Waters of Chaos Read online

Waters of Chaos

  by

  Claudette Gilbert

  Copyright © 2011 by Claudette Gilbert

  Click to read and comment on works in progress on my website at www.ClaudetteGilbert.com.

  Cover photo by © Iperl | Dreamstime.com.

  * * * * *

  Mandy

  Mandy found the mermaid seated on the deck outside Ivar's Fish Bar on Pier 54. The Fish Bar was a casual, walk-in adjunct to the more upscale Ivar's Restaurant next door. The mermaid sat facing the shore at one of the blue, metal-mesh tables at the end of the long, narrow open area on the edge of the pier. For the sunny but windy Seattle afternoon, fishgirl had glamoured a low cut pink tank top, tight jeans, and red-soled designer sandals with four-inch heels. Not bad for someone who didn't even have legs. The look went well with the long blonde hair and sea green eyes.

  The girl was good; Mandy had to give her that. Although the spell that allowed them to breathe air was the first any mer learned, this mermaid had to be powerful to hold the designer glamour while breathing as normally as any landlubber.

  But if Mandy put her mage-sense to work, she could see the slimy looking fishtail and the pointed teeth that bit into the plate of fried clams. Mage-sense also showed her the silver band just above the tail fins that marked this mer as the girlfriend—and possibly fiancé—of the mer Prince Dormolon.

  Mandy smoothed her businesslike white blouse and the navy blue trousers that covered her own very real legs. Larry Rand, her boss at the bureau, had seemed to approve of her appearance this morning when he'd briefed her.

  "Prince Dormolon would be next in line to the throne of the Puget Realm," Larry said, "if the merfolk weren't matrilineal. Word is, he'd like to change that, but that's about as likely as finding our Queen shopping for a ball gown at the local discount store. The mers have been around a long time, longer than humans have, even longer than we witches have, and they don't like change. My guess is he's gone off in a royal snit, but his mother is the Queen of the Puget Sound mer pod, and he's been missing long enough for her to become concerned .…"

  Larry continued to fill her in on the background of the case as he went to the antique china cabinet that took up one side of his office and brought out cups and saucers in a pretty, Blue Willow pattern. The china was definitely not bureau issue.

  "Coffee? Tea?"

  "Coffee please," Mandy said. "Cream and two sugars."

  She felt very mature and sophisticated, having coffee with the boss while receiving her first ever assignment as a new agent of the Paranormal Activities Bureau, the PAB. It turned out that no one had seen Prince Dormolon since the Fremont Summer Solstice Festival in June, which put His Piscine Highness among the five magical persons missing in the Greater Seattle area.

  "We have word that his girlfriend, a mermaid named Sennusi, plans to have lunch at Ivar's Fish Bar today," Larry told her.

  Mandy nodded. The restaurant was built right over the water on Puget Sound. It attracted a fair number of merfolk as well as kelpies and other members of the magical community.

  "So, just ask her, girl-to-girl, if she knows where this mullet-brain Prince is hiding."

  "I can do that," Mandy assured him as she held her cup, inhaling the invigorating aroma of fresh coffee.

  "But watch yourself, kid. I've got a feeling about this one."

  "I'll be careful, boss." As well as being a senior witch, Larry was a powerful psychic, and when he 'got a feeling,' it was wise to pay attention.

  Still, she was eager to prove herself as an agent. Especially, since she'd flat out refused any of the career choices her family had urged on her. She would not become her family's heavy transport specialist. Not when doing so meant obliterating her own personality by tying herself to the magical equivalent of a supercharged battery. Mandy was a fluke, a witch born with the rare ability to move things merely by willing it. But while she had an astonishing range—she could move anything, even non-physical forces like magic itself—she had very little power. So, it was essentially a useless gift, unless her soul was joined with a male witch with a gift of power. A male witch of the House of Merlin, for example. She'd almost made that very mistake before she figured out what was going on and dumped his handsome ass.

  Mandy suspected that she'd been assigned to fish for Prince Dormolon because she'd met him before. Dancing together at the Beltane Witches Ball didn't count as close acquaintance, but it was more contact than most non-mers had managed with the aloof and elusive prince.

