Free Diary of a Radical Mermaid by Deborah Smith

intend to kill him.”
    Both Ali and Griffin looked at me with worry in their eyes. In my mind there was no room for debate about Orion’s guilt, innocence, motives or intent; the issue was settled. He’d had years to present himself with honor, years to come to me, Tara’s brother, and make a show of fellowship. Now I’d tried and convicted him without his testimony, but it was his own doing. I’m not a brutal bastard, I started to tell Ali and Griffin. I just prize good manners, that’s all.
    “Hello, sweetie!” Ali said suddenly and knelt down with a hand out.
    Venus, the five-year old, peered, wide-eyed, around the corner of the cabin. I groaned inwardly. So much for the girls staying out of sight.
    “Are you an angel?” Venus asked Ali, her Scottish brogue lilting like an Inverness butterfly. “Have you talked to me mum, in heaven? Will you tell her we miss her so; tell her to come home?”
    Oh, God.
    Ali’s face convulsed. She put a hand to her heart. I recalled hearing from Lilith that Ali had lost her own mother, a Lander, when Ali was just a babe. A tide of sympathy poured from Ali. Venus gave a little cry and rushed to her. Sobbing, Venus threw her arms around Ali’s neck, and Ali held her tight.
    Griffin and I, being no more comfortable than Lander men when it came to female tears, harummphed and looked the other way. Suddenly Venus noticed Griffin. She pulled back from Ali’s hug and stared up at him, at his scars. One small hand shot out. She laid just her fingertips on a thick scar that crossed the back of his hand.
    “Venus, no,” I ordered sharply. I scooped her up. “You promised. You promised. You must keep that promise all the time.”
    She stared at me tearfully. “I couldn’t help it, Uncle Rhymer. I couldn’t. I’m sorry.” She hid her face in her hands and sobbed again. I felt like a monster. I was no good with children. “Uncle Rhymer, I’ll take her back in the cabin,” Stella said, behind me. “She moves so fast. She got away from me. Sorry.”
    She and Isis stood there at attention. Isis looked stern as a teacher; Stella looked teary but resolved.
    “You’ll have to do better,” I said. What a beast I was. Not capable of tenderness. But tenderness bred mistakes, and mistakes bred disaster. “You’re my lieutenant. I depend on you. Do your job.”
    “Yes, sir.” I handed Venus to her. The three girls hurried back into the cabin.
    I turned back to Griffin and Ali. They were staring at his hand.
    The scar had disappeared.
    When their awed gazes rose to me, I said quietly, “It’s true, what you’ve heard. The girls are Healers.”
    Healers. The word hung in the salt air like a bolt of lightning. Most Mers were of the Singer class; only a tiny minority had powers so special they deserved a higher designation. Most Mers had never met a Healer. Some swore the Healers were just entertainers and attention-seekers, concocting elaborate tricks to elevate their social status.
    Venus had just knocked that idea to hell and back.
    Ali touched Griffin’s healed hand. He raised it slowly, then laid the smooth, perfect skin against her cheek. “I’ve always wanted to touch you without a scar between us,” he said gruffly.
    She gave a mewl of joy.
    I hung my head. Healers. All three of the girls. The instinct ran through every vein of their bodies. They could hardly resist the joy it gave to others. I’d told them they had to control it. When they laid hands on someone, they sang. They sang out like a beacon. And if they did that, Orion would hear them across even the widest sea.
    Ali kissed Griffin, cuddled his hand in hers, then looked at me tearfully. “There are miracles in the world. We’ve just seen one. Rhymer, you have to consider the possibility that there’s goodness inside a father who can give the gift of healing to his daughters.”
    After a long, quiet moment, I said as politely as I could, “He gave them nothing but a dead mother.”
    And I went, without