Thanks for the great reviews/fols/favs again, they really make my day when they ping into my inbox. And some of you leave such heart-warming messages. Simply knowing that you guys like it and want to hear more means so much. Thanks a million for your support. Nemma

Oh, and for the reviewer who queried about Jacob, don't worry, I have plans for him ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, but the mermaids and other original points are mine. Please don't take them.

…

Chapter 21: Orion the Hunter – BPOV

"What I don't understand," Riana said, "is why they held their secret meeting on Quileute lands. I mean, I thought they had a treaty forbidding them from wandering onto the wolves' turf, or something? It seemed a little risky."

"I heard someone say it was because it was the most secluded place," I said, "and the furthest from the main tribe."

Riana carried on as if I had not spoken. "And then for them to place it on a beach! In full view of the ocean! It's like they wanted us to eavesdrop. They were practically inviting us to." She folded her arms and scoffed, "Secret meeting indeed."

"Maybe they didn't expect us to get so close… they did look angry when they saw us."

More than angry… Edward had looked murderous, his eyes like black orbs…

Riana clicked on and on about this and that and various aspects of the gathering while I lapsed into silence, preoccupied with my own thoughts. The idea of contacting Edward was always there, but I tried to never settle on it for too long lest someone else hear my musing. But I needed to talk to him; I needed to find a way back to him. I needed to get away from this place so that I could think. Here my thoughts were subject to examination, manipulation and control. They became musty and unclear. I couldn't afford to be pulled back into that apathetic, uncaring, mermaid state again, for Edward's sake if not my own.

It did not matter that I wasn't speaking, because as we drifted into the dome there were so many excited voices overlapping one another that my mental tone was drown beneath the flow. That left me free to think.

"Have you heard?" Lilith called as she flitted close with her sharp ruby tail, "Mara was really interested with what we overheard last night. In fact, there was something we caught that really disturbed her."

That caught my attention. "What? Which part?"

Lilith shrugged. "Don't know. But whatever it was it prompted her to go and survey First Beach herself."

Riana gaped. "You mean, she's left the colony?!"

"Yeah," Lilith said, "didn't you catch that? It's all anyone has been talking about."

"What could possibly have frightened her?" I persisted. "Surely you have some idea?"

Something about this situation caused my chest to constrict, though I couldn't pin what.

Lilith glared. "I said I don't know. Something we overheard just spooked her. Whatever it was though, she's remained studiously silent about it. And as hers is the only mind that none of us can access, we're all left in the dark. But as soon as she gets back I-"

A blood-curdling screech ripped through the water.

Reeling in shock, I frantically assessed the state of my nearby sisters. They appeared just as aghast as I, and judging by their thoughts they were just as dumbfounded.

Where did that come from? The thought echoed back and forth.

Many cast around them in search of danger. Off to the side little Kali had her eyes squeezed shut with her hands pressed to her ears as the screech progressed. Kiera's gaze was trained directly ahead, eyes flashing green, and next to her Riana muttered one word.

Mara.

Sure enough, as I followed their gazes, a dark shadow obscured the dome's entrance, blocking the light as the painful screech reached its crescendo and stopped.

As Mara flitted down with powerful waves of her dark tail, her face contorted. Anger ploughed into us like a wave of heat and as one we all fell back. Mara was shaking with the force of her rage, and, as if she could suppress it no longer she threw her head back and released another scream – birthing sound to her impotent, formless ire. What was wrong?

I wasn't the only one wondering, all around me meek, frightened whisperings sounded. My sisters musing over what could cause our diligent leader to lose control like this.

All were too frightened to ask.

One word eventually swam to the forefront of her telepathy: him.

The image of the 'him' she was referring to swam into view, obvious for us all to read: A thick-set man with a dark bushy beard and black trench-coat. I, along with many others, replied with nothing but questioning confusion. We had no idea of this male's significance, or the apparent threat he posed – for surely he was a threat to warrant Mara's furious state.

Everyone stared after her in silence, both mental and verbal.

Kiera broke first, and she, along with two of the other elders, darted to her shoulder. Carefully, they worked her fury down. Kiera's hand massaged circles on her upper arm as her mind poured calming thoughts into hers, soothing like an ice-pack on a burning wound.

With a shark's sharp flick Mara threw her off and vanished down one of the darker tunnels. Kiera followed in the next second.

"Whoa," Riana said into the silence.

"Understatement," I muttered.

…

It was much later in the day when Mara re-emerged with Kiera and the dark skinned Danica at her shoulders. As she swam into the dome, all fell silent, staring with expectant eyes.

