Turning Point

My response should have been anguish. This was the part of the story when the next task was even more dangerous and demanding than the first. We had come this far and now more was being asked of us.

My heart was beating fast but, not with anguish, with excitement.

A mermaid!? I yelped out. I've always wanted to see one! A fierce, beautiful apex predator of the seas. A mermaid!

I leapt in the air and came down rolling. I danced, I spun in circles, chasing my tail. I couldn't keep still; I was so excited. I turned round and round and then joyfully yipped like a puppy.

"Are you serious?" he replied, amazed at my sudden transformation. "You're happy about this?"

Of course! I yelped.

He was starting to pick up more my own moods, so he responded. "You are serious!" He stood up. "Have you any idea how difficult this will be? Capturing a mermaid? And then what? We just carry her to the castle and then present her to the Emperor?"

Who cares! I chuffed. And really, I didn't. I was only thinking how amazing it would be to meet a mermaid.

"No—this is not a good idea. We should stop this nonsense. I'll go home and risk being hunted down."

I play bowed, groveling like I used to before my elders, and looked up at him with big eyes. Come on Lukas! Please? Clearly, he did not like the idea of a new adventure—but surely, he liked the idea of going back home as a failure even less?

Lukas seemed to mull the idea over in his head.

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. It seemed to be a sign of acquiescence. "All right. Let's do it. I don't know how…but let's do it."

I felt a surge of emotion and bounded forward. Thank you! I jumped and pushed him down gently, holding him still with my paws, and began kissing him. Wolves kiss without reservation to those they care for, but I had never done it myself. Such emotions were usually not for me. So for the first time in my life, I was kissing someone else.

He was as surprised as I was. All along our journey together I had been reserved; snarling when he tried to pet me and deliberately easing away from him around the campfire.

But things were different now. Somehow.

Once the decision was made, I felt a sigh of relief. How odd though. It was not as if I had cared much about what others did or thought before. Why should it be important now? To be with this human?

Lukas settled down next to the fire too. "We'll head for the shore in the morning." He reached out and pet me; I stiffened a little. Much as I liked him and wanted to continue this journey, being touched was still uncomfortable. I'd kissed him but only because it was the heat of the moment. Right?

The next morning, we followed the stream down the side of the mountain, walking along its course on a tranquil path. The hike was easy; we reached a broad stretch of beach before noon. The sights and the smells of the sea was enchanting; I galloped along the shoreline, chasing the waves and spraying seafoam with my flying paws. A crab scuttled sideways across the sand, and I made a great game of chasing it back and forth from the shoreline. So excited at my first visit to the ocean I barely noticed Lukas until he approached.

"We are in luck," he nodded towards a group of sailors further down the shore. "Those men said there is a new moon tonight, the first of the summer. Mermaids will be hunting sturgeons tonight. With any luck, we'll find one."

We made camp in the shelter of a dead tree, its skeletal structure providing a nice wind barrier. As the sun set, more and more humans started to gather on the shore. They stretched out a long, sturdy-looking net on the shore and started mending it. I guessed they were fisherman, hoping to catch some sturgeons too.

It got darker and darker. Soon a few bonfires were lit. Lukas walked easily among the humans, but I held back. Wary.

More people started showing up, and they all seemed to be carrying weapons. Not fishing poles or hooks but scythes, pitch forks, and axes. There are too many people here, I thought. Something is going on. I cocked my head, listening hard to conversations, when I noticed something. I felt a sting of recognition.

A new group had joined the crow on the beach and these men wore tunics embedded with a golden bird!

My mind raced. The Golden Emperor's men! I had to find Lukas. Maybe they were here to take him back to that horrible place?

Darting among the humans I looked but I couldn't find him.

"They're here!" a voice called out excitedly. One of the emperor's men brandishing a spear. "They're coming!" I looked where he was pointing his weapon, towards the ocean.

It was as if the sea was swelling but not with water, with a mass of fish flesh. Everyone watched, even me. There were multiple dark shapes gliding easily in the water. The mounds of sturgeon moved closer and closer to shallower waters, herding into a cluster. Webbed clawed hands started darting out of the dark shapes, snatching at the fish, then ripping at them with fanged mouths. The mermaids were hunting.

But they weren't the only ones on the move.

A group of boats appeared from behind a sea stack, moving slowly and quietly around the column of rocks. They fanned out to form a large semi-circle and then waited.

