"I am absolutely serious, Gwen," Jake countered dryly. "Though I have to admit the ruins are far beyond the location I'd initially guessed."

"What kind of remains are there?" Addison asked.

Jake reached back into his crate, drawing out more pieces. "Literally, everything you could imagine. Though we didn't have long to explore the area because of some tricky laws about who the waters belong to, we did manage to bring up a few significant items. Our biggest challenge has been the sheer depth. There are a lot of deep creva.s.ses we just can't penetrate, even with a rover." He unwrapped about half a dozen packages, including a stash of gold coins, a few oddly shaped vases made out of pottery, a marble bust that looked like the head of a woman. The last piece was most puzzling, a long and spiraling loop fashioned out of gold.

"If you look closely, the image cut into the coins also resembles the face of this woman," Jake said, pointing to the marble bust. He handed a couple of the coins to Gwen. "Do you know that woman?"

Looking at the coins, Gwen paled. "Atargatis," she murmured. "The mother-creator of all Mer."

Tessa s.n.a.t.c.hed one of the coins. "It can't be."

Addison looked at the small marble head. "I think it is."

Kenneth glanced over Tessa's shoulder. The coin, about the size of a silver dollar, wasn't perfectly shaped, but it was brilliantly engraved with the face of a woman in profile. A series of strange symbols was stamped in front of her face. The edges of the coin were decorated with a sort of ornamental pattern.

Looking at the piece, he remembered the sudden cold p.r.i.c.kle of disbelief that had crept over him when he'd seen Tessa in her mermaid form. It began to dawn on him that the Mer were an actual people with a viable history, a race that had existed alongside mankind for millennia uncounted. Yet few knew of their existence. He couldn't imagine belonging to a race that had lost its ident.i.ty, its place in the world. He suddenly understood Tessa's earlier remark, when she'd said she felt like an outsider, always looking in.

"Turn it over," he suggested.

Tessa hesitated, then turned over the coin. A small gasp of surprise escaped her. "It's the Mer," she murmured, casting a glance at the bronze statue Jake had unwrapped. The figure on the coin left no doubt as to what might have been in the statue's upraised hand: a thunderbolt. "I don't believe my eyes."

Jake's grin widened. "I didn't believe it, either. But it's there. It's all there, and so much more."

Tessa's fingers closed around the coin. Kenneth couldn't fail to notice her hand shook. "Where did you find it?"

Jake swept his long bangs away from his angular forehead. One could almost imagine him primping for his close-up. "I wasn't the actual discoverer," he admitted. "The bronze statue there was snagged by accident by Libyan fishermen. My crew and I just happened to be doing some research in Benghazi when they brought some pieces they'd salvaged in to sell."

Addison grimaced. "Lucky break for you."

Jake scrubbed his fashionably stubble-covered jaw. "Not so lucky, actually. It took more than two years to pinpoint the location where the artifacts came from. There's been a lot of volcanic upheaval through the centuries, and the remains are literally scattered for miles across the bottom of the sea. It would take years to map out every square inch of the site, tag, and preserve every artifact."

Addison studied the coins she held, comparing them with the small marble bust about the size of a fist. "It's amazing to think I could be holding something a kins-woman of mine might have held more than a millennium ago."

"Not *might have held,' " Jake broke in. "Did. Based on the dives I've made, I am convinced the ruins belong to Ishaldi."

"But it's not one hundred percent positive?" Tessa asked.

Jake considered a few of the coins. "Not one hundred percent," he allowed. "But I'd stake my reputation on ninety-eight percent."

Addison snorted a scornful laugh. "Your reputation sucks, Jake. People think you're a nut."

"And a gold digger," Gwen added, no more tactful than her younger sister. "They say you've sold out for working with commercial treasure hunters."

There was a long silence.

Jake Ma.s.sey's confidence wavered in the wake of their criticism. "It's true I went about presenting my theories in a ham- fisted manner," he said, clasping his hands behind his back and rocking on his heels. "But I've always felt the evidence would be found."

Kenneth listened closely as Jake explained his find. He had to admit the subject fascinated him. As a person who had just learned of the existence of mermaids, he was still in the early stages of discovery. Sure, his initial disbelief had pa.s.sed. He'd seen Tessa in her Mer form with his own eyes. And now that he knew her, he wanted to know more about her kind.

And even though he didn't like the presenter behind the information, he couldn't resist the niggle of curiosity. "Now that you've found what you believe to be the location, how exactly will you go about presenting proof of their existence?" he asked. "Short of having a mermaid show up, it's all still pretty much speculation, right?"

Jake scowled at the interruption. His cool gaze raked over Kenneth, though not as dismissively as before. "Although there is a lot of lore surrounding the Mer, I believe I can absolutely present their existence as fact."

Spreading his hands, Kenneth gave him his best show me expression. "How?" he asked.

"I'd like to know that one myself," Gwen broke in.

Tessa and Addison nodded, too.

