World of Aluvia 2 (31 page)

Odessa’s lips thinned, and she wrapped Mina up in a sea frond blanket, ignoring Mina’s struggles to get away.

“But, Mother, Liam needs us. He’s in the temple. That hideous temple with its bloodstained altar! He’s going to die. We have to go to him!”

Odessa didn’t blink. “We’ll come back soon, after we regroup. We can’t risk any more lives.”

She whisked Mina away, calling the others. The remaining crowd of merfolk followed, and Phoebe was too stunned to even consider using her powers to make them stay and fight.

Tristan remained beside Phoebe. Odessa’s attention was so focused on her daughter that the venerable mermaid didn’t notice her son had not immediately obeyed. The group of merfolk swam with such speed that they would be too far away to reach within moments.

“Should I make them stop? Or try to?” Phoebe spun around, unsure what to do. She tried to imagine controlling that many merfolk, but couldn’t fathom it. Impossible.

His eyes were dark when they met hers. “They’d never forgive you overriding their free will.”

“I don’t care!”

“But I do. It matters a great deal to me that you’re accepted by my people after this is done, Phoebe.”

The sweetness of his words took her breath away, but she realized in a moment of clarity that if she loved him, she needed to let him go. Even if he would accept her as she was, being involved with a mer-charmer wasn’t safe for him, not with power she might unconsciously use on him.

He’d never abandon her, not now that he’d confessed his affection, but she loved him too much to accept anything but his total freedom. He didn’t know what he felt for her, not really. How could he, with a mer-charmer like her around? He needed freedom to make his own choices. To decide what he really wanted. And his heart wanted to help his people stand strong. She’d seen it time and time again.

Thinking only of his happiness, she restrained her power as closely as she could, careful not to leak a drop of suggestion, and said, “Go convince them to stay! I know you want to! Tell your mother that you won’t stand by her decision!”

How could anyone leave a child behind? What kind of leaders were these elders? They needed lessons on how to lead.

He bit his lip, glancing over his shoulder at the departing elders. She winced at the indecision and worry on Tristan’s face. He wouldn’t just be defying his elders but his own mother, his own family. Beyond unthinkable for a merfolk.

He squared his shoulders.

“I’ll be right back! Don’t do anything!” he said, tracing one hand along her cheek.

A blush stole across her face as she watched him speed away, strong tail fin almost a blur. That was the Tristan who led her to safety. That was the Tristan who could lead his people to a truly safe and peaceful life one day, though it might mean changing the rules they lived by.

The others were moving so quickly they had faded into the murky waters. If anyone could catch up and talk sense into them, it was Tristan.

In the heavy silence, the presence of the merfolk in her mind grew fainter. Except for one, invisible below, which flickered like a candle about to go out. If Liam was indeed down there, he might not have enough time for her to wait for Tristan to return. Dread swamped her. If she was going to judge Odessa for leaving the little child behind, how could Phoebe pretend she didn’t know the child was dying now?

Simple. She couldn’t.

Phoebe chewed her bottom lip, looking back at the entrance to the fissure. The seawee’s fear bit at her, goading her into action. She had to save Liam. She just hoped her power was enough.

Extending her senses as far as they could reach, she carefully maneuvered her way back to the entrance of the fissure. At least Tristan would not be in any danger.

The swishing of the sea currents was the only sound other than the very faint call of a whale many furlongs away. Where were the wraiths? She was tempted to mentally look for their location. But no, extending her senses would draw their attention to her.

As Phoebe stared down into the dark hole of the canyon, the blackness wavered, bringing to mind another darkness, one she tried hard to forget: the darkness of a jail cell, with the acrid stink of sweat, urine, and blood.

She shook her head. The terror of being locked up by Bentwood couldn’t touch the loathing she felt now at the possibility that her hesitation could cost a seawee his life.

She squinted, trying to discern any shapes in the shadowy depths. The temple was there, the wraiths were gone, and she had to swim down. But her fin did not move.

“Liam?” she called out. Her voice quavered, and she tried again. “Liam, are you down there?”
Please don’t be down there. Please don’t be down there.

A high, piteous scream shattered the silence: the shriek of a terrified child. The magic in her vibrated in response.

Phoebe swallowed her fear and dove. She had to get to him. Liam was a seawee, and he needed her. With her light doused for safety, the darkness closed around her like a fist. She swam past where she had reached before, her terror a cold ache in the pit of her stomach.

Things brushed against her arms, unseen things that left rasping scratches behind on her skin. Fish shone like translucent ghosts, their beating hearts and stomachs like ink spots inside their clear skin. Almost all of them had sharp teeth. She held her arms closely to her side, hoping they wouldn’t attack.

A ripple of pain scored her back. She bit back a cry and flailed away. Dangling ribbons of a pale pink jellyfish floated beside her, ready to tangle prey in lengths even longer than her body. She took several calming breaths and proceeded even more cautiously than before. The water was hotter here, even against her mermaid flesh, and she remembered the boiling water vents Tristan had mentioned.

