Siren's Calling (The Sea King's Daughters Book 4) Page 3

  He smiled, a little with his mouth but more with his dark eyes. There was the mischief there again, like calling to like, and an invitation to play. “Together, then.”

  This seal bull really must have a fantastically huge harem. He was very, very attractive. Or did he stay closer to the nature of his human form? What did humans call it? He was one hell of a player, I’d bet.

  “When does the rest of the research team arrive?” There were some games I’d play. I was curious about this new predator in the Sound. But he could take his flirtation and fish for compliments elsewhere. “I’m assuming they don’t know about your dual nature.”

  “No.” He wasn’t even bothering to keep his amusement out of his voice or expression now. “They’ll be along shortly. They’re all very caught up in their research. They’re good swimmers, for humans, but as far as they’ve noticed, I’m a simple part-time researcher maintaining a side job with the whale-watching cruises as a naturalist. Nice people. They have good intentions. I didn’t want you to drown them for stumbling across this.”

  That last part had come out quieter, the amusement having fled and been replaced by uncertainty.

  Ah.

  I am merfolk, after all. He didn’t know as much about me as he needed to, and there weren’t many true merfolk returned to this world yet. All he had to go on were legends, passed on through human folklore or the ancestral knowledge of his own supernatural kind. I’d seen some of the movies and read some of the books humans had created in recent years. Some of them depicted mermaids as innocent dreamers, others made us out to be vicious monsters devoid of sympathy or feelings and hungering for human flesh. The animated films intended for human children were entertaining to me, especially the music, but the reality of being a mermaid was a balance between the dreamer and the predator.

  When I really thought about it, I couldn’t reassure him. The legends had come from truth. Merfolk had called countless ships to wreck on reefs and underwater rocks. My ancestors had fed in frenzies, slaughtering sailors en masse. If I felt I needed to protect my people, especially my sisters, I would drown his human colleagues in a heartbeat. And he, selkie or no, couldn’t save them from me.

  “I will look at the orca’s body and work with you to identify the killer.” If it wasn’t anything to do with the humans, they’d likely survive, so long as they didn’t find out too much in the process. “If you’ve worked with these people this long without them knowing about you, and they don’t find out anything about me, perhaps you won’t have to worry about them.”

  There, it was as much as I could give him and still be practical.

  I might be vicious, even monstrous, but I was definitely burdened with more than my share of feelings.

  3

  He hadn’t suffered long.

  Oh, the orca was completely dead. Whatever had taken this male’s life had approached from below, possibly undetected, and struck the orca from beneath. It’d caught the big male in huge jaws, crushing the orca with insane strength.

  That wasn’t all. The orca’s spine was broken. Nothing in modern-day oceans could do that in one strike.

  When I’d found it, it’d been a miracle the orca had been able to make it into shallow waters.

  “I still think it was a megalodon.” The whispered theory came from a field biologist.

  One of his coworkers elbowed him hard. “Shut up, Paul. An unexplained kill doesn’t mean it’s always a megalodon. Gather data first, propose a theory after. There’s too much bias when you pose a theory, then look for data to prove it. You’ll miss something.”

  Sensible woman. I hid a grin. Her name was Naima, and I decided I wanted to remember it. She had a balance of passion for her research and practicality. She was levelheaded. I also appreciated that she wore color in a way that complemented her ebony skin. My own skin tone was a lighter black with golden undertones. Then again, my human form was modeled after a dancer of Asian and African ethnic backgrounds. Maybe once this was over, I could ask Naima to help me choose colors for my own human skin. I was open to learning from humans when they made sense.

  It was a shame so many of them didn’t.

  “A megalodon wouldn’t have been responsible for this attack, in my opinion.” I couldn’t be certain, of course. I was less than a century old and I hadn’t been born in this dimension. My father wouldn’t remember, either. Mermaids lived a millennium, not millions of years. None of us would’ve encountered a megalodon in living flesh. I also wasn’t going to deny the possibility of the ancient species having survived. After all, I existed. “Some sharks are known to attack from below, yes, but I’m not certain the shape of the teeth marks indicate a megalodon’s mouth. The bite radius would’ve been two meters across or more, and these wounds indicate a different mouth shape.”

  There were enough specimens and re-creations out there to predict a megalodon’s bite. I was torn though. I wanted to provide a truthful analysis, but I also didn’t want to enlighten them too much.

  Naima nodded. “This damage indicates a narrower mouth but something capable of more force than a great white could manage…”

  Her commentary trailed off with uncertainty. The humid air tasted of sweat and fear. The killer had been something capable of shaking an orca body hard enough to break its spine. These biologists, at least, understood they were considering something that was out there, actively swimming in nearby waters.

  Ah, it pained me to undermine her observation but it was necessary. “A great white could’ve generated this kind of force. It’s not only their bite force to consider, though. Many sharks shake their heads side to side while feeding, amplifying the force applied to the victim’s body.”

  These were scientists though, not the average humans with limited knowledge of sea creatures. My words wouldn’t be enough to lead them away from the dangerous truth, that something more fearsome than a great white shark was in the seas. I put a hint of my personal gift behind my words as I made eye contact with each of them. I embraced their fear, tightened it and sharpened the edges, then gave it back to them more intense than it’d been previously.

