Page 117 of Oceansong
The mer took their chance. Neither the mer nor the humans that went under came back up unless they floated lifelessly.
Shots resumed. Lances and tridents flew.
More blood, more dead bodies sinking into the water. A handful of humans fell, bodies collapsing into the sand and staining it with ichor.
With each fallen mer, Serapha’s face fell further and further, eyes widening until her eyelashes reached her eyebrows.
Angie bolted. Ducked underwater, repeatedly waving one arm over her head so she would descend beneath their tails and then swam in breaststroke, breathing hard and fast as she made for the shoreline.
It was so close. She could see it. Had to take advantage of the adrenaline spike.
She prayed that Serapha was dealing with the deaths of her people to give chase to a wayward human.
Hands grabbed her ankles and pulled her back, and they surfaced.
“Beibei!” Bàba cried out. Now that she was close enough to shore, Angie heard him clearly.
With a low snarl, Serapha grabbed Angie and pressed her back to Serapha’s chest.
Angie shrieked as Serapha’s scaly tail moved around her waist and chest, starting to squeeze. Tighter, tighter.
In one hand, she held a trident. Serapha pierced the small of her back, and a scream tore from Angie’s throat. Any deeper, and it would reach past her muscles to the organs beneath. Serapha moved the weapon—slow, methodical, torturous.
“A shame my sentinel didn’t finish the job. I’ll ensure your death is slow and painful so your family can see what happens to landwalkers,” Serapha hissed in Angie’s ear.
Angie’s lower back muscles screamed in agony, and she forced in her breaths. She couldn’t take in enough air to retort something to Serapha. Water swirled beneath her feet, binding her ankles together. The trident peeled out of her back, and seawater seeped into her open wound. Tears sprung to her eyes, the pain returning and setting her on fire.
Bàba hollered a string of words, but they sounded muffled.
Nick’s words were clearer, somehow. “Move! She’s close enough. I can get a clear shot.”
On the verge of blacking out now, a sound like an exploding bomb rang through the open skies, a supersonic crack as a bullet ripped in their direction.
A mer cut out from the water beside her, taking the bullet, and crumpled like a rag.
Time seemed to still for a moment.
Angie recognized the maroon tail. The beautiful, thick dark hair.
She mustered enough energy to cry out, reaching for him. Heart split in two. “No, no, no.”
Serapha let out an ear-shattering scream, her hands flying to her mouth and releasing Angie. Tears fell from Angie’s eyes, and she suppressed her sobs, taking the opportunity to swim to safety before Serapha could finish her.
As she swam, Angie kept her head above water, looking to her family, her colleagues. Nick had lowered his gun, his eyes wild with rage. He lifted his shotgun, poised to shoot again.
A flurry of lances sailed over Angie’s head and impaled Nick. His eyes wide, he stumbled backward and fell flat on his back, unmoving.
Mia shoved her way through the wall of dock workers. She shrieked and rushed to Nick, catching him before he crashed to the ground.
Had Mia been here the whole time?
More yells and screams. The dock workers kept shooting. Hands grabbed Angie’s ankles, pulling her back to the mer horde so that she was side to side with a sentinel. A water wall came up around the surviving mer, growing thicker and thicker. An awesome, terrifying sight to behold. The mer swam closer and huddled together, keeping Angie close. Some shouted to Serapha, and when no more bullets came through, she allowed it to lower.
“Stop this madness!” Serapha cried out.
Salt burned Angie’s eyes, and through the haze, Bàba raised an arm, signaling the others to stop. The mer had crept closer to the shore, and now, both sides stayed at a standstill.
“I do not want to see more death.” Serapha sounded breathless. “You landwalkers may take the fish you need to survive. Only what’s needed for survival. As long as you stop this bloodshed. Decline, and I will kill her. Just like you killed my son and my lifemate.” She put an arm around Angie’s neck.
