Descending (The Rising Series) (6 page)

She stopped herself before she started yelling.
Hal’s keys sat on the coffee table. How did he get into her apartment? Did he steal a key?

Laughter came from the bedroom.
That cheating, lying, thieving…
Gretchen’s whole body began to shake. She wasn’t sure if it she was about to go into a crying fit or a homicidal rampage. She sure didn’t want to cry, but then killing her cheating boyfriend would not make things any better—as an intern, she’d seen up close and personal what prison life was like. But she’d better find a way to diffuse her temper, and she’d better do it fast. Hal’s hairstyling bag—the greatest treasure of Honolulu’s up-and-coming hair designer—sat unguarded on the floor next to the sofa. And it was filled with the highest-quality equipment money could buy—worth thousands. Should she? She looked toward the window. It was three stories down to the pavement. She could easily toss it out and have her revenge. He wouldn’t be able to work until he replaced his tools.

She relished the thought, but sighed, knowing she couldn’t do it. Darn her for having a consc
ience. Why should she? No one else seemed to.

It only took
one trip down three flights to carry the bag and all his and the slut’s clothes down to the street. She placed them on the sidewalk next to Gus, the neighborhood transient. He gave her a toothless grin as he sat on the curb. She smiled back, her spirits immediately lighter.

When she got back to her
apartment, she knocked on the bedroom door. She heard a thump and scrambling. “Hal,” she called out. “I took the liberty of helping you remove your items and carried them downstairs for you. You don’t need to thank me. It’s the least I can do for all you’ve done for me. They’ll be waiting for you on the sidewalk beside Gus.”

“What?” he shrieked.

The door flew open and he stood there, wrapped in a towel. “Not my bag too.”

She nodded, smiling.

“You left it next to a homeless guy?” he shrieked at her.

She raised an eyebrow.

He wasted no time, streaking through the door.

He was soon followed behind by a red-faced, strawberry-
blonde female in another towel. She slinked around Gretchen as if she expected her to strike her. The thought
had
crossed her mind, but she was already in enough trouble today. “Hello,” Gretchen greeted. “I left your clothes by the curb too. Good luck getting them back from Gus. He’s partial to women’s clothing.”

“You’re insane
,” the woman cried as she flew down the stairs.

Gretchen shut the door
, sagging against the frame.

Okay, this was definitely the worst day of her adult life.

Stepping into her bedroom, her anger boiled. Why couldn’t she find a decent man? Why did every relationship she had go up in flames?

She stripped the rumpled sheets off the bed. They were her favorite
, satin, and worth a week’s pay. Balling them up, she stuffed them into the garbage. She got out her spare cotton ones and made up her bed.

Hitting
the bathroom hard with cleanser, she disinfected it from ceiling to floor. She knew she was probably overdoing it, but she couldn’t help but think that everything Hal and his slut touched was contaminated. She used an entire can of Lysol just to be sure.

She left the bathroom door open while she showered—she didn’t want to succumb to the fumes. The water soothed her, the st
ream caressing her body. She spent a long time under the spray, until it turned cold.

S
he thought about calling Sara as she slipped on her robe, but frowned when she did the math. It was only five o’clock in the morning in Bermuda. She’d have to call her tomorrow.

Late that
night, she finally climbed under the cotton sheets. They felt like sandpaper against her skin. She tossed and turned until she finally fell into a restless sleep.

A sweet melody glided through the
seawater—drawing her forward. Gretchen swam, her legs kicking out hard as she followed the voice. It was beautiful, like an angel, but chilling. She looked down through the surface of the water to see light coming from below. Diving down, she found the entrance to a tunnel. Soon, there was another sound mingled with the first. She could hear it as she neared; it was harsh and high pitched...She broke through the surface of a dark cave, slapping her hands over her ears at an ear-piercing wail.

It was
little Jami. She sat, crying, on a rocky shore. Her howling voice echoed off the walls of a sea cave. A woman stood nearby, one who radiated cold beauty. Gretchen’s stomach sickened at the familiar face.

“Hello dear
.” The woman smiled, evil glinting in her eye.

“What are you going to do
to her?” Gretchen asked—her voice weak and trembling as she looked at the terrified girl.

“Does it matter? She’s nothing
to me.”

“Please, just let her go,” Gretchen
begged, tears burning her eyes.

The woman’s laugh
was like ice. “If you insist.”

Gretchen and
Jami’s screams mingled as the woman pitched Jami forward into the water. Gretchen reached for her, pulled her sputtering face up out of the water, and crushed her to her chest.

“Ms. Winters,
” Jami wailed. “Please help me; I don’t want to die.”

“I’ve got you.” Gretchen held her tight
in one arm as her other hand grasped the rocky water’s edge. She looked around for an exit, not able to bring Jami out the same way she’d entered. She was much too small to hold her breath that long. But there didn’t seem to be another exit.

“Where did the mean lady go?”
Jami asked.