"I apologise, my daughters," she said as she held up her hands. "I was… surprised by the presence of a particular individual I saw. His appearance means danger for us all."

"How?" someone cried.

"What danger?"

"Who is he?"

The questions came from all directions. I might have asked one but I couldn't be sure, there were too many voices.

"His name is Balthazar and we – meaning a select few of your kindred – have had dealings with him in the past." She exchanged a significant glance with Kiera, who nodded ever-so-slightly in return. Worry marred her features, it was clear that this revelation was troubling to her too. "He is a very dangerous land-walker."

"How?" the brown-haired Tara called, "He looks human."

"He is… I believe," she said, though the hesitation in her voice made me wonder. "But he is a human with knowledge, knowledge of us, and that is a very worrying thing."

"He is a hunter of mermaids," the blond Kiera added from her side.

"And he is responsible for the decimation of the Chilean colony," added the ebony-haired Danica on Mara's right. Sorrow clouded her mind.

So many lives… her heart grieved and the universal sadness extended to us. We may have never known those souls but they were our sisters too, and I felt Danica's pain.

Mara continued. "If he becomes involved, or has become involved with the vampires and werewolves, as I believe he has, then we are all in a lot of trouble. This is a very disturbing turn of events."

A girl whose name I did not know called out. "But surely he cannot harm us here, we are far out into the Pacific and our home is well hidden."

Mara nodded. "Yes, we are safe within these walls, but I must warn you to take care, my daughters. Outside I cannot always protect you. Take heed when you hunt, be wary of your surroundings and above all else – and I emphasise this strongly – remain hidden, secrecy is our greatest weapon. With it, we remain unknown; with it, we remain safe."

She sighed then, placing a hand to her forehead and as one the sisters leant forward, aching for their mother's pain.

"I must think on this privately now," she said weakly, "Return to your activities."

…

When the chaotic chatter quieted and most of the mermaids fell into silence, I quietly drifted away from Lilith and Riana – who were still debating the relevance of this Balthazar and what they had heard of him in the past – and made my way down Mara's dark tunnel.

I didn't really know where I was going, and I didn't know if I would be welcome, but I was going to try to speak to her. Above all others I should know who my land-walker family were dealing with. If the man was as dangerous as Mara seemed to think…

"Speak to our good vampire friend, Randall," I heard Mara say as I drifted closer to a cave entrance illuminated with eerily green light. "Perhaps he can be of some help."

Peeking around the corner, I saw Mara speaking to Kiera.

"He left this morning," Kiera lamented, "and is not expected back for seven suns."

"Ah, well, when he returns then."

"As you wish, mam."

I waited for my moment, and as Kiera swam past me – her thoughts registered brief surprise to see me in the doorway – I hovered into the open, making myself known.

"Mara," I said.

"Ah yes, young Bella. Come in. I was expecting you to swim by."

She was? Spurred by the invite I spoke swiftly.

"Who is this man? His appearance seemed to come upon your thoughts suddenly."

"You are perceptive," Mara nodded. "Indeed he did. I recognised the name when it was mentioned at the land-walker's meeting. I hoped I was wrong and that they meant another, but I had to be sure. When I went to survey the area myself, I knew. I was listening out to one of our scouting sisters when she saw and recognised him too. I immediately recalled her."

"Where was he seen?" I dared to ask.

"Wandering among the Quileute's at First Beach. Two of the wolves were with him, Sam and another. There may have been more but she was unsure, she was startled enough by the sight of him that she did not remain long enough to take inventory of his associates."

"So, he is well known?"

"Among some of your elder sisters, yes, to Danica in particular, and she was the one to see him." She paused, eyeing me closely, before adding, "He butchered her first family."

Despite the water I was engulfed in my mouth suddenly felt dry.

And this man, this murderer, was wondering around First Beach, with Sam.

"What does this mean, then?"

"If he is there, he is there for one reason: to hunt us. If the wolves are involved with him they will know about us too…" She shook her head, as if in frustration. "And from what I can gather from your thoughts they will most likely pass this information onto the vampires. Then there are those damned elder's scrolls from their archive. Our anonymity has been lost."

"They will not harm me," I said swiftly, "they will not harm us without cause…" But we had given cause; the death toll was rising, they'd said so. Neither Pack nor Coven would stand by while innocents were slaughtered, just like they would not stand by while the new-borns terrorised Seattle. That thought gave me pause: Was this the same? Being on the opposite side of enemy lines made little difference, even if I had committed no crime I… Ah, but then they may think that I have. The image of Lilith's blood-bathed beach swam into my mind before I could dismiss it.

Nauseating coils tightened my stomach even as I shook my head.

