What the Tide Brings

Chapter 47 - Kaelin - The Mermaid's Touch

"Liam!" Kaelin screamed out as he was pulled underwater, away from her. She pulled off her clothes and dove into the dark, choppy water, allowing her body to morph back into its natural state.

One of Arlen's soldiers had grabbed Liam and carried him into open water, diving deep beneath the surface where he would surely drown. He hadn't gotten a good breath before they took him, so he didn't have much air to sustain him.

Kaelin swam as fast as her tail could propel her, hoping that she could get to him in time. If she could just get to him and touch him he would be able to breathe underwater for a short while.

Kaelin couldn't tell which of the soldiers had grabbed him. From this distance, all she could see was the soft shimmering glow of a golden tail; it provided just enough light that she could see Liam's shadowy face, too. His eyes were closed and his mouth hung wide open, perhaps unconscious.

Fear struck her, turning her blood to ice, but it also gave her a boost of adrenaline to force herself to slice through the currents faster.

It didn't take long for her to catch up to her target, who used magic to tangle Liam in the seaweed. With him being blacked out, his lungs were probably filling with water by the second.

The water around Kaelin became frigid as she faced off against the muscular, Amazonian mermaid that she'd fought earlier—Zale's bondmate.

There was a deadly sneer on the warrior's lips. She wanted to hurt Kaelin for killing Zale, which Kaelin had just learned that she didn't do. It was tragically ironic. The very merman she fought for now had committed the crime that she was trying to avenge, by killing his enemy.

If only Kaelin could get her hands on the mermaid, then she could share her memory of Arlen's confession, but Kaelin doubted this mermaid was going to make that easy for her. She didn't fight hand to hand, or even just with magic, like some of the others she'd just passed fighting against her siblings. This mermaid preferred blades over claws.

So much hatred radiated off the other mermaid that Kaelin could feel the crippling anger even twenty feet away.

When the mermaid charged at Kaelin, with her blade held firmly ahead of her, Kaelin knew this was her only opportunity to get to Liam. She would have to time it perfectly, so she steeled her nerves as the rage-filled mermaid drew ever closer to her.

Just as the golden-tailed mermaid got within inches of striking, Kaelin raised both of her arms above her head, bringing up an undertow to sweep the mermaid further out to sea. The mermaid tried to fight against the current, but Kaelin's magic was strong, and she'd gathered up her power to make sure she had enough to take her away, at least for a few minutes.

As the other mermaid was pulled away, just as she'd pulled Liam away, Kaelin dove down to the seabed. She sliced at the seaweed holding Liam with her sharp silver claws, to free him of their snake-y tendrils. She wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled his body close. She held her free hand to his face, praying that it would work. She felt a pulse in the water as magic passed from her to him. A mermaid's touch could save the life of a drowned man, gifting him the temporary ability to breathe water like air, so the water that filled his lungs wouldn't kill him, if she wasn't too late.

The moments passed by interminably slow. With every second he remained unconscious, Kaelin's heart felt heavier.

All of a sudden, Liam started gasping for breath. It worked. He'd done this before, at the waterfall. Adjusting to the change was always jarring for humans. It went against their very nature.

His eyelids fluttered quickly before opening. At first, he fought against her hold, trying to get free, which was expected after being taken and tied up as he had been, however, once his eyes fixed on her face, his body relaxed. He even smiled.

Liam threw his arms around Kaelin and squeezed tight. He offered thoughts of gratitude, but now was not the time for thanks, or celebration, that mermaid wouldn't be deterred for long.

Sure enough, when Kaelin looked out where the current had taken her, she saw the warrior rocketing toward them. She'd created a current of her own to carry her back, twice as fast.

Kaelin broke away from Liam and pointed up toward the surface, sending thoughts of fear and danger to tell him it wasn't safe down here. She also sent him the memory of her drowning, when he saved her, for the second time, to explain to him that he couldn't stay underwater. The magic of a mermaid's touch might be strong, but it couldn't last long without her maintaining it, as she had that day at the waterfall. Fighting this mermaid, she would never be able to hold her concentration to keep him breathing, while crafting other magic to use against her foe.

He nodded, without putting up a fight, which both surprised and relieved her. He wasn't one to run away easily when someone was in need. That was one of the things that made her love him.

He started swimming up as the mermaid returned, with her blade ready to strike again. Kaelin formed a gauntlet of ice and held up her arm to fend off a blow. The warrior was strong, so it barely slowed her. The blade broke the ice away and sliced a line across Kaelin's forearm, though without the gauntlet it could've been worse. In her true form, that wound would heal in a matter of minutes, so she ignored it and clutched her hand into a fist. She created a thick glove of ice around her fist, which she then swung at the warrior. Her first swing went wide as the other mermaid dipped out of the way.

     When the mermaid came back at Kaelin, Kaelin backhanded her across the cheek with the block of ice, knocking her backwards. Kaelin struck her again on the jaw. A cloud of blue blood cascaded from her mouth. Kaelin's ice block was left cracked from the force of the blow.

While the warrior was slightly disoriented, Kaelin used the opportunity to grab her shoulder and send the memories of Arlen. Unfortunately, the mermaid was not receptive. She swatted Kaelin away from her like she were nothing more than a wet towel to discard. Her claws sliced across Kaelin's face, leaving three long, bloody marks on her cheek.

Still, that simple touch opened up communication between them. Kaelin could sense the nuances of the other mermaid's mind, whereas before she could only feel her more prominent emotions. She could feel the deep loneliness and depression of having lost a mate. Unlike humans, their bonds lasted a lifetime—which could be thousands of years. The bond could not be broken, except in death. Their kind loved once, and then never again.

Feeling the loss that the other mermaid felt, Kaelin wondered if the human way wasn't better. They found and lost love many times in their short lifespan. Liam had loved Gretchen once, but now his love was for Kaelin. But, then, their love was so much more complicated than the bonds of merpeople. It was so passionate and all-encompassing. Everything felt like it was life or death, probably because for them time was so fleeting.

Kaelin tried to send her thoughts to convey that she wasn't this mermaid's enemy, but the mermaid rebuffed her. She refused to accept it. The image of Zale broken and bloodied was burning brightly in her mind. She wasn't going to stop until his killer looked the same.

Out of nowhere, a pair of muscular golden arms curled around Kaelin, pinning her arms at her side. As soon as their skin touched, she knew it was Arlen. He'd recovered from the icicle she'd shoved in his heart. Honestly, she'd forgotten all about him in her rush to save Liam and the distraction of fighting this mermaid.

She could feel the arrogance wafting from him, consuming her, wrapping her up in his smug feelings of victory.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted more of his cohorts coming to join them. They dragged her brother and sister in tow, both of them shackled with unbreakable chains.

Arlen sent a memory—actually, it was more like a fantasy—to Kaelin: The Elders were gathered at the sacred meeting place, and at the center was Arlen, accepting their vows of fealty. A ring of gold atop his head, declaring him king.

With the images, he sent two words, "You lose."