{"id":876,"date":"2023-01-13T07:17:32","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T15:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theskywriteshere.com\/?p=876"},"modified":"2023-01-13T07:17:32","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T15:17:32","slug":"featuring-author-m-m-gargiulo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theskywriteshere.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/13\/featuring-author-m-m-gargiulo\/","title":{"rendered":"Featuring Author M.M. Gargiulo"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Title: Annihilation Archetypes (Annihilation Archetypes #1)
Author: M.M. Gargiulo
Genre: Adult, Fantasy
Release Date: January 13, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Born to siren humans to their watery graves, Nefertiti feels trapped in her life of violence. She leaves her home to venture on shore and falls in love with humans. Her duty brings her back to the sea, and fate tightens its hold on her from an unexpected source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Excerpt<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chapter 4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day Evgen\u00eds was eager to talk about my training. I was evasive, trying not to make eye contact with her. I thought the details of my night were too embarrassing to share with my proud sister, and I had no wish to relive them. I did not know if other huntresses took so long to learn how to walk, but Diana made it seem like they did not.
\u201cOkay, you do not want to talk about it,\u201d she sighed after a few minutes of this ensued.
\u201cTell me this, did you learn something?\u201d
I looked up into her beautiful blue eyes and found myself both comforted and sad. I wished I was better at walking, but Evgen\u00eds would still love me even if I was a terrible huntress.
\u201cYes, I absolutely learned lots of things yesterday.\u201d I smiled at her, forcing myself to look excited and happy. 
\u201cInteresting,\u201d she murmured under her breath. \u201cI am glad,\u201d she said at full volume. 
\u201cOkay, well do you have anything you would like to do today?\u201d she asked me, her voice bright and cheerful. 
\u201cI think I am to meet with someone today.\u201d Guilt washed over me again. Evgen\u00eds had given up living with me to come and live here, in isolation. 
\u201cOh, no matter, I am sure I can find something to do while you are busy. Perhaps we can pick a night soon and go to our favorite wreck?\u201d Her hopeful tone had me agreeing before I thought it over. 
\u201cI\u2019d love to!\u201d The wreck was a smallish fishing boat that had sunk off the coast of a tropical island. Many species of fish lived inside it, and coral grew off the outside of it. I was particularly in love with the spot because of the bright white sand. It seemed to be made of thousands and thousands of tiny corals, smashed and rounded by the tide and the wind. It was one of our favorite places to go. Evgen\u00eds always found it difficult to find fish while we were there. I had many happy memories of the two of us laughing and relaxing in the sand. 
Evgen\u00eds smiled at my enthusiasm and kissed me on the cheek, excited at our prospective
time together. 
We ate some kelp together that apparently someone had dropped off in excessive amount while we slept. Things almost felt back to normal, despite our vastly different surroundings. I felt as though removing my tail somehow made me less of a mermaid than Evgen\u00eds.
When we were done eating, I bid Evgen\u00eds farewell and started to swim through the caverns and tunnels toward the surface to an area similar to the one where I met Diana. If my new teacher was anything like Diana, she would show up near the surface. I watched the moon move in the sky for hours, feeling my anxiety rise. Maybe I was supposed to go somewhere specific, but Diana forgot to mention it. 
I was just starting to swim back and forth when I heard a voice. 
\u201cNefertiti! How are you?\u201d Santiago was swimming by, with two others. 
\u201cI am well, thank you.\u201d My eyes drifted to the two others with him. One was a beautiful fair blonde female, the other a dark-complexioned male. 
\u201cOh, this is Kane,\u201d he said, gesturing toward the male merman. \u201cAnd this is Danica.\u201d 
\u201cPleasure to meet the both of you.\u201d I nodded my head in their direction. Kane bent at the waist in my direction. 
\u201cIt is a pleasure to meet you, Huntress.\u201d His deep dark eyes met mine. 
\u201cLovely to meet you as well,\u201d Danica said.
\u201cWe were going to visit a reef down in the tropics,\u201d Santiago said. \u201cWould you care to
join us?\u201d
\u201cThank you, but I am supposed to be meeting someone,\u201d I said. I took note of Kane\u2019s and Santiago\u2019s eyes that seemed to linger, and Danica\u2019s, which seemed full of contempt. 
\u201cNext time, perhaps.\u201d Kane\u2019s eyes were still locked on me. 
