
his was not the time to go all self-conscious about her tail. Her stomach was throbbing with pain, letting Sara know she wasn’t dead and she wasn’t dreaming.

She
needed to get out of here.

S
ara tried to swim, but she couldn’t get her fin to work right. She jerked her way toward the door. Each stroke of her tail brought sharp pains in her belly. She knew she had to hurry—the woman was probably going to get her big husband or maybe the police.

Just as
Sara was about to go through the door, she was met by someone frightening—the woman’s sister. At least, Sara assumed it was her sister. She was a close likeness to the woman who’d left, except she had cinnamon-brown braids. Now that Sara got a good look at the both of them, she was in awe. They both had tails complete with colorful scales. Their fins were long, flowing, and delicate. To top off their look, fin-shaped bikini tops covered their breasts like colorful butterfly wings. The two Dagonian women were much more beautiful than any image of a mermaid Sara had ever seen.

S
he almost smiled at the stunning sight. Then she looked the brown-haired woman in the eye and was startled. She was staring Sara down with a hard glare.

Sara braced for what was to come.
The brown-haired Dagonian turned to her sister and spoke in clipped tones. She seemed satisfied about something. Maybe satisfied was too strong a word. More like resigned. She probably realized that Sara was not a threat and was completely inept at being in the water.

The
brown-haired woman gestured toward Sara. Her brunette sister hesitated a moment before she slowly approached. They each hooked an arm through Sara’s arms and floated her back to where they’d kept her before.

The
brown-haired sister spoke to Sara, as if giving her instructions. Sara didn’t understand a word of it. She looked at Sara as if expecting an answer.

“I’m sorry
. I don’t understand.”

The
Dagonian gasped. “You speak English?”

Sara’s
eyes widened. From what Xanthus had told her, very few Dagonians spoke English. Who was she?

“You
’re human?” she whispered.

Sara knew
Xanthus wouldn’t approve of her telling anyone she was human, but this Dagonian had already most likely figured it out. If the Dagonian knew she spoke English and had the cursed blue eyes, it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Sara hesitated only a moment before she nodded. “Half,” she said.

The
brown-haired Dagonian barked out foreign words to her sister. Sara could tell they were talking about her. They looked as if they didn’t know what to do with her. Sara hoped they would let her go. It couldn’t hurt to ask.

“I
need to return to the surface.” Sara pointed up.

“You live
with humans?” the brown-haired Dagonian asked.

“Yes
, I do. I keep my fin hidden from them so they don’t know what I am. But still, I need to get back.”

The woman
nodded, apparently relieved. “Yes, you safer there. But you heal first. You died.”

Sara
assumed she meant she almost died, since Sara clearly wasn’t dead now. But she didn’t
want
to wait to heal. Xanthus had to be worried sick. If she was gone long, he’d assume she was dead.

“I have to go now. I can’t wait.”

The
brown-haired sister shook her head. “Drink first.” She handed Sara what looked like a mermaid’s purse with a narrow tube. “You heal faster.”

Sara
was willing to do anything to appease these Dagonian women and get back to dry land—and a phone. She took it. The bitter-tasting drink didn’t go down well. Still, she drank the whole thing and handed it back to her.

“
Thank you. So how… Do I…”

Funny,
Sara couldn’t remember what she was just saying. Her mind felt hazy. A giggle escaped her lips. Now, what was it she needed to do?

“A nap, t
hat’s what I need to do. I need to take a nap.”

***

Sara awoke. Her stomach churned and grumbled, hunger twisting it painfully. She needed food. She peeled her eyes open to darkness. Obviously, it was now night. Those deceitful Dagonian women had drugged her. How much time had passed? Xanthus had to be frantic. She needed to get to him.

Looking around, Sara
tried to get her bearings. She was still in the same room. It was quite spectacular at night. The walls had a luminescent quality. A faint green glow came from the walls, illuminating the room. There was cloth covering the windows. The sheen of the cloth had the appearance of crushed pearls. They were held in place by rods at the top and the bottom of the windows.

S
omething covered Sara’s body from her tail fin up to her neck. She looked around and realized she was sandwiched in soft, plush fabric stretched across two intricately carved pillars. The cloth brushed her body gently as she swam, easing out of the fabric. This must be the Dagonian version of a bed. They didn’t need anything to cushion their sleep; they just needed something to keep from floating about the room.

S
ara swam to the open door and peered out into a hallway. She couldn’t see anyone out there. She did see that at the end of the hallway, the floor sloped downward. She must be upstairs. She swam out of the room, then down, following the slope. The stone along the slope was carved to resemble interlocking tentacles. This must be a Dagonian version of a staircase.

Sara
hurried; she needed to get out. She felt a bit guilty about leaving so abruptly. She hadn’t even had a chance to thank them. But she had to get back to dry land. She couldn’t waste any more time. If the Dagonians were smart, they’d be glad to be rid of her.

Sara
reached the lower level and jerked to a stop when she heard a voice. “Going somewhere?” The words were clear and well spoken.

Sara
turned to see the black-haired sister. “I… Well… I’m sorry. I do have to be going. I thank you for all you and your sister have done for me.”

“Sister
?” She swam toward Sara and, with a swish of her tail, stopped just in front of her. “Oh, you mean my mother.”

“She’s your mother? But you both look the same age.”
The Dagonian smiled at her. “I forget how humans age. We Dagonians don’t age after adulthood.”

Sara
drifted back a bit, nervous at being so close to this Dagonian woman. She was stunning. Her eyes were dark, wide, and full of expression. She seemed to be tall or long, however they described it, and she was wafer thin.

“
I’m Adelpha, by the way. And my mother is Chara. She’s been the one caring for you.” She glanced around, nervously. “She’s worried about me being around a half-human.” She said this as if Sara should know what she meant. After spending so much time with Xanthus, she kind of did.

“I’m Sara.”

“Are you a princess then?” Adelpha’s eyebrows rose.