Mer Tales 01 - Everblue

responding. Mom didn’t know what Azor was really like—what an animal he was. I could just imagine his treatment of her—more like a possession than a person. Even with the promise binding her to him, I had a feeling once the lovey-dovey feelings dwindled and real life set in, he’d have her locked up in his compound to do chores for him all day—and night.
    Dad and I exchanged hard looks. He clenched his jaw and nodded. We knew the truth and we had to get her out.
    “ Once I find out what happened after we left and get my men together, we’re going in,” Dad said, softening his expression and placing his hand on top of Mom’s. “I’m not leaving her there any longer than I have to. And Fin, you’ll get to escort Azor out of Natatoria. How’s that?”
    A malevolent grin spread across my face. “With pleasure.”
    Mom tensed. She knew this meant a war—the first of its kind for our people.
    “ And we promise to be careful, Mama,” Dad said quickly and gave her a kiss. “So don’tcha worry.”
    They looked at one another; pain of longing in her eyes. “Just bring her back,” she said quietly.
    “ I promise.”
    “ So,” I said slowly, breaking the tension again. “Did you find Phaleon’s daughter?”
    “ Aye,” Dad said. His response made me think of Badger and miss him. “What a mess. We found her, barely alive and in the middle of a botched attempt to become human. There were people and authorities all over her apartment complex. I’ve never had a bigger mess to clean up.
    “ Apparently her roommate found her finned up and bleeding to death in the tub. Of course she freaked and called nine-one-one. Poor girl was working completely alone and off rumor. With all the people involved—it got ugly fast.
    “ But we managed to mind-wipe the witnesses and erase most of the evidence. But with smart phones nowadays, pictures get on the internet so quickly, it becomes impossible to retract. But luckily, only a few really bad pictures leaked out and they don’t look any different than the mermaid lore online now anyway. We got lucky this time.
    “ But I blame Phaleon. His insistence of forbidding the teaching of how to become human and keeping mers trapped in Natatoria just fuels the desire to explore.”
    Mom agreed.
    I shivered at the image. Dad had told us how to switch when we were younger. The visual scared me from ever wanting to do it. The graphic description of allowing yourself to bleed to death, but capturing your blood (like in a bathtub) and lying in it so it can heal you from the outside during the transformation was a horror show in the making. But you weren’t supposed to do it alone, in case of trouble or a complication. And then afterward, a male mer needed to erase your memories so you wouldn’t tell the secret. I wouldn’t have though, let alone imagined doing that, until now. Until Ash became my everything and I’d go through anything to be together, forever.
    I looked towards Mom who watched Dad with empathetic eyes. “Did she live?”
    “ Yes, but she’s not going home. We’ve got her in the safe house with friends for now. But if it wasn’t for my connections and computer skills, this could have been our undoing. Phaleon’s fear of humankind has become his downfall and the mer are no longer satisfied with just having merlings and tending to the colony. One day people are going to revolt.”
    “ So then who were those warriors?” I asked.
    “ Friends of mine and Badger’s. We’ve been grooming men for such a situation as this for several years under the guise of Azor’s army training. Due to Phaleon and Azor’s poor treatment of their people, the mermen have been eager to join our cause and keep it secret. Even when it came to this mission, I was the only person who was willing or even able to lead it. But what he doesn’t know is that my connections with people on land is what made me successful. He’s got a thing or two coming, especially now that his son has stolen my daughter from me against her will.”
    I looked him straight in the eye. “Mom told me about what happened when you were younger, with Leon wanting Mom but she chose you and then your parents getting banished.”
    “ Yes, it was time you knew the truth. I’ve never trusted him fully after that. He’s always wanted to keep me under his thumb, but he’s too much of a coward to do anything directly. That’s why this mission became something to his advantage. It’s too bad his