Jake looked at the girls. "You've already given me a good foundation to build on by identifying your mother-G.o.ddess. It's true, isn't it, that you were taught to acknowledge Atargatis as the creator of the Mer?"

Addison nodded and began to recite from memory, "As G.o.d created mankind in his image to live on land, Atargatis created Mer women in hers to occupy the seas. So that the two species could live in harmony, the Mer were granted the ability to shift on land and interact-and mate-with human males."

Jake nodded. "The first known Mer lore dates back to a.s.syria, which gives us a region to begin the search for artifacts."

Tessa wrinkled her brow. "But wasn't a.s.syria a primarily desert region?"

Jake beamed, enjoying his glory as the in- resident expert. "At one time the Neo-a.s.syrian Empire actually extended all the way to the Mediterranean Sea," he corrected. "And while most legends of sea G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses come out of Greece and Rome in the form of Poseidon and the like, the a.s.syrian empire actually predates those myths, perhaps even inspired them."

Tessa blinked and fingered the coin she held. Half elation, half disbelief colored her features. "I've always wondered about where we came from, where we might have belonged."

Jake nodded. "To this day we're still uncovering artifacts that prove what many take for myth is based on actual fact."

Gwen shook her head. "I've always thought Ishaldi was a myth, and I'm a Mer." A short laugh escaped her.

Addison eyed her sisters with a searching look. "I think that's why the Mer have become endangered." She looked at her sisters. "We've spent most of our lives trying not to be Mer."

Tessa nodded. "That's true. Part of the reason Mom and Aunt Gail fought so much was because Gail wanted to raise her girls as human. Gail even sold her share in the island to our parents, because she wanted to leave everything behind. I'm afraid that's what broke our grandmother's heart so much. Grandma wanted us to hang on to our Mer heritage, however little of it we had to hang on to."

"So you have relatives living on the mainland?" Kenneth asked.

Tessa frowned. "Oh, yeah. But Aunt Gail cut contact years ago, when Gwen was still in diapers and Addison was just a twinkle in Daddy's eyes. I barely remember my cousins."

"It would be logical the Mer moved inland and integrated with humans," Jake added. "As I mentioned before, there were a lot of volcanic upheavals on land and at sea during those times, which might explain the destruction. One that stands out in my mind is the Crete earthquake of AD 365. The quake was followed by a tsunami that devastated several coasts on the Mediterranean."

"Something like that could have taken a small island under," Addison said. "I mean, look at the recent earthquakes in Haiti and China. The devastation is almost endless."

"Based on the account I found in Hypatia's writings and the fact she lived during the time the events took place, it would seem as close to an eyewitness account as can be found." Jake shook his head. "More of the Mer might have been known if only the library of Alexandria had survived."

Gwen thought a moment. "That's underwater now, isn't it? Alexandria, I mean."

Jake nodded. "Very little of the ancient city has survived into the present day. Much of the royal and civic quarters sank beneath the harbor due to the earthquake I mentioned earlier. What remained has been built over in modern times."

Kenneth listened closely, putting the pieces together for himself. Even without Ma.s.sey's explanations, the facts were beginning to stack up. "You can't argue with what he's shown you so far."

Addison knelt down on the rug Jake used to showcase the artifacts. "Holding these pieces in your hands does make it all seem real." Previously overlooked, the spiraling circle caught her attention. She pointed. "That's gold, isn't it?"

Jake picked up the artifact, turning it every which way. "Pure gold." He indicated some of the finer details. "d.a.m.ned if I know what it was used for. Something ornamental, I'm sure. Maybe it would be easier to identify if all the pieces were intact."

Tessa suddenly made an involuntary sound. Something about the piece sparked recognition in her eyes. "Hot d.a.m.n," she muttered. "I think I've seen one of those before."

Gwen frowned. "Where would you have seen something like that?" her sister demanded, asking the question everyone was thinking.

Raking her hands through her long hair, Tessa's face took on a shadowed, guilty look. "When I was about to turn fifteen, Mom showed me some . . . things she had stored away in the bas.e.m.e.nt."

Kenneth felt his heart skip a beat. His gaze tracked hers, focusing on the mysterious artifact Jake held. It didn't look like anything special. Her admission intrigued, spreading the infection of curiosity. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so fascinated by a woman. "What kind of things?"

Breath hitching, Tessa laced her fingers together, pressing her hands under her chin. For a moment she looked like a kid who'd gotten caught stealing forbidden cookies out of the jar. "Magical stuff," she mumbled. "Mom told me I had to take care when using them. They're the keys to a Mer's power."

Chapter 9.

Tessa shivered as she led the way down into the bas.e.m.e.nt. As a young girl, her mother had shown her a secret, then warned her she must never let her curiosity overcome common sense.

As a young girl, she'd heeded the warning. As a grown woman, she'd become more and more drawn to the Pandora's box of secrets her mother had entrusted to her care.

Gwen followed closely at her heels. "Does anyone get the feeling we're walking into the mouth of doom?"

