Hollywood Merman PG-13 Version Read online

  Chapter 7: Broken Sword

  Actor Dylan Black was not a happy camper. Last night he’d graciously invited Vivien Tempest out to dinner, asked her to be his girlfriend, and had even invited her parents to witness the important event. Vivien - who’d been making eyes at him for days - should have been thrilled.

  Instead she’d seemed…distracted by something or more likely someone. Dylan could easily guess just who that someone was too - Levi Devlin.

  Well, to be fair, the only reason Dylan was presently interested in Vivien was because Levi seemed to be interested in her, which meant she could be one of the special human females he was looking for - a Judge.

  Yep, you guessed it - Dylan Black was actually a demon. The reason why Levi and his little ‘friends’ couldn’t sense his demonic presence was because of the enchanted black onyx pendant that he wore around his neck at all times.

  Unlike Levi, Dylan remembered his past as a demon in Hell, and remembered Levi’s past as a demon too. He also remembered their time as princes of the Seraphim, thousands of years ago. Dylan along with Lucifer and Levi were the first three angels to fall. At the time he’d gone by another name, of course.

  Dylan knew that the reason Levi had turned against God and fallen in the first place was because of his hatred towards the humans and how they were treating the Earth. That’s why it greatly surprised Dylan that Levi appeared to be falling in love with Vivien. A human female. It had to mean she was a Judge.

  And if Vivien were a Judge then Dylan wanted her for himself. The reason Dylan had turned against God was because he’d wanted more power and recognition of his greatness. He’d wanted to rule the oceans upon the Earth as a god. Whereas, Levi had only wanted to act as the ocean’s guardian.

  At any rate, once Dylan had fallen he’d been cursed by God - something he hadn’t expected or anticipated. Dylan had been cursed into a monstrous form and forced to live in the rivers of Hell for centuries. Finally, he’d gained enough power to transform into a ‘human form’ - his current form. But it hadn’t been easy. Also most of his powers had been sealed away by God’s curse.

  When Dylan had been an Archangel he’d had the ability to cause earthquakes and had also been known as Earth-Shaker. Presently, most of his abilities were trapped inside of him, at least until he was redeemed by the love of a Judge. Only a Judge could undo God’s curse and return him to his former glory.

  Dylan’s ‘master plan’ was to get his powers back and to then kick Lucifer’s butt. He’d use his earth shaking ability to lay waste to Lucifer’s castle and all the lands in Hell that were under his control. Lucifer had lied to him, had promised him greater power and recognition. Armies were to be under his control and command. But the only thing he’d gotten out of rebelling against God was a cursed existence in the realm of Hell.

  The boundaries between Hell and Earth were weakening however, and Dylan had been able to travel to Earth through a portal on his own, and hadn’t needed to take Gabriel and Uriel’s proffered deal - passage to Earth in exchange for his memories.

  For the past twenty years, Dylan had upheld the human identity of ‘Dylan Black, aspiring actor’. And with Dylan’s good looks and acting skill it hadn’t taken long for Dylan to become famous. When he’d first arrived upon the Earth, he’d sought power and prestige, and had quickly become jealous of the human celebrities. Human celebrities that were almost worshiped like gods. Dylan wanted to be worshiped too and so had decided to become an actor. How hard could it be? He’d thought. After all, he was a charismatic demon with great cunning and devilish good looks.

  Dylan had quickly gained his first role in a movie through an audition, and the rest was history. He rapidly became a famous actor and amassed a great fortune, which he quickly doubled then tripled in the stock market until he was now a millionaire. He even owned his own private jet, sailboat, and his own island off the coast of California, which was invisible to the human eye since he’d shielded it with demonic energy.

  The island would be the headquarters for the new ‘kingdom’ that he planned to make on Earth very soon. Dylan always got what he wanted and right now he wanted Vivien Tempest. I take what I want, when I want. Vivien, you will be mine.

  Dylan parked his black Ferrari GTO outside of the Fairmount Hotel. He got out of the car and waited for Vivien to exit the building, knowing that she’d be leaving soon for the shoot. He’d already called Urban and told him that picking up Vivi would not be necessary. Dylan leaned back against his car in a casual pose as he awaited his new girlfriend.

  A few minutes later, Vivien was exiting the building, looking harried. “Good morning, Vivien.” He drawled in order to get her attention.

  Vivien’s gaze snapped to Dylan, and her eyes widened. “Dylan? What are you doing here?”

  “Giving you a ride to the shoot, of course.” The actor opened the passenger side door for her.

  Vivien nibbled on her lower lip and hesitated. “Uh, what about Urban?”

  “I already told him that you wouldn’t be needing his services.” Dylan’s dark eyes glittered with amusement.

  Vivien blinked. “I see.” She sighed. “Uh…thanks, I guess.” She stepped into the car and Dylan closed the door behind her.

  Dylan got in behind the wheel, turned on the engine, and merged into traffic heading for the shooting venue. He looked over at Vivien out of the corner of his eye and noticed the hickey on her neck. His grip tightened on the steering wheel and his blood boiled. Anger swirled inside of his chest. Surely not. He took a deep breath, scenting Vivien, and sure enough he could still smell Levi’s scent lingering on her. Vivien and Levi had had sex last night.

  A dark scowl formed on Dylan’s handsome face. Levi, you’ll pay for that, old friend. I’ve decided Vivien belongs to me. “Where did you go last night, baby?”

  “Oh…a friend of mine was drunk and needed my help.” Vivien replied, deciding to stay as close to the truth as possible.

  “Drunk?” Levi had gotten drunk? Wonders never ceased.

  Vivien nodded. “Yep. But…he should be okay now. Sorry about ditching you last night.”

  Dylan reached out, placed his right hand on top of Vivien’s, and squeezed her hand. “No worries. Your parents were pleasant company.”

  “I’ll bet.” Vivien’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, nothing.”

  Dylan continued to observe Vivien closely. She may have been wavering towards Levi but…she was only human. Vivien would choose him because according to human society he was the better man. He had more money and greater social status. Money made the Earth go round, as the humans liked to say. Twenty minutes later, Dylan was parking the GTO in a parking spot close to the shooting venue and Vivien got out of the car. “Go ahead without me, baby. I need to make a quick phone call.”

