Lost in Her Depths, page 4
“Um... Yes, that’s my language, and no, I’m not a mermaid or your captor.” Ella helped him up into a sitting position.
He balanced his body on the rock, breathing hard from the exertion. His face contorted into pain with each movement he made. “Then get these tyal chains off me!”
Ella jumped, startled by his venomous outburst. “I can’t remove them! I need a blowtorch to cut them off. Something I currently don’t have, by the way.”
“Then use my dagger, you fool. It will free me just like this blow torch you speak of!”
“Wait, a damn minute here,” she yelled, glaring at him. “First you call me a mermaid, then you accuse me of being your captor! Now you want me to put a dagger in my hand? Are you insane?”
“What else am I supposed to think?” He nodded toward her hips. “You have a mermaid’s tail!” He sighed, dropped his chin against his chest, and closed his eyes. “No, I’m not insane,” he said, reasonably, “But I’m losing the feeling in my limbs. You can free them with my dagger.” He lifted his head and opened his eyes.
At his altered tone, Ella’s anger dissipated. Well, he has a good point. Right now, I look like a mermaid, but how does he know about them? I figured they were a human invention? “That’s not likely,” she said.
“I assure you it is. You know of our Kel’rin steel, and its strength,” he said, frowning over at her.
“Uh, no. I don’t. What I know is that I could kill you if I try to use your dagger.”
“This is true, but I know you won’t hurt me. Not after you just spent all this time rescuing me.”
“You know nothing, you baffling winged gladiator man. We just met.” When he only stared at her, Ella cursed under her breath. “Look, I know I look like a mermaid, but I’m not one.”
“If you aren’t a mermaid, then what are you?”
“I’m a human.” She saw the skepticism in his eyes. She knew she couldn’t say anymore than she already had, so she pressed on. “Why did your captors drop you into the ocean, and where did they drop you from?”
“Endak was attempting to keep his pact with the Dark Goddess a secret,” the man said.
Dark Goddess... Endak... What? “They figured they’d do that by drowning you?”
“Yes.”
“But you landed on top of me,” Ella said. She laughed, but sobered when he didn’t join in. “Man, you’re a tough crowd.”
“Do you find this funny, mermaid?” The man lifted his arms and pointed at the wounds scattered across his body.
“What? No, I don’t. And I already told you, I’m not a mermaid.”
“Of course you aren’t.”
“I love your sarcasm,” Ella snapped. She looked down at his belt. “I can’t believe I’m listening to you. I don’t see a dagger attached to your belt.”
The winged man groaned and said through gritted teeth, “The Lamarans took my weapons, but they never checked my boots.”
Ella rolled her eyes at the irony. Of course, they didn’t check his stinky, smelly boots? “I know you don’t think I won’t kill you with your own weapon...”
“I can easily end your life before you have the chance to attack me.” The man narrowed his eyes.
Ella narrowed her own eyes while lightning flashed in their blue depths...
Chapter Three: Artur
Artur lifted his head, returning her glare. He’d never met a female like her before. But she also didn’t act like a mermaid either. Most of their kind had a caring heart, but they’ve never lifted a finger or fin to help a Takaryn. So, why did she, and why was she in the mortal realm to begin with? Why is she disobeying the Mer king?
The sea breeze picked up, blowing her long, dark brown hair around her porcelain face. Her sky-blue eyes darkened and a crack of thunder boomed over their heads. Had she used her siren magic to summon this growing storm? He tore his gaze away from her face and looked around the enlarged rock circle for a hint of shelter against the coming storm.
“Are you looking for a place to dispose of my body after you kill me?”
“No, I’m looking for some shelter away from the storm you summoned.”
“Me ... I summoned nothing. How could I?”
“Do not think I am a fool, mermaid. I know of your siren magic.” He dropped his gaze, focusing on her.
Artur pulled his knees closer toward his body, bringing his boots within reach. I am such a fool. I should not have revealed the location of my hidden dagger. The dagger hilt was almost within reach when the hair on the back of his neck rose. In an instant, a lightning bolt shattered the chain links, disintegrated the cuffs, and set him free.
He lifted his head and stretched out his stiff limbs. Now that they were no longer constricted, thousands of tiny tingles rippled down into his fingers and toes. The movement pulled at his shattered wings, and he bit his lip until he tasted blood. How did she do that? Why was I not electrocuted? Artur’s gaze focused on the mermaid before him, amazed at her power, but her expression confused him.
“Mermaid, are you all right?” Artur took in her pale face and trembling hands.
The mermaid blinked, cleared her throat, and pasted a smile on her face. “Yes... Of course I am. It appears you’re now free of your chains. Which means you’re free to go away.”
Where is the feisty spirit I saw more moments ago? “I may be free of the chains, but I can’t go away.”
“Why not? I saved your life and freed you from the chains.” She bent her tail, wrapped her arms around it, and rested her chin on it.
“My wings are shattered, and I’ve exposed you to my existence. So I can’t leave. I also do not know how to return home.”
“That’s not my problem. I did my good deeds for the day.”
“You did, but I am still in need of your help, mermaid.”
