Page 36 of Stealing the Merman

“I’m sorry,” was all Finn managed.

“It’s all right. I never had a family.” Darin paused, combing his fingers into Finn’s hair. “Neither do you, right?”

“No. Mermen don’t have families. We’re born out of giant clams.”

Darin nodded, a somber expression on his face. “I want to stay forever.”

That night, the men built a beach fire and cooked fish on the dancing flames. They ate together, except Zade and Luis, who’d remained further up the beach. The two of them were wrapped up in their bubble, unconcerned with what everybody else was doing. Arian and Fernando ate quietly, while Kristian—who for a change didn’t have his hands tied behind his back—hand-fed Tarlis pieces of fish. How curious.

It was after dinner, when everyone had coupled off, that the day took a dark turn.

The stars were out, and the full moon illuminated the island. Finn and Darin sat in the mouth of a creek where the water of the jungle drained into the sea. They were kissing when a shout tore them apart. It was Arian. He swam toward them from the sea, panic on his face.

“Darin,” Arian yelped breathlessly, “something’s wrong with Luis.”

“What happened?”

“He’s doubled over in the sand. You need to come and…”

Darin pecked Finn’s temple, then shot up on his feet and raced up the beach to where Luis and Zade had been making out. Finn turned to ask Arian what was going on, but he had moved and was shouting for Kristian, who joined Darin in his sprint.

Confused, Finn sat in the creek, unsure what to do. Arian’s fishtail arced through the air, moonlight reflecting off it, as he swam away. Should he follow him? If something was wrong, Finn ought to be close by in case they needed his help. But he didn’t want to intrude.

Finn turned on his stomach and crept from the mouth of the creek into the sea until the water was deep enough to swim. He dove under and followed Arian toward the northern end of the beach.

Angry shouts rang through the air when he resurfaced. He couldn’t make out the words, but Zade argued with Fernando, and Kristian roared, “We know there is no doctor on this godforsaken island!” More yelling and screaming, and then Arian resurfaced next to him, face grim.

“What’s going on?” Finn asked.

“Zade went too far, and Luis collapsed. I mean, did you see them? Zade’s been at him since the men got here, and Luis is by far the oldest. His heart couldn’t take it.”

Cold dread slithered down Finn’s spine.

“Fernando asked for you,” Arian continued, and Finn’s veins turned to ice. “You need to remove Darin’s toy. Now.”

Finn’s eyes widened in shock. That was a bad sign. “Is Darin all right?” he asked, unable to keep the panic out of his voice.

“Yes. But we have no time to lose. I don’t want to upset Fernando any further. Kristian is losing it, so let’s not make it worse. Move.”

Finn nodded and followed Arian to where the men had gathered. Luis was unconscious and had sagged against Darin, who was kneeling in the sand. Fernando took Luis off Darin when he spotted Finn. Finn crawled on land and regarded Darin, who was looking everywhere but at him.

“Take the toy out,” Fernando said, his commanding tone leaving no room for argument.

Darin spread his legs, cheeks burning red. Detest for Fernando flashed through Finn before he remembered that he was only trying to help his friend. But Finn hated seeing Darin embarrassed in front of these people. Nevertheless, it had to be done.

With quick, efficient moves, Finn reached between Darin’s legs, made the vibrations stop and commanded the rings to loosen with a touch. The toy slackened, its magic disabled. Finn pulled it off Darin, who let out a small whine when the plug slid free.

There was so much Finn wanted to say to Darin: That whatever had happened to Luis, he was sorry. That he hoped he’d be all right. That he cared about Darin.

But he got nothing out. Zade had shrunk away from the group, fiddling with a seashell. Luis might be dead.

Finn glanced at Darin who caught his gaze but looked away instantly. It stung.

Kristian stomped toward the group—one look told Finn he’d been with Tarlis to get the toy off. He barked at Zade and Arian, which got Fernando involved in the shouting match.

It turned out Fernando had found the rowboat the men had come in on. They planned to take it out to sea and paddle for the Puerto Rican coast, a good twenty miles away. The mermen offered no resistance.

“Let’s get out of here,” Fernando said and got to his feet, gathering Luis’s lifeless body with the help of Kristian.

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