Waterfire Saga, Book Three: Dark Tide: A Deep Blue Novel (7 page)

“There’s no need to warn your friends, Ling,” he’d said as he locked the collar. “I’m not going to kill them. Not yet. I want them alive so they can keep
searching for the rest of the talismans. I thought Vallerio and his henchmen would have found them by now, but they’ve only obtained one—Merrow’s blue diamond.”

Ling’s heart had filled with bitter defeat. Orfeo had two talismans—Merrow’s and his own. How would she and the other mermaids ever get them away from him?

Orfeo had sat down on the gunwale and looked out over the water. “A few centuries ago, I almost got the blue diamond myself. I was
so
close, but then the Infanta and her damned
hawk…” He’d waved the memory away. “Ah, well. One must be patient. Neela’s found her talisman. Ava and Becca will find theirs, I’m sure. Astrid refuses to even look,
but then again”—he’d tapped the black pearl—“she doesn’t need to.”

He had shifted his soulless gaze back to Ling. “And
you
,” he’d said. “I very much hoped you’d found your talisman, but not to worry. I will. Because
there’s a pattern, Ling. I can see it now. Merrow disposed of her talisman on the shores of her own realm. And she put it in a very dangerous place—the hands of a human. She put
Navi’s moonstone in
her
home waters, in the claws of a dragon queen.”

Ling hadn’t wanted to take part in this conversation, but she’d been so upset to learn that Orfeo had two talismans and knew about Neela’s, she hadn’t been able to stop
herself.

“How do you know Neela has the moonstone?” she’d blurted.

“Because Hagarla, the dragon queen, is unhappy that her prized possession was stolen. She wants it back and is offering a fortune to the one who brings it to her. A death rider heard of
her offer and told Traho. He reported it to me.”

Orfeo had paused to untie the ropes securing Ling to her chair, then he’d continued. “Merrow was
such
a fool. Always led by her heart,” he’d said. “It
makes sense that she would’ve returned our talismans to the waters nearest our original homes. And
that
means”—he’d leaned on the chair’s arms, bent down, and
looked Ling in the eye—“that Sycorax’s talisman, an ancient puzzle ball, is in Qin. And what’s the most hazardous place in Qin?” He’d straightened and clapped
his hands. “The Abyss, of course!”

“The Abyss is endless. You’ll never find such a tiny object in such a large area,” Ling had said. She’d seen puzzle balls. They were small, cunningly carved, and
contained spheres within spheres. Each sphere had a hole in it. The puzzle was solved when the holes were lined up, allowing one to see the center of the ball and the surprise it contained.

Orfeo had smiled. “You’re right. I, myself, will not find the puzzle ball, but
you
might. You’ll certainly have every opportunity, where you’re going.”

Was
that
where the
Bedrieër
was headed?
Ling had wondered
. To the Abyss?
Why? What could a trawler do there? Submarines couldn’t plumb those
depths. They were too much even for the mer. Ling’s own father, an archaeologist, had died in the Abyss. He’d gone exploring and had never returned. Her family assumed he’d
succumbed to depth sickness.

“I’ll take
all
the talismans, Ling,” Orfeo had continued, his smile hardening. “And Vallerio will take the mer realms. He’ll unite them into one army.
He’ll help me free Abbadon, and together we’ll march on the underworld. The gods themselves will fight me, but I’ll win. I’ll take Alma back if I have to destroy the entire
world to do it.”

Then he had motioned to two thugs standing nearby. They’d hoisted Ling out of the chair, hauled her off, and thrown her into the hold. Ever since, she’d spent her every waking minute
looking for a way to escape.

A thunderous noise ripped her out of her thoughts now. The
Bedrieër
was dropping anchor. All around her, prisoners clutched each other, wild with fear.

“What’s happening? Where are we? What are they going to do with us?” panicked voices called out.

The death riders didn’t make them wait long for the answers.

B
ECCA QUICKFIN looked longingly at the basket of marsh melons on the farmer’s stall. Her mouth watered as she thought of cutting one open and
scooping out its gooey black flesh.

The melons were expensive, though, and Becca had little currensea left—only a handful of copper cowries and silver drupes. Those coins had to last her; she was still a long way from home
and it was hard to swim on an empty stomach. She knew that all too well.

“Four water apples, please,” she said with a sigh, pushing her glasses up on her nose. The frames were made of polished razor-clam shells, the lenses of rock crystal. They were heavy
and often slipped down.

The farmer picked out some plump blue apples and tumbled them into Becca’s bag. She paid him, then swam off to see if she could find some squid eggs to go with them.

The market was set up in a public hall in the center of a sizeable village, and Becca felt lucky to have happened across it. She’d eaten her last handful of reef olives this morning. It
was lunchtime now and her stomach was twisting with hunger.

As she moved through the market, she saw and heard some troubling things.
DEATH RIDERS OUT
! was scrawled on one wall of the hall, and several of the stalls were
empty.

“Where’s Pete today?” one farmer shouted to another, as Becca passed by.

“Nothin’ to sell! Soldiers came and took his crop!”

Dread, as cold as pack ice, gripped Becca. Traho’s reach, it seemed, now extended well into Atlantica. She pushed a strand of auburn hair behind one ear and swam on. She had a plan: ten
minutes to shop for food—no more, then a quick swim out of the village to the open water. She felt safer on the back currents. Death riders had tried to capture her and the others back in the
Iele’s caves. She doubted they’d given up the hunt.