  Vivien poked her head back into the car and nodded. “Alright, thanks.”

  Dylan whipped out his cell phone and dialed the number of a private investigator that was in his employ. After three rings the call was picked up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Detective Harlock. I have a job for you. I need you to find out everything you can about Levi Devlin, owner of Poseidon’s Trident.”

  “Yes, Sir. I’ll get right on that.”

  “If you find out something useful…you will be greatly rewarded.”

  “You can count on me, Mr. Black.”

  “Good.” Dylan ended the call, exited the GTO, and headed over to the beach where he’d be filming yet another romantic scene with Princess Vivien.

  The shooting went smoothly and then the entire film crew decided to head over to Poseidon’s Trident for lunch. “Ride with me, baby.” Dylan said to Vivien.

  “Uh…okay, sure, thanks.” Vivien agreed reluctantly. The last person she wanted to see right then was Levi. How was she supposed to face him after what happened between them last night? Last night…had been a mistake. Y
eah, keep telling yourself that Vivien.

  Dylan drove Vivien to Poseidon’s Trident and escorted her inside with his hand on her arm. Vivien was stiff in his hold. The actress looked around the restaurant curiously, expecting to see Levi in the open kitchen, but he wasn’t there. She frowned, wondering where he was. Surely, she wasn’t the reason why he wasn’t there.

  Dylan and Vivien took a seat together at one of the tables, and he reached across the table to take Vivien’s hand. Vivien tried to pull her hand back but Dylan only increased the strength of his hold. He wanted the chefs to see this. And they did.

  Derek, Garth and Malakye watched as Dylan held Vivien’s hand at the table and they all had varying reactions. Derek threw his cleaver at a huge slab of beef that was sitting on the kitchen counter. The gleaming blade went flying end over end, through the air until it imbedded itself in the beef. Garth destroyed the petit fours he was working on accidentally as he clenched his hands into angry fists. And Malakye dropped his soupspoon. Again.

  Dylan had to suppress a chuckle at the chef’s reactions.

  The film crew also noticed Vivien and Dylan holding hands and began to talk excitedly. “So it’s true then? You guys are officially going out?”

  “That’s right.” Dylan spoke up loudly, so that everyone inside of the restaurant could hear him. “Last night I asked Vivien to be my girlfriend…and she accepted.” He puffed his chest up proudly.

  “Wow!” “Congratulations!” “You guys make a great couple!” The film crewmembers made various comments.

  Vivien bit her lower lip to help her keep her mouth shut. She almost wanted to inform everyone that Dylan was lying. That technically she’d never agreed to be his girlfriend. But what would be the point? Going out with Dylan Black was everything she’d wanted. She’d just never expected things to go so far with Levi. Vivien couldn’t meet the chefs’ eyes. She felt so…trapped by her own choices.

  ***

  Ambrose stood outside of Vivien’s hotel suite with a cake box in his hands. The orange liqueur cake with white chocolate ganache was an excuse to visit and see what had happened between Levi and Vivien last night. The patissier was dying of curiosity.

  Ambrose knocked on the door and waited. After a few minutes, he frowned. There was no response. Maybe they’d already left for a film shoot? He decided to use his keycard that Vivien had given him in case of an emergency and used it to enter the suite.

  “Hey, Vivien…Levi, you guys still here?” Ambrose called out as he entered the living room, only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight before him. “Levi!” He dropped the cake box and ran over to his friend.

  Levi was collapsed on the floor by the couch on his side, naked. “Hey, Levi.” Ambrose called as he turned Levi over onto his back and shook him by his shoulders. No response. Ambrose leaned over and put his ear to Levi’s chest, listening for a heartbeat. He didn’t have one! “Crap!” Ambrose started to perform CPR by doing chest compressions and then breathing air into Levi’s lungs. “Come on…you can’t die, you stubborn guy! You didn’t even die when you had your heart ripped out of your chest!” Ambrose shouted as he practically pounded his fists into Levi’s chest out of frustration. His eyes were tearing up, making it hard to see.

  Abruptly, Levi’s eyes snapped open and he coughed.

  Ambrose sat back and let out a breath of relief. He quickly wiped the tears from his eyes before Levi could see them.

  Levi sat up, but kept his head lowered to hide his tortured expression with his bangs, and rubbed at his chest. “So…I guess I’m still alive. Great, just great.” Levi turned to see Ambrose and surprise flickered across his expression. “Ambrose? What are you doing here?”

  Ambrose reached out and put a hand on Levi’s shoulder. “Hey, my man, would you mind telling me what the hell happened to you?”

  A dark shadow fell over Levi’s expression, and he stood up and looked around for his shorts. Spotting them, Levi grabbed his boxers and put them on.

  “Hey.” Ambrose stood up and followed after Levi as he began to pace across the room. “Tell me what the heck happened.” Levi remained stubbornly silent. Ambrose looked around the floor at Levi’s discarded clothes. “You had sex with Vivien last night, right?”

  Levi flinched at the remembrance. “Yes.”

  Ambrose’s golden eyes narrowed at his friend. “What did that witch do to you?”

  Levi spun around, grabbed Ambrose by his patissier jacket, and snarled in his face. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that!”

  Relief flooded Ambrose’s features at Levi’s violent reaction. This man was more like the Levi he knew - not that broken man from earlier who was a shadow of his former self. “At least I can still get a rise out of you. But still…I don’t get it. What went wrong?”

  Levi released Ambrose, and clenched his hands into fists. “Nothing went wrong. Apparently, she was drunk. Vivien said she doesn’t remember anything that happened between us. That it was a mistake. That I should just forget it happened. But I think…she just used me for her own pleasure.” Levi tried to act blasé about what he was saying but the words were like daggers to his heart. He clutched at his chest in pain and collapsed to his knees gasping for breath. Love freakin hurts.

