Page 38 of Midnightsong
Too far back, revealing sand and rocks beneath.
A large wave rose and crashed over her head, knocking her back onto her knees.
Angie whimpered as she interlaced her fingers around the back of her head and tucked her chin, digging her toes in the ground.
Screams arose from around her and she scrambled back to her feet.
Another tidal wave was coming, this one looking like a meteotsunami.
Water dotted and blurred her vision. She wiped her eyes and froze where she was.
Three mer surfaced. Two mermaids, one merman. The markings on their shoulders denoted them as royal sentinels.
More screams, and the waves crashed down on them. Before Angie’s eyes, the dogfish wiggled her way back in the receding water.
The three teenagers stared, a mixture of fear and awe clear on their expressions. In unison, the mer reared their arms back, and in the blink of an eye, had hurled spears toward the three teens.
They yelled something in Renyuhua, and they spoke too fast for Angie to understand a single word.
Tremors seized Angie’s muscles, and she broke into a cold sweat, breaths coming out in shallow gasps.
Was one of those spears meant for her?
No, the sentinels’ aim was true to their targets.
The girl was speared through her chest, and with blood dripping from her lips, she collapsed to her side, unmoving.
Another tidal wave swept onto the coast, this one carrying driftwood, logs, and twigs. In the ensuing chaos, Angie felt as if her legs were cemented into the ground. The sentinels let two more spears attached to ropes fly.
They speared the taller boy through his side and the shorter one through his shoulder.
The boys screamed as the sentinels pulled them into the water.
“Mer! Oh shit!” A horrified scream came from another young woman standing off to the side. A log hit the woman, and she collapsed, holding her head and gritting her teeth.
Some people were filming the whole ordeal. Others stayed back, faces paled with shock.
A middle-aged couple rushed to the shore but backed off before getting too close to the shoreline.
Other beachgoers ran for their lives.
In her immediate field of vision, the last of the mer disappeared beneath the surface without giving her a second glance.
Her knees were weak, as if they would give out from under her at any moment, and she looked over to the now-calm seas. Angie searched for the dogfish, but she was gone, likely safe again beneath the waves.
Her limbs and core were numb and the world blurred around her.
She couldn’t stop staring at the sea. It was eerily calm, as if the mer had never been there.
Sixteen
Kaden
Kaden had a vague idea ofwhat he would say to the council as he swam to the queendom. He had been feeling a touch stronger, testing his endurance and stopping when fatigue set in.
He reached the village closest to the palace and came across a group of sentinels and warriors ushering citizens out of their homes. Escorted by another sentinel, they sent the citizens away, a family of mer with black and white tails, despite the citizens’ clear protests.
Three armed sentinels patrolled the area.
