Blood Moon (Blood Rain Book 2) Read online

“I knew your voice sounded familiar. What about Kylas and Mirilee?”

  “As soon as the guards started coming after us, they used the confusion to slip away and went back to the ship. Pyron said he ran into them when he started looking for you and they were okay. They were very worried about us and they felt terrible for talking you into coming.”

  Mercy sighed, “This was such a bad idea, but I never should’ve gone along with it. I’m going to try not to take it out on them, but it was awful.”

  “I’m sorry it took us so long to get there. Pyron had to make everything seem convincing. He forged those papers, talked to his operatives, and covered every loose end.” Erebus added begrudgingly, “It was kind of impressive.”

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m glad to be going back to the ship. How are we going to get on without it seeming suspicious?”

  Erebus shrugged, “He didn’t have a chance to discuss that part with me. Right after he bandaged me, he said he needed to talk to someone on the ship. It seemed like there was always someone around so that we couldn’t talk openly, but based on what he said while we were leaving I’m guessing he arranged for someone to meet us next to the docks.”

  As they approached the docks, Erebus veered off on a side street onto a dirt road leading to the beach. They were still within sight of the docks, but just barely. From that far away, no one would be able to tell Mercy’s ethnicity only that she was a foreigner. She tried not to be nervous, but after the events of the day, she wanted nothing more than to be safely aboard the ship. Erebus glanced around him and when he was sure no one else was watching, he took the slave collar off of her neck.

  He chuckled. “I don’t need two slaves. I’m still trying to get rid of the first one I got. I think Kylas still thinks I want to sell him to my colony.”

  Mercy tried to laugh, but she suddenly found herself crying. The events of the day were finally catching up with her, and the pain of her finger and forehead was becoming agonizing. She also realized that she had a small cut on her eyelid dripping blood into her eye. It brought with it a flood of unpleasant memories from her trials as she fled her village in the blood rain.

  Erebus swept her into a hug. “It’s going to be okay now, Mercy.”

  Beryl suddenly emerged from the water in front of them. “This time, Erebus knows what he’s talking about. Come on, Mercy. Let’s get back to the ship.”

  Mercy expected Beryl to come up to the shore, but he continued to stand chest deep in the water. She also noticed that he was no longer disguised and his hair was its natural teal color along with his eyes.

  Erebus called to him, “How are we going to get there without being seen?”

  “You can manipulate your body, right? Can you turn into something with gills?”

  “Yes, but what about Mercy?”

  Beryl said in an embarrassed voice, “Mercy is coming with me. I’ll make sure she can swim all the way there without surfacing.”

  Erebus gave Beryl a dirty look. “Isn’t there any other way?”

  Beryl shrugged. “Pyron seemed to think this was the safest way.”

  “I sometimes get the feeling Pyron doesn’t like me very much. Okay, fine. As long as poor Mercy gets on the ship as quickly as possible, I don’t care.”

  Erebus dove into the water without another word, swimming in the direction of the ship. Mercy couldn’t tell, but she thought she saw his body morphing into something strange. He was too far away for her to know for sure.

  Beryl reached out. “Don’t worry. I’m going to get you back safely. Swim out to me.”

  Mercy swam up to Beryl and then realized why he didn’t come to the shore. He was wearing a long shirt and nothing beneath it. Mercy blushed, looked in the direction Erebus had gone, and backed away.

  She felt Beryl’s embarrassment as he said with a hurt expression, “Do you really think I would hurt you, Mercy? I need you to trust me. Take my hand. You’ll be safe soon.”

  Mercy reached out and took Beryl’s hand. He led her further out into the water and Mercy noticed his legs seemed to meld together, folding inward like the wings of a butterfly into a long, teal fishtail. She couldn’t help but stare. She gaped at the scales across it that seemed to shimmer like gems in the sparkling water. The scales were a varied mixture of colors. Some were as black as ebony, some as green as emeralds, some as blue as sapphires, but most of them were the same teal color as Beryl’s hair.

  “I guess you’ve never seen me with my tail before. Hold my hand, tightly. We’re going to the ship. I want you to stay underwater the entire time. If you need air, squeeze my hand. Don’t worry, you don’t need to surface. Just squeeze my hand, and I’ll take care of it.”

