World of Aluvia 2 (20 page)

She patted his cheek, chuckling a bit at the frown he sent her way before continuing. Impatient and impulsive really weren’t words Phoebe would use to describe Tristan, but they suited Mina just fine. Phoebe cut her eyes over to her friend, who rolled her eyes in return. Phoebe steadied herself with her friend’s so very normal reaction. Maybe Odessa and the elders were overstating the situation. Maybe her relationship with Tristan wasn’t truly influenced by this magic, despite what the elders believed.

Their mother continued, “But now? In the form of a mermaid? You’re even more powerful.”

Phoebe’s heart fell right through the sandy floor at the words.
More
powerful?

“A mer-charmer like you has never even been imagined. Elder Seamus was right that you were using magic, but I believe it’s not on purpose. You can’t help yourself. Yes, indeed, a mer-charmer would be hard to resist, even without the pretty red hair and big brown eyes. And now a tail fin, too.” Her fierce smile brought to mind a cracking whip.

Phoebe actually flinched. No magical power seemed to connect Phoebe to this stern mermaid; that was for sure.

A mer-charmer?
She rolled the word around in her mind. Her sister’s calling as fairy keeper meant she served her fairies, helped them. Couldn’t a mer-charmer maybe be someone good, too? A caretaker? A protector? All she ever wanted was to help! “Milady, please believe me, I didn’t realize I was… am… doing anything. I don’t know what I did with the blue light, why I changed like this, how I healed Tristan, and I don’t know why I have some sort of… appeal… to some of your people.”

So awkward. She couldn’t even meet Tristan’s eyes. Mina snickered. Phoebe loved her forever for that breath of lightheartedness. A solid thunk came from the foot of the reclining couch as Tristan thumped his sister with his tail. Phoebe didn’t even look up. Best to just stare at her hands. A hot blush burned her cheeks.

Odessa toyed with her clamshell necklace. “You do seem to appeal to some of my favorite people the most. Perhaps the bond builds stronger with more time spent together.”

Phoebe glanced up in time to see Odessa turn her powerful gaze to Tristan, who flushed a brilliant red and almost choked on an oyster. The mermaid elder resumed her intense focus on Phoebe.

“I don’t like you, Phoebe. I still believe that you are a threat to our free wills, but you could unlock the secrets our people need to recover to keep our peaceful claim to this part of the ocean. As a historian, I am well aware that history tends to repeat itself, and unfortunately, our history is full of tragedy. That tragedy has continued already. The seawee Liam is missing. I believe he has been taken by the creatures you saw. “

Mina gave a cry of dismay, and Tristan bit off a curse as his mother pinned him with a stern glare. He quieted, though his frown remained.

She continued, “The danger has grown past an acceptable level, far past it, but I have no wish to move. My studies show me it’s a fruitless search―predators are everywhere. Baleros, if he successfully returns in full, will seek us out anywhere we go, as the ocean is all connected. He won’t fade again if he can help it. I have studied the ancient shell carvings up through the golden era. Baleros nearly destroyed us when we had full use of our magic. We need to learn to use magic again, as you can, or we will surely perish. So we’ll cooperate, Phoebe Quinn. I’ll make sure all the Elders will, even if they must be dragged into the new era flailing their fins.”

“What makes you think I can help?” Phoebe asked.

“Though I dwell beneath, I am not without information. Magical creatures on land have been swimming in a surplus of their earth magic since the fairies returned. They have grown strong, while we are still weak. Why has
our
magic not returned? How can we reach it once again? I believe you are the answer. You somehow have accessed the magic that has grown strong in the ocean over the years. We will learn from you.”

“But I don’t even know how to use this body properly.”

Odessa’s eyes slid to Tristan, and she tsked. “You’d better tell her everything else she needs to know, son. Our home depends on it. This isn’t the time for being shy. Teach her how to be a mermaid.”

“You know more than I―” he began.

“You know more than enough. While I feel her draw, I do not share the same bond with her you do. You are the best choice for this job. If you teach her to use the little powers we still have, perhaps the rest will come naturally to her. And then we will study alongside her and try to duplicate it. Surely if a mermaid who is really a human can do such miraculous things, we as true merfolk can all learn to do so. The magic is there. We just have to reach it. But Tristan, best be on your guard. Who knows how strong her charms may grow?”

With those words, her smile disappeared, and the bit of sparkle in her eyes shuttered closed. She turned to leave.

“Come, daughter. The fewer of us around her, the better. Let these two get to work.” She beckoned Mina, who scowled.

Mina stuck her tongue out at her mother’s back but blew a kiss to her brother and best friend.

“You have to tell me all about it later, you hear me? Make him work hard, Phoebe! I expect you to be able to keep up with us from now on!”

Phoebe said, “I’ll do my best.”

Tristan just waved in a shooing motion.

Watching the brother and sister dynamics made Phoebe miss Sierra more than ever. “Wait, milady―my sister! Does she know what’s happened to me?”

