Between Scylla and Charybdis - chapter 9 (Patreon)

Her mother was gone. Scylla raked her gaze across the crowd, but the familiar silhouette of her mother was nowhere to be found. Why? What could possibly be more important at this moment?

A couple of mer darted out of the way as the two brawlers reached the top of the crater. Fearful gasps and disgruntled growls rippled through the crowd. Scylla forced her gaze back upon them, just in time to see Scython plant a fist against Diz’ jaw. The latter hurled backwards, almost bumping into a panicked looking female and her young. He regained his bearings quickly, positioning himself back towards his opponent. A glint of rage glistened in his eyes, unlike Scylla had ever witnessed in him before. She bit her lip. This was insane.

Diz shot sideways, making as much distance from Scython as possible. Their gazes met for only a moment as he rushed by, but the fatigue was clear on his face. The fins on Scylla’s neck stood upright and she tensed her body while watching him climb out of the crater. Scython was hot on his tailfin. With the slightest curl of his tail, Diz looped around and turned back down, colliding into Scython with an audible thud. The mers collectively held their breath as both males barreled down towards the edge of the crater. Scython clawed and bit all the way down, until they impacted halfway down the pit. His back slammed into the hard stone, and he let out a sharp and painful wail. A silence fell upon the crater as the fight lulled ever so slightly.

Scylla hurried towards the two males, pushing aside and threatening several Mer who’d already begun curiously swarming them. Now was not the time for them to be curious! When she arrived, Diz leaned against the rockside panting, his tail draped limply across a ridge into the crater, his arms braced trembling against the stone. Scython hadn’t moved from the spot of impact, but from a glance, he looked to be breathing at least.

A strange sort of relief flooded Scylla. She scuttled down the rocks, sand and small pieces of stone giving way and rolling deeper into the pit.

‘Are you okay?!’ It was a stupid question. Both males looked battered beyond belief. Diz’ ears perked up a little as he looked up towards the sound of her voice. A nasty gash ran just below his throat towards his shoulder. Scylla shivered as she realized how close that one was to being fatal.

‘I trust,-’ Diz took a ragged breath. ‘That was enough entertainment to satiate your bloodthirsty lot?’ He winced as he massaged his hurt hand. ‘At least for a little while.’

‘Good to see you haven’t lost your sharp tongue.’ She smiled while crossing her arms and puffing up her chest.

‘Indeed.’ Diz groaned. ‘Though it was closer than I’d care to admit.’ The muscle underneath his chest shifted as he pushed away from the rocks and towards Scylla.

There was a moment, one of pure serenity and relief, where Scylla just watched the male. He was littered with cuts and bruises and looked tired, but had a cocky expression on his face. One that caused a warm flush to rise to her face and ears.

The moment didn’t last long. A female shrieked, both Diz and Scylla instinctively turned towards the sound. Scylla’s stomach filled with horror as she noticed Scython charge directly at the pair of them. It was too late. They couldn’t move out of the way. A sharp pain shot through her wrist as Diz yanked on her arm to pull her flush against his chest. A split second later, Scython collided into Diz’s back, the latter letting out a blood curdling roar.

Scylla couldn’t move. Couldn’t breath. Diz’s body slumped over into hers, his weight pressing down against her chest and on top of her shoulders. Scylla did her best to keep him from sagging to the side, bracing her tail against the rock and wrapping her arms around his waist. A sharp and numbing sting traveled up her arm and she instinctively retreated her hand. A black quill portrided from her palm.

She blinked, trying to wrap her mind around what just happened. Before she could respond, Scython pulled at the base of Diz's tail and dragged him further down the rockside back into the crater. Diz’s back was littered with similar black quills, his body dragged behind Scython devoid of life.

There’s no way this was fair? Scylla couldn’t pull her eyes away from Diz’s limp form. Groups of mer tentatively approached, a similar horror plastered across their faces. Why was no one stepping in? Why didn’t anyone do anything? Ah yes. Only the matron could, and she was conveniently absent. Scylla audibly growled. Well fuck that.

