World of Aluvia 2 (15 page)

Then the elders subsided into silence and waited, drawing her attention back to the moment. The light was cool in color but warm to the touch. It danced along Phoebe’s skin like a balmy breeze. The words came easily to her as she basked in the unexpected warmth.

“I was hiding from my sister’s enemies, the men who used to enslave you. I swam into the ocean to escape them, but they kept waiting for me. I knew they wouldn’t leave. Then they entered the water. I dove deep, hoping Tristan and Mina would find me.” Her voice was monotone, as if she were under the influence of the elusive truth-telling elixir her father had always hoped, but failed, to create. She didn’t mind the sensation, though. It took less effort this way.

The elders watched her with impassive expressions on their faces. She found she couldn’t turn to look for Tristan or Mina. Phoebe continued, “I was running out of air and began kicking to the surface, but as I did so, something grabbed my ankle. Hard.”

Her breath caught at the memory. No, she couldn’t panic. She wanted to tell this clearly. Needed to. The light pulsed through her, calming her, and she rushed to continue. “It was a big creature, twice as big as any of us. It had a long pointed tail, but it wasn’t like you at all. The tail was more snake-like, black and smooth, ending in a single point like an eel instead of a fin. Its top half looked human, except…”

She couldn’t think how to capture the cruel savagery of that face. She paused, struggling to find the right description, and the pressure increased. It slipped right inside her skin and pushed the words out.

“Its face was pale and beautiful, like marble. But its mouth was full of wicked teeth, and its eyes were shining red. It pulled me down, and I nearly drowned. I saw a vision―” Here, Phoebe paused in surprise because she had never really thought of what she saw as a vision. More of a hallucination. But the magic chose her words, so it must be the truth. Her words began again, without her own volition. “While the wraith gripped my leg, I saw a vision of a dark shadow stirring, of immeasurable evil, and I knew, I just knew, the shadow was a dangerous force waking. Then a blue light flashed, and the creature must have let go. The next thing I remember is Tristan telling me to breathe.”

The elders whispered to each other. Tristan quickly translated the chaotic jumble of voices.

“It must be,” said one.

“Like the sea dragons, the water wraiths are returning from the deep… and that shadow, could it be the beast?”

Elder Seamus spoke in trade speech, impatiently bringing their heated comments to a sudden stop. “Nonsense. She is tricking our minds with magic. Can’t you feel it? She’s a liar, like all humans.”

Elder Maher swam close to Phoebe, so close she could count the number of clamshells on his necklace. He had many, a sign of long years serving as elder. His eyes were still black from the invocation of the magic. She saw herself reflected in them, tiny and alone inside the column of light.

“But the light―” he began to argue, as if on her side, before he was cut off by Elder Seamus.

“The light is the wrong color. It’s been manipulated by her and is obviously not forcing her to tell the truth.”

“Maybe the light is silver because she’s a human,” another elder murmured, but the angry merman sliced his hand downward like an ax.

Tristan stirred beside Phoebe but remained silent, though his hands were in fists.

“No! Can’t you see? She is trying to deceive us all. The temple light has never shone silver, not once in the years since our historians began keeping track. So, even the temple’s light cannot force her to answer honestly, because she is using her own magic. I can feel it,” he snarled. “Phoebe Quinn, what magic are you using against us?”

Phoebe stared at him, mouth open. Was he crazy?

“Tell us. Clearly, you have some sort of magic that calls to us. I can feel your presence even now, suggesting that I trust you, like you, befriend you.
Charming
me. What is this? I trust no human, but I sense an urge to accept you even now, to be your friend! What evil is this?” His teeth snapped together.

Tristan stiffened, the last remains of color draining from his face. Bubbles furiously burst from his gills as he exhaled a great gust of breath, looking between the angry merman and Phoebe.

Phoebe shrank away from the elder. The warmth of the light couldn’t protect her from this hatred. Tristan swam up to her and tried to block her from the merman’s angry gaze, but she refused to hide anymore. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Mina tried to join them, but was held back by a mermaid with striking white braids.

“I’m not doing anything!” Phoebe protested. “Yes, my sister’s betrothed, a faun, did tell me I had some new kind of magic that smelled of the sea. He said it reminded him of my sister’s powers in a way. Maybe you sense that, though I didn’t believe him fully myself.”

“Your sister, the fairy keeper?” asked Elder Maher.

Phoebe nodded. “The fairies are drawn to her, but she has a keeper mark. I don’t. I’ve always just been plain Phoebe.”

The black and silver-haired mermaid kept her distance, but said, “Trust us, young Phoebe. There’s nothing plain about you. You may not be doing anything on purpose, but you are doing something, something we do not understand. That makes you a risk. If Elder Seamus is correct, you could enslave us with this magic, as I, too, am drawn to you in a way I have never felt drawn to a human before. If you attract even the most powerful of us, what would you do to our young ones? Now that I’ve met you, I can see why they were always abandoning their obligations to hear you sing. I’m sorry, but you must leave immediately. Do not return to our waters unless we send for you. We will discuss your story; however, we must admit that Elder Seamus could have a point. We have no way of trusting you, not as a human, not with the irregularity in the temple’s light.”

