Castle of Spells (Island of Fog Book 9) by Keith Robinson

Author:Keith Robinson
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Unearthly Tales
Published: 2014-08-17T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Finding Seth

Seeing that Lola the lamia was floundering, Hal eased up underneath her and gave her a solid platform to stand on. She stood shaking and gasping as he trod water, a raft with huge leathery wings sticking up on either side like sails.

But the simurgh wouldn’t let up in its quest to taunt and harass him. It swooped down again, dive-bombing him, and Hal sighed before ducking under and dropping his new friend in the sea again. Mindful that the triton was loitering somewhere, he waited until the simurgh’s shadow passed overhead, then bobbed back to the surface where Lola splashed and panted. This time he offered her his tail, waving it in her face and making it obvious she should hang on.

She gripped hard, and he began paddling. He felt a little ridiculous, but he needed her. And right now she needed him.

When the simurgh came around, Hal ducked under and dragged her down with him. She let go immediately and went back to floundering. Growing impatient, Hal waited until the simurgh was gone, then reverted to his human form and swam to join her.

“You have to hang on,” he gasped.

“I can’t hold my breath like you can,” she said, her teeth chattering.

He had to assume she was more scared than cold. “We can’t stay out here all day,” he told her. The beach was some way off, but the cliff loomed over them. No doubt Queen Bee was up there right now, looking down on him and ordering her drones to attack. What else did she have in store? “If you can hang on, I’ll drag you away from here. Where should we head for? Where’s Seth?”

“We’ll never make it with Simmy flying around,” she moaned. “And I’m so weak, I don’t think I can stay above the water much longer.”

“Sure you can,” he said shortly. Unable to contain his curiosity, he said, “Hey, is Simmy really his name? Simmy the simurgh?”

She grimaced, looking annoyed. “He only chose that blood sample because he liked the word on the label. Turns out he chose well.”

The simurgh was returning. Hal sighed. This routine was getting old.

At that moment, a hand gripped his ankle and yanked hard. The triton! He went under and nearly took in a mouthful of seawater as he flailed and kicked. He was about to transform when a face appeared in front of his—only it wasn’t the triton’s ugly mug. This face was beautiful and blue-eyed with long blond hair.

Miss Simone? he mouthed, astonished.

She smiled and pointed. He looked and did a double take.

Dozens of mermaids stared up at him from the depths of the sea. They floated silently, each very different but equally pretty. Blondes, redheads, brunettes, all draped with layers of thin, gauzy material that looked a little like sparkling seaweed. Miss Simone was the only one with a silky green dress and cloak, but even those had altered slightly to better suit her mermaid form and seemed to blend in perfectly with the mysterious underwater theme.

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