  It didn't matter to her why she got the job. She had an assignment, the first assignment of her career with the PAB. This was her chance to prove that she was a real agent.

  So, here she was at one of Seattle's oldest and most popular seafood snack spots, heading toward the mermaid, Sennusi and her designer glamour. Moving through the crowd of summer tourists with her cola and paper plate of clams and French fries held high, Mandy left the triangular area where sunburned families placed their orders and headed for the packed deck overlooking Puget Sound. Out here, a hexagonal pavilion provided shade or, as was more often needed in Seattle, shelter from the rain. To her right a long, narrow concrete deck held more tables where people, mostly human, chowed down on clams, oysters, fish, and of course, French fries.

  Yes, this was the right mermaid, Sennusi of the Pacific mers, seated at the last table at the end of the pier. So she'd make her approach smooth and simple. The picnic-style tables of blue metal mesh with attached benches provided basic seating, and no one was sitting on the facing bench at the mer's table, so Mandy decided to ask if she could share. From there, they could move to general chitchat and talk of missing boyfriends. Flapping her hand at an impatient seagull that dive-bombed her fries, she headed toward the mermaid.

  And disaster struck.

  Disaster was six-three, honey blond hair, blue eyes, and muscles like an Olympic swimmer. The crowd of tourists had concealed him at first, but there was no mistaking that body now that she could see him clearly. Jeans and a turquoise blue tee-shirt concealed his sleek muscles today, but Mandy knew they were there; just as she knew he was a liar, a phony, a fraud of the worst kind.

  Just as she knew, she was still in love with him.

  But she wasn't sharing that information with anybody, least of all Gregory Mordred LeFay, Duke of the Royal House of Merlin, and her ex-boyfriend. Very ex. Permanently.

  Meanwhile, Greg, who hadn't yet noticed her, dropped his long, lean frame onto the bench across from the mermaid, and Sennusi seemed more than happy to have him there. He couldn't be dating this creature, could he? Unless his mage-sense was much weaker than hers, he knew what she was.

  What should she do? Mandy paused and took a sip from her cola. She didn't want to see Greg. Worse, she didn't want Greg to see her. The fantasies she'd had of meeting him again—which she did not have any more—had all involved a vision of herself sweeping into an elegantly appointed room while wearing a fabulous, glittering evening gown. Her wild mass of curls would be tamed and swept up high on her head. Her shoes would be silver. She'd be wearing diamonds in her ears and at her neck. Greg's jaw would drop, he'd stare, and she'd turn her back on him and cut him dead.

  Yet here she was, dressed for work, wearing little pearl earrings and loafers, no less, with her hair scraped back into a single braid down her back. He probably wouldn't even look at her.

  Mandy considered her options. She could hide in the covered pavilion of the restaurant, have her lunch, and try again later. But she had a job to do. She was an agent of the PAB, not a whimpering wimp of an ex-girlfriend. Moreover, she had dumped him. She needed to question the mermaid. Prince Dormolon's life could depend on it. Her appetite had disappeared the moment she spotted Greg, so Mandy tossed her
cup in the nearest blue trash bin and abandoned the food to the gulls. Squaring her shoulders, she headed for the mermaid's table. Her plan for the slow and delicate approached trashed with her lunch, Mandy went directly to the point.

  "Hello, Sennusi" she said, sliding in next to Greg. "I'm Mandy West, PBA agent." She flipped out her badge, but the mermaid barely glanced at it. "I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes, if you don't mind." Sparing a quick glance at the handsome hunk next to her, she managed a snarled, "Hi Greg," out of the corner of her mouth.

  That, at least, caught Sennusi's attention. The mermaid looked at them both with speculation in her sea green eyes. "Are you two friends?"

  "No," said Mandy.

  "Yes," said Greg.

  "Ah," said Sennusi, "lovers."

  "We are acquaintances," Mandy said firmly. "Since he has a habit of not introducing himself properly, allow me to present His Magical Excellency, Gregory Mordred LeFay, Duke of the Royal House of Merlin."

