Tidal Whispers (10 page)

Something’s happening, she thought, reaching out with her heart and searching for Harmon. I can feel him. He’s coming back for me, I know it, she thought, smiling as warmth spread through her limbs.

“He’s here,” Tabor said.

When two grey, webbed hands clutched the side of the boat, Taigo said a word that sounded as if it were meant to be spoken underwater. A hulking, grey-skinned man hefted himself up and rested his scratched and scarred elbows on the edge of the boat. His flesh took on a purple tint. He squinted black eyes against the glare of the sun.

“What’s this?” Prosb’o asked. “You’ve found my pearl!” He smiled, and Miki recoiled.

He looks nothing like Harmon, she thought. This merman resembles the sea monsters the older divers claimed to have fought on their conquests to collect pearls from the deep.

“No,” Taigo said. “This is mine.”

“Quite the contrary,” Prosb’o said. “The pearl you hold is property belonging to me.” He held his palm out, webbed fingers wiggling expectantly.

“No.” Taigo held the pearl to his chest. “We have our deal. You’ll get half the farmed pearls when they’re ready. If you want them, you need to maintain your end of the bargain and keep the mainlanders from approaching the island. Your job is to eliminate threats. And this girl here.” Taigo shoved Miki towards Prosb’o’s grey hulking body. “She’s a threat to our plan. Drown her as you have the others. Then, ready your folk. There is another ship on the way from the mainland. Father almost has the elders convinced that the gods favor us completely. Once we have the elders, we’ll have the island. And you’ll have all the pearls you want.”

“I take what I want. I listen to no human, especially one out of his element.” Prosb’o rocked the boat and laughed as he disrupted Taigo’s balance.

Taigo bobbled the pearl. Everyone froze as it clattered to the bottom of the boat. Miki scrambled to grab the pearl as Taigo, Tabor and Prosb’o’s movements pitched the boat, causing the pearl to roll about. Prosb’o leaned further and his thrashing tail tipped the balance, dumping all occupants, human, Mer and gem into the ocean.

The glowing pearl sank, and Miki’s slender fingers were the ones to fold around it. Once she claimed the Pearl of Pau’maa, pure white light exploded from her hand, blinding her to the thrashing bodies nearby. The ocean pulled her down, deeper into its embrace. Her skin tingled, itched, burned.

With lengths of water between her and the sky, Miki screamed, “Harmon!” Bubbles erupted from her mouth, precious air streaming from her lungs as the pearl continued shining brighter than the sun above, and Miki blacked out.

• • •

“Not so hard, Creeb, she’s fragile.” Harmon shoved his brother away and continued compressions on Miki’s lifeless body. Clouds of sand puffed from either side of her with each of Harmon’s exertions.

“She’s not breathing. Try closing her mouth.” Creeb swam around Harmon. Harmon’s lips moved as he murmured prayers and promises to the gods. His hands continued pressing on her chest, trying to keep a consistent rhythm that would call her heart to attention.

Creeb placed the pearl in her hand, curling her limp fingers around it. He skimmed the scales covering Miki’s arm.

Harmon glared at the Pearl of Pau’maa. You did this, he thought, squinting due to the pearl’s love light. You’ve led me to her only to take her away from me.

“I can’t believe how bright this got,” Creeb whispered. “I think Prosb’o’s blinded for life now.” He glanced over his shoulder at the loan shark writhing on the seafloor. “Bottom-dwellers never handle the intensity of the sun like we do.” A nervous laugh escaped Creeb’s lips.

Harmon recognized his brother’s inability to handle the intensity of the situation, of watching someone die all over again like he had with their father, but Harmon could spare no comfort for his younger sibling. His energies poured into Miki. He refused to lose her.

“Her heart’s beating!” Harmon cried, his own surging in response.

“She needs air.” Creeb clamored closer. “Breathe for her, brother.”

