Chapter 22. (Patreon)

Three days. Three fucking days of waiting while the pod put their lives back together. To clear the remaining bodies away from underneath the rubble and clean up the mess of guts from what used to be the Moonsorla cavern.

Each day the hole in Scylla’s chest grew larger. Consuming more of her patience, goodwill and joy. With mothers insistence to get everything washed away, came a pretense that none of it had really happened. Like it had all been just a fever dream, slipping from memory more and more each day. If only it wasn’t for that hole.

Cetus confirmed what she already knew. The hag was being kept in the cistern. The belly of these caverns, a place where no Mer willingly went.

Barging through the crystal filled caverns that led up to her family's personal dens, Scylla came to a halt right outside Midas’ nest. A blue and orange scaled female lay lounging right outside of the entrance, Midas’ snoozing just beyond. He always did prefer the brightly colored ones... Scylla’s dorsal fins raised in annoyance.

’Leave us.’ She bit. The female lifted her head, did a double take, but upon realizing exactly who shooed her away, scrambled to get out of the den as fast as possible.

Midas rolled over, wide awake but with a very satisfied grin plastered across his face.

‘You didn’t tell me you had a mate?’ Scylla hissed. Her brother stretched to his full length, the white of his fins in stark contrast to the royal green and gold of his scales. It seemed his fight with Diz had not left much of an impression.

‘That is because I do not have a mate, dear sister. If I did, I would not let you scare her away in such a rude manner.’

‘Then why do you reek of sex?’

Midas grinned at her query.

‘There’s other ways to have fun, besides mating, little sister. I hardly think I should be the one to explain this to you though.’ Oh, he didn’t have to. Scylla could paint a very vivid picture for herself. A flourish of heat settled right above her abdomen at the memory.

Rubbing the back of his head, Midas draped some of his fins across his shoulder and started picking at stray scales on his tail.

‘Giving you your freedom really turned you into a debauched piece of work, huh?’

‘Only when I visit home. It helps pass the time until I get to leave this place behind me again. I gather there’s a reason for your visit, besides you judging my passtime and chasing away my paramour for a night?’

‘Tonight.’ Scylla hissed. ‘We are going down there tonight.’

Halting his grooming, Midas raised an eyebrow.

‘Tonight? Did you master the spell then?’

The balancing spell. Despite her eagerness to be rid of Diz, mother was reluctant to teach it, finding excuse upon excuse to delay the lessons.

‘No, but I,-’

‘Then we are not going.’

‘Why offer to help me, if you are going to be difficult every step of the way?’ Scylla hissed. Her brother watched her with hooded eyes.

‘You need to at least be capable of defending yourself before we go.’

‘I can defend myself, Midas. I don’t need fancy magic for that. Besides, he’s chained up and wounded. Just what do you think he’ll do?’ Her brother paused, granting her his best ‘Do you really want an answer to that question?’ face. He was being difficult on purpose.

‘I offered you my help, cause this is clearly important to you, little sister. And because mother wants nothing more than to bury the matter completely, leaving you bereft of a resolution.’

‘You disagree with mother then?’

‘On many things. That being said, meeting the hag alone is beyond dangerous, foolish even.’ Midas pushed out of his nest to swim over to her. ‘-but you clearly need closure if we are going to get your head straight. That and you did save my life. So I guess I owe you one.’ Her brother let out an exaggerated sigh.

‘You’re full of shit…we both know you're doing this just to spite mother.’ Scylla smirked as she tilted her head.

‘You know me too well. Fine then. I’ll arrange passage to the cistern, but I would feel a whole lot better if you didn’t go in there alone. If you don’t wish to take me, take Lyca or hell, any one of us will do.’

‘No.’ Scylla was resolved in this. ‘It has to be just me.’

‘For what reason did mother spawn us if not to protect you.’ Midas grimaced.

That ruffled her scales.

‘Don’t you ever say that again. It’s untrue.’

‘You know it isn’t.’ The sad smile on Midas’ face burdened Scylla more than she anticipated. It was gut wrenching to see that her brother really felt that way.

The pair met up later that night, being sneaky wasn’t exactly in the cards, the two of them would stand out everywhere they went. The best they could do was pretend to belong.

‘Stop fidgeting.’ Midas growled. Scylla nodded, but couldn’t suppress the nerves that rose in her stomach. They descended far into the bowels of the caverns. The crystals lighting their path growing more sparse every passing minute, forcing them to continue on in the dark. Reaching the cistern wouldn’t be hard though. They could follow their noses. A putrid smell forever rose up from within.

