Free Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguié Page A

appearance. Her upper body was like a mermaid’s, only twisted and disfigured. The rest of her body was that of a sea serpent. Coils lay draped over the bare stone and disappeared into the darkness, so that he had no idea of her true length. Hair like seaweed seemed to have a life of its own as it hung around her. The only thing of beauty was a string of pearls she wore around her neck. Each pearl was huge and dark in color, glowing with a luster all its own.
    The only light in the room came from a cage at one end, where a host of iridescent fish swam, trapped and helpless. He gulped, hoping that she wasn’t using the fish for anything other than a light source. I heard she eats her own kind , the thought popped into his head. Aside from them, the room was empty and barren. He looked back at her and realized the blackness he had earlier thought had been coming from the very walls of the cave were instead coming from her, like ink being sprayed by an octopus; her very skin seemed to give off some sort of black oil. Dark as her soul …
    “What do you seek of the Sea Witch?” she hissed, her forked tongue flicking out between her fangs.
    Faced with her, he knew that he had been foolish to think that she would give him answers, foolish to think that he could come here demanding things from her and even manage to escape with his life. Even if he did manage to ask her about Adriana and Fays, she would never tell him—there was no gain in it for her. No, I’ll just have to be clever. There must be some other way to find out if she changed them and how she did it.
    Suddenly he was speaking, and he was astonished at the words coming out of his mouth. “I wish to be human.”
    She cackled, and the sound sent chills up his spine. “And why would a prince of the merkin want that?”
    He gasped, “You know who I am.”
    She laughed, and the sound frightened him more than any he had ever heard. “Of course I know. I am, after all, me.” She paused just long enough to let that sink in and to let him wonder what else she might know.“You are Kale, and you are one of the royal princes of the merkin, descended from Glandria, are you not?”
    He refused to answer her, though she was right.
    She smiled coyly. “No need to answer, for I know the truth. Now tell me, Kale of the merkin, why do you want to be human?”
    “I have fallen in love with a human,” he blurted.
    “Yes, there seems to be a lot of that going around,” she said with amusement.
    Faye had been to see her, just as he’d feared. Faye, what have you done? The only way he could help her now, and speak with Adriana, was to follow. He took a deep breath.“Can you change me?”
    “Well, it isn’t that easy, my young one. Nothing comes without a price. You say you would do this for love?”
    He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
    “And the young lady, does she love you?”
    “I do not know, I hope so,” he answered truthfully.
    “Loving is always a risk, you know,” she told him in a conversational tone. “You open up to someone and you risk rejection and ridicule. That’s the risk everyone who loves takes. You, though, you seem to be willing to risk a bit more. You are willing to risk leaving your home and your family to travel to a strange world where you might have to live out your days alone. Is that true?”
    He nodded, his anxiety increasing with every word she spoke.
    “My, my, that certainly is a lot to risk,” she said as she circled him slowly. “Well, if you are willing to risk that much, then surely you will be willing to risk just a little bit more.”
    “What?” he whispered.
    She was behind him now and she put her lips close to his ear. Her tongue flicked out, tickling him. “Your life.”
    “No!” he shouted, spinning around.
    She pressed her finger against his lips. “Ssshh. Wait until you hear the deal”
    “I will turn you into a human. You will then have seven days to convince the young lady to fall in love with you. By