MERCILESS (The Mermen Trilogy #3) by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff Page A

who was one of Shane’s posse. He’d thrown her to her death. “I’ll try not to hold it against you.” The truth was, she liked Jason in a strange way. Or she did up until the point he had carried out her execution. “And if you want to save him, get the women to Roen’s. I’ll meet you all there.”
    With flashlight in hand, Liv hit the trail, sprinting back to Roen’s house. Every step she took felt like two steps back, moving her further and further away from hope. It felt like she was being tested and pushed to the edge. It had felt that way since the moment she’d woken up at Shane’s.
    An endurance challenge created from every fear and nightmare she’d ever had. Yet, here you are. Still alive. Still fighting. So shut the hell up, Liv, and stop your whining. Roen needs you.
    Winded and exhausted, Liv entered the home and pushed herself up the stairs to check on Roen. He was exactly where she’d left him, of course, only now he wasn’t groaning, and his skin looked like someone had taken a sponge coated with black paint and covered nearly his entire body.
    “Roen? Can you hear me?” She knelt down beside him and listened to his breathing. It was shallow, barely there.
    She placed her forehead against his chest. “Roen, I love you. Please hang on. I’ll find a way to save you. I promise. Just don’t leave me.”
    His chest seemed to puff up just a little higher then.
    “That’s right. You just keep breathing.” She wanted to believe that he’d heard her. Hell, maybe he had. Which is why she said, “Roen, just know I’ll give everything to save you—my life if I have to. I don’t care if I die; I just want you to live.” He’d given up so much to save her, and every time she thought about it, it had upset her. She never wanted to live at his expense. And though she knew he’d feel the same way about her giving up her life to save him, it didn’t matter. A world without him in it just didn’t make any sense.
    He sighed deeply, and she adjusted the pillow underneath his head. She then removed her backpack and uncapped a bottle of water. It wasn’t sacred, but at least it might hydrate him. She tried to get him to sip, but he simply lay there, out cold.
    Oh God. This was so bad.
    “I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?” She made her way downstairs, hoping to find Lyle. She entered the library and her feet made a squishing sound. The rug was wet and the fish tank that once held dozens of saltwater fish was now half empty. No fish. The water was all over the floor, rotting the wood and making the place smell damp and moldy.
    “Lyle? Are you in here?” She walked down the long aisles of dusty old, leather-bound books. It didn’t escape her that there were thousands of years of history in this archive and probably the answer to every question about this place. If I only had time to read all of this stuff .
    “I don’t fucking believe it,” said a deep, deep voice.
    Liv practically jumped out of her skin. “Lyle.” She whooshed out a breath, taking in the view of him. His long brown hair was matted and his ratty beard looked like he hadn’t combed it in months. His normally tanned face was a mask of inky splotches. Even his upper torso and legs were covered, which she could see because he only wore a piece of red cloth around his waist.
    “How are you alive?” His body began leaning to one side, and he caught himself on the wall. “I killed you,” he mumbled.
    She rushed over to help steady him. “What’s happening, Lyle? Why’s everyone sick? And where the hell is Dana?”
    “You’re a ghost coming to take me to the afterlife, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question.
    “Lyle.” She gripped his arm. “Fucking look at me. Do I look dead to you?”
    His green eyes met hers, flickering with confusion. “I put the machete in your back with my own two hands. I watched you bleed out in the living room. I fed your body to your sisters.”
    Okay. Eww. And gross. And… “Lyle!