Long long ago, a creature the size of a seadragon got stuck down there. Scylla didn’t know its species or appearance, Only that its body was trapped in ice, only fragments of it visible to the naked eye. Those fragments were enough to scare the hell out of her. There it was preserved for hundreds, maybe thousands of years, and there it would have stayed, if the oceans were not warming. Slowly but surely, the glacier around its body melted, exposing the creature's flesh to the water bit by rotting bit. As such, the cistern remained enveloped in a neverending sweet smell of death and decay. The perfect prison.

Midas retched, covering his nose and mouth. ‘Yup, we are definitely going in the right direction. Scylla reached for the wall to support herself with a trembling hand.

‘Hey…’ he hushed. ‘If you’re scared, we can go back.’ She shook her head.

‘I have to. I need to know.’ Too much of it didn’t make sense. He did not make sense.

Their path continued straight down into the dark. Being Mer, their eyesight was pretty good, even in darkness like this. Their eyes could pick up the faintest ray of light, but down here, there really wasn’t much to work with. Along the way, Scylla could have sworn she heard all kinds of creatures, lurking around the nearest corner, watching the two of them from beyond her vision. It was crazy really. Nothing dared venture down here anymore. Not even monsters.

‘Do you think mother has been down here?’ Scylla broke the silence.

‘No, she hates it as much as any sane mer would…’ His voice responded from beyond the dark.

‘Trust me, she hates Diz more.’

‘Rightfully so, don’t you think? Grab my tail, before we get separated… and you should probably stop referring to him by that name.’ Scylla reached out, taking hold of Midas tailfin. The simple gesture reminded her of when she was younger and he would drag her around everywhere. She loved those rides back then, and she missed spending time with her brothers. Their company, their laughs. As absurd as the situation was, she missed this.

‘It’s strange, being with Diz,- Charybdis, reminded me of you guys.’ Midas abruptly stopped, causing Scylla to bump into him.

‘I don’t know whether that was meant as an offense or not?!’

She let out a short chuckle, which she immediately regretted, tasting rot upon her tongue.

‘Not in the way you think. Talking to him reminded me of what we used to be like. The six of us together against the world. I miss those days. The ease of them.’

‘Sis, you don’t need to woo a hag to get that. We’re here for you. All of us.’

‘Except you haven’t been here, have you? None of you have. The first chance you got, all of you fled, leaving me alone with her.’

Midas remained very quiet after that. It wasn’t fair to hold him accountable for leaving, not after knowing what he went through before she was born, but that didn’t mean her situation sucked any less.

‘I’m sorry if I failed you like that, sister.’ The sound of his voice turned heavy and pensive. They continued the rest of the way in silence.

A couple of hundred meters further down, they stopped at a large circular gate, its rim decorated with a timeworn relief depicting what looked to be humans in strange wavy garments. Scylla halted in front of the gate, staring at the figures with a nervous interest.

‘I really would feel better if you allowed me to accompany you.’ Midas scooted up next to her, putting a hand on Scylla’s shoulder. Out of all her brothers, she never wouldn’t pick Midas as the most responsible one, but now his face was dead serious as he refused to let the gate out of his sight.

‘No. You’ve already fought the last battle in my stead. This one is my responsibility.’

Midas clicked his tongue in frustration but eventually nodded.

‘I’ll be right here if you need me.’

Breathing became harder, not just because of the smell but because of the nerves tightening Scylla’s chest, clutching at her throat. She bravely took off, dipping down below the gate into a crumbled basin that connected the outside to the inside of the cistern. The smell became even more intense when her head popped back up at the other side of the wall. Staying very still, Scylla peered into the darkness of the cistern. An eerie greenish glow illuminated the chamber, originating from beyond the ancient ice that made up the far wall of the room. Two giant statues flanked either side of the wall, stone depictions of what Scylla gathered to be human females wearing the same garments as the reliefs outside. The stone cloth floated to their sides like they were caught in a never ending storm. Gripped between their fingers were two dark chains, dropping down towards a central dais.

Scylla swallowed. There, right at the centre of the dais, the hag hung chained, arms spread apart, surrounded by a circle of dhholms. His head hung low and unmoving, blocking her vision of his face.

What gave her another moment's pause was seeing that enormous tail again. She hadn’t given it much thought leading up to now, and there hadn’t been much time during the fight to take it in, but that thing really looked alien. It was solid black like her own tail, but its scales looked sharp and tough, almost like natural armor. The very top of it brandished a row of nasty looking spikes that ran all the way down to his tailtip.