  Mercy nodded and dove beneath the water. She slowly opened her eyes. Even though the ocean water stung, she wanted to see ahead of her as much as possible. She was glad that the water was so clear. She could see Beryl’s form vaguely in front of her, and little dashes of yellow as fish rushed away from her as she swam. All of her wounds seemed to feel better in the salty water, even her mangled little finger. As they got further out, Mercy began to see multi-colored plants reaching up from the ocean floor that Beryl was careful to avoid. Even though she was trying to hold her breath as long as possible, she could feel her lungs beginning to burn. She squeezed Beryl’s hand.

  To her surprise, he stopped and turned around. He gently wrapped his long, fishtail around her, pinched her nose and pressed his mouth against hers, breathing a mouthful of air into her hungry lungs. She could see why he wrapped his tail around her. In her surprise she almost tried to break away from him.

  His lips were warm and soft against hers, and she felt her cheeks getting hot with embarrassment even in the cold water. He seemed to notice, because she could barely make out a grin on his face. He seemed to be laughing, but he quickly brought his mouth back to hers and gave her several more mouthfuls of air before finally turning around and swimming again. Mercy felt dazed, as though he had pulled her into a passionate kiss instead of simply giving her air to breathe.

  Mercy remembered Ailfrius’ story. “That’s when the Mermen and Mermaids found me. It was a group of them. They breathed air into my lungs.”

  Mercy thought, bemused, “And now I’m one of the few women who can say the she kissed a Merman.”

  Beryl continued to rush in the direction of the ship, but she could tell he was taking her farther out to make sure that no one saw them approaching the boat. He pulled her closer to the sea floor, and she realized why he was keeping her away from the plants. He flinched away as one of his arms brushed against one. Apparently they burned. She was more careful to stay right next to him afraid the same thing might happen to her. She had to squeeze his hand two more times before they reached the boat, and both times he did the same thing, pulling her close with his tail into a kiss and filling her lungs with air.

  When they got to the ship, Beryl knocked three times against the hull. The second mate, Lavirin lowered a rope ladder down to them. Mercy watched in fascination as Beryl’s tail once again became legs and his hair changed back into plain brown with eyes that matched. She quickly glanced away in embarrassment realizing that, of course, he was still nude from the waist down.

  As soon as they reached the deck, Lavirin rolled his eyes and tossed Beryl a pair of pants. “Cover your shame.”

  Beryl asked, “Did Erebus get here safely?”

  “Yes. He got here about five minutes before you did.”

  “Well, Mercy needed a little more air than he did. You okay, Mercy?”

  Mercy realized she was staring a little too intently at Beryl’s muscular bottom.

  She raised an eyebrow and laughed. “I think I’m in love!”

  Beryl blushed and began fumbling with the pants. “Oh, sorry. Lavirin, remember our deal.”

  “I remember. If you’ll just please hurry up and put those pants back on, I’ll keep your secret. Just don’t forget your end of the bargain.”

  “Th
anks. I won’t.”

  Lavirin chuckled, “You’re just lucky that I didn’t tell old Ailfrius what you are. He’d never leave you alone for the rest of the trip.”

  Mercy smiled, thinking of her conversation with Ailfrius. If anything good came out of the day, it was talking to him.

  As soon as Beryl was covered up, he grabbed an oil lamp and handed it to Mercy.

  “What’s this for?”

  “Pyron wants you to stay with Erebus in the smuggling compartments under the cargo hold until the ship takes off. He thinks it’s the safest place for you to hide. He told me to give you a lamp because he said the dark might bother you.”

  Mercy shivered. “He was right.”

  “If you need anything, send Erebus up since he can disguise himself. You just stay there. When it’s safe, Pyron will come down to get you, and he’ll tend to your injuries. He’s better at that than I am. Still, there might be one thing I can do. I’ll be right back.” Beryl disappeared below decks.

  Mercy waited for a few minutes, and Beryl came back and handed her two thin rags that were wrapped around something lumpy. She gasped as she took them from him. They were freezing cold. Mercy carefully unwrapped one. At first she thought she was looking at some sort of crystal, but then she realized both rags contained a large lump of ice.

