Page 30 of Riding the Tide

Brett hurried back out with an old pair of swim trunks. “Here. Brooke hates these things, so it’s no loss if I don’t get them back.”

“You’re not getting them back. And thank you.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“No. Actually, yes. Could you get those clothes back to Nisha or Kannon? I’m probably not going to be around for a while.”

Brett shook his head sadly. “I will. And I’m sorry, Marcus.”

“Yeah, me too.”

THE TRIP from Brett’s penthouse to the water passed in a blur. Marcus carefully kept his mind blank, kept the anger and pain repressed. The closer he drew to the ocean, the more it sang to him. Called to him like a lover.

His need and desperation grew. His brisk walk quickly turned into an all-out rush. He hit the water running and dove in as waves crashed over him. Fuck. Why would he ever want to leave this? What was he thinking?

He surfaced and swam as far away from the land as he could. Even in his present state he knew he couldn’t transform this close to the beach. He swam on, his body cutting through the water. If he never saw a human again, it would be too fucking soon. Pain threatened to rear up and choke him. He shoved it down, farther this time. His body warmed as his mind screamed from one topic to the next. Onward he swam, determination fueling him.

The moon shone on the water, its reflection bent and twisted—kind of like him. Bent. Twisted. Possibly broken.No. Fuck that. He’s not worth it.Finally, he stopped and treaded water. He looked back the way he came, the land far, far away. Perfect. Off the shorts he borrowed from Brett went. He took a deep breath and submerged.

Immediately he calmed as his world surrounded him. Lighting and sounds were so different here. He cleared his mind, and the transformation flowed over his body taking him back to his preferred form. His skin prickled and stung.

His tail formed, and he stretched, shaking out the length and flexing his caudal fin. Water rushed over his gills. Colorful tropical fish darted in and out along the coral reef. Using his powerful tail, he swam closer to the reefs.

A sea turtle floated past. There were mollusks and sponges, too.Zooxanthellae, algae, and sea grasses swayed in the water. It was dark, but he could see just as well at night as he could during the day.

Beams of moonlight tried to penetrate the water, the light dissipating the deeper it went. A lobster wandered by, and a shrimp scurried across a piece of coral. Marcus grabbed it and bit into it, snacking as he let the water soothe him. Hunters hunted, and prey attempted to scamper away. A giant grouper edged past him. Maybe it sensed his sour mood.

A flash caught his eye, and a reef shark darted in at him. Marcus growled and activated the defensive spikes that extended from his clenched fist. The spikes were close to a foot long and needle sharp at the end. Their structure was rigid and made of dense material—possibly bone—embedded in the skin musculature. He needed to be in his mer form to activate them.

The shark, almost sensing Marcus’ hostility, veered off, giving him a wide berth. The spikes slid back in his skin again. Which was just as well. He would defend himself if needed, but killing the shark wouldn’t erase what happened or make him feel better.

He swam farther into the ocean, letting the tides take him where it would. The creatures of the deep avoided him, almost as if they understood. He thought about returning to his cave but decided against it. What would he do there? Sit and brood? At least out here he could swim and brood.

Listless, he continued his journey, staying close to the ocean’s floor. Off in the distance he could see a murky shape. Skeletal remains of a shipwreck rose from the sandy bottom of the ocean—the mast pointing toward the surface.

Colorful coral covered the wreck. Sponges, tunicates, and anemones that lived on the adjacent reef were also on the wreck. Many different species of stony corals and soft corals adorned the ship’s surface. In many ways, it had become part of the sea floor. He swam closer. While some wrecks were literally repulsive to marine life, others became home to new, unexpected communities of animals as this one had.

The wooden parts decayed but the steel didn’t, which offered a good foundation for coral. An accidental shipwreck soon became an artificial reef. The pink sea fans on the wreck grew surprisingly fast. He didn’t know when the ship sank, not that it mattered.

Time lost all meaning as he explored the wreck. It wasn’t his first time there, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Eventually fatigue pulled at his mind, and he turned away from his explorations to return to his cave. Tomorrow, after he rested, maybe he would head out into the open ocean. Maybe do a little exploring. The Indian coastline might be nice to visit or even Thailand.

Anywhere but here.

CHAPTER TEN

BLAIROPENEDhiseyesand frowned at the unfamiliar ceiling.What the hell? That doesn’t look like—he groaned as the events of yesterday tackled him. Eyes squeezed shut, he scrubbed his hands over his face.

Exhaustion rolled over him, but that wasn’t surprising considering the hours spent on the plane trying to get back to the continental US. Sleep called to him, but nature was demanding his attention, too.

Opening his eyes, he kicked the sheet off and rolled out of bed. After he used the restroom, he washed his hands. As tempting as returning to bed was, he resisted. He grabbed a pair of shorts and slipped them on.

A quick check of the alarm clock on the side of the bed told him it was late afternoon. He wandered into the kitchen absently scratching his belly. There wasn’t much food in the apartment since he hadn’t been able to give his landlady much of a warning he was coming, but there was coffee.

He fixed himself a cup and wandered into the living area. Curling up on the couch, he stared out of the window that looked over the city without really seeing it. He thought of Marcus and guilt slapped him hard. He just… He wasn’t ready to think about the situation. Carefully he blanked his mind and finished his coffee.

There were things to do, but nothing was going to get accomplished with him sitting around on his ass. But still he sat. He lacked the energy to do much of anything. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV. Was it him, or did there seem to be an abnormal amount of commercials featuring sand, sun, and beaches?

Restlessness set in, finally driving him off the couch. He wandered back into the kitchen, set the coffee cup in the sink, and opened the pantry. He wasn’t hungry, but eventually he would be. Looked like a quick trip out was called for.

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