The Queen Of All Strange Things

20

We pretty much got there before the crocodiles did. Mermen were on the banks, selling ornaments made with sea shells and corals, sea food, starfish and an occasional pearl. To tell you the honest truth, mermaids were the last thing I was expecting to see here in Sightless.

There were piers all over the area with people bending down to buy stuff from the mer-folk. There were even a few merchants selling goods to them instead.

The men wore nothing on the top. Some wore a vest occasionally. I think they were guards since they had spears. Women wore a soft draping which fluttered trough the water with their long hair floating on the surface. I saw one holding a small baby who was crying.

'River sickness,' said Slitzer as we passed by.

What amused me were the tails. They were silver with rainbow patterns shimmering over the corners at the edge of the scales as the sun reflected its light off them. The end of the tails was like that of a boney fish too shimmered in silver. I really hoped they might be the aquatic version of a human, but they really were just half fish.

Everyone looked up at us as we flew over them.

'The queen!' one cried.

The merfolk stopped their work and looked up.

Andrew nudged at me.

'Ehem,' I said. 'I'm sorry to interrupt but there is a pair of giant crocodiles heading this way_'

The crowd instantly panicked. Of course the terrestrial folk ran out of the docks for their lives. The problem was with the mermaids. The merfolk squirmed, looking to and fro. Honestly, where could they go?

I looked at Andrew. He was thinking the same thing.

We need a plan.

'Okay,' I said. Salzar landed on the pier.

I looked around. The Nile was too wide to lay a barrier across. The crocodiles were forty feet long. I doubt they will notice a few mermaids.

'Hide under the priers,' I said. 'All of you. Try to crawl to the banks and hide behind the reeds. Whoever is in the water, don't move at all. Crocodiles are sensitive to movement.'

'Are you sure?' said Andrew. 'This might be a bad idea.'

'What else can we do?'

He nodded.

'Hay, can you contact Poseidon?' I said.

'Are you nuts?'

'Or... someone related to water?'

He stood there with a blank expression.

'Or a metal fence that is about twenty kilometers long to hold giant crocodiles for a while?'

He jumped to his senses and climbed on Salzar.

'Give me ten minutes.'

If we were lucky the crocs might simply swim past us. But I doubt our luck. I saw some of the women swim away deeper into the bands with their children. The men with spears formed a line across the Nile. I doubted it was a good idea, but they seemed confident enough. I simply stood on the docks, staring down at the green water below me. If I fall, I'm doomed. I didn't know how to swim.

'Eh... the crocodile is forty feet long you know,' I said to the guard below me. 'It's very very big.'

He nodded, gripped his spear and focused his gaze forward.

Well, I did warn them. I just hope Andrew had some idea of what he's doing. I felt very useless, just standing like this. I crossed my fingers behind my back. The Nile was surprisingly silent. I just wish that there could be a net wide enough to cover the Nile. While we waited I looked down at the mermaids below the pier. They were clutching their children. At least we warned them.