In some ways Gwen wished she possessed the sensuality both her sisters exhibited without any inhibitions whatsoever. Both Tessa and Addison were sexually unreserved, easily accepting their bodies, including the scale pattern etched into their skin. Gwen personally couldn’t stand hers, viewing it as the mark of Cain. It made her stand out, look different from the rest of the people she lived around and worked beside.
It was often a trial and inconvenience to conceal it—especially during the hot summers when everyone wore shorts and T-shirts. She supposed she looked odd in her long-sleeved blouses, buttoned to the chin and cuffed within an inch of her life. Truth be told she hadn’t even put on a bathing suit since she’d started puberty. Human girls had to deal with menstrual cycles and acne. Mers had to deal with the emergence of their scale patterns and psi-kinetic abilities.
Fitting in, being normal, was all that had ever mattered to her. She didn’t want to be extraordinary in the way many people longed to be. The need to be noticed, stand out in the crowd, wasn’t a part of her personality. She liked being invisible, being plain old Gwen.
Plain, old Gwen, the old maid,
her mind filled in. Unless she ditched her hang-ups, and quickly, she’d be the oldest virgin mermaid on the face of the earth. The idea of spending her whole life alone wasn’t exactly appealing.
She snuck a glance toward Whittaker. For the first time in a long time she found herself attracted to a man. He had all the qualities she found irresistible in human males. She wondered what would have happened if that last terrible Saturday hadn’t occurred. Had everything gone as expected, perhaps they would have gotten to have that dinner.
It was easy to imagine they might have hit it off, too.
Instead of showing her pictures of his little boy on a flight to Virginia, they could have bonded over steaks and red wine. And if the dinner had gone well, she could have invited him down for the weekend from Boston—kid and all. She liked children. Had even imagined having a few kids of her own someday. Whittaker’s son was a cute little boy. Any daughters he helped produce would be pretty, especially with his coal black hair and eyes that reminded her of a half-clouded sky.
She sighed. With no prospects in sight, it was easy to get carried away in her fantasies.
Ignoring her sister’s warning, Addison tagged the handsome young doctor with her elbow. “I’ll show you my scale pattern if you show me some skin.”
Dr. Novak blushed ten shades of red. “Ah, I’d like that. Um, I think.” His brow wrinkled. “What’s a scale pattern?”
Addison started to explain. Fortunately Dr. Yadira cut her short. “We have plenty of time to discuss those things.” Her words were brisk and laced with impatience. She waved her hand, motioning for everyone to follow her through a large set of double-glass doors. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to move things along.”
Everyone nodded. Of course.
Pressing a single finger to her lips, Gwen shot a warning look at her younger sister, reinforcing it with a vigorous shake of her head. Oh, heavens. It was a good thing Addison wasn’t the keeper of any state secrets. She’d hand them over just to make time with a cute man.
In the back of her mind she had to admit Novak was really good-looking.
Addison responded by sticking out her tongue.
Gwen rolled her eyes. Mature. Really mature.
Novak continued to grin. He was clearly taken with Addison. Had they met under any other circumstance, Gwen would have encouraged them to get together. Having a doctor in the family would be terrific.
She snuck another peek at Whittaker. Wouldn’t hurt her feelings to have a special agent in the family either.
Well, she could dream, couldn’t she?
She sighed. Probably not going to happen. Right now the best she could possibly hope for was that they would someday be allowed to return to their own lives.
Until then, nothing in her world would be right.
Suppressing a shiver, Gwen forced herself to concentrate on what lay ahead.
Chapter 11
T
he work area Yadira escorted them into was huge, sterile, and absolutely cold. The entire place seemed to be made of tile, steel, and glass, stark white with touches of silver. The filtered air held no scent. There was a lot of medical equipment, some of it familiar, other pieces not so much. By the looks of it, the place could equip any major medical facility.
The most compelling piece of equipment stood at the rear of the lab, a huge tank filled with water.
The fine hairs on the back of Gwen’s neck prickled even as goose bumps raced across her skin. She absorbed its meaning in a single glance. An observation tank. One that would allow scientists to view and study the inhabitants from all angles.
