“Okay then.ReadySetGo!” I say the words so quickly that they mush together, and them I’m off, kicking hard and using my arms to propel myself through the water.
“Cheater!” Coy laughs, but then I hear his splash behind me. He’s coming.
I kick hard then start throwing my arms over my head, free-styling on top of the water. Peter and the other boys stop goofing on the shore and turn to watch us.
“Faster, Moira!” Curly yells and waves me toward him.
I pump harder, kicking for all I’m worth. I don’t think about how black the water is or how bizarre this whole thing has been or even the naked men waiting for me ahead. I only swim. Letting go of all my tension and worry as my muscles start to burn and I get closer and closer to victory.
“Almost got you!” Coy calls from too close behind me.
Burning the last of my energy, I propel myself forward, slicing through the water. Close to shore, I keep thinking I’m going to touch bottom and be able to use my feet to get me the rest of the way. But I never do.
Instead, my foot touches something squishy, but then it clamps around my ankle. I gasp, my gaze meeting Peter’s right as I realize what’s happening.
His eyes widen with realization, and I start to scream, but the sound is lost as I’m dragged beneath the sparkling dark water.
Chapter
Nine
The most haunting time at which to see the mermaids is at the turn of the moon when they utter strange wailing cries; but the lagoon is dangerous for mortals then …
Thrashing beneath the surface, I fight and kick, but I can’t shake whatever has its claws around my ankle. Utter terror, the kind that turns your insides to acid and your brain to a yawning black void, takes over, and I foolishly open my mouth to scream again. But I have no air. Nothing is left.
I’m pulled down, away from the barely-lit sky above and deeper beneath the waves.
I can’t fight anymore. Can do nothing but play chicken with my lungs. But I know I’ll be the one to flinch, to try for that single gulp of air that will damn me as water rushes in where it isn’t welcome.
Clawing at the water, I still try for the surface. But that hope fades quickly. My chest hurts so badly I know I’m on the edge of giving in.
That’s when someone grabs my wrist. In one terrifying moment, I’m being pulled in two directions, my ankle twisting as the thing beneath me refuses to let go. That’s when I panic and open my mouth, when the last tiny bubbles flow away from me and the water burns as it rushes down my windpipe. I sputter, more water invading me, and then my vision goes dark.
I’m still aware, barely, of being pulled through the water, of the clawed hand releasing my ankle. And then I’m on the beach with the Lost Boys kneeling around me.
“Moira!” Peter’s panicked face hovers over me as he pulls me upright and someone else lands a hard blow to my back.
I cough, water bursting from my lungs as I lean forward and retch up the salty sea. Each time I get more out, I can breathe. My lungs burn, my throat sore, but I can get air. A few more coughs and I sit back, my head spinning as Peter cups my cheeks with his palms and stares into my eyes.
“You can breathe?”
I nod weakly. “It hurts.” My voice is a strangled whisper.
“Fuck!”
I would be scrambling to escape the shore, but I’m still too dazed from whatever just happened in the water.
Peter stands and scoops me into his arms. That’s when I realize I’m still naked, my clothes on the far shore.
I look out at the water that had almost taken my life, and there amidst the lapping waves I see the top of a head with eyes so pale they look white. A mermaid.
“Damn you, Quenith! You almost killed her!” Peter yells.
She rises further in the water, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth. “I was hungry. I didn’t know who she was.” Despite her face, her voice is beautiful, possibly the loveliest sound I’ve ever heard.
Another mermaid emerges from the water, her hair billowing around her. “We were only trying to drown her,” she says sheepishly.
“Only trying to drown me?” My voice is hoarse, but I’m pretty sure they catch the outrage in my tone all the same.
