The ripples died. Little granules of sand got caught in a small updraft, dancing along the surface.
And then—
“Nope,” Gary said. “Fuck no. Fuck this whole thing. Fuck you. Fuck them. Fuck this place. Gary out.”
But he didn’t even try to leave, transfixed by the same thing all the rest of us were. Because out of the sand where I’d thrown Ruv’s stone rose five claws attached to five fingers, which led to a hand whose palm was white as a fish’s belly but whose skin was mottled green around the back, like wet moss growing on trees. The hand, of course, led to a thick forearm that had to be as wide as I was. Whatever the hell was under the sand was big, bigger than it had any right to be. The arm bent over, veins jutting out as the sharp claws closed around the stone before sinking back underneath the surface, the sand moving like waves.
On the other side, the same thing happened with a slightly smaller arm. No one spoke until it too had disappeared in the sand.
“Huh,” I said. “All those in favor of turning around and running away, say aye.”
“Aye,” Gary said.
“Aye,” Tiggy said.
“Aye,” Kevin said.
“Guys, we can’t,” Ryan said, because he was righteous and brave and so, so stupid. “We have a job to do.”
“Okay, then,” Gary said. “You go out there first.”
“Well, let’s not be too hasty,” Ryan said quickly, taking a step back. “We should at least talk about it before anyone does anything.”
“Sand mermaids,” I said to Ruv, who was still looking out at the sands. “That’s what Vadoma called them, didn’t she?”
“Yes.”
“And obviously she left out the part where they were large scary monsters.”
“Have you seen real mermaids before?”
I nodded. “Once. It involved lesbian pirates who tied me to the front of their ship to use my magic to get to the mermaid treasure.”
“Oh, right,” Gary said. “I remember that. What was that song they sang again?”
“If you use your fingers to scissor,” Tiggy sang, “you best put your mouth up and kiss her.”
“Gods, I had that in my head for days,” I said. “And also, I was sufficiently scarred because mermaids are terrifying creatures.”
“The sand mermaids are even worse,” Ruv said. “Or so I’ve heard. Twice the size of traditional mermaids. Four rows of teeth—needle sharp. They have little pockets in the back of their throats like a water skin. It holds poison that paralyzes the prey. They like it when you’re alive when they start to eat you. Something about the blood tasting different than off a rotting carcass.”
“Well shit on my chest and call me kinky,” Gary said. “Let me guess. There’s no other way to yonder rockopolis aside from straight through this little sand ocean.”
“You’re into scat play?” Kevin said. “That is not something I would have expected.”
“What?” Gary said. “Gross. Of course not. Don’t be stupid. It’s a common expression.”
“No one says that,” I told him. “Absolutely no one.”
“And besides,” Gary said, ignoring me completely, “it’s not like you know everything about me.”
“Bullshit,” Kevin said. “I knew you inside and out. And in again. And then out again—”
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered. I glanced back at Ruv. “The middle stone. There’s a path?”
He nodded. “Any deviation from it will… be less than ideal.”
“How the hell did you figure that out?”