The burning pressure of tears suddenly built behind her eyes. There was no doubt whatsoever in her mind that the tank was for the captive Mer.
There’s no damn way they’re ever going to get me into that thing.
Head spinning with a thousand different thoughts, she struggled to hang on to her composure.
Three of the Mer who had attacked the island lay on examination tables. As Thompson had warned, they were strapped in place, unable to move arms or legs. Doctors buzzed all around them, checking pulses, temperatures, and other vital signs. Several samples of blood were drawn from each.
Gwen’s eyes widened. The women were totally out of it, barely semiconscious. They gazed straight ahead with dull eyes that didn’t seem to comprehend a single thing. The procedures being performed on them were invasive, and they had no chance to protest.
She studied their vague expressions. As much as she didn’t like them or even want to look at them, she couldn’t help feeling sorry for their plight. The skin around her wrists tingled. She’d had a taste of being bound against her will and she hadn’t liked it one little bit. It was humiliating to be tied down like a dog. She wouldn’t wish their situation on her worst enemy.
Throat tightening, her vision wavered.
I wish they’d just leave us alone
.
At first glance their bodies appeared to be nothing but scales from head to toe. It took her a moment to realize the Mer women were clothed in some kind of form-fitting outfits, much like a spandex bodysuit. She squinted, recognizing the material as fish leather. Stranger still was the fact their heads were shaved. Only a Mohawklike strip remained. On one side of each woman’s scalp was a small tattoo.
Thompson indicated that the visitors could approach the Mer. “Can you identify these women?”
Snapping out of her thoughts, Gwen forced herself to focus.
With Kenneth at her heels, Tessa stepped up to one of the semiconscious women, looking closely at her face. “I recognize this one,” she announced after a minute’s examination. “In Ishaldi I knew her as Doma Chiara. She is a priestess and one of Queen Magaera’s soldiers.”
“You’re sure of her identity?” Thompson asked.
Tessa nodded. “Considering she tried to kill me and Ken, yeah, I couldn’t forget her face.” She looked at the Mer strapped on the next table. “Yeah, her. I know her. Her name is Raisa, and she serves as one of the queen’s councilors.”
“And the third woman?” Yadira prompted as one of her assistants scribbled furiously on a pad.
Tessa looked. “I don’t recognize her.” She frowned and shook her head. “Just another of the queen’s soldiers, I suppose.”
Thompson nodded. “So we can consider them as hostiles?”
Tessa took a deep breath, clearly thinking over her answer before she spoke. “Yes, I would say that would be a correct assumption. There’s no doubt in my mind they would have killed everyone once they recaptured me.”
To catch the doctors up on the reasons behind the attack, Blake Whittaker briefly sketched out the details he’d learned the day the Mer attacked. “They seem to want Tessa back to regain control of the sea-gate,” he finished.
Listening closely, Dr. Novak stepped up. “Are you telling me that you physically commanded the sea-gate to match your psychic resonance?”
Tessa shrugged helplessly. “Really, I’m not sure what I did. In order to crack the crystalline shell that was covering the entrance, I pulled a lot of energy out of the labradorite pillars lining the chamber.”
“Jake said that’s what seemed to supersize her Mercraft,” Kenneth added. “She burned them out trying to get through that thing.”
Everyone could practically hear the wheels in Novak’s mind turning. “Though we’ve never proved the existence of wormholes in space, the general theory holds that their energy is electromagnetic.”
“So Massey was right when he said that’s what the sea-gate is?” Whittaker asked. “An actual honest-to-god portal between two worlds.”
Novak shook his head. “I’m tending to lean that way, but unless I were able to view the sea-gate for myself, I couldn’t be sure. And since it’s miles under the ocean and supposedly destroyed . . .” He paused midsentence, switching to another track. “Do you think you could draw me some sort of picture of the temple?” he asked Tessa.
Tessa nodded. “I’m not the best artist in the world, but I could give you a rough idea.”
“I didn’t see the outside, but I was inside it,” Kenneth added. “I could help.”
