Rising (4 page)

Xanthus’s brows furrowed. Who was Elsia?

“You were never told about her, were you?” Triton sighed, his eyes saddened by the burden of old memories. “Elsia was my daughter, twenty-seventh child born to me three-thousand four-hundred and fifty-seven years ago. She was unique among my children—sweet, loving, and very strong willed. She decided to show all the Mer that the Dagonians were good, loving beings at heart. My daughter was a foolish mermaid. She even married a Dagonian and had a daughter named Xanthippe.”

Xanthus’s eyes widened.
“My grandmother?”

Triton nodded. “Merblood flows strong in your veins.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “I can feel it.”

Triton took a deep breath, straightened his spine, and spoke the next words with authority. “I
’ll grant you your request—under one condition. First, you’ll travel to the surface and find the human criminals responsible for poisoning the Dagonian South Pacific settlements of Calysos and Thebora. The city of Honolulu, Hawaii seems to be either the origin or place of transfer for the poisons. When you find the guilty humans, you will stop them from further dumping their poisons. Then you will send the guilty to me—alive if possible.”

“Yes, of course, Sire.”

“If you are successful, I will allow you one more year to do as you will. Convince the humans, if you can. But I wish to emphasize two very important rules you must understand and always abide by. First, do not let the humans discover what you are. If they do, you must see that they cannot betray our secret to others. Second, do not meddle in their lives unless their actions affect you or the creatures of the sea directly. Otherwise, leave them to their fate.”

“Yes, Sire.”

“I give you a month to prepare.” Triton said. “It’s a short time for such a task, and you have much to do before you’re ready to walk among the humans. Study them, prepare your affairs, and make necessary arrangements. I will do what I can to help. You will return here in one week and stay to train for the remainder of your time. But before you leave today, I have a gift for you.” Triton rose. “Come closer.”

Xanthus approached the god with trepidation. Being this close to so much power intimidated and overwhelmed him. Triton laid his heavy hands on Xanthus’s head. Xanthus felt heat building under the god’s palms until white
-hot waves of pain washed from his head down to the end of his tail. He nearly jerked away, but held still and absorbed the searing pain in agony. It lasted only a minute and then, to his relief, the pain faded. Despite the incredible agony he’d endured only a moment before, Xanthus felt strong and alert.

Triton removed his hands. “There. Now you have the power you’ll need.”

Xanthus wondered—confused at what power he’d been given. Regretfully, Triton didn’t feel compelled to enlighten him.

Xanthus bowed. “Yes, Sire, thank you. And I will honor all your wishes, Majesty.”

“I don’t doubt it. Now go and prepare. I’ll send for you in a week’s time.”

Xanthus bowed again and left.

As Xanthus put distance between himself and the castle, he felt as if a weight were being lifted off his shoulders. The cool current washed away the stifling sorrow. Triton was one seriously tormented god.

Xanthus wondered what further training he would need in order to prepare for this assignment. After all, he’d been preparing for this his whole life. He’d read every human book he could get his hands on, interviewed countless humans at Panthon prison, even volunteered on every human capture that came his way. The only other Dagonian that had as much experience with humans was his brother
, Gael.

Gael
wanted to destroy them. Xanthus wanted the Dagonians and humans to respect each other’s right to exist peacefully. His job seemed impossible, given that he had to convince the humans to stop polluting the seas without revealing the existence of the Dagonians. But then, things of great importance never come easy.

Xanthus spotted Kyros just outside the castle perimeter.

Kyros rushed forward. Laughing, he slapped Xanthus on the back. “You made it out alive.”

“Barely.”

“So you’re going to live with the humans?”

“For
at least a year. I leave in a month’s time.”

Kyros shook his head in disbelief.
“I’ve never understood your fascination with them. They are horrible, disgusting creatures.”

“What you know about humans comes from Nereid
tales, not facts.”

“
Well, you do what you need to do.” Kyros scratched behind his ear. “I’m just glad it’s not me having to live with them. I don’t think I could stomach it.”

“They’re really not so bad. I shouldn’t have much trouble
as long as I can blend in. My biggest problem may be my size. Triton might be able to give me legs, but Dagonians are larger than humans.”

“
And you’re larger than the average Dagonian,” Kyros said.

“
Right.” Xanthus nodded. “I also need to consider human male fashion. From what I’ve learned, the clothing they wear indicates status.”

“
Their males have fashion? That’s ridiculous. Covering the body is for females, although I think that it would be better if our females didn’t cover themselves. I’d have an even greater appreciation for the dance of the Dagonian maidens.”

Xanthus laughed.

“Speaking of maidens…” Kyros swished to a stop. “Mmm. Nothing smells better than a fertile female.” His eyes glazed over as a smile pursed his lips.

Xanthus shook his head as his friend drifted toward a modest stone home. Two large warriors positioned themselves at the entrance in order to discourage unwelcome suitors.

“Too bad females are only fertile once a year.” Kyros breathed in the alluring smell.

Xanthus never understood how males could lose their minds around a female at her time. He’d guarded more females than he could count and he’d never had a problem resisting.
Not that it didn’t affect him, but his control remained firmly in place at all times.

Kyros
continued to drift toward the enticing scent. Xanthus put out his hand to stop him. “If you want to keep your male parts, I wouldn’t move any closer.”

