Out from some nearby shadows swam a being that Cormac and Melusine both struggled to even consider angelic in appearance. It was a Profound One with the head of a dragonfish, but there was something terribly off about them. It may have been how the Profound One looked somewhat bloated, it may have been the reddish-rosy crimson skin, it might have even been the glowing blue eyes that the Young Egan had mistaken for two sapphires shining in the darkness as little sense as that made, it was quite possibility of a combination of those traits, but whatever it might have been, the individual was anything but angelic in appearance.
Cormac and Melusine then took notice of other aspects of Uikesh's appearance. He was six feet and three inches in height at least, his hands clawed, his fingers even longer than they should have been and he was hunchbacked. Overall, he looked quite brutish in contrast to other Profound Ones that the Young Egan and the Surface-Born Merrow-Maiden had seen.
While Melusine almost dropped her knife in shock, Cormac raised an eyebrow and inquired: "Y-You have been called 'the Angelic One?'"
"It used to be a more fitting sobriquet." Uikesh answered, his blue eyes looking over Cormac. "I take it you are a member of the Egan family."
"Apparently my great-uncle is the father of your grandson." Cormac replied.
"I'd rather my grandson's paterfamilias had been someone else." Stated Uikesh harshly. "I don't particularly care for the Arabs or for Ireland. Arabic sailors killed my mother and father and Irish sailors…" A look of pain spread across the countenance of the Angelic One before he regained his composure and uttered: "I'm not too friendly towards Arabs, Irish people or Irish people of Arabic descent as you must be, boy."
"You still allowed relations between his great-uncle and your daughter though." Melusine commented, pointing her knife at Uikesh.
"Despite what was done to my parents and…" Uikesh took a breath before saying: "I would not interfere with my daughter and her love life."
"Where is Rhonda?" inquired Cormac.
"Must be down in the cells if I haven't already turned her." With a wave of his hand, Uikesh added: "I and my brothers and sisters and our children have quite a few down there. Some we turn eventually while feeding off of them, others we use for sacrifices to Acclaimed Avatar Phmyn."
From the corner of his eye, Cormac could see Melusine shaking. A quiver of fear, the Helena of the Deep asked: "B-Brothers? S-Sisters? Children?"
"Yes, dear girl…" Uikesh answered, eyeing Melusine's throat. "Ah, such a lovely throat you've got there and your tail! I do love how the tails of you Surface-Born Mermaids glister, so beautiful! Would you perhaps be interested in joining my collection?"
Collection? Melusine did not like the sound of that, nor did Cormac and he was not even a Surface-Born Mer of either gender. Were there even Surface-Born Mermen? Alas, he knew not and this was not the time for such questions. Though there were such questions on Cormac's mind that were suitable for the time.
"How many are you?" asked Cormac.
Keeping his eyes on Melusine, Uikesh answered: "Fifty."
"How many are in your collection?"
"Nine. Most of them are turned. We keep the turned ones separate from the unturned ones."
Then perhaps there was a chance Rhonda had not been turned.
"Where are the rest of you?" asked Melusine.
"Out and about." Uikesh replied, his eyes now upon the knife in Melusine's hands. "Some of them are even here right now in the shadows. Kill me and they will descend upon you."
Looking around, Cormac and Melusine tried to see the other vampires that Uikesh spoke of. All they could see was the darkness. Were they indeed there and the two Children of the Storm simply not see them or was it possible that Uikesh was bluffing and did not have the numbers he boasted?
Thinking he saw someone in the darkness, Cormac stared deeply. What was it? A Profound One? Some kind of Mer? Something else? Or nothing at all? Upon hearing a cry from Melusine, Cormac turned and to his alarm saw an octopus come out of the shadows and this was no ordinary octopus, for the first thing Cormac noticed about the beast was the size of it! The creature was at least the size of a shire horse!
A long, leathery tentacle took hold of Melusine's right wrist, causing the Helena of the Deep to take the knife from her right hand with her left and stabbed into the leathery, reddish-brown skin of the octopus. Quickly, Cormac came to her aid, using his brand to sever the tentacle of the demon.
Alas, Uikesh was not one to stand or float idly by while one of his minions did all the work. As Cormac aided Melusine, he quickly found himself in a chokehold by the Angelic One. Struggling to get out, Cormac paused for a moment upon seeing that the side of Uikesh's countenance that he was on had no nostril.