\u201cI would love to.\u201d I smiled at Kane, and could feel Santiago stir slightly next to him. 
\u201cFarewell then, Nefertiti.\u201d Santiago nodded his head, and the three of them turned and began to swim away. I watched them go with a pang of loneliness and wondered if there would ever be a time where I did not feel so isolated from my own kind. My thoughts turned to Evgen\u00eds, who probably had an even harder time with it than I did. Guilt flashed through me at the idea of Evgen\u00eds leaving everyone she knew to raise me on her own. 
I watched the stars turn in the sky and thought about their stark and naked beauty. Not unlike our people, but less dangerous. I imagined the answers to all of my questions were up there, winking at me in some code I could not understand. I wished I could speak their language of light. I wondered if the Gods were there, Evgen\u00eds had told me they lived up in the clouds.
When the sky began to lighten, I gave up my quest. Perhaps my next mentor had forgotten about the time. Maybe Diana gave her the wrong name. I started to swim toward the castle, taking one last look back at the sky. Suddenly a massive hammerhead shark emerged from the haze in the distance. I paused on my journey back home to watch the magnificent creature swim. His gait was the most elegant thing I had ever seen. The way he swam back and forth was reminiscent of how the sea seemed to part for the king himself. I loved the movement of his tail fin. 
The shark seemed to notice me as soon as I noticed him. He adjusted his path slightly so he was headed straight toward me. I reached my hand forward, not in the slightest bit frightened of him. He was the hunter equivalent to myself. Even his skin was made of the tiniest teeth. I would probably grow to be more dangerous than he was. At the last second he turned his giant head, swimming by me to allow my outreached arm to pet the length of him as he swam by. 
I felt my heart stir at the scars that decorated his side. He was a beautiful creature, full of an ancient sadness. I wondered how anyone could ever hurt such a creature. My hand ran the length of him, ten times my own size, and I felt the rough, textured body under my delicate soft hand. 
He circled me once, clearly as eager as I was to remain closely connected, even if it was for a short while. When he came by me a second time, I grabbed onto his dorsal fin and let the length of me rest on top of his body. He seemed pleased by the attention and slowed his pace, allowing me to feel the gentle sway of the giant beast as he moved his tail back and forth. My own body swayed with his movements, and I felt as though we were one. I traced the deep gashes of scars on his back with my fingers, wondering what had caused them. I rode atop him for longer than I should have, the sun starting to really shine on the top of the sea. 
He circled back after quite some time of me lying on top of him and swam with dignity back to where he had first found me. I turned my head to kiss the top of his back, my hair swirling around my face. 
\u201cGoodbye friend, I hope to see you again soon.\u201d I watched him turn and be swallowed up by the dark sea. Maybe I would never get to play with the other merpeople, but at least I would have shark friends. I turned tail, and made my way back to the cave, exhausted from lack of sleep the previous night. Just before I approached the entrance to the first tunnel, I was startled by a stunning woman waiting by the entrance to the hall. 
She had waist length red and silver hair (I gathered she was a huntress), a green tail fin, and a fair complexion. Her giant blue eyes were staring, unblinkingly, at me. I assumed she was older due to the streaks of silver in her bright red hair, but it was difficult to tell, there were no lines on her face. 
\u201cNefertiti.\u201d It was not a question, and I tried to figure out if I had met this woman before. 
\u201cYes, that is I.\u201d I smiled at her, hoping she was less crass than Diana. \u201cI apologize, have we met?\u201d
\u201cWe have not, although I have heard tell of you.\u201d 
\u201cWell it is truly a pleasure to be acquainted with you.\u201d I nodded my head in her direction. 
\u201cYes, it is, but there is no need to be so formal with me.\u201d She tossed back her hair, and it shimmered out behind her with such finesse I felt a ping of envy. I wondered if I would grow up to be so beautiful. \u201cI am Arianna.\u201d
\u201cArianna.\u201d Her name sounded like a story I had long forgotten.
\u201cCome, let us go for a swim.\u201d She smiled at me, and I noticed her teeth were not sharpened, but similar to Evgen\u00eds\u2019s. Maybe she wasn\u2019t a huntress after all. She reached out her tiny soft hand, and I put mine into hers. 
\u201cI am here to teach you the ways of those on land,\u201d Arianna stated. \u201cMuch has changed since I walked up there, but I have the best understanding of humankind. I am one of those who brought the best of the land back to the sea.\u201d
\u201cMay I ask how that is?\u201d I wondered. 
