Hiraeth: Bonding (III)

Chapter Seven

The first merbeing we encountered followed us for a good ten minutes before deciding we meant no harm. We made it all the way to the second reef before seeing more, and this time there was trouble.

At first the small group of teenage merbeings followed from a distance, like the adult in the first reef had done. But as time passed they got bolder.

"Mike, they're staring at you," Derek observed. He was holding my hand.

"Yeah, I know. T-T-That one's way too close."

The longest being, who had an elegant silver eel tail, was barely five feet from me. Its white eyes peered into mine with a hostile gleam.

"Hey, Miles?" Roxie called. Her, Derek, and I were in the back of the diamond formation. "Can you tell these guys to leave us alone?"

Miles turned his head and blinked at the eel, puzzled. "Why's it doing that?"

"I don't know. It's got its eyes on Mike, though."

Suddenly, the merbeing thrust itself towards me.

"Whoa!" I yelled, dodging just before its clawed fingers would have wrapped around my arm. "What's your problem, dude?!"

Another merbeing, this one with a beluga tail and thick build, went for Derek as soon as his grip loosened. He tore him away from me and everyone froze.

Roxie whipped out a dagger from her backpack, locked one of the smaller merbeings in her arms, and put the blade to their throat.

"Don't you move, creepy," she snarled at Derek's captor. "Mike, stay by Kira."

I did as I was told.

"I-I-I don't understand," Miles stammered while the standoff began. "Merbeings are rarely dangerous. This must be a juvenile gang. My dad says they're starting to show up more in the rural areas."

"What in Sun's name do they want?!" Derek wailed. The beluga being held him tighter, and my light glowed brighter.

The eel being slowly pointed to my friend.

"Huh?" I blurted. "Y-Y-You want him?!"

It nodded with a sour grin.

"Well you can't have him!" Roxie roared, letting go of the small merbing and launching towards the beluga. Her eyes were so angry I could have sworn I saw them turn red.

For someone who had only just gotten fins, my girlfriend sure knew how to use them. She slapped the white-tailed merbeing across the face, causing it to release Derek with a bubbly squeal. She pulled him back into the group and we all floated, a circle facing outwards, ready to fight. The gang circled us in return.

"What do they want with him?" I wondered.

Miles's face drained of color. "The jewel."

Derek gasped and quickly hid Kassandra Green's necklace in his shirt.

One of our attackers started approaching us. It was making sounds like I had heard Frances do before, except the noise was loud and angry. It locked eyes with Derek, who clung to me.

Then, with a lightning-speed swiveling motion, another merbeing came racing through the water. Its eel tail whipped towards Derek, tugging him by the shirt. I was pulled with him through panicked bubbles. I refused to let go.

We were finally dropped. Far away from our friends.

"We gotta stick to one another. Y-You're light enough to steal on your own," I realized as Derek and I righted ourselves out of the sand and faced the merbeing. It sneered down at me. Why was it so tall?