The Mermaids Madness

draw blood. Don’t worry, sharks won’t come anywhere near this place.”
    Snow touched the scale’s edge to the inside of her thigh. Gritting her teeth, she pressed until the scale broke the skin, then sliced downward. Blood was a common ingredient for many kinds of magic, but usually she found a less sensitive place from which to acquire it. Breath hissed as she finished the cut. She paddled in place, letting the initial pain pass before starting on the other leg. She studied the scale. The edge was chipped ragged. No wonder it hurt. “My knife would be less painful.”
    “The scale gives your body a taste of the form it’s to assume,” Morveren said, swimming around behind Snow. She grabbed the back of Snow’s shirt, supporting her while she recovered. Even with her tails gone, Morveren was a strong swimmer, and the fins along the side of her stumps kept them both afloat. Supported by the water, she moved more easily than she had on board the ship.
    Snow’s blood drifted through the water like smoke. “I think I like the runes better.”
    Morveren laughed. “If magic were easy, everyone would do it.”
    The second cut was harder. Now that she knew how much it would sting, she had to force herself to press hard enough to cut the skin. Morveren held her until she finished.
    “Press your legs together and try to cast the spell. The pain will help you focus. Concentrate on the shape you wish to assume.”
    Snow nodded and began to chant the words she had learned from her mother’s spellbooks.
    “Don’t speak,” Morveren said. “Sing. All the spoken words in the world can’t match the power of a single song. Sing for your ears alone, as you sang to the cat. Force your flesh to obey.”
    Snow obeyed, improvising a simple melody to match the words. She could feel the skin of her legs tugging together, but it wasn’t enough. Then Morveren joined her voice to Snow’s.
    “It’s working!” She could feel her legs clinging together, as though a single scab bound both cuts.
    “Brace yourself, child.”
    Pain erupted down Snow’s legs. Her body pulled taut, breaking free of Morveren’s grip. Scales pierced her skin in a thousand places. She tried to scream, and seawater flooded her mouth. Her joints popped and her bones smashed together. Muscles tore and re-formed. She bent double, the sea closing over her head.
    Morveren hauled her to the surface, and Snow gasped for breath.
    “You can breathe water, you know,” said Morveren.
    Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision. Already the pain was fading. “Why can’t I stop crying?”
    “Larger tear ducts,” Morveren said. “It’s one of the ways we rid our bodies of excess salt.”
    Snow swallowed and tried to stop herself from shaking.
    “You did well, child.”
    Snow lay back and raised her tail out of the water. Her scales were deep red, like Morveren’s own. She laughed, though the sound that emerged was closer to a hiccup. “I did. But why only one tail? Why not two, like you?”
    “Because this is the form you imagined,” Morveren said. “I confess, I pushed you toward this shape myself. Swimming with two tails is more complicated, and I don’t have time to teach you to use them.”
    Snow spun in the water and threw her arms around Morveren. “Thank you!”
    Morveren laughed and pushed her away. “Enough of this. Are you going to help me tame this garden or not?”
    Snow ran her hands over her body. Her shirt felt uncomfortably tight against her torso. “I’m plump!”
    “You’re healthy,” Morveren said. “Follow me. If we’re lucky, you’ll only need to deal with the plants. Use your magic to calm them. I’ll do what I can to help.”
    “What if we’re unlucky?”
    “Don’t fight unless you have to. The magic around this place has been mostly dormant. Whatever you face, simply lull it back to sleep. And don’t forget to breathe.”
    Snow gave her new tail an experimental kick. Long fins rippled along the sides, but she wasn’t sure how to control them. She dove beneath the surface. Her body felt buoyant, dragging her toward the surface. She kicked harder, paddling with her arms to steer herself after Morveren.
    Her chest was already starting to ache. She opened her mouth and took a cautious swallow of seawater.
    Instantly she began to gag. She doubled over, coughing and fighting to breathe.
    Water filled her lungs, and the coughing slowed. Cautiously, she tried to exhale. The skin on either side of her neck