That tail alone would account for five, maybe six or seven times her own bodyweight. If he’d used it in combat, none of them would have stood a chance. He could crush any of them with one swipe. It wasn’t a comforting thought to say the least. Luckily, the middle section of the tail looked to be chained down onto the dais, a heavy dark iron bar pinning the length of it down to the cold stone.

Gathering her courage, Scylla pushed out of her hiding spot and out into the open. After all the trouble of coming down here, she wasn’t just going to turn tail and leave. She came here for answers. Her movement spurred the hag to lift his head, chains rustling as his arms pulled down but halted once the chain went taut.

‘I figured you would be five steps into an escape plan by now, but you’re still here. My mistake.’ She put up a brave and cold face.

Charybdis let out an audible groan, gathering his strength to pull at his restraints. The metal chain pulled tight and for one treacherous second, Scylla feared it might give, but his body eventually sagged down in defeat, while the chain held fast.

‘Just enjoying the peace and quiet down here, princess. It’s the most rest I have gotten in days.’ It was too strange, seeing him like this, utterly still and unfamiliar. Scylla drifted towards the dais with morbid curiosity.

‘I knew you’d come.’ He rasped. The sound of his voice sent a shiver down her scales and instantly put her on high alert. Of course she’d come.

‘I had to see for myself what kind of monster you really are.’ She spat.

‘And? Is what you see to your liking, Princess?’ The hag rose slightly in his chains, taking some of his weight off of his arms and onto his bound tail. The mass of scales shifted up onto the dais soundlessly as his tail coiled around the stone. Not long after, A hint of pain darted across his face at the effort. Blood still oozed into the water from his flank, where the dagger made of bone still rested in between his ribs. A wound like that would kill a mer. It should kill him too. Yet here he was.

‘It’s definitely an adjustment.’ Her gaze trailed back to the length of his new tail. ‘Growing up I heard tales about your kind. About creatures that exist in the dark, made to prey upon honest mer. Monsters with unbound hunger and power. Your kind exists at the root of every tale of the sea.’

‘You give me too much credit. Sometimes tales are only tales.’

‘Not in your case. You’ve plagued my pod since before I was born. Your reputation precedes you.’ The hag lowered his head, a hint of anger darkening his eyes. It shook her slightly, but she continued nonetheless. ‘Any sane leader would end you the very first chance they get.’

Being near him was so much harder than anticipated. Her instincts were screaming to get as far away from here as possible, yet her heart kept her frozen in place, vaguely aware that the space between them was growing smaller and smaller every second.

‘Then why spare my life?’ He growled, his voice barely a low hum.

Scylla had to take a deep breath to get her thoughts straight.

‘Spare your life? Oh no no no. Your life is forfeit. I merely bought you some time.’ Mother would still have his head. It was merely a matter of time before she demanded Scylla finish the job.

‘You could’ve let your mother kill me.’ A sinister twinkle lit up his eyes. ‘-and be done with me, but you didn’t. Why?’

‘Quiet.’ It took all of Scylla’s willpower to not cause her voice to tremble. The soft clanking of chains echoed through the chamber as Charybdis once again shifted his weight up on his arms.

‘You lied to me. Betrayed me. In ways I first didn’t even think possible! You thought you could manipulate and throw me away just like that? No Diz…. I won’t be taken lightly, and I won’t be part of whatever you are scheming any longer.”

Charybdis let out a low chuckle. The sound heightened every last one of Scylla's senses, setting her scales on edge until she was on full alert.

“My scheme? Mind you, dearest. If anyone is to blame for this whole situation, it has to be you.’

There was no way she was hearing this right. Scylla’s ears popped as she honed in on Charybdis’ face. An equally frustrated scowl met hers.

‘You dare blame me for your misfortune?!’ Her vision turned crimson.

‘Oh, I do. If it weren't for you, Agathis would never have surprised me like that. If it weren’t for you, I would have destroyed those drums when I first laid eyes on them. You were a fine little distraction for mommy. Unwitting, sure, but I wasn’t the one using you, Scylla. She was.’

Like waves crashing on the rocks, his words washed over her, but they only served to infuriate her further.

‘Silly me.’ She gritted her teeth. ‘Thinking that perhaps you were different. How dare I cause trouble for the clever old hag, when clearly all you wanted was an easy way to cut the head off the snake. How dare I forget that I’m just a meek little female, raised only to serve another's purpose!’ Scylla let out a sob, her own words cutting deeper than any of his did.

‘No.’ He growled, fury now baked into his expression.

Scylla’s teeth smacked together with an audible pop.

‘How dare you make me feel things when I wasn’t supposed to!!’ Charybdis’ voice bouldered across the cistern, echoing onto the stone and lingering in the chamber. With every rendition, the sound sent another tremble over Scylla’s fins.

loud coughing followed closely after, when Charybdis’ chest sagged. He wriggled against his binds to get at the bone dagger, but ended up moaning and dropping his head.