Harmon placed his palm over Miki’s mouth and fixed his lips to her throat, gently fluttering air over her newly born gills. He waited and pushed air again, smiling as Miki’s gills expanded.

• • •

Miki moaned, and bubbles spewed from her mouth. Her eyelids flickered, and her pupils focused on the concerned set of sky blue eyes staring back at her. She reached to touch Harmon’s face and smiled when his hand pressed her palm to his cheek.

She glanced to either side and realization dawned on her face. She lay deep at the bottom of the ocean.

“I’m breathing!” Miki spewed bubbles of delight. She sat up, opening and closing her mouth, testing the flow of air entering not past her lips but her throat. She touched her neck, exploring the gills that trembled, drawing oxygen from the water.

Her fingers discovered the tiny scales sheathing her hand. Her arms. Her legs. Her toes. She wiggled them and frowned.

“It worked,” she whispered. “I can breathe, but I’m not a mermaid. I don’t understand.”

“You’re my Miki.” Harmon smiled as he gathered her close. “And I don’t understand either, but maybe your new gills are only the beginning.”

“The beginning,” she murmured. “Your Miki,” she said. “I like that.” She moved to hold Harmon’s face in both her hands. “You saved me. Twice.”

“No, my love. You saved me.” He leaned down, his eyes focused on hers. His fingertips skimmed her shoulders and her new skin responded to his touch.

Harmon murmured, “Miki,” and claimed her parted lips with a kiss.

Miki’s arms twined around Harmon’s neck, her legs wrapped around his waist.

• • •

“Get a cave, you two.” Creeb floated backward, away. He swam over to Prosb’o and gave him a nudge.

Prosb’o whimpered. “My eyes.”

The loan shark’s voice caught Harmon’s attention. With Miki in his arms, he remained calm, kissing her once more before releasing her to deal with the lender.

He lunged, shoving Prosb’o back a length.

“Don’t kill him, brother!” Creeb said.

The current tested her balance, but Miki scrambled to her feet, blade drawn from the sheath on her thigh, ready to defend.

“You are in my domain now, Prosb’o,” Harmon said. “You have no friends here, no one to do your bidding in these warm waters. I suggest you heed this soldier’s order and retreat to your cavern. Stay there. If I see or smell you in here again, I won’t be so lenient.”

Prosb’o snarled, flashing his sharp, white teeth. He turned and slowly swam back toward the dark, cold waters of the Ladali Trench.

Turning to Miki, Harmon’s lips parted seeing her feet anchored in the sand, knife in hand, her face fierce and ready to fight. A smile teased the corners of his mouth, and Miki grinned back. Harmon swam full force for her, grabbing her by the waist. He laughed heartily, as she giggled and hugged his neck.

“Miki,” Harmon said. “I would like you to meet my brother, Creeb.” Harmon offered his arm to his brother. “He’s the reason I found you.”

• • •

Miki reached for Creeb’s hand, smiling at the unique way he clasped her forearm.

He looks so much like Harmon, she thought. Slightly different nose, darker blue eyes and no scar. The familial resemblance was there, though.

“I’m happy to meet you, Creeb.” Miki moved her lips to pronounce the b with a pop at the end, releasing a bubble. “What about Taigo and Tabor? They were in the boat with me. They have terrible plans for the island!”

“I don’t think you need to worry about them,” Harmon said.

Miki paled.

“What my brother means,” Creeb nudged Harmon’s shoulder, “is that they’re in their boat, paddling back for shore. And with Prosb’o gone and unavailable to assist them any longer, I think their plans have been thwarted. Come, we should go. There’s a ship in the water—a big one.”

“A big one? From which direction?” She squinted to see through the ocean.

Harmon chuckled. “We see with sound, too, Miki.” He released a ping. “The ship Creeb speaks of comes from the mainland. And he is right, we should move.”

Miki smiled. The mainland. A supply ship! The island’s famine would soon be over. Order would be restored. Her people would be fed. Her own stomach rumbled and groaned.

