Page 31 of Moist!

chapter two

NEFKENIR

I lie at the bottom of my shipwreck in the lake. It’s been here so long the ship itself has decayed to a point of no return. It’ll disintegrate around my head one of these days.

I almost welcome that. Although I suspect I’d be crushed beneath it and still not die. Not until I find her again. Not until she comes to me one day and says I’ve atoned long enough for my past sins.

Every new face I meet, I look for her, Selah. What form will she take in this generation, or the next? How long will it be until I recognize her soul, her beautiful aura?

Sounds echo from the lakeshore. Maidens ready to toss themselves in, I suppose.

Much as I’d love to break the curse that holds me here, part of me has given up hope of it actually happening.

The women who skinny dip in this lake and enjoy me are brief blips in my life. I never see any of them again.

None of them are ever my Selah, come to release me from this watery prison.

Lazily, I blow a stream of bubbles through a porthole as I uncurl my long, scaly black-green tail.

If Selah wanted to curse me, at least she cursed me with a fucking glorious body—half water dragon, a sprinkle of shark, the upper body of a powerlifter and the wide, luminous eyes of a deepwater anglerfish.

I don’t look like I did when she loved me, but perhaps if her soul finds its way to me again, it’ll want this chimera version of me.

Perhaps this version is finally a better man.

Although, unable to leave the confines of the lake, it’s admittedly hard to better oneself.

I swirl the sand into tornado-shaped eddies with my tail, admiring just how big and strong it is. Shifting upright, I curl and uncurl humanoid fingers that morph color from tan to green to black, ending in black claws sharp enough to gut a fish in one swipe.

I never liked fish.

She knew that, Selah, and that’s why she made me a water creature. To remind me to have more care, to take more care, with the world around me. Including the heart of someone I claimed to love.

Voices echo muffled through the water. A heaving series of splashes announces the women have entered the lake.

Sighing, I shift upright and grip the open hole in the side of the shipwreck, blinking as I stare toward the sound.

A school of trout swim lazily past me, their rainbow scales glimmering even in the depths’ low light.

I get lost in their beauty, in the way their lateral lines allow them to move as a unit. Gorgeous…

Shrieks from the lake shore draw my attention again. The women are calling for me now, although they’re not using my name. Despite the interviews, despite the books and articles, when they come to me, it’s always “lake monster” not “Nefkenir”.

Growling at the irritation that belittlement produces in my chest, I wonder for the millionth time if that’s how Selah felt when I was callous with her love.

I shove that consideration aside as I push out of the shipwreck and unfurl my tail, powering slowly over the lake bottom toward the shallow water.

I glide toward the girls—three humanoids—and pop my head out of the water, twitching my long, tapered ears to listen. The women giggle and splash, calling for the famous lake monster, telling me my mate is here among them, that I should come get her.

When I snort out a laugh, rippling the water with my tail, they silence and pause. Their hearts begin to race and one of the three paddles closer to shore. It’s always the same…that age-old terror some monsters have for deep, dark water.

“Hello, my little fishies,” I call out, my tone low, seductive. “Is one of you my Selah, finally come to release me?” I stay out of view in the dark, loving how they look around, unable to pinpoint just where my voice echoed from.

A second woman moves closer to shore.

My Selah would never.

Only one woman remains, floating confidently in the deeper water as she stares out over the lake. If it was going to be Selah, it would be this woman. Not afraid, but observant. I met Selah in a lake much like this one.

Diving beneath the water, I swim closer to her, my shark’s fin breaking the surface of the water. When she sees that, she finally screams and splashes toward the rocky beach. I swim slowly to give her time to flee. She can’t be my Selah, but it’s fun to toy with her anyhow.

The blonde throws herself up onto the beach, chest heaving, but I don’t stop. I burst from the shallow water and claw my way up over top of her. The other women scream and run, but the blonde’s eyes go wide as she scrabbles at the rocky beach.

“Where are you going, little fish?” I stroke wet locks away from her pretty face. “You came here for a good time, did you not?”

The woman halts, her heart slowing as her scent morphs into red hot lust. Her pupils blow wide. “You’re famous for it. Perhaps I am your Selah. Only one way to find out…right?”

I chuckle, my long black hair dripping water onto her exposed, gooseflesh covered skin .

“Yes…only one way to find out, woman. Come back into the water with me.”

She casts a quick, nervous glance down my figure but takes my hand when I offer it. With another laugh, I pull her to me and dive into the lake.