‘You think so little of yourself.’ he wheezed, clearly in pain. ‘Don’t get me wrong…, I fully expected you to be the matron's mindless pup too, eager to please and easily manipulated.’ Scylla’s heart beat out of her chest as she watched the hag pull on his chains, despite the pain.

‘But you weren’t. You are bold and fantastic and more than any of those ungrateful rats deserve.’

‘Stop it…’ She did not want those words. Not from him.

‘You could be so much more still. Those idiots your mother tried to pair you off with don’t see it. She doesn’t see it, but I do. You’d mate a rock before giving yourself to any of them.’

A brisk laugh escaped her, not out of amusement, but due to sheer nerves and panic.

‘So I should just give myself to you then? A hag who preyed upon my family for generations? Are you completely mad?’

‘Yes, to all of it. Yes. I must be at this point. Just look at me, chained up in the bowels of the ocean and all I can think about is a wet-nosed welp.’ She longed for those words, but to hear them from him now threatened to tear apart everything she believed in. Her brothers, her family. Choosing him could get all of them killed. She could still get herself killed.

Sensing her hesitation, the hag let out a low purr.

‘Is it fear or disgust I see in your eyes?’

‘Does it really matter?’

‘To me, it matters a great deal. I’m used to seeing both in Mer, they blend together after a while. So which one is it?’

Turning her gaze away from his face, Scylla glanced upon his tail again. The sharp edges of his scales, the faded scars on the soft flesh below. It bothered her only due to the strangeness of it. But his face, his face remained the same, less refined and darker, but the same.

‘You don’t disgust me.’ She answered after a loaded silence.

‘Fear it is then.’ A ripple of tension shot up his body. ‘I can’t blame you. It is smart to fear me.’ Something touched her tail, just above the flare of her fin. Before Scylla could turn, it coiled up and around her limb, pulling her down towards the cavern floor. The hags' tail tip wrapped around her, pulling her ever closer and gripping tight like it was an extra claw. She halted, barely a breath away from his face, still caught in its grip.

‘You are right that I am a monster. The depraved things I would do if it weren’t for these chains…’ Scylla’s head snapped upward, meeting Charybdis’ gaze and without losing a second, she struck him. His head snapped to the side and her palm throbbed, but the pain at least pulled her out of her paralyzed state.

‘Release me at once!’ She yelped, but the tremble in her voice was gone as well as her fear.

Charybdis grinned, that same smug ass grin as always, but then sunk into another coughing fit. This one louder and more raw, causing his diaphragm to contract and his tail to slide off her and fall to the side. Acting on instinct, Scylla’s hand dropped down to support the unmarred side of his torso, while the other lifted his chin. Small clouds of blood drifted away from his lips. He was bleeding internally.

After regaining some of his composure, the hag groaned in pain.

‘Not even a pup would fear me in this state. I have to give it to your mother. She takes no half measures.’ The shredded skin around the dagger looked angry and inflamed, the edges of it were slowly turning black.

Quickly forgetting his insolence, Scylla lowered herself to inspect the wound closer.

‘What is it?’

The hag shivered at her touch. Muscles rippling underneath her claws.

‘A curse. One that binds my power inside of my own bones, quite the blunt  interpretation of the spell, but it works. Ancient magic is cute that way.’

Turns out this wound would in fact kill him, just at a very slow and leisurely pace. Scylla felt her chest constrict. It wasn’t that long ago when she considered Diz to be hers. Seeing him hurt, it bothered her even though it shouldn’t.

Enough of this…

‘Why’d you spare my brother?’ With a stroke of her hand, Scylla was back at his eye level, way too close, still well within reach of his tail should he try to grab her again.

Confusion caused Charibdis to stir, struggling against another coughing fit.

‘The golden one? Because you asked me to?’ Observing every miniscule expression, every twitch and frown, Scylla tried to see the truth.

‘Do you wish to harm my family or me?’

‘Only if they harm you first, they are yours to do with as you please.’ Another cough. ‘I already told you, I do not wish to hurt you.’

Scylla took a deep breath, letting all of the nerves she felt sink deep down into her stomach. She could not afford them right now. They would only cloud her vision.

‘Do you love me?’

Charybdis’ mouth fell open, Staring at her like she’d just suggested whales could fly. A playbook of emotions ran wild on his face.

‘I don’t know. I have heard many wondrous things about love. Much of it sounds too good to truly exist.’ He met her gaze. ‘Like it is supposed to be pure and selfless for instance.’

