World of Aluvia 2 (34 page)

Baleros’s eyes flared bright red for one second. “No,” he shrieked, and then a flash of blue shuttered the red from his eyes. Liam’s sweet expression looked out of the young face.

He blinked, baffled. “What happened?” he whispered.

And just like that, the link between them broke. The wraiths shrieked and sped from the blue light, slithering off into the darkness.

“Phoebe, what are you doing?” Tristan called. “You’ve got to stop!”

Mina was crying, “Your legs! Phoebe, your legs!”

More power left her.

Suddenly, the link to Mina was gone, too.

Phoebe felt her legs now, water swirling between separated limbs. Her eyes snapped open, but all she could see was her wild hair in tangled knots against the brightness of the bonfire of light. Her skin ached with the sudden coldness of the water, the crushing pressure of the depths. A blistering fire filled her lungs before Tristan caught her hand. His magic flowed through her, soothing, giving her breath.

“You’ll be okay, Phoebe. You can stop now. Stop. We’re all okay.”

At the sound of Tristan’s voice, the bond that linked him to her snapped. She couldn’t feel him inside her mind anymore. It was a dark and lonely moment. But she had the tired satisfaction of knowing that with as much power as she had given the merfolk, Baleros could never terrorize them again. Even if he found another host, they could resist him.

Through Tristan’s magic, she still breathed, though she wasn’t quite sure why she’d want to. She’d given up everything she loved. The merfolk had no reason to love her, a human, now that their magical link was destroyed.
By herself
, of all people. She shook her head. Sierra would laugh at the irony here, if she ever got over being furious. Phoebe was so tired, though. She needed to sleep. Sleep.

Someone was caressing her hair, holding her hand. A familiar voice said, “My silly little songbird! I told you I wanted to hear you sing again one day, but I didn’t mean for you to nearly kill yourself doing it!”

“Tristan?” His voice roused her from her exhausted stupor. She was just aware enough to be thankful someone had covered her with a sea frond blanket.

“Right here, Phoebe. I’m at your side. And that’s where I’ll stay.”

She opened her eyes and stared right into Tristan’s. They were black once again, as he supported her underwater with his magic. That meant her power was truly gone, and he was freed from her charms. But he said he was going to stay right here…

“You mean you still want me around? After everything?” she whispered. Hope sang its first soft notes, hesitant but beautiful.

He traced the tattoos that still lined her arms and shoulders and smiled at her. “I think you’ll always be a part of the merfolk in some way, Phoebe Quinn. Nothing will change that.” He blushed, his eyes drifting shyly back to hers. “And nothing could make me happier.”

Suddenly, she felt like she was glowing incandescent blue again, but this time from pure joy.

“Though I have a feeling that many things
are
about to change.” He let out a deep sigh of satisfaction. “I can feel the magic at work inside me, churning like a flood. I don’t know what will happen, but I know something is about to.”

She couldn’t wait to find out what.

“So, have you gotten used to standing on dry land yet? What’s it like?” Phoebe asked in hushed tones one month after her return home, astonished still at the sight of Tristan with long, muscular legs. The hollows under his eyes were gone, and his ribs no longer could be counted beneath his skin. The influx of magic had returned the merfolk to a full state of health.

His trousers clung to his wet skin, with the small bag for carrying his clam shucking tools at his waist. His chest remained bare. Habit, she supposed. He didn’t even wobble like she thought he would. The magic that had given him the ability to be a land walker appeared to take care of muscle memory, too.

“Like… magic,” he hesitantly replied. Beneath the wet ends of his trousers, his toes curled into the sand.

“I know what you mean.” She traced the new tattoos lining his arms and chest, images of songbirds in trees. His were the first tattoos to represent land among the merfolk, because, as he put it, the sea knew half of his heart dwelled among the humans, with his own little songbird. His eyes sparkled as he gazed at her. She leaned into his shoulder.

“What did Mina say about the birds?”

He laughed. “What do you think?”

“That it was about time?”

“You know my sister well.”

“Her sea flower tattoos are very beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you,” he murmured against her hair.

“Okay, break it up, you two,” a voice called out across the shore. They both turned to see Sierra picking her away across the slick rocks.

“I hate to interrupt, but I wanted to tell you, Tristan, that my friends and I would be honored if you’d travel with us to the next port. I’d like you to share with everyone there what has happened among your people, the way you built that shield to keep magic out of Baleros’s resting place, to prevent him from awakening. We could use your counsel as we discuss the new challenges we’re facing on land.” Her eyes moved to Phoebe. “Both of you, I mean.”

Pride swelled in Phoebe, but she smothered a grin.

Tristan replied, “Of course. We’re investing much time rebuilding below, but I’ll explain to our people the importance of assisting your mission. Everyone should support such a thing, and work with you on land if they are capable. I’ll need to inform my mother, in particular. She is quite happy in her chosen home in the old city now that we can live there again, but she’s still coming to terms with some of us becoming land walkers and some of us not.”

‘Coming to terms with’ was a generous way of putting it. Odessa was beyond incensed that her own fin refused to turn to legs. Phoebe was secretly relieved.