Kyros jerked, shocked out of his
stupor. The guards stared him down. “Sorry fellows,” he mumbled. “I was just uh… you know, passing by.”

Xanthus and Kyros remained silent until they were out of earshot of the guards. “You’ve got to learn to control your hormones
,” Xanthus said. “Those warriors were more tolerant than I would have been. I’d have had my blade at your throat in a heartbeat.”

“Yeah, well
, you see. That’s how we’re different. I’m a lover, you’re a fighter.”

“You’re a soldier, but you’ll end up a eunuch if you can’t control yourself.”
             

“I’m a soldier by trade, a lover by heart.” Kyros pressed his hand to his heart and gave a sigh. Xanthus smiled and shook his head.
His friend obviously still felt the effects of the pheromones. Xanthus knew Kyros would be appalled by his behavior later.

They soon reached the outskirts of
Corin. In the distance, a massive air dome shimmered, nearly two leagues wide. Xanthus smiled, his mind filled with memories of his time at the academy. He’d been a master of air games.

“How a
bout a race?” he asked Kyros.

“I don’t know
,” Kyros said. “I’d hate to be the Dagonian who caused the Nightmare to lose his confidence.”

“You act as if you have a chance of beating me.”

“You may be bigger and stronger, my friend, but I’m faster.”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m not only bigger and stronger
—I’m also faster.”

They approached the shimmering wall, reached out their fingertips to just a hair’s width from the air, curled up their tails
, and prepared to spring.

“You count us down,” Xanthus said. “I don’t want any excuses from you when I win.”

“Being in denial is just going to make losing worse. Okay, you ready?”

Xanthus nodded.

“Three, two, one…”

Like harpoons, they both pierced the air pocket and flew. Xanthus and Kyros raced neck and neck over the dry sand, the wall of water closing in just ahead. In a few short seconds, Xanthus expected to celebrate a victory while rubbing it in his best friend’s face.

Pain hit him like an explosion. He roared as his body dove down, hitting the sandy floor. He flipped, somersaulted, skidded over the surface, and finally stopped, sprawled on the dry ground just inches from the water. The crash itself had been very painful, but Xanthus didn’t pay it even a passing thought as he writhed from the pain emanating from his tail. As he lay there, every muscle in his fin burned. His tail felt as if it were being ripped in two. Xanthus let out a roar as the pain peaked and then suddenly vanished.

“Xanthus, what happened to you?” Kyros rushed over
. His eyes widened as his face drained of all color. “Oh Hades, I think I’m going to be sick.” Kyros slapped his hand over his mouth as he turned away, repulsed.

Xanthus shook with terror. He truly expected to find his tail ripped to bloody shreds. Reluctantly, he looked down.

Great gods of the underworld, he had human legs. They were ugly, bulging, hairy appendages. He didn’t blame Kyros for his reaction. His own stomach twisted and churned at the sight. He didn’t know if it was the aftereffects of so much pain that caused it, or seeing the hideous legs that had replaced his magnificent tail. Then he thought about the power needed to accomplish this change.

“Triton amazes me,” Xanthus said. “I must remember to thank him.”

Kyros turned toward him. “Thank him?”

“Of course.
You think I should ignore the importance of this gift given by the Guardian of the Sea? I’m lucky he’s even taken notice of me, much less given me this opportunity to breach the boundaries of our world and venture onto the surface.”

“
Well, when you put it that way…” Kyros’s white face had a tinge of green and he avoided looking just below Xanthus’s waist. Xanthus avoided looking there too. Was he supposed to look like that?

Xanthus removed the gold bands from around his biceps
—the bands that kept him aloft when out of the water. He wanted to stand on these new feet of his. He struggled to raise his body off the ground. It couldn’t be too hard. If a human could do it, so could he. He placed his feet under his body, raised himself over his bent legs, and used all his strength to straighten them. His body shot up. He smiled, standing on his own two feet. His smile disappeared as he tipped over, crashing into the silt. Determined not to get discouraged, he tried again. This time, he swayed for about a second before he hit the sand. About a dozen tries later, he grumbled, “Hades, Kyros. This is harder than it looks.” Xanthus breathed heavily as he nursed his sand-burned palms and elbows.

“Well, you have
a month to learn to walk on those hideous things before you travel to the surface, and from the looks of it, a month’s not enough time.”

Xanthus growled. “I
sure hope you’re wrong.”

~Hawaii—Six Months Later~

A fine mist of rain slicked over Sara, dampening her clothes as the wind plastered her hair against her face. With both hands occupied pushing her wheelchair, there wasn’t a thing she could do about it. She pursed her lips to keep her hair from getting into her mouth.

W
hy oh why didn’t I notice how late it was?
Grasping the cold metal rings on her wheelchair, she bumped over the buckled surface of the darkened parking lot.

She
focused on the dilapidated building ahead. The dark shape loomed tall. Light flickered from a pole, high above. It cast knarled shadows on the already menacing building below, making the image worthy of any horror movie she’d ever seen.

Sara scowled and grumbled.
“Home sweet home.”

She hated being out after dark, especially in her neighborhood. All around Oahu shined pristine
neighborhoods—places where tourists poured out their money. But if one looked deeper, they’d find pockets of poverty. Sara lived deep in one of those pockets. Her tiny shoebox apartment gleamed as the one clean spot in her grimy, run-down building. She’d worked hard scrubbing the filth away as soon as she moved in two months ago.