Gretchen looked around, horrified. “Let’s get you out of the water.” She pushed her up to the rocky shore
. A scream pierced Gretchen’s ear as something pulled Jami down—her cry cutting off as her face submerged. Gretchen tried to hold on to her wrist, but she wasn’t strong enough. Jami slipped through her fingers.

Gretchen dove down
, attempting to catch hold of her again and pull her back. She could see Jami’s horrified face grow smaller, smaller, going deeper and deeper, until she disappeared.

Gretchen
shot up in bed, drenched in sweat. Her body trembled. “It was only a dream,” she whispered over and over again as she sat and rocked.

Kyros barely made it to the toilet before he lost last night’s din
ner. Who knew walking on legs would make him so sick? It didn’t seem to bother the others. They’d taken the transition without any problem—well, other than being repulsed by their new human bodies.

Kyros just couldn’t handle the way the legs made him feel. The rocking back and forth from one foot to the next
and the jarring he got from each step made against the hard floor. Hades, just thinking about it made his stomach turn.

He
dove into the indoor pool and entered salty bliss. He didn’t even mind the excruciating pain of the change from human to Dagonian. It was worth getting his fin back. These daily swims seemed to be the only relief he could get. Swimming in the water was heaven. He closed his eyes and imagined he was back in the sea. He would have made an actual trip to the sea if he’d had time, but he was on call for babysitting duty.

An hour later, he could see Straton standing above him through the rippling surface. “Kyros, Xanthus wants to see you,” his muffled voice shouted.

Kyros grunted in reply. A few minutes later, he staggered out of the pool room.

“Your
land legs still making you sick?” Straton smiled.

“Shut up.”

“Kyros.” Xanthus’s voice came from the kitchen. “We’re in here.”

A foul stench assaulted Kyros the moment he entered the kitchen. “Oh gods. And I just got my stomach settled.”

“Lucky you,” Xanthus answered. “Hades, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to human food.”

Sara sat across from Xanthus and ate heartily. “You know, most people love my cooking.”

Kyros covered his nose and mouth. “Yeah, well, that’s the problem.”

“What?” she asked.

“Cooking,” Kyros said. “Dagonians don’t cook. We hunt, and we eat what we’ve caught. Animal meat heated and burned beyond recognition—well, it’s like… I don’t even have anything to compare it to. But it’s worse than rotting flesh.”

“Ugh. Now I think
I’ve
lost my appetite.” Sara scrunched up her nose. “You asked for it.”

Kyros turned to his friend and coughed. “You did?”

“I’m trying to get used to it.”

“Impossible
,” Kyros said. “There’s no getting used to that.” He gestured to the plate filled with dead meat.

“Perhaps I should try feeding you vegetarian food
,” Sara said.

“Veget… you mean plants?” Kyros asked.

“Yeah.”

“Dagonians don’t eat plants
,” Xanthus said.

“I give up.” Sara stood. “Just eat your live fish in front of those
politicians you want to impress. They won’t think
anything
of it. Oh, and don’t forget to rip the fish’s head off first. I’m
sure
they won’t mind.” Sara stomped out the door, mumbling to herself.

“I’m going to
pay for that later,” Xanthus said.

“
Pay for what?” Kyros looked around.

“Sara’s mad at me.”

“Mad? Why?”

“Kyros, you have a lot to learn about women.”

“Yeah, well, Dagonian women are different from humans… and mermaids for that matter.”

“Right. But…”

“But what?”

Xanthus shook his head. “I don’t know what to do. Sara’s not making the adjustment well.”

“Her adjustment on legs?”

“No, no. The legs are fine. I don’t know what the problem
is. Perhaps she’s just having difficulty adjusting to her new home.”

“She’s not the only one,” Kyros said.

“I know what you mean. Look, I’ve got to travel tomorrow, and I’ll be gone for a few days. I’m going to need you to keep a close eye on her. Make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“Like cooking dinner for all of us
?” Kyros shook his head at the thought.

“No, like putting herself in danger.”

Xanthus paused for a moment, looking like he wanted to speak. Out of respect for his friend, Kyros waited.

“Listen,” Xanthus said. “I know you don’t like Sara, and I understand why, but you need to know how much she means to me. If anything happens to her… I don’t think I could survive it.”

Kyros paused, stunned by Xanthus’s words. He’d had suspicions Xanthus was under the mermaid’s spell. Why else would he choose to
destroy everything he once held dear—his honor, his status, his reputation…? She’d even convinced him to move to Bermuda when he should have been moving closer to Washington DC. Xanthus’s words now seemed to confirm Kyros’s suspicions.

Xanthus turned to leave.

“Xanthus.”

He
turned back. “Yes?”

“I do have one question.”

“What’s that?”

“Why did she choose to live here?”

Xanthus shrugged. “I don’t know.” He sighed. “Sara insisted this was where we needed to be. She doesn’t seem to understand it herself. But she was adamant.”

“And you let her make this decision because…
?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“No, I think I understand perfectly.” Because the little mermaid had his best friend in her beautiful clutches, and she could bend him to her will.