A Merman's Vow(Sequel to A Mermaid's Cry)

Chapter 12-Scars of Truth

Arcus

If only I had hidden that spear better. If only I had the time to do so, I wouldn't be running down the gangplank as Iris becomes surrounded by young males with no sense to think before they act. If only I had finished up with the sails, I could have been beside Iris. I could have stopped her from falling, but once again I have failed. Just like I failed Corintha on that dreadful day.

Ares already is in the thick of it. Trying to wedge himself through the ring of young males circling Iris. Already they have shredded the sleeves of her shirt, spots of blood dripping down her wrists and onto the sand they have herded her onto. Bright and dark drops, the same horrid hue that had been smeared across Corintha's young shoulders and neck. Refuse tangled in her hair, red rimmed eyes tearstained and hollow. Again, I am faced with the sight of utter terror and pain etching its way into the innocent gaze of Iris.

Her eyes wide, skittering back and forth to keep her three closest attackers in sight. Their mouths grinning, claws glinting in the early morning sun. One boy slashes at her shoulder, rending the fabric as his claws cut into her pale skin. Ares breaks through the first ring of foolish males, five in all, as Iris releases a strangled scream, that is more anger than agony. I break through the awe struck crowd, the older males cheering while the females pull the children away from the blood spattered area. It is utter chaos when I reach the first ring, just a step behind Ares who grabs two of the belligerent males by their shoulders and tosses them aside as if they were nothing.

I follow suit, dispersing the five young males closest to me with brutal efficiency. Having only just begun their training from the looks of it, I need only to grab them from behind in order to throw them to the ground with little effort. Each of the young Mer look up to see my face. The mask of a cold hearted warrior complete with a fanged sneer that sends the hotheaded fools back into the midst of the jostling crowd.

Satisfied, I turn just in time to see Ares doing the same, snarling at the two youths in warning before they join the rest of their friends. However, the job is not done. Not with the last male, one taller than Iris and seething mad, still circling her like ravenous leopard. I catch sight of the boy's bleeding nose and Iris's ruby streaked knuckles. Making to intervene, I'm suddenly stopped by Ares clenching tight to my shoulder. Flicking my gaze to him, ready to ask him why he would keep me from helping the human, Lucas suddenly appears with murder written in his pale green eyes.

"Let him finish this," Ares utters, pulling me with him to the sidelines as the circle becomes an all male one. "He brought the girl here, now he must prove that she is not to be messed with."

Solemnly, I nod. A cold heavy lump settling in my throat as my young cousin barrels his way between the other young male and Iris. At once I can tell this will be a hard fight for Lucas. Compared to the other boy, he is small and thin. Still weak from his time in Norzem's care, still bearing the bruises that cannot be seen beneath his clothes. Lucas is shorter, but he is fast. Quick enough to dodge the other boy's first swing, ducking fluidly with enough time to grab his opponent's blond locks and throw him onto the ground. This is not a fair fight. No Mer battle is ever fair. This is our way. This is how are people have survived for generations. This is how Lucas will prove his worth as a future Mer warrior.

Lucas's opponent springs back to his feet, giving my cousin no time to dodge before barreling forward and knocking him onto his back. Sand sprays all around, making it hard for me to gauge where Iris might be in the ensuing chaos. Peering through the dissipating cloud of sand grains, I catch a shock of white hair and an ebony pair of arms behind the fighting males. It takes only a second for them to be seen, only a second for a familiar blood streaked form to disappear through the wall of jostling bodies.