Artur shifted his body on the rock and bit back a groan. Pain of liquid fire radiated down his spine. The unsalvageable appendages needed to be severed from his back. While the pain proved he was alive, and this was not a dream, it wouldn’t stop the poison being emitted by shattered wings from entering his bloodstream.
Her eyes shut, and her body shook all over. “You really can’t want any more of my help. I almost killed you with that lightning bolt.”
“But you didn’t, mermaid...”
“Please stop calling me that. I told you I may look like one, but I’m not. I’m a plain jane human.”
“There is nothing plain about you.” He gave her a nod after she lifted her head and glanced his way.
“You don’t even know me.”
“You are right, but seeing how we’re stuck together, we could get to know one another.”
“We are not stuck together.”
“There’s your feisty spirit again.”
She paused, frowning at him. “My what?”
“Why aren’t we stuck together? We’re in the middle of nowhere,” Artur said, ignoring her question.
“We may be in the middle of nowhere, but I have a way to leave.” The mermaid lifted her tail and smirked at him.
“I see. So you saved me from drowning only to leave me to die. That sounds like the mermaids I’ve heard about back home.”
“And where’s home... Weeki Wachee, Florida?”
“I don’t know where that is. This is my first visit to this planet.”
“This is your first visit to Earth?”
Artur frowned, taking in the mermaid’s body language. Since the lightning strike, she’d gone from feisty to fearful. This was not how a mermaid from Sundara would act. Even with his limited knowledge of the Mer people, he knew that to be true. She’s acting more like a primitive mortal than a mermaid, but mortals have no magic. “Yes.”
“But from the way you said that last statement, you made it sound like others have visited my planet. Are you in disguise right now? Are you actually a little green man?”
Artur raised his eyebrows, absorbing this new information. A little green man? What is she talking about? The last reports he’d read on the mortals stated they had reached a new level of awareness. This came about after a plague spread across the land, nearly wiping them all out.
“What’s a little green man?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. You must be one because of your fake wings.”
“My fake wings? Why do you think my wings are fake?”
“They’re shattered beyond repair from the looks of them, but you aren’t acting like you’re in any kind of pain. If they were real, you’d be writhing in pain.”
“They are real, and I am in pain. It’s only because of my Guardian training that I show no physical sign of my pain.”
The mermaid’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “Of course... your Guardian training. How in the world could I have forgotten about that? Oh, that’s right,” she said, snapping her fingers. “It’s because I don’t know what that is.”
“I’ll gladly explain everything to you..”
“No, that’s alright. I don’t plan to be here long enough for you to beam me up in your spaceship.” She shifted her weight, edging closer toward the water.
“I’m not a little green man, and I don’t have a spaceship to beam you up.”
“You’re not? What am I even saying right now? You’ll say anything to make me believe you’re telling me the truth. When I know you have to be lying.” The mermaid paused and bit her lip. “Except your blood isn’t green. It’s golden,” she said, pointing at the cuts in his tunic.
“That’s right. I’m a Takaryn, not a little green man. My name is Artur,” he said, giving her a warm smile.
The mermaid watched him for a short time, then sighed. “I’m Ella... It’s nice to meet you... I think,” Ella said, leaning back on the rock. “What’s your story, Artur?”
“It’s a long and complicated one, Ella. I will be happy to tell it once we sever my wings from my back.”
“Wait, what? They are actually real?” Ella’s face paled once again.
“Yes, they are quite real. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but if I am to survive, you must remove them.”
"Can we splint them instead?”
“I’m not a bird,” Artur said, pointing up at a white bird flying through the sea cave. “The damage to them is too great. If we don't remove them soon, my system will become infected by the poison being generated. This poison will eventually kill me.”
“That’s awful, but I don’t know how to cut them off.”
“I will walk you through step by step.”
“I don’t have a way to do it, so you’re out of luck.”
He nodded, reached into his boot, and pulled out his dagger from it. “I have your way.”
Ella gasped, leaning farther back on the rock they both shared. “Oh, my God, you’re actually serious? You want me to not only chop off your wings, but you want me to do it with a dagger? You must be very insane to give a complete stranger a weapon.”
“I think we’re past the idle threats. Don’t you?”
“You clearly don’t know a thing about humans. We can snap at the drop of a hat.” Ella snapped her fingers at him for emphasis.
Artur looked her up and down, examining her for the first time. How could I have been so blind not to see it? She’s a mortal. I couldn’t see past her tail and her siren magic to see it, or believe what she’s been telling me since the moment we met. She’s not a fool... I am. “You’re right, Ella. I know nothing about mortals. What I do know, I’ve learned from reports when other Takaryns visited your planet.”
“How many of your people have visited us over the centuries?”
“I’m not sure. I know there have been many that came before me.”
Ella nodded, swallowed hard, then bit her lip again. “Please tell me that there’s some other way I can help you besides cutting off your wings!”
Artur sighed, seeing her body shudder. “Unless you know of a portal that I can use to return to Sundara, this is the only way you can currently help me.” He held the dagger out toward her.
