Her eyes were the color the sea was supposed to look like; that brilliant blue-green shade that Maine had only ever seen on posters and drawings from far-off places like Bermuda or the Caribbean. Huge and expressive, they seemed to fill the world in front of Maine, swallowing up the world till there was nothing else. She saw golden shapes inside that seemed to flit and swim across the surface, suddenly fading from view in one spot, only to reappear, sparkling and brilliant, in another without warning. It was impossible to say whether they were kind eyes, or wise, or wicked or serene; they were all of those things and none of them. They simply were.
Her head, as wide nearly as the bar, rose up slowly out of the open hatch, water pouring down from her long, red hair in streams, along with carrying the occasional fish and crab as well. The fish flopped onto the floor blindly, seeking the open hatch, while the crabs crawled to and fro, curiously exploring the new world they unexpectedly found themselves in. The woman shook her head, splattering them with salt water and the occasional small marine life, then rested her blue-green eyes on them. She was impossibly beautiful, her skin gleaming golden-green in the flickering lamplight, and the fine lines of her scales shing like polished mail. As her hair brushed the ceiling, the floorboards began to buckle, pushed upwards by her rising shoulders. Maine stumbled, falling to her hands and knees, and her eyes opened wide as she stared into the hatch below her.
The bar wasn’t that far out from the edge of the shore, at most the bottom of the blackish surf could only be a few feet away from the water’s surface. Maine knew that. But that wasn’t what she saw below them now.
Through the open hatch, she could see the enormity of the woman’s body, more than a hundred feet long, larger than any Giant that Maine had ever heard of. She saw the curves of her breasts, the vast tumble of her red hair, the swell of her tummy, and a long scaled tail that ended in a fin nearly the size of the Factory Pyramid. Beyond that sweeping fin however, was an endless blue world, like nothing she’d ever imagined.
Small fish darted like quicksilver around the woman’s tail and hands, chasing and rushing after each other, while snub-nosed sharks with gaping maws prowled through the nearby waters. Squid as large as horses undulated through the water, their long tentacles trailing after them. There was a keening sound, and a pod of whales appeared out of the darkness at the edge of her vision, drifting almost majestically past. There was a sudden rush of water, and Maine’s eyes grew wide as she saw more shapes race past the whales, human bodies with long flowing hair and flicking fins.
Mermaids! Mermen? It was impossible to tell at this distance. A thousand questions rushed into her brain, but all she could say was a simple, heartfelt, “Wow…”
With a rushing sigh, the woman bobbed back down into the water, and the floorboards settled into place once more. Donovan was down on one knee. “My Lady…” Holly and Oskar, even Sweet Pea, still high up in the ceiling, bowed their heads as well.
The woman turned her head slowly, water still streaming off her face, and gave them a gentle smile. Her legs still shaking, Maine climbed to her feet and hurried over to her brother, who was standing mouth agape, staring up at the Mermaid. Finally, she turned and looked at the two of them.
Her eyes narrowed and she leaned close, making the floorboards groan. “Hello, Matthew Maierson,” she said, making him jump unexpectedly. “My, but you’ve grown into a fine young man. I see your father in you.” Her voice was surprisingly deep and rumbling, and Maine seemed to feel it in her bones. Matthew must have as well, for he began to blush, and as the woman smiled mischievously at him, he went all the more red.
“All this time, and you never thought to visit me? For shame…” she chided him.
He opened his mouth, fumbling for words. “My lady… Ma’am…”
She tossed her hair back, spraying them with water once again. “Oh, don’t be so formal! Tilly is just fine. Why, we’re practically family after all. Your mother and father were always welcome here, no matter the circumstances.” She smiled alluringly, revealing jagged, sharp teeth, like rows of broken glass, and Matthew’s blush faded as the blood rushed from his face.
Tilly’s gaze shifted to Maine. “And this must be–”
“Maine!” she spoke up. “Maine Maierson.” And in the sight of those teeth, she remembered her manners, curtsying quickly. “At your service.”
The Mermaid inclined her head formally. “And at you and yours. It’s so nice to finally be introduced in the flesh, I’ve watched you and your brother for so long.”
“You’ve watched us?”
“I watch a great many things.” Tilly turned and faced Donovan, still on one knee. “Oh, do get up Donovan. That’s got to be murder on your knees.”
“It’s not as easy as it used to be,” he admitted, rising with a wince.
“Quite a foolish appendage if you ask me. Tails are so much more reliable,” she sniffed. Speaking of which, hold on a moment.” Her head suddenly ducked down, back into the water, only to rise up again a moment later, her arms now sticking up through the hatch. Everyone danced back as she started pushing chairs and tables out of the way with a sweep of her arms, water cascading across the floor. When she’d made room for herself, she leaned forwards comfortably, resting on her elbows.
“There now, that’s better. Now down to business.”
