Rising

  Xanthus swam through the darkened hall toward a secret room located deep inside his father’s mansion. He searched for any servants, or worse, his father. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He wasn’t too nervous—it was long after everyone’s bedtime. His father was asleep and wasn’t there to tell him that he couldn’t go in that room. “It’s no place for a child,” his father had said. But Xanthus was tough. His father just didn’t know him well enough.

  Xanthus’s tiny hand pushed the heavy door open. He jumped when the lights turned up. He almost fled back to his room. But warriors don’t flee from danger, and, someday, he’d be the bravest warrior ever.

  When he turned back into the room, his eyes fell on a beautiful sight—the face of a female. Her pale hair haloed her perfect features. Xanthus was about to swim away before she had a chance to see him when he realized something was not right. Her milky white eyes were open, but they couldn’t see a thing. She was dead.

  Her body floated in a tank—a tank similar to those they kept their fish in at dinner time. But this one stood taller, the water tinted green.

  Xanthus wanted to leave, but he had to be brave. What had happened to the beautiful female? He forced his little body to swim closer. His eyes widened when he saw her chest. Right where her heart should have been was a gaping hole. The sight sickened him. He no longer cared about being brave now. He had to get away from here.

  Xanthus turned and swam straight into his father. “Xanthus, what are you doing here?”

  “Father,” he said. “I was just going back to my room.”

  “So you think you can just go and I’ll forget that you disregarded my order?”

  “I’m sorry, Father…”

  “No. You wanted to see it. So here, take a good look.” His father dragged him over to the tank and pressed his face against the hard glass.

  The female’s lifeless eyes stared back at Xanthus. He didn’t want to see it, but he couldn’t resist looking at the gaping, jagged hole rimmed with pale flesh and broken ribs.

  “Do you know what she is, son?” his father asked.

  Xanthus’s brows knitted in confusion. It was obvious she was a female Dagonian. But maybe she wasn’t. Why else would his father ask that question? He shook his head.

  “It’s a pathetic young mermaid. She begged me for her life, but warriors don’t listen to sniveling cowards, son. Before I killed her, I cut out her tongue. Then I tore her beating heart from her chest.”

  Xanthus frowned, his stomach soured. His father was a coward, boasting about killing a weak female. “Why did you kill her?”

  “She’s a mermaid, that’s the best reason,” his father said, with glee in his voice.

  “What about King Triton? Why didn’t he stop you?”

  Xanthus’s father glared at him. “Poseidon ordered that we kill all the Mer. The day the last one was killed was a day of celebration for every Dagonian.”

  Xanthus didn’t understand. He’d thought when he became a warrior, he’d be protecting females. Not killing them.

  His father snarled and dragged him close so they were nose to nose. “You pity them?” The current of his breath brushed Xanthus’s face.

  Xanthus was too scared to answer truthfully, so he shook his head.

  “You’d better not. The Mer were fouler than humans. I only wish my sons could have joined me in their slaughter.”

  “Well? Are you coming, son?” his father asked. Xanthus found himself outside dressed in full battle gear. His father floated nearby. “They’re this way,” his father said. “Be ready. Sirens can be clever. Be sure to put in your earplugs. You don’t want to be caught around a Mer without them.”

  “Yes, Father,” Xanthus’s deep voice answered as he shoved the wax plugs in his ears. He was now a grown warrior following his father into battle.

  Xanthus’s eyes darted toward movement in the kelp fields. A figure hid in stalks. His father took off after it. At that moment, Xanthus saw movement from another section of kelp. He shot through the water, snaking around the great stalks of kelp in pursuit. He could see the figure racing as swiftly as it could. But it wasn’t fast enough. Xanthus easily overtook it. He grabbed the fin, jerked the fugitive to a stop, and then he yanked on the slate black hair to turn the mermaid’s head to face him.

  His heart stopped.

  “Sara?” he whispered in horror as his eyes rested on the terrified face of the woman he loved.

  “Good, you caught her, son.” His father’s muted voice reached his ears as he emerged from the swaying kelp. Blood trailed from his hands, clouding the water. He’d obviously caught his Mer.

  “Now make me proud. Let me see you rip her heart from her chest.”

  Xanthus turned to his father in shock. He couldn’t kill her. This was his Sara. He loved her.

  “You hesitate? You must never hesitate. Don’t forget Poseidon’s decree. You must kill her!”

  Xanthus turned to Sara. She trembled in his grasp, looking on him with abject terror. She opened her mouth to scream. His father moved like lightning, grabbed her tongue, lifted his knife, and sliced.

  Xanthus jolted awake, his heart slamming against his chest wall. What the Hades? He heaved hard breaths as he tried to process what he’d seen.

  It was a strange mixture of memories and false dreams. He’d had that same nightmare many times over throughout the years, with no variation. Until now. This time, instead of capturing a nameless mermaid, he’d caught Sara. He felt sick remembering the terror in her eyes—as if she thought he would kill her. Then his father….

  Xanthus sat up on Sara’s worn couch and dropped his face into his hands. His body shook as he tried to banish the image from his mind.

  Thank the gods he wasn’t alive when Poseidon gave that foul decree. Xanthus had killed plenty of hardened criminals throughout his years as a warrior but he abhorred killing females. He didn’t know what he would have done if he had lived at the time when all Dagonian solders were ordered to kill the Mer. He didn’t want to think about it.

