The Merman and the Barbarian Pirate (2 page)

Seventeen years later

The human wading across the pool toward Raef was naked. Moonlight silvered his long limbs and the firm muscles of his torso, while ripples of water kissed his taut belly and the lickable lines of his hips. Raef desired this tall, dark vision of loveliness to come ravish him, tail and all. He'd hold the man tightly and never let him go.

This man was perfect. He was Raef's love—Raef's prince. At least, he was this afternoon. Raef hadn't thought of a name for the fellow yet and wished he could conjure that handsome face more distinctly. While he'd no experience of the act humans performed to reach the highest peaks of euphoria, which he must shift into human form to achieve, his body ached for that intimacy. He ran his tongue around his lips, craving to receive his fantasy man's kiss, yearning to feel those strong arms around him, the press of flesh against flesh…

"Raef!"

The shout tore Raef from his happy daydream. He opened his eyes with a startled bat of his lashes, and reality splashed back. Far from basking under the open stars with a beauty of his choosing, he was in his least favorite place:  his tribe's meeting hall, which was a vast chamber of black rock that filled the main crater of the underwater volcano. And one of his least favorite fellow mermen was calling him.

"Last item on the agenda for the day—I summon Raef!" The deep voice of Galyna, chieftain of the mer elders, reverberated around the space into which the whole tribe had crammed for their once-a-moon-cycle meeting. Galyna raised his great trident, in which his power as tribe leader was vested, and his beard trembled like froth whipped in the breeze. "My third cousin's nephew, Raef. Where is he?"

Dozens of silvery-tailed, pearly-fleshed merfolk spun about looking for Raef. Their luscious hair swirled in a spectrum of reds, golds, and browns. Raef lurked under the shadows of the crater's walls, wishing he could scuttle into the nearest crevice like a lobster. He'd never spoken at a tribe gathering, let alone been summoned before the elders. He wasn't interested in the many rules and regulations Galyna had imposed on the tribe in recent years, other than in pretending they weren't for him.

"Say something," hissed Ali, Raef's brunet friend, who floated beside him. Ali twitched the feathered tips of his tailfins, a sure sign he was stressed. "Go forward, or you'll get into trouble."

If Galyna was summoning Raef, he feared he was already in trouble. While he waved his hand and called falteringly, "I'm here," he couldn't fathom why. He'd not done anything rash lately. At least, nothing anybody knew about. His tail felt heavy as granite as he propelled himself through the parting merfolk, over the hot gaseous springs that bubbled at the center of the round hall. If Raef could've sweated underwater, he would have. On the far side, Galyna sat in a throne encrusted with shells. He was flanked by the rest of the elders; an array of brawny mer warriors who carried pikes. Some wore jeweled rings in their nipples. As Raef swam closer, Galyna's bushy brows knitted so tightly they formed a single white bar of hair.

"Ah, there you are," said Galyna. "Since you left the schoolroom, you've hardly made a ripple in these waters. You have not volunteered to become a warrior, nor have you consulted any of the elders about seeking a position of power in the tribe. What have you been doing this past year?"

To tell the full truth was impossible. Raef had passed too many an hour hankering after the kind of life that Galyna condemned. He adored paddling on the ocean's surface and watching the sailing ships navigating near the treacherous reefs that surrounded the territories of the mer. He'd not even told Ali about the time he'd watched a great vessel moor near the harbor of one of nearby islands, which were known collectively as the Isles of Scilly. He'd followed the sailors onto land and waited 'til the sun dipped beyond the horizon, so he could shift into his fully human form. Crouching naked and bare-footed beneath the windows of a dockside alehouse, he'd ogled the fellows while they made merry and sang. He'd even envied the barmaids, who had sat upon on their knees.

He couldn't confess that, so half the story would have to suffice. Plucking up courage, he found his voice. "I-I spend my days seeking sunken human artifacts for Ali to sell on his stall in the bazaar. Last week, I found the most fabulous chest of patterned china, and only half of it was brok—"

"Enough!" Galyna shook his head. "You lie to me, boy. You've been spotted day after day chasing humans in their boats, disappearing for hours. There can only be one explanation. Your poor late mother was a very bad influence on you. After years of education, after everything I've told you—you, my boy, still hanker after the old ways of the mer. The unwise ways."

