World of Aluvia 2 (10 page)

She snatched up the small object, which nestled easily into her palm, and tugged on the sea fronds looped around it. They were squishy against her fingertips. The cold seaweed unfurled, leaving a single glowing pearl in the middle of her hand, the size of a berry, hanging from a thin silver chain. Soft white light swirled inside the sphere. This was no ordinary pearl.

This had to be a merfolk tear. She’d heard stories about them. Who hadn’t? Stories by the fire, stories for little children, but her mer-friends said simply that merfolk generally had no need for tears, or even the ability to shed them except in cases of extreme grief. Tears from merfolk were so rare that it was said they coalesced into glowing pearls that, when given freely, granted the owner one wish.

Her friends had never confirmed that part, laughing when she’d asked. But maybe the myth was true? A normal pearl wouldn’t glow like that. Phoebe threw away the seaweed and gripped the pearl in her hand, the slightly gritty surface reassuringly solid in her hand. The chain dangled between her fingers. Nothing would crush this pearl. It felt like iron.

Her pulse raced like a merfolk’s tail. What could have made one of the merfolk cry? Had Tristan’s tears formed this pearl? She blanched at the thought of him crying over anything.

But what to do with it?

She took a deep breath, taking strength from the rich scents of the beach. She tried to relax, so the answer could come to her. She let her ears fill with the soft rumble of the waves rolling in farther down the shore. Here, the surf was almost always gentle and quiet. She let the quietness spread through her. She reached for the unexpected peace that had risen inside when she thought she would die beneath the waters. There was a blue light then. Maybe Nell’s prophecy had something to do with that.

Phoebe stood up, took off her boots, and crossed over to the shallow end of the shore. She didn’t feel bold enough to slide into the dark waters by the pool. The water in the shallows was so clear she could see the bottom along here in the moonlight. It was probably safe. The chilly water lapped at her ankles. She shivered and waded forward a few more steps until the water reached her hips. Had the sun been up, this would have been refreshing. Now, her feet ached from the chill. The sharp edges of crushed shells pressed against her skin. She walked until the water touched her chattering chin.

She examined the pearl. It glowed brighter, or perhaps that was just her imagination.
Concentrate, Phoebe
! Things must be dire for Tristan to have actually cried.

She kept her palm open, staring at the pearl. “Please,” she said, not knowing to whom she spoke and feeling foolish for it. “I need to help them. But no one’s coming. I need to reach them. Just let me breathe.”

She put on the necklace. Slowly, so slowly, she sank below the water. Her swimming shirt stuck tightly around her, but she was used to the sensation. She kept her eyes open despite the burn. The pearl flared even brighter under the water. She understood then. It would have to be a matter of trust.

She opened her mouth, letting the cold water fill it.

I can do this,
she thought.

Please.

She took a deep breath of sea water.

splitting pain knifed through Phoebe’s body. Icy cold spread along her skin, racing from her toes to the back of her neck. She tried to scream but could only gurgle as her throat felt like it burst into flames under the water.

Her breath came faster. She was thankful she was actually breathing, not drowning, no matter how it felt at the moment. The pearl was working. She could breathe and see underwater. Her hands flew to her neck, but her skin was as smooth as ever. No gills, unlike the merfolk. Her stomach did a slow roll. Breathing underwater magically with her friends was one thing. Being deep underwater alone, depending on an inanimate object she didn’t understand, was another.

She looked down at the necklace resting on her chest. Clearly, the magic was coming from it. But she’d better move fast, just in case there was a time limit on how long the magic lasted.

The water slid against her skin like satin, not chilly at all now. She wrapped her hand around the pearl and whispered a word of thanks. Then she summoned all her courage and swam into the dark waters as Tristan taught her long ago. Mina and Tristan needed her. And nothing would stop her. Not Sierra, not the ocean itself.

The thought of Sierra made Phoebe hesitate, just for one heartbeat. Her sister was going to lose her mind. Well, Sierra would just have to understand. It was done now, anyway.

Electric yellow fish darted away from Phoebe’s reaching hands as she pulled herself forward through the water. A sea turtle stared at her in what might have been surprise, but she kept going, smiling a little. Beneath her, a forest of tube worms fanned out, waving in the dim light, feathery red petals of gills slurping suddenly into their tubes as she passed by.

The sea floor dropped away as she swam farther, and the light grew dimmer. She wished it were daytime. If only she could glow as her mer-friends did. Their steady light would be comforting about now. At least spots of light floated in the increasing darkness. The pale bluish lights around her looked like a carnival as glowing sea creatures rose from the twilight depths of the sea to seek food in the shallows under the cover of darkness. The sea was full of magic.

Also full of danger
, she could almost hear Sierra say. A jolt ran through Phoebe. Pulling her attention from the surrounding beauty, she swam faster toward where she thought the merfolk lived. Fewer creatures lit the gloomy waters here, and a shiver of fear threaded through Phoebe. She was without her friends… and the water wraith might still be out there.

