Just a few feet from the shoreline the dolphin surfaced beside a half-hollowed rock. Its flattened top jutted just above the waterline. As if she had done it so many times before, CC slid onto its smooth surface and studied the lush shore. Diamond waters lapped gently against the velvet sand of the beach so that land and ocean melted together harmoniously, like lovers embracing. Huge trees decorated with flowering vines surrounded the cove. A slight breeze brought to CC the sweet scent of flowers mixed with the tang of salt air. There was a definite aura of peacefulness about the cove. CC breathed deeply, enjoying the unexpected serenity. She felt like she could stay there forever, basking in the warm sun and the honey-scented air.

Princess? The dolphin was looking expectantly at her, returning her thoughts to her present situation.

And the terror of the merman's pursuit rushed back into her mind. Quickly she looked over her shoulder, but she could see nothing except the serenity of the ocean. But she didn't even know if he could be seen approaching. Except for the leap over the coral shelf, she'd traveled underwater to get there. She probably wouldn't know if he was streaking after her at that moment. She had been stupid to relax like she was on some kind of Caribbean vacation.

What was she supposed to do now?

She studied the land, this time not allowing herself to be distracted by its beauty. She certainly didn't see a goddess waiting anywhere. CC fiddled nervously with the amber pendent. This wasn't exactly like picking up the phone and calling her mom. But maybe moms everywhere had at least one common characteristic—they were accustomed to answering the cries of their children.

CC squared her shoulders and cleared her throat.

"Mother!" she shouted, enchanted by the way her melodic voice carried over the water. "Goddess Gaea! It's me. Your daughter, Undine." She looked nervously at the dolphin, who was floating quietly, still looking toward the shore. "I need your help." Please answer me, she prayed silently.

From the thickest nest of verdant ivy and hanging flowers a movement drew her gaze. CC's eyes widened in surprise. A beautiful woman was tucked gracefully amidst the vines. She was sitting on a makeshift swing made of living plant.

"Good morning, Daughter." The woman's voice rang over the water.

CC felt a shock of recognition. "You're the lady who saved me from the elevator!"

A familiar smile curved Gaea's lips. "Yes, I heard your unique call which you offered under the full moon. It pleased me, and I like to care for those who remember me." She paused and her smile widened. "Even if they are living in a far-off world." She pointed at the amber teardrop that dangled between CC's breasts. "I am pleased that you value my gift."

CC swallowed hard past the lump that had lodged in her throat, and her fingers wound themselves around the warm stone. She was speaking with a real goddess. Or she was dead. Either way, it was nerve-wracking.

"Yes, thank you. It's beautiful and magical." She cleared her throat. 'Then you know that I'm not really Undine."

The Goddess's eyes filled with unshed tears, but her expression remained kind. "Of course I know it, young one. Undine is a daughter of my flesh. You, Christine Canady, staff sergeant in the United States Air Force, who prefers to be called CC, are a daughter of my spirit."

"How?" CC felt overwhelmed.

Gaea made a slight motion with one hand, and the vine swing dipped low enough to let her step down to the ground. Gracefully, she walked toward the waterline. CC couldn't take her eyes from the goddess. She realized that the glimpse she'd had of Gaea outside of the elevator had been just a shadow of the goddess's true visage. Today she was magnificent. Her hair was the deep brown of fertile earth, and it curled thickly around her waist. Woven within it were flowers and glistening jewels. CC thought her face looked like it could have served as a model for countless classic sculptures—which, she thought, it probably had. CC couldn't remember getting a clear view of what the goddess had been wearing when she had seen her that day at Tinker, but today her generous curves were draped in transparent green linen, which was the exact color of the ivy growing in profusion all around her.

"You're so beautiful!" CC embarrassed herself by blurting.

Gaea's laughter glittered between them. "Come, child," she said as she reached the water and sank to the sand, letting her bare feet play in the crystal surf. "Come closer to me."

The dolphin chattered joyfully, leaping around the cove as CC slid off the rock and swam to the goddess. Gaea was gazing steadily at her, and CC realized that the reason Undine's startlingly blue eyes had seemed familiar to her was that they were the exact image of the goddess's eyes. Awkwardly, she pulled herself up on the sandy shore until she rested within touching distance of the beautiful immortal.

CC ducked her head apologetically. "I'm sure Undine was much better than I am at navigating with this." She pointed at her tail.

"Do you dislike this body?" The goddess didn't sound judgmental or angry, only genuinely curious.

"Oh, no! I think it's amazing. It's just a lot different from having legs and feet," she said. "And she's so gorgeous, much more so than I am. Or was. Or…" CC trailed off, confused by the tenses as well as the situation.

"I think you underestimate yourself, little one. But I am glad you are pleased with this form." The goddess's expression became distant. "And I am sure that my daughter, Undine, is pleased with her new form as well."

"So she is me now?" CC asked, amazed at how easy it was to talk with Gaea.

"Yes. She has taken your place in that world."

"Am I dead?"

Gaea's laughter caused the tree boughs to sway in delighted response. "Oh, no. You are very much alive."

"Then I don't understand," CC said, feeling more lost than ever.

The goddess reached out and touched CC's cheek in a motherly caress. "This must be very difficult for you, poor child. I will try to explain. Undine is the child of my body, but she is also very much her father's daughter."

"Lir," CC said.

Gaea looked surprised at her knowledge, but nodded. "Yes."

"Um, who exactly is Lir?" she asked.

The goddess smiled. "Lir is the great God of the Seas. You might recognize him by one of his other titles. He has been known as Tethys, Pontos, Neptune, Barinthus, Enki, Poseidon and many others."

CC's eyes widened in surprise. "Poseidon is Undine's father?"

Gaea's eyes held a faraway expression as she gazed out at the waters. "We knew that the land and the sea were not meant to mate, but one day I was bathing here, in this very cove, and the Lord of the Sea cast his eyes upon me." Her face softened with remembrance. "For one brief night I al-lowed him to envelop me, and from that union Undine was conceived."

CC listened intently to the tale the goddess spun.

"Undine was born a mermaid, so it was destined that she live in her father's realm, but she was not content there. She longed for the land and for her mother." Gaea's face was shadowed by sadness, and CC felt her own eyes fill with tears in response. "I tried to coax Lir to allow me to gift our daughter with a human form so that she could live with me on land, but he adored the child and refused to be parted from her."

Gaea took CC's hand and squeezed it. "Do not think him cruel. Lir loved his daughter. And she wasn't always unhappy. She adored her father and the creatures of his realm, and she came here many times, sitting where you are now, telling me fantastic stories of the underwater crystal castle in which she lived and the wonders of the seas."

"It was only recently that she changed." The goddess's expression was haunted. "Sometimes I would find her weeping, there on that rock. Ceaselessly she begged me to gift her with a human form."