  “Levi!” Ambrose crouched by his side, “Crap.” He put a hand on Levi’s back and rubbed in a soothing gesture. “Hey, chill man, you need to realize something about human females - sometimes they lie.”

  Levi stilled. “Lie?”

  Ambrose nodded. “Yep. Vivien could be lying. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s a lie that she doesn’t remember what happened between the two of you. When I called her to pick you up she may have been a little buzzed but she wasn’t drunk. I’ve seen her drunk and it ain’t pretty.”

  Levi scowled at the idea of Ambrose having seen Vivien when she was drunk and vulnerable. He shook his head of such worrisome thoughts. “Why would she lie about it? I don’t understand.”

  Ambrose shrugged carelessly. “Females are complex creatures…maybe to protect herself? I dunno.”

  “I would never hurt her.” Levi rumbled in a serious tone.

  “But how does she really know that? I know Vivi…that girl has the tendency to lie to herself. She convinces herself that she wants certain things but it’s really what her parents and sister want for her. I’m not saying I know Vivien’s true feelings for you, but when I called her and told her you were drunk and that I was going to leave you with some girls - she left Dylan and came running to pick you up so in a sense she chose you over Dylan in that particular moment. So…don’t give up hope. But in order to win her…you’re going to have to harden your heart against her, Levi.”

  “My heart is already in her hands.”

  Something on the carpet caught Ambrose’s eye and he saw several black pearls lying on the floor. He leaned over and picked one up to inspect it. “I can see that.” He cried these tears…because of Vivi. Man, I’m so pissed off at her right now. She broke his heart and he almost died of heartbreak. There were enough pearls to make a necklace.

  Levi grabbed his pants and put them on. After that he put on his shirt, jacket and boots until he was fully dressed.

  Ambrose dropped the pearl back onto the carpet. He decided that Vivien should find those pearls…just because. Noticing the Levi was fully dressed he spoke to the man: “I’ll give you a ride to Poseidon’s Trident.”

  Levi frowned at Ambrose’s offer. Chances were high that Vivien’s film crew would be going there for lunch, and Levi wasn’t sure he could face her just yet. “Hey Ambrose, can I come over to your place instead?”

  Ambrose blinked. “Sure, man. Let’s play hooky from our jobs and play video games all day.”

  Levi frowned. “I don’t know how to play video games.”

  “Man, you’ve been missing out.” Ambrose shook his head in disbelief, and threw his arm over Levi’s shoulder as he guided him to the door. “Never a better time to start than toda
y!”

  Ambrose drove Levi back to his apartment in his Jeep. Ambrose parked his Jeep in the underground parking lot and they rode the elevator up to the appropriate floor. Ambrose led Levi down the hall to his apartment, fished his key out, opened the door, and ushered Levi inside. He flipped on a light switch. “Make yourself at home.”

  Levi strolled inside and headed for the couch in the living room.

  “Hungry?” Ambrose called after him.

  Levi’s stomach growled loudly in response. “I could eat a shark.”

  “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” Ambrose sauntered towards the kitchen until he remembered that he still had a human female in his room. Oh crap! I have to get rid of that dark-haired seductress first. A smile curled Ambrose’s lips as he remembered the kinky fun they’d had together last night.

  Ambrose changed directions and headed for his bedroom. He entered and flipped on a light switch. And there sitting on his bed was not the dark-haired seductress he’d gone to bed with last night but-

  “Maia? What the hell?” Ambrose frowned and scratched his head in confusion.

  Maia was Tristan Savant’s friend who’d worked for the incubus selling chocolate out of his mobile chocolate shop Dark Heaven. She’d also worked at Poseidon’s Trident as a waitress for a time. Maia was five-five, with long, silvery-blonde hair, and wide, lavender-colored eyes. Her skin was as pale as the moon. She had this ethereal quality to her…as if she might just turn into mist and vanish at any moment. Ambrose considered her to be an acquaintance of his…one he tended to avoid. He didn’t do well with mentally unstable females.

  Although that was probably putting it mildly - the girl was completely nuts. She thought she was some kind of robot and Tristan had had a hell of a time getting the girl to eat normal food since Maia believed she lived off of electrical energy. But Maia definitely wasn’t the girl he’d slept with last night, so what the hell was going on?

  “Ambrose, what am I doing here?” Maia demanded in her usual droning tone though there was a fierce look in her eyes, and she had the cover pulled up to her chin to hide her naked body.

  Ambrose put his hands up before him. “Hey, that’s what I’d like to know. Why did you seduce me last night?”

  Maia’s eyes flashed. “Seduce? Error, error. I did not seduce you. Robots do not need sex. Therefore…you took advantage of me. You are a pervert.” Maia picked up a sex toy that was lying on the bed and threw it at Ambrose’s head.

  Ambrose dodged the toy. “Hey…now, that’s simply not true, babe. You were begging for it last night.”

  “Liar!” Another vibrator was launched at his head, and then another. “Get out! Stay away! Pervert!”

  “Hey! Shhhh! Lower your voice!” Ambrose waved his hands at her nervously. “I don’t want Levi to-”

  “You don’t want me to what?” Levi drawled as he walked into the bedroom to see what all the commotion was about. His eyes widened when he caught sight of Maia. “Maia? What are you doing here?”

  A relieved expression came to Maia’s face when she caught sight of Levi, and she leapt out of the bed with the bed sheet wrapped around her body. “Levi! Save me! He’s a pervert!” Maia said in her monotone voice. She leapt into Levi’s arms and he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

  A few months ago, Maia had been starving because of her fixation to consume electrical energy. That’s when Levi had taken it upon himself to cook Maia food and then electrify it with his powers while Maia watched. Only then would she eat. Because of this occurrence, Levi had grown protective of the girl he’d saved and saw Maia as a kind of ‘little sister’. Levi glared at Ambrose heatedly. “Ambrose, you slept with Maia?”

  “What? No! I…came back here with a dark-haired seductress…and I woke up with Maia! I swear!” Ambrose put his hands up before him in a surrendering gesture. “I know that sounds crazy, but it’s the truth.” At that moment, Ambrose spotted the black wig on the floor…what the hell? He went over, picked it up, and spun around to face Maia. “You lying witch! It was you last night! You did seduce me! Why are you lying about it now? Trying to make me look bad? Huh?”