I saw the boats, and something stirred in my gut, some feeling of anxiety. Then I saw the net. The Golden Emperor's men had stretched out the strong, evil-looking net and were moving in from the shore.

A captain raised his arm, abruptly bringing it down, and the men in the boats began to shout and beat on the water with oars, raising foaming splashes. They were driving the mermaids towards the net, while the sailors and the emperor's men came forward with the net, then drew it into an even tighter. The skiffs on the moved in closer, closing the circle completely. The mermaids were trapped.

This didn't seem right. They could not really be fishing mermaids. Right? An ear-splitting scream sounded into the night. The men in boats were now plunging harpoons, scythes, lances, all manner of sharp weapons into the trapped mermaids.

What the hells is going on?!

The net was closed in tighter. The men on shore began wading quickly into the shallows, shouting bloody murder the whole way. As the mermaids strained against the nets, threatening to break through, more hands reached for the cords. Those on shore pulled, fighting to beach the flopping mass of mermaids.

"Now!" shouted one Golden officer, his beard and hair strewn about. Another group of men came running into the shallows from behind the rocks lining the cove. They went in about waist high. One by one, they plunged weapons into the helpless mermaids. The screams of the dying accompanied the night's terror.

The men began to haul the bodies of the mermaids onto the shore, dumping them categorically into piles as if for harvest.

A few mer managed to wiggle their way out of the net and pulled themselves further onto the sandy beach.

"They're gettin' away!" came a haggard shout.

I saw one mermaid flop herself forward, just shy of the waterline. Her tail did a series of muscle spasms, and she doubled over as if in pain. The fin slowly split in two as the tail shed its scales and morphed into two long, slim legs. She managed to get to her knees, crawling like a pup. Just as she was about to pull herself up and run, a pair of rough human hands grabbed her hair and flipped her over.

"She-devil!" the man spat at her and raised his cutlass.

A fury rose in me, like nothing I had ever felt before. How dare these humans destroy these magnificent strong creatures? How dare they! What right had they to kill so indiscriminately? For the first time in my life, I stepped into a fight.

I burst out of the tree shelter, rose into the air over the mermaid and leapt for the sailor's throat. He threw up his arm instinctively as a defense. I loosened my teeth on the man's forearm and dove in for the throat again. This time, I succeeded.

The mermaid sat up and gaped me. Having lived her entire life under the sea I'm sure she did not even know the word "wolf", but she did know she was free now. That was enough. She stood up, just barely, and then stumbled into the dark outline of the forest bordering the beach.

Run! I shouted after her. Run!

I left the assailant crying in a pool of his own blood and ran towards the next one.

Groups of men kept pulling the net, hauling a whole school of the sea-maidens onto the sandy beach. They heard a furious bellow and then an animal came rushing at them like nothing before. I was a living storm of fury, hurling myself at them in a frenzy to destroy.

A dozen mermaids were tangled in the net, flopping on the wet sand, and slapping the surf with their tails. I let go of the man I had in my teeth and quickly plunged into the water. Paddling like a dog, I got to the end of the net and with a few slashes of my teeth the cords were severed. I wasted no time gnawing but cut diagonally using a sharp canine.

I felt the sand under my paws and pushed myself to beach. Out of nowhere a strong arm helped me further up the shore. I glanced up and saw Lukas looking down at me.

"Come on," he said urgently. "We have work to do."

He was right. There were still so many beached mermaids, and the sailors were trying to kill them.

We must save them! I shook myself free of water then broke into a sprint.

The beach was littered with mermaids; some still tangled in nets, some fighting the men, some crawling inland and transforming into human form to run into the woods. There were sailors about, either flinging nets or harpoons into the mer. Lukas and I charged into the midst: roaring, stabbing, cutting, and mauling in constant motion. A panic seized most of the sailors and they fled in terror back to the safety of their schooners, shouting as they went.

As they retreated, we now turned our attention to the remaining mermaids. They needed to get back into the water. Most of them were not transforming; either they did not know how, or we were too mad with pain. We both knew they had precious little time before suffocation set in.

I came to the nearest mermaid, a young one barely at maturity, and tried to convey that the creature should grab my fur so I could drag her to the water.

Come on! Grab onto me! Come on! I pranced around the mermaid, yelling at her.

It was no use. The mermaid hissed and swiped with a clawed hand, forcing me to back off. She was not listening to me. All she saw was another apex predator. An enemy.

