Song of the Mermaid Warrior

Part 3

"Well, well, well! Never thought I'd see the mermaid herself swimming over to my fetid swamp here in the slums!"

A slim young man with bright purple hair grinned, flipping a silver coin into the air over and over without looking at it. "Thought you said you were never coming back? What, did your last book not sell as well now that you're peddling comforting little lies about your species?"

Jordan leaned against the doorframe of the dilapidated shop, wondering for the thousandth time if this was a bad idea. She knew the answer, deep down, but chose to ignore it. "Tock, cut the crap."

"Oh sweetie, you haven't changed. " Tock laughed. " I can cut the crap, but not sure what use it would be... crap is notoriously difficult to cut, tends to mush up, you know... and whose crap should be cut? Mine?" He shrugged. " Sorry to say this body doesn't make physical waste. What about yours?"

Jordan rubbed her forehead. "I should have known better than to do anything other than speak as literally as possible... I hate fairies."

"You only know one fairy, darling." Tock's eyes blinked, the irises turning green, than orange, than staying at a robin's egg blue. "Unfair of you to judge the whole species just because you don't like me. Especially because I have been nothing but fair and helpful to you."

"You tried to trick me into giving you my skin."

"TRIED. Tried is the key word there. Plus you didn't fall for it, so what's the problem?"

Jordan sighed, knowing that there was never any point with arguing with Tock.

She had run into the fairy over two years ago. At that time she was frantic, trying to find Hunter's location, and her desperation had led her to the darker corners of the city. She had spent every last coin she had, unable to eat or sleep, and at her darkest moment, she stumbled into Tock's shop. Later Jordan had realized that it was likely that despair that had allowed her to find his place. There were magic wards to keep all but the most vulnerable out.

When they met, Tock had seen her madness, her obsession, and was ecstatic. He tried to get her to agree to many terrible deals in exchange for tracking down Hunter and after adding a small addendum she had agreed, feeling that whatever price she had to pay was worth it.

In the end, the addendum she had insisted on saved her skin, quite literally. She had added on a time limit that he had to track Hunter down and arrange a meeting. And to Tock's shock and dismay, whatever elven magic was hiding Hunter's identity; it was beyond the fairy's ability to dismantle.

Tock had failed to find Hunter, and the contract expired. Jordan left, at the time feeling a strange mix of disappointment at the failure and gratitude to be still in one piece. As they parted ways, she swore never to come back to his broken place of deals with the devil.

Until today.

"So what brings you here, my lovely little fish?" Tock flipped his coin again, and it sizzled as it disappeared into thin air. "Still trying to find that stubborn elf boyfriend of yours?"

"He was just a friend, and no. I gave up on him years ago."

Tock frowned, blinking as his eyes turned a bronze color. "Pity. Your skin has only gotten prettier since the last time I saw it... would love to find your price to part with it."

"..." The memory of Hunter cheerfully making plans to run away with her still hung in her mind. What was it that he had said? "We might lose our clothes and money, but at least we'd have a fun story to tell"? We had no idea what real fairies were like. The ocean's song in Jordan's ears was rising, she kept her lips closed to hold back the seductive call of the magic. The fairy noticed her struggle, backing away slightly.