Diary of a Radical Mermaid Read Online Free Page B

bound to snap. He killed someone.”
    “No, no, Rhymer didn’t kill anyone. It’s not that simple.”
    “Then what is it?” I shut my eyes. “I feel . . . I feel . . . what? Something I can’t even fathom. Something horrible that scares even you. Something that could hurt Rhymer, and hurt you. What is it? What? Either you tell me what’s going on, Jordan, or I’ll settle at the bottom of your ridiculous mountain pool and refuse to leave. You’ll have an easier time scraping pond algae off your rocks.”
    He sat down on a heavy wooden bench fashioned from thick logs. My sexy, web-footed lumberjack. For awhile he said nothing, frowning at the stone-dark depths of his faux mountain pool. My heart twisted. Jordan was that rarest of creatures — a Mer prince who would have happily given up the tides to live on a simple mountaintop. And yes, his disenchantment with Mer glamour was, in no small part, because of the heartache between him and me.
    I sank down in a damp pool of silk at his feet, fixing unyielding eyes on him. He finally looked at me. “Do you believe in Swimmers?”
    “Swimmers? Swimmers? Is this a joke?”
    “No. Do you believe Swimmers might really exist?”
    I gaped at him, realized he was serious, then snorted. “No. And I don’t believe in the Loch Ness monster, either.”
    “Until a few days ago, I’d have agreed with you.”
    I was speechless. When I recovered, I said, “So . . . you seriously believe we aren’t the only kind of merfolk in the sea. Jordan, I’m sorry, but this is about as logical as debating the existence of fairies, elves, and heterosexual drag queens.”
    “You don’t think there’s some kernel of truth to our legends? Why shouldn’t there be Mers further up the evolutionary shore than us? We already accept that there are differences between ourselves and Landers. Between ourselves and Mer kin who have no webbing on their feet and no special underwater skills. And we don’t dismiss the existence of extraordinary Mers among us — the Healers, for example. So why isn’t it possible that Swimmers exist?”
    “Because there’s no such thing as a shapeshifting merman with retractable claws!”
    “A lot of Mers think they’ve had a brush with a Swimmer, but they can’t prove it.”
    “For the same reason they can’t prove Big Foot exists! Because he doesn’t! Jordan!”
    “I’ve always heard rumors about Swimmers.”
    “So have I. But those are fairytales.”
    “There are plenty of Mers who believe we’re descended from semiaquatic mermaids. Lilith does.”
    “No respect to my great-aunt, but she’s a hard-core romantic.” When he said nothing but only scowled at me I went on. “And, uh, this has something to do with Rhymer? So Rhymer believes in Swimmers, too?”
    “He believes a Swimmer named Orion got his sister killed last week. She was trying to blow up a UniWorld Oil research ship. This Swimmer, this Orion, convinced her to commit the crime. But he didn’t show up to help her. The bomb exploded while she was being chased by the oil company’s security team. She died in the water off the Scottish coast.”
    It was literally as if Jordan had told me to look behind the nearest moss-draped oak for the Creature from the Black Lagoon. My skin crawled. “If such a thing as a Swimmer exists . . . if this Orion is real, and he’s responsible for the death of Rhymer’s sister . . . then why isn’t Rhymer asking for help from the Council?”
    “If Orion is a Swimmer, he’ll evade anyone the Council sends to track him. And he’ll kill anyone who tries to arrest him. And he’ll seek revenge. We believe he’s already planning something. So Rhymer’s coming to Sainte’s Point.”
    “Rhymer plans to hide out at Sainte’s Point?”
    “He’s bringing his nieces there. Orion’s daughters.”
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa. His sister had children with a mythological Swimmer?”
    “Yes.”
    “You’re kidding me.”
    “No. She had children. With Orion. And