Sea Witch

By Sarah A. Donawerth

That Little Mermaid has met her match...

Ersa is just trying to get by when the gift of magic changes her life forever. Despite the temptation, Ersa tries to swim the straight and narrow, but soon enough mermaids are showing up at her door for favors. With King Triton getting closer and closer to Ersa's secret, Ersa will have to find her way out while avoiding the ultimate price.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sarah A. Donawerth
• Release date: May 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393478201

Sarah A. Donawerth

Sarah Donawerth is a writer, blogger, and artist from Orange County, CA. She has been featured in more than 35 consumer magazines, is an avid reader of Jane Austen, and is the proud pet parent of dogs Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley. 

Book preview

Prologue

Many years ago, Poseidon ruled the seas with terrible storms and made the seas unnavigable to the humans. These were the years when merpeople flourished under the sea and on the shores. Merpeople could be seen basking on rocks, perching themselves just out of reach of the humans, then they would comb their hair and sing until the humans were too tempted. Humans would dive into the water just to be nearer them, and the merpeople would flit back to safer places with a flick of their tail. The merpeople could venture as close to the humans as they pleased, then dart away in the nick of time.

However, the years of Poseidon’s rule were hard to the humans. The humans retreated inland in search of safety from the storms. Scores of fishermen were lost at sea because of the ever-changing temperaments of Poseidon.

During this time, Poseidon had a son, Triton. He was prepared as Poseidon’s heir.

On Triton’s 21st birthday, Poseidon would turn over control of the tides to Triton.

However, Poseidon’s fall came sooner than that. While drawing the tides up the shore, he was captured by humans. They stole his trident and killed him. However, they could not wield the immense power of the trident. All winds ceased, the tides vanished, the waves stilled. Fisherman no longer caught anything with their nets and sailors were stranded without the winds. And so, the group of bandits that had stolen the power of the sea summoned Triton to shore.

We want to make a deal, they said.

I do not make deals with murderers, Triton said.

We only wanted the seas to welcome us, they said, We wanted to sail and fish with ease.

The seas are not so easily swayed from their ways.

Take your father’s trident, they said, only swear to us that the seas will favor us.

I cannot grant that wish, Triton said, But I can quell their wrath. The trident is merely an instrument for directing its powers. My father used the trident to make the seas reflect his hatred of all humanity. From now on, the seas shall govern themselves. I will retreat with my merpeople to a deeper part of the sea and let the waters be.   

The group accepted this and Triton declared himself King of the Merpeople. With the trident, he was able to restore balance to the oceans. However, he also used his trident to extract magic from the power of the seas. He kept it bottled in his treasury among the jewels from the ships he’d sunk to avenge his father’s death. This magic from the seas was more potent and powerful than any other kind. Just as water gives life to everything, this magic had the ability to affect all life. It was a terrible, powerful force that Triton had captured from the depths of the sea.

The mermaids were no longer allowed to swim near the shore. They weren’t allowed to surface or to feel the sun’s rays on their faces—but life continued.

King Triton had seven daughters and ruled the merpeople with kinder authority than that of his father’s. He swore that he would never use his magic unless provoked by the humans and the two worlds became statically separate. 

Chapter 1

Ersa could hear the Hammers swimming toward her front door. Ugly creatures.

Their heads were that of a hammerhead shark, with the torso of a man, and the tentacles of a squid. All they were good for was bodyguards and ruffians. She also hated their manners, which seemed beyond improvement.

The door swung open with no knock or courtesy. She swam back as fast as she could, bumping a stack of red coral and sending it flying across the room. The Hammers,

Sharkton’s enforcers, grabbed her and one pinned her to the wall with his grey biceps.

Where’s our payment, Ersa? They snarled at her.

I don’t have it yet, and you know it, so this visit is just to assure yourselves that I’m thoroughly intimidated. Well, I’m not in the habit of showing fear and I’m not going to start now. She clenched her fists to hide the slight quiver.

But you have plenty to be afraid of if you don’t pull through with this next payment. Magic is hard to come by and I would hate for it to be, shall we say, ‘repossessed.’ He hissed it straight into her face as he continued to press his forearm into her throat.

Her mind strayed a moment to how she had gotten herself into this mess, but she couldn’t let this thug see her weakness.

The money will all be here, but not a second before it’s due. Please come back in two days’ time. Ersa said, deliberately using a low steady voice. That is the date that is in the agreement. We wouldn’t want Sharkton to think you were so overzealous in your collections that you violated our contract. You know how he is about rules.

The Hammers nodded to each other and they released her, sending her sliding to the floor and gasping for breath. Then they left the room and the wreckage behind.

Chapter 2

Living in Atlantis wasn’t all it was supposed to be. Ersa lived alone and was slowly paying off her debt to Sharkton, but someday she would have her paradise. She dreamed of warm sands and a comfortable life.

The next morning, she awoke to the typical fanfare that accompanied the royal family when they went to explore the market. Seems like a lot of hassle when they have servants to buy what’s necessary. It was just another way of disrupting the daily life of their subjects.

She trudged through the water to the mirror. She ran her fingers through her hair, and attempted to tuck all the strands into her cap, but there was not much hope for neatness. She had been condemned to life as an octopian—the bottom of the social ladder. She was not worthy of being called a merperson, having the tentacles of an octopus instead of the graceful tails of true merpeople. She was a half-breed, so it didn’t matter what she looked like. She would never be equal—and she was reminded of this daily.

She set out for the day, to her booth at the market