Captive of the Deep (2 page)

‘Here,’
he said, directing his thoughts using their mind link. All the Merr could communicate by telepathy in the water.

There were twelve Merr hunters in total, split up into four teams of three. He was part of a team known as the
Warriors
. The other two, Demon and Brutus, were his twin brothers. Rigel, though he was technically the youngest, was the leader—not that age really mattered after a near eternity of living. It wasn’t like their mortal days when age actually influenced rank or position. After hundreds of years they were pretty much the same and only clung to the memory of such things out of habit.

Aside from his team there were the
Hunters
—Iason, Caderyn and Solon. They were also in the water, nearby if Rigel’s tingling senses were to be believed. The
Knights
led by Cain and the
Soldiers
led by Hrafn were taking a much needed break from hunting while the other two teams took up their duties.

As leader, he carried a vial around his neck filled with a liquid that would paralyze the scylla so they may catch it. The liquid was the only way to stop the creature. Unfortunately, if spilled, it could paralyze the Merr as well. Carrying it was a job that took much concentration and he would have final say when it came to capturing the scylla because it was he who needed to get into position.

Swishing his tail, Rigel navigated the dark waters to climb higher. His gills fluttered against his neck, filtering the water so he could breathe. Thin threads of moonlight danced above him, shining down into the oblivion below. He missed the moon, the stars, the sun and human land. Unfortunately, he couldn’t break the surface to see the moon and had to content himself to see it bend and stretch with the current. One of the only things that could kill the Merr was surface air. It would burn the skin, but if breathed it would destroy.

Brutus and Demon were two of the largest of the Merr race and identical in every aspect, from their long black hair to their matching dark eyes. Even their fins were the same silvery black color. It made them nearly invisible in the deep waters, even to their own kind sometimes. Rigel was a lighter version of the twins. His hair was dark, but not black, and his eyes were grey. When the sunlight shone through the waves his silver fins looked like ship metal floating in the water. It came in handy when having to swim undetected along the underside of a metal human boat. For this reason, they often volunteered for the more dangerous hunts.

Brutus approached, appearing out of the darkness into the dancing blue light. He motioned to the distance.
‘I heard wood crack. The scylla attacks.’

Within seconds the sound of drowning humans washed over them. Giant splashes accompanied the distorted screams. Rigel darted through the water, hoping this time they could make it in time to stop the creature and save some lives. Unfortunately for the humans, once the scylla started an attack it usually ended it within seconds. It didn’t stop Rigel and his brothers from trying though. No matter how often he heard such despair, it never became easier. He wished he could save them, but all any of them could do was push the humans toward the water’s surface and wish them luck. When he saw the first piece of debris sinking into the depths, he knew it was too late for many of the mortals. There was no land for miles—too far for humans to swim. Perhaps they could float on broken parts of the ship, if luck was with them.

Though, honestly, perhaps pushing them to the surface and trying to save them was crueler than letting them drown. They were in the middle of the ocean, no sign of rescue vibrating in the water. Chances were their bodies would weaken and they would die a long, horrible death. If they managed to float on a raft, the hot sun and lack of drinking water would kill them. But, what else could he do? Wasn’t a small chance better than none?

Rigel darted for a human, pushing him up toward the surface. From the corner of his vision he saw Demon was doing the same. Brutus swam on, searching for their prey.

‘Rigel? Demon?’
 
Solon’s voice echoed in his head and he glanced around as he moved toward the next man. The hunter joined them, gliding his arms to hover in the water. The green-gold of his tail whipped back and forth. Like all Merr, Solon’s tail and fins matched the color of his hazel eyes.

‘Solon, what are you doing here? Have you come to help us?’
Rigel asked.

‘No, the Hunters seek another creature. It has been evading us.
’ The vial around Solon’s neck drifted easily with his movements.

‘
We have the same problem, but it is close. I think we will have luck this night.’

‘You have been away from home a long time. You cannot stay out in the water much longer.’
All knew they could only stay away from Ataran soil for two weeks before going mad. Once madness set in, they would never find their way back alone. Even going past a week was pushing it.

‘Aye, but we cannot leave it. This is an old one. Very powerful. If we go home we might not catch it again. Who knows how many wrecks it has caused.’

‘Then there are two old ones in the water this night,’
Solon said. They both knew the danger they faced. The scylla were dangerous creatures. They were spirits of the water, mindless, reckless, forever searching. Two scylla together would be strong enough to push any one of them out of the water.
‘I will get Caderyn and Iason. We will work together.’

Rigel nodded in agreement. Not seeing anyone else he could save, he began sensing the water for one of the scylla. Brutus emerged to push a drowning human toward the surface. The mortal man was still alive and grabbed a floating piece of the ship’s debris. Brutus swam quickly under his legs, making a current that would drift the survivor away from the shipwreck.

‘The Hunters come to help us,’
Rigel said.

Moments later he heard Caderyn call out to him. His dark brown hair drifted around his head, floating briefly before his stark purple eyes. The silver purple of his tail whipped once, pushing him up higher. Iason’s green was soon flashing behind him, joined once more by Solon.

‘You’ve been away from Ataran longer,’
Iason said to them.
‘We will help you catch yours and then go for ours. You need to get home before you lose your way.’

‘He’s a big one,’
Brutus warned.

‘Slipped by us twice already,’
Demon added.
‘Tore up this ship, though I see now that he had help. We were wondering why it went down so fast for as big as it was.’

A cold rush of current, colder than usual, crept over them. They turned to the man Brutus had helped to save. The human’s legs kicked violently, and they saw the shadowed form of a scylla gliding beneath him.

