Page 35 of Away in a Tentacle Lair
“Is the rumour true, Briareus? Can you hold your breath for an hour?”
“An hour? No! That's ridiculous.” I can stay underwater for an hour just snatching gulps from the surface before I need to breathe normally, but I have to use my snorkel.
“Put him in the mermaid tank. He doesn't come out until we find where he's hidden that poor little creature.”
The look he gives me suggests he knows it's me or that he doesn't care if I drown. The mermaid tank is in the main hall and very public, so I’m not sure drowning is part of his plan. I remember how disappointed I was to find it wasn't real mermaids, just women paid to wear a tail and swim around in shifts.
Now, that's going to be me. It takes all five guys to get the stupid tail on me. Being stripped and wedged into a tight pink fishtail is the single most embarrassing moment of my life, but I’m not going to let that stop me from fighting like my life depends on it.
The entrance to the tank is on this floor above the public areas, beside a hut where the girls can change. A ladder is bolted to the floor above the hatch, which I try to grab. It doesn’t make any difference. Once they open the hatch, they kick and push until I am under the water.
It's warm, fresh water, perfect to keep their staff comfortable for their twenty-minute stints.
The hatch closes above me as I fumble around the top in search of air. The water goes right to the top, but I'm not looking to breathe. I'm checking for any trace of weakness I can exploit.
The walls are solid curved panels between steel pillars, making for a seamless 360-degree viewing area. My prison is six metres deep and about 4 metres wide. With no visible vents or tubing, I swim down to the decoration in the centre of the tank. It's a model of a reef; the real thing wouldn't survive in the warm salt-free water. Air bubbled out of three separate cones of the reef, and pressing my mouth over one gave me a lungful of air. This is how the pretend mermaids can breathe; it isn't news to me. I need to figure out which coral tubes pull the water in and out to filter and heat it. I'm unsure what to do with the information, but I want to know it.
I've got to do something, right?
Otherwise, I'm going to be bored out of my mind.
Chapter twenty-five
Leo
Iam worried sick about Kai, and all his family has been able to do is sit in a tank of water. Now that Kai’s human form is back, I need to search for him, but I have no idea where to look first.
“Leo. I understand how you feel.” The family matriarch places her hand on my shoulder. I want to snap that she has no idea, but I bit my tongue. She was young and in love once. She met a was cursed to spend his nights in another form. I'm sure this family has seen many nights where a loved one has stayed out too long and been forced to shelter in the ocean. But I haven't.
“He will come home.”
“They put him in a box. What if he’s in a sealed tank?”
“Are the tanks there sealed?”
“Well, no,” I confess. “I expect they would have thrown him in the open tank. But he’s still trapped in the marine centre.”
“If anyone is going to be stuck out overnight, it will be him. His soul belongs to the sea.” Rogan sympathises.
“I don't understand.” My knees buckle, and I drop down into the chair. “You all belong to the sea.”
“No. We all belong to the curse, but that boy belongs in the sea. He spends so much time under the water; I swear he’s more fish than boy.”
“Granny!” Jonus huffs. “That isn't helping.”
“I'm just telling the truth. The boy was born wet.”
“Leo, walk with me.” Nicholas turns, gesturing for me to join him. We all take turns cleaning the bay. Even if it's just an hour a week, the whole family pays our penance to the curse. As a boy, Kai would always tag along with whoever was diving.”
The fact that Kai can hold his breath for so long indicates how much time he spends under the water, but none of this stops me from worrying. A pep talk from the head of the family isn't going to help, although the break from the rest of the family does quieten my mind a little.
“I want to thank you for accepting me here so openly.”
“We know Kai's sexuality is different, but it doesn't change anything. You are as welcome as anyone who has fallen for a Briareus, even if you did start out with the enemy.”
“Kai said how much you hate the Research centre, and I understand why.”
“Nicholas,” a frantic voice calls as footsteps chase us down the long hall. “Uncle Nick.”
