I shifted. I don’t know how I found the strength. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was instinct. I just shifted after I screamed, and I stood over Julia’s body, shielding her from the horrifying monster climbing its way onto the shore.
It was monstrous. Grotesque. The sky rattled and then lightning broke behind the dark clouds, followed by rumbling thunder. The weather became more menacing in his presence. He terrified everything around him.
It shrieked. The same ear-splitting, ground-shaking cry that I heard earlier, only ten times worse now that it was on land. My canine ears felt like they were bursting. My ears flattened back against my skull and I stood my ground, ready to defend Julia and myself.
“MASTER!” the dark merman screamed, still stuck to the tree. “MASTER! AHHHH! STOP!” He