  “Ice? How did you do that?”

  Beryl winked. “My people have their ways. One is for your head, and the other is for your finger. That should make them feel much better.”

  Mercy hugged Beryl. “Thank you, Beryl, for bringing me back.”

  “It was my pleasure, Mercy. I’m just glad that you’re safe. All of us are. Be sure to tell Erebus that I wouldn’t have done that if I thought there was any other way.”

  Mercy felt that Beryl wasn’t particularly disappointed that he had to give her air by mouth, but she decided to keep the observation to herself.

  “I’ll tell him.” Mercy started walking towards the cargo hold.

  Lavirin got in front of her. “I’ll show you the entrance to the smuggling compartments. You won’t find it on your own.”

  Mercy murmured her thanks. She was grateful that she would soon be somewhere safe. As she turned the corner, Mercy was suddenly assaulted with warm embraces from Mirilee and Kylas. To her surprise, Mirilee was crying. She didn’t think she had ever seen Mirilee in tears, even when situations were at the most desperate. She tended to prefer to be alone with her emotions.

  Mirilee said in a pained whisper, “Mercy, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  Any anger that Mercy felt at them melted away into simple exhaustion and relief at seeing that they were both okay.

  “I’m okay, Mirilee. You couldn’t have known what would happen.”

  Kylas hugged her but then looked at the floor. He wanted to say something, but Mercy could tell he was feeling too guilty and ashamed. Mercy didn’t have to know what he was going to say to know that he clearly thought all of his excuses would sound weak.

  Mercy quickly added, “You couldn’t have known either, Kylas. We’ll talk about it later. Right now I just need to rest, okay?”

  Kylas nodded weakly. “Okay. I’m sorry, Mercy.”

  Lavirin went with her to the hold. Even though Mercy had been to the hold before, she had forgotten how dreary it was. It smelled like mildew, old water, and rotten food. There were barrels and boxes of various types of cargo, everything from food to casks of ale. Erebus’ small barrel of blood was off by itself in a corner, clearly meant not to draw any attention.

  Lavirin showed her to the smuggling compartment. It was surprisingly large and very well-hidden. Lavirin was right. If he hadn’t been there to show her the entrance, she never would have found it. The primary entrance was a false bottom in one of the supply barrels that ended in a ladder.

  Lavirin said as she climbed down, “This isn’t the primary entrance. That’s hidden underneath the cargo crates. This entrance is if one of us needs to hide from authorities or other unforeseen problems, but you need a larger entrance to load and unload the area.”

  Mercy expected the smuggling compartment to be empty, but there were several small crates within it. It made her wonder what they contained. She smelled one familiar scent from the crate closest to her – vigor ash root. She was glad that she no longer needed it. The root could keep a person going for days, but it was very addictive and dangerous if used in large quantities. It wasn’t hard for her to believe that the root was probably illegal in other cities but still in demand. As she studied the crates, she noticed that Lavirin began to feel possessive, like a child afraid that someone was about to steal one of his favorite toys.

  “Now, don’t go looking in any of those crates. We wouldn’t want you getting sick or anything.”

  Mercy grinned. “Or it might be that you’re more concerned that I might eat something you’re planning to sell. Most of these crates probably belong to you, right?”

  Lavirin chuckled. “You’re not far off. Don’t worry. No one will find you in here. The pitch will keep the light from leaking up through the cracks. You should be out before the smoke from the lamps will be a problem.”

  With that, Lavirin climbed up the small ladder that led out into the hold and replaced the false bottom of the barrel, leaving Mercy alone with Erebus. It wasn’t as dark as she expected since Erebus was already waiting inside with one lit oil lamp. He was playing with a deck of cards and drinking from a wine bottle. Mercy didn’t need to smell the coppery scent to know that blood was in the bottle. Erebus would need to replenish his blood supply since he was using so many of his magical abilities to disguise himself and to heal from the wound in his back.

