Ink: A Dark Waters Mermaid Tale by Melanie Karsak

Author:Melanie Karsak [Karsak, Melanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clockpunk Press
Published: 2015-06-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Club Blue, a nightclub housed in a building that Manx described as an Art Deco masterpiece, sat along the strip in South Beach. While I had no interest in the human architecture, the third-floor office where Manx was meeting with two armed mermen had a fabulous view of the ocean just across the street. It was already midday, and the sun was high in the sky. I watched the scantily clad human women, over-muscular men, and sagging elderly humans moving across the beach. They were so excited to be by the ocean. It surprised me. I hadn’t known humans could love the sea as I did, could relish playing among the waves. It perplexed me. Humans were strange creatures. Those I’d ever gotten close to were usually doing something wretched to our world. These people, however, were not unlike us.

I touched the sun-warmed glass. The human children were so joyful, so happy to come to the seaside. They squealed with excitement, running along the surf on chubby little legs, laughing joyfully when the waves broke against them. Who knew humans were capable of such joy?

“Would you like to try coffee?” Pangi asked, pushing a cup of steaming black liquid toward me.

I shook my head. The smell of the liquid nauseated me, but the others seemed to have adapted. Pangi had been toting around a mug of the drink with her since she woke. Even Manx was sipping a cup, careful not to spill any on his crisp, white shirt.

“I’ll find you something else then,” Pangi said then drifted away. She seemed distracted.

My skin itched, and my whole body ached. I felt like I was drying out. In centuries past, mers used to spend more time on land. We interacted more freely among the humans. Now our movements were limited. It was decreed that we were safer under the waves. Maybe we’d done ourselves a disservice. Would it be better if we spent more time on land? I wasn’t so sure how I felt about it anymore.

I sat down at Manx’s desk. He was sitting on a couch across the room from me talking to the armed mermen in low, serious tones.

A moment later, Pangi returned. “Here you go,” she said, setting down the glass of water. “I’m going to go downstairs to the kitchens to bring you and Manx some breakfast.” In the bright sunlight, her hair looked even rosier than it had the night before.

Propping my elbows on the desk, I pressed the palms of my hands against my eyes. The sunlight was giving me a headache. When I pulled my hands away, my elbows pushed some papers across Manx desk, causing the glass to wobble. I grabbed it, but not before some water spilled.

I looked up. Manx hadn’t noticed. Something told me he wouldn’t be pleased. I grabbed a napkin from a tray nearby and then started to clean up the water. Papers shifted from a closed folder to reveal a pile of photographs. All of the photos were of Hal.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.