I knock on the office door that’s half open before I stick my head inside. Delmara de la Cruz, aka Corporate, aka Aunt D, is sitting behind a large desk covered in research journals and employee folders. The Gulf of Mexico stretches out behind her, dotted with mangrove islands and gleaming in the early May sunshine. The light that streams through the wall-sized windows highlights the cinnamon tresses of the redhead in the chair before the desk. She turns as I enter, and I give her my best smile.
“Ah, Finnegan,” Delmara says. “I’d like you to meet Jennifer Stevens.”
The redhead sticks her hand out to shake mine. “Jen is fine.” Her smile is reserved, her deep brown eyes sharp. “You must be the Finn I’ve heard so much about.”
I mock-bow over her hand. “The one and only.” Her lips twitch. My charms won’t work on this one.
“Finnegan will show you around this week. If you have questions, he can answer them.” Delmara closes the folder in front of her and looks at me. “Bismuth’s tanks need to be cleaned—you can show her what to do.”
All of my attention, which had been hovering on the redhead, snaps to Delmara. “Whoa—what? Clean the tanks? I’m training the new Mer.” The fishermen caught a male yesterday while I was at the reef with Sergio.
“You aren’t allowed to interact with the Mer until your one-week checkup.”
I wrap my fingers around the back of the second chair and lean forward. “Last summer, you said I could train the next one. Who are you giving him to? Not Serge.”
Delmara’s eyebrows rise in annoyance. “I’m putting him with Potassium and Radon.”
She can’t be serious. Potassium—otherwise known as “K” for her periodic symbol—isn’t known for playing nice with the other Mer. It took weeks with the electroshocker to get her to behave. Not to mention, “We’ve never had two males in the same show before.”
“I think Potassium will be able to handle them both.”
Of course she can handle them—I’m worried she’ll kill the new one. “I can handle him, too. Give him to me.”
“Doctor’s orders.” Delmara holds up a sheet of paper from the medical center.
I slam the top of the chair, ignoring the slight jump from the redhead. “Come on, Aunt D. Give me a chance.”
“I’m sorry, Finnegan. I’m not risking it. Not with you.” Her face softens. “The doctor wants to make sure you’re suffering no ill effects from the electrocution.”
My grip on the chair tightens until the corners of the wood cut into my skin. “I promise, I’m not. I went to the reef yesterday, and I was fine. Give me the new Mer.”
“I’m giving you a chance to train the newest employee. You can have a Mer next summer, when you graduate.”
“That wasn’t the deal.” I can’t believe Corporate’s doing this to me over a stupid doctor’s note. “Make Maddy clean the tank—she’s the one who caused the accident.” I’d feel bad throwing Maddy under the bus like this if she hadn’t nearly gotten me killed last week. She’s the one who deserves to scrub tanks.
“Finnegan.” A warning tints Delmara’s voice. I can’t believe she’d demote me to tank cleaning, even for a week. I’ve been cleaning tanks since I was fifteen—I should have become a trainer by now.
Delmara adds the doctor’s note to my folder. “We’re done here. Give Jennifer the tour, and get those tanks cleaned. I’m sending my boys out hunting as soon as they’re ready.”
I clench my teeth, but I know I’m not winning this one. We’ve been working together for the past six years. I know her moods. This is her “don’t fuck with me—I’m not playing games” mood.
“Fine. New girl,” I snap at her. “Follow me.”
“My name’s Jen.” She sounds more than annoyed as she stands, her lips pressing into a thin line.
“Welcome to Oceanica, Jen. I hope you like cleaning fish shit.”
She follows me down the stairs and through the hall, while I point out the break room and locker rooms. When we reach the restricted door that leads to the holding tank area, I swipe my ID badge and lead her in. There are four sets of double tanks—each one about thirty feet in diameter, connected by tubes. If you could see the whole thing without the walls blocking your view, it would resemble a giant hamster habitat. One tank of each pair leads to the big practice tank I nearly died in. The other connects to the arena—the outdoor tank where we hold the shows. It’s bright and sunny and painted blue, with a view of the ocean from the top stands. The holding rooms, by contrast, are all damp concrete and fluorescent lights.
“These are the tanks we’ll be cleaning.” I can’t help the bitterness in my voice. “We’ll drain the water, scrub them with diluted bleach, fill them back up, and let them cycle over a few days. Then the new Mer go in.” And I better become the trainer of whoever goes in this room. It’ll take us a week to get both tanks cleaned and cycled, and Corporate won’t be able to use the doctor’s note as an excuse then.
Jen’s eyes are unsettled as she glances around the room. “I thought the tanks would be bigger.”
“These are three times the size of the original tanks. The Mer could barely stretch out in the old ones.”
Her frown deepens, but she signed up for this. Everyone thinks working with the Mer is glamorous—until they see what it’s really like. It’s all dead fish and cleaning algae and trying not to get yourself killed. And nothing in the world could make me quit.
We walk further down the hall to the next set of tanks. “These are our current stars—Radon and Potassium, otherwise known as Ray and K.”
They float in the middle of the closest tank, while the new male huddles on the far side of the second. Their trainers, Mia and Laz, check the water parameters with long poles so they won’t step close enough to be pulled in.
The new boy will blend into the arena with his blue hair and fins. No wonder Delmara wants him in with the fiery couple—their bright red and orange will contrast nicely.
Jen’s eyes widen, and she walks toward their tank like she’s in a trance. “Look at that hair. It’s just like The Little Mermaid.”