A few minutes later, Becca spotted a pile of squid eggs. “How much?” she asked the farmer.

“Five drupes per pound. These are first-rate,” he said, proudly hoisting a moplike clump. The egg sacs reminded Becca of fat, fleshy fingers. She loved the way they burst in her
mouth when she bit into them. They were more than she could afford, just like the melons, but maybe if she looked hard, she could find a small clump.

“I’ll take two bunches,” a brusque voice said from the far end of the stall. “Wrap them to go.”

Becca recognized that voice. She craned her neck, trying to see past the other shoppers. A mermaid with braided blond hair and the black and white markings of an orca was drumming her fingers on
the stall.

Ugh,
Becca thought.
It’s Astrid.

Becca didn’t want to deal with her. Though Astrid was from the icy waters of the Arctic, she was a hothead—quick-tempered and rude. Selfish, too, judging by her hasty exit from the
Iele’s caves. She’d swum out on everyone, leaving them to confront the tough task ahead without her. If Abbadon were freed, it could destroy all the waters of the world. Astrid had a
responsibility to help defeat the monster, as they all did. How could she just turn her back on it?

Becca decided to forget about the squid eggs and sneak away before Astrid saw her, but she faced a problem: there was only one way in and out of the market hall and she’d have to swim
right by Astrid to get to it.

Maybe if I head in the opposite direction, I can thread my way back to the doorway without her seeing me,
she thought.

At that very second, Astrid turned her head, forcing Becca to duck down. When Becca dared, she glanced in Astrid’s direction and was horrified to see that the obnoxious merl was swimming
right toward her!

Becca squeezed under the stall’s table, apologizing to the surprised farmer. When she was certain Astrid had passed by, she crawled out, then headed up the aisle Astrid had just swum
down.

Becca kept her eyes on the tall doorway, using it to navigate her way through the maze-like market. She had nearly reached it, and was just congratulating herself for having avoided Astrid, when
a merman blocked her way. “Farm-fresh crab eggs! Just harvested!” he bellowed, thrusting a clamshell heaped high with tiny orange spheres at her.

“No, thank you,” Becca said.

She darted to the right, but the merman darted with her. She zipped to the left, but he intercepted her again.

“Come on, Red, buy some eggs. They’re on special! Two drupes a pound!”

Becca realized she wasn’t getting past him without purchasing some of his wares. “Half a pound, then,” she said, exasperatedly. “Can you wrap them
really
fast?”

“Right away!” the merman said. He swam behind his stall and weighed out a half pound of eggs, carefully tapping them out of their container onto his scale, making sure to get the
amount just right.

“Here’s your money,” Becca said impatiently, handing him some coins.

“Crab eggs are delicious tossed with keel worms. But if you cook ’em, use low heat and don’t—”

Becca cut him off. “Great. Thanks. Gotta go,” she said, reaching for her package. She opened her traveling case and stuffed it inside.

“Becca? Is that
you
?”

Oh, silt,
Becca thought. She turned around. “Astrid. Hey,” she said, forcing a smile.

Astrid blinked, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes. “What are you doing here? I thought you were with”—she glanced around warily—“with the others.”

Becca was relieved that Astrid hadn’t said more.

“I was,” she replied. “But we had some, um, unexpected guests. I’m on my way home now.”

Astrid’s eyes widened. “What happened?” she asked quietly.

Becca arched an eyebrow. “Suddenly you care?”

“Yeah, Becca, I do. A lot.”

“Funny way of showing it,” Becca said, anger flaring inside her.

“The others…are they—” Astrid started to ask.

But Becca didn’t let her finish. “Dead? Alive? I have no idea. We were attacked. I don’t even know if they made it out of the caves.”

Astrid winced at her sharp tone. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“You’re
sorry
?” Becca echoed, incredulous. “You know something, Astrid? You don’t
get
to be sorry, and you don’t
get
to care. Not
after you abandoned us.”

Astrid, who’d been looking at the seafloor, met Becca’s gaze. “But I
am
sorry, and I
do
care,” she said.

Becca was surprised to see a deep sadness in Astrid’s eyes. She wondered at it, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it. “Look, I can’t hang. I only came here to get some
food,” she said. “Got homicidal maniacs on my tail, you know?”

“There’s a rocky valley east of here. It’s on the way. My way, at least. Maybe yours, too. We could find an overhang there and eat lunch together,” Astrid ventured.
“You could tell me what happened.”

Becca didn’t relish the idea of spending any more time with this merl. She had a plan and she meant to stick to it. “Sorry. I’ve got to make wake.”

“Becca…”

“Look, Astrid, I can’t. Okay? I really have to—”

“Becca, be
quiet
.”

“
What?
Why should I?” Becca asked indignantly. “I’m not the one—”

“Becca,
please
!” Astrid hissed. She wasn’t looking at Becca anymore. She was looking past her, through the doorway toward the village square.

Becca turned, following Astrid’s gaze, and gasped.

Twenty soldiers dressed in black uniforms were heading for the market.

B
EFORE BECCA EVEN knew what was happening, Astrid had grabbed her hand and pulled her under an empty table.

“Death riders. They found out you were here,” Astrid said, her voice low.

“How?” Becca asked, panicking.

“Someone must’ve seen you and told them. You don’t exactly blend with that red hair.”

“
Me?
What about
you
with the black-and-white tail?”

“Do you want to argue? Or do you want to get out of here?” Astrid asked.

A table went over. The loud crash made both mermaids flinch.