"I don't," said Raef. "Not exactly. I'm very careful not to be seen."

"Ah, but if you saw the right human maid, you would reveal yourself to her, wouldn't you?"

"I swear I would not." Raef's cheeks heated. It wasn't a lie; he'd no interest in pretty women. However, he would reveal himself to the right man.

Galyna tugged his beard crossly. "Mer should never mix with humans. Yes, we can assume their form, but that is strictly for breeding purposes, mer on mer. Up close, humans are never as beautiful as us mer, and neither are they to be trusted. Too many of our kind have swam off to chase love, never to be seen again. And remember my poor sister Lucinda, who fell for a kluggite and followed her foolish heart? No sooner had the rogue taken her aboard his vessel, the Navy captured them, and dragged them back to England. She was hanged beside him on Plymouth Hoe."

Raef shuddered, though Lucinda's tragedy couldn't overwrite the traditional stories he treasured. He'd made a promise to his poor mother, who'd given up on life far too young, that he'd seek love—preferably with a handsome noble who owned a castle wrought of pure gold. Since Galyna came to power, such happy narratives had been banned, which was horribly unfair. It wasn't as if Raef wanted to throw in his lot with an ugly kluggite.

"When I rose to be chieftain of this tribe," continued Galyna, "I vowed to preserve our race, and specifically this tribe, by curbing the reckless tendencies among our young. You, Raef, are foolhardy. You will throw yourself at a human sooner or later and get yourself killed. Therefore, I have decided you should marry my ward, Henna. A wife and half a dozen mouths to feed should stop you wandering."

"No! I can't!" Raef's cry was born of horror. He'd expected some penalty—perhaps to be forced to train as a warrior, as he'd demonstrated a little skill in combat at school. Marriage he dreaded far more, though catching sight of Henna—waiting, head bowed, behind the throne with her dark hair floating across her pale face—he regretted the violence of his tone. Poor Henna. She was a shy girl who crafted exquisite necklaces made from rock and colored quartz. She deserved somebody who'd adore her.

"What do you mean by this defiance?" Galyna surged forward from his throne, raising his trident as if to strike Raef down with a thunderbolt.

"I'm sorry." Raef trembled, not least because Galyna could wield the magical power of that trident if he chose. "Henna is a very lovely maid, but I don't believe she loves me, and—"

"Love?" bellowed Galyna. "Marriage in this tribe is no longer anything to do with your outmoded ideas of love. They bring nothing but grief. Now go." Galyna sank back down into his seat, as if despairing of Raef. "Get out of my sight, boy. You will apologize to Henna, and we will begin the preparations for your wedding forthwith."

Arguing would be fruitless. Raef turned and swam, slicing straight up and out of the simmering crater, not daring look anyone in the eye. He rushed onward almost blindly, nearly colliding with a group of hunting seals. One of them bellowed, and he was too upset to apologize. He burst through the surface into the summer sunshine. Fresh air struck his skin, and after the pressure of deep water, its lightness momentarily disoriented him. He shook himself, sending droplets sprinkling from his long hair as the horrible truth seeped through him.

Raef supposed Galyna meant well, but because so many mer swam away to pursue love with humans—and especially because of his sister, who'd met her sad end—the chieftain had banned all contact with land-dwellers. Raef knew that couldn't be right. Galyna’s rules were an overreaction. After all, not all humans were kluggites. Merfolk were passionate and instinctual beings, and it wasn't surprising they were drawn to humans. That was the form that mer assumed to procreate… and to seek the bodily union between males that Raef craved.

Even worse, Galyna had condemned romantic love altogether. He expected mermen and maids to pair up on his command. If Raef obeyed him, he'd never find his heart's desire, so only one solution presented itself to him. If he wanted to keep his promise to his mother, he must leave his home.