  "I knew that, silly," the mermaid said.

  "Mandy, can't you just let it go?"

  Mandy ignored him. Of course, Sennusi knew who Greg was. She herself was probably the only female in the entire world of magical beings who hadn't known. He must have thought her hilarious. She took a deep, steadying breath.

  "Sennusi, I'm here to ask if you know the whereabouts of Prince Dormolon. No one's seen him for a month, and the PAB is becoming concerned."

  "I'm looking for him, too," Greg said.

  "Stay out of this, Greg. This is PBA business."

  "Dorrie's okay," the mermaid said as she popped the last of the deep fried clams into her mouth. Clearly, she was already bored with both of them. "In fact, I'm meeting him here today."

  "You are?" they said in unison.

  "Yep. Right now." She looked up and smiled a brilliant, predatory smile. "And here he is. How are you, sweetie?"

  Mandy looked up as Prince Dormolon came around the table and planted a wet kiss on the mermaid's mouth. Wearing the minimum of human-style glamour, he was tall and lean, with dark blue hair and smooth pale skin. In his black leathers, the Prince looked like a Goth girl's dream. When he came up for air, he smiled at Mandy. More pointed teeth. She repressed a shudder. How could she have danced with this guy?

  "LeFay," he said with a nod to Greg. He turned to Mandy. "Have we met? You look familiar."

  "Briefly," she said. But he'd already turned away from her and back to Greg.

  "Glad you could make it, LeFay," he said with a shark's grin. "I've been trying to meet with you alone for weeks."

  Alone? Hello? She was sitting right here, and so was Sennusi; that wasn't exactly alone. Not to mention that Dormolon had brought four very large and very ugly bodyguards with him. Mandy was beginning to think there was more ick factor to this guy than just pointy teeth. So, Greg was here because Dormolon wanted to talk to him. Well, she'd found the mer Prince, and he was hale and hearty. Her job was done. Time to get out of here.

  Sliding to the end of the bench, she stood up to leave. But before she could make her exit, Greg reached over and took her right hand in his big left hand. The tingle of magic that his touch sent through her skin brought a flush to her face.

  "Stay," he said. "Please?"

  "I'm working," she told him, jerking her hand free.

  Greg stood. "Look, Mandy. We need to talk."

  "No, we don't."

  "You never gave me a change to explain."

  "That's because there is nothing to explain."

  The mer prince gave them both a look of contempt. "I don't have time to listen to you two," he said. "I have business elsewhere. Grab them."

  The words were a signal for the four bodyguards to step forward. Mandy checked them with her mage-sense. Ugh! Humboldt squids. They were dangerous predators, and it was unusual to see them this far north. With their glamour in place, they looked like four big, ugly, and nearly identical humans. They didn't speak, but Mandy knew that beneath the glamour, the squids were communicating rapidly in their language of colors. The glamour translated that to Hawaiian shirts whose patterns kept changing in subtle ways. She looked away before she gave herself a headache.

  At Dormolon's command, two of them grabbed Greg. With eight arms and two extra long grasping tentacles each, they had Greg wrapped up like a mummy. A third squid wrapped a grasping tentacle disguised as a beefy arm around Mandy. The tiny teeth in its suckers scratched her, and she also saw a trickle of blood run down Greg's face where sucker teeth were cutting into his skin. It was all right, she told herself. It was only a little blood. It was going to be okay so long as they didn't drag him close to their beaks.

  With her own arms pinned, Mandy couldn't get enough leverage to do any more than kick and twist. The fourth guard picked up Sennusi who promptly used her sharp mer teeth to bite a hunk out of his shoulder.

  "What's the big idea?" Greg demanded. "I thought you wanted to talk."

  Mandy could see the muscles straining underneath his shirt. One squid he might have handled, she thought, but not two. The squids were incredibly strong, not to mention the advantage of having eight arms and two tentacles each. A tentacle wrapped around Greg's head, bending his neck back and covering his mouth. This was the time to put her hard-learned PBA skills to good use and do something to save the situation. Only she couldn't move enough to reach the wand she carried.

