Free Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguié Page B

sunset on the seventh day, she must agree to marry you. If she does, you will then live out your life with her, happily ever after”
    “And if she doesn’t?”
    “Then you will die and your soul will die with you.”
    He reeled back, aghast. Merkin believed that the soul lived on even after the body had died and that it went to a better place. They also believed that the souls of the dead watched out for their living descendants. Could the Witch actually kill the soul as well as the body? Looking into her eyes, he had no choice but to believe it, for he could see no soul within her.
    “No, the price is too high” He shook his head, hoping the movement would shake him free of the hypnotic spell her voice was weaving around him.
    “Suit yourself,” the Witch said, and started to slither away. She glanced back over her shoulder.“You must not love her very much, though, if you’re not willing to take the risk. Maybe the women of your species have all the courage. A young mermaid was in here just this morning, and she did not think the price too high.”
    Faye! She would be dead within a week if she could not win the love of the man she had saved. Kale had to help her, to save her. He wouldn’t be able to help her down here, though. “I… accept the risk.”
    The Witch slithered back toward him, an evil smile dancing across her face.“Let us get started, then.”
    He allowed her to lead him into the darkest recesses of the cave. At her bidding, he sat in the center of a huge clamshell. She slithered around him and whispered words that he could not understand. She finally stopped before him, and he noticed the pearls around her neck were glowing. They grew brighter by the moment, and the Witch began rubbing the strand between her thumb and forefinger.
    “Will I look like them?” he asked, hating the tremor in his voice.
    “Yes.”
    “What about their garments?”
    “I can provide you with something, if you wish, if you’ll answer a question.”
    “Wh—what?”
    “Your lady—has she seen you, heard your voice?”
    “No.”
    “Have you heard hers?”
    “No,” he replied, panicking now. “Will I be able to understand her, and will she understand me?”
    “Yes,” the Witch said with a casual wave of her hand. “So, how will you know her?”
    “I have seen her.”
    “Ah. Is she beautiful?”
    “Very beautiful.”
    “Do you know where to find her or what name she is called by?”
    “No, I do not,” he said, realizing for the first time that she might not even go by the name Adriana.
    “So, the only way you can find her is by seeing her?”
    “Yes.”
    The Witch cackled with satisfaction. “Good luck in finding her, then … without your eyes!”
    Kale opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but blinding pain ripped through him and only a scream came out. His body felt as though it were being split in two. His vision began to fade, and the last things he saw before everything went black were the glowing pearls.
    “You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?” Her voice pierced the haze of his pain. “You didn’t think I would extract some price for my services? You might be willing to gamble everything, but I am not.”
    “How am I to find her?” he shouted, raising his hands before him and groping for the wall.
    “That is your problem, not mine,” she said, the voice fading as though she were moving away from him.
    “What could you possibly gain from my death?”
    “Let’s just say that the suffering of your kind is the prize I am seeking. I’m sure the death of one of their princes would bring quite a lot of suffering. Speaking of which, you have about five minutes before the transformation is complete and you can no longer breathe water.
    “If I were you, I’d start swimming.”
    “Help me!” he shouted.
    There was no answer. The Sea Witch was gone.
    His lungs were starting to ache, and it was getting harder to breathe. He tried to push off from the clamshell, but his