"Yeah, isn't this the part where the monster reaches out and drags one of us off into the darkness?" Addison added.

"Actually, I think this is the part where s...o...b.. asks s.h.a.ggy for a snack," Kenneth put in. "And then the monster pops up."

Jake brought up the rear. "And this is the part where the archaeologist pukes from all the pop culture references before he proceeds to dazzle you all with his brilliance."

Tessa shined her flashlight toward the ceiling, looking for the cord dangling from the overhead lightbulb. Spying it, she reached out and pulled it down. A wash of bright light flooded the bas.e.m.e.nt, instantly chasing away the shadows.

She huffed. "And this is where the leader of the pack says you're all nuts and to stop acting like morons."

Everyone blinked, looking around the bas.e.m.e.nt. Gwen snapped off her flashlight. "We really need to get that light at the top of the staircase fixed," she grumbled.

Tessa frowned. "It's on my to-do list," she said tartly. She never did understand why Gwen offered to pay for repairs on the house, but never quite came through with the money. She suspected the hotel wasn't doing as well as Gwen wanted her to believe. In a tight economy, people just didn't spend a lot of money on vacation and travel.

Addison looked around. "Man, I don't think I've been down here in at least a decade."

It was true. At one time the bas.e.m.e.nt had been outfitted as a family room, filled with old comfortable furniture, an entertainment center, and a Ping- Pong table. It even branched off to a small bedroom with an attached bathroom.

Gwen yanked away the sheet covering the Ping-Pong table. "n.o.body plays anymore," she said, looking at the silent paddles and b.a.l.l.s.

"Not since Mom and Dad died, that's for sure," Addison said.

Jake glanced up. "Car accident, if I remember co r-rectly."

Gwen tossed the crumpled sheet on the table. "Yeah," she filled in. "Some teenager with a learner's permit and a lead foot ran a red light at an intersection. They both died instantly. Hard to believe the little f.u.c.ker walked away without a scratch."

Scrubbing a hand across his face, Kenneth shook his head. "Man," he muttered. "That isn't right or fair."

At the mention of their parents Tessa felt her heart squeeze as if the organ was caught in the grip of an iron fist. "There just wasn't any more time for games."

At fifteen she'd had the weight and responsibility of two younger sisters thrust upon her. Gwen was only thirteen, Addison two years younger. Not only did she have to finish raising the girls, she'd had to deal with teaching them how to navigate the angst-ridden world of being Mer teenagers. Though they'd had a relative on their father's side to help handle the finances until Tessa turned eighteen, their befuddled, never-married uncle Jay knew nothing about raising children.

Hands on her hips, Gwen scanned the bas.e.m.e.nt. "So where is this hidden alcove containing all the secrets of Merdom?" She frowned. "And how come you never told me or Addie about it?"

Tessa stiffened. Of course the s.h.i.t would hit the fan right after she'd opened her mouth about recognizing one of the artifacts Jake had recovered. "I've wanted to tell you both," she admitted. "But the time never seemed right. I mean, both you and Gwen never really seemed interested in the Mer side."

Addison frowned. "That really sucks that you kept this all to yourself," she said. "I mean, we're both Mer, too. We have a right to know about what we are. Who we are."

Tessa pa.s.sed her hands across her face. "It's not that you didn't have the right to know," she said, almost wishing she'd made no mention of the hidden items. "It's because of the power these things have. You know. The craft Mom warned us not to use."

Addison and Gwen exchanged a look.

"Ah, right," Addison said. "Don't want to be messing with that."

"That can be some bad mojo," Gwen added.

The men just looked confused.

"What the h.e.l.l is bad mojo?" Jake demanded.

Drawing a deep breath, Tessa indicated the Ping-Pong table. "It's easier to explain if I show you," she said. "Put some muscle into moving that thing, won't you?"

Kenneth headed toward the table. "You going to help?" he asked Jake, c.o.c.king his head toward the other side.

"Guess I'd better." Jake took his end. The two men moved the table aside. "This okay?"

"Fine." She pointed to the rug the table had sat on. "Roll that up," she told Gwen and Addison.

The girls rolled. As the rug disappeared, a segment of the floor was revealed. Though the bas.e.m.e.nt floor was bare concrete, the large rug had covered a secret: a section of the floor was hollowed out and covered with a thick piece of plywood.

Addison whistled under her breath. "I never knew that was there."

Tessa knelt, working her fingers into the crack between the plywood and the concrete. "You weren't supposed to know." The plywood wasn't easy to lift. She'd last opened the secret recess almost a year ago, eager to try her hand at a little more Mer-magic.

The experiment hadn't been a success.

Kenneth knelt beside her. "Let me help." Fishing out a pocketknife, he slid the blade in between the cracks and lifted one corner.

"Thanks." Tessa slid her fingers into the narrow crack and lifted. Jake claimed the section of plywood, setting it aside.

Gwen and Addison shined their flashlights into the narrow recess.

"What's there?" Gwen asked.