River of Shadows (Underworld Gods #1)

“I’m the opposite of the fairy tale.”

It’s hard to think when I’m staring at her. She’s about the size of a Barbie-doll, with a shimmering white tail that flashes different colors when she moves. Her breasts are bare—no seashells here—her hair long and white. Her face is perfect, small nose, huge aqua-blue eyes that seem to sparkle, heart-shaped mouth. I suppose the other mermaids could have looked like her too, I was just in a near drowning incident at the time and hadn’t been paying too much attention to their beauty.

“The fairy tale,” she repeats, giving me a look of impatience as she hangs her arms over the edge of the tank, her tail whooshing behind her. “You know the one. There’s a mermaid, she wants legs, she trades her voice to the sea witch in exchange for them. Well for me, I was finally given a voice, after Death decided to keep me as his pet. Granted, I had a voice before, he just couldn’t understand what I was saying.”

Suddenly Vellamo’s wish pops into my brain. “You’re the mermaid I’m supposed to free!”

“I hope so,” she says, batting her thick lashes at me, water droplets falling off them and onto the floor. “There could be others. I hope not.”

I come closer to her to get a better look. It’s so fucking cool. I mean, a little unnerving and even creepy if I’m being honest, because adult humans aren’t supposed to be a foot tall, so she really does seem like a doll come to life. She also has this beauty that I think is supposed to ensnare and entrap people, but so far my track record with the mermaids has been good, so I have to assume she doesn’t mean me any harm. Besides, she’s in a prison just like I am.

“Okay, so how do I free you?” I ask her, looking around the room. “So far I can’t even free myself. Does that window open? If I chuck you out of it, will you land in the sesa?”

The mermaid’s brow goes up. “No one is chucking anyone out of a window. Was it Vellamo that you spoke with?”

I nod. “She said one of her own was taken here to be a pet. She never said anything about you being this small though.”

She looks annoyed. I don’t blame her. “Death has always been fascinated with us, and dare I say, we with him. Or any Gods or mortals or shamans, any men with two legs. Women too, don’t get me wrong, but the men are our game. But we’re also a game to Death. He’s all about games, you see.” That I know already. “He brought me here, promising me a new life. He kept me in the underground waterways, deep beneath the castle. There are tunnels under there, and the sea goes in and in, all the way to the Caves of Vipunen. Of course, no one would dare go that far back.”

All this speak of underground caverns and waterways and I’m picturing The Phantom of the Opera. Without knowing exactly what Death’s face looks like, my imagination wants to run away on me.

“But it wasn’t long before I wanted to be out in the open sea, under the moon and stars at night, but he said I was his and that I had to stay. And so he put bars over the entrances to the underground cavern, so I couldn’t swim out. I was trapped. All I had for company were the occasional fish who dared to swim that far under Shadow’s End.”

“So what happened?” I ask, as if we’re just two girls talking about a date gone wrong over drinks.

“He would visit me of course, we would have our fun. Death is very fond of the water…” she gets an almost wistful look on her face when she says that. “But he tired of always having to travel down to the subterranean levels. He especially hates having to go past the crypt.”

“I’m sorry, there’s a crypt and Death of all people has a problem with it?”

She smirks. “The crypt is a church. For the Sect of the Undead. It’s a relic, from the old days. He’s not allowed to demolish it. He had to build the castle around it.” While I mull that over, she goes on. “Anyway, one day he took me upstairs and put me in his bathtub, and I could only last a few days before it was killing me. I can be out of water, as you see I’m breathing air, but I mainly breath underwater through my gills. I can only be out of water for a couple of hours. Three at the most. Then my lungs start to cave in. Very nasty, very painful. There was just enough water in his bathtub for me to float.”

The poor thing. “What an asshole.”

She giggles, then covers her hand with her mouth. “I shouldn’t laugh. But yes. He is. He had good intentions, I guess, because after that he disappeared into the Library of the Veils for a while and when he came out, dripped some purple wax on me and I shrank. Then he gave me a voice, and I’m sure immediately regretted it. Put me in the tank to keep him company.”

“So why are you in my room?”

Her face falls. “He lost interest in me. Seems I’m not of much use when I’m this small. I should have tried to be his companion, should have pretended to love him, dote on him, do anything for him, but I was too angry. He didn’t want me killed, and he didn’t want me freed either, so he kept me in the tank and put me in here. I’m lucky that Lovia likes me and remembers I exist, otherwise I’d never get anything to eat and my tank would never get cleaned.” She then perks up. “So, while we’re on the subject of food, if you’re not going to eat that honeycake…”





Chapter 12





The Game





I go across the room to the honeycake and grab the plate, along with my cup of coffee, mouthing holy shit to myself because I’ve had a strange day already and it’s just getting stranger. I’m Death’s prisoner, I have my own personal servant who is possibly a monster under that veil (and definitely a murderer), and I have a doll-sized mermaid in my fish tank.

I walk back to her. She’s waiting somewhat impatiently, tapping her hands on the side of the tank, her tail swishing back and forth. I wish I could light some candles in here because I bet her scales would reflect a rainbow of colors.

“So do I scatter it in the tank like fish food?” I ask.

“Very funny,” she says.

I hand her the bun and she takes hold of it with deceptively strong arms, tearing into it. I don’t know if her lower jaw unhinges from her skull or what happens but suddenly she’s tearing into it like a piranha and in seconds it’s all gone, only a few crumbs floating to the floor.

“Don’t worry, the bonemice will get those,” she says, wiping her mouth with the back of her forearm.

I don’t even want to ask what a bonemouse is.

“Thank you,” she then says after she swallows. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve eaten. Lovia should have been to see me by now with some grouse or salmon, anything left over from dinner. I guess with you here, the castle is up in arms. Out of whack.”

“What makes you say that?”

She lifts a shoulder in a dainty shrug. “If you haven’t noticed, we aren’t used to having mortals in our presence. First your father, now you.”

At the mention of my father my heart pangs. “Did you know my father?”

She nods. “But not well. I only met him a couple of times, when Death showed me off.”

My face scrunches up. “You mean Death was showing my father around the castle?”

“That was my understanding. He was in the same situation as you, in a way. A prisoner, unable to leave Shadow’s End, but he had coffee in the mornings and roast dinners and was able to roam the halls and rooms, everywhere except the crypt and the library. And Death’s bedroom, of course.”

While I’m relieved to know my father wasn’t treated nearly as poorly as I had imagined, I have to point out, “Except I’m not allowed to roam anywhere. I heard Raila lock me in.”

The mermaid nods again. “I know. For now, you’re trapped in here, under lock and key. But if you play your cards right, you’ll have full rein of the castle in no time. And then, when the time is right, the both of us can escape. So what say you? Will you get me out of here if I tell you how to make this situation work for you?”