Oh you’ve got to be kidding…‘That’s not… what I asked. Just answer plainly.’

Before doubt could take hold, the male leaned forward. Charybdis let his thoughts linger, carefully considering his next words.

‘I do know with perfect certainty that I would rip apart anyone who would take you from me. I’d destroy these caverns and every creature in them if it meant keeping you from harm. I lied, cheated and killed to get here, and I’d do it all again to keep you by my side.’ He chuckled.

‘So it is safe to assume that I am a very impure and selfish ba,-’

Whatever he was about to say didn’t really matter anymore. Scylla wrapped her arms around his neck, muffling his words with a feverish kiss. It all fell back into place. The feelings she had while trapped in the tunnels. This male, though alien and treacherous, was hers. Only hers. Arms twitching and chains clanking, Charybdis shuddered against her lips. A little voice inside reminded her that she was kissing a hag, but it got drowned out. His body and lips were warm against hers, just like any mers would be. And that scent. His scent was intoxicating.

Charybdis growled against her lips, it was enough to snap Scylla out of her increasing daze.

‘Finally you see me, but it’s when I am like this.You are killing me here…’ He whispered as breathing turned shallow and rapid.

The wound at his side clearly impacted his breathing again. Clinging to him while he was still bound probably wasn’t helping either. Scylla hissed in frustration and snapped her attention to the dagger. Now that she made up her mind, it offended her and needed to be dealt with.

‘What do I do with it?’ The small piece of bone became the new focal point of Scylla’s anger.

‘It needs to come out.’

The sound he made once she let go of his neck, a mix of discomfort and overwhelming want, was almost enough to send her right back into place and unwilling to let go again. Scylla inspected his wound again, her eyes settling on the dagger.

‘Will you be fine if I just… pull it out?’ Wounds like these bled heavily, but that was the extent of her knowledge. She had no aptitude for healing, that was always Gaia’s speciality. He’d been down here for three days already. Just how much blood did he lose?

‘I’ll be fine. Just make it quick.’ Turning his head away, Charybdis braced himself for the pain that would undoubtedly come. Curling her lips into a mischievous little smile, Scylla nuzzled the crook of his neck as she slyly curled her fingers around the bone.

‘I missed our cave.’ She purred. Almost comically so, Charybdis' ears twitch back and forth.

‘I have another ca-,’

And then she pulled.

‘-Aave!! Fucking… evil harpy.’ A loud thump struck the stone behind her as his tail lifted against its restraints.

She flashed a cheshire grin. ‘Remember, you love me.’

‘I can still change my mind.’ he growled.

‘No you can’t, you still need me to get the chains off. Besides, I'm an accomplice now. Mother will kill me.’ Scylla halted, staring blankly ahead at the realization. ‘ Shit, mother will kill me.’

‘No she won’t. And no I don’t.’ A sharp ‘clank’ startled Scylla. Before she could turn around, a giant black tail curled up against her back, scales.

‘I just needed you to pull out the dagger.’

A brief flash of panic surged through her like a bolt of electricity. Then his tail pressed her body flush against his chest and that same panic melted away as she sank into him. Hooded bright yellow eyes stared at her.

‘Kiss me again?’

And now she was melting. It was embarrassing. ‘I thought you were in pain?’

‘Mmm, very much so. For three days…’ The tail pressed harder and a part of it coiled around her fin. That will never not be weird. She blinked, propping up her head.

‘Pretty please?’ he asked again.

Taking his face between her palms, Scylla lifted herself to eyesight and pressed another kiss to his lips. Another loud ‘clank’ echoed through the room and again when sequence after sequence of the left chain drifted to the floor, torn clean from the wall. She felt his palm caress the back of her neck and put two and two together. A mix of surprise and bewilderment caused her to push away, but his hand held fast. His tongue invaded past her lips and tangled with hers. Tasting and exploring her like a man possessed. They separated only when Scylla’s head began to spin.

‘I thought you couldn’t get out??’ She huffed, trying feverishly to calm down the heat that was rising to her chest. He pulled a chain as thick as her wrist out of solid stone. Just. Like. That.

‘Not with that curse stuck in my flesh. But I am a very patient creature…, I knew you’d come.’ Another ‘clank’ happened and then the other chain dropped, releasing his other arm, which wrapped around her back just as quickly. ‘Remember this if you are ever tempted to call me weak again.’

(I'm thinking a conversation between Scylla and Agathis needs to happen right before this chapter, but that is going to be 2nd draft stuff. We have reached 50K words!!! 53K to be precise. The idea of this getting to print is becoming an actual thing!)