World of Aluvia 2 (11 page)

This was her chance to see the merfolk’s village, which was built along the line of the shallows and the twilight realm of the sea. Forget her exhaustion. Forget Sierra. For a moment, she even forgot about the water wraith.

Tristan’s eyes were so close, she could see herself reflected in them, wild red hair swaying all around her like chaotic seaweed, eyes wide and round.

“Let’s go, then,” she replied.

“The elders won’t like it. Are you prepared for that?”

She lifted her chin. “I’m ready for anything.”

“Let’s find Mina, first,” he said. “If anyone can talk their way out of trouble, it’s that girl.”

Phoebe laughed. He took her hand and led her into the dark waters.

With Tristan pulling her, they sped through the water faster than the quickest shark of the sea. The deeper they went, the more he glowed. If Phoebe was still breathing air, he would have taken her breath away. As even the moonlight faded around them, his skin let off an even brighter silver radiance that shimmered, illuminating the fish and sea plants as they passed.

“During the day, this area is full of sea creatures you’d recognize, but at night, completely different fish and animals swim from the depths to enjoy the feeding,” he explained.

Rainbow lights glittered on a rising squid and reflected against the coral.

“Those are night hunters,” he commented. “They eat fish and crabs. We’re not their prey, don’t worry. You’re fortunate to be here at night, to see the display. We often douse our own light when traveling, but this area is safe for us and quite beautiful. You will be able to see better if I show the way.”

Phoebe’s body relaxed as she let him pull her along. She was safe now. She was with Tristan.

They didn’t have to look long for Mina. She found them before they swam far. Merfolk slept only briefly, so they were often looking for ways to pass the time. Mina in particular was frequently out looking for fun and adventure.

“Tristan!” a sharp voice called, lined with both shock and mischievous pleasure. “What are you doing with Phoebe? You finally decided to take my advice?”

Mina spun into sight from behind a wide column of coral, her eyes flashing like a cat’s as they reflected Tristan’s light and her own. Her smile was wide and demanded a smile in return, as always, and she winked at them.

“It’s serious, Mina. She has a great deal to report to the elders.”

“Why can’t you tell whatever it is to the elders yourself?” Mina smirked at him. “You know you’re just glad to have a reason to finally show off our home to her.”

Tristan looked flustered, which made Phoebe hide a smile. He had wanted to bring her to his home? Warmth filled her, bubbling like fizzy apple cider.

“You know why I haven’t,” he muttered, neck and back stiff.

“Oh relax, Tristan! You’re going to get everyone’s tail in a twist, and I, frankly, cannot wait to see it!”

“Phoebe’s message is serious business,” he chided.

Mina whistled, a strange warbling under the water. “So you’re going to take a human to
all
the elders? In our home? Ha! The chance to see you finally stand up to those old barracudas makes all the tragedy almost worthwhile.”

He rolled his eyes. “We’ll see what happens. But I cannot allow things to go on as they have.”

Mina kissed his cheek. “It’s about time.”

ill you really show me your village?” she whispered to Tristan as Mina swam alongside them. It was one place in the sea he had never shared before.

He nodded and gulped at the same time. She almost regretted asking.

“I don’t want to cause any problems for you,” Phoebe said as they glided through the water.

Mina laughed and teased, “Too late for that, little
songbird
.” She emphasized the nickname.

“Mina!” Tristan groaned, but Mina was unrepentant.

Phoebe looked back and forth between them, pinned as she was between their bodies. The ocean floor flashed past at a dizzying speed. “Tristan?”

He growled in frustration but glanced at her before looking away. “What my sister means is whether or not our family approves of our friendship, it’s a choice we’ve already made, and we wouldn’t make a different one.”

“That bad, huh?” Phoebe said, unhappiness lodging in her belly.

Mina answered when Tristan did not. “Let’s just say that when Tristan helped rescue you, our mother and father were unhappy that he didn’t ask permission first.”

He glared at his sister, who glared right back.

Phoebe looked back and forth between them, eyebrows arched high. “That was four years ago. They’re still holding that against you?”

Tristan said, “It doesn’t matter―”

“It does,” Phoebe interrupted. “You never told me you got in trouble for helping me.”

Sighing he said, “Our people value cooperation above all things, you know this, along with respect for our elders and tradition.”

Phoebe nodded. “So?”

“So, by aiding in the conflict against Bentwood, I not only violated our peaceful way of living, I didn’t ask the elders before involving the merfolk.”

“But because of your actions, Bentwood was eventually destroyed. Don’t they appreciate that? Without you, they’d be in slavery still.”

