Authors: Jim C. Hines

The Mermaid's Madness (29 page)

BOOK: The Mermaid's Madness

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“We’re not going to hurt you, you coward!” Danielle shouted. “We need your help.”

Talia searched for a weapon. “They’ve trained that animal to obey. If you can’t control it—”

“I don’t control them,” Danielle said. “I ask for their help. But he knows we’re not undine, and he can probably smell the blood in the water. I think he’s scared.”

The undine had fallen back to avoid the kelpie, but they appeared to be regrouping. The three Talia had fought were circling around, while others crept toward the shore behind the kelpie. “How scared?”

“Can’t you see him shaking?”

“Good. Tell it Halaka’ar the three-headed sea dragon is coming. Halaka’ar consumes light and breathes darkness, and he wears the skulls of his prey around his necks. His gaze petrifies all who look upon him, and his jaws devour body, mind, and soul. I know the prayers to divert Halaka’ar’s wrath, but it has to help us.”

Danielle stared. “Remind me not to let you tell Jakob any bedtime stories.”

“Halaka’ar guarded the river of the dead,” Talia explained. “My tutors taught me the old religions.” She shook her head, remembering. “They also told me Halaka’ar would come for any child who snuck sweets during lessons.”

Danielle closed her eyes, presumably relaying Talia’s story. Moments later, the kelpie dropped flat. The merfolk hesitated, clearly distrustful of their beast’s strange behavior. Talia grabbed Snow and waded toward the animal’s harness. She hoisted Snow up, threading her arm through one of the loops on the harness. “Hurry up, Princess.”

The kelpie’s body was warm, trembling hard enough to send wavelets knocking past Talia’s legs. She finished pushing Snow’s other arm through the harness, then grabbed another rock. The rock knocked the closest merfolk back, giving her time to grab another of the kelpie’s loops. She held the back of Snow’s harness with one hand, keeping her tight against the scales.

“Hold on,” Danielle warned, taking the next loop of rope beside Snow.

The kelpie reared up and twisted to face the wall behind. Merfolk fell back as the kelpie surged toward the arch and the open sea. Talia swore and pressed herself and Snow flat as they passed through the arch. The rock scraped skin from her shoulder blades and backside. Any tighter and she would have been torn free or crushed.

The kelpie began to sink as they reached deeper water. Talia shoved Snow higher on the kelpie’s back. “Danielle?”

“We can’t breathe water,” Danielle shouted. “And my friends are injured. Their blood could attract sharks!”

The kelpie bobbed up like a cork. Its long tail undulated like a snake, shooting them through the water.

“They have other kelpies,” Talia shouted. “They’ll be after us as soon as they regroup.”

Danielle nodded and closed her eyes, resting against the kelpie’s body. Talia didn’t know what she said, but the kelpie began to swim even faster, paddling with its large fins. The movement of its body reminded her of a horse’s gallop.

Talia stretched her legs, bracing her feet against the bony ridge behind her to take some of the weight off of the loops around her arms. This would be more comfortable if she could get Snow to the top of the kelpie, where they could rest on a relatively flat surface. But she couldn’t climb and hold onto Snow at the same time. Even with Snow’s arms through the harness, her body draped down the kelpie’s side, her toes trailing through the water.

Blood dripped slowly down Snow’s neck and back. The bleeding didn’t look too bad, especially for a head wound, but she still hadn’t woken up.

“I shouldn’t have made her cast the spell on me, back at the
Phillipa
,” Talia said. “Morveren told me to let Snow conserve her strength.”

“Snow thought she had enough power—” Danielle began.

“Snow’s a powerful sorceress,” Talia said. “Almost as strong as she thinks she is. But she’s never been good at accepting limits.”

“Unlike you?” Danielle teased. In a softer voice, she added, “This isn’t your fault.”

Talia twisted her head, looking back at the shrinking shoreline. Danielle was right. Even if Talia had tried to kill Lirea while she slept, the air spirits likely would have thwarted her attack. Knowing that didn’t lessen the anger. “Can’t this stupid thing go any faster?”

CHAPTER 10

L
IREA CLUTCHED HER ARM where the human’s knife had stabbed her. Voices taunted her as she fled, mocking her weakness and her fear, but she couldn’t stop swimming.

She had been dreaming of Gustan, so real she could still feel his hands on her body, the tiny hairs on his legs that tickled her skin as he moved. She could smell the sweat that dampened the curls on his neck. He had never been gentle with her, but humans were known to be rough.

And then her dreams had shifted.Tears streamed from her eyes as she staggered up the beach, smiling through the pain of each tortured step. Naked and pathetic and human, she called out to him. She had been little more than a child, weak and desperate. She had begged for his love, and in doing so earned only contempt.

And now that weakness surfaces again.
The voice sounded distant, though the words were no less sharp. How could Gustan ever love such a coward?

They came to my home,
Lirea protested.
Cracked open my mind like a seabird digging the meat from a snail.

So you flee like a child frightened by a passing cloud.

Another whisper, this one almost lyrical in tone.
Lannadae . . . Morveren . . . the humans . . . you’ve failed too many times, and soon you will be punished.

More voices joined in, coming from all around her.
There is no escape.

No matter how far and how fast you swim.

You’ll never be safe.

