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Chapter 1
The three-story mer-cannon loomed over the Realms of Neptune show pool. Jayna Cooper pulled herself from the water as the Sirens of Atlantis closing musical number echoed through the aquatic theater. Adrenaline pumping, she positioned herself on the cannon’s backstage launch platform. Out in the performance tank, her castmates sang and swam their way towards the show’s grand finale.
Roxie, the stagehand in charge of the cannon, rushed to inspect the latches at the back of Jayna’s glittering turquoise top. Jayna checked her matching silicone mermaid tail and the thick exomuscle sheath that enveloped her legs and feet.
“Better turn it down to five tonight,” Jayna said. “We’ve got toppers in the front row.” She hated having to pull back on the show’s big finish just because entitled people with more money than sense didn’t understand the concept of a splash zone.
Roxie made a sour face. “Yeah, I saw them,” she said in her light Australian accent. “Obsidian something or other. Handsome bloke, but apparently none too bright, sitting so close to the water with his crew dressed like that.”
Jayna hadn’t gotten a good look at the man or his group, but it was clear even from a distance they were seriously over-dressed for an amusement park. “They probably think the red seats are left over from pre-mermaid days when the show was all about whales and dolphins.”
“That’s why you gotta give them the Cannonball. Show what a mermaid can do.”
Jayna smiled at the thought. She had dedicated hours to perfecting her signature Bionic Cannonball dive. With a little help from the mer-cannon and a slightly modified tail she could drench the first three rows of section D. A giant show-stopping splash would not only bring the toppers down a notch or two, but it would also boost streams of the performance on the Myst and increase the dynamic royalties paid to everyone in the show.
Out in the theater, the song modulated as it built towards its climax. “I’d love to give them a splash they’ll never forget, but the last thing I need right now is to have Carter drag me through the coral for offending ‘important people from the higher lists.’”
Roxie scowled at Jayna. “But it was Carter who told me to set the cannon on high.”
Jayna must have misheard. “Carter told you what?”
“Yeah. Surprised the detritus out of me when he popped up right after the opening number. He said it’s a special show tonight, so make sure we give it everything we’ve got.”
Jayna rushed to process this new information. The park’s owner and general manager had made an unprecedented appearance backstage to ensure the cannon was set to full power, even though some very important-looking people were seated directly in the line of fire.
Carter was up to something, and Jayna hated the idea of playing along. His subtle but persistent bullying had been a source of aggravation ever since she’d rebuffed his unwanted advances years before. Things only got worse when he inherited the park from his father.
But Jayna didn’t have time to analyze Carter’s motive, so if it meant giving herself and her coworkers a little boost while dealing some comeuppance to a group of toppers, she’d give Carter—and the audience—the finale they wanted.
“What are you waiting for?” she said to Roxie. “Turn this thing up to eleven!”
Roxie let out a whoop that was nearly drowned out as the music swelled towards its final crescendo. The mer-cannon roared as a torrent of water filled the large, thrumming flexiglass pipe. Jayna put the merbreather into her mouth, drew in a breath, and dived headfirst into the breach. She was instantly caught up in the jet of water. Seconds later, she launched into the air high above the aquatic theater.
The crowd gasped and cheered as Jayna soared over the show pool, her bright red hair streaming behind her. Adrenalin pumping, she adjusted her trajectory. This cannon shot was more powerful than any she had experienced, and the additional height was thrilling.
As she reached the top of her arc, Jayna tumbled and twisted through the air like an Olympic diver, her turquoise tail glittering in the bright theater lights. She struck the water with a satisfying thump and slapped the surface with her tail for added effect, throwing up a torrent that was one for the record books.
The backs of Jayna’s legs stung from the impact, despite the thick prosthetic tail and layer of synthetic muscle surrounding them. When she broke above the surface for her final bow, she winced at just how thoroughly the splash zone had been hit. While the regular park guests cheered and laughed at their drenching, the well-dressed group in the front seemed understandably upset, and she felt a twinge of regret.
Jayna pushed down the guilt rising inside her chest and reminded herself that the splash was part of the show. Those stunned, soaked toppers were the ones who had chosen to sit in the splash zone. But she still felt bad for them. Carter was devious and manipulative, and she regretted that, whatever his game was, she had played right into it.
Chapter 2
As soon as the stage lights dimmed and before the applause had fully died away, Jayna dived beneath the surface and swam out of the theater. She bypassed the cast changing area—just in case Roxie had misinterpreted Carter’s intentions for the mer-cannon—and went directly to the park’s rehearsal pool.
It was a warm Southern California evening, and the aroma of grilling fish wafted through the air as Jayna surfaced in the practice area. Although she was already tired from the show, she immediately began swimming laps as fast as her bionic tail would push her. The Manutai Jubilee Merathlon was in less than a week, and this was her last night to train before she flew halfway around the world. She needed to make it count.
Although bionic mertails had been in use at theme parks like the Realms of Neptune since 2065—the same year as the 50th Merlympic games—the Merathlon was the first major competition to allow their use. The event organizers had designed an aquatic pentathlon around five essential mer-skills. The goal was to highlight the bionic mertail’s athletic capabilities in the hopes of generating greater acceptance within the mer community as a whole.
The effort seemed to be working, as the Pasifika Pod had rescheduled their annual Merfest to coincide with the Merathlon and personally invited each of the merathletes.
A solid showing at the Merathlon would also help Jayna personally. Although she loved performing the role of Mermaid Aaramere in the Sirens of Atlantis revue, her real passion was hosting mermaid-themed events for disadvantaged kids. Her tiny Aaramere Foundation was funded through the dynamic royalty payments that came whenever her likeness was shared in the Myst, and if she did well at the Merathlon, those payments would get a much-needed boost.
As Jayna sprinted through the water, the frills and glittering scales on her thick, heavy show tail slowed her down considerably. After a few laps, she grew so frustrated, she wished she had taken the time to change into her sleek athletic training tail, even if it would have meant risking a run-in with Carter.
Unwilling to give up and head back to the changing room, she was about to start another set when she noticed her friend Gabrielle standing at the edge of the pool.
Gabrielle was a food services manager at Realms of Neptune, and her sudden appearance in the performance section of the park brought Jayna’s concerns back with a vengeance. Something was definitely wrong.