  Maia trembled at Ambrose yelling at her. “I didn’t…”

  Realization hit Levi like a semi, and he released Maia to stare down at her. “Maia, stay here while I talk to Ambrose about something.”

  Maia nodded. “Understood.”

  Levi grabbed Ambrose’s arm, dragged him from the bedroom, and closed the door. He pulled Ambrose into the living room and only then did he let go of Ambrose’s arm.

  “Are you going to tell me what the heck is going on?” Ambrose demanded and crossed his arms over his chest.

  Levi sighed. “Tristan and I should have told you the truth about Maia sooner. Maia is a Sleepwalker. When Maia sleeps…Echo wakes. Echo is her alter ego. Maia is half-nymph and Echo is her nymph half. Basically she has a split personality.”

  Ambrose’s eyes flared. “Maia…is half-nymph? No way…” The patissier sunk down onto the couch as the reality of what was going on began to sink in.

  “Yes way. But even if you slept with Echo last night…Maia doesn’t know about that and won’t remember it. So don’t hold her accountable for Echo’s actions. Maia is innocent.” Levi said in a firm tone.

  “Hah! Just like Vivien is innocent?” Ambrose scoffed.

  Levi stiffened. “That was a low blow.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry. Man…it looks like the both of us had some real bad luck with women last night.” The patissier shook his head ruefully.

  Levi shrugged. “I’m going to cook Maia breakfast. After all she’ll only eat my cooking since I can electrify it.” There was a proud note to the merman’s voice.

  “Yeah, sure, fine.” Ambrose agreed. “Whatever the hell that means.” He muttered under his breath.

  While Levi made scrambled eggs and waffles, Ambrose decided to bake some Madeleine cookies. The smell of the food brought Maia out of her room and Ambrose noted that she was dressed in the silver tube dress from last night.

  Silver. Maia’s favorite color as a self-professed robot. I should have known. Ambrose shook his head, feeling like an idiot. “It was the smell of the Madeleines that brought you out of your room, right?”

  “Error, error. It was the scrambled eggs.” Maia countered, taking a seat at the kitchen island on one of the stools.

  Levi smirked as he set the plate of food down in front of Maia. He then held his hand out over her plate and summoned his power - blue electrical sparks showered out of Levi’s hand and enveloped the food, but did not harm it. This was just for show after all.

  Ah, so that’s what he meant by electrifying her food. Ambrose thought. Apparently Levi is able to produce electricity…probably like an electric eel.

  Maia immediately began to dig in. Ambrose set the plate of Madeleines down next to her plate. “Try some of mine too.”

  Maia frowned at the food. “Error, error. I am a robot. I can only consume electrical energy.”

  Ambrose felt a vein in his temple throb. “You can’t be serious? You’re eating Levi’s cooking but you won’t eat mine? What the hell…”

  “Don’t get your panties in a bunch.” Levi held his hand out over the plate of Madeleines so that blue sparks rained down upon the little cakes.

  Maia picked one up, plopped it into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Her expression remained frustratingly blank.

  “How are they?” Ambrose asked.

  “Satisfactory.” Maia drawled. “They’d taste better if I could erase you from my mind.”

  Ouch. “Satisfactory? This girl…” Ambrose ground his molars in irritation. “So what are you going to do now, Levi? You still want to hang out at my place?”

  Levi nodded. “Maia can join us in learning how to play video games.”

  “I know how to play.” Maia admitted.

  “Ha! I seriously doubt that. I’m so going to kick your butt!” Ambrose challen
ged.

  Twenty minutes later…

  “Nooo!” Ambrose tossed the game controller away from him out of frustration. “I just got my butt kicked by a girl. This can’t be happening.” He gripped the sides of his head in horror.

  “High five.” Levi held up his hand and Maia silently hit it.

  ***

  Levi was in the middle of filming the scene where he was staring at the shore while gazing at Princess Vivien and Prince Dylan with this forlorn expression on his face. Only problem - he wasn’t acting. As soon as the scene was finished Director Maverick yelled out: “Cut!”

  Levi quickly swam to the nearby cove to dry off and pull on a pair of swim trunks. The merman made his way back to the stretch of beach that was the filming venue. But as he walked down the beach towards the director, he felt that all eyes were suddenly upon him and not in a good way. What the hell? Their glares were judging, hostile, wary…

  Levi swallowed and looked down at his legs wondering if there was still a couple of scales left on his legs or something. They were looking at him like he was some kind of monster…and he remembered this look all too well. Had Vivien told his secret? Had she already betrayed him? There was a sinking feeling in his gut at the thought.

  Levi spotted Vivien seated on a folding chair, and drinking a Gatorade with Dylan standing next to her. They appeared to be reading a newspaper that had half-size pages together. In fact, everyone had those strange, colored newspapers in their hands. Levi still didn’t want to confront Vivien after what had happened between them. He was still raw. But Ambrose had told him he’d have to harden his heart if he was going to have any chance with Vivien, and so he approached her, determined to ask her what the hell was going on. However-

  Audrey stood in his way before he could reach her. “Don’t get any closer to my sister…you filthy, ex-convict!”

  Levi blinked in confusion. Ex-convict…?

  Urban and Teresa ran up to Levi, grabbed his arms, and dragged him away from the others so that they could speak to him. Levi saw that Vivien was trying to avoid eye contact with him, and felt a stab of pain in his chest.

  “You need to see this, man.” Urban handed Levi a copy of that day’s National Enquirer. Levi looked down at the tabloid that had his picture on the front cover and the headline: Levi Devlin…Merprince or Ex-convict?

  What the hell is this? Levi opened the tabloid up and began to read the article that had been written about him:

  Millions of fans across America embraced Director Scott Maverick’s last minute casting choice for the actor who would play the part of the merprince in the Disney remake The Little Merman when a video of Levi Devlin and Vivien Tempest dancing in a fountain went viral.