  It was Doctor Jones who found her voice first, shaky and faint. “The bite width is consistent with a large great white. Attacks are rare, and they’re not often encountered in the Puget Sound, but it’s not unheard of either.”

  Fear did things to even the most rational people. It was the emotion most effective to turn their minds away from curiosity of the unknown and back to the more comforting thought of something they knew existed. Give them a nudge and frightened humans would cling to the monster they understood over something potentially worse.

  Great white sharks were art in life, admirable in their efficiency and amazing in their own right. I didn’t mind giving great whites more respect from humans, especially individuals who wouldn’t turn them into fictitious beings of revenge or some other human-derived attribute. I could deal with the true monster while they searched for a larger-than-average great white.

  “So how do we go about identifying this fish?” Keegan asked, doing his part to shepherd the biologists on with the current theory. “We’ve not looked for sharks in the past.”

  Doctor Jones lifted her chin. “I don’t think we need to look for a shark. We should continue our studies of the resident whale communities and keep watch for a shark hunting nearby. That will tell us if this was an opportunistic attack or if we actually have a rogue shark hunting the orca pods.”

  “What if we do have a rogue shark?” asked Paul.

  Ah, he was the wild card of the group. Every research group benefited from one, in my opinion. It was good to ask, what if? I couldn’t dislike him, even if he was making things inconvenient for me.

  When everyone turned their attention at him, his white skin flushed a surprisingly deep shade of red. “I mean, there aren’t many resident orcas left,” Paul stuttered. “Do we try to catch and relocate the shark? Or do we observe and let it do potentially irreversible damage to the or
ca population?”

  The team stared harder at him. No one had an immediate answer.

  Wow. His blood must run close to the surface, with little pigment to give opacity to his skin. I was fascinated, even as I feigned disinterest. Keegan caught my eye with a raised eyebrow and the selkie grinned at me.

  I scowled at the shifter. In his history, Keegan had probably stolen lovers away from plenty of redheaded men. The variety in human appearance still amazed me, despite having had months to observe people from day to day.

  Turning back to the orca carcass, I studied the main bite mark and the other damage carefully. While the researchers discussed possible courses of action, I drew in deep breaths to catch the scent of what might still be in the wounds despite ocean water having washed most traces away.

  I was going to have to spend more time in the area, patrolling these waters, to find this new predator. I’d have to do it cautiously. Whatever did this would be capable of killing me if it caught me by surprise.

  Surveying the massive bite marks again, I reconsidered.

  It could potentially end me even if I saw it coming.

  I waited until deep into the night before I slipped out of my hotel and made my way back down to the water. The research group had spent the day listening to communications from various whale-watching boats recording sightings of whales and other sea mammals. No other kills were discovered through the course of the day. Our mystery predator might be a night hunter.

  There were plans to meet bright and early in the morning to venture out in the research boat to check on the killer whale pods. The ocean is big and even a finite region like the Puget Sound could be difficult to search. Whales didn't live in the Puget Sound so much as entered the area to feed. Locating specific individuals was a challenge. The predator we were looking for had most likely followed prey into the same area, so the best way to find it was to follow the same thing it was following.

  I decided I didn't want to wait for morning to find another kill. I was going hunting.

  It took only a few minutes of slipping through the shadows to find a secluded place where the trees bent to meet the water. I stepped out of my clothes and cached them in my small pack, tucking it out of sight at the base of the tree. But this was an area where tourists and locals alike walked along the water's edge, so I used a touch of magic to arrange my blue-green scales over my form in the semblance of a strapless swimsuit. If anyone glimpsed me entering or returning from the water, I could claim to have gone for a midnight swim and I wouldn't be lying.

  I stepped into the water and stretched out my senses. On land, my eyesight is sharper than a human's, my hearing more acute, and my sense of smell better. I'm stronger, faster than they are. But the minute I touch the water, I've entered my real element, and there are very few things in this world that can match me in the ocean. For just a moment, I stood there letting the gentle waves from the harbor lap around my ankles, and I savored the joy of stepping back into the water. I touched the pendant resting on my chest with my fingertips, larimar set in silver. It provided a focus for the entirety of my power, not just my small gift to sense what other creatures felt, and I reveled in the feel of the tides and currents. Water was mine to call, embrace, give form.

  “I’m going with you.”

  I turned to face Keegan Boots slowly, unhurried. He was close enough for me to sense his intent and there was no immediate danger from him. He was wary, maybe even a little afraid of the power he could sense from me, but he stood his ground. In fact, he was naked, and a glorious physical specimen of a man in this form. In his left hand, he grasped a dark pelt. His selkie skin.

  “What can you do?”

  He winced.

  Ah. I’m not…kind. Well, not to anyone but my sisters. Even to them, I am not as warm as I probably should be. Lorelei had called me months ago, and while I’d given her the help she requested and celebrated from afar when she’d regained her powers, I hadn’t reached out to her afterward. It was enough, I thought, to know she was whole again. I hoped she knew I would always be there for her if she had need. I just wasn’t good at demonstrating the care I had for her or the others.