‘By All the Gods!’
Solon swore.
‘It is huge.’

Brutus gave a small nod, as if affirming he’d been telling the truth. All six Merr swarmed into action. Rigel tore the vial from his neck, ready to blow. The creature began to drift, nothing more than a dark spot in the water. It was a near shapeless, faceless shadowing. It made a dash past Brutus and Demon. The two brothers cut it off. Iason and Solon crowded its sides as Caderyn swam below. Rigel blew into the vial, breaking the bottom seal and coating their prey. The creature bucked, knocking the human up, tossing him high above the surface. The man screamed, but they ignored him. There was nothing they could do beyond what they were doing.
 

Both Brutus and Demon latched onto the scylla, fighting it as they dragged it deep into the ocean. The creature soon became subdued and the hunters were able to drag it more easily. Rigel let his brothers carry the weight, as he waved his thanks to Iason. He had no doubt they would have captured it, but with six it had been easier. For a moment, he thought about offering to help the other team. But, already he felt the dizzying pull of the water. He needed to get home before he lost his way. Hearing a splash as the human hit the water several feet from where he’d been launched, Rigel said,
‘Go. Find the second. I’ll push this mortal up and will follow my team.’

‘That way,’
Iason said to his team as he swam away into the darkness.

‘What is that noise?’
Solon’s voice grew faint inside Rigel’s head as he grasped the drowning man’s waist and pushed him up from the depths. The gentle feel of vibrations in the water alerted them to another boat. Rigel smiled as he let go of the man. Perhaps there was hope for the survivors this night.

Lyra awoke in a sweat. Her heart pounded until she thought it might explode from her chest. For a moment, she couldn’t remember where she was or what had happened, as she looked around at her surroundings in confusion. But, as the endless nightmares became reality, and understanding dawned, the fear turned to pain. Never in her life has she felt so much heartache. The stress of it built within her until she could barely breathe, or think. She wanted to run, but, more than that, she wanted to die.

“Just kill me now.”

That is what she’d said as she stood on the deck, looking across the distant ocean. But, whatever force had been listening that night killed everyone she cared about instead—at least physically. For, that same force had killed her in another, much crueler way. It killed her heart and soul.

“Next time I’ll be more specific when asking things of fate,” she mumbled.

Not for the first time she imagined she was really dead and this was hell. Everyone and everything she loved was gone, presumably drowned beneath the waves. She was the only known survivor from her crew. Strangely, though, she was also beneath the waves. But, instead of a watery death, she suffered an eternal damnation. She’d been saved by a merman who suctioned his lips around hers and dragged her down into the midnight depths until all she could see was the glow illuminating from his eyes and all she could feel was the cold of the ocean and the tight press of his mouth as he breathed for her. Her limbs had been too numb to move and fight his hold, but her mind had been aware during each moment of the horrible trip. They emerged inside a cave filled with air. Only then did he release her. Tiny colorful lights had danced around her and with that first deep, gasping breath, she had passed out.

For days after her rescue she had refused to talk, as if not saying anything would make the terrible delusion go away. And then, she didn’t talk because the pain of her loss was too much to bear. She had been rescued and brought into the deep abyss, to a secret land beneath the waves. Some might call Atlantes a magical place, one that by all modern logic couldn’t exist. Oh, but it did exist, and it was as real as the merman who’d saved her.

Mermen. Mermaid. The lost city of Atlantis. The Greek god Poseidon. A curse. An eternity. Apparently all real, and all adding to her living hell.

In truth, she had no idea how long she’d been trapped in Atlantes, or rather the palace in Atlas, capital city of the country of Ataran. It was all she managed to learn about her new home—not from lack of anyone trying to teach her.

Days blended into what could have been weeks or months, or merely days. She really couldn’t remember. She was offered food. She was spoken to. She was led around the palace and shown things. Someone took her outside where there were trees and a dark blue watery sky pressed against a magical dome. She was introduced to people.

None of it registered, not really. They were merely passing moments in a blur of half-reality. And then, her mind woke up.

“We should go to the banquet hall tonight. The king has requested that we attend the celebration of a wedding.”

It was the first sentence she’d really, fully heard. The low voice had been saying more, but she couldn’t recall what had been said before that sentence. Though the voice was familiar in tone, she finally looked directly at the man who spoke for the first time. He was the one who had saved her. Rigel the Hunter. That’s what the others called him. Rigel. She had heard that name a lot in her half-life fog.

His hair was dark, but not black, and his eyes were grey. No, they were actually more of a metallic silver. His expression was stiff, but she seemed to recall there being moments of tenderness around his eyes. She also recalled having hit and kicked him on several occasions when he had tried to wake her from a nightmare. By the look of his strong body, her fighting hadn’t done much damage. Though he was dressed, she could still see most of his body from beneath the gracefully draping tunic. It only fell to his upper thigh. His legs, arms and one shoulder were bare. Her eyes focused briefly on his smooth, hairless chest, trying to remember what he felt like. Surely, she must have touched him, but yet her fingers couldn’t recall the texture of the tanned flesh. Blinking slowly, she let her gaze fall to the leather strap sandals on his feet.

“We should go to the banquet hall tonight,” Rigel repeated. “The king has requested that—”

Her eyes shot sharply to his face, cutting him off. He sighed heavily, as if torn between speaking and just turning and walking away from her. He had strong features to go with his chiseled body—high cheekbones, a strong jaw, eyes that seemed to pierce into her. Slowly, she nodded in understanding. He appeared almost relieved, excited even, by the small gesture.