  Levi Devlin is a seafood chef and owner of the restaurant known as Poseidon’s Trident that has been open for almost a year now. None of Levi’s customers knew that Levi was an ex-convict, however.

  Almost three years ago, Levi Devlin was sent to prison on charges of indecent exposure and resisting arrest. His prison sentence was for two years. Levi was discovered naked in a fountain in San Francisco and refused to put his clothes back on. He then resisted arrest and sent ten cops to the hospital with broken bones and serious injuries.

  The handsome chef America has fallen in love with…is really a monster.

  Monster.

  Levi couldn’t bear to keep reading. Bloody hell. He crumpled the tabloid in his hand and strode off, heading for his Harley. He couldn’t stand to look at Vivien and see the judgment and condemnation that was probably in her beautiful blue-green eyes. Unfortunately, he did catch sight of Dylan Black’s triumphant, arrogant smirk. Jerk.

  “Hey Levi, wait!” Director Maverick called out.

  Levi ignored the man, stuffed the tabloid into his pocket, and mounted his Harley. He drove off, heading to Poseidon’s Trident. Levi parked his Harley outside his restaurant about twenty minutes later, and strode inside. Derek, Malakye and Garth were in the open kitchen, and Maia was there too working part-time as a waitress, which she sometimes did. She was wearing a silver dress with a dark blue apron over top.

  The chefs spotted Levi, noted his haggard expression, and immediately made their way towards him. “Hey Boss, what happened? Don’t you have filming today?” Derek asked in a concerned manner.

  “This happened.” Levi pulled the tabloid out of his pocket and tossed the newspaper to Derek.

  Derek unfolded the tabloid, took one look at the front headline, and frowned darkly. He immediately opened the tabloid and flipped through the newspaper until he got to the article about Levi. He began to read it while Malakye and Garth peered over his shoulders to read it too. As the chefs read the article they began to grow angrier and angrier.

  “What the hell? Who spilled the beans?” Garth cracked his knuckles in a menacing manner and his eyes flashed red. “I’m going to beat them.”

  “It could have been anyone. I’m sorry to tell you guys but…it’s public record.” Malakye grimly informed them.

  “Oh, I know who did this. It was Dylan Black.” Levi growled angrily as he remembered the man’s triumphant grin as he looked over at Levi. That arrogant jerk!

  “Jerk.” Derek swore, echoing Levi’s thoughts. “Why would he do that?”

  “He’s dating Vivien now…and probably wants to make sure I stay the hell away from her.” Levi grumbled.

  Derek patted Levi’s arm in a consoling way. “Tough luck, my man.”

  “We can’t just let things stand like this though. We have to do something.” Malakye spoke up. “We have to fix Levi’s image somehow.”

  “But how? Do you know how to manipulate that stuff through social media, Mal?” Garth asked.

  “Social media isn’t really my forte.” Malakye admitted with a small frown. “Massive multiplayer online role playing games are.”

  “Social media?” Maia piped up as she walked up to the chefs. “Tristan Savant has friends who are good with social media. We should ask for his help.”

  “On it.” Derek whipped out his smart phone, called Tristan up, and told him to come to Poseidon’s Trident A-SAP. Once Tristan agreed he ended the call. “Tristan said he’d be here in fifteen.”

  Levi took a seat at one of the tables and put his face in his hands. He never would have cared about something like this if it weren’t for the fact that he’d fallen in love with Vivien Tempest. Now he regretted his hothead actions three years ago…

  FLASHBACK

  Almost three years ago…

  When Levi finally awoke with a newly grown heart inside of his chest, he found himself lying on a cold, stainless steel examination table. He sat up and looked around the operating room he was in and spotted a table with gleaming scalpels on it. Time to go. Was Levi’s first thought.

  That’s when the door opened and a strange looking human female entered. She had incredibly messy, strawberry blonde hair. It looked like she’d put her finger into an electrical socket and gotten shocked. The female had a pair of goggles on her head, and was wearing a white lab coatdress with splotches of different colored substances on it. The veterinarian was also wearing a pair of black rubber gloves and a pair of black boots with buckles on them. Her blue eyes widened when she caught sight of Levi sitting up and she dropped the pile of towels she’d been holding. “Oh my gosh…you’re finally awake.”

  Levi ripped the IV out of his arm, leapt off the examination table, and pinned the female to the wall with a hand wrapped around her delicate throat.

  The female looked Levi directly in his eyes without fear and gasped out: “It’s okay…I won’t hurt you.” As if she really knew that the reason he was lashing out at her wasn’t because he wanted to hurt her, but because he was afraid of her. Levi let the girl go and stalked out of the operating room.

  The girl collapsed to her knees, gasping for breath. “Wait!” She rasped out. “We can help you. I can help you…”

  Levi ignored the human female’s words. Humans
were not to be trusted. He’d learned his lesson already during the past five hundred years. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. As he walked across the floor it felt like he was walking on knives. He looked behind him and saw that he was leaving bloody footprints in his wake. Crap.

  Levi looked down at his body and saw that the girl had dressed him in what he’d later learn were a pair of boxer shorts. All Levi knew was that he needed to find the ocean and fast. Then he’d make his escape.

  The merman sniffed the air, searching for the scent of the ocean, and caught the scent of a salty sea breeze. Levi crossed the street, jaywalking, and causing cars to swerve around him, their tires screeching against the asphalt, and honk their horns angrily.

  Levi ignored the strange human contraptions. He continued his way until he entered some kind of plaza. He frowned…there was no ocean but there was this thing in the center of the plaza that was spewing water everywhere. What the hell is that? He wondered.

  Levi looked at the fountain and became mesmerized by it. He took a jerky step forward and then another as if his feet were moving on their own. The merman approached the fountain and in a hypnotized daze removed his shorts and flung them aside. He ignored the humans’ gasps of surprise at his nakedness.

  Levi leapt up into the fountain and put his head right under the spray. Ah, pure bliss. A few minutes later, the sound of cop car sirens filled the air. Levi ignored the loud, annoying sound of the sirens, and continued to bask in the feeling of the water pouring over his achy body. It felt so weird and strange to be without his tail. The water was soothing him, calming him…

  Five cop cars parked next to the plaza, and nine cops and one police captain exited the cars and approached the fountain. “Hey you! Get down from there and put some clothes on!” The captain called out in an authoritative tone.

