spray, until it turned cold.
S he thought about calling Sara as she slipped on her robe, but frowned when she did the math. It was only five o’clock in the morning in Bermuda. She’d have to call her tomorrow.
Late that night, she finally climbed under the cotton sheets. They felt like sandpaper against her skin. She tossed and turned until she finally fell into a restless sleep.
A sweet melody glided through the seawater—drawing her forward. Gretchen swam, her legs kicking out hard as she followed the voice. It was beautiful, like an angel, but chilling. She looked down through the surface of the water to see light coming from below. Diving down, she found the entrance to a tunnel. Soon, there was another sound mingled with the first. She could hear it as she neared; it was harsh and high pitched...She broke through the surface of a dark cave, slapping her hands over her ears at an ear-piercing wail.
It was little Jami. She sat, crying, on a rocky shore. Her howling voice echoed off the walls of a sea cave. A woman stood nearby, one who radiated cold beauty. Gretchen’s stomach sickened at the familiar face.
“Hello dear .” The woman smiled, evil glinting in her eye.
“What are you going to do to her?” Gretchen asked—her voice weak and trembling as she looked at the terrified girl.
“Does it matter? She’s nothing to me.”
“Please, just let her go,” Gretchen begged, tears burning her eyes.
The woman’s laugh was like ice. “If you insist.”
Gretchen and Jami’s screams mingled as the woman pitched Jami forward into the water. Gretchen reached for her, pulled her sputtering face up out of the water, and crushed her to her chest.
“Ms. Winters, ” Jami wailed. “Please help me; I don’t want to die.”
“I’ve got you.” Gretchen held her tight in one arm as her other hand grasped the rocky water’s edge. She looked around for an exit, not able to bring Jami out the same way she’d entered. She was much too small to hold her breath that long. But there didn’t seem to be another exit.
“Where did the mean lady go?” Jami asked.
Gretchen looked around, horrified. “Let’s get you out of the water.” She pushed her up to the rocky shore . A scream pierced Gretchen’s ear as something pulled Jami down—her cry cutting off as her face submerged. Gretchen tried to hold on to her wrist, but she wasn’t strong enough. Jami slipped through her fingers.
Gretchen dove down , attempting to catch hold of her again and pull her back. She could see Jami’s horrified face grow smaller, smaller, going deeper and deeper, until she disappeared.
Gretchen shot up in bed, drenched in sweat. Her body trembled. “It was only a dream,” she whispered over and over again as she sat and rocked.
Kyros barely made it to the toilet before he lost last night’s din ner. Who knew walking on legs would make him so sick? It didn’t seem to bother the others. They’d taken the transition without any problem—well, other than being repulsed by their new human bodies.
Kyros just couldn’t handle the way the legs made him feel. The rocking back and forth from one foot to the next and the jarring he got from each step made against the hard floor. Hades, just thinking about it made his stomach turn.
He dove into the indoor pool and entered salty bliss. He didn’t even mind the excruciating pain of the change from human to Dagonian. It was worth getting his fin back. These daily swims seemed to be the only relief he could get. Swimming in the water was heaven. He closed his eyes and imagined he was back in the sea. He would have made an actual trip to the sea if he’d had time, but he was on call for babysitting duty.
An hour later, he could see Straton standing above him through the rippling surface. “Kyros, Xanthus wants to see you,” his muffled voice shouted.
Kyros grunted in reply. A few minutes later, he staggered out of the pool room.
“Your land legs still making you sick?”