Hitting the deck with a thick thud, I take a shallow breath and scoot away from the edge of the water. I could feel my legs beginning to change as my tail was still healing, if they thought we were humans they wouldn't possibly board us.
"Guard" I whisper quietly, hearing his thudding steps he rounds the corner with his eyes alert.
"Deep sea soldiers" I whisper back.
Dropping to the ground, he reaches forward and pulls me into the cabin. Tucking my tail in with me, he shuts the door to the cabin and approaches the water. Running my hand through my hair, I let out a tiny sob out of fear.
"She's on the boat!" I hear the unfamiliar voice of a Deep Kingdom soldier calls out.
Hearing the distinct splash of two guards who breach the surface, scuttling back I worry that the guard is going to die because of me. Looking to him, I signal for him to hide. He frowns and nods, slipping back into the cabin. Seeing the scaly skin of their arms slip up my ladder, there grey skin and blue eyes scowling and searching the boat for me the soldiers eyes lock onto me and his mouth pulls into a smirk.
"Perfect, she's here for the taking" he mutters to his friend.
Slipping up the railing of the boat, the two men slowly begin to crawl towards me. I was almost human but still confined as my wounded tail would not shift. Taking a deep breath, I thank the starfish that I am of family decent to carry the magic gene. Holding my hand behind my back, I allow some of the last ounce of energy to flow to my fingertips, feeling the shift of the air I grip onto the blade that I know posses in my hand. Blowing out a puff of air, I see the guard is coming up behind the two soldiers.
"Now, look what we have here a lone mermaid with two strong men" one laughs, inching closer.
I scoff and pull myself up "I'm not alone you seaweeds!" I snap back, lifting my hand I use all my force to throw the knife forward.
Hearing it slice through the air, it felt as if the world has stopped but the blade kept moving. It shocks the soldier too that I manage to throw the knife at him. It doesn't take long though for the blade to connect with the creature. With a wet thud the blade enters the man's head, sticking into the socket of his nose. He looks at me with shock as his blood seeps from the wounds and his eyes fade to dead. Hitting with a thud, the guard wastes no time pouncing on the other soldier. The two wrestle with each other, the guard winning with ease due to him be able to stand. I watch in horror as the guard grabs the soldiers head and rips his body to one side, three loud crunches break the silence of the ocean.
Pushing myself into the wall, I do the only thing I find reasonable to do in this time of panic and that is to scream. The guard looks to me and back to the soldiers, sighing he grabs the two soldiers and uses a rope of the boat to tie them together by the tail. Walking to me, he bends down beside me and grabs my jaw and forces me to look at him.
"Stop screaming" he says, I lower my pitch and fade my screams into whimpers.
"I'm going to take them where they won't be found okay, I need you to stay quiet on the boat can you do that for me?" he asks me, looking at him I nod slowly.
He smiles "Good, my name is Ray I'm going to keep you safe just stay here" he says, I nod.
"Thank-you" he replies.
Watching him walk over to the edge of the water he gazes around in search on another flock of Deep kingdom soldiers and dives into the water, breaching the surface he pushes his green hair from his face he grabs the rope that holds to the dead soldiers and pulls them into the water. Reaching down, I hear a crunch and a clang as he throws the blade onto the deck of the boat and gives me a smile.
"You've got impeccable aim and advanced conjuring skill Quinn" he compliments me before slipping under the water.
The air hits me and chills me to my bones, he's been gone for hours and I've become a human again. Not straying from the place where he left me I watch the ladder where I await his return. I give a gasp of excitement when I see his body fling up onto the deck of the boat, my heart racing as I scurry over to him with little thought other than to hug him.
"Oh thank Poseidon you're safe!" I say, latching onto him.
He chuckles and pushes me away "Come, the kingdom of Reef is under attack I've been ordered to take you to land" he says earnest.
Looking at him, I take a deep breath and nod "Okay, I trust you" I say, slipping into the water ahead of him.
Feeling my body shift, I wait under the water for him and lace my hand through his as he begins to swim towards land. Watching the water ripple past us, I can't help but feel guilty that I was running from the Reef instead of aiding the battle against the Deep kingdom. Looking to me, Ray pulls me along harder.