“You can’t―” exploded Tristan, but the mermaid cut him off with a pointed look. She raised her hand in a sign that clearly meant for him to wait. Not a word was shared between them, but their unspoken argument filled the silence.

Never return to the quiet, serene beauty of the ocean?
The thought was a kick to Phoebe’s stomach, all the more painful for coming without preparation.

She’d only just returned to the sea. And now she’d have to leave it forever. She pressed a hand to her aching heart. “Why? But that creature! The shadow! I could help you―”

“Even if the wraith is real―and maybe it is―a mere human will be no help against a water wraith or anything else, I am afraid. You would only get in the way,” murmured Elder Maher.

Elder Seamus added with a sneer, “But you are not telling the truth. Humans only take and take. You perhaps have even charmed the mind of poor Liam, making him believe he witnessed a wraith. The skeleton you found means nothing. Anything could have killed our brethren. And unless my eyes are very much mistaken, you have a mer-tear, which is forbidden to give to a human. Who did you steal it from? What is your purpose? Need we any more evidence that you come only to rob from us?”

“I didn’t steal it!” she shouted. The elders gasped at her temerity. She was past caring and had nothing left to lose anyway.

That merman might hate her, but she’d done nothing to deserve this kind of suspicion. She jerked her chin high and wrapped her hand around the pearl.

“Then who gave it to you?”

There was no answer for that. They wouldn’t like that Tristan had left presents for her, but she truly didn’t know where the pearl had come from.

And she couldn’t convince someone full of anger. She knew that from watching her sister speak to others about saving the fairies.

“Someone left the pearl for me. I didn’t ask for it. I thought it was a sign that I should come to you.”

“It wasn’t. That necklace was a mistake on someone’s part, but we will deal with that individual later. Once you return to land, the pearl will be empty of its magic. Tristan will send you home but will not accompany you. Never return, young human. We are finally free of slavery from humans, despite their attempts to overtake us once again. We won’t fall for another kind of servitude, especially some kind of emotional trickery.”

Phoebe was speechless. No matter what Micah or Sierra said, Phoebe knew she didn’t have the kind of power that this merman thought. Well, she couldn’t know what they were truly thinking, but they were dead wrong about what they were accusing. Unfortunately, they also weren’t listening to her.

The angry elder continued, “And neither of these two young merfolk will come to you ever again. You’ve clearly already wrapped them around your finger. You are too dangerous.”

Sobs pushed at Phoebe’s throat.
No
. Surely the elder was exaggerating. She turned to find Tristan’s face stricken with horror. Mina looked stunned.

How could she be dangerous to her friends? Was she somehow magically forcing them to care for her? Phoebe groaned, covering her eyes with her hands. The water went dark as the elders swam away. She floated above the rock, her feet barely grazing its surface, unable to move. But not from magic.

From grief.

ristan tugged Phoebe’s hand and whispered, “Come, we must go.”

He darted into the waters. The gorgeous surroundings could not distract her this time. She supposed she should drink them in, as this might be her last time to ever see the underwater world, but she was too miserable. Mina swam beside them. No one spoke as the city dwindled behind them.

“I can’t stand it,” Mina burst out. She grabbed Phoebe in a tight embrace.

“You’re like the sister I never had,” the mermaid whispered.

Tears finally stung Phoebe’s eyes then mingled with the seawater. Tristan kept swimming for a moment before he noticed the two girls had stopped. He turned and sped toward them.

“I’ll miss you,” Phoebe told her, pulling back far enough to look into Mina’s dark eyes. “Take care of yourself, okay? And… take care of your brother for me.”

Mina’s face crumpled.

“He’s never going to get over this,” she whispered in Phoebe’s ear, making her flush.

She didn’t know what to say, so she was relieved when Tristan reached them. “Mina, she’s got to leave. You need to let go of her.”

“You’re going to let her go to shore by herself, then? Knowing that a wraith is in the water somewhere? Or something worse?”

“You think so little of me, sister?”

Mina’s smile curved into a smirk. “Quite the opposite, brother of mine. But the elders will be looking for us to make sure we’ve obeyed.”

“And I’m sure you can assure them that we have and that I’m off sulking somewhere.”

Mina’s laugh chimed for a moment before her face grew somber again. “You impress me, twin. There’s hope for you yet, no matter what the elders do. I’ll cover for you. Look out for Phoebe. The ocean’s a dangerous place for a human.”

“It’s dangerous for anyone, it looks like,” Phoebe pointed out. “So just watch yourself, okay?”

The mermaid gave Phoebe one final hug and darted off toward the village without looking back. Phoebe raised one hand in goodbye anyway.

“Come,” Tristan muttered. “It’s time.”

They swam a few furlongs before Phoebe’s frustration ate too far into her patience. She burst out, “Tristan, you’ve got to believe I’m telling the truth. What I saw is real. You can’t ignore the danger, can you?”