  Levi glanced over at the captain and then continued to ignore him.

  The captain bristled at Levi’s behavior. “Alright, buddy, you wanted this the hard way. You’re under arrest for indecent exposure. We’re going to take you down to the station to book you. Ted. Go get that guy down from there.” The captain motioned towards one of the cops while keeping his right hand on his billy club.

  “Yes, Sir.” The cop took out a pair of handcuffs and approached the fountain. He hopped up into the fountain and walked over to Levi.

  Levi ignored the cop until Ted had handcuffed one of Levi’s hands and was about to handcuff his other one together. Levi looked down at the metal restraint and then the man in the dark blue uniform. Enemy. The word flashed through his mind as he remembered the metal restraints that had kept him secured to the table that Agent Darkhart had put him on for his vivisection. Levi swiped his arm out. It hit the cop in the chest and sent him flying back several feet where he landed in the fountain with a splash.

  “Holy crap!” “Did you just see that?” The cops who were standing around the fountain began to panic and several whipped out their guns out of fear for what they’d just seen. “He’s resisting arrest!”

  “Hey, hotheads, put your stinkin’ guns away!” The captain barked at the cops as he strode forward and took command of the unusual situation. “He’s butt-naked and obviously unarmed. So we’re going to take him in unarmed, got it?” It was because of trigger-happy hotheads like these guys that cops got a bad name. The captain shook his head out of frustration.

  “Yes, Sir!” The cops called out and put their guns away.

  “Now go get him down from there!” The captain ordered.

  “Yes, Sir!” The cops called out.

  Four cops leapt up into the fountain next and approached Levi cautiously. “Hey, let’s go, buddy.” One cop put his hand on Levi’s arm hesitantly. “We don’t want any trouble. Just come quietly and no one has to get hurt.”

  Levi let out a feral growl as he slammed his arm into the man’s chest and sent him flying across the fountain. The man fell into the fountain with a splash, and came up spluttering.

  “Crap! Grab his arms! Restrain him!” The three remaining cops grabbed onto Levi’s arms at the same time and held on tight.

  Levi let out a roar of outrage, lifted his arms up with the cops still clinging to them, and spun until the cops could no longer hold on. The three cops were sent flying through the air. Two of them landed in the fountain, and the other unfortunate cop was flung out of the fountain to land on the ground with a hard thud.

  The captain took off his police cap and ran a hand back through his hair. “Well, what is he? Some kind of martial arts buff? The rest of you get up there. Use your tasers on this guy - all at once.” He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. The captain didn’t like to use undue force to take in a perp but in this scenario it looked like he’d have no choice. Contrary to popular belief, there were still a few cops out there who were trying to look out for the citizen’s best interests. There were always two sides to every coin.

  Four more cops hopped up into the fountain and approached Levi. They whipped out their tasers and held them threateningly in Levi’s direction.

  Levi’s attention was fully on the humans at this point. Lowly humans! They were already trying to capture him again. They were going to vivisect him! A shudder traveled down Levi’s spine as he remembered what it had felt like to have his heart ripped out of his chest. The merman let out a ferocious roar and attacked.

  Even as tasers were sent into his flesh, Levi punched and kicked the cops away from him. He cried out in pain as electrical shocks circulated through his body, causing it to shake. But his body could also produce electricity if he was scared or hurt…so ultimately the tasers were useless once Levi produced some electricity of his own to cancel out the charge.

  The captain lit up a cigarette as he watched the scene unfolding before him. It was like watching some bizarre action movie. “That’s it. All of you get up there. Surround him and tackle him to the ground. Use your billy clubs if you have to. Try and subdue him.” The guy must be on steroids or something. That or he’s a mutant and the X-men are real.

  The remaining cops hopped up into the fountain until all nine bruised and battered cops were surrounding Levi and closing in on him once more. They all wore similar pissed off looks on their faces and were itching for a fight. It was time for some payback.

  Levi growled lowly in his throat at them.

  “If you want something done right.” The police captain whipped out his billy club. “You gotta do it yourself.” He threw his cig on the ground and crushed it with his boot. He had to knock this punk out before his boys got tired of this crap and just shot the poor guy. And with that blue hair…the young man in the fountain was probably just some punk kid.

  The cops all lunged at Levi and a fierce brawl ensued. Punches and kicks were sent flying in all directions, and bodies were being thrown through the air. Some of the cops weighed over two hundred pounds, but the blue-haired guy would just pick them up as if they weighed nothing and just toss them. It was like something right out of Hollywood. The guy was like superman. The captain whistled as he watched Levi pick up one particularly heavy cop that liked donuts a little too much, and throw him into his buddies, knocking them down like bowling pins.

  And man, did the blue-haired guy’s punches hit hard. It wasn’t long before the cops were all sporting broken noses, missing teeth, and clutching at their broken ribs. One even had a cracked jaw. Things were going from bad to worse.

  The captain leapt up into the fountain and circled Levi, waiting for an opening and waiting for his men to give it to him. And then he saw it.

  Four cops had a hold of Levi’s arms, two of them on either side. Levi’s back was wide open. The captain closed in and hit Levi as hard as he could on the back of his neck.

  Levi’s eyes bugged, black spots swam in his vision, and then he fell forward unconscious into the fountain with a splash.

  “Phew.” The captain quickly pulled Levi’s arms behind his back and cuffed the man bef
ore hauling him up out of the water before his boys could seek some kind of revenge. “I’ll take him in personally.” The other cops grumbled in response but made no move to stop the captain.

  The next couple of days were a confusing blur to Levi. He remembered being held in a temporary cell at the police station and then he was taken to court. He refused to speak or even pay attention to the proceedings, which ended up landing him with a two-year prison sentence.

  When they came to fetch Levi from his cell in the police station and began to drive him somewhere, Levi was sure they were taking him to a human facility where he’d be vivisected. That’s why when he’d entered the prison and been manhandled into a cell with another inmate inside of it, and then just left there, he’d been extremely surprised.