Harmon pressed his hand to her flat belly. “I owe you a lobster.” He smoothed her floating strands of hair. “Come, swim with us Miki. Let me show you how we hunt.”

Miki took Harmon’s hand, bringing his knuckles up to her lips.

“Don’t forget about this.” Creeb held up the Pearl of Pau’maa. “I bet mother would enjoy hearing the story of how it brought the two of you together.”

Gazing up at Harmon, Miki said, “You told me the pearl was special.”

“Yes,” Harmon said, his voice distant with memories. “The Pearl of Pau’maa has been in my family for generations. It’s a pearl spun from the oldest oyster in the sea, given to my ancestors with the promise it would lead them to their life mate. The ocean is so vast, Miki. Some of us live our entire lives without ever finding our other half, but my mother has always believed in the power of the pearl.”

“Do you believe?” Miki asked.

He cradled her face in his webbed hands. “Yes, Miki. I believe in the legend of the pearl. I believe it has led me to you.” He clenched his fist and pounded his chest. “Meeting you has changed the rhythm of my heart. I feel … ” He paused, searching her eyes. “You’ve opened something inside me. I feel love when I look at you, Miki. A love like I’ve never felt before. When I hold you, when I fear you’re in danger—”

“I believe in the legend too.” Miki placed her palm flat against Harmon’s chest, absorbing the pound of his heart beating in tempo with her own. She studied her skin, so similar to his. “When I was holding the pearl, and it was burning so brightly in my palm, I felt … ” She paused to find the words that seemed to elude her. “I’ve always believed the ocean held more for me than the island. And I never thought my heart would warm to anyone. I called for you,” she said. “In that moment, yours was the only name I had on my tongue, your face was the only one in my mind. And I felt like the pearl had opened up to show me the possibilities for my future. There were so many images floating through my mind, the island, the ocean, but when it came time to decide for my future, I saw only you. I picked you, Harmon. I know we’ve only just met, but I feel such a strong connection to you. I want to know a life, with you, no matter the cost, no matter the risk.” Her fingers traced Harmon’s gills and her own. “I don’t regret choosing this, even if you turn me away, I will never regret taking the opportunity to share this moment with you, to breathe in the same water as you.”

“I believe in the pearl,” he whispered. “I believe in you and me. And I long for all of my tomorrows to be with you, Miki. My Miki.” Harmon’s smile gleamed as brightly as the pearl. He opened his arms, and Miki snuggled into his embrace. Holding her tight to his body, Harmon’s fingers tilted her chin up, his webbed hand cradling the back of her head. He leaned down, kissing her with newly awoken passion. When her lips parted, bubbles streamed from his gills.

• • •

The Pearl of Pau’maa let its love light shine, illuminating the ocean around Miki, Harmon and his brother. The brightness tilted, leaned and took aim for the next unmatched Mer in the family.

Creeb.

The Undergarden

Jocelyn Adams

J. Taylor Publishing

Chapter 1

Nixie burst through the surface of the water with a great splash and drew in a gulp of salted sea air. As she swam to her favorite spot in the secluded bay, she took in the tangerine sky. The glowing orb dropped toward the edge of the world and set the clouds aflame. Soon, hundreds of square yellow eyes would blink to life beyond the trees.

With a grunt, she heaved her spindly body onto a flat stone, worn smooth on top by the tide’s constant indecision of in and out. Pale birds gave shrill cries overhead as they circled, searching for their next meal or some shiny treasure to pluck for their collections. She flexed her webbed fingers and toes against the warm breeze. The long silvery strands covering her head itched where they lay along her back, so she bunched them in her hand and twisted to wring out the water.

A tiny sound drew her gaze to the sandy place where liquid met solid. A row of palm trees silhouetted against the sun sent long strips of shadow along the ground. Within the dark and light patches, a pink creature wrapped in blue cloth sat in the sand, hugging its knees to its chest.