\u201cYou may ask, but I will not share that part of my story with you just yet. I am not the normal kind of huntress, nor am I the normal kind of mermaid.\u201d She smiled at me again, and I noticed tiny smile wrinkles near her eyes, which along with the silver in her hair made me think again that she was older than she appeared. 
\u201cI apologize,\u201d I smiled back at her and was hopeful I had not offended her.
\u201cNo need to apologize for curiosity,\u201d She winked her light blue eye at me. \u201cI am going to teach you everything from what they call a street, to anatomy, back to music, and onward to proper dining etiquette. Is there a topic you would care to start with?\u201d
\u201cI actually have a few questions, if you do not mind.\u201d I was curious about so many things. 
\u201cOf course, that is natural.\u201d We had stopped our swim and were perched at the edge of a reef I had seen growing nearby. Some fish were swimming delicately by, but there was not another merperson in sight. The sea seemed to be lightening in color, the sun beginning to warm the ocean.
\u201cFirst, will these lessons always occur during the day? I was not aware that many of our kind enjoyed the sunlight.\u201d I tried not to make my voice sound ungrateful, but I was extremely tired and having a hard time concentrating. The brightness really bothered my large eyes. 
\u201cYes, our lessons will happen while the sun is up. We are going to adjust your sleeping cycle so you are able to sleep less. Sleeping is one of the luxuries young huntresses are typically low on. There is much to learn and not enough time to do so. The next full moon is about twenty-nine suns away, and you need to be better versed in mankind before you dance back on shore.\u201d
I felt my heart sink a tiny bit at the thought of sleeping less. \u201cInteresting,\u201d I said because I was unsure how else to answer. \u201cI did not realize huntresses were not well rested. How exactly are we chosen to be huntresses? I know King Titus looks for a sign, but other than that, I do not know.\u201d
Arianna looked at me with wide eyes. \u201cFirst of all, my dear, you are young and it is best to learn as much as you can for the next few years. About the huntresses, I thought you would have known this by now. Did Evgen\u00eds not tell you?\u201d
I shook my head, hair billowing around me. Her stern look made me feel defensive for a moment and I sputtered out, \u201cI never asked her; honestly I just tried to avoid the topic with her as much as I could.\u201d
Her frown seemed to lessen as she looked carefully at my face before responding, \u201cI was not criticizing. I understand why you might not have wanted to bring up the subject to her and vice versa.\u201d She took a deep breath and her gentle blue eyes seemed to fall out of focus. 
\u201cLong ago, huntresses began when mankind were much weaker than they are now. Back then they worshiped gods and deities and built them massive structures to pay homage. There was one amongst us, Chleo was her name, who fell in love with one of the Kings of Land. She would shed her scales and walk on shore every full moon, a trick she discovered after watching crabs shed their shells that time of the moon. She had grown to love him from afar, watching him through the rivers. When she finally climbed on shore, she seduced him. He was a powerful man, almost treated as a god himself, hence part of his appeal.
\u201cHe did not know what she was, but thought her to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her infrequent visits were full of passion and sex. When she left him in the morning he would grow angry. He wanted her to stay with him permanently, but alas, she could not. One morning Chleo was followed by her lover, and he saw her slip into the sea. She grew back her fins and scales, brighter and more beautiful than any of his gems, her dark purple coloring glittered in the sunlight. 
\u201cHe became obsessed in her absence. He wondered what kind of creature she was. He thought she might be some sort of goddess. He wanted to keep her as his lover, but he also wanted to sell her to other royalty, knowing her scales would be worth much. He thought about what a trophy such a lover would be. When the next full moon arose, Chleo climbed onto the shore and walked into the palace where her king lived. He was mad with lust, and they had wild sex all night. When the sun began to rise, Chleo tried to slip away while he slept, but his doors had been barred. Trapped, she began to suffocate. 
\u201cChleo\u2019s scales started to grow back, and her legs fused together, but the nearest water source was a small pond the king bathed in. She climbed into it, desperate to wet her body. When the king awoke he was pleased that she was still there, and even more pleased that he had captured her. He climbed into the water and had sex with her. She obliged, more because she was afraid what he might do to her should she refuse, and less because she wanted to. 
