Tangled Tides (The Sea Monster Memoirs) (3 page)

Sitting is easy,
I interrupted, gesturing at a large rock.
Why don't you try it?

What? Hey, I didn't—some of my thoughts aren't meant for you to hear. Stay out of my head.

Look away if your words aren't meant for me. It isn't a difficult concept.
I couldn't hide my annoyance. Transforming and educating humans was a daunting and never-ending task, and I had no time for it.

She eyed me from head to fins, her scowl softening a bit.
How can you live underwater and not be wrinkled like a prune?

It's a sea creature thing: minimal effects of gravity, proper hydration, limited exposure to human pollutants, and other factors that could be compared to a fountain of youth.

She stared at me, a jumble of incoherent thoughts passing through her mind. For the briefest moment her eyes reminded me of autumn suns. Her long eyelashes fanned outward like amber rays of light. Then she squinted and returned to scowling.

How old are you? Twenty?

A few decades have passed since I was born.

A few decades puts you at thirty. That's a third of the way to ancient.

Ancient. She had no concept of what ancient meant.
Not in our world. Most of us live to be three-hundred years or so.

Three-hundred! Why would anyone want to live that long?

We aren't considered old until about two-hundred and fifty. We age differently than humans.
I had promised the Violets not to participate in Yara's education without discussing it with her teacher first, but I wanted to suck this girl into my mind and show her the truth until her pretentious head exploded.
You have a lot to learn about the mer way of life.

Apparently I had a lot to learn about human transformations. Her yellow hair and golden irises were perplexing. She should have started as a Red. Delmar assured me there had to be an explanation. He was on his way to update the elders, and soon we would have answers.

Yara continued to ramble.
I don't want to learn about this ridiculous way of life. I want to be human again. Take me back to my island.
She waved her hands above her head.
This is not my home and it never will be.

Pissy—I believed that was the current slang word to describe her attitude. The pissy side of Yara was one I hadn't seen much of throughout the years. I didn't care for it at all.
If human life is so splendid then why did you spend so much of yours sitting on the beach, crying for hours on end and gazing at the ocean?

She inhaled a mouthful of water.
You spied on me?

Don't flatter yourself. I avoid going ashore whenever possible, and I have better things to do than stalk a human child.

I'm not a child! I'll be eighteen tomorrow!

My focus shot toward a turtle swimming in the distance. Yara didn't know today was her real birthday. Her mother was smarter than I had given her credit for. It reminded me that there were only eighteen sunsets left until the gateway to our realm could be unlocked. The reward was well worth putting up with this childish drama. I would do anything to return my people to safety, including keeping up my end of this wretched deal.

Our eyes met again.
Yara, I am well aware of your age. Reporters have been assigned to you for quite some time.

Reporters? Numerous merfreaks have been spying on me?

Call my people freaks one more time and I will show you just how freaky I can be.
I swam forward until our faces were inches apart.
If you think you hate me now, wait until you see me angry.

I wanted to retract my words immediately. A lump bobbed in her throat as she watched my hallmarks swirl through my skin. Why was I letting this girl get me so riled up?

Yara rubbed her eyes.
Do your tattoos keep moving, or is the water making me hallucinate?

I forced my thoughts to take a calmer tone.
They are called hallmarks. They represent our heritage and individual character traits. They also adjust according to our emotions.

She glanced down at her own symbols and shook her head.
Back to my question. Who has been spying on me?

Let's go meet some of the others, including the mermaid who reported your whereabouts to me.
Rude thoughts continued to gush out of her. Civil conversation didn't appear to be an option, but maybe humor would help.
Shall I gather the seahorses for the long journey?

She paused, glancing at the fish and plants around us.
You ride seahorses?

I fought back a laugh.
If you believe that,
I nodded at the hallmark leaves covering her breasts,
you must also think the women wear seashell bikini tops.

She folded her arms over her chest and floated away from me.
We had a deal. You said you'd take me to find Rownan. Or was that one of your merfolk lies?

If I could have tied her to a sunken ship and left her there I would have. Who could have guessed she would transform into such a cantankerous brat?
Fine. We will find Rownan first.

Then we would find Koraline. She had failed her assignment miserably. How did we not know Rownan had been interacting with Yara? My serpent hallmark slithered down my back. Its silver eyes burned against my skin.
Yes, let's go find Rownan. My big brother might be surprised to see me.

Y
ara's house was all jacked up. Sections of the roof were missing, pieces of siding had come off, and lawn ornaments had blown around to random places. A garden gnome sticking out of the shed with his red boots in the air made me chuckle. I banged on the front door and discovered it was unlocked.

"Yara?" No answer.

After doing a sweep of the house and finding no trace of her, I stepped out onto the wraparound porch. The hurricane had given it one hell of a beating. Picking up a broken railing spindle, it occurred to me that playing Mr. Fix-It would be a good excuse for me to hang around and keep an eye on her. No need for the birthday vacation scam anymore.

I stared down the muddy road leading away from her house. Most likely, she had gone to Lloyd's place. Why she loved that old man I would never understand. They weren't even blood related.

"Rownan." Nixie's voice startled me.