“Stop.” I grab her arm before she gets any closer. She needs a healthy dose of fear if she wants to work with the Mer. “You can’t think of K as Ariel. She’s a lethal predator.”
Jen studies them. Radon’s indifferent, but Potassium’s creepy red eyes are sharp as she stares at the new male. I give him one night if they put him in with her.
“You know what K did the first night she was in that tank?” My voice is low and quiet at the memory of the footage. “She killed the other female. Ripped her gills out. I think she’ll do the same to this new male, but I’m not the boss.”
An appropriate amount of fear colors Jen’s eyes now, but I continue, just to make sure she understands. “You can cage them, and shock them, and teach them to perform, but they’re clever as shit. They will always look for a way out. A weakness.”
I step up to the tank and study the pair. K stares back, running a finger over each of her claws, one by one. “Don’t be their weakness.”
Sergio, Maddy, Nat, and I suck down beers at our normal table in the Porch and bet on how long the new male will survive in K’s tank. The Porch is just off Duval in the old Porter Mansion, and laid back compared to the tourist traps on the main strip.
We’re on our second round when Jen shows up. She’s changed out of her khakis and blue polo with “Oceanica” stitched across the breast, and her red hair’s damp. She’s put on a little bit of makeup, and a sea glass necklace with a dolphin charm. The only open chair is between Natalie and Serge, which puts her directly across from me.
I raise my glass. “Everyone, meet Jen Stevens. Jen, this is everyone.” They introduce themselves while I finish my Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. I need another, so I lean over the table to her. “What are you drinking?”
“What do they have?”
I stand and hold out my hand. “Let’s go see.”
Maddy scowls as Jen and I walk to the bar together. I don’t know why—Maddy and I are friends with benefits. She’s not my girlfriend.
I lean my elbows on the damp hardwood of the bar, but Jen stands back a bit, like she’s uncomfortable getting too close to me. Which is funny, because we spent most of the day scrubbing a glorified fish tank together.
“Hey, Shaun,” I call to my favorite bartender. “Got a new girl here who needs a drink. What do you have?”
Shaun flashes a big smile, and Jen moves a little closer to the bar. Of course. He’s tan and blond and works on a boat when he’s not at the Porch. Whereas I’m pale from spending too much time with the fish in Oceanica. And have big ears.
“What kind of beer do you like?” Shaun asks.
“Um.” Jen glances at me briefly before blushing. “I don’t know. I like margaritas.”
“Then I have the perfect thing for you.”
She’s probably swooning over him as he pops the top on a Kvasir—I can’t stand them, but he knows what he’s doing. One sip and she smiles at Shaun like he’s Dionysus.
“I need another, too,” I interrupt. The goal is not to get Shaun laid tonight.
“You got it,” he grabs my Bell’s, still looking at Jen. “So, you’re the newest trainer at Oceanica?”
Her eyes follow him the whole time. “Well, I’m not training a Mer yet—they have me scrubbing tanks with Finn.”
Shaun chuckles as he hands over my beer. “Damn, man, they still got you scrubbing tanks? That’s gotta hurt.”
Thanks for the reminder. “Only for a week. The next Mer is mine.”
“Well,” Shaun says as patrons crowd the bar. “It was nice to meet you . . .”
“Jen,” she says, too quickly.
He grins. “Nice to meet you, Jen. I’m sure I’ll see you around if you’re hanging with these drunks every night.”
Jen fishes her card from her purse, but I pluck it from her hand. “Put her on my tab tonight.”
A flush creeps up her neck. “Oh, no, you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s your first night out with the crew. You drink free.”
Her blush deepens. She’s quiet and watchful, like the Mer. I get the sense that she’s a predator hidden in sheep’s clothing, storing everything away to use against us later.
She’s also a lightweight. One beer later, and she loosens up.
The girls break into laughter as Maddy grabs Jen’s phone from her hand. “Oh my god, you’re right—Finn does look like Colin Morgan.”
Who the hell is Colin Morgan? I lean over to see, but Maddy passes the phone to Nat. “Look at those ears!”
“You know what they say about big ears . . .” I start, but no one listens to me. They’re all laughing at whoever Colin Morgan is. How is he famous if he has ears like mine? He must be on Big Bang Theory.
I grab the phone—there is nothing sexy about this picture. My hair is longer, to hide my ears, and this guy has a goofy smile.
“I don’t look like this.” I hit the back button to see the other photos. “Wait, you think I look like the guy who played Merlin?”
Maddy grabs the phone. “I didn’t know you watched Merlin.”
“My little sister watched it,” I mumble and turn my back on her as she cackles. “Yo, Serge. I need you to talk to Aunt D for me. She won’t let me train the new Mer.”
“What’s wrong?” Serge smirks. “You can’t work your Merlin magic on her?”
“Ha ha,” I say as the table bursts into laughter again. “I’m serious, man. You heard her say I’d get the next Mer, and now the doctors have her scared that I’ll have an adverse reaction to being electrocuted.”
Maddy snorts. “You mean, besides using it to sucker some poor tourist into having sex with you tonight?”
I put my arm over the back of her chair, trapping her curly brown hair. “I don’t need to sucker a poor tourist into my bed tonight. Someone owes me.”
Maddy grins right back. On the other side of the table, Jen blushes and looks away, and Natalie rolls her eyes. “You’ll get used to them,” she says. “These two pity-fuck each other any time they can’t get laid.”
“It’s only a pity-fuck in one direction.” Maddy winks, and the whole table laughs again at my expense.