The Mermaids Madness

like a child frightened by a passing cloud.
    Another whisper, this one almost lyrical in tone. Lannadae . . . Morveren . . . the humans . . . you’ve failed too many times, and soon you will be punished.
    More voices joined in, coming from all around her. There is no escape.
    No matter how far and how fast you swim.
    You’ll never be safe.
    Lirea swam to the surface and screamed until the sound threatened to scrape the skin from her throat. Only when her lungs gave out did she look around to see the undine gathered behind her. Nilliar was the closest, watching her with worried eyes. Beyond them, Lirea’s palace was a shrunken smudge in the distance.
    Lirea waited, but her screams appeared to have drowned out the other voices for now. They would return soon enough. They always did.
    “You’re injured,” Nilliar said. “What happened?”
    “They stole my knife. They tried to steal my thoughts.” Lirea’s scales flared, and she shivered at the memory. The pain in her arm was nothing compared to the touch of another’s mind in her own. “How did they find me, Nilliar? They came into my home and ripped open my head and—”
    “I don’t know, but you’re safe.”
    “No. None of us are.” Why was she so afraid? Where was her strength? Lirea squinted at the horizon, searching. “Which way did they flee?”
    Nilliar pointed to the west.
    “They must have a ship. Why didn’t we see them approaching? Who was patrolling those waters?”
    An older warrior named Toskoth swam forward. He had served Lirea’s mother and father for most of his life.
    “I spoke with three undine who said they wished to join our tribe,” he said. “I was there when the humans escaped. They were the same. Somehow they were able to take our shapes.”
    “Morveren.” Her grandmother must have enchanted the humans so they could come here to destroy her. Lirea beckoned, and Nilliar pressed a spear into her hand. “You were my father’s spearbearer, Toskoth. Did you ever once allow murderers to attack him ?”
    “I’m sorry, my queen.”
    Lirea thrust her spear into his chest, pushing until the tip broke through the skin of his back. His gills flared, but he made no sound. Lirea shoved him away. Blood and bubbles rose from the wound as Toskoth sank through the water.
    The other undine spread back. Even Nilliar appeared shocked, but none dared to speak. None but the whispers in Lirea’s mind.
    Toskoth played with you as a child and sang songs of times long past.
    Lirea ducked beneath the water. This time her scream was sharper, a summons loud enough to be heard by every kelpie in the tribe. Once she heard their answering cry, she surfaced and said, “They mean to carve me apart until there’s nothing left.”
    “You need rest,” Nilliar said softly. “You’re hurt, and you need time to recover. The tribe is in the midst of breeding. You can’t—”
    “They’ve torn me in two.” Lirea swam closer and ripped the second spear from Nilliar’s harness. “But a queen must be strong.”
    White crests approached from the shore, marking the arrival of the kelpies. Lirea gripped the spear in both hands and whispered, “I will be strong.”

    The harness straps dug deep into Danielle’s arms. She would be horribly bruised . . . assuming they survived at all.
    A faint call carried over the waves, and the kelpie slowed. He looked behind, his body quivering like a horse preparing to bolt. Danielle didn’t know if the call was a summons or simply a cry of pain, but it was obvious the kelpie had been trained to respond.
    “Please don’t go,” Danielle said. “You have to get us to our ship. It’s the only way to stop Halaka’ar.”
    The kelpie turned back toward the Phillipa . The fins and spikes near his head flared out as he answered the call. The sound threatened to burst Danielle’s ears.
    “Please don’t do that,” she said.
    In the distance, Danielle could hear other kelpies. She had no doubt they were following, along with the undine. The Phillipa was still barely more than a toy floating in the distance. They should reach it before their pursuers, but they wouldn’t have much time to escape.
    Beside her, Snow stirred and mumbled, “Too loud.”
    “Snow!” Danielle and Talia spoke as one.
    Snow’s face crinkled in protest. “I said too loud, and you shout at me?”
    Talia shifted position, bracing herself with her legs and freeing one hand to touch Snow’s face. “Open your eyes, Snow. Look at