Lirea swam to the surface and screamed until the sound threatened to scrape the skin from her throat. Only when her lungs gave out did she look around to see the undine gathered behind her. Nilliar was the closest, watching her with worried eyes. Beyond them, Lirea’s palace was a shrunken smudge in the distance.

Lirea waited, but her screams appeared to have drowned out the other voices for now. They would return soon enough. They always did.

“You’re injured,” Nilliar said. “What happened?”

“They stole my knife. They tried to steal my thoughts.” Lirea’s scales flared, and she shivered at the memory. The pain in her arm was nothing compared to the touch of another’s mind in her own. “How did they find me, Nilliar? They came into my home and ripped open my head and—”

“I don’t know, but you’re safe.”

“No. None of us are.” Why was she so afraid? Where was her strength? Lirea squinted at the horizon, searching. “Which way did they flee?”

Nilliar pointed to the west.

“They must have a ship. Why didn’t we see them approaching? Who was patrolling those waters?”

An older warrior named Toskoth swam forward. He had served Lirea’s mother and father for most of his life.

“I spoke with three undine who said they wished to join our tribe,” he said. “I was there when the humans escaped. They were the same. Somehow they were able to take our shapes.”

“Morveren.” Her grandmother must have enchanted the humans so they could come here to destroy her. Lirea beckoned, and Nilliar pressed a spear into her hand. “You were my father’s spearbearer, Toskoth. Did you ever once allow murderers to attack
him
?”

“I’m sorry, my queen.”

Lirea thrust her spear into his chest, pushing until the tip broke through the skin of his back. His gills flared, but he made no sound. Lirea shoved him away. Blood and bubbles rose from the wound as Toskoth sank through the water.

The other undine spread back. Even Nilliar appeared shocked, but none dared to speak. None but the whispers in Lirea’s mind.

Toskoth played with you as a child and sang songs of times long past.

Lirea ducked beneath the water. This time her scream was sharper, a summons loud enough to be heard by every kelpie in the tribe. Once she heard their answering cry, she surfaced and said, “They mean to carve me apart until there’s nothing left.”

“You need rest,” Nilliar said softly. “You’re hurt, and you need time to recover. The tribe is in the midst of breeding. You can’t—”

“They’ve torn me in two.” Lirea swam closer and ripped the second spear from Nilliar’s harness. “But a queen must be strong.”

White crests approached from the shore, marking the arrival of the kelpies. Lirea gripped the spear in both hands and whispered, “I will be strong.”

The harness straps dug deep into Danielle’s arms. She would be horribly bruised . . . assuming they survived at all.

A faint call carried over the waves, and the kelpie slowed. He looked behind, his body quivering like a horse preparing to bolt. Danielle didn’t know if the call was a summons or simply a cry of pain, but it was obvious the kelpie had been trained to respond.

“Please don’t go,” Danielle said. “You have to get us to our ship. It’s the only way to stop Halaka’ar.”

The kelpie turned back toward the
Phillipa
. The fins and spikes near his head flared out as he answered the call. The sound threatened to burst Danielle’s ears.

“Please don’t do that,” she said.

In the distance, Danielle could hear other kelpies. She had no doubt they were following, along with the undine. The
Phillipa
was still barely more than a toy floating in the distance. They should reach it before their pursuers, but they wouldn’t have much time to escape.

Beside her, Snow stirred and mumbled, “Too loud.”

“Snow!” Danielle and Talia spoke as one.

Snow’s face crinkled in protest. “I said too loud, and you shout at me?”

Talia shifted position, bracing herself with her legs and freeing one hand to touch Snow’s face. “Open your eyes, Snow. Look at me.”

Snow squinted in the light. “What happened?”

“You were hurt,” Danielle said. “We’re going to take care of you. We’re almost back to the ship.”

“I remember the tower ...” Snow started to say more, and then her eyes widened. Before Danielle could react, Snow turned her head and threw up. She would have fallen from the kelpie if Talia hadn’t grabbed her.

“Sorry.” Snow closed her eyes and lay back.

“It’s all right,” Danielle said in the same soothing tone she used when Jakob was upset. “We’ll be at the
Phillipa
soon.”

“My head hurts.” Snow tried to sit up again, but Talia held her in place.

“That’s because Lirea’s air spirits hit you with a tower,” said Talia.

“Lirea.” Snow closed her eyes. “She’s awfully angry. She shouldn’t have been able to feel my spell.”

“Just rest,” said Talia. “Try not to move.”

Snow nodded and laid her head back against the kelpie. Her lips were pale, and her eyelids kept fluttering open. “Talia?”

“I’m right here.”

Snow smiled. “My head hurts. What happened?”

Danielle’s stomach tightened. She looked at Talia, whose face was taut. Danielle forced a smile. “You’re going to be fine, sweetie.”

“Oh.” Snow appeared to consider this. “That’s good.”

“Talia, why can’t she remember—”

“I don’t know.” Talia wouldn’t look at her. “Sometimes when the head is hurt . . . she needs to rest.”

Danielle turned back to the
Phillipa
. They were close enough now for Danielle to see the crew scrambling about, preparing for an attack. A heartbeat later, she realized the crew was getting ready to attack
them
.

“Wait!” Her voice barely carried over the noise of the water. She pulled one arm out of the harness and gripped the loop with her hand. “Hold Snow.”

“I’ve got her,” Talia said, slipping both arms around Snow’s body.

BOOK: The Mermaid's Madness

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