"Nix, what are you doin' here?"

She flashed her sultry smile and leaned against the railing, flaunting her cleavage. Not that I minded—I'm loyal to my girl, but not blind.

"This storm was my doing," Nixie purred. "I wanted to appreciate the fruits of my
harrrd
labor."

Even with her sexy "r" rolling skills Nixie knew I would never give in to her flirting, but she couldn't help going through the motions. Sirens were hardwired to be seductive. I had a thing for redheads, so Nixie was hands-down my favorite eye candy.

"Your doin', huh?" I blew a crimson feather off of her neck. The satisfaction of mischief-making sparkled in her eyes and we both smiled. Then a realization hit me and I pulled back. "Why did you pick this Podunk island to bust up with a storm?"

Shrugging, she brushed the lingering feather from her bare shoulder. "Oh, I don't know, a certain handsome aqua stud might have asked me for a favor."

My blood ran ice cold. I tightened my grip on the spindle in my hand. "Nixie, no. Not Treygan."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What's the big deal? Delmar had a gripe with some islander and Treygan asked me to give him a scare."

"Dammit, Nixie! Way to royally screw us!" I threw the spindle against the house and started pacing. This couldn't be happening. He used the storm as a cover and took her. So help me gods, I'd rip his fins off!

"Darling," Nixie cooed, "it was just a little hurricane. A Cat 2. Not even my best work."

I grabbed her by the shoulders, fighting the urge to shake her. "You're missing the point. He made you brew up that storm so he could take Yara."

She flinched and shrugged my hands off of her. "Yara? No, he said—"

"I don't care what he said! Tomorrow is her eighteenth birthday. He used you so he could kidnap her."

She tried to laugh, but doubt flashed in her ruby eyes. "No. He wouldn't have—he would've told me—we were just—"

"Ugggh, Nix, when are you gonna realize he's a manipulator?"

Her wings drooped low at her sides. "Treygan wouldn't lie to me."

"He twists the truth. It's as bad as lying."

It was Nixie's turn to pace. She walked so fast that her high-heeled boots didn't have time to sink into the mud. Her obsession with Treygan had cost me Yara. Every breath I took felt like inhaling dry ice. I cracked my knuckles over and over, trying to keep my hands from doing something I'd regret. If I didn't fear the wrath of Nixie's deranged sisters, I might have strangled her to death.

Treygan would pay for taking Yara. I didn't know how yet, but I would figure out a way.

Nixie screeched—a telltale sign of a pissed off siren—and our eyes locked. She looked as furious as I felt. Her wings extended high and wide behind her. "That bastard. Did he think he could deceive me and get away with it? Wait until I tell Otabia and Mariza."

Perfect. Let Treygan be the focus of the sirens' fury for a while. I had people to see and a plan to whip up—
pronto
. I hopped over the railing and pushed past her. "Send Mariza and Otabia my love."

She grabbed my arm in an iron grip and I gritted my teeth. Sirens were deceptively strong. I could already feel the bruise forming.

"Rownan, what are you going to do?"

"Try to shadow Treygan and get Yara away from him. They can't be far. Yara will be worried about Lloyd. She'll want to come back to check on him."

Nixie released my arm as her crimson wings flapped violently, lifting her into the sky. She gave one last nod and flew away.

I bolted for the water. Time was precious. They couldn't turn Yara until she was eighteen. I needed to find her and get her far away from any and all merfolk before her birthday tomorrow. If I screwed it up, we were all dead.

R
elief set in once I saw the lighthouse poking through the nearly-endless blue of ocean and sky. Eden's Hammock was just up ahead. Home had never looked so good.

While we swam, I kept sticking my face in the water and inhaling. It was refreshing and tasted clean, like lemons. Breathing water made me feel better, which freaked me out a little. Since being turned into a freak of nature, the world seemed different above the surface. The air was humid and had the familiar saltwater smell, but it tasted dirty. Colors looked dull.

My swimming slowed as we reached the dock—what was left of it.

Treygan held onto the ladder with one hand. "Ladies first."

"I can't get out yet. My tail will disappear and I'll be naked, right?"

His blasé expression didn't change. "Yes."

"If you think I'm letting you see me naked, you've lost your waterlogged mind."

He dropped his hand back into the water. "Why are humans so embarrassed about being unclothed? It's the way you were born."

Just the thought of Treygan seeing me naked made my cheeks burn. "Umm, hello? Ever heard of modesty, or indecent exposure?"

He swam beneath the dock and seemed to search for something. "You're the one who demanded we go ashore. What do you suggest we do?" He glared at me.

"Get me some clothes!"

"There are none," he said through his teeth. "We usually keep a supply of garments stashed under piers, but the storm must have blown them away."

Clothes stashed under piers? He had to be kidding. "There's no way. I've swam all around this island and under the piers. I've never seen any clothes anywhere."

"Merfolk have certain abilities that allow us to hide
many
things from humans."

I paddled closer to him. "You're telling me that you can make things invisible?"

He tilted his head to the side and winked, which I assumed was a cocky yes, but I didn't believe him. Rownan had warned me about merfreak lies, and I wasn't falling for this one.