She took the dagger with her trembling fingers. Her body shook and tears filled her eyes. “I don’t know where any portals are. I wish I did, but what you’re asking me to do... That’s something I don’t think I can do.” Her blue irises rose, locking him in her sight. The intensity of her gaze tore at him.
“I know you do not wish to perform this task. I understand, but I have no otter options. If I did, I would gladly spare you and choose a different path.”
“You would?” Ella sniffed, brushed away her tears, and took a deep, calming breath.
Seeing this confident and feisty mortal break down in front of him sent a Strange Sensation through his body. I’m already one of her protectors by Takaryn law, but I want to do more. The question is why? She’s a primitive mortal with her beautiful lush hair, and smooth touchable skin. Artur blinked as his foreign thoughts faded from his mind.
“Yes, I would. Being a Guardian... well, an almost Guardian, it’s our duty to protect and defend all the planets that reside within the portal system of Torlana.”
“I don’t understand. What’s Torlana, and who are you protecting us from?”
“Torana is the system created by our goddess Kelaryn. As for who we protect you from, her name is Seraphina.” Artur grabbed at his chest and slammed his eyes shut.
“Artur, are you all right?”
He felt her small fingers touch his thigh. “No. The poison coursing through my shattered wings has moved into my bloodstream. The time to act is now Ella. Please,” he said, opening his eyes. Artur stared deep into her eyes, begging her for help.
“I’m sorry, Artur. I can’t do it.” Ella held out the dagger, shaking her head.
“As am I.” Artur retrieved the dagger, then lurched forward. A hot, searing pain rippled down his spine. A wave of nausea that bowed him over onto his side followed it. He retched over into the blue water until he collapsed, face planting against the side of the rocks.
“Artur!”
His eyes drifted open to see the same blue sky above him. Although the ground below him was more coarse and grainy than he remembered. Where am I? And where is Ella? Artur slowly rolled over onto his side, frowning at the new twinges of pain trailing down from his chest to his abdomen. Where did Ella find a Lamaran to sit on my chest?
He rubbed his achy spots before he pushed himself up into a sitting position. His eyes scanned the unfamiliar terrain for any signs of approaching danger. After a few moments, he relaxed. It appeared that he was all alone. Where is Ella, and how am I feeling Kelaryn’s love?
“Artur...you’re awake. How do you feel?”
He glanced up at Ella, watching her sit down in the golden sand. Gone were her tail and purple shells. In their place, she wore a white shirt covered in purple flowers and a pair of black shorts. She settled herself in the sand, crossing her long tan legs under her body.
“I feel like a two thousand pound Lamaran sat on my chest. Where are we?”
“Maui,” Ella said, biting her lips. “After you threw up and passed out, you started convulsing. That’s when I saw the thick black streaks beginning to spread out from your shattered wings. I had no choice but to...”
“You cut them off with my dagger,” Artur said, raising his eyebrows.
“I did," Ella said, nodding. “You were dying right in front of me. I couldn’t let that happen. Not if I could prevent it all together.”
"Did you rely on my back for support until the job was finished?"
“No, your sore chest is from my magic, forcing the poison out of your body. It didn’t want to leave, so it pushed back against me. The force of that tug-of-war bruised your chest and abdomen. I’m sorry, Artur. I was only trying to help. “
“You helped me, Ella. I know it was difficult for you, but I’m grateful. You said we’re on Maui. How did we get here? And why are we here?”
“After I removed your wings and the poison, I swam us from the Open Ceiling Cave to Maui, after making a pit stop on Oahu.”
“The sun appears to be setting, so it must have taken you hours to achieve such a feat.” She must be exhausted from such a long swim.
“It did.” Ella turned her head toward the setting sun and took a deep breath.
Artur rubbed his sore chest, watching Ella. I’ve never known a mortal like her. If I’m being honest with myself, I’ve never met an actual mortal before this day. How is it that this one has something Kelaryn has never given to any mortal since the beginning of Torlana?
“How long have you had your magic?”
“What?” Ella glanced over her shoulder.
“Your magic, Ella. I’ve never known a mortal to be blessed with it.”
Turning away from the gorgons sunset, Ella pushed her dark brown locks behind her ears. “I’m not sure. As far as I know, I was born with magic. But I didn’t know I had it until I was eighteen.”
Artur nodded, giving her a smile. “I find it amazing that Kelaryn granted such a gift to mortals.”
“You mentioned Kelaryn before. Who is she?”
“What I told you about her is true. Kelaryn is the mother goddess over all of Torlana.”
“You mentioned that before, along with Seraphina, but this isn’t the story you promised me.”
“I know, but now isn’t the time for stories,” Artur said, nodding toward an approaching figure.
“I suppose not,” Ella said, rising to her feet. “Hey, Cat, you made it.”
“Yeah, but why are we meeting on this side of the island? The Makahiki is being celebrated on the other side of the island.” The blond woman brushed her long locks behind her ears.
The sight of this new mortal felt like a punch to the gut. “You...”
Chapter Four: Ella
“Do I know you?” Cat glanced from Artur to her and back again.
“No, I’ve never met you before, but I have seen you in another place,” Artur said, rising to his feet.