She noticed that Tristan intended to inform Odessa, not ask permission. Yes, Odessa was finding life after Baleros to be quite different indeed. Maybe she’d grow to like it one day. If she hadn’t wanted to bring about change, she shouldn’t have involved Phoebe.

“We’ll leave tomorrow if you can join us. Besides, it would be good for certain humans to be reminded that our treaty with the merfolk is alive and well. I think it will quickly curtail the problems you’ve been having with humans breaching the treaty, now that you can talk to the fishermen on their turf. Hard to ignore your existence when you can walk right up to them.” She laughed, delighted, and Tristan joined in.

Sierra continued. “Can you come right back tonight and let us know? This message is urgent. Your new magic might well impact us all.”

Tristan nodded. He might not ask permission from the elders, but Phoebe knew the answer would be yes if he did. The other merfolk finally understood it was his decision that had led to their freedom, from the very beginning. They looked to him as their leader now, him and Phoebe both. They would never forget that she had given up her power for their lives. Their trust in her was unshakeable now.

The two sisters sat on Phoebe’s favorite rock and watched while Tristan strode out into the water and transformed into the mer-form she knew so well. He’d settled on tucking his pants into a little bag attached to his work belt, his clever way to deal with the practicalities of all the transforming he planned on doing. He gave a quick flip of his tail and dove with a showy splash that made Phoebe laugh.

The girls sat and waited. Phoebe watched the surf, exhilaration tumbling through her. The sun sank closer to the water, and she shivered. Tristan could be speaking to the merfolk right at this very moment, asking them to join in the fight to protect magic on Aluvia—all of Aluvia, land and sea. It could change everything for them. Not everyone would be happy about more change, but for Phoebe, this was the best gift of the sea she could have imagined. It was more than she deserved. She sighed, and it was a happy sound.

“Are you ever going to tell me everything that happened down there?” Sierra broke the silence with an unexpected question.

“It doesn’t matter now.” Did it? Could Phoebe stand to relive it?

“Like it didn’t matter what Bentwood’s people did to you?”

Fear slithered out of that dark cave in her mind. This time, Phoebe stared right at it. She’d already fought the scariest thing she could imagine and beat it. She wouldn’t let her own memories continue to terrorize her when she had stopped the most powerful sea beast from doing it.

“Would you like to know about the time at Bentwood’s, then?” Phoebe asked.

“I would.”

So Phoebe told her sister everything. The sun dropped below the horizon, and still Phoebe talked. It wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. Sharing about that dark experience was like letting out a breath she’d been holding for far, far too long. The relief was sweet, like the cool of the ocean on a hot summer day.

After a long moment of silence, Sierra stroked Phoebe’s hair and said, “I wish you would’ve told me sooner. Maybe it would have helped. I hate that you ran away in part because I didn’t understand.”

Phoebe took a deep breath as memories flickered by, but they didn’t hurt her heart. Her fear was still there, but it no longer had teeth to bite with. “I couldn’t. That’s all. Just couldn’t. But I guess now I can. Thank you for listening.”

“Do you regret coming back?” Sierra’s voice was so soft it was nearly impossible to hear.

Phoebe squeezed Sierra’s hand and whispered, “Of course not. I love you. You are tied to the land, and I’m tied to the sea, but we’ll always be tied to each other.”

Sierra sniffed and cleared her throat. “Does the sea still call to you, then? Now that you’ve given everything up?”

Phoebe tilted her head. “It doesn’t compel me, but my love for the sea is still there.”

“Just for the sea?” Sierra teased.

Phoebe flushed as Tristan broke the surface of the water. The birds tattooed on his body seemed to fly as his arms swung by his sides. She would never get tired of seeing him walk out of the water, walking to her.

“Maybe more than just the water.”

The sisters laughed. Phoebe leaned her head on her sister’s shoulder. All that remained of the day was a pink glow where the ocean kissed the sky. A few gulls still wheeled around and around, giving their melancholy cries. The waves whispered their melodies. Tristan smiled at her as he drew nearer. It was a perfect moment.

Phoebe let out her breath. For the first time in four years, she could smile at the future.

Sierra had her magic and her fairies. That was okay.

Phoebe might not have magic anymore, but she had something much more important.

Love was its own magic.

Writing a second book has been even more fun and amazing than the first! More wonderful people have jumped into my life to help make
Mer-Charmer
the best it can be. I’m forever grateful.

Before anyone at Curiosity Quills even saw
Mer-Charmer,
a number of people left their lovely fingerprints on it. My critique partner, author Carol Pavliska, read many versions and kept me going. Faithful beta-reader Lara Barrett gave encouraging feedback on early drafts as well as later ones. Jeannine Johnson Maia has been a wonderful gift this year, giving critically helpful notes. Jeannine’s SCBWI critique group also helped with the opening chapter (thank you Gary and Monica!) Christina Nelson helped me survive my first radio interview for
Fairy Keeper
and gave feedback on the opening chapters of Phoebe’s story, the hardest part of it all. School librarian Stacy Webb shared her valuable opinions about the characters. And editor Sarah Cloots helped me get the first chapters polished.