Chapter Eighteen

Iwas dying.

I'd lost track of the number of times I'd been forced to shift, my body torn between two different spectrums of agony. It didn't matter that the water they put me in was the actual ocean and not a tank, each time I transformed it felt like my cells were ripping apart to nothing. I measured time by two things, the filtered daylight seeping in through the opening of the boat, and the hours I was left alone. I often checked out of my body, blocking out as much pain as possible, ignoring the interrogating questions Dennis and Reinhardt would pose- how I'd gained my abilities, where the other merfolk were, and how to fix my dad's tracker.

At night, depending on the form I was left in, I would curl up at the bottom of the cage, or the corner of the room to cry. Sleep came slowly, if at all, but the vision of Kai was waiting when the silence and the hum of the boat's engine would lull me into an uneasy slumber.

In my dreams, we were together, happy. They alternated between us stretched out on the sand, swimming through the reef, teasing to see who could swim faster, tangled together in the sheets, my head thrown back as he worshiped my soul, snuggled up on the seats in Cee's home theater as he stared at me like I was the most important thing in his world. And that was how he made me feel; beautiful, decadent, loved.

I will always come for you, little star.

Then I would wake, the horrors of my reality crashing into sharp focus, and I cursed my dreams for teasing me with the promise of something I would never have again.

It didn't take long to realize that their methods were wearing my body down, killing me from the inside. I didn't know how much longer I could hold out, and the thought wasn't as scary as it should have been. I would welcome the sweet release of death, to see what was on the other side of this world, especially if it stopped Reinhardt's plans to capture more merfolk. I could tell he was becoming frustrated with their lack of progress and would frequently blame it on Dennis and Marcus' ineptitude to collect proper data. Apparently, human DNA could only pinpoint my location, and the blood and scales of my tail yielded as little results as the meager samples they'd kept from Kai. I was starting to understand just how the merfolk had stayed so well hidden all these years.

Another way I had learned to tell time in my nautical hellhole was the interrogations. Just before they would retire for the night, either Reinhardt, Dennis, or Marcus would spend an hour alone with me, grilling me for any possible information Dad had told me about the tracker, and how it worked. Dennis mostly used his time to gloat about our current positions and leer at me, while Reinhardt assured me that giving him answers would somehow ease the pain of his experiments. Only Marcus remained quiet during our time, using the hour to check my physical health and give me more food or water.

It was his turn to conduct the ‘interrogation' tonight. If I had been counting correctly, that made nine times since they started this routine, with the one or two extra days that I had been unconscious. Almost two weeks. I hadn't allowed myself to think about what Dad and Becca must be thinking, went as far as to bite down on my lip until I drew blood whenever their faces popped into my mind. I couldn't think of them, or Cee, or Allie, or Kai. They were my weaknesses, and if they were exploited against me, I'd crack. For now, they were safe, and I couldn"t let myself think about what Reinhardt would do when he realized I couldn't fix his precious tracker.

I was once again dangling over the water. Some ridiculous test to see just how much of my tail would form if I was only partially submerged, but the instant my feet hit the water, I felt the change take over, more painful than ever as the saltwater had to travel up my legs and over my body to complete the change, dragging it out in slow increments. Marcus waited until the door clicked shut behind him, then immediately cut me loose. I slumped into the cage, letting the water soothe and caress my sore muscles. It wasn't enough, it would never be enough.

Maybe I should've asked Kai how he'd healed me, but it was no use. I still couldn't call on a single power that he had used. I was only half-mermaid after all. With my luck, besides the tail, I didn't have any of his abilities.

I wanted to stay under the water for the rest of the night, the rest of my miserable existence, but I knew they would make things more difficult for me if I did. With great reluctance, every muscle in my body aching and sore, I broke the surface of the water and folded my scaled arms against the lip of the boat, resting my cheek on top of them.

Marcus shot a look at the closed door, then shifted over, purposefully blocking one of the cabinets. Guess they have a camera in here after all. "I'm so sorry about this Maren,"

I said nothing, as I had for the past several nights. I barely had enough breath in me these days for a conversation anyway. My watery lashes closed over the veiny dark circles beneath my eyes as I waited for his monologue to finally begin. But he just sighed. "I deserve worse than your silence, but I swear I never wanted any part in this."

"Then why weren't you bleeding out on a concrete floor beside Hughes?" I muttered.

Marcus bit his lip. "I was there that night, you know? At the Grotto? I saw Kai beat the shit out of Dennis."