The two merfolk were silent for a moment. Then Tristan said, “Not everyone sees things in this light.”

“Then they’re fools,” Phoebe snapped.

A horrible thought occurred to her. She whispered, “Did they hurt you?”

“They punished me―but not physically. They told me to stop seeing you. They told both of us to avoid you, four years ago. They couldn’t stop the little seawees from coming to your singing but said we were old enough to know better. Obviously, we ignored them, though it has been harder and harder to sneak away to visit.”

“Tristan! You’ve been sneaking? What about honoring your elders and all that?” She could hardly believe it. He was always so cautious about following the rules. She must mean
something
to him for him to risk such behavior!

He looked uncomfortable. She could tell this was more important than he was letting on. “They were being unreasonable, and our friendship hurts nothing. But when we told them of the skeleton, it came out that we’ve still been in contact with you. They were… displeased. And with humans breaking the treaty so often these days, it has only added water to the flood. They wanted to reduce your influence in my life from the very beginning.”

Horrified, she stared at him with her mouth open.

He closed it with a light finger under her jaw. “Obviously, they’ve failed.”

Bright pink stained her cheeks, she knew from the burn, that tattletale blush, the bane of redheads. She wanted to say something, but no words would come. Absolutely nothing. Great.

Mina nudged her shoulder. “We both chose you, Phoebe.
We’d
be the fools if we didn’t. You’re our best friend. Never forget it. No matter what they say when we get to the village.”

And with those words, Phoebe felt she could conquer anything. Her friends loved her. She mattered. They’d never leave her. And no one could take that away from them.

The waters were darker on the far edge of the shallows, but a glow along the ocean floor was clear on the horizon, growing larger and larger.
The village.
A sudden flurry of nerves shouldered aside her moment of exhilaration, and she gripped Tristan’s hand tighter as he pulled ahead of her. He smiled at her over his shoulder as they came around a bend, and waved his free hand at the cliff that dropped below them.

“Welcome to Morgance,” he said, with a wry twist of his lips. “It’s not what it used to be, but it’s home.”

She understood his tone as she gazed down at the village, which grew almost organically from the cliff’s wall, like wild mushrooms popping up among the forest floor. The village was smaller than she had imagined. Village seemed to be the wrong word, actually. It was more like a sketchy version of a tiny port city: crowded, basic, falling apart.

The trio swam lower along the cliff face, and Phoebe was surprised to see merfolk-sized holes in the rock, clearly dwelling places. They were like the many dwellings in taller buildings of the ports, but no building on land ever reached so high. Nets of lantern fish hung along the craggy wall, where the living, glowing fish provided a low illumination matched by the soft glow of the merfolk’s skin. A silver bubble of light condensed below where a large crowd of merfolk congregated.

Phoebe, Mina, and Tristan followed the cliff down toward the sea bottom. As they zoomed past the cave openings, Phoebe noticed many of the holes had swaying curtains of sea grasses covering the entryway like a door. Within the open caves, many of the merfolk were too young to have their tattoos yet. Some strummed musical instruments, creating a waving, sonorous melody rippling through the water. Others reclined on cushions eating and chatting with each other.

A crowd of merfolk gathered at the base of the cliff. The silver glow here pulsed with their agitation. White crabs scurried from their light, and flattened fish flopped and buried themselves in the sand. Screeches and wails clashed as the merfolk argued below. Bubbles flew past Phoebe’s face at the rapid pace of her friends’ swimming. The light from Tristan and Mina’s skin dimmed as they approached the brilliance of the gathered merfolk.

“Uh, Tristan? Mina?” she said, voice wavering, and not just from the water speeding by her lips.

“Shh!” Tristan said, pulling her behind him as he all but skidded to a stop behind the crowd. “Something’s happened. Something else,” he whispered to Mina.

The two exchanged a glance, and then Mina slipped from their side and slid into the crowd with the ease of an eel.

Phoebe was practically hidden behind Tristan’s broader frame. She peeked out around him. Most of the merfolk were facing away from them, toward a group in the middle of what had to be their elders. Long braids floated above the shoulders of the seven mermen and mermaids in the middle of the circle, each wearing a necklace of clam shells. All of the adult merfolk had black tattoos decorating their arms and shoulders. The mermen’s bare torsos were embellished as well.

Tattoos magically appeared on each merfolk after some mysterious ceremony ushering them into adulthood, a sacred ceremony her friends said they could not talk about. Naturally, it always drove Phoebe wild with curiosity.