Page 126 of Storm and Sea

“No, I think I’ll pass,” Nyel said, taking several cautionary steps backward. “I’ll hold the light from here, thank you very much.” He stood a few paces downhill.

“You’re no fun,” she whined and gripped the handle.

As it turned, the gears squeaked in protest. It hadn’t been used in some time, but that was precisely why Marina needed to make sure it worked.

“Little help?” she asked after only managing a couple of rotations.

Atreus took over, managing the crank easily. Soon, a smooth wooden bucket came into view, brimming with crystal-clear water.

“Is it safe to drink?” Nyel asked.

“Of course it is. The farmers in the valley use this well every day. That is, they used to.”

Marina missed the farms and the families who left when the land was sold. The imported produce from the mainland didn’t taste as good as the crops grown in Baia Vita’s soil. Now, the rows of vegetables and fruit trees were gone, replaced by luxury mansions and gated grounds.

She scooped a handful of water and brought it to her lips, enjoying the crisp, clear liquid. At least the water was the same.

“It’s perfect. Try it!”

She lifted the bucket, but the old wire handle snapped in her grip. Marina fumbled, the weight throwing her off balance, the bucket slipping from her grasp.

Nyel yelled as ice-cold well water soaked him from head to toe. The flashlight cracked to the ground, the bulb sputtering out. They were thrown into pitch blackness, leaving only the sound of the wooden bucket rolling down the hill.

“Shoot, Nyel, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Where is the damn light!?”

Marina grappled for the torch, her hands searching cobblestone until the metal cylinder rolled into her palm. She smacked it, clicking the button several times before the light returned.

“It didn’t hit your head, did it⁠—?”

The words died in her mouth as Marina lifted her gaze to Nyel.

No.

Not Nyel.

Illuminated by the yellow beam, the creature that stood before her was unmistakably not her friend. It was green with scales and fins covering its skin. Its eyes were slitted, and talons lifted in the air in panic. The exact gesture Nyel had made moments ago. It even wore Nyel’s clothes, except now a thick tail swept across the ground, swishing in the leaves.

“I…I…” Marina stuttered, both too afraid and too utterly shocked to move. The light trembled in her hand, and she was suddenly terrified of being left in the dark with this thing.

Bits of Nonno’s stories echoed from somewhere in her brain as she searched for an explanation. His stories about the man who transformed in the water. It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t.

But no matter how hard she denied it, Marina knew what this creature was. She lifted a shaking finger, pointing at its chest.

“Uomo del Mare.”

The bucket tumbled through the air in a drawn-out, surreal sequence, and by the time Atreus’s brain registered what was happening, it was already too late. His useless hands grasped the air as the bucket fell. The water splashed Nyel, soaking into his hair and clothes, and within milliseconds, Marvassa had him.

The light died, and Atreus begged for it to be broken. He scrambled for it, ready to throw it into the trees, but Marina got there first.

“Shoot, Nyel, I’m so sorry; it didn’t hit your head, did it?”

He should have grabbed her. Forced her face to the ground. Kick the torch from her hands—anything to prevent it. But Atreus’s feet were trapped in cement.

“I…I…” Marina stuttered, all color draining from her face in an instant.

Atreus locked eyes with Nyel. His pupils were paper-thin slits—fear emanating from every cell in his body.

Yet…