The Mermaids Madness

balance, frightening a tiny crab who scuttled through the cracks and disappeared.
    Snow turned sideways, and the light from her choker dimmed as she squeezed through a narrow gap in the inner wall. Talia followed, and then it was Danielle’s turn. The rocks smeared mud and algae over her shirt and skirt. After a few steps, the passage widened into a shallow cavern filled with water.
    Snow was already wading toward the center of the pool. “Lannadae?”
    At the back of the cavern, a dark shape slipped into the water. Too large to be an animal, it had to be the mermaid. Danielle started to speak, but between one breath and the next, the mermaid exploded from the water.
    She hit Snow with one shoulder, knocking her aside before turning to brandish a large rock at Danielle and Talia.
    “Stay back!” Talia shouted, her knives appearing in her hands as if by magic. She leaped into the water, twisting sideways to avoid the next attack.
    “Lannadae, these are my friends!” Snow shouted.
    Even Danielle could see how clumsy Lannadae’s attacks were. The mermaid swung wildly, clearly panicked by the arrival of strangers. “Talia, don’t hurt her.”
    The next time Lannadae swung, Talia brought the hilt of her knife down on the back of Lannadae’s hand. The mermaid squealed and dropped her rock. She splashed back, barely avoiding Talia’s knives.
    A powerful tail slammed into Talia’s hip, tossing her to the side. Lannadae tried to use her second tail to shove Talia beneath the water, but Talia was faster, pushing sideways, then jabbing a knife at Lannadae’s stomach.
    “Talia!” Danielle waded deeper into the water. “That’s enough.”
    Talia hesitated. Lannadae shot to the rear of the pool, surfacing with another rock.
    “Both of you, stop.” Danielle stepped between them, her heart pounding. She watched Lannadae’s hands, waiting for the telltale twitches that would signal another attack. She had trained with Talia long enough to defend herself, but her reflexes would be slower in the water. “Nobody is going to hurt you.” She glanced at Talia, who scowled but didn’t argue. “We came here for Beatrice.”
    Lannadae kept her rock raised. Her tails were bent in opposite directions on the bottom of the pool, allowing her to match Danielle’s height. “I don’t understand. Why would Beatrice tell you about me? Has my father returned yet?”
    “I told them.” Snow raised her hands, either to show she was unarmed or because she was preparing a spell, Danielle wasn’t sure. “These are my friends. Talia and Danielle. Beatrice trusts them.”
    Lannadae stared at Snow, then pulled herself up to perch on a wide shelf of stone, watching them all.
    She was similar in appearance to Lirea, with the same long, split tails. Her scales were redder in color, and the fins on the sides of her legs seemed fuller, though perhaps the spreading of her fins was simply a sign of fear. She appeared roughly the same age as Lirea. Blue and yellow jewels sparkled on tiny braids in her matted hair.
    She was plumper than her sister, though still thin compared to the other undine Danielle had glimpsed. The winter had eaten away at the thick layer of fat that would have protected Lannadae from the cold. Her skin was pale, tinged with blue.
    Snow’s choker brightened as she studied Lannadae more closely. “You haven’t been eating enough.”
    Lannadae slapped her tails against the water. “Bring me something that hasn’t been dead for three days, and I’ll eat that.”
    “The undine only acquire that blue-green pallor through poor diet,” explained Snow. “We brought as much food as we could last fall to prepare Lannadae for her hibernation, but—”
    “Why did you bring them ?” Lannadae demanded, staring at Danielle and Talia.
    “Because we need your help,” Danielle said. “Beatrice was attacked yesterday. By Lirea.”
    Lannadae dropped into the water. Turning to Snow, she asked, “Is that true?”
    Snow nodded. “Beatrice is still alive, but she’s not well. Lirea stabbed her.”
    Lannadae dove beneath the water and stayed there. “It’s all right,” Snow said. “She does this when she’s afraid. She’ll come out soon.”
    Danielle looked around the cavern. Several books sat on a crude shelf chipped into the rock. Gifts from Snow, brought down from the library? She couldn’t imagine Snow risking her precious books to the water. Even from here, Danielle could see that the leather covers were heavily