“Of all the times to conveniently disappear, now isn’t one of them. A make out session with Oanen? Yes. Two minutes from being sushi? No.”
The oracle opened her mouth wide and tested the air with her forked tongue. Then, she ducked under an incoming wave and started in my direction, her body zigzagging smoothly through the turbulent water.
I shivered again and rowed harder, keeping my seat by bracing my feet against the next one. The oars groaned under the strain of my effort to move faster.
“I am not going to be eaten by a twenty-foot snake.” Yet, the waves fought me, reducing the forward thrust of each stroke.
Lucia drew closer.
I lifted the oars out of the water and took one from its holder, ready to use it as a weapon. If beating her with it didn’t work, I’d shove it down her throat.
At the last moment, her head dipped under the water. The boat lurched forward, away from the island with increasing speed. The swells grew bigger, nearly unseating me as the boat powered over them. I set the oar down and gripped the sides of the boat instead, wondering what Lucia was doing. Behind the boat, the island rapidly grew smaller.
Just before it vanished into the dark haze of the horizon, Lucia stopped pushing. I released my hold on the boat and scrambled to pick up the oar once more.
Lucia’s large, wet body flew out of the water and landed in the boat with me. Her tail pinning the oar in place, she opened her mouth. I reacted without thought and punched her in her exposed throat. She jerked back and hissed at me.
“What’s wrong?” I taunted. “Don’t like it when your food fights back?”
She shifted to her human form, white gown in place and weirdly dry. With a hand covering her throat, she scowled at me.
“As much as I desire to discover the taste of young fury, I’m not yet ready for a journey to the underworld. So, I’ll bait my trap like they baited theirs.”
“What?” I asked.
“It was no accident you made it to my island, an island hidden by magic even from the land and air creatures here. You made a mermaid mad by stealing her sweet human, and she thought by sending you to me, I would take care of her problem. Usually, I would be inclined to help if it fills my belly. But, I’m not foolish enough to do anything that might gain the attention of the gods.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Aren’t they dead or sleeping or something?”
“Or something,” Lucia answered, shifting her attention to the waves around us. She picked up the oar and put it back in its place. When she turned her eyes to me, the pupils were wide and reflective again.
“Row, Megan.”
“Why?”
“As I’ve said, I’m inclined to do things that will help fill my belly. I do very much enjoy the taste of mermaid.”
That Lucia wanted to use me as bait to catch another mermaid for dinner was now very clear. But, what would happen to me once she got her mermaid?
I stared at her for a moment, considering my options. Nothing had really changed. I still needed to get back before dark.
Exhaling slowly, I gripped the oars and struggled to make more progress away from the island. The further I got, the warmer I became. I should have felt relief because I was returning back to my version of normal, but there was still so much wrong with my current situation. That I was losing daylight and not gaining much distance didn’t worry me as much as what would happen when I lost sight of the island. There was no sun, and I had no GPS to guide me.
As I rhythmically pulled at the water, the sky lightened briefly. Then, the first snowflake fell.
“Shit,” I swore under my breath.
Lucia’s gaze shifted from the water to the sky, and she smiled.
“Be a good girl and go for a swim,” she said softly.
Before I could tell her to go to hell, she shifted forms again. Her tail lashed out and hit me hard across my back.
There was no stopping my graceless topple from the boat. The freezing water slammed into me face-first. Any heat that I generated was ripped from me just as quickly as it appeared. The choppy waves kept me under and rolled me several times, disorientating me. When I opened my eyes, it took a moment for me to focus in the murk. Churned up by the storm, bits of weed and debris floated here and there in an otherwise still, underwater world.
I kicked hard toward the frothing of motion above me, and my head finally broke through the surface. Gulping a breath, I looked around for the boat and spotted it several yards away. Lucia was nowhere in sight. I shuddered at the thought of her slithering in the water with me as I started toward the boat.
Waves washed over my head as I swam. I tried not to think about Lucia or how cold the water was or how to get back to the shore. Instead, I focused on my current goal. I just needed to get in the boat. Another wave hit me. It knocked me under water and rolled me once.
Again needing to find my way back to the surface, I opened my eyes and almost choked at the face staring back at me. The mermaid smiled. Lightning fast, she snagged my hair and started towing me deeper.
My temper flickered then ignited, and water bubbled off of me in a rush. The mermaid didn’t notice until I grabbed her arm. She squealed, the sound hurting my ears even underwater. With her free hand, she swiped at me, just missing my face with her claws. I released her and watched her dart away into the surrounding darkness before I kicked my way to the surface.
I breathed in deeply and looked for the boat again. Any progress I’d made in my first attempt to reach it had been lost. Diving under the water this time, I swam hard. The heat from the run-in with the mermaid stayed with me until I surfaced again. I shivered slightly as I focused on the boat, which was much closer this time. Going under once more, I powered my way toward my reprieve from the stupid lake filled with asshole creatures that all wanted to eat me.
When I surfaced, the boat was right there. I closed my hand over the side in relief. Before I could pull myself up, though, something pried my fingers off. Unprepared for the loss of support, I went under again. This time, there were more faces around me. At least a dozen mermaids.
They darted my way, teeth flashing. Something fell into the water. The explosion of white bubbles made it impossible to see what, but I suddenly knew. Lucia hadn’t left the boat. She’d been hiding, waiting for her bait to work.
I kicked for the surface, the need to get out of the water that very second overriding everything else. The mermaids not near the churning bubbles grabbed for me. I managed to kick one in the side, but another one bit my arm. My breath left me in a scream of rage. The water started bubbling off of me again, and the mermaids trying to keep me under darted away.
Kicking toward the surface, I grabbed for the boat but it moved just out of reach. I ducked under the next wave and looked around. Lucia bolted past me, hot on a mermaid’s tail. Her abrupt appearance sent the mermaids who held the boat scattering. I swam hard for the vessel, staying under water until the last moment. Once more I took hold of the rim and tried to haul myself over the edge.
With a grunt I fell into the bottom of the boat. Laying there, I listened to the waves and caught my breath. My arm ached. I lifted it and studied the tiny punctures that formed a wide crescent. Dark green goo oozed from it already.
“We’re not done yet,” a voice yelled.
The boat tilted sharply to the side.
I snarled, sat up, and grabbed an oar ready to beat back the finned bitch trying to return me to the lake. The water erupted upward, dousing me yet again. Not that I paid much attention to that as I dropped the oar and wildly grabbed for the side of the boat to keep from falling out.