  "We'll talk elsewhere," Dormolon told Greg. He turned to the bodyguards. "Bring the girls, too. I need all the sacrifices I can get to make this work."

  Greg managed a muffled protest. "Leave Mandy alone!"

  What did he mean by sacrifices? Mandy struggled harder, but it did her no good.

  "Shut up, LeFay."

  The squids holding Greg were acting strangely, swaying their tentacles slipping. Greg twisted and managed to boot one of the squids holding him. His blood! The squids were drunk on the magic in Greg's blood. Then Greg and the two squids holding him staggered into Mandy and her captor. Off balance, the squid holding her let go. Not entirely, but it was enough for her to get a hand free and pull out the small wand she carried in a loop at her belt.

  "Dorrie!" Sennusi wailed, still trying to wriggle free of her own captor, "I thought you loved me!"

  "Not enough to put up with your airhead yammering," the mer prince said.

  Mandy brought up her wand and focused on Dormolon. She tried to remember a useful spell, something that would free the three of them and, with luck, turn Prince Dormolon into something small and squishable. But she had no time for anything fancy. Her magic couldn't move anything big, but she could handle the small stuff—such as the spell that allowed the mer prince and his squids to breathe air. Pointing the wand at Dormolon, she loosed a flash of light visible only to mage-sense. But at just that moment, the Prince stepped forward to deliver a right-hook to Greg's jaw, and Mandy's magic hit Sennusi instead. The mermaid dropped instantly, all her glamour falling away, sliding free of the squid's grip. Fishtail flopping among the spilled fries and crumpled napkins, gasping for water through her gills, Sennusi fell to the deck.

  Oh, not what she'd meant!

  Greg now dangled unconscious in the tentacles of one of the squids. Mandy felt a shock as she saw his limp form. Merfolk were strong. With two squid grappling with him, Greg hadn't even been able to duck Dormolon's punch. And now he was helpless.

  Turning from Greg and ignoring Sennusi's distress, Dormolon ordered his guards, "Hurry up! Get them over the side. This glamour won't keep the nosy locals from seeing us for much longer."

  And he was right. One of the nearby humans already had noticed them and was coming over to check on the cause of the commotion. He was big, fortyish, and had authority figure written all over him. A cop, Mandy thought, or a fireman, whatever; he was somebody who should not be involved in this mess among mages. Apparently, Dormolon thought so, too. He waved his hand, not even looking as the man doubled over, vomiting his fish sandwich onto Sennusi's tail.

  They wer
e attracting attention from those with mage-sense, too. Mandy saw a selkie go over the chain link fence at the side of pier, changing to a seal on his way into the water. Two women wearing loose fitting dresses disappeared into a recessed doorway in the beige and blue wall and soon two smallish wolves appeared, one with her hind foot momentarily trapped in an orange flip-flop. No one took any note of the "stray dogs" as they hurried away.

  The squid holding Mandy had grown confused by all the action. His grip was loose, and she wriggled free. She darted to Sennusi, who still lay gasping for water. Grabbing the mermaid under her arms, Mandy tried to pull her up and over the railing that ran around the deck. But the mermaid outweighed her by at least thirty pounds.

  And then it didn't matter, as the squid grabbed her again, and all of them—squids, mers, Greg, and she—went over the railing and into the icy water of Puget Sound. The cold blasted all magic right out of her.

  Mandy choked, coughing, drowning in the dirty, fishy smelling water. Next to her, she saw bubbles rising from Greg's unconscious body. How and why had a simple assignment to locate the missing mer turned into this fiasco? The glamour faded from the squids and Dormolon. With a careless wave of his hand, the Prince cast a spell that would allow his topside captives to breathe underwater. How considerate! Seething with anger, she coughed and sneezed water out of her lungs and nose. The squid holding her captive dragged her past the barnacle covered pilings of Pier 54 and into deeper water. Mandy struggled, but she was so cold that it was hard to move, hard even to think. They passed a salmon chasing a rockfish, and a small shark chasing the salmon. The light grew dimmer as they dove deeper. And as the light dimmed, so did she.