Descending (The Rising Series) (25 page)

“
Though his destruction was unintentional,” Xanthus said, “Zeus struck him down with his lightning bolt.”

“I can’t wait for the gods to respond
,” Gretchen said—her voice weak. “I think I should do what she says.”

“No
.” Kyros turned her toward him. “You will not. We simply have to kill her before she hurts anyone else.” He turned to Xanthus. “Have you been able to get in contact with Triton?”

Xanthus shook his head.

“We’ll have to move forward without him,” Kyros said. “I remember where she was when I met her.” He turned to Drakōn. The Dagonian still looked pale. The bandage on his head had a small spot of blood seeping through, but his mind was once again his own. “But I was not with her long,” Kyros continued. “You were there much longer.”

“Lucky me
.” Drakōn frowned.

“Do you think
you can find her?” Kyros asked.

“
Last I saw the witch, she was a hundred miles south-southwest of here. I’m sure she’s moved again. She may be crazy, but she’s not stupid.”

“
Then there’s no way to find her?”

“I didn’t say that
,” Drakōn said. “While I was with her, I noticed some strange behavior. It may be the clue to locating her.”

“
Stranger than her normal behavior?” Kyros asked.

Drakōn nodded.
“She left twice daily—like clockwork. She never let on where she was going or who she was meeting. And we never traveled far. It’s like she was anchored somewhere. Not literally, but something kept her close to one area.”

“Her mermaid home, perhaps?”
Xanthus asked.

Lying in Kyros’s arms, Gretchen didn’t say anything, but she shook her head.

“What is it?” Kyros asked her.

“
I don’t know… it’s just… She never cared about coming home when
I
lived with her. She’d be gone days, or even weeks at a time. The only time she came to see me is when she was lonely or bored.”

Straton had been leaning against a wall, taking everything in, not commenting. Kyros happened to be looking at him when
Straton’s eyes lit up with understanding.

“
Not while you were a babe,” Straton said. “She would have had to suckle you at
least
twice a day to sustain your life.”

Gretchen sat up
, shock registering on her face. “What are you implying?”

“Perhaps she’s not alone.”

“You mean, you think she has a baby?” Gretchen asked.

“I think it’s a possibility
,” Straton answered.

Gretchen shot up
to her feet. “We have to find her. We have to save her.”

“We don’t even know if she
has
a child,” Pallas said.

“
She does. Straton is right,” Gretchen said. “It makes sense. She was always afraid of being alone. That’s why she kept
having
babies. Why she had me.

“You know… I haven’t really understood it until now...”
She seemed to be lost in thought, trying to figure something out. She looked over at Sara. “When Sara moved away, I was miserable. It wasn’t that I didn’t have any friends or family to connect with. It’s just that I needed something
more
. I needed my best friend.”

“What does Sara have to do with this?” Pallas asked.

Xanthus stood—his eyes bright. “Gretchen’s right. When we moved out here, Sara also took it hard. I didn’t understand why she was so unhappy, but I think I do now. Just a minute. I’ve got something you all need to hear.” He left the room and came back seconds later, carrying a large book. Kyros recognized it immediately—the mermaid book.

Xanthus began to read. “The Mer are highly social beings, needing the company of others of their kind. If separated from other Mer for long periods of time, they will experience depression, anxiety, fear, paranoia, and/or insanity.”

Kyros looked from Gretchen to Sara. “Did you both have trouble living alone, without others like you?” He wasn’t sure if his question was too personal.

Gretchen answered first. “I spent half my life on a therapist’s couch. That is
, until I met Sara and got my act together.

Sara spoke up next. “I’d always blamed my mother for making me miserable. Maybe she wasn’t the real reason I was so unhappy.”

“All this means only one thing,” Gretchen said. Her face took on a glow of righteous indignation. “Straton’s right, Aella has a baby, my baby brother or sister, and we need to save her.”

Kyros nearly smiled
, relieved to see Gretchen’s spirit return. She’d been like a ghost of herself since coming out of the canyon. Looks like all she needed was a child to save.

“We will,” Kyros said. “I promise.” Even as he promised, he wondered how he’d be able to keep it. They’d have to track down the mermaid’s lair. If they killed her without finding the location, they’d never find the child in time. But how
did you get a mermaid to lead you to her home?

A
noise from outside caught Kyros’s attention. It sounded like the roar of an airplane, but it was louder than usual—and getting louder by the second. Soon, everyone noticed. Several stood, listening as the sound grew in volume. Kyros was the first to reach the door before they all poured out onto the front lawn. A large passenger airplane streaked down out of the sky.

“He needs to pull up
,” Sara yelled just before the plane slammed into the lighthouse. It knocked the structure over like a building block, and the plane broke apart before crashing into the ground. A giant fireball erupted in the distance, sending a mushroom cloud of smoke into the sky.

“Gods of Olympus,” Straton gasped. “How many humans ride in those things?”

“Could be hundreds,” Gretchen answered, sinking to her knees. Sara came up to her and put her arms around her.