I frowned, forcing my eyes open. I hadn't remembered seeing him, but the crowd had been pretty thick, and I was only focused on keeping Kai from killing Dennis. "What were you doing there?"

"Jenny and I went out for a drink to celebrate. I couldn't find you after the fight, so I followed Dennis to the police station, but Reinhardt had already bailed him out by the time I got there. I asked Jenny to come get me, but they saw me in the parking lot. They told me what they had planned, and before I could refuse, Jenny showed up and…" He let out a shaky breath, "They're holding her hostage, Maren. She"s upstairs, bound and gagged, scared out of her mind, and they won't even let me see her."

His voice was cracking, his face anguished. My heart went out to him, remembering how scared he'd been when Kai had knocked her against the wall. "Please, if you know anything… They warned me what would happen if I can't get any information out of you tonight. I don't know what to do, but I can't let her die, Maren. I can't."

"I'm sorry," I whispered. I didn't know what else to say. I'm a clueless half-mermaid with no powers and no valuable information? "Who else is on board?"

"Alma and the two freaky guys that guarded the aquarium. Some sort of private security. I don't know who she is, but she's the one with the money. Reinhardt somehow convinced her to fund this whole thing. I think their relationship extends beyond the professional." The idea of the two of them together made me want to puke up saltwater. "He doesn't make a move without her saying so."

"Where are they keeping Jenny?"

"The upstairs cabin. I tried to get to her the first day but…" he rubbed at his ribs. "I have no idea how they're treating her, or if they've let her eat or rest…" He trailed off. "It wasn't an experiment, was it?"

It was crazy, but I believed him. At this point, I needed an ally, and I could see no deception in Marcus' gaze. He was scared, for himself and the woman he loved. That was a feeling I knew well. "My mother was one of them."

He sighed, running a hand through his already disheveled hair, "Well that explains why you were so good with Daisy. I just thought it was because you'd studied though, not that you were a… well…"

"A mermaid?" I finished dryly.

He nodded. "Yea. But, but you never… I mean, you were in the water when…"

I shook my head, gesturing to the tail, "A recent development. I wouldn't have discovered who I really was without Kai."

"Do you regret helping him escape?"

"No," I said immediately. "I had to do it. It was like I was dying alongside him. And I…I love him."

I'd finally said it out loud. I just wished Kai had been in front of me to hear the words. I held onto the image of him in my head like a lifeline, whispering down a one-way bond that distance had torn apart.

"I know what you mean," he said softly, and I could see the love for his own partner shining in his eyes. "And you haven"t told any of this to Reinhardt."

"I refuse to die a coward."

"You're not going to die," he insisted.

"Wanna bet?" I joked weakly, knowing he could see just how pale I was, the sunken hollows of my cheeks and eyes.

"Do you promise to help Jenny escape with you?" I didn't know where he was going with this, but I knew I wouldn't leave another innocent to be killed at Alma and Reinhardt's hands. I nodded, and he continued. "Before he escaped, we were going to test Kai's ability to communicate with other marine life. Is that something you can do?"

"Sort of?" I was a failure in almost every category of the magical variety, but I"d been talking to Kai for weeks before my transformation. Then there were the times I'd spoken to seals, the octopus in the aquarium, even if I hadn't known what I was doing, or heard them respond. But as long as they possessed about the same level of intelligence, they would understand me. Hopefully. "It's kind of like a one-way phone at this point."

"Well, if I were you, I'd get back beneath the water and send out as many distress signals as possible. Reinhardt's been lying to you. The tracker isn't broken, it just can't find merfolk."

"I figured as much."

"But it picked this up about a half-hour ago," He pulled out the tracker, which I thought Reinhardt never let out of his possession, and held up the screen for me to view.

"Daisy?" I gasped, recognizing the images we'd captured associated with the red dot beeping on the tracker. "But that means…"

Marcus nodded. "We haven't left the bay. Reinhardt seems convinced that more merfolk are somewhere near the Monterey Canyon, but they can't get a submersible deep enough to check."

I felt a rush of relief, but it didn't distract me from my new goal. Even the aches and pains could wait. If Daisy was nearby, I didn't have a minute to waste.

Marcus noticed when my thoughts changed direction. He gave me a small smile, slipping the tracker back into his pocket. "You've got a few hours before they come back. I'll keep watch." He jerked a thumb towards the door. "Good luck."

"Marcus," I called as he reached for the door handle. "Thank you."

He nodded, and I slipped beneath the water as the door closed behind him. I wrapped my hands around the steel frame of the cage to keep me steady, trying to stretch my mind into the water for a nearby recipient. It was hard to focus. I was so tired, and closing my eyes didn't help that fact. But I had to. I'd only get one shot at this.

