Mermaid and the Flier

Mermaid and the Flier will come out in late November...

Here is an except...

 As we huddled against the small coral reef, I couldn't drag my eyes away from him. He was gorgeous, his body a mass of muscles working in hard concert as the sun shot into them, turning them a darker bronze every second. He was working hard to bury the other human who had died as a result of our arrival.

For reasons I couldn't understand, my heart just went out to him for being so noble. What creature had we ever encountered did that? Shouldn't he be running around the island—his personal prison, exploring the boundaries as his thoughts turned to the consuming desire to find a way to escape? He could never leave here, his whole world was gone He was as trapped as a fish in those despicable nets humans used, but he had the decency and respect we showed for our own dead. This was not at all what I expected, we were taught these humans that dominated earth, trying to destroy this beautiful world they lived on, were a self centered, savage species. Supposedly, they cared for nothing but their own survival, but my eyes were showing me that everything I learned was wrong. He seemed to be like us. How could such supposed monsters be destroying their oceans and endangering all the wonderful creatures that lived there? The very creatures we came here to observe and try to protect from these humans?

I looked to my sister, I could see her licking her lips in an anticipation I was having problems sharing. I tired to remind myself that he couldn't end up as anything but a delicacy for us. While he really didn't know anything, his existence, his survival, had doomed him. His aircraft had accidentally blundered into the exiting of the last expedition, caught in in the vacuum of time and not restored until our arrival, and the rules on that were clear. If that chance encounter happened and there were survivors, they were not allowed to live long, and they were not allowed to go back to their fellow humans. We didn't really know what they saw, but we couldn't take that chance. This guy, this really good looking human, was dead, it was just a matter of time.

It was worst knowing we didn't have to eat him. We had plenty of food stored in our ship, and we could always beam down more whenever we needed it.

But these humans, the same humans who threatened the balance of the wonderful oceans of creatures we had come to observe and preserve, were suppose to be the ultimate delicacy for us. Which was strange, considering they shared a bi-pedal form like us, in fact, they were like us in many ways. We were a compatible species with them which was a rarity my people had never come across before. A delightful food source, that looked like us, at least in certain forms. I had to wonder if their similarity to us made them so compelling.

“He is a prime specimen,” my sister gnashed her teeth together, hungrily. She was always the bold one of us, always daring to do what I could not.

“The council and our parents have yet to approve,” I reminded her, hoping she wouldn't disobey them as she usually did, for she could ruin everything by being too impetuous.

“You're no fun, and are you even looking at him?” she exclaimed. “He looks delicious. I'd like to go eat him now.”

“We have to have permission,” I reminded her again, knowing it was useless to try and convince her when she set her mind to something. “We are not even suppose to be here.”

“But he looks so good, and what are they going to do? He has to die and you know the rules. They'll want to look him over first. Why should they have first choice? It's not like there aren't plenty of humans on this world. Besides, you know old Sayfraymus is against eating them anyway, and he has convinced most of them, including our parents, to abstain.”

“And as our expedition leader and the one can send us back in a moment's notice, we should heed him. Plus, we don't want to embarrass our parents. Don't you want to stay here and observe?” I tried logic, knowing it wouldn't work with her. My sister did what she wanted.

“The sea life is amazing, I know,” my sister sneered. “But there is nothing wrong with the sea life on our planet. I didn't want to come here, but since I had to, I plan to sample this delicacy I have heard so much about.”

“Well, I wouldn't sample this particular one, if I were you. If you're that desperate, you can always seduce one off the sea vessels like our ancestors did before us.” It was shear desperation on my part, but my sister seemed to heed it. We could do exactly that and there was a good chance no one else would discover it. I didn't know why, but I didn't want her feasting on this human. There was something about him, I wanted to protect him...

“True,” she murmured. “ Sayfraymus may want to question him before they kill him, but he does look so delicious.” She gave me a sideways glance, I couldn't ignore. My hope on this was slim indeed.

“Exactly,” I said and then our left wrist bands lit up in a bluish light, signaling it was time to return back to the ship. “I really hope he doesn't find a way to escape this...”

“Don't worry sis, humans can't swim far, remember our lessons? And then there is always Bruno...” her eyes went to a dark shadow in the water circling the island. One with much larger teeth than us.