He blinked toward horizon, clearing the water from his eyes and lashes. A couple of rocky outcrops defied the ocean's rolling surface, and he discerned the hazy shore of the island in the distance. No ships for him to chase today, and it would take a long swim to reach any mainland coast.

"Out there somewhere," he whispered, "there is a man I can love and who will love me in return. Whether he is human or mer, I must seek him."

He was about to squeeze his eyes shut and pray to the gods of the oceans to bless his voyage, when Ali emerged a yard off, arms flailing and splashing water everywhere. "There you are," panted Ali. He came to the surface less often than Raef, and so was unused to breathing through the mouth instead of his gills. "What on earth are you going to do about your wedding?"

"You know the truth of me and my love of men," murmured Raef. A salty wind cleaved through them, stinging his cheeks and whipping up his hair. "You're the only one who does. But not only is lying with other men uncommon in this tribe, I'm forbidden to choose my love at all, mer or human. I have to go."

A dark shadow seemed to flit across Ali's boyish countenance, a depth of sorrow that startled Raef. It vanished soon enough. Ali nodded his acceptance.

"Don't do anything silly, Raef." He quirked a rueful smile, indicating he knew his friend's nature—impetuous even by mer standards—all too well. "Be careful around land folk, and don't get stranded too far from the sea. Even a mer as strong as you can't remain long in human form without suffering. Remember, there's only one of Galyna's laws you actually need to heed, because it’s the most sensible one—don't get tangled with kluggites. And I wouldn't recommend falling for anyone at first sight. Watch them a little first."

"I'll never get embroiled with kluggites." Raef's stomach roiled at the prospect. He couldn't think of anything more distant from the fair nobleman he sought than a gruesome pirate. "But otherwise, I must seek my destiny."

"Yes, I know," replied Ali. "You don't belong here. You're too… free. I'm not sure you'd belong in any single boring place, even without all these new laws. I'll never forget you, though."

"You're so kind." Raef flung his arms around Ali's neck and buried his face in Ali's narrow shoulder. He snatched a last moment of comfort before he made his plans to flee. The gentle waves lapped them, a sweet liquid caress, and Ali hugged him harder.

"Farewell," whispered Raef, as emotion clogged his throat. He was sad to leave Ali and hoped they'd meet again in happier climes. "I must go very soon, while the weather remains fair. But I'll miss you. Live well, my friend."

 Three days later, Raef crawled up a shingle beach, bruised from head to tailfins by the battering of wind and waves. His hands and elbows tore as they grazed over the shingle, and he'd not the energy left to flinch. His hair was plastered over his face and eyes. He didn't give a damn where he was, so long as he could rest a while.

He'd started his journey with what seemed like a solid plan: to swim northeast to seek the southern coast of the great land of England, where he'd heard many fine nobles dwelled. The weather had proven treacherous. A few hours into his journey, the sky had transformed from azure blue to a brooding gray. The wind had lashed up a tempest that had sent him diving deep, losing track of sun, moon, and stars, as well as any chance to navigate. He'd struggled on with little respite, swept by powerful currents and snatching spells of sleep in murky, submerged caverns, which never felt safe. When finally he'd surfaced, he'd been so drained of strength that the swell had tossed him like driftwood onto this stony strip between two jagged headlands.

After a few minutes, Raef gathered the wherewithal to swipe his sodden hair from his brow and lift his head. He licked his cracked lips, scanned the vista before him, and wondered if he'd landed in one of his wildest dreams.

Beyond the beach, a track meandered up a grassy slope dotted with a few lone trees and some white animals that walked on four legs. A castle—a
real
castle!—stood at the top of the incline, fronted with sweeping steps and topped with crenellations and turrets. A dozen large windows stared down at him, opaque as fish eyes. Nobody appeared to be about, but hearth light glowed from one of a cluster of fishermen's cottages that skirted the shingle. A short distance to his left, a wooden jetty extended out into the waves with a single rowing boat moored alongside. A couple more small ships had been pulled up on the beach, their masts creaking in the wind.