"Daisy," I pushed mentally. It felt like shouting down a bridge with no view to the opposite side. It just stretched on into eternity. I tried again. "Daisy, it's Maren. I need you to find me. Can you hear me Daisy?"

There was nothing but the roar of the boat's motor and the rush of water tickling my ears. I sighed, releasing my grip on the bars. I was about to surface when I heard it. Distant, but definitely there. The squeaks and chittering of a pod of dolphins. I whipped my head around, searching for the direction it was coming from. Ten minutes later, I saw their graceful forms slide into view. They stayed below the surface, almost beneath my cage, but on the dorsal fin of one of them, I could see a familiar scar, one that my own hands had healed from where the fin had been torn down the center by a fishhook. It must have taken a lot of courage for her to get this close to another boat. And she'd done it for me.

"Daisy!" I cried out. She chittered, sticking her snout through the bars as her fluke flapped to keep up with the traveling boat. I rubbed her head. "It's good to see you too, girl!"

I couldn't sense her reply, but I could discern her emotions from her behavior. Excitement to see me in this form, and concern for my well-being.

"I need your help. I need you to find Kai. Can you do that for me?"

The others in her pod chittered, too nervous to get as close to the boat as she had. Daisy on the other hand seemed reluctant to leave.

"I'll be okay, Daisy." I promised her. "I need you to do this for me. Please."

She lets out a series of clicks, some which her pod mates echoed, then they were swimming off, Daisy in the lead. I sighed, relieved that at least one of my powers worked. Now I just had to survive until she returned with a rescue party. Piece of cake.

My time was running out faster than I thought. Marcus had been able to hold off the others for a while, claiming an excuse about using the silent treatment on me while he tried to fix the tracker himself. But the others were running out of patience.

Dennis burst into the room, yanking me up by my hair. When I'd grabbed his wrists to keep him from pulling it out of my skull, he'd switched his grip, grabbing one of my wrists and shoving it into the strap that suspended me above the opening of the tank. Already raw and blistered, the skin screamed in protest. I used my other hand to hold me upright, so my restrained shoulder didn't pop from its socket.

He snatched the device out of Marcus' hands, shoving it in my face as he glared at me, nostrils flaring like a matador bull who'd been shown a red flag. "Fix it."

When I didn't respond, he reeled back, slapping hand across my cheek so hard I saw stars. "Fix. It." Spittle flew from his lips with each word.

Reinhardt stepped in, pulling Dennis back by the shoulder and taking the tracker from his hands. "Settle down, Mr. Ashford. She won't be able to tell us anything with a fat lip."

To both our surprise, Dennis grabbed Reinhardt by the lapels of his lab coat, shaking him until his head started swinging back and forth on his shoulders.

"Don't fucking treat me like I'm crazy Reinhardt. She did this to me!" He jerked his head towards me, spittle flying from his lips. "You said you'd find a way to cure me, but all you've done is sit on your ass and order us around!"

Apparently whatever I"d done to him had officially turned him into a fruit loop. If only I could still use those gifts to get out of here.

"She does not possess the same abilities as a full-blooded siren," Reinhardt reasoned, trying to dislodge Dennis' hands from his collar. "You are still in control of yourself. Perhaps you are too close to the specimen to judge this rationally."

If Reinhardt thought this behavior was normal, then he was even crazier than Dennis. I looked at the bloodshot eyes and limp curls of my ex-boyfriend, unable to find even a spark of who he once was. The man now before me, without claws or fangs or fins, was a monster.

"You think you can cut me out now?" Dennis mused, his words frigid, fingers digging into Reinhardt's shirt so deeply I could see the whites of his knuckles, and hear the fabric begin to tear. "You wouldn't know she existed if it wasn't for me!"

I shot a glance towards Marcus, who looked unsure of how, or if, he should intervene. Once again I tried to wiggle at the bindings holding me, but my tail was too heavy, partly submerged beneath the water, it was all I could do to keep myself upright.

Dennis tossed Reinhardt aside with astonishing strength, reaching for a scalpel that had cut a section of scales off my tail not two hours before, which had promptly dissolved, even if the skin around my hip still hadn't mended. He held it out, the silver blade glinting in the dim lighting. But not towards Reinhardt. No, he aimed it straight at my heart.

"If she doesn't have the information you're looking for, then she's outlived her usefulness."

I flinched back as he advanced, closing my eyes. I didn't want his face to be the last thing I saw. I sighed one more time down the now useless bond. "I'm sorry, Kai. I love you."