“That would be Trimble, my Lady,” Donovan said, idly kicking a nearby fish back through the hatch opening. “Thank you for the assistance before, but I think we’re going to have to do something more permanent about that young man in the future.”
“More permanent about both, I think,” Tilly agreed with a shark’s toothy grin. “Father and son have both certainly earned it. The waters around their factories are all poisoned sludge, their workers sweat to death inside locked rooms and buildings, all they care about is money and power, and now they want to expand here?” She smacked her lips together in anticipation. “I think they may find that more costly than they realize. These are my streets, and I will not have them threatened!”
“Yes!” Sweet Pea shouted from her perch above them.
“But that is the future business, I’m afraid,” Tilly said, matter of factly. “We have more important things to worry about.” She gave a long sigh. “I’m sorry to say that they already know where the Firstborn’s are hiding.”
They all stared. “What, already?” Maine asked.
“Yes. They were sold out within minutes of the younger Trimble leaving the bar.”
Matthew looked confused. “How can you possibly know that?”
“The Lady rules the water,” Donovan replied, somewhat mysteriously. Matthew stared blankly at him. “Mermaids can see through water, move through it, just as easily as you could a window or door,” he explained.
Tilly shrugged, a bit modestly. “It has its uses.”
Sweet Pea pulled her dagger from her belt. “Who sold them out?”
“Later, sweetness. We’ll deal with them,” she promised. “In the meantime, now Trimble and his father know where the Firstborn are, and we have to decide what we’re going to do about it.”
“What’s there to decide?” Matthew cried out. “We have to rescue them!”
“Do we?” Tilly asked, raising an eyebrow. “The Firstborn refused my offer of protection a long time ago, knowing the consequences. Shouldn’t I respect their decision?”
“But she’s in danger!” he said quickly. Tilly smiled, and Matthew reddened, catching himself, but he kept going. “I mean- they! They’re in danger! All of Old Coney’s in danger! Look, you just said that you were going to protect your streets! Why not start now?!”
“I said I’ll protect my streets. Mine,” she emphasized. “My territory extends only so far, and the Firstborn deliberately chose to live outside of it.” She waved a hand airily. “There’s nothing I can do.”
“Can’t you just… expand or something?” Maine asked.
Tilly burst out laughing, her mouth opening wide to reveal rows of great, jagged teeth, stacked one on top of the other in a dizzying sight. Looking into that mouth was like looking into a whirlpool of cutlery, and Maine had to quickly turn her gaze.
“Sorry,” she apologized, regaining control. “It’s just… a Maierson, telling me to expand my territory! Oh, if your Grandmother could see you now!” she laughed again.
“What’s so funny?” Maine asked, a bit put out.
Tilly leaned close to her, her jaws now only a few feet from Maine’s head. “Because your Grandmother was the one who insisted on me limiting my territory to these few, poor streets around the docks. It was her belief that Old Coney would be better off in more suitable hands, and many were more than happy to agree. Oh, how they ran to her apron strings, so eager to abandon me. But now here they are, all alone, and Madalyn’s very own grandchild is the one begging me to take them back.” She laughed heartily again.
Maine fought the urge to step back, no to run, from those rows of teeth, but she willed her legs not to move an inch. She caught both Donovan and Matthew flashing her a warning look, but instead she squared her shoulders and bared her own small teeth at the Mermaid. “I bet they had good reason to refuse you, if this is all the protection you could offer.”
Oskar gasped loudly and Sweet Pea hissed. Maine swallowed as the golden flecks seemed to scatter from Tilly’s eyes and they grew dark and cold. “Let’s get one thing clear, little fish,” the Mermaid said quietly to her. “I respected your Grandmother because she earned it. She was powerful, fearless, and not above the occasional act of ruthlessness, truly a woman after my own heart. You haven't earned that right yet, so tread carefully.” She held Maine’s gaze for a moment, then leaned back slowly, and everyone seemed to exhale around the room. Maine slowly felt her heart start to beat again.
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“Besides, as I said before, why shouldn’t I respect their decision?” Tilly remarked. “They chose to refuse my protection, and now they must accept the consequences of that choice. Everyone must! Choice is the ultimate freedom after all,” she said loftily, “and I would never do anything to infringe upon Old Coney’s freedom.”
“Even if it means Trimble and his goons are going to take over?” Matthew asked bitterly.
“Oh, I don’t think they’ll get that far,” she disagreed. “You see, when they march on my streets, they’ll be in for quite the rude awakening. You see, that is a choice too, and it can have the most devastating of consequences,” she said, smiling a shark’s grin. “And in that time, maybe the people of Old Coney will have time to reconsider the benefits of my protection.”
“Oh,” Maine said slowly. “I get it!” Forgetting herself, forgetting her fear, she pointed her finger at the huge Mermaid. “It’s a shakedown, isn’t it? You want them scared, right? So what, they’ll pay you more to protect them?”