“
Do you think this was Aella?” Pallas asked.

Gretchen nodded
, her face white. “She must have gotten to the pilot before it took off. This is
my
fault. She did this because of me.”

“It’s not your fault, Gretchen.”
Sara said.

“No
, it’s not,” Drakōn said. “This witch would have no qualms of doing this for mere pleasure. You’re just her excuse.”

“We have to find her
,” Xanthus snarled. “We have to destroy her.”

Each of them voiced agreement.

“We have work to do,” Kyros growled, his hand clenched so hard he could feel his bones strain at the brink of cracking under the strain. He wanted nothing more than to take his fist, punch a hole in Aella’s chest, and rip out her black heart.

Gretchen and Kyros entered a yellow, rickety building with a private dock at its back. A dark man with grey-speckled hair and warm eyes stepped up to the counter. “Good morning, I’m Andre. What can I do for you?”

“I’d like to rent a boat—a fast one
,” Gretchen said. “And we’ll need to transport seven passengers.”

“
Are you or your friend wanting to captain it yourself?”

She shook her head. “We’ll need a captain.”

“Are you looking for a tour? I have the tour schedule here. It’s cheaper than paying for a private charter.”

“No, we aren’t doing a tour. We need to find a specific place.”

“What kind of place?”

She looked at
Kyros, and he shrugged. “We’ll know it when we see it,” she answered.

“
You’re in luck. We have one more boat left, and our best driver is available to take you anywhere around the island.”

“We’re looking to go a bit farther than Bermuda.”

“How far you looking to go?”

“About a
hundred miles south-southwest.”

“How soon
do you want to leave?”

“As soon as possible.”

The man nodded and turned. “Hank.”

“Yeah, what is
it, boss?” A deep voice rumbled from the door behind the counter.

“I got a job for you.”

A small, scrawny man stepped through the door. Gretchen wondered when Hank would appear. When the man spoke, his voice was low and deep. “What kind of job?”

“These people here are chartering a
boat, and they need you to drive it for them. And they aren’t looking to sail around Bermuda. They want to go into the heart.”

“Into the heart?” Gretchen asked.

“The heart of the Triangle.”

“Oh, right.”

“That’s gonna cost you more,” Hank said. “The heart’s a dangerous place.”

“I understand
,” Gretchen said, feeling somber.

Andre
looked at them intently as he spoke. “You aren’t smiling. You believe in the legends.”

Kyros’s brows pressed together in confusion. Gretchen leaned toward
him. “The Bermuda Triangle has a lot of mystery surrounding it—ships sinking, planes crashing, and people disappearing off boats…”

“Sounds like Aella has been busy over the years,” Kyros
said.

Gretchen nodded.

“Aella? Did you say Aella?” Th
e old man’s dark eyes widened.

“You’ve heard of her?”
Gretchen asked.

He looked around, his eyes bouncing off the walls. “No. I never heard of her
. I just remembered—the boat needs maintenance. It’s not seaworthy. Hank, you get back to work.”

“No wait, please!” Gretchen said as Hank walked out. “You’re the only place that has a
n available boat.”

“Sorry, I can’t help you.”

Gretchen swore under her breath.
I promised I’d never do this.
But, lives were at stake. “Kyros, I need you to wait outside.”

He frowned at her. “I don’t like leaving you
,” he whispered as he reached for his knife. “
I
can convince him.”

“Don’t you dare. I’ll be fine. It’ll only take a minute.”

He scowled and nodded before he stepped out the door.

“Ma’am, I…”

Gretchen sang just above a whisper, but it was more than enough.

The man listened, but instead of the glazed, enamored look she usually got, his eyes widened in shock.
“By gods, you’re a mermaid.”

“You…
my voice doesn’t affect you? Who are you?”

“I’m what some might call an oracle. And I
’ll tell you this,” he said. “Aella is a beauty and a monster. She is the danger that lurks in the heart of the Triangle.”

Gretchen strained to remember what she knew about oracles. It wasn’t much. She’d convinced herself long ago that they were purely a myth.
Obviously, she was wrong. But if she remembered correctly, they were something like a prophet for the gods. This oracle might just be what they needed to find Aella. “How do we find her?”

“Come closer,” he said in a voice that commanded respect, a voice laced with power.

Gretchen’s first reaction was to step back, but she wondered what this oracle might have to tell her. She reluctantly took a step toward him.

His hands shook as he raised the
m to her head. He pressed his palms again her temples and closed his eyes. When they opened, a jolt of fear shot through her. The eyes she was looking at were not his eyes. The irises were as green as a spring meadow and the whites as clear and luminous as a pearl. She’d never seen human eyes as flawless as these were. These were the eyes of a goddess.

“Ambrosia,
daughter of death and sea.” Gretchen gasped at the voice coming from this old man’s lips. It was the voice of a woman, a voice so beautiful and compelling it put the legendary siren, Aella, to shame. “I have a message for you. The path that you travel leads to destinations unknown.”

“W
hat does that mean? Can’t you tell us where to find Aella?” Gretchen asked.