Mark Del Franco - Undone Deeds

A sound like laughter rippled across my mind. Neither am I. We will need no boat.

I edged toward the water and peered into the darkness. Something moved beneath the surface, wellings of silvery flesh sliding by—and sliding by and sliding by. Melusine wasn’t a merrow. In polite conversation, she was referred to as a mermaid. In reality, in her natural form, she was a huge serpent with a bad temper.

A set of fins coasted by. Despite asking me to meet her, she was using her form to intimidate me. At least, that was what I thought, so maybe I was intimidated. Her silvered length sank deeper beneath the surface, and I lost track of her.

“Melusine?”

The soft slap of water against the boats answered me. A ripple trailed across the water, and Melusine’s head broke the surface. Her face hadn’t changed though it had grown in proportion to her body. At first, she appeared to be a nude woman rising from the water, straight into the air, her pale skin glittering with moisture in the darkness, deep gray aureoles marking almost vestigial breasts. Her hair shivered out in thick dark strands that stood out from her head and flowed down her back. She rose a few feet higher than her waist, revealing a thick swell of dark gray scales. She agitated the water around her, several yards of her tail writhing to keep her afloat.

I have made contact with someone within the mist wall, she sent.

“How? No one can get in from what I’ve been told,” I said.

Look at me, Connor Grey. I am not “no one.” The wall does not recognize me, she sent.

Essence barriers were keyed to prevent specific types of essence from passing through. Their level of sophistication depended on the skill and ability of the creator. If someone had never encountered a specific body signature, it wasn’t possible to defend against it. Melusine took her name from the progenitor of her race. It was within the realm of possibility that she was the original Melusine, which would make her centuries old. In either case, it wasn’t likely that whoever created the mist wall had ever encountered someone like her.

“What does this have to do with the merrow’s death?”

Redemption. I made a mistake thinking Bastian was responsible for the murders. Eorla no longer trusts me, and I would find her trust again.

“It was a pretty big mistake,” I said.

I agree. I strove to uncover the truth, and I found something more. Someone in the mist wall is willing to trade information for gain, she sent.

“So why tell me?” I asked.

She shifted in the water, her torso sinking so that we were eye to eye. Eorla will listen to you. Will you help me?

I stared at her face, strangely beautiful in the midst of her ropy hair. I had believed her when she pointed me toward the Consortium because the conclusion had been plausible. Bastian would have killed his own men to save an operation. I moved to the edge of the dock. “Who’s out there, Melusine? I know that mist wall is the work of the Seelie Court. Who would betray Maeve at this late date?”

She leaned closer. He does not want his name known until you speak. If you do not go, he fears you will reveal him, she sent.

I knew how these things went. Espionage and counterespionage were delicate games of feints and promises built more on trust than hope. Someone highly placed couldn’t let it be known that he had decided to betray his queen. He would operate through a chain, each link in that chain depending on the strength of the next, risking all yet protecting the whole.

Connor? Time grows short, Melusine sent.

I nodded. “He’s out there in the mist?”

Melusine leaned down, the scent of the sea washing over me. He will show you what Maeve is planning.

I didn’t like it. Melusine had been wrong about Bastian. Regaining Eorla’s favor was in her interest, but helping her didn’t seem to be in mine. Going into the mist wall was like entering the lair of the lion, but this lion wouldn’t be sleeping.

“I said I don’t like boats.”

She reached out her hand, the fingers long and tipped with sharp gray talons. I will bring you personally. My essence will mask your passage.

I decided to believe her. The tides of war always turned on fortune. Maeve had enough enemies in the States. It wasn’t beyond comprehension that she had enemies at Tara—maybe even Ceridwen’s underground opposition.

I took Melusine’s moist hand, hard muscle like wet marble beneath the skin pressing against my palm. Melusine twisted, presenting her back to me. I coiled her hair in my other hand, its texture like bulbous seaweed. Something splashed out in the water, and I paused. “What was that?”

Melusine turned, her head winding on her neck farther than natural. We must hurry before we are discovered.

I loved her eyes, the glitter in their depths like a promise of home. Their phosphorescent glow assured me that she understood the water like no one else. “I thought I heard something.”

I pulled myself onto her back, my feet finding loose purchase among the strands of hair and fins.

Use your knees to steady yourself, she sent.

Another noise caught my attention as I adjusted my position. My sensing ability kicked in, and the area glowed with essence, the silky pale green of the water, the blue-white of barnacles and crustaceans embedded in the pilings and dock, and deep emerald streaks coursing under the water—the large streaks of several body signatures. Startled, my grip slipped, my hand slick on her skin. “Melusine!” I said.

She drifted from the dock as my legs lost their purchase. They are my protectors. Remain calm.

As the gap of water between us and the pier grew, panic and fear of the water overcame me. I flung myself off her and caught the edge of the floating dock, my fingers clawing at the rough wood as my feet kicked water. The splashing of Melusine recoiling her body filled the air. I was soaked as I pulled myself onto the dock. Down at the other end, a merrow hauled himself half-out of the water, propping himself up with massive hands, his hatchet-shaped face arcing over the dock. I spun back to Melusine. “We’ve got trouble.”

She undulated forward, settling part of her bulk on the dock, her arms held out in supplication. ’Tis nothing, m’love, but the sea and me. Come now, the hour grows late.

My head grew heavy and clouded with a feeling like sleepiness. Melusine smiled down at me, gesturing me forward with her hands. She was so beautiful in the light, her eyes so deep, her voice so sweet. Her fingers curled with a mesmerizing slowness, beckoning me with longing and desire. Her essence wafted over me, a sweet mix of salt and water. I wanted to hold her, wanted her to hold me. Her essence slipped into mine, touching my body essence, and I shivered.

The stone in my mind flared like a punch inside my skull. I hunched forward in pain, falling out of Melusine’s embrace. I stumbled to the dock. It rocked beneath me as Melusine shifted closer. What’s wrong, m’love? Come to me. I will soothe your cares.

Nausea rippled through me, and I wretched as her true scent reached my nose in a pungent stew of decay. As I lifted my head, I saw another merrow had joined the first, their wild black hair lank around their shoulders. I shook my head, trying to make sense of things. The stone flared again, flushing Melusine’s essence away. Confused, I rolled on my back.

Melusine towered over me, her serpentine body sliding across the deck. “What the hell are you doing?” I asked.

She didn’t answer but swiped at me with a taloned hand. My body shield activated as I scrambled to my feet. A wave of her essence enveloped me. Come, m’love, I will love you forever.