“Hey!” Donovan shouted. “The Lady’s never taken a cent from Old Coney! That’s more than you Maierson’s can ever say!”
Rather than look offended, Tilly however laughed. “Money? As if I’d ever have a need for it.” She plunged one hand into the water and when she lifted it back up again she held a dripping, wooden chest in her palm. She closed her fingers tightly and the chest split open, spilling out gold and jewels all over the barroom floor. “If I wanted to, I could be the richest woman in all the world, but no, all that matters to me, little one, is freedom. THAT is what I offered to the people of Old Coney. My protection, and the freedom to make whatever choices they wanted.”
“That’s the problem,” she sighed. “People don’t appreciate freedom. They say they want it, of course, but what they really mean is that they want someone to take control of their lives, to make all of those pesky decisions for them. They used to come to me all the time, asking all sorts of questions. ‘Tilly, should we do this?’ ‘Tilly, should we do that?’” She put her hand to her forehead wearily. “How many times did I have to tell them to make up their own minds! To make their own choices!”
“But then, your Grandmother came along, offering her protection in exchange for obedience. And oh, how they flocked to her. In a matter of years, Old Coney went from a strong, independent community, to just another Maierson trinket,” she sighed.
“We used to have a mayor,” Dandy spoke up suddenly. Maine looked at him sharply and he gasped, looking surprised he’d even spoken himself. “My dad was talking about it last week,” he said quickly. “We used to have a mayor, years ago, but they just stopped…”
“Stopped voting,” Tilly finished for him. “What was the point? Not when the Great Madelyn Maierson was there to lead them.”
“But then she died,” Sweet Pea said bluntly.
“Indeed she did, and now it seems everything connected to the Maierson’s may go right along with her.”
Maine ground her teeth. “We’re not finished yet,” she promised.
“That remains to be seen,” Tilly laughed. “In the meantime, I think I’ll wait. Old Coney may have to suffer without the Maierson’s to save them, but they’ll soon discover their own strength again,” she said confidently. “And maybe next time, they’ll make better choices.”
Maine opened her mouth and then closed it tightly. She spun around and grabbed hold of Dandy’s arm. “Come’on! She’s not going to help us, we’re going to have to find the Firstborn ourselves!” She started to drag him towards the door, still shouting. “Do you hear that? We’ll save all of Old Coney just like my Gran would’ve done!”
“Do you really think so?” Sweet Pea asked.
Maine looked up and glared at her. “Just watch me!”
“Wait!” It was her brother that had shouted. He stepped in front of Tilly and bowed his head low.
“Look,” he said, “I don’t care about territory, or what my Grandmother did in the past, but someone needs to do something!” He looked imploringly up at the Mermaid. “If you know where the Firstborn are, can you at least tell us? I can maybe send them a message, warn them! Something!”
Donovan looked surprised. “After they went and robbed you? Now you want to save them?”
“I don’t… It’s just…” her brother hesitated. “No matter how bad they are, I don’t think they deserve Trimble,” he said finally.
“Noble,” the tall Irishman said laconically. “And of course, if Trimble gets to them first, you don’t stand a chance of getting your things back from them.” Sweet Pea sniffed loudly from her perch as Matthew shook his head.
“No! That’s not it!” he swore.
“Is it now?” Tilly spoke up. She leaned forwards, eyes suddenly intent. “Why don’t we make certain of that?”
“Promise me half of all the items the Firstborn have stolen, and I’ll tell you where they are,” she offered. “I’ll even help you recover them. And for good measure,” she said lightly, “I'll even put that most unfortunate of creatures, Henna Alleaf, under my personal protection. How does that sound?”
Matthew stepped back, looking at her in horror.
“What?” Maine exploded. She turned quickly to her brother. “You can’t agree to that! You heard Seward, if we don’t get the items back–”
“The Factory will close, I know…” her brother shook his head. Still, he gritted his teeth, looking torn.
“You can’t!” Maine said again.
“I… I can’t,” he finally agreed. His face was gray, and there were tears in his eyes as he looked at Tilly. “I can’t agree to that. Without the Auction, Maiersons doesn’t survive. I can’t… I’m sorry.”
Tilly looked at him silently. Maine couldn’t tell if she was saddened or not at her brother’s decision. Then without another word, she started to slip back under the hatch, disappearing into the water.
“Wait!” Matthew cried, scrambling after her. “At least tell me where they are! I don’t need any help, I’ll go there myself! Please! Where are they? Where?!” But she was gone, vanished beneath the waves. The water under the hatch was now the usual blackish murk of the Long Island Sound.
