Charybdis woke from a long nap to the sound of gentle lapping reverberating in her water. It wasn’t the constant slush of the tide against the rocks of her sea cave – it was steadier, and hollow. It was foreign, yet familiar.
She uncurled from her favorite crevice and stretched away weeks of sleep, sending the eight tentacles spiraled up beneath her splaying out into the water like a giant star – and carefully, lest she make a wave and alert the visitor to her cave. The smaller tentacles on her back had their turn, reaching straight out to momentarily give her the appearance of a winged angel, then each arm and tendril finger. Finally the lekku lifted away from the back of her neck, trembling as she allowed a silent, but dramatic yawn.
Now properly awake, she slinked along the floor of her cave, sliding between the waving sea grass, to find the source of the noise. The moon – that wicked moon – shone through the mouth of the cave and cut through the surface of the water in constantly shifting shafts. To her large eyes, even the murky depths of the cave were lit like day, so she found the silhouette of the small boat at the surface quickly.
A boat! It had been years since any of the coastal townsfolk had forgotten or ignored whatever old wives’ tales they’d heard about her cave. A score of years at least since any boat strayed near it, much less inside it. The smell of the humans – two of them, she thought, a male and female – had begun to waft down through the sea water, and she giddily filled her nose and mouth and gills with it.
Her belly rumbled and twisted on itself like a tentacle. She patted it silent and sighed. She was plump with fish and gulls and even a sea lion from just before her nap, but humans were the kind of tasty meal she dreamed about. Had it been almost half a century now since she lured the child from the beach? Ngah! She could scarcely concentrate; a hand trailed from the side of the boat into the water, and taste of it tickled her lips and tongue. She quivered with anticipation. The boat was almost above her now, and she only had to reach up with one tentacle and grab that wrist…
No. That was too fast, to easy. She wanted to see them first. Maybe speak to them, if their people hadn’t changed languages again. Toying with her meals made the difference between a full belly and a memorable event for Charybdis; it put such a delicious edge on her anticipation. She skulked along the bottom floor of her cave again, slipping between the shadows of the sea grass so they had no chance to see her, until she reached her alcove and broke the surface of the water behind a stand of barnacle-covered rocks. Her fingers curled around the edges of the rock, and her crown – once a regal thing of bronze and the bones of her prey, now green with the patina of the sea and grafted into the bone of her skull – bobbed only a few careful inches from the mossy stone ceiling. Her eyes narrowed to slit crosses as they adjusted to the surface light and found the boat again. The oars were drifting in their sockets, and the humans were intertwined – kissing, it seemed. Her head tilted, and her smile spread whiter. Young love… her mouth watered.
The two were so completely caught up with each other that Charybdis went unnoticed as she glided along the surface toward the boat. She was as silent as a shadow, but quite large relative to the humans – her chin skipped at the surface, and her crown rose above the level of their heads. When she reached the dinghy, her fingers curled tightly around its brim and the small suction pads seized upon the smooth, painted surface. She was particularly careful not to rock the small boat as she lifted her shoulders from the water, but it didn’t seem that it would matter – the lovers were completely lost in their kiss and refused to notice her. Hmmm. Now they were just being rude.
She rocked the boat a little. Ahhh – the melodious screams of fright! Still entwined, the lovers crowded up into the bow of the tiny boat. And why shouldn’t they scream and cower in fear? She was a monster, a nightmare, she knew it. Once a goddess, now just a predator; her face had the same vague shape as theirs, but the slit nostrils, the smooth grey skin, the double-lidded eyes, the wide mouth filled with rounded, bone-gnashing teeth made her clearly monstrous. A skull was fixed prominently in her ancient crown, and the tooth mark grooves made it obvious what her interest was in humans.
Once she’d had time to drink in their fear, to let her face fill their mind with terror, she spoke. “What have we here?” Her voice was low and smooth, like the gentle rolling of the sea. It was soothing, without a hint of threat. They seemed to understand her words, so she continued. “Two humans, far from the nearest town, slipping into a dark cave? I think, perhaps, secret tryst?”
The male nodded shakily. He was cowering, but still shielding the female behind him. How delightful!
Charybdis made sure her widening smile displayed her teeth, and gave them a glimpse of the dark gullet behind it. That was good for another round of shivering. She didn’t want to overdo it, though – not yet. It might ruin her plan. “So… Lovers, then. Snuck away to spend time in each other’s arms.” Her brows furrowed slightly, perhaps with concern, perhaps curiosity. “Why aren’t you naked? Don’t the clothes get in your way?” They certainly got in her way. They tasted bland, like sea grass – nothing like the plump, juicy flesh beneath. So often the clasps were too small for her fingers.
The female’s face widened in shock and outrage. “We’re not married!” she sputtered.
“Not yet,” her man quickly added. “But we will be by new moon, no matter what our parents say. I’ve engaged a priest.”
Charybdis nodded in consideration. “The two of you are binding for life? Then congratulations are in order, I believe. That is still the custom?”
The female seemed smugly pleased; her fright was fading.
“A dank cave, my home though it is, is no place for lovers to celebrate. You belong in the Tunnel of Love. Yes, such a beautiful place. Much cozier, much warmer. More intimate.”
The male seemed wary, but curious. “What is that? Is it near?”
Charybdis could not help but grin. “Very near. Close enough that I could show you there at no inconvenience to myself.” She placed her elbows on the edge of the boat and rested her chin on her wrists. “Do you mean to tell me that you have no such thing among your lovers? It is a dark tunnel – completely dark so none can see, and there can be no shame – yet as I mentioned, warm and soft. It’s a wonder. Lovers enter from either end, meeting in the middle to share their passion in privacy. The tunnel is a keeper of secrets. No rumor or sin escapes it.”
The male was nodding, eager now. “You can take us there?”
The female glanced at him, uncertain, but also nodded.
“Consider it my gift for your wedding.”
The male kissed his female on either cheek, then stood in the boat. “I shall go first, then.”
Charybdis nodded. “Of course.” One of her tentacles snaked up from the other side of the boat and looped around his waist. Both he and the female gasped, but Charybdis smiled, was gentle with him, and kept him clear of the water as she pushed away from the boat. “Can you hold your breath?”
“Very well,” the male boasted, his chest swelling. “I am a pearl diver by profession.”
“Very good,” Charybdis cooed. “For you the entrance is further away and and the passage is beneath the water. You, my dear,” she glanced down to the girl, “shall wait patiently here with your lantern for company until I return.”
The female shivered. “Will you be long?”
“Minutes only. Be patient, child – you shall be with him soon enough. If you wish to pass the time and reduce the waiting, you might begin to loosen your gown and corset while I am away.”