Page 6 of Ensnaring the Siren
Perez shrugged. “They were coming into her turf—or should I say surf? Anyways, if I had a quarter for every time a man’s taken something that doesn’t belong to him, and blamed a woman for his actions, I’d be eating well too.”
There was no disputing that, but people were dying, and if his gut was correct, there’d be more.
When he didn’t respond, she asked, “Well, what do you think? You were there.”
Scrubbing his hands through his hair, he groaned. “I don’t know what to think. Just that it’s our job to save people.” Not root for their demise, even if they’d brought it upon themselves. “Whether or not I believe her doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter.” Something about her clipped tone made him think he’d just stuck his foot in his mouth. Or missed an important point. “Get the facts down. That’s step one.”
Perez left without a parting glance.
Sighing, Reid began to type. What was he missing?
Chapter
Four
The ocean was Nireed’s home, and she’d almost lost it.
She had put her unearned trust into the hands of a Shorewalker, a mermaid born and raised on land. And she had put her life into the hands of a marine biologist, subjecting herself to scientific study and a year trapped in a tank, on the slim chance it might save her people from the ravenous hunger that controlled their minds and made them sick.
A shot at a cure.
A chance to restore her people’s ability to choose.
The Surface Dweller scientists poked and prodded her. Studied and watched, sets of cold, indifferent eyes staring at her from all angles, not a moment left unobserved.
But not from the Shorewalker. And not from the marine biologist who became Cure Creator. They kept their promises and freed her when it became clear the other Surface Dwellers had no intention of ever letting her go.
Nireed stroked her wrists nervously, squeezing her eyes shut, a memory resurfacing.
Dank water encased her, fouled oxygen drawn in through her gills. Nowhere to go. No way to escape it. And the ocean called and called and called, a mother crying for its lost child. Always there. Always in sight. And yet, so far beyond reach.
She pounded against the thick, aquarium glass, bubbles concealing her view as she screamed.
Nireed stiffened, eyes shooting open. Some days her time in the lab felt like a lifetime ago, others only yesterday. She’d been so scared of failing, so scared of never returning home. In the end, those fears hadn’t come true.
But now, because of these fishermen and their gigantic nets and murderous designs, her home was becoming its own cage, its own death sentence, and not just for her people but all the creatures of the sea.
The Land Above the Water was not a world she wanted any part of, but sometimes circumstances required that she walk it and undergo the metamorphosis that made it possible. For her scales and fins to retreat into her body, deep beneath the dermis, one tail exchanged for two legs. For gills to flatten and seal against her neck, traded for seldom-used lungs. The webbing between her fingers, withdrawn. Claws shrunk and fangs retracted, a row of square flat-edged teeth lying underneath. All the pieces that made Nireed a daughter of the sea tucked away and hidden from view so that she could blend in among the Surface Dwellers.
Like now.
The transformation wasn’t painful, but it left behind an ache in her muscles and in her gums and nail beds. But none of that compared to the ever-present longing that weighed anchor in her chest, calling her home to the deep.
A throat cleared beside her. “What was the name of the boat again?”
“The Merry Mariner.” It was the first name the pod had been able to get without being caught by fishing nets.
Shorewalker typed the name into her phone. “Just sent it to Jackie. She’ll be able to look up who owns it.”
Damp hair twisted into a loose, unraveling braid, Nireed sat on a park bench next to Lorelei Roth in the town green overlooking Haven Cove harbor. Behind them was a bustling thoroughfare lined with shops and various eating establishments, that was as much an assault on the senses as it was an intriguing display of behavior and daily life. Waves of Surface Dwellers dipped in and out of buildings, many toting bags of wares and fragrant food that might’ve been pleasant if it weren’t for the offensive odors accompanying them from trash and fuel, the sea breeze only bringing a short-lived reprieve. And while Nireed was used to the constant ambient sounds in the ocean, on land, the relentless stream of machinery, things Lorelei had to identify for her and explain their purpose, things like air conditioning and cars, were so much closer and louder in her ears. Only wearing squishy, orange ear sponges made it bearable.
In front of them was a gently sloped green space and an ocean walk that twisted along the coastline, meant for leisurely strolling along and observing the sea. For all the harm the Surface Dwellers did to the ocean, they also admired it.
More and more, Nireed was acclimating herself to the surface world. Not because she meant to stay, but because the humans passing by were so interesting to watch and study.
That was, when it wasn’t through a wall of aquarium glass.