She’d never seen a pink one up close. Curiosity urged her back into the surf, her stare locked onto the light threads covering the creature’s head. What was such a young one doing there by itself? Had its guardians abandoned it?

Submersed so only her forehead and eyes peeked above the surface, Nixie propelled herself closer until the sand brushed her chest. Only a few feet from the being, she surveyed the liquid dripping out of its eyes.

She opened her mind and searched for the intricate mental patterns that often accompanied the pink ones. Few others who lived on the hard place thought of anything more than food and procreation, but she found a complex mind in the one before her. Sadness, mostly, and loneliness. The male referred to himself as Wyatt.

Unable to stop herself, she injected her thoughts into his.
“Why do your eyes leak?”

A fair-skinned face snapped up, blue eyes scanning the rolling waves. “Wh—who said that?” Wyatt stuck a scrawny finger into his ear and wiggled it.

Nixie popped her head and shoulders out of the surf.
“Why do you do that? Has something crawled in there?”

His eyes opened wide as they landed on her. Wiping crystal drops from his face, he jumped to his feet, stabbing a finger in her direction. “I’m not afraid of you!”

She cocked her head, and a frilly leaf of sea grass fell from her shoulder into the water.
“Why would you be afraid of me?”

Wyatt’s gaze fell to the ground before rising to peer through his silky fringe. “My sister calls me a ‘fraidy-cat’, but I’m not.”

Nixie grinned.
“You’re funny, Wyatt. Why does your heart beat so fast?”

Tiny creases sank into his brow. “How did you—it’s not! I told you, I’m not scared.” Silence fell for a moment as he traced her form with his eyes. “Hey, what are you, anyway?”

She thought for a moment
. “I am Nixie, and you are Wyatt.”

One of the arched fur patches above his eye curved up. “Wyatt is my name, but what
are
you?” His fingers touched the side of his own neck. “You have gills …” His voice fell to a whisper. “… and your skin is, like, invisible … only not.” He scratched his head as if his own words confused him.

Nixie held her arms out. Her iridescent skin took on the appearance of the surrounding water. Swirling blue and green mixed with hints of orange from the sky. She set her stare back on Wyatt.
“I am simply Nixie, and my skin changes to suit my surroundings. Why doesn’t yours? Is it broken? Is that why your eyes are leaking?”

Wyatt’s lips tugged up on one side. “Your skin … changes? You mean like camouflage, like a chameleon?”

As she searched her thoughts for the word, Nixie climbed farther along the sand, coming to her knees in shallow water.
“What is a chameleon?”

Wyatt shook his head. “Never mind. It’s cool, is all.” His hands disappeared into openings in the blue cloth covering his lower half. “But … how can I hear you when your mouth isn’t moving? Are you some sort of ventriloquist, like that guy I saw on TV once?”

Another head tilt didn’t help her decipher what he’d said.
“Ven … trill … what is T … V?”

A bright laugh burst from Wyatt, though Nixie didn’t know what had amused him. “It’s TV. You know, like movies at home. And a ventriloquist can make a puppet look like it can talk.” He squinted, and at the same time his expression flattened to reflect something Nixie took as concern. “Isn’t your mom worried you’re out swimming by yourself?”

“Mom? You mean a guardian?”

“Yeah, you know, parents? Mom or … or Dad?” His grin turned upside down.

A twinge of loneliness crept into her chest.
“I have none.”

“Oh.” His bare toe dug into the sand. “My dad’s dead, too.”

“Dead? Do you mean he’s gone to the Undergarden?”

Wyatt’s foot stopped its fidgeting, and his gaze locked onto hers again. “Is that like Heaven?”

“It’s the place where the lost ones go to play.”

“Uh …”

“Is that why your thoughts are sad? Are you alone now, like me?”

