Before I had time to move, Finn launched the dagger towards me. I watched it spin as if in slow motion, whirring through the air.
I couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. The dagger plunged into the meaty flesh of my thigh until only the hilt could be seen. My leg crumpled, and I fell backwards, through the aging wooden fence. Finn rushed toward me, his hand outstretched, and his eyes wide with fear. He hadn’t meant to make me fall.
I was slipping through the air as if it were never ending. The roar of the wind rushing past assaulted my ears, but it lasted only a fraction of a second. I hit the water with a deafening crash, and the black waves quickly devoured me and silenced the ocean.
I sank quickly, my rucksack and heavy clothes weighing me down, and the force of the current flipped and turned my body as if I were a rag doll. I didn’t know which way was up. I tried to kick my legs, but the pain was agonising. I cried out in anguish, water filling my mouth.
I was swirling; the black ocean was pressing against me from all sides. I caught a glimpse of light through the water, but it was gone when another wave turned me over. I kicked with my uninjured leg, and flailed my arms, but I didn’t know how to swim. I’d never been taught.
My lungs were beginning to scream in protest, and the pain in my thigh made it hard to stay conscious. Black spots burst in front of my eyes.
The waves forced me against the cliff face and pounded me into the rock, beating every inch of my body and winding me. I choked, coughing and wheezing, which forced the salty water into my lungs. I tried to suck in air that wasn’t there.
Everything burned; my body screamed. The pain was too much. I was suffocating.
Something large dropped into the water beside me. Darkness was closing in. I could feel death’s icy grip on my chest, squeezing my ribcage to bursting point.
And then everything became calm.
A ghostly figure appeared in the water. It swam towards me so elegantly, I thought it might be a mermaid. It became clearer with each passing second.
It was a man. A beautiful man.
He cupped my face in his large palms, and somehow, I knew that he was a friend, not a foe. His features loomed in and out of focus as I slipped away into the darkness.
The man lowered his head and secured his lips around my mouth. The moment we touched, a breath of cool, sweet air entered my lungs. He pulled away and watched me, before kissing me again, and once more, I was gifted with breath.
Dazed and groggy, I reached out to touch the face of my saviour. He was a blur. I trailed my fingers along his cheek, tracing his jaw until I came to his neck, where I felt bumps along his skin. He had gills.
The merman wrapped his strong arms around my body and kicked his legs, propelling us towards the surface. I clung to him, my lungs already pleading for more oxygen.
We broke the surface of the water, and I gasped for air. It stung my lungs as I breathed in huge gulps of it. I had no energy to move so I allowed myself to be dragged away.
Minutes later, I was deposited onto a pebbled shore, coughing and wheezing, the pain in my leg burning viciously.
I felt his hand slapping my back, and I coughed up copious amounts of seawater. The salt burned my lungs.
‘Yer all right,’ he said. ‘It’s fine.’ I could hear him talking, but his words made no sense in my delirious state.
I felt someone lifting my skirt above my knees, and I tried to swat them away.
‘It’s all right, Lass,’ the voice soothed.
‘Dah-’ I managed to choke.
‘It’s me. I’m here.’
‘You saved me,’ I breathed.
‘I saw yeh go down the cliff,’ he said. ‘Saw a bloke try ter stop yeh fallin’.’
‘It’s his fault. He did this. My leg,’ I groaned. My hands balled into fists around the pebbles.
‘He did this?’ Dagon said, inspecting the dagger that was still embedded in my thigh. ‘If I’d have known-’
‘Where … where has he gone?’ I asked. I felt cold and clammy; perspiration was forming on my brow. I couldn’t see Dagon, but I could feel his hands on me.
‘Christ, it’s buried deep,’ he said. ‘If I pull it out, yeh might bleed out.’
‘Get it out,’ I demanded, writhing against the rocks.
‘I can’t. Yeh might have severed an artery.’
‘Where’s Jack?’ I demanded, forgetting that I hadn’t seen him in days. ‘I need Jack.’
‘Well, it’s just me, I’m afraid,’ Dagon said. I felt him prod the wound with his thick finger, and I cried out in pain.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ I yelled, my voice breaking.
‘Sorry, sorry,’ Dagon muttered.
‘We gotta get yeh back to the lodge … someone will know what to do. We get injuries like this all the time on the boats.’
‘No,’ I said, panicked. ‘Finn knows I’m here. I have to leave.’
‘Yeh’ll do no such thing,’ said Dagon. ‘You ain’t fit to go anywhere. I’ll carry yeh to the lodge. It’s just a ways up the beach-’
‘No, Finn is here. He wants to take me to the Realm-’