  “Enjoy your two years in Hell, punk.” The prison guard chuckled darkly before walking away.

  Levi turned to observe his cellmate and wondered if the male was a non-human like himself about to be vivisected by that human scum. Levi’s cellmate was a lanky male with hollowed cheeks, and a wan complexion. His skin looked as dry as sandpaper. He had long, scraggly, dark brown hair with braids scattered throughout. The blue tattoos around his eyes and animal tattoos on his arms caught Levi’s attention next. The man was wearing an orange jumpsuit, but so were Levi and all of the other prisoners.

  The prisoner was reading a book and ignoring Levi until he felt Levi’s persistent stare. “Sorry, but I’m not into men.” The man drawled in a droll tone as he raised sky-blue eyes to meet Levi’s gaze. The man’s eyes widened as he took in Levi’s unusual appearance - his towering height, bulging muscles, and long, sky-blue hair - dyed surely. The man’s lip twitched. “Although for you I may make an exception, pretty boy.”

  Levi frowned as he looked around the cell at the bunk beds, toilet and sink in the corner. What the hell is this place? “What is this place? Are they going to vivisect you too?” Levi demanded. He would prefer they got it over with. Waiting was the pits.

  “Vivisect?” The man closed his book and set it down on the mattress beside him.

  Levi’s hard gaze returned to the tattooed man. “Cut us open…remove our organs one by one. Study us.”

  The man sat up and gave Levi a scrutinizing look. “You’re not human are you.”

  “No kidding. What about you?”

  “I’m…not human. Not anymore, at least. It’s a long story. Anyways, what about you? What are you?”

  “Like I’d reveal my weakness to a potential enemy?” Levi scoffed.

  Instead of getting angry the man chuckled. “Hey, I like you. You’ve got balls. I’m Derek. Derek Dearg. What’s your name, man?”

  “Levi.”

  “So…what are you in for?” Derek asked. His curiosity had definitely been piqued about this nonhuman.

  Levi blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “You know…” Derek waved his hand through the air. “Why’d they toss you in the slammer? What did you do to get thrown in here?”

  Levi shrugged carelessly. “Nothing…I was just minding my own business enjoying the water…and these humans attacked me.”

  “Water?”

  “The water in this…strange human contraption that was spouting water in arcs.” Levi tried to explain while waving his hands through the air in arcing motions.

  “You mean a fountain?”

  “I suppose.”

  “Whoa, wait, don’t tell me you were naked?” Derek moved to sit on the edge of the bunk. This story was getting more and more interesting.

  “Of course I was naked. I went into the water to cool off.” Levi gave Derek a look that clearly said: ‘duh’.

  Derek burst out laughing. “Oh man.” He laughed for several minutes before he finally managed to stop and wiped a tear from his eye. “Arrested for indecent exposure, huh? And let me guess…” He eyed the man’s bulging muscles. “Resisting arrest too. You fought the guys who tried to get you out of that fountain, right?”

  “Of course I resisted…I’m no coward. I defeated them all except for that one cowardly human who snuck up on me from behind.” Levi clenched his hands into fists as he remembered it. What he wouldn’t give to have that man before him now. He’d kick his butt.

  Derek slapped his hand against the mattress in amusement. “Man! That sounds like it was one hell of a fight. I wish I had been there to see it.”

  “What about you? What did you do?” Levi asked.

  A grim expression crossed Derek’s face. “I…almost killed a man.”

  Levi raised a blue eyebrow at Derek. “That’s it?”

  Derek scratched the back of his neck and looked ashamed. “I…kind of bit out part of his throat.”

  “Nice.”

  Derek frowned at Levi. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to attack him. Because of my stupidity I lost my business and have to stay in here for two years. I’ll never make it though…human food isn’t enough to sustain me.”

  “Oh? What do you consume then?”

  “Blood.”

  “Blood…human blood?”

  Derek nodded grimly.

  “My blood wouldn’t work then?”

  Derek shrugged. “I dunno. I don’t know what you are. Why? You offering?” There was an amused twinkle in Derek’s blue eyes.

  Levi held out his right palm and willed his claws to appear on his left hand. Using the claw on his left index finger he scored his wrist and held his bleeding wrist out to Derek. “Drink.”

  Derek’s pupils dilated. “Holy crap…you can’t just-” He lunged for Levi’s wrist, and licked and sucked at the blood. His fangs lengthened but he resisted the temptation of sinking his fangs into the man’s wrist. Derek licked Levi’s wound until it closed from his saliva. He sat back, flushed, and panting for breath. “Bloody hell…dude, you can’t just do that!”

  “Why not?”

  “I could lose control and bite you. And if the humans find out I’m a bloodsucker they’ll kill me for sure!”

  Levi dropped his wrist with an apologetic look on his face. “I see. Sorry.”

  Derek shook his head. “No…thanks, man. I’m good for a week now.” Color was already returning to Derek’s cheeks and they appeared less hollow.

  Levi nodded. “I didn’t help you for free, bloodsucker. I need your help.”

  “Anything.”

  “Tell me…about the human world.”

  Derek blinked but then smiled easily. “You got it.”

  Over the next several weeks, Derek taught Levi about the ‘human world’, telling Levi anything he thought the man should know so that he wouldn’t get arrested again for something stupid - like breaking some stupid human law like jaywalking. Levi was a quick learner and good listener. Fortunately, he also asked a lot of questions and the right ones.

  One day, during their recreational period, Levi and Derek were sitting on a bench together in the prison yard watching some of their fellow prisoners tossing around a football for exercise. That’s when Levi noticed something odd out of the corner of his eye. A scrawny guy who had his face and hands covered in white bandages was being dragged across the lawn and towards the bathrooms by a group of five other inmates.

  “No…please…” The scrawny guy begged as the prisoners lugged him across the lawn.

  “What’s going on?” Levi asked casually.

  Derek followed Levi’s line of sight and his eyebrows rose. “Oh that…I feel sorry for the guy, but it’s better not to get involved, Levi.”