Wyatt kicked a shell near him, and it skittered across the shore. He shook his head. “Mom and my step-dad fight a lot. I sneak out until they’re done.” His shoulders lifted in a half-hearted shrug. “They never miss me.” A new glimmer shone in his eyes, one Nixie didn’t understand. “Is that where your parents are? The Undergarden?”

She thought about her beginning, waking in shallow waters far from the beach, under the fireball’s rays. “
I have none now, nor ever.
I wasn’t, and then I was. If a guardian gave me life, they didn’t stay to tell me.”

Wyatt leaned closer. “But then how did you eat and all that when you were a baby? And … how old are you? I’m nine.”

“Old? You mean age? I’ve seen one hundred and nine full moons, and I fish when I’m hungry. Don’t you?”

“Oh.” He squinted at the water. “Do you have legs or fins under there? It’s too dark for me to see.”

Nixie jumped out of the water and landed on her feet. She wobbled on legs that rarely held her weight until she stood only an inch or so taller than the boy.

Wyatt’s face glowed as red as the horizon before he slapped a hand over his eyes. “You’re not wearing any bottoms.”

“What is bottoms?”
She glanced left and right but found nothing he might have been referring to.

Twinkling eyes peeked through a gap in the boy’s fingers before he closed his digits together again. “You can’t go around naked, at least not on the bottom. Mom says there’s a law or something.”

With a scrunched brow, Nixie looked down at her body.
“I don’t understand. You don’t like the way I look?”

Wyatt dropped his hand but his gaze stayed fixed on her feet. “You look … pretty.” His toe dug another hole in the sand as his head made a slow tilt up. “I guess if you don’t care, then I don’t.” Smirking, he gathered a glob of kelp into his hands and stepped into the water. “Last one to the drop-off is a seaweed head.”

He threw the tangled ball, catching Nixie on her right temple in a wet splat before running into the surf. Laughter peeled out of him, like the bells from the pointed towers beyond the trees every seventh light.

The sound made her heart swell, and a smile slid across her lips. She’d never had a friend before, at least not one who knew how to play. Only the odd dolphin that came to swim with her once in a while.

Releasing a twitter of her own, she splashed into the water behind him. “
Swim fast, Wyatt. I’ll be there and back twice before you even get started.”
She dove, her webbed feet propelling her past Wyatt with the speed of a shark on the hunt. Upon reaching the drop-off, she sped back and circled him several times, dousing him with water while he giggled and tried to grab her without success.

They had something Wyatt called a contest to see which of them could hold their breath longer. After only a few minutes, he thrust himself to the surface. Nixie followed wondering if she’d hurt his feelings by outlasting him.

“You’re the best swimmer I’ve ever seen. Maybe you can teach me some tricks to get better?” he said, gasping through a grin to regain his breath.

Nixie beamed.
“Your funny hands aren’t good for swimming, but I’ll try.”

“I’ll bring some of my sister’s snorkeling fins next time.” He stuck his toes out of the water and wiggled them. “Hey”—his eyes grew wide along with his smile—“did you see that giant starfish on the ledge? I’ve never seen one so big.”

Jittering with excitement, Nixie dove without a word, retrieved the bumpy orange star and returned to the surface.
“You mean this one?”

Wyatt grasped it, turning it over in his hands. “This is so cool! Look at those spines!” His fingertip made a gentle pass over the spikes on the creature’s back. “Did you know starfish can drop off an arm if it gets eaten, then grow it back? Wish I could do that.”

Nixie didn’t know that. What else might he be able to tell her about her home? Reveling in his excitement and wealth of knowledge, she dove again in search of something else to show him.

• • •

Silver moonlight blanketed Nixie as she lay on the sand beside Wyatt. His breaths were heavy after their long swim. The waves bumped her as they surged inward, rolling her closer to the boy. His skin was warm compared to hers.

Nixie caught a worry lingering in Wyatt’s thoughts. “
What is a ‘stepdad’?”