With one swift motion, Scylla yanked the quill out of her palm, the sting hurt like nothing she’d felt before, but sheer rage masked her pain. The only thing she could really feel was the raging fire in her chest. Gripping the quill in her palm, she hurried down the crater.

‘Let him go.’ she snarled as soon as she reached the bottom. Scython had placed Diz on the bottom and drifted over him like the shade of death. He glanced over his shoulder, furrowing his brow at the sight of the female behind him.

‘Mind your own business.’ He growled while dismissing her. Exasperation filled his voice.

‘Let. Him. Go. Or I will make sure the rest of your existence, however brief, is spent in agony.’ Scylla swam closer, pushing Scython away from Diz. Her gills flared in anger.

That caught his attention. Scython recoiled, wincing as he moved, but grinning all the same.

‘Oh? On what grounds?  The trial isn’t over, is it? Not until one of us surrenders or the matron ends it.’ His words only served to anger Scylla more. Scython glanced back towards Diz, who lay unconscious at the bottom of the pit.

‘Are you surrendering, buddy?’ He barked at nothing while waiting for a reply that never came. A grimace stretched from ear to ear. ‘Yeah, I didn't think so either.’

Scylla balled a fist around the quill in her hand. How she longed to rake it across that pretty fucking face, but that wouldn’t solve anything.

‘You’re a filthy cheat.’ she hissed, disgust dripping from her voice.

‘You’ll get used to me.’ He purred in response.

Oh no I won’t. Scylla gritted her teeth, lifted her hand and struck down as hard as she could. Pain spread outward over the surface of her tail as she buried the quill into her own flesh. Scython froze, staring at her with a puzzled look on his face. His mouth twitched as his eyes darted back and forth between the quill and Scylla’s face.

‘What the fuck are you doing?’

Scylla bit through the pain, used it to fuel her rage and raised her voice.

‘Guards!’ She exclaimed loud enough for the entire crater to hear. Several able bodied mer rushed into the pit, flocking around Scylla and Scython.

‘This one has injured me.’ she snarled with a clear voice. The surrounding guards froze. At least half of them must have seen her jab the quill into her own flesh. Their eyes were wide and their tails flicked back and forth with apprehension.

‘Take him away, I don’t wish to see his face ever again.’ Her voice dripped with hatred.

Scython looked alarmed for a second, but when the surrounding guards didn’t respond, he met Scylla’s gaze and let out a low chuckle.

‘Nice try, Scylla. You are not Matron yet.’ he laughed at her.

‘No, but I will be in about a week.’ She paused to make sure the guards, her guards, were listening. ‘And I'll make sure to remember the faces of those who disobey me here and now.’

Scylla raised the fins on her head and neck as she slowly made eye contact with each and every guard present. There was no attempt to hide her threat. One by one, the guards tensed, glancing from Scython to Scylla and back. There was a silent battle of wills being held and Scylla would come out on top. Matron or not, she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

All it took was one of them, an older male to nod in approval and grab Scython by the neck for the others to snap out of their daze and follow suit. Four piled on in helping to subdue Scython while steering clear from his quills. The black male roared and cursed profanities at them, all the way until they were out of earshot. The other two carefully lifted Diz, one supporting his tail while the other lifted his torso.

‘Take him to see Gaia, he needs a healer quickly. Once you’ve done that, find another healer to attend me. I can’t swim with this thing in my tail.’ It was hard not to let a tremble slip into her voice,with the adrenaline slowly fading away, pain took the forefront. Scylla managed it nonetheless. The pair nodded and carried the unconscious Diz back towards the caverns.

The mer watching the fights swam down and flocked around her, showering her with praise, gratitude and admiration. Scylla couldn’t hear any of it over the beating of her own heart.