A Thousand Salt Kisses Later (Book 2 of Salt Kiss series)

Shell Shock

WHAT did he just say?

I looked down again, and saw the blue tail was now below me; it hung vertically and was not as active as before. I blinked I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing.

I moved backward, away from Spirit and leaned forward so that I could get a better look. Once I had seen it up close, I snapped back upwards and clasped my hands to my mouth.

A light blue sparkly tail had replaced my lower half. I pushed it forward to get a better look. As it moved, I tipped backward and lost my balance, tilting upside-down in the water. I went to kick my legs to reposition myself, but they were well and truly gone.

I began thrashing around. Whatever this thing was below my waist, it felt incredibly restrictive. I hung upside down, struck by a memory of snowboarding - which I really hated – whereby your legs are stuck to one plank. This was exactly how I felt now, and I didn't like it one bit.

I began to float off, up towards the surface.

Spirit, who had been completely frozen, reached forwards and grabbed my hands as I went. He pulled me back down, and reached behind my back, drawing me towards him so that I faced him again.

"You didn't know?" he said, holding my arms so that I did not lose control. His voice had changed; it was much slower and a little shaky. I could tell he was in an even deeper state of shock than me.

"Err, no!" I managed to reply.

He shook his head as he looked at me. "This was not supposed to happen," he said, sounding truly panicked now.

I stared back at him, speechless. I didn't understand. What was not supposed to happen? Why has he brought me here? And why, oh why, did I have a tail?

My throat felt tight, and my breaths became short and rapid. This is like a nightmare. Maybe it is. I lifted my forearm to my mouth and bit it hard, yelping as I felt my teeth dig into my flesh.

"Okay, we're not dreaming," I told Spirit, my voice strained.

I had another thought. I can get my legs back; this is all just some kind of weird accident, and as soon as I surface I'll morph back to human, just like all the mers do.

"I'm going up," I said. "I will change back again."

Spirit nodded and held onto my hands. "We will go together," he said.

We were just about to ascend when suddenly I felt an overwhelming sense of nausea. It started in my glands; that hideous throbbing sensation whereby you know that you are going to puke. I placed a hand to my throat.

"What's wrong?" Spirit asked worriedly.

I tried to answer but my whole gut was now aching, and I moaned, putting a hand to my stomach. As I did so, I began to float away again, and Spirit lunged forwards, grabbing my waist to stop me. He pressed me to him, and I managed to wrap my arm around his neck, clinging on helplessly.

I cannot describe the feeling; it was just utterly rancid. I felt incredibly ill, poisoned, even. A chill spread throughout my body, and as I looked at my arm over his shoulder, I saw that they were covered in goosebumps. But they were a funny type of goosebump; discolored, almost purple.

That was the last thing I remember. After that just darkness.

***

When I woke up, I felt more freaked out than ever. I was in a much darker place than before, and I lay there breathing quickly and deeply, today's events creeping back. The rowing boat... the Croctopus... the transformation...

I sat bolt upright and immediately felt myself move upwards. Damn it, if I was floating, then I was still underwater. I pressed into something hard and rough above me. Rocks.

I looked around, hyperventilating. They surrounded me, and they were all lit up by little flashing things.

I squinted and looked at these sources of light. They appeared to be tiny little luminous specks, darting about like little mosquitos. Faeries.

I felt another wave of panic and then hideous nausea. Oh, my goodness! I felt a tiny bit better, but I still wasn't right.

I managed to grope about, now searching for an exit point. I needed to get out of this claustrophobic hole. Where the hell is Spirit? Has he just dumped me here and left?

I flinched as a faerie buzzed about my head. I was scared of them; I recalled they could give nasty little bites. But this was the last of my worries. I was in a deep, dark place and there was not a soul in sight.

I extended shaky arms above my head, flinching as they connected with rough blobs of rock. I used these barnacled bolsters to push myself along; arms stretched awkwardly as I grappled with my surroundings. I tried to gain control of myself with deep meditative breaths, but chokes of panic kept interrupting them.

What if I never find my way out? And if I do, who can I get to help me? Humans? Mer? Will I even have the luxury to decide?! I'm like, literally in the middle of the ocean – and what if there are more of those monsters?!

Throughout my panic, I began to notice something very odd about the present moment. Even without the fairy light, I realized I could still see. I had an awareness all was dark, but yet, I could process all the shapes around me clearly, and the detail too. I could see the lumps and bumps in every rock, and green moss in certain places.

I looked down with dread. My night vision had made me all the more aware of my new supernatural status. Yep, there it is; still swishing away below. No sign of legs.

I sighed shakily, a string of little bubbles projecting from my mouth. I was in a cave, but up ahead I saw an arch which, judging by the looks of things, was an entrance to the open water. It was night time; I realized looking at the dark water beyond the cave entrance. I must have been dead to the world all day.

As I continued to shuffle forward, I heard voices, and I tried to control my deep, noisy breaths so that I could listen.

"Look, she just shifted..." the voice said.

Oh, thank heavens. It's Spirit. He's here.

"Mer in the blood?" came another voice. It was a deep croaky pitch.

"I have not a clue. I know her not very well," said Spirit. "But she was certainly not expecting it; I am sure it was her first time. Now tell me, what is wrong with her?"

I stopped all movement and craned my ear towards the voices; my hands now clasped firmly around a protruding rock above.

"It's adaption sickness," said the croaky voice. "It is rare, but I believe that is what it is."

"Adaption ... what?" Spirit spat. "Be clearer."

"It is an illness associated with shifting. Some supernaturals don't take to it very well. Most notably, those who were not previously of a supernatural entity."

"Well, how long will it last?" said Spirit quickly.

"Oh, not too long. I believe it is a sun-up to sun-down time frame. If I give her some more of my anemone remedies, she should be a little better by the same time tomorrow. You can try to take her back up again; she could be strong enough to shift back."

I heard Spirit laugh manically. "This is like some kind of a joke," he snapped. "It's the... it's the ceremony tomorrow."

Ceremony? I clung onto my rock in the cave, yearning for more info.

"Hmm, and The King... " said the croaky remedy man. "Does he know about all this?"

"No," said Spirit firmly. "I would prefer him not to, although questions will be raised no doubt about the missing beast."