I changed tactics. Darting to the siren's side I gently gripped the end of the long fluke in my muzzle and tried to drag her to the water. It didn't work, the heavy fin kept slipping. I bit down harder to get a better grip.

The mermaid's scream was a horror.

The thrashing appendage flung me free; I was slammed down into the wet sand. Chocking, I realized I had swallowed the mermaid's blood and it tasted terrible! Snorting, shaking my head, I tried anything to get rid of the taste. I even lifted a paw and rubbed it down the side of my face, trying to wipe my muzzle.

The mermaid I had bitten was still crawling away but was too weakened to make it much further. I knew then I could not help. And it upset my so much. I desperately looked around for Lukas; he was picking mermaids up one by one and carrying them back to the water. I wish I could do what he was doing.

Please please please! I allowed my anguish and despair to take over for a moment; I lifted my head and howled my frustration. Please! I want to help!

I was still howling, still crying out when I heard, rather than felt, the change in my body. My voice did not resound with the voluminous expanse of my canine self, but it was the scream of a human female. I looked down and saw my body had changed.

Holding my human hands out in front of my, gazing at the russet brown fingers in amazement, I said the only thing that came to mind. "What the hells?" I coughed and put a hand to my mouth, startled that the words had come out with a human voice. My teeth felt different too as I touched them. They were flatter, not pointed. I touched my face. My fur was gone except for long thick brown hair on my head. I only had two legs!

My excited hurried mind came to the only conclusion that made sense—the mermaid's blood! Is that why they could become human when their tails were dry? Was their transformation magic in their blood?

I used my hands and pushed herself upright, to my knees, and then, carefully, to my two legs and my two feet. I felt so high off the ground. I smiled and did a little dance, hopping on one foot and then the other. It was fun!

But now was not the time to reflect on my good fortune; I had mermaids to save. I quickly knelt over the young mermaid I had bitten. The task that had seemed impossible only a few seconds ago now seemed ridiculously simple.

"Don't worry," I whispered to the young mer, "I've got you."

Scooping the fish girl up, I braced herself, and then lifted her up bridal-style. The young one was at first too shocked to move but then she struggled as a fish might, twisted and hissing in my arms. We got to the water, I waded knee-deep, threw her in, then turned away.

Sprinting across the sands, I came across more mermaids and did the same procedure, over and over again. It was not easy. I did not receive any thanks. One time a mermaid bit me and drew blood. I licked it up and kept going.

"I've got to save you. I've got to save all of you," I kept repeating to herself as I went. As time went on, most of the mer I came across were already dead and it pained me that I had been too late. My breath was almost gone, and my new arms and back ached from all the lifting.

Finally, I jogged to the end of the beach where a pair of sailors were still present. When I saw what we were doing, a burst of rage renewed my strength.

The men were dragging a young mermaid by my tail further from the waterline; she screamed, and they jeered at her. Fury at their actions renewed me and I hurled herself at them, fists flying. I punched and managed to catch one man on his ribs; his screams of pain could have matched the shriek of a banshee. The other man grabbed at my jacket sleeve, but I yanked it away, ripping the material right out of his hands. My sleeveless left arm backhanded him away.

As the men back off I crouched on my haunches as if I still had four legs. The mer-girl was staring up at me; she looked very confused.

I turned and exposed my back, reached over, then tapped my left shoulder. "Grab on!" I commanded. It was a relief when I felt small, strong hands grab my shoulders then circle around my neck. Lifting herself up I felt the weight of the mermaid, clinging to my back, like a monkey.

I turned to the shoreline to see that the men had recovered and reassembled in a line, blocking my escape to the ocean.

With the mermaid still clinging to my back, I raised my fists and got ready for a fight. I ducked under the first swipe of a cutlass and raised herself up to punch into the man's stomach; he doubled over with a loud "uumph"! I heard other men approaching from behind.

I need not have worried. The mermaid's tail had uncoiled from my back. Being a young one meant that her tail was longer and thinner, much like a snake, except it had razor-sharp fins that could spread in fear or anger. Now, she was using said fins, swiping her tail at the sailors to keep them away. With my fighting prowess in the front and the mermaid's whacking tail in the back we became a sort of deranged, two-headed fighting machine, taking on the larger opponents one after the other.

As we fought, I kept edging closer and closer to the shoreline, until I were in knee-high surf. I jolted backwards into the water, then flopped right in after the mermaid.