Fable (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale #3)(45)

Mina gasped in alarm, and her mouth opened. The cup was back at her mouth, and she felt something cool and minty fill her mouth. Don’t swallow. Don’t swallow, she told herself, and when the cup moved away, she turned her head and spat out the liquid. She tried to knock the helping green hands away, but her own body had trouble obeying her commands. The green hand came to her mouth again, and she used every bit of effort to bite at the offending fingers.

“Hey. Ouch!” a male voice grumbled.

Mina turned her muddled head to stare at the green-skinned young man. His green hair was medium length, just touching the edge of his neck, and flowed back and forth as if it was being tossed in an invisible current. He was lean and well-muscled, like a swimmer. He wasn’t wearing a shirt but long green pants that looked to be made of grass or seaweed.

“Wh-who are you?” Her voice was wrecked, and she had to lick her lips and swallow a few times before she sounded normal.

The young man turned, shaking his injured finger in the air, and gave her a wary look before answering, “Nix.”

“You saved me, didn’t you?” She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his skin, which out of the water looked very human, except for the greenish tint. If he moved, the light would catch the faintish shimmer of his scales.

“Yes, I almost couldn’t revive you, so I’m sorry if you’re a little sore.”

Mina was wondering why her chest felt like an elephant had been sitting on it.

“Thank you…Nix, is it? What an odd name.”

“It’s a perfectly good name for a nixie.” He looked offended and held out his bitten hand, and small translucent webbing appeared between each of his fingers. When he was positive they were all intact, they disappeared again.

Whoa! she thought. So this is what a nixie looked like.

Nix looked at her again, and this time stood up and moved even farther away from her, then sat closer to a water-filled hole in the ground. He sat on the edge and put both of his feet into the water, and stared at her from a distance.

Mina sat up, and one hand went to her rib cage in pain. She must have been passed out for a while, because all of her clothes were dry. She looked around at her prison. She was in a cave, and the walls were covered with glowing crystals that created the luminescent light. There was a small bed, which she was lying in, a blanket, a cup, and a small pack of items by a far wall, but no obvious exit.

“What did you do to her?” he asked warily.

“You mean the girl who tried to kill me?” Mina answered.

He nodded.

“I’m not sure. I stabbed her with a piece of golden glass, and she changed,” Mina replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

He looked at her, and she felt herself shiver under his dark stare. And then she realized the difference between Nix and the woman. Where the sea witch’s eyes were an intense black, Nix’s cat-shaped eyes were bright green and still very human-looking.

“You’re different. You and her.” Mina pointed to his eyes. “Her eyes were filled with evil.”

Nix’s green skin turned an odd shade as he paled and refused to meet her gaze. He leaned forward and ran his fingers through the water as if he took comfort from its touch.

“Yes. She was seduced by our own blood.” He sighed and pulled his leg from the water, and leaned his chin on his knee. “Water witch, sea witch, nixies…we are all one and the same. Cursed by our own desires, so most think of us as evil. But I tell you, we are not born that way. We are gentle creatures. Once we reach a certain age, our power over water fades and we become desperate, thirsty for that power again. And then we have to make a choice: to eventually lose our connection with water, grow old, and die, or begin drowning and killing innocents to feed on and live forever.”

Fear raked through her body. Her eyes searched the cave again, looking for another way out, until it dawned on her. The water-filled hole. The only way out was through the water, and Nix was blocking the way.

Nix could see her fear and raised his voice. “Yes, but not all of us are like that! Look at me! Look at my eyes. I’m not like her. I’ve not become seduced by lust for power. Raina wasn’t always like that, either.” Nix looked so heartbroken and alone that she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“What happened between you?”

“We were in love once. We made a promise to each other to grow old and die together. To not give in to the curse of our race. We thought we were stronger than the temptation, which usually surfaces once we reach adulthood. But then one day last year, I found her crying in the shallows of the water. She could no longer hear the fishes’ thoughts, or speak to the tadpoles. No matter how much she sang to them, they never answered. I told her it was okay, she could still speak to me. She was older than I am, so it affected her first. It’s scary, to see a curse affect someone you love and knowing that it would be my fate as well.”

“Yes, it is,” Mina said, thinking of her own troubles.

Nix nodded; he was lost deep in thought. She thought he was done, but he turned his head, and she could see that there was a tear sliding down his delicately scaled cheek.

“I told her we would suffer together, that I would always be there for her until our very end. Then I awoke one morning to a song—her song, and I knew. I knew she had made her choice, and I didn’t stop her. I could have. I knew what she was doing, but I refused to watch. I was scared. I was scared that I would join her and turn, too.” He sniffed and then looked up proudly into Mina’s eyes. His deep green eyes filled with tears. “But I haven’t.”