Mermaids are Menacing (Book 2) Complete

95.) A New Age.

We huddled together on the floor blankets and pillows from around the mountian were gathered. Bedding was placed to not lay on the rocky surface. I dont know where Cerastes went but it didnt matter, the air in the room was a bit stiffling as it was.

My brother Hawthorn hadnt changed that much physically. He still had a long lanky build and long dark hair. The wirey hair on his face was patchy and scraggly. It reminded me of how his wife Nilla used to hate it when it grew out. I could almost heat her nagging voice when she insisted that he cut it only for him to rub it childishly on her face while laughing.

But now, watching his stare of into nothinness. He wasnt laughing anymore. His eyes didnt sparkle with mischief like they used to. His daughter Fern, who was once chatty and practically stuck to my hip was silent. She leaned against her dad and he held one hand around her wrist as if he expected her to float away.

I began to take count of not the people i had left, but rather i thought of them as the people i gained back. They might as well have risen from the dead. My oldest sister Maple and her wife Ann were not in their number. I had seen Ash perish infront of me so i knew she was truly gone. My fourth and fifth sisters Willow and Cherry were also missing but I saw a couple of their grown children huddling from a ways off. Neither of their husbands were here either. Out of my eleven sisters four had been lost and all of my brother in laws were gone.

I had regained Laurel my bossy older sister. Clove and all four of her kids. My sisters, Aspen and Magnolia who were both much older than me with their own families. Banyan who had never married after her brief life as an entertainer in town and my two younger sisters Tilla and Juniper who had also married out before me were with us. They were mostly busy trying to situate their young children supporting eachother.

I still had most of my brothers.  Lossing only the twins Birtch and Pine. Niether of whom were married.
My oldest brother Linden who had spent most his time guarding the cave was fine. Spruce who always acted more like a second father than a dad had managed to not only come out unscathed but also keeping his wife, Senia by his side. He was the most fortunate. All six of his kids were here and his grandkids to.

Cyprus and Elm had not been as lucky. Their wives were not with us. They were both roughly in their fiftys although like the rest of the family they didnt look their age. Cyprus had five adult kids and a couple grandkids. Elm had all seven of his kids and one grand kid. Oak and Ceder who had only just recently brought back a bond were now alone. The firey sailor woman who i thought would make a good addition to the family was not by Oaks side and the eager blond that practically dragged ceder back also wasnt with us. The tattoos on their arms like all those that were married were still intact.

A bond apparently wasn't something that could be washed away. Like ink smudged into wool, once stained, for better or worse it was never the same again.

My mother seemed older even though she didnt get any taller. Her hair now showed signs of greying and new lines had formed around her mouth and eyes. She hadnt lost that stern determined look but there was a dip in her shoulders and a bend in her posture. She didnt cry but about her was the look of a deep fog.

From what i could tell. Most of the family that was blood related to me survived but almost none of the ones that married in made it. The children of my siblings showed a stronger change.

My nieces and nephews were more like me. Not just because many of them were closer in age to me than my siblings but because they had horns and claws. The light sheen of scales and a few of the youngest ones now had tails.

We layed in our pallets. No one seemed like much for talking after today. Despite the quiet, It felt like a gathering at the big daughters house. The crowded room with barely enough space for elbows and knees, the sounds of breathing, and the occasional squal of a babe.

As i layed next to my kids surrounded by family members In the low light I felt a wash of relief fall off me. The quiet tears were hot and burned at the corners of my eyes.

My kids would know their grandmother. Could meet their cousins. Run half naked at festivals. Learn our craft. Maybe we could get pyros to get a few goats and start a heard again. Their was plenty of grazing space on the mountain and as long as i kept them from grandpa tree, it should be fine. Well make cheese, and bread. Not the puffy kind but the flat kind that browns with pockets that bubbled.

The world felt full. Capable of impossible and magical things. Grandpa tree is going to shake with joy. My wings flapped alittle while i layed on my stomach and i stopped them quickly. My arms as a pillow, i rested my head heavily. Living here, along side my family, under Pyros protection was probably the best thing that could possibly happen. I no longer had to worry about being dragged off by Talon or imprisoned from kids by Dante.

Things might not be able to go entirely back to the way they were but that doesnt mean they couldnt be good again. All i had wanted before was to be loved entirely by a man to makeup for the attention i lacked when i was younger but now that im older, rather than a man i just wanted more time with my family.

I was almost scared to go to sleep. If i woke up tomorrow will they still exist? What if the snores im hearing and the smell of sweat and skin were just something i made up from a head wound or to much wine but the current was there. The vibrating current like a torrent of buzzing bees living inside every rocky surface.

It tells me that what im experiencing is real. Undeniably. Some where in this mountain the pearl and the mountains heart are surging with that buzzing energy. It would feel happier if it was in the water, i tbought. The buzzing pulls would feel like a soft sonar below the waves, lulling the water with its constant rythm. Thinking anout water, Roka came to mind. We had spent a brief but intense time together. I couldnt help but wonder what he was doing now.