\u201cHe used her this way for many days. Chleo, trapped, had no choice. After a few days the king decided to sell her body to another royal who was passing through his kingdom. This was common at the time. She was used for their bodily urges every day during her imprisonment. She felt the moon grow fuller in the sky, and her heart grew full of hatred. She decided when she could walk again she would escape and bring doom to those who had wronged her. She spent every waking second plotting her revenge. When the full moon turned in the sky, her legs came back, and Chleo was alone in the king\u2019s room. He was out on a diplomatic mission, but she knew he would be back soon enough. She seduced the man left to guard her and slit his throat while he was inside her. 
\u201cShe ran back to the safety of her river and swam back out to sea. Her mental injuries took hold of her heart over the next month, and when she was able to walk on land again she went ashore and killed men. She never reached her king, who was too heavily guarded, but she spent the rest of her time killing those who guarded and protected him. Eventually she was able to kill his future wife when she bathed in the river. Chleo was able to pull the woman to her doom. Chleo\u2019s sister, Cora, joined her in her efforts, furious at her sister\u2019s plight. The two of them were our first formal huntresses, and from them, others joined, some with anger in their hearts, others who felt they had been wronged by those on land.
\u201cNow, that does not entirely answer your question, but I thought it important for you to know,\u201d Arianna said with a deep breath, her voice taking on a somber tone. 
\u201cIt does answer a part of my question though,\u201d I insisted. \u201cSo how did we continue to be
what we are today?\u201d
\u201cLess time ago, King Titus was born. A merman with unusual powers granted by the sea.
Some say he is Poseidon’s first born son. His influence united our people, and we all agreed to let him rule us. Shortly after being crowned he declared war on mankind. He was angered by their destruction of our world. I think the mistreatment of our race weighed heavily on his mind. He cast a spell, using his strange powers, that bound huntresses to him. When a new one was born, he would feel it, and another impression of a shark would be left on his very flesh.\u201d Her monologue trailed off and I was left with more questions than I started with. 
\u201cHow does he know?\u201d I whispered, as if he could hear me. 
\u201cHe can read the hearts of others.\u201d 
\u201cHow can he read the heart of a person just born? I thought their heart would be pure and empty, having not experienced the world yet.\u201d 
\u201cThat is a question better posed to him than me. I do not understand the powers he possesses, but I have seen them enough to know they are not to be disregarded.\u201d Arianna looked deep into my eyes, seeing the turmoil that raged inside. 
\u201cIs he really Poseidon\u2019s son?\u201d I asked, my mouth slightly open.
\u201cOnly Poseidon knows that,\u201d Arianna said, eyes twinkling at my interest. 
\u201cHave you ever seen him before?\u201d I wondered out loud. 
\u201cI have,\u201d Arianna said calmly.
\u201cYou have?\u201d I asked, incredulously. \u201cWhen? Where? How?\u201d
\u201cOne thing at a time,\u201d she laughed. \u201cHas your sister not taught you much about the gods?\u201d
\u201cI know that Poseidon is our most active God,\u201d I said. \u201cI know that others exist and they live in the clouds.\u201d
\u201cYes and no, child,\u201d Arianna began. \u201cPoseidon might seem more relevant than the rest, but that is because we live in his domain. Zeus rules the sky, the king of them all. Aphrodite brought forth love and beauty, she is the goddess of both. Apollo brings us prophecy, music, and knowledge. Ares is the God of War.\u201d
I listened to Arianna, imagining the clouds filled with giant beautiful merpeople who were also gods. I wondered if they had tails or feet.
\u201cArtemis visits the seas sometimes, as he rules all animals. Athena is the Goddess of Wisdom. Hermes is the messenger of the gods. Dionysus brings pleasures to life. Hephaestus brings fire to the land. Hades rules the dead.\u201d
\u201cDo they have tails or feet?\u201d I mused.
\u201cThey have what pleases them most,\u201d Arianna said. \u201cThey are very able to shed their
scales or feet as they desire.\u201d
\u201cAnd they live in the clouds?\u201d I asked, eagerly. 
\u201cThat is what a lot of our kind believes,\u201d Arianna said slowly. \u201cI think they wander around the planet, going where they want. Maybe they do retire to the sky, but I have never seen where their home would be.\u201d
\u201cAnd you have really seen Poseidon?\u201d I was amazed.
\u201cYes, he used to frequent here more often than he does now. It has been at least half a century since he has been to this grotto.\u201d
\u201cWhat does he look like?\u201d I asked.