"Women are being taken captive, the King and Queen were captured and executed at the town square the Prince has been relocated and they're in search of you I was informed Sam is currently with the Prince" he assures me.
"So my brother could be alive?" I ask, he nods and pushes harder through the water.
"My parents?" I ask, he shakes his head at me.
"I didn't ask I barely got back to you Quinn, we have no time come on we must head to the land where we will be safer" he says.
Beaching ourselves at dusk, we crawl up the bank of a deserted beach. Lifting his hand over my tail and his, Ray aids the drying process to allow us a further head start. Helping me up I'm still wobbling on my leg which still aches, looking each other over I look to the water and back to him.
"Can you make us some clothing, money, ID's?" he asks his voice just above a whisper.
Nodding I hold my hand out over the sand, I sit down to avoid falling if I faint. Feeling the material brush against my hand, I picture a summer dress and pants for Ray. My head begins to throb when I attempt to conjure a pair of shoes, they barely come out correct. One shoe is smaller than the other and different shades of grey. Smiling at me, Ray grabs my hand and pulls me up to his body.
"Come on, just do a little more get into the clothing" he says, aiding me into my dress.
Slipping on his pants, he moves me up the beach to a bench where I sit and grab my head. It felt as if someone was throwing a boulder around.
"Quinn, I need you to make one more thing" he asks of me, I look up at him with watered eyes.
"What?" I ask my voice barely audible.
"A credit card, like in the wallet of the men that sunk last year near the Reef" he says, the image pops into my head.
Opening my palm, I close my eyes and concentrate on the card. Feeling the plastic hit my hand, I sigh in relief as I can open my eyes and haven't passed out. Looking to Ray, he picks the card up from my hand and pats my shoulder as a thank-you.
"Come, we'll seek shelter in a nearby hotel" he says, helping me up again.
Throwing myself onto the bed, Ray is quick to check the rooms and lock all windows and doors. Coming to my side, he passes me a glass of salted water and strokes my head.
"You did well princess, today has been tiring" he says, I frown at him with my eyes shut.
"I'm not a princess" I mutter, rolling over and attempting to sleep away the memories of a shark attack and a Deep kingdom attack upon my people.
Waking up, I look to the roof of the apartment; it looks different than it did last night. It takes me a second to see that the water was obscuring my vision, breaching the surface I look around to see where I am. I'm in a bathroom, in a filled tub of water with my tail. Stroking where the shark had bitten me, I could see faint puncture marks on my tail which annoy me. Pulling myself from the tub, I hit the tiled ground and groan as I hold my arm as it throbs. Opening the bathroom door once my body had shifted back to its human form, I look out and see that night had fallen again, Ray stands in the door way and gives me a short nod.
"Quinn, good to see you're awake" he says, I frown and nod.
"How long?" I ask.
"Almost three days" he replies, I feel my eyes pop from my head.
"Three days, has there been any word from the Reef?" I demand, he shakes his head sadly.
"Unfortunately not, but it shall be sunrise soon I suggest we get our affairs in order as we don't know how long we may be staying here" Ray says.
"Thank-you for risking your life" I say.
"That is okay, Quinn" he says, stepping away from me kindly.
"May I ask, which gift you were bestowed upon?" he asks as I grab a towel and cover myself I hadn't put anything on when walking from the bathroom.
"I was gifted with the power to freeze water, conjure, alter the weather like all Reef mermaids and I have the siren's call" I add the last gift quickly.
"Of course Quinn, you're the cross linage family" he says as he figures out why I am different.
Giving a soft smile, I push past him not wanting to see his quizzical gaze upon my family's history. Looking out to the apartment, I pull a face at the two beds and small TV in the room. It was tiny and unwelcoming to say the least.
Sitting on the bed I chose to sleep on when we first arrived, Ray hurried from the bathroom to the bedroom with me.
"Quinn I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable with my barnacle of a statement" he apologizes to me.
Smiling up at him, I look at the guard who is risking everything to safe my life "It's okay, just don't let it happen again" I reply with a small smile of my own.
