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I pressed my fingers against the glass, waiting momentarily before her webbed ones were placed against it to match my hands.
Groans emitted behind me in disappointment that I was blocking the view. Carli tugged at my shirt, urging me to leave right then and there. The fishermen were not to be played with; we had to let it be, whatever they were up to. Stepping in their way was asking for trouble.
“Get out of the way, girl,” a gravelly voice spoke, a warning in his tone. “She’s our catch.”
“What’re you going to do with her?” I asked, turning to look over my shoulder, trying to find who had spoken to me. “Why do you want her?”
“For that pretty penny, of course,” a closer fisherman snorted and lunged towards me.
“Gentlemen!” A voice boomed, stopping the fisherman in his tracks before he could get hold of me. “What’s going on here?”
I recognized my father’s voice and bit my tongue to keep the groan from leaving my mouth. I didn’t need him to save me. Why did he always do this? Ignoring his appearance, I turned and tapped the glass three times. A small hole appeared in the glass as if struck by a pebbled, and then spiderwebs spread out in every direction from the point.
“What’re you doing?” a voice screamed. “Stop her, someone stop her!”
Hands grabbed at me, but I balled my fist and slammed it right smack in the middle of the spiderweb, sending the glass shattering and spraying in every other direction. Water gushed out and crashed over me, and slivers of glass scraped at my legs, but I barely felt them as I stumbled back. Shouting entered my ears before a pair of hands grabbed me, pulling me away from the mess as a tail flopped, hitting the ground. She shook her head, spraying salt water in every other direction. Her eyes found me, and the corners of her lips curled back before she snapped her teeth at me. They were pointy, jagged, and there were rows of them, like a shark’s. My stomach twisted before dropping as I realized my mistake far too late.
There were two types of mermaids. Human and mermaid hybrids or simply mermaids. Those who could change back to their human forms when dried were bred on land. Then, the ones bred in the sea were stuck as mermaids. Maybe they weren’t stuck; maybe they liked it. But they were a different breed of mermaid, that was for sure. They tore through flesh and ruled the open sea. Most referred to them as Sirens, the deadliest form.
Two kinds to a species, always. The bad and the good, and be my damn luck, I was eyeball to eyeball with one of the deadliest out there.
“You stupid girl!” a voice hollered as the men rushed around, trying to block the mermaid from dragging herself back down to the port and off the dock into the sea.
She snapped at hands that reached for her, swiping with her webbed hands. The men veered away, not keen on being scraped or bitten by her. I’d heard that a sea-bred mermaid’s bite was venomous. But it could also help. It was rare because sea-bred mermaids didn’t come onto land very often unless caught, like the one I was staring at. I’d heard through the grapevine of healers that their venom had medicinal value. I needed that venom. I had to have it.
I pulled out of the grip of whoever was holding me back and shoved my way through the throng to get to her. I planted my feet just behind her, shielding myself as some of the men launched at me. The mermaid twisted, her tail flapping, slapping against the ground hard in warning. I stepped closer, one extra step, edging towards her. My eyes flickered to one of the men on the mermaid’s side, a net clasped in his hands. He could get bitten if he threw it at her and reached to tighten it. If he did, I could get the venom. It could be all mine, and I could have medicine at my disposal most other healers could only wish for. The best part was that I wouldn’t even have to go to a market for it. I could get it fresh and free. I had to get it.
In my moment of distraction, I didn’t notice my shield go down until hands snatched at me and hoisted my feet from the ground, shoving me in front of them, facing away from the mermaid.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” my father bellowed, his face bloated in anger.
“I need the venom!” I shouted and twisted, trying to get back at her, but the hands held me tight, wrapping around my waist.
He spun me around, my legs kicking out in the air as I thrashed.
“Let me go, let me go! I have to get the venom!” I shrieked, but his hold on me was too tight.
He pulled me away from the commotion and didn’t even let go when we were up the hill in fear that by releasing me, I would just run back down, which he wasn’t wrong to think. I would’ve run back the instant I got the chance. Too bad these people understood me, almost too well. When we were finally feet from the hill and right about to hit the edge of the village, the hands relented in their grip and let me walk myself. It was too far now to try running back; by this point, I knew they weren’t there anymore. The fishermen were more than equipped for their jobs and would’ve worked as fast as possible to get her locked back up. They wouldn’t let go of a pretty payday easily.
A bell rang somewhere in the distance, telling us of the weekly mail call that had arrived, but it was followed by three gongs, alerting us to something more. Momentarily forgetting what had just happened and setting aside the obvious I was in, our group turned and started to make our way down to the village townhouse where we’d receive the big news. Alarms were going off in my head, warnings that something sinister was brewing, something that I wouldn’t like. I didn’t want to join them, I didn’t want to follow, and I definitely didn’t want to find out what the news was. It just didn’t seem like a good idea; if we didn’t attend, we wouldn’t be forced to hear it. Then it wouldn’t have to affect us, right? I knew that was a stupid way to look at it and probably not the smartest thing, but hey–a girl could pretend, right? Three gongs always meant bad news these days.
I dragged my feet, realizing my coffee was gone. I must’ve dropped it when trying to go at the mermaid, and now I was annoyed at my stupidity. I couldn’t get any more coffee, but maybe it was a good thing. Too much was only going to upset my stomach. Three more gongs beat through the air, an even more sinister warning.
ChapterSix
“You can’t go!” I protested, crumpling up the letters as if that would do anything.
Panic twisted around my heart, and I could feel the sobs trying to escape my throat all over again. I only cried at night when no one was around, and they couldn’t hear me. I didn’t like people thinking I was weak. I had to be strong because healers were supposed to be strong.
“We don’t have a choice, Azula, unless you want us in prison, that is.” My father told me, putting his face in his hands, elbows on the table surface. “And I really don’t feel like going there.”
“You’ve already been in the army, though,” I insisted. “Can’t that be a get out of the army free card or something? Shouldn’t there be a rule against having to go back if you’ve already served?”
My father groaned and pulled his hands down, eyeing me with a frown. In that moment, he looked far older than ever before. Wrinkles pulled the corners of his eyes down and wrapped around his mouth. There was some pepper streaked through his black hair, and his mustache wasn’t as thick as I remembered it used to be. My heart skipped a beat. The man wasn’t even near his fifties, and he looked like he would turn it in the next week. Raising two kids on his own was a hard thing for a man, and it was showing in him.
I pressed my lips together, trying to keep myself from saying something that would only get me into trouble. But Dad raised us to speak our minds, no matter what it was on. I knew this was no exception, that I was allowed to say whatever I was thinking, but I was also aware enough to know it would just get me into trouble.
My dad cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair, bloodshot eyes looking up at me. The wooden mug in front of him was empty for the third time since we’d gotten home. He was drinking, but I didn’t really blame him this time. Me pushing him wasn’t allowing him to forget what was going on like he wanted to.