  Still, why would he be dreaming about killing Sara?

  For his peace of mind, Xanthus looked in on her, sleeping peacefully in her room. She was safe. The dream wasn’t real. He walked over to her, pressed a kiss to her warm forehead, and inhaled her unique, intoxicating scent.

  A moment later, he walked back into the living area and spared the clock a glance. It was 1:14 AM, too early to get up. He lay back on the couch and did his best to reclaim his sleep. But the horror of the nightmare wouldn’t leave. He needed to clear his mind. He had planned on waiting until morning to finish his assignment, but now was as good a time as any to tie up the last loose end.

  Xanthus left Sara’s apartment, making sure everything was locked and the alarm was set. His phone was on and fully charged. He’d had the alarm company link his phone to her system. If Sara’s alarm tripped, he’d know immediately.

  Back at his houseboat, he showered—he was surprised to find he enjoyed showering. He loved the spray of the water on his face. Because it was tap water and not seawater, he was able to enjoy it as a human. Being human wasn’t as much of a bother as he’d thought it would be, but dressing in clothes was one of his least favorite things. They were scratchy and uncomfortable. Still, they covered his ugly, hairy legs. Even female legs were grotesque to him, but at least they were generally hairless.

  Danielle had thought to entice him by wearing short skirts and showing off her long legs. But they just sickened him. He had to hone his acting skills with this assignment. Tonight, he needed to woo her.

  Xanthus put on dark swimming trunks, flip-flops, and nothing else. Danielle loved looking at his bare chest. Somehow, tonight, he needed to entice her into taking a late night dip in the ocean. He estimated that would take about two seconds.

  As he walked out onto his deck, he saw a couple of young neighbors lounging on their boat, drinking beer and listening to music. That was unfortunate. He’d have to take Danielle somewhere more se
cluded. He’d hoped to get back to Sara sooner than later. Leaving her alone was making him anxious.

  In the darkness, Xanthus strolled down the dock to Danielle’s houseboat. He picked up a few pebbles and, one by one, tossed them to her bedroom window, attempting to awaken her.

  The curtains fluttered and then were pulled back. Her glowing face appeared and she opened her window. “I knew you’d come calling.” She smirked.

  “I was just about to take a late night swim and thought you might like to join me.” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Sure, sweet thing. Just give me a moment.” Danielle walked out her door five minutes later, wearing a bikini top, a tiny, wraparound skirt, and stilettos.

  “I know a great place that’s just a short drive from here,” he said as he walked her to his SUV.

  “Babe, with you looking like you do, I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth.” She raked her eyes over him.

  He responded with his own hot once-over. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

  She smiled and chuckled.

  Their destination was just a few miles down the shoreline. He pulled off. Thick foliage lined the road. He squeezed his SUV as close to the trees as possible. “The shore is just a short walk and I’ve never seen anyone else here. We’ll be completely alone. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

  Danielle laughed, deep and throaty. “Oh, you’re real funny.”

  They’d taken a few short steps into the palm tree line when she stumbled, “Oh, my ankle. I’ve twisted it.”

  Xanthus knelt down and inspected her injury. “It looks all right to me. Do you want to go back?”

  “Oh, no. It just smarts a bit. I’m sure I can swim fine. But walking on it hurts. Do you think you can carry me?” she asked, her big eyes blinking, the corners of her mouth turned down. Pitiful.

  He would rather not carry her, but he really looked forward to having the job done. A Dagonian does what he has to do.

  “Sure thing, sweetheart.” Xanthus swept her up and she giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. He strode forward, anxious to reach the shoreline. His eyes scanned the trees and he listened for other people in the area. He heard nothing. Danielle was at his mercy and he had a few words to tell this woman before he delivered her to Triton.

  “Danielle?”

  “Yes, Xanthus?” She smiled and licked her lips.

  “How do you live with yourself?” He no longer masked the coldness of his voice.

  “What?” she asked, her eyes wide, confused. “What are you talking about?”

  “Do you know what harm you’ve caused with your illegal dumping? Did you and your board of directors just decide one day not to follow the proper procedures of neutralizing and disposing of your waste? Did you think there would be no consequences to destroying whole ecosystems and all life within a thousand square miles?”

  “Who are you?” Danielle’s eyes narrowed.

  “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.” Xanthus approached the ebbing surf and stepped into the water. He felt the change coming and was careful not to crush the human woman in his arms during the transformation. His body clenched and Danielle started thrashing around.

  “Let me down.” She pushed against his chest and then struck him across the face. When the pain of his transformation left him, he tossed her into the shallow water. Danielle scrambled and splashed, trying to get to her feet.

  “You can’t prove anything. I had…” She looked up to confront him and gasped in horror. “What… are you?” she asked as she stumbled away.

  “I am your enemy, Danielle. Now meet your fate.” Xanthus reached out his hand toward her and gave her Triton’s message. Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped in the terror.

  Then he summoned the Heitach. “I send you to Triton to answer for your crimes.” Xanthus cringed when he heard her wails. Once she was gone, the relief of having his mission accomplished washed over him. Danielle was no longer his worry, but Triton’s. His job was done.

  Xanthus returned to Sara’s tiny, uncomfortable couch and the rest of the night, he slept in peaceful bliss.