Finally, the roof of the temple loomed before her, cracked clamshell tiles coated with dark red plants and moss. Unlike the temple in the ancient city, this one was closed all around except for a single entrance. Phoebe floated, paralyzed with fear as she stared at the opening.
Go in. Go in. Just do it.
But she couldn’t.

Then a shock zinged through her like a lightning bolt. She arched her back, biting back a cry. The child she had sensed was gone. It was like a candle blown out in her mind, leaving just a smoking wick. Was she too late? Grief pulled her apart, ripping through her gut, stealing her breath. She’d been too afraid. She’d caused the death of an innocent child because of her brokenness. Phoebe’s mermaid body didn’t know how to handle the overload of pain that burned inside her, unable to be released. The merfolk were not built for such tragedy.

Trembling in the dark, Phoebe knew she had to check to see what happened to the little seawee. If nothing else, she would take his body home. It was the least she could do.

She’d never dreaded anything so much in her life, but she swam forward, trembling fingers reaching out toward the open stone door of the temple. She couldn’t enter such darkness, not here. She needed light.

Then a hiss slid through the water.

Phoebe spun around, and two water wraiths converged on her at once. She screamed as they grabbed her arms. Their hands were like ice as they pulled her into the gloom of the temple. Thrashing, she kicked with her fin as hard as she could, trying to escape.

Blue light flashed, but it now slid along them and disappeared without a trace, as if they were funneling her energy through themselves into something else. One even smiled at her, a long slow smile that promised a great deal of pain. They dragged her deeper.

“Stop!” Phoebe glowed brilliantly, but the wraiths continued forward. Her biceps felt like they would snap in half from the pressure of their grip. Her blue light dimmed and went out completely.

The water wraiths growled, their glowing red eyes turning the walls the color of blood.

“I command you to let me go!” Phoebe said, shaking. She tried to summon her blue light again, but her emotions were out of control, and with them, so, too, was her magic.

A low booming laugh filled the temple.

o, little girl, you think you can command my servants to do anything? Not now, with my consciousness awakened.” The voice was gravelly, the grind of a dungeon door swinging closed.

The hairs on Phoebe’s neck rose. “Who are you?”

More red light flared. With her new vision, Phoebe could easily make out the laughing figure. It took a long moment for her brain to make sense of what she saw.

A young seawee glided toward her with a smirk on his face.

“Liam?” Phoebe shook her head and blinked her eyes hard, but her vision didn’t change. It was the boy who had told the elders about the water wraiths, the boy who had been full of terror and utter belief that evil had returned. He wasn’t dead after all. But she had sensed him disappear. Liam’s presence remained shadowed even now, like a banked fire. Yet there he was, grinning at her.

Grinning?
“Liam, what are you doing here?”

“Liam? What are you doing here?” mocked the seawee in a hideous parody. The deep voice didn’t belong there. This voice was ancient, laced with hatred. He eyed her with derision, lips quirked in a cruel smile.

“I see you aren’t wearing my necklace anymore. Did those mean merfolk take it away from you? Too bad for them it was too late. Good for me, though. Yes, definitely good for me.”

“And, uh, why is that good?” Phoebe asked, desperately trying to grasp what was happening.

“I need a rich meal to embody my true form again. You are by far the most powerful creature in the sea. Aside, that is, from me.” Liam tapped his chest with his finger and giggled.

The little child’s sound was like an off-key note. The evil eyes, the red glow, the menacing words… all delivered from a sweet child’s body.

Phoebe shuddered. “And what did you do with Liam?”

Again, the booming laugh. “Very good, little mermaid. For mermaid you are, indeed. Oh, Liam’s in here, too, crying in the back of my mind. Because it’s mine now. He’s a whiner, just like his feeble drunk of a father. Like father, like son. That was his father’s mer-tear I gifted you with, you know. He gave it up in an attempt to bargain with me, to spare his life when my wraiths came for him. Didn’t want to die, though of course, he did when we squeezed every last drop of magic out of him. But even his tear didn’t have enough power for what I needed.”

At a nod from the boy, the wraiths released her. Phoebe eased backward, trying to make space between them without being too obvious. “So that’s why the wraith tried to take my magic?”

“Tried and failed, unfortunately.”

“Why not take my energy yourself if you’re so powerful?”

“I’ve been trapped in a dream for quite some time, leaving me weak. Fortunately, my consciousness escaped it. Freeing my mind from my dream prison required several sacrifices.”

“Like Liam’s father? And the merman I found on the coast?”

“My water wraith servants killed them and sent their magic to me, yes. We are deeply connected, my servants and I. Yet I could barely whisper in my servants’ minds to wake them enough to seek sustenance for me.” He scowled.

Phoebe gulped. Maybe if she kept the monster talking―for monster he assuredly was, no matter what body he wore―she could figure out an escape plan. “So, what did you do once you had… replenished your energy enough?”