An alarm started blaring somewhere above us. From the open doorway, a voice called out. "Unknown ship! Fast approaching! Unknown ship!"

A moment later, Alma appeared in the doorway. It was the first time I had seen her here, and not dressed in one of her pencil skirts clutching a clipboard. Her hair was unbound, clothes rumpled, like she'd just rolled out of bed.

"Is it the coast guard?" Reinhardt demanded.

She leveled him with a glare that warned him to watch his tone and shook her head. "It"s a private vessel, a yacht maybe three stories tall. But there are smaller vehicle's deploying as we speak, and they're rapidly approaching."

Then, through the fog of my mind, shouting my name with the all the ferocious rage of a tsunami, I heard him. "Maren!"

Kai.

Something hit the side of the boat, causing everyone with legs to stumble. I struggled through the most intense pull up I had ever performed, but the result was worth it as my fluke slammed into Dennis' ankles, knocking him to the ground. The scalpel flew from his hands, and I stretched out my free hand, reaching as it soared. I caught it with the edge of my fingers as Dennis struggled to his feet. Marcus shoved him back down, casting a nod at me before racing out the door, slipping past a flustered Alma. The sharp edge of the blade cut through the bindings like butter, and I fell through the opening of the hatch with a great splash.

Bubbles cleared from my face and nose. I could tell it was daytime but not where the sun was. Despite the fact that I could breathe underwater, I felt like I was drowning as I turned in every direction, searching for him, hoping against hope that I hadn't just imagined his voice. He has to be here. He has to be here!

I heard familiar squeaks and turned to see Daisy making her way towards me, leagues ahead of the rest of her pod. Above, I could make out the hull of a huge yacht, the boat's anchor deployed a quarter mile away. And smaller vessels like Alma had said, one of which that had already hit the side of the boat, the other"s rumbling motors vibrating through the water with their rapid approach.

One of the jet skis suddenly stopped. Then a figure dove into the water like a bullet. Shirt and pants hastily discarded, I watched the swirls of light and bubbles surround him and instant before he transformed. There was no one that could match him for speed in the water, he was at the cage in an instant, his body slamming against it so hard I jolted back. The impact ripped the bolts from their hinges, and the metal groaned before dislodging from the base of the boat, crashing to the ocean floor. Where the hell was that strength when I'd needed it?

I only had a second to look down at the descending wreckage of my prison before Kai's arms wrapped around my waist, hauling me to him and kissing me like a man starving for air. Perhaps not the best metaphor since he was currently not a man nor breathing air, but I was already too lost in him to care, his embrace a soothing balm to the never-ending nightmare I'd endured.

He sipped one kiss after another, so achingly gently like each one would be his last. Then he groaned, holding me so tightly my wounds ached. I didn't care, I squeezed him back just as fiercely. "I thought I'd never see you again," I sobbed into his mind, my tears mingling with the salt water.

"I will always come for you, little star." He stroked my hair as it flowed around us. Peace and euphoria swam through my veins, spreading from the heat of his hands on my lower back, then my cheeks, where his lips pressed firmly to mine again. I felt his magic moving over me, assessing and healing every cut and bruise that littered my skin. I almost laughed against his lips. Even in the midst of danger, he put me first.

I pulled back, making sure he was also unharmed. "How did you get here? Isn't that Cee's yacht? Is she okay?"

"Such a curious mind," he laughed softly.

"Kai—" I warned.

"Everyone is well, and are currently wreaking their own havoc on the surface." He shook his head, "Starting the party without us. What do you say we lend them a hand?"

He extended a hand, and I grasped it, webbed finger entwining. "Of course."

His grin was wicked and made the tips of my toes-tail- curl. "Then hold on tight, little star. Things are about to get interesting."

"Coming from you, I'd expect nothing less."

I was glad we were too far away for the coast guard to see us. Cee had not only taken her dad's yacht, but rounded up Allie and Sean, who had taken jet ski"s of their own across the water, boarding Reinhardt's vessel with a bout of fierce war cries. The ‘men in black' moved to intercept them, grabbing Allie around the waist in an attempt to throw her overboard, but a swift movement of Kai's hand had a wave of water cresting over the railing, sweeping the man into the water and leaving Allie clutching the railing to stay upright. She shot a grateful salute at him, then went to find the others.

"Marcus is on our side," I told him, still in awe at the ease in which he used his powers. I seriously needed a lesson when this was over. "He's just trying to help Jenny."

He nodded. "He and Sean just broke her out. They're coming this way."