  Levi frowned. “What are they going to do to him…beat him up?”

  “Something much worse.” Derek’s expression was grim and he shuddered.

  Levi rubbed at his chest where Agent Darkhart had cut his heart right out of his chest and then showed it to him. No one had helped him then either. Levi stood up and took off after the group.

  “Hey, Levi! Where do you thinking you’re- aw, screw it.” Derek stood up and hurried after Levi.

>   Levi entered the bathroom and made his way towards the showers where he sensed the men were.

  “Hands up against the wall, kid, or you’re going to get it.” One of the prisoners growled at the scrawny man with long black hair. Their victim looked a little like a female, Levi thought. His protective instincts firing up.

  Trembling violently, the young man placed his hands on the wall.

  “Spread your legs.” One of the guys sneered.

  The young man did as he was told and the men all chuckled darkly in response.

  “That’s a good boy. Now stay quiet and take it like the good boy you are.” The closest prisoner said as he unzipped his pants.

  Levi didn’t really understand what was going to happen, but had a really bad feeling about it anyways. “Hey you, get the hell away from him.” Came Levi’s low growl.

  The five prisoners spun around to glare at Levi. “Or what?” Their leader spat. He was bigger and fatter than the others. He was at least six-four, three hundred pounds - a combination of muscle and fat with that beer gut of his. The man’s head was shaved, he had a few gold teeth, and there was some gold bling around his neck.

  “Or this.” Levi lunged forward and sent his fist flying into the man’s mouth, knocking out several teeth with that one blow. White teeth fell to the tilted floor with a strange clattering sound. The skinhead staggered backwards and fell over unconscious, bleeding from his mouth.

  “Holy crap! He just took out Baldo with one hit!” “No way, man!” “Get him!” The remaining four prisoners attacked Levi in unison. Big mistake.

  Levi grabbed the man closest to him by his shoulders, bent him over, and sent his knee slamming into the man’s face, breaking his nose. The merman tossed this guy aside and then stepped forward to headbutt another prisoner, knocking him out cold.

  Two left. Levi lunged at another prisoner and sent an uppercut into the man’s lower jaw with such force that he went flying up into the air and his skull hit the ceiling with a sickening crack. Bits of plaster rained down and hit the floor. The remaining prisoner, Levi just picked up and threw him right through the shower wall.

  Derek, who’d had to provide a bit of a diversion outside so that Levi wouldn’t get caught in whatever he was doing, arrived just in time to see the bloodbath Levi had just caused. Derek whistled through his teeth as he checked out the broken shower wall and cracked ceiling. Water was spewing out from the broken pipes that were now sticking out of the broken shower wall. “Aw crap, we are so screwed!”

  The scrawny guy was looking up at Levi with wide green eyes full of admiration.

  “You okay, kid?” Levi asked gruffly.

  Tears filled the young man’s eyes and he went over to take Levi’s hand. “Thank you…thank you…thank you so much!”

  Some of the young man’s bandages had gotten loose, revealing his skin.

  His glowing silver skin.

  Levi’s eyes widened at the sight. “You…you’re not human?”

  The young man let go of Levi’s hand and a panicked expression fell over his face. He looked around wildly, this way and that, like a trapped rabbit looking for an escape from a predator.

  “Hey, it’s okay, kid. Calm down. Neither are we.” Derek spoke up in a reassuring tone.

  The young man seemed to immediately relax at Derek’s words. “Really?”

  “Really.” Levi nodded. “And us nonhumans should stick together.”

  The young man smiled tremulously. “Yeah.”

  “Dang it…we gotta get out of here. The guards are going to accuse us of this for sure…and they could end up increasing our prison sentence.” Derek warned the others.

  Levi, the kid, and Derek quickly left the bathroom, and reentered the prison yard and tried to act casual. Derek even whipped out a harmonica and began to play a merry tune on it.

  However, a few minutes later when a guard entered the bathroom and discovered what had been done inside he began to blow his whistle. Several guards answered his call and ran into the bathroom to see what was up. Medics were sent for soon after. When the unconscious bodies of Baldo and his goons were carried out into the prison yard the other prisoners couldn’t believe what they were seeing. No one had dared to stand up to Baldo and his goons before. Apparently, the guy had connections with the mob or so he said.

  “The blue-haired guy took out Baldo.” “Hell yeah.” “Finally someone gave that perverted creep what he deserved.” The prisoners began to mutter amongst themselves excitedly.

  “Okay, who is responsible for this mess?” A guard demanded as he approached the prisoners.

  Levi was about to step forward, prepared to take all the blame, when someone else beat him to it.

  A huge, almost seven-foot-tall guy with spiky, orange hair, fierce golden eyes, and a scar running over the bridge of his nose spoke up. “I did it.” The man grunted.

  “Why?” The guard demanded, waving his billy club at the giant in a threatening manner, although he didn’t dare to get too close.

  The man shrugged. “Accident. I was just moving around…and they got like that. Must have been in my way. Sorry.” The giant smirked.

  The guard sighed in a resigned way, as if this had happened before, and grabbed the man by his arm. “Come on, G, it’s solitary confinement for you…again.”

  Levi gave the giant a curious look and grateful nod.

  The giant nodded back.

  “So what’s your name, kid?” Derek asked the young man they’d just saved once the coast was clear.

  “Malakye. And I’m not a kid…I’m just scrawny and weak for my age. I’m actually twenty-three. Well…at least biologically. Technically, I’m much older…but that’s a long story. I’ve only been ‘awake’ for twenty-three years.”

  “O-kay.” Derek dropped his arm around Malakye’s shoulders in a friendly manner. “Hey Levi, I think we have ourselves a new weightlifting buddy.”

  Malakye offered the guys a timid smile.

  Levi looked the kid over. “We have our work cut out for us.”

  To be continued in…Fish 8: Crafty Cat

  Ambrose: “Interested in trying my orange liqueur cake with white chocolate ganache? Go to https://www.yummly.com/recipes/alcohol-cake. Even smashed to bits it’s darned good.”