Odessa paused on her way out of the cave. “We have sent word to your sister that you are with us and safe for the moment. But be aware: this is not her fight. She will not be permitted below the waves. She would be a distraction to you. She has nothing to offer us. But you, Phoebe Quinn? You do.”

Odessa’s green eyes turned black for a moment and spiraled into an eternity as their gazes held. Phoebe’s breath sped up in fear. Then Odessa blinked and spun away, calling over her shoulder, “Gird thyself, Phoebe. The sea is generous, but she always demands payment for her gifts.”

A pang of anxiety speared through Phoebe. Nell said the ocean would claim Phoebe if she accepted its gifts. Nell was never wrong when the voice came upon her.

Phoebe’s hand drifted to the pearl. The sea itself couldn’t give a gift. What gift had she accepted? And from whom?

ust Tristan and Phoebe remained in the cave, but the presence of Odessa was so strong it almost felt like she was still there. Phoebe wondered what Sierra or Nell would think of the elder mermaid.

Tristan met Phoebe’s eyes. “Well, now you’ve met my mother. Maybe you can understand why I never introduced you before. Or mentioned her.”

All at once, laughter burst from Phoebe. It reminded her of the night Sierra left for her long journey to find her fairy, how they both guffawed and snorted and giggled at the most inappropriate time. Sometimes, laughter was necessary in order not to cry.

“Okay. Now really, how can I help?”

“I knew you’d want to.” He sighed. “Well, my mother knows a great deal about how magic was used by our forefathers. I’m expected to take over as historian one day, so I’ve studied alongside her. Your magic has many similarities to theirs. Her thought is that you could learn to duplicate all their skills. You’ve called me to you before, and we can assume you did so using your magic unintentionally. My mother thinks you could learn to sense the location of particular merfolk and even call them to you on purpose. And you’ve got to learn to control what you’ve done twice before with the light.”

He ran his hand through his unruly green locks, woven through with braids. The gesture was full of frustration, but his voice was flat when he said, “You’ve only done it in moments of danger or panic. Maybe we can try to make it happen consciously. But first things first.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ve got to learn to use your fin, Phoebe.”

He couldn’t suppress a grin.

Before she could decide if she should laugh with him or feel offended, his expression changed from amused to awestruck. “You are the first human to ever become a mermaid, something we thought was impossible. Even if the pearl is causing it, you need to learn to use your body properly.”

They both looked at the pearl for moment. It still glowed softly.

He continued, “It’s natural that it’ll feel awkward at first. But it’s possible your legs will return if you go on land or remove the pearl. Mother is searching the oldest magic texts for solutions, but first she wants you to help us master this magic you have before she helps you regain your legs.”

Phoebe narrowed her eyes. Who was being kept in servitude now? She was a hostage to the merfolk as surely as she had been to Bentwood. “She could help me but isn’t?”

“She’s searching for an answer she’s confident she can find. She doesn’t have it yet,” he corrected.

“How is that different?”

“Mother is ruthless. Trust me, she won’t change, but she is sincere about finding you an answer. So, let’s get started. The sooner we get this part done, the sooner you can get your legs back.”

She squelched a twist of disappointment at the thought of being human again and focused instead on Odessa’s command. Anger at Odessa’s presumption mixed with relief. As annoying as she was, Phoebe trusted that if anyone could help, Odessa could. Of course, she just wanted to get Phoebe out of her realm. Unlike Bentwood, the merfolk elder wasn’t interested in keeping her.

“Okay, fine. I help her. She helps me. That sounds fair enough.”

“It’s not.” He hung his head. “I’m quite shamed. You have already risked your life for us. You saved me from dying! I think she ought to help you return to your human form right away.”

She touched the pearl. A new warmth radiated from it now. “Well, at least I will have had this time with you here, even if it turns out I do revert to a human after I take off the necklace.”

“I hope you do.”

She flinched. He might as well have slapped her.

Tristan leaned forward, eyes wide, hands spread, voice cracking. “Don’t you see, Phoebe? They’re hunting us. If the wraiths took Liam, they could take
you
next.”

“I want to be here, though.” The words cost her to admit.

“Whatever your power is, little songbird, it’s obviously grown exponentially to affect the elders, though I must confess
I
don’t feel a difference. You have always drawn me this strongly.”

She gulped, her heart kicking up to a speeding rhythm. Tristan wasn’t finished, though.

“But what if your power calls the water wraiths to you? That’s probably why one of them grabbed you in the first place. Or worse, Baleros? If he is seeking magic to return to his former glory, he will no doubt seek you out.”

Phoebe shivered. Sierra would know what to do, but she wasn’t here. Phoebe was. She’d have to be enough. “Hopefully not. But wait, what about the other elders? Surely they have a plan to rescue Liam and save the merfolk?”

Tristan cursed and threw up his hands in frustration. “They talk. And they talk. And they talk! By the time they decide what to do, we’ll all be dead! It’s always so with my people. If I had asked permission to help you and your sister, you’d still be trapped at Bentwood’s!”