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Wickedly Wonderful(34)

By:Deborah Blake


Taken aback for a moment, Kesh rebounded by pouring her a crystal goblet full of effervescent nirvana. “You look lovely no matter what you wear, Baba Yaga. And I would be happy to adorn you with the pearls of a thousand oysters, if you but say the word.”

Beka choked a little on her champagne. “Goodness. Do those kinds of lines usually work for you?” The twinkle in her eyes took the sting out of her words.

He gave her a rueful grin. “They do indeed, darlin’, but I fear that my attempt has failed to impress you. For that I am sorry. I have no wish to offend.”

She laughed, helping herself to a cracker heaped with caviar. “Oh, I’m impressed, Kesh. This is a delightfully over-the-top picnic, and I intend to enjoy every bite. But you can save the flowery sentiments for someone they’re better suited to. I’m not a ‘pearls of a thousand oysters’ kind of girl.”

Kesh studied her in the moonlight, rethinking his original approach to wooing her. She truly was lovely, her golden hair shimmering almost silver in the moon’s enchanted light as she lounged across from him on the raw silk blanket. It would be a shame to have to kill her. He would just have to take a slightly subtler tack.

“Tell me,” he said, gazing intently at her over the rim of his glass, “how goes the search for the solution to my people’s problem?”

Her relaxed posture tensed, legs pulled in and tucked under her skirt, shoulders hunching as she hugged her knees. “Not all that well, I’m afraid. There still isn’t anything obvious that I can see.”

Pouring more wine into her goblet, Kesh favored her with his most sympathetic look. “Oh? That is a pity. And all those Merpeople and Selkies depending on you.” He shook his head. “You have no idea what is poisoning the water?”

Beka put down the piece of lobster she’d been about to eat. “I’ve brought samples from a variety of spots to a friend of mine at the University of California at Santa Cruz. They have some amazing, state-of-the-art labs there, and I’m expecting him to call me with the results within a couple of days.” She gave him a strained smile. “You can tell your father I’m working on finding the answer as fast as I can.”

Kesh saw no point in mentioning that he and his father hadn’t spoken in six months, and popped a delicate oyster into his mouth instead. It tasted of the sea, salty and smooth with the essence of the ocean. He gazed longingly for a moment at the waves whooshing quietly against the shore before yanking his attention back to his companion. This was his place now, and he was not going to lose it. In the end, he would rule it, taking it one piece at a time until he owned it all. Destroying the sea he’d come from and could no longer have would simply be an amusing sideline.

“Once you find out what is contaminating the home waters in the trench, what do you intend to do about it?” he asked, as if only out of idle curiosity. “Do you have some kind of plan?”

Even in the darkness of the summer night, he could see the blush that stained her high cheekbones a becoming pink, like the inside of a shell.

“Well, it depends on what is causing the issue, of course,” she answered.

Kesh shrugged. “Surely it is some Human taint, brought about by their encroachment on our world.” A hint of bitterness crept out to color his voice. “We should never have allowed them to drive us so far into the depths, hiding like frightened fish from the relentless teeth of the shark. We are the predators here, not they.”

“I wouldn’t call Selkies predators,” Beka said. “They’re tough and strong, and beneath the sea they are a match for almost anything, but fortunately, they are a peaceful race.”

“And see where that has gotten them,” Kesh sneered. “Chased from their own homes by the poisons of others.”

Beka put a comforting hand over one of his, scooting closer to him on the blanket. “We don’t know that’s true,” she said. “I know you’re worried about your kingdom, but I promise you, I’ll do everything I can to help.”

Kesh draped his arm loosely around her shoulder and gave her his most charming smile. “Perhaps we can work together on the problem, my dear Baba. I have a feeling that we would make a wonderful team.” His chuckle echoed across the sand and into the warm night, and below the moon-kissed waters, small creatures scurried to hide in the safety of the reef’s jagged landscape.


* * *

FRONDS OF KELP danced coyly around her ankles the next day as Beka floated far enough below the surface that only a faint light filtered down to illuminate her task. Not that she needed much light for what she was about to attempt. Only her own powers and some luck. A lot of luck, probably.