“Tough luck, there,” Donovan said, patting Matthew on the back. “Still, think it over. The Lady’s offer will stand as long as the Firstborn do, I imagine.” Matthew looked up weakly at him. “It should take Trimble time to organize, gather his forces,” the big man explained. “You’ve got till then to change your mind. If you do, just give us a holler.”
He clapped his hands. “Now, if you’ll please head upstairs, I’ll have some cots set up for you. They might not be as comfortable as your feather beds at home, but they’re a great deal safer than the streets will be tonight.” Maine and Dandy looked at each other with concern as Matthew just bowed his head weakly, looking utterly devastated.
The cots were a fair bit better than Donovan had warned, but it seemed to take Maine forever to get comfortable. She kept replaying what Tilly had said in her mind, about how her Grandmother had taken over Old Coney, protecting it in exchange for control. That wasn’t the case at all! Sure, her Grandmother had been very… certain about what others should do, but she was wise and so smart! Wasn’t that what wise people were supposed to do? Tell people what to do?
But then why did they stop voting for a mayor, she wondered. She couldn’t even remember hearing about any government in Old Coney before. It just seemed to run on its own, or well…. It used to, until her Grandmother died.
She turned the problem over and over again in her mind, and at some point she must have drifted off to sleep, for she suddenly woke up with a start. There was a boom somewhere in the distance, and the rattle of gunfire far off. She sat up suddenly, turning to see, and was surprised to find Sweet Pea crouched right beside her bed.
The little girl stared coldly at her, her green eyes shining in the darkness. Maine stared back, too startled to say a word or do anything. Finally, Sweet Pea stood up and gestured to her. “Come with me,” she said quietly. Without another word, she padded out the room on bare feet.
Maine climbed up and quickly grabbed her bag and Ifri’s lamp, checking to make sure the little pilot light was still lit. Outside, she could still hear the rattle of gunfire and distant voices again. Something was definitely going on. She heard Matthew then give a small sigh. He turned over on his cot and continued to sleep, dead to the world. On the next cot over, Dandy was sprawled out, legs hanging off the side as he snored. She hesitated for a moment, then settled on placing a hand on Dandy’s mouth and shaking him.
“Whhut?” he murmured, but she shook her head, signaling for him to be silent. She pulled him up and out of the room, following after the little girl.
Sweet Pea was perched on the edge of the balcony outside the bar. Below them, they could see along the docks and the streets closest to the shore. It must’ve been close to dawn, the moon still hung low in the sky, but there was a glow not far off.
“Donovan was wrong,” the girl stated matter of factly. She pointed to the glow in the distance. “They’ve already started.”
“What?” Maine said. She leaned over the balcony, staring, and all at once realized the glow wasn’t the sun that she was seeing. Part of Old Coney was burning.
Dandy froze, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Is that Gravesend?” he asked.
“Yep, where the Firstborn were hiding,” Sweet Pea said. “No sense in hiding it now.” There was another boom from far off and the fires flared even higher. The noises sounded so faint from this distance, they almost seemed harmless.
“Trimble moved an army into Gravesend,” she told them, “cut off all the roads. The Firstborn are making a fight of it, but they’re outnumbered and their backs to the water. Still, they’ll probably hold out a few hours more.”
Maine tore her eyes away from the fight going on to stare at her. “Why are you telling us this?”
The look the little girl gave her was viciously mocking. “Because you promised to protect them,” she reminded her.
She pointed over the balcony to the docks below them. “At the end of the docks is a small path,” she told them, “running along the shore. It goes all the way to the marsh, past the wall around Gravesend. Trimble’s men have all the entrances covered, but they don’t know about the path, and they don’t know that the wall dips around an old waste pipe about halfway through. You can climb over the wall by the pipe, and be right inside, behind the Firstborn and Trimble’s men. What you do then, is up to you.”
She smiled then like Tilly, with her own sharp, little teeth. “‘Watch me!’ you said. You promised you’d save them all just like the Old Hag would’ve done.” She waved her hand over the balcony. “Well? I’m waiting…”
Maine glared at her then looked back over the ledge. The fires were even higher now. People were shouting in the distance, she could hear the tiny clang of bells.
Dandy was staring at her. “Your brother… We should…”
“No!” Maine said. “He’ll want us to stay put!” And he’d probably be right, a voice seemed to tell her, but she forced that thought down. Gritting her teeth, she threw one leg over the ledge and started to climb over.
“Wait!” Dandy called. “Are you sure about this?”
“Of course!” she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. “Come’on!” He hesitated for a moment, sweating, and then frantically started to climb after her.
Sweet Pea watched them slide down the hanging roof, then land roughly on the dock below and take off running. She stood up then and jammed her knife deep into the woodwork. Clouds passed over the moon briefly, and when the light returned, there was only the knife and a tattered frock on the edge of the balcony. Matthew turned over in his sleep, unbothered by the sound of tiny feet scamping across the rooftop, and outside, Gravesend continued to burn.