  Mercy lit her lamp, as well, and the entire compartment was well-lit enough that it felt more like a cozy, enclosed room than a smuggling compartment. Erebus had returned to his normal human form. His glacial-blue eyes regarded her with curiosity, and she felt a little bit of possessive jealousy from him as well. Mercy scowled in his direction. Right now, petty emotions seemed ridiculous. She decided it would be best to address the problem before allowing it to fester into real anger.

  “You knew what Beryl would do to give me air, didn’t you? Are you really jealous over that? I thought there was no reason for you to be jealous. After all, you were the one who said we couldn’t be together.”

  Erebus looked up from his playing cards and locked eyes with her for a moment.

  “I’m not jealous. I just think there was probably a better way to get you back here without taking you through the water at all. You were bleeding. You could’ve been attacked by a shark.”

  “A shark attack was the last thing on my mind. I’m just grateful to be back on the ship.”

  Erebus sighed. “I’m sorry, Mercy. I’m not mad at you or Beryl. I just never should’ve gone along with that stupid plan. At the very least, I shouldn’t have let you go.”

  “You couldn’t have stopped me, you know.”

  “You didn’t want to go at first. I could’ve talked you out of it, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to go. I wanted to get off of the ship, and to see the Ashen capital up close.”

  Mercy sighed. “I wanted to see it too, but I think we both saw more than either of us ever wanted to see. Anyway, it’s over now.”

  Erebus began putting his playing cards away. “It isn’t over yet. Pyron told me some things about the doctor that was torturing you. He said that he’s obsessed with his test subjects. He’s probably going to try to find you before we can leave.”

  Mercy said under her breath, “Thank you, Erebus. I feel much safer, now.”

  Erebus stared at the flame in the oil lamp. “I don’t blame you for feeling unsafe. I couldn’t protect you again. What good is my power if I can’t protect one person?”

  Mercy took his hand. “You did the best that you could. You nearly died to save me again, but you never think it’s enough. I’m not angry that you didn’t protect me. I’m angry because you nearly killed yourself trying. Or are you g
oing to feed me some sort of line about having to do it because of your blood oath to me?”

  “No. Even that time in the cave, it wasn’t about the blood oath. When I saw them chasing after you, all I could think of was that I had to save you – that I didn’t want them to hurt you.”

  Mercy sighed. “Erebus, honestly, I don’t want to hear any of this self-loathing crap right now. I’m exhausted. I want to be angry, to blame someone besides myself for my stupid decision, but I can’t do that. I shouldn’t do that. Everyone regrets going now. You helped me, and I’m grateful whether you want me to be or not.”

  Erebus chuckled. “Well, when you put it that way…”

  “I thought you died earlier. All I could think of was that I wasn’t going to get to see you again. They didn’t catch me, Erebus. I stopped running when I heard you scream. Don’t leave me like that again. I don’t care if we’re together or not. I don’t want to lose you.”

  Mercy felt an overwhelming flood of warmth from Erebus like the heat of a cooking fire. He reached over and pulled her into a long embrace. She sighed and rested her head against his chest, breathing in his moonpetal-nectar scent. It felt good to be held, to temporarily forget the events of the day. She almost felt herself falling asleep, until she heard the footsteps on the floor above her and every single one of her muscles tensed.

  Erebus pulled her closer. She thought she heard a growl from the back of his throat.

  Mercy whispered directly into Erebus’ ear. “Could it be Pyron?”

  Erebus whispered back. “No. Stay very quiet.”

  7

  Mercy didn’t know how she knew it was the doctor walking around the hold of their ship, but she somehow felt it. She could feel that cold personality that seemed to chill the air around him as he walked. Erebus dimmed their lanterns until the flames were barely even visible. The darkness made her instinctively shiver closer to him as she was reminded of the lightless box that was her cell in Crevane’s prison.

  She tried to be silent, but all she could think of was the calculating way that the doctor held the scalpel over her eye, and she made one single whimper. The footsteps stopped momentarily. He began to tap at the planks beneath his feet. Mercy felt his smug satisfaction at the hollow sound his footsteps made on the boards. Dust was falling around her from between the wooden planks. When she breathed it in it made her throat go dry, but she somehow managed not to cough.