What did they think of me now? Did Jake think I was a monster? Did Edward…?

"I have never told you the story of Asherah, have I?" Mara said suddenly. I blinked, looking up at her. She was staring at a depiction carved into her sea-smoothed wall.

"No," I said slowly.

The carving was rough, though softened by water. It appeared to be very old, but, if I squinted I could make out details: a fish tail, flowing hair, no smile.

"She was the first of our kind," Mara continued, "or so the tales say… her name means 'she who walks in the sea'. Asherah was a child of an old God, a sea God, who loved her dearly. But Asherah was adventurous and curious in her youth and as she grew she developed a keen interest in those that walked on the land. Her father-God warned her against such associations – for the people of the Land and the Sea are worlds apart. That did not matter to her though, and when she met a handsome young boy named Orion, it mattered even less."

"A bird may love a fish," I quoted, "but where would they live?"

"Precisely," Mara nodded, "I think you, of all of my daughters, would understand such a situation, especially with your vampire lover." A blush heated my cheeks but she ignored it, continuing. "Love is powerful, but dangerous, especially when the heart follows without caution. And Asherah's heart did that."

"Mara," I could not help but interrupt, "you told me that mermaids cannot love."

Her dark eyes became inscrutable.

"It was not always so," she finally said. "Asherah gave her love wholly and completely. And she was deceived. Orion, the first hunter, knew of the Sea Daughters and had heard that they guarded a great treasure beneath the waves. Her heart may have been filled with love but his held pure greed. When Asherah found out, it was too late. He killed her two sisters and almost killed her – though he never found any treasure. There was none to find, it was only a hunter's ideal."

"He left her for dead with little more than a backwards glance, and Asherah wanted to die, for the pain in her heart far exceeded that of her physical wounds."

"The Sea God found her this way and gave his life to save his last remaining child. And although she recovered in body… she had lost her heart, and her will to love. She became like stone, a true emotionless being – a trait she passed down to her daughters, to me."

Mara sighed. "In some ways we care deeply: the unconditional affection of your sisters, for example, but we are incapable of the human equivalent of love. Our human emotions are numbed and lost upon transformation. Some, however… can too easily be reclaimed. When it comes to love, I discourage such a strong and raw connection. It hurts too easily and always inevitably scars. In many cases, for us, such a scar is fatal."

"Are you saying that I could love Edward?" Had I ever stopped?

She gave me a look that I could not read. It may have been pitying.

"After Orion's treachery," she continued, "Asherah vowed vengeance against any land-walker that would dare trespass into her domain. All those that took to the sea perished."

Frowning, I said, "That's not strictly true though, is it?"

"It was back then. At that time the ocean was a very unforgiving realm." Mara rubbed her forehead, "Then came the day that Asherah saw another grieving woman. She wept, climbing her way to a cliff over the sea. The girl was young, little more than eighteen, and her heart had been broken by the man she most dearly loved. Asherah knew that pain, and when the girl threw herself into the waves Asherah took her, making her a sister and turning her tortured heart to cool and unbreakable stone. She was the first of many to be turned. And so, whenever a female came to her sea, she took her in," Mara's voice turned flat and hard, "the males, she butchered without remorse to feed her growing sistren."

I swallowed, hard. "What of Orion?"

"He lived. Had children, all sons, scores of them," Mara shrugged, "when Asherah had the chance she took the two eldest from him as a type of revenge. Orion knew, of course, who had done it. And Asherah left the bodies for him to find."

Sighing deeply, Mara finally looked at me.

"The ex-lovers warred for many years, so did their children, and their children's children. Their conflict only grew with each passing generation, never to be resolved. It is said their hatred of one another was so fierce that even in death they fought each other among the stars, where we can still see them today, immortalised by the First Gods."

Her thoughts seemed to drift, though I could not hear them, and her eyes strayed once again to the rough, primitive carving on her wall. I wondered who had made it.

"And now Orion's children hunt us still," she muttered.

It took effort to break the eerie silence Mara left, but with a breath, I did.

"What does this have to do with that man, Balthazar?"

"It is believed amongst our kind that he is the direct descendant of Orion, the last of his line. And he follows in his ancestors' footsteps: tracking, hunting, and killing our kind." Almost to herself, she continued, "this is what I feared, why I had to shore-up our numbers."

"Mara," I said, breathing deep, "are the wolves and Cullens in danger from this man?"

Her dark eyes pierced, as black as pitch, and in their depths I felt lost.

…

A little back-story was necessary. For those of you wondering when the next 'big-thing' is, it's soon. I just needed this and the next chapter to set things up. :)