The Mermaids Madness

grown louder. She heard someone else mention her name, but when she turned around, nobody appeared to be looking her way.
    “You should kill them all before they kill you.” Robson’s voice was a chorus, taunting her. “Take your place as ruler of both land and sea.”
    “No!” Lirea backed away. His words sounded real, but he couldn’t know who she was. This was a trick of her mind.
    “Give it up, child.” The words no longer matched the shape of Robson’s mouth. What was he really saying? Other humans were beginning to stare as well. “You’ll never find her.”
    Lirea held her breath until the pounding of her blood pushed the voices back. Staring at Robson, she said, “Lannadae is here.”
    He shook his head. “Who’s that?”
    Her sister would have been hungry when she awoke, and she had always been fond of lobster. No undine would eat dead meat the way humans did, not if they had a choice. “Where did the woman take your lobster? Was there an undine with her? A mermaid?”
    Robson shook his head. “A friend of mine claims to have spotted the soulless bastards circling the waters outside of the harbor late last night.” He downed the rest of his beer, then wiped his chin on his sleeve. “Some say they mean to sink our ships from below, that they’ve declared war on us all. Ought to scale and gut the whole lot of them.”
    “Oh, but Princess Cinderwench would never permit that.” Another man stumbled toward the table. He was well built and wore the dark vest Lirea had seen on some of the sailors. He caught Lirea’s arms and pulled her close, squinting at her face.
    Lirea restrained herself from drawing her knife from beneath her shirt and cutting him open. Instead, she grabbed his wrists and pried his arms back. “Cinderwench? You mean Princess Danielle.”
    “You look a little like her,” he said. “Same eyes. Same hair.”
    “Like the princess?” asked Robson. “I think you’ve had too much to drink this night, friend.”
    “No, not the princess. The fish-girl she brought on board. Pretty young thing, naked as a babe, but budding like a fresh—”
    “Mind your tongue in front of the lady.” Robson started to rise, but the sailor shoved the table. The edge caught Robson in the waist, knocking him down.
    Lirea grabbed the sailor’s hand and yanked him away. He started to resist, then grinned and slipped a hand around her waist.
    “Name’s Martin,” he said.
    Lirea pulled him toward the door, the voices in her head roaring their hunger.
    “Careful, lass,” said Robson. “Be sure you know what you’re doing before you walk out with the likes of him.”
    Martin snarled, but Lirea held him close. “Don’t worry. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

CHAPTER 5

    N ILLIAR WAS THE FIRST TO RESPOND to Lirea’s call. She was soon joined by other warriors, fourteen in all. More than enough to sink a single human ship.
    You’ve found Lannadae? Nilliar sang.
    Lirea sliced her hand through the water, ordering silence. Her tail twitched, spinning her about as she searched the sea.
    They gathered at the true edge of Lorindar. Humans thought their isle ended at the cliffs, but the land stretched well beyond. It was here that Lorindar truly ended, as the seabed dropped away into the cold black abyss. With the clouds blocking the moon and stars above, Lirea’s fellow undine were little more than shadows. She could taste their presence, feel the movement of the water as they swam, but she couldn’t see their faces.
    Which one would be next to turn against her? How many were working for Morveren or for Lannadae?
    The voices had grown worse since she killed Martin. The whispers seemed to come from all around her, chastising her while at the same time urging her to return to shore and murder every last human.
    Lirea swam to the drop-off. Warty barnacles clung to the rock. Perhaps they were the source of the voices. She grabbed one, trying to break the shell from the stone.
    What is it? asked Nilliar.
    I spent the day searching, questioning the humans. Lirea tugged at the barnacle as she tried to remember. I think I might have interrogated a rowboat, too. Or was the rowboat where she had hidden Martin’s body? She wasn’t sure anymore. There was a ship that left early this morning. Her hull unpainted, with two masts and silver sails.
    We saw it, said Nilliar. She struggled against the wind, but she kept afloat. The humans also launched a fishing ship, and a cargo vessel snuck away late