\u201cExactly how you would expect him to look,\u201d Arianna smiled. 
\u201cBig, strong, and handsome,\u201d I said. 
\u201cYes, those words could all be applied to him.\u201d
I was silent for a few minutes, my head filled with ideas of what the gods looked like. 
\u201cI would very much like to meet Poseidon,\u201d I said.
\u201cNot any of the others?\u201d Arianna asked, the corner of her mouth turning up into a smile.
\u201cI would be happy to meet any of them,\u201d I said honestly. \u201cI would especially like to meet the god of my home though.\u201d
\u201cDo you have more questions?\u201d Arianna asked.
\u201cMany, many more. I am unsure where to start with them all,\u201d I said, overwhelmed with everything I had just heard. 
\u201cI understand. I have trained many huntresses, and they all start off in a similar way. Lost and slightly confused. You will find your place in the world, in both worlds. And you will see that you will become what you were always meant for. Everyone will be proud of the huntress you grow into.\u201d Arianna smiled kindly at me. 
\u201cThank you.\u201d I was at a loss for words. My throat felt tight and I wished I could clear it without drawing attention to it. 
\u201cThank you for all that you will do for us. It is a hard task you have been given, and one not many can handle. Your bravery will always set you apart from the others.\u201d 
I did not feel brave, but I acknowledged her compliment with a nod of my head. It felt like everyone expected me to be this fierce warrior, but I had grown up with Evgen\u00eds, playing with fish and giggling at the world. For a brief moment I wished she had not taken me away from everyone, perhaps I would not be as soft. Maybe I would grow to be fierce, but I felt small and feeble listening to stories of the gods.
\u201cWhat could Chleo have seen in that human king?\u201d I mused, not really expecting an answer. 
\u201cI would imagine there were quite a few things that drew her to him.\u201d Arianna surprised me with her thoughtful answer. \u201cHe was literally treated like a god of sorts. They believed their kings to be deities, and they often proclaimed themselves reincarnations of the gods they worshiped. At that time, the masses of people did everything their king asked for. He would have seemed very powerful. Incredibly resourceful. I am sure he was sexually desirable as well.
Sometimes, there is a chemistry that goes beyond reason. Chleo was drawn to him; it is a shame he did not see the value of continuing the way she wanted.\u201d
\u201cNow, we are going to start with the very basics of human anatomy . . .\u201d 
I spent the next five hours learning about human bodies. I was most interested in their lower halves, seeing how they differed from my own. Their tops seemed to be relatively similar to ours, but they lacked gills and a way of absorbing oxygen from the water. Their hearts were smaller than ours and beat faster. They did not seem to be as lean as we were. Arianna told me the majority of humankind were larger than they should be. Our muscles were typically easily visible, we did not have hair on our bodies either, which was different. 
\u201cI noticed the split in my legs was different,\u201d I ventured when we started to talk about the lower half of humans. 
\u201cYes, so humans have an external clitoris which gives pleasure, as well as the internal pleasure giver. When you transform you take on these aspects as well. Also, it will be perfectly normal if you see hair begin to appear just above your vagina. Humans sometimes remove this, but it is not necessary. Diana will show you how to better navigate your sex organs.\u201d She glanced at me. \u201cI am too old to give you a proper, enthusiastic, and energetic introduction.
Eventually, you are expected to be able to seduce human men.\u201d Arianna did not seem abashed to
discuss such intimacies. 
\u201cWhen?\u201d My voice cracked. 
\u201cOh, Nefertiti,\u201d Arianna smiled at me kindly, \u201cyou have many years of learning to do before that happens. Do not worry about this; it is not something to lose sleep over.\u201d 
I wondered if she was joking, seeing as she told me I was to begin sleeping less. 
\u201cThat seems to be enough for today.\u201d Arianna leaned down and kissed me gently on my lips. \u201cYou are tired and have enough to think about.\u201d 
\u201cThank you for your instruction.\u201d I bowed my head and turned around, mentally and physically exhausted. My tail was still aching from having the scales ripped off and regrown. I never stayed up this far into the day and was feeling somewhat delusional. 
I half swam and half let the current pull me toward the entrance to the large hall where I first saw Arianna. I found my way to my small sanctuary, and to my relief, saw Evgen\u00eds asleep. I lay next to her, and let the events of the day wash over me.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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