The Little Mermaid

Chapter 19

"Close your eyes, little darling," Asa said to Kristene.

Reluctantly, she obeyed. She heard a whoosh.

"Alright, now."

She opened her eyes again. She found herself in Asa's mansion, in his tank down in the basement. "You didn't tell me you could do that," she said. "Why did you have to borrow my mind and have me swim all the way there?"

"Didn't you need a bit of time to think over the whole thing?" Asa asked, raising his brows at her as if saying "See how considerate I am?"

Kristene hoisted herself up from the tank. She spread her wings, which were larger and more powerful than before. She flapped her wings, lifting herself from the water. Next, she lunged at Asa at full speed, and smacked him with her tail, sending him flying into a wall.

He grunted. "What?"

"I remember I was going to do that last time I was here."

"Oh really? You are quite the rude kitty." Even so, he wasn't about to stop teasing her with her real name. As he said this line, his shape changed slightly. Black horns grew from his head, the glint returned to his blue eyes, his hands grew into claws, and his auburn hair extended until they were long. The dark shadows engulfed the room. "You want to play with me, little Kitty?"

"Sure." She was aching to try her wings.

Their gaze locked on each other, Asa and Kristene crouched in ready position. They were like leopards waiting for the right moment to pounce. They inched forward, they circled around the room. Then, all of a sudden, the chase began. Their movements were faster than the wind, all that could be seen, if a spectator were present, was some kind of dark shape swooshing.

As soon as it had begun, it ended. That was because one or both of them--it was hard to tell--knocked over a glass ball. The glass shattered on the ground. When he saw that, Asa's face changed. As for Kristene, she had just enough time to see that his face changed before the shattered pieces took over the basement with the replay of a memory that Asa had so carefully locked inside that ball.