Sure enough, I saw the three heads pop up on the deck, making their way to one of the abandoned jet skis at the stern.

"Where's Cee?" I asked. There had been no sign of my best friend since we'd surfaced.

"I suspect she's in the hull ripping that weak bait a new asshole." Kai smirked.

I couldn't return it. Not after I'd seen Dennis throw Reinhardt across the room. And if he and Alma were still down there...

"We have to help her." I ducked under the water before he could stop me. Daisy and her pod were still waiting nearby, and I swam to her, wrapping my arms around her head. "Thank you, my friend. But it's not safe for you here. Go on, I'll be okay now."

Daisy chittered, bumping her nose under my chin. I laughed, at least one of my abilities still worked. "We'll meet again, I promise."

With a final squeak, she turned to her pod, who followed her as she led them to calmer waters. I slipped beneath the boat, bursting through the open hatch.

Reinhardt and Alma had vanished, but Cee was facing off with Dennis, and she was holding nothing back. She wailed on him, throwing kicks and punches to his jaw, the back of his knees, the sensitive skin of his throat, all designed to take him down with as little effort as possible.

"You think you can take her from me?" he spluttered, coughing around the lump Cee had caused. He sounded like Dad, and for a moment, I felt a brief tinge of sympathy for what I'd done. But it was gone as he shouted, "She's mine!" and lunged, tackling Cee to the ground. He wrapped his hand around her throat, squeezing hard. I couldn't get to her fast enough. She gripped his wrists, clawing at him as she gasped for air.

"Stop!" I cried, pushing myself out of the water, even if I knew I wouldn't reach her. I didn't care, I was not leaving her here.

Dennis whirled, hands loosening their death grip on Cee's windpipe. She coughed, gasping for air as she scrambled from under him.

"I'm the one you want, right?" I challenged. "What are you waiting for?"

Kai rose into the pool beside me, his unblinking eyes on the predator before him. But his hand slid down my arm, grasping my fingers. "Don't ever run off like that again."

Dennis glanced between us, a cruel grin twisting his features, turning them monstrous. "Two fish for the price of one. What a lucky catch!"

"Weak bait," Kai growled. "Today you drown."

I could sense the power gathering around him. A deep groan pulsed throughout the hull of the ship. Cee finally wiggled out of Dennis' hold, and she fled the room, slamming the door shut behind her, the lock sounding with a fatal click. Rivulets of water bubbled up from the floorboards, streaming in through holes in the walls. We started to rise higher from the opening in the hatch. No, not higher. The boat was sinking. Kai was literally dragging it to the ocean floor with his magic, and something about it did not seem normal, even in the merfolk world.

Dennis' wide eyes looked towards us, then the door. He input his code, then pressed his finger to the sensor. There was a red flash, and he cursed, trying again.

"Open, dammit!" he screamed as the red light flashed again.

Kai squeezed my hand before diving, a gesture to follow as he left Dennis to his fate.

But I couldn't move, watching Dennis' panic grow as the water spread to his waist. He may have very well left me if our roles were reversed, he was content to kill me just a few hours ago. But my heart, the traitorous bitch, knew I would never forgive myself if I became the monster he thought I was.

With the room filling with water, it was easy to maneuver over to where Dennis was still frantically pulling on the door handle. "Grab my hand and hold on." I said.

"I don't need your help!" he cried, giving another pointless tug, bracing his feet against the door.

"Dennis, stop!" He flinched when I grabbed his head, wrenching it towards me. With my hands on his temples, I felt something, the slight fracturing of his mental walls, and I pitied him. I'd wanted so badly to get revenge, but not at the cost of his sanity, and certainly not his life. Inadvertently or not, I'd done this to him. What had Kai done, what kind of glue had he used to seal the cracks in Dad's mind? None of my other supposed powers seemed to work to their capacity, thought I felt more when I was around Kai, something I'd be grilling him about later. But even though I'd caused Dennis' mania, it would take more than my power to fix it. "I'm going to get you out of here. But for once in your life, I need you to trust me."

For only a moment, so brief it flashed across his eyes in a blink, I felt like he really saw me. Not an ex-girlfriend, or a workplace rival, or even a mermaid. He saw me, and there was respect in that look. It was followed with a swift bout of anguish, then regret.

"Maren." he breathed, tears welling in his eyes.

I offered my hand, and he gripped it tightly. Then we dove beneath the waves, my tail propelling us easily from the wreckage even with his extra weight. As we made our way to the surface, I could hear the sound of the coast guard's alarm echoing through the water, heading our way.