Novak flashed a smile. “Excellent. If I can get some rough drawings, I can digitize them and turn them into a 3-D representation of the undersea temple and sea-gate. I’ll even try replicating the destruction of the temple, to see if that will give us a clearer idea of what’s happening with the phenomena right now.”
Thompson clapped the young scientist on the shoulder. “Excellent idea. Get to work as soon as possible.”
“I should have something ready in about a week.” Novak motioned for Tessa and Kenneth to follow him. “If you will please come this way, I’ll get you some paper and pencils to work with. If you need a sketch artist, I can have one flown in for you.”
“That would be even better,” Kenneth said. “Since I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler.”
The three disappeared, exiting the main lab.
Addison watched the cute young doctor disappear. “There goes the future father of my children.” She sighed.
Gwen rolled her eyes. “You wish.”
She turned her attention back to the bustle filling the lab. Dr. Yadira was working over one of the women Tessa had identified as Doma Chiara. Awake and aware of her surroundings, Chiara twisted violently against the restraints holding her in place.
Yadira moved to comfort and calm the rebellious Mer.
Going momentarily rigid with fear, Chiara’s lips peeled away from her teeth. Then she snapped, biting, thrashing, and lunging against her restraints with every ounce of strength she possessed. Eyes narrowed with hate, a stream of angry words spewed from her mouth.
Dr. Yadira jumped back as several of the other doctors rushed in to try to calm the frantic woman.
They couldn’t get near her.
Chiara settled her gaze on the nearest man. A single word tore past her lips. Some invisible force slammed against the man’s chest, propelling him backward with incredible strength and speed. He struck the wall full on, sliding to the floor in an unconscious heap.
Even though Tessa had told both her and Addison about the Mer, Gwen hadn’t wanted to believe a word her sister said. How could the Mer—her own people!—be such savage, hateful creatures?
A syringe was produced, filled with a clear substance. “I don’t think we can get close enough,” one of the doctors called.
Yadira turned to Gwen. “Is there a way to control the psi-kinetic abilities without sedation?” Her voice was laced with panic.
Another guttural sound of rage poured up from Chiara’s throat.
A shiver shook Gwen. The idea of disarming a fully empowered—and enraged—Mer was something she didn’t fancy taking a shot at.
Somehow she found her voice. “We need to take her soul-stone.” She reached for the crystal hanging at the base of her own throat. It felt oddly cool to her touch.
“How?” Yadira called.
She thought quickly, and before she knew what she was saying, she blurted, “I’ll take care of this.”
Addison gaped at her in alarm. “Do you even know how to deactivate another Mer’s soul-stone?” she demanded.
Gwen recalled the bits and pieces she remembered from Tessa’s own account of her experience with Queen Magaera. If equal in strength, two Mer would simply neutralize each other. She had to be a little bit stronger. In any case, she didn’t have a choice. Someone had to do something, and she’d stepped up to the plate. All she could hope was that her hit would be the one that won the game.
“It’s my will over hers,” she shot back. “Whoever is strongest will win.”
Grasping the stone she wore, Gwen forced herself to focus, mentally striking out to find and latch onto Chiara’s psychic vibrations. It wasn’t hard to find. An aura of terrible black rage surrounded the Mer from head to foot. She had literally cloaked herself in hate, sucking in every ounce of energy her body possessed to fling it toward the despised humans.
Because she hadn’t been able to reenergize herself during her captivity, there was a chink in Chiara’s psychic armor. She had only a little bit of strength to give, and it wouldn’t last long.
All Gwen had to do was wear her down.
I can do this.
The rebel Mer immediately felt the connection.
Chiara struck out, sending a blinding mental blow whizzing toward Gwen.
Unable to avoid taking the hit, Gwen felt it strike her squarely between the eyes, penetrating her skull until it struck the very center of her brain. An electric wave flashed over her entire body.
A smile curled Chiara’s lips. In English, she said, “You may be Mer, but you are hardly strong enough to stop one of the true-bred.”
Gwen forced herself to keep standing. A wave of panic flashed through her, giving her a glimpse of the terror awaiting the loser.