Ariel Slick writes original fiction including short stories, novels, and memoirs to spread the joy of imagination and creativity. She also helps clients achieve their fiction writing goals with her ghostwriting skills on Upwork.com and Guru.com. 

Rory the merman wants just one thing in this life: to become a good king and lead his tribe of mer-people who live in the ocean, but when a mysterious illness strikes and mermaids start dying, he begins to investigate why, and who is behind it. 

When he discovers that it is humans who are dumping toxic waste into the water, he is spurred by tragedy to go ashore and speak with the human king himself. When he makes a deal with the evil Sea Warlock, he receives a magic spell to turn him human for seven days.

There’s just one catch: he must kill a human. That will be pretty difficult to do considering he just fell in love with the king’s daughter...


The King and His Sea

Rory stared in awe at the sparkling chandelier that hung from the ceiling. Chunks of crystal sparkled in the candlelight, and the gold decorating it shone like a sunset. The hall he entered was massive; huge floor-to-ceiling windows gave a magnificent view of the ocean to the west, where stars were beginning to poke through the night sky. Rory felt dazzled by the lush beauty of the room. Everywhere candles burned, giving off a sweet scent, set in tall, towering candelabra; paintings dotted the walls, depicting great men in steel armor or magnificent landscapes. On the ceiling itself was a huge mural of peculiar humans that Rory had never seen before. The appeared to be human children, yet they had wings, and they were frolicking among the clouds. 


Chapter 30