His fingers curled into tight fists at his sides. “He’s not my real dad. He’s just a guy Mom married after Dad died so she wouldn’t have to work.”

“Married? Is that like a mating?”

Wyatt’s jaw flexed for a moment. He shrugged before pointing at the sky. “That’s Orion’s belt.”

Nixie gazed at the winking lights above, wondering why he’d changed the subject.
“Orion’s belt?”

“Orion is a constellation, at least that’s what my real Dad told me when I was little.”

“Constellation?”

“Yeah. You know, stars.” Excitement pulled his voice tight as he swept his pointed finger to the right. “That other one that looks like a measuring cup is Ursa Minor. Dad said it means ‘bear’.” He gave his head a scratch. “I wonder why they call that a bear when it looks like my mom’s measuring cups.”

With a cock of her head, Nixie studied the boy’s grinning face as the incoming tide lapped at her legs.
“What is measuring cup?”

Wyatt let out a jingling laugh. “It measures stuff for cooking, you know, like a cup. Don’t you have cups where you come from?”

She shook her head.
“What is cooking?”

The laugh came again. “You’re so funny. I like you, Nixie.”

A smile curved her lips, her chest puffing up with joy.
“I like you, too.”
She pointed webbed fingers at the lumps beyond the trees.
“What are those tall things with the yellow eyes that light up after the fireball disappears? Is it some sort of beast?”

He sat up and turned in her indicated direction. “Those are apartments.” His shoulders popped up and down. “The yellow squares are lights people turn on when it’s dark out, so they can read and stuff.”

“People? Read?”
Nixie squinted at the lights, as if seeing them better could help her make more sense of Wyatt living in such an odd place.

Wyatt’s brow scrunched up. “Wait—how do you know English?”

“English?”

“Yeah, the words we use to talk.”

She thought it over for a moment. “
When pink ones speak, they often have images in their minds. I listened and learned.”

“I wish I could do that. Read people’s minds, I mean. It’d be cool for when my sister blames me for something. Or to find out why Mom cries so much. Why don’t you talk out loud like I do?”

Nixie opened her mouth, but only a grunting sound came out.
“I don’t know how.”

Wyatt reached out fingers and touched her gills. “How long can you breathe out of water?”

“I can breathe air, too, but the fire in the sky dries my skin, so I have to rewet my body once in a while.”

“So you really don’t have a mom? I mean, kids come from a Mommy’s belly. That’s how my Mom said I was born, anyway. It grosses out her new husband when she talks about stuff like that.” He snorted and dug his fingers into the sand. “Or maybe you came from an egg, like a turtle?”

“I don’t know.”
She turned to stare at him, fascinated by his excitement and enjoyment of her company.
“What is kid?”

“Oh, like a baby, a child, me.”

“Like offspring, then. And what is husband?”

His sigh told of some complicated thought going on within. “When grownups love each other, they get married. Afterwards, the man is called the husband, and the woman is called a wife. It’s kind of like mating, only different. Did you know Canadian geese mate for life, only lots of humans get divorced?”

Nixie’s questions rolled out one after the other, and Wyatt answered. The darkness she sensed in his thoughts lifted a little more with each new fact he shared. She learned that the pink ones called the round fire ‘the sun’ and the fur on his head ‘hair’. They divided time into days, weeks, months and years, and Wyatt called the current month ‘June’. He said he’d soon be finished going to something called ‘school’, and that would allow him to come to the beach more often. She paid particular attention to that comment.

“I’d better get back.” With a yawn and a stretch, Wyatt stood and brushed the sand from his backside. “I’ve got school tomorrow.” He trotted along the sand. At the edge of the trees, he turned and waved his hand. “See you tomorrow, Nixie.”

She raised her hand to mirror his, the loneliness from before their meeting resettling around her heart. Sighing, she pushed her sadness aside and swam into the depths toward her cavern to wait for Wyatt’s return.