  Keegan rallied, though. “No one can watch all approaches. I can help you guard against whatever this is while we’re looking for it. Besides, I’ve lived in these waters for more than a century. You’ve only arrived in the last decade or so. I know hidden places out there, in the deep, that you haven't explored yet.”

  His tone had refilled with male arrogance as he spoke; his shoulders straightened and his chest swelled. He was impressive, honestly, and the sea at my back answered his call almost as strongly as it answered mine. In fact, he might be older than me.

  “The stories say selkies are a warrior race, harsh and merciless.” I whispered my thoughts to him, letting my tone lilt on the beginning notes of a song. “They say you live most of your lives in the sea, and the only way to hold one of you is to take your seal skin. They say you are loyal only to your own kind and will make war on any other challengers to your dominance of the oceans. Why should I trust you?”

  Not every strength came from my powers, my gifts. I had a hunger for knowledge and a love of researching old stories, myths, and legends. Because of my penchant for research, I knew him for what he was and what I could expect from him. He was trying to convince me of something different, and I almost wanted him to prove the legends wrong. At least in his case.

  I’d consider why another time. It might be because the legends about my kind were not completely true and I’d be a fool if I didn’t leave room for the possibility that some of the lore on his kind might be wrong as well. For now, it was enough to recognize what I was doing.

  His hand tightened on the pelt. After a moment, he raised his arm, holding his skin out to me. “Everything you say is truth, storykeeper. But the Puget Sound is mine, and my kind are few. There is no one else to help me here, and if the death in the water goes unchallenged then I don't deserve my skin.”

  He couldn’t be offering his skin to me? All I had to do was take it and hide it—or worse, destroy it—and he would be cut off from who he was for the rest of his long life. I thought of Lorelei, my sister, and the years she spent cursed. I would not wish that fate on anyone.

  I reached out and placed my hand over his, feeling the softness of his pelt around his fingers, and gently pressed his hand down and away. He was sincere in what he’d said and there was a fierce determination in him, communicated to me in his touch.

  “Fine.” I wasn’t sure he would actually help if I had need, but at least I knew he wasn't an enemy. Refusing could turn him against me. It was better to work with him than have the two of us getting in each other's way. “I don’t normally partner with others so I might not be…good at it.”

  His mouth stretched into a rakish grin. “Now there’s where I’ve got plenty of experience. I’d be happy to show you.”

  I was sure he would, if I let him.

  I'd indulged in a night of fun here and there. But all of my liaisons had been with humans, who wouldn’t have sensed my otherness. This selkie had charm in abundance, and I liked him more and more as he showed me the various facets of his personality. He was complex, yet straightforward. I could think about the underlying currents to his offer later.

  “Let’s go hunting.” I turned away from him, then, and entered the water.

  4

  We both stayed in human form until we were in water deep enough to fully submerge. He waited at a respectful distance while I made my change completely over to my true form, remaining in his human form with a diver’s knife ready in case of attack. Considerate of him. I returned the favor, watching for any danger as he pulled his pelt around him and took his selkie form.

  He was an impressive mammal, and a Steller sea lion. He matched me in length at eleven feet or more. His shoulders were broader, his chest had more depth in sea lion form. On land, his bulk might bring him to over two thousand pounds but in the bay, he was
agile and fast.

  Keegan kept up with me as I left the harbor for even deeper waters. I stayed closer to the surface, though well below, instead of hugging the sea floor. Even if his lung capacity was impressive, he still needed to breath, and I didn’t want to make him leave me to go back to the surface for air. It would slow our progress and we had a potentially long night ahead of us.

  When you hunt a predator, you’ll most likely find it hunting its prey.

  We headed to the location of the last sighting of killer whales in the Puget Sound. It was a resident pod of close to two dozen individuals. The research team had been excited about it because it had females well within breeding age, important to maintaining the dwindling population. One of the males was also larger than most, a massive representative of his species. This particular pod of southern resident killer whales was known to frequent the San Juan Islands at this time of year. We couldn’t be sure this pod would be targeted by our new predator, but it was the best lead we had.

  Resident killer whales could travel a hundred miles in a given day but they kept to fairly predictable routes, staying close to shore and going from headland to headland. Once we reached their last sighted location, we’d be able to make a good guess at the direction they’d headed. We’d also hear the killer whales far sooner than we saw them.

  We hadn’t quite reached our destination when Keegan let out a short bark underwater. I brought myself up short, then followed him as he darted for the cover of a rocky outcropping. I lingered in the shelter of a space in the rocks while he levered his bulk up and out of the water. In moments, he crouched by me with his pelt at his feet.

  “They’re here, in the shallows.” He paused. “I’ll distract them if I’m too close. I should watch from here.”

  I nodded. I’d heard him as we swam together. He tended to emit a low-frequency pulse of subvocalization. It was a form of communication for other sea lions, a declaration of territoriality. He probably could overcome the instinct of his animal form if he had to, but having him wait here made sense. All either of us was going to do was distract the killer whale pod into coming after us if we remained in open water.