She gulped and kept a close eye out for jellyfish and sharks. Kicking her legs faster, she picked up the pace, looking over her shoulders into the growing blackness behind her, watching the pinwheeling dots of lights spin. It was other-worldly, completely different than the ocean she knew along the coast. She felt incredibly alone.

When Phoebe was scared, one thing she always did was sing. She hadn’t really ever sung underwater much before, but now she found herself singing softly as she went, the melody of a plucky, happy tune pushing past her stiff lips as she swiveled her head from side to side. The notes chimed like bells.

For a moment her breath froze in her chest as a large shadow moved along the floor below her. When it turned out to be a giant school of sleek black fish, she almost sobbed with relief.

Mina’s stories about the kraken octopuses crept through Phoebe’s mind. They were rare in these waters, she reminded herself.
But not unheard of
. Even regular octopuses were dangerous. The loathsome, many-armed, baggy-headed creatures made her want to curl into a ball and hide ever since one grabbed her when she was first learning to swim in the ocean with Tristan. It took days for the sucker marks to fade from her leg. Luckily, Sierra had been gone on another trip, or that would have ended Phoebe’s visits to the ocean right then.

As fear rose, so did her voice, but just for a moment. Perhaps singing as she swam wasn’t the best way to stay hidden. She stopped, just as a hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her into a forest of seaweed. Another hand clamped over her mouth.

“By the great shell, what on Aluvia are you doing, Phoebe? Trying to kill yourself?”

Relief flooded her, leaving her weak-kneed like soggy kelp. She spun in Tristan’s arms to face him, her hair tangling around her neck and shoulders. Luminescence lit his skin all over. It wasn’t bright, but it was enough to see the green of his eyes, the first time she had ever seen their natural shade underwater. Those eyes grew rounder than sand dollars as his gaze traveled over her. He looked around and must have realized she was alone, as his mouth dropped open in shock. His lips moved in some sort of prayer or curse, and his gaze snapped back to hers, eyes still wide.

“How did you get down here? Did Mina bring you?”

“No… no… no one brought me,” she stammered. She thought he might be pleased to see her initiative, happy to see that she came to him, of all people. But maybe not.

“Then how did this happen?!”

Was he angry? He didn’t sound happy. Phoebe recoiled, her stomach twisting. But urgency pressed her past hurt. He needed to listen.

“I had to warn you. The thing I saw―Tristan, I found out it’s a water wraith, and your mother could be right about Baleros. It’s possible that merman skeleton wasn’t as old as we thought―the marks on it could be from that thing. You’re in danger!” She paused, then added, a little awkwardly, “Your people are at risk!”

He raised his eyebrows. “The water wraiths are just a myth, Phoebe.”

She shook her head, sending her hair spinning. She shoved the long locks out of the way and grabbed his arms. The muscles bunched under her hands. “So were dragons on land, Tristan. And they’re out there now, setting fire to whole sections of the mountains, causing all kinds of trouble not even the fauns can stop. We need to tell the elders!”

“You’re serious,” he whispered to himself. Then looked again at Phoebe more closely. “By the shell! A mer-tear!” he gasped. “So that’s how you got down here?”

She froze. “You didn’t leave it for me?”

He shook his head, hair swinging wildly in the current.

“It was left where you usually give me presents. If you didn’t send this to me, who did?”

As white as she’d ever seen him―which was a feat, considering his pale skin―he pursed his lips and said, “I don’t know. We’ll need to tell my people. We’re forbidden to share mer-tears with humans. Whoever did it will be in serious trouble, but that’s not your concern. And you can share what you experienced. Maybe the elders will know what creature attacked you. Let’s go. But don’t sing. You called me straight to you. Who knows what else you might have called? Don’t forget sound travels far under the water.”

Mute with surprise, she nodded.

Then he smiled a little half-smile at her. Softer now, he said, “When this is all done, though, I hope you will sing to me again. I do love to hear your voice, Phoebe Quinn.”

Phoebe looked down at her body, surprised she wasn’t glowing from pleased embarrassment. Fine, she could keep from singing out loud. What he didn’t understand is that the music rarely went truly silent inside her. Sometimes it was just a quiet tune harmonizing in the background. Other times it took the lead in her thoughts as she daydreamed. Right now, the music in her mind picked up its pace into a happy jig.

Before she could reply, though, Tristan said, “I’ll have to take you to the village. You’ll need to see the elders.”

Phoebe gaped at him. “
The
village?”

“Yes. To Morgance, the home of the merfolk.”

Her heart tripped in her chest. These days, humans were not permitted in Morgance at all. Mina might have broken the rules and secretly shown her the village, but never Tristan. He said Phoebe couldn’t understand the importance of cooperation among his people. If he defied the elders, he could be cast out. She definitely didn’t understand. Sierra had defied their father and came out on top, but Tristan insisted the merfolk were different. Community was like the ocean itself for them, impossible to live without.