Tenebrasco: The Pearl Wielder Trilogy

by Hannah Reed

  Another hour passed and then another and she continued to feign sleep. Lying in the hospital bed she could pretend that everything was okay. She didn’t want to get up and face reality. Right here and right now nothing was wrong. Pressing the button beside her bed she waited for the blissful numbness of her sedatives to run through her veins and send her back to sleep. But, when another morning came the numbness began to fade and what was left was pure anger. Whoever had done this to her family was going to pay. She raised herself up and flicked the covers off with her tail. Without a backward glance at her hospital bed, she swam out of the room and headed for the Intelligence Department at the centre of Yelta. There were some perks to being in charge she thought as she swam past the nurses and guards with no questions asked.

  Kayla made her way to the ID. She floated in place while the guard scanned her tail fin. The guard’s mouth opened as if to question her but Kayla silenced him with a scowl. Swimming past Iris pads of all shapes and sizes that displayed endless charts and graphs and reams of text, she made her way to the centre of the room. She silently drifted round to the energy map. It charted mer power usage and helped to keep track of potential new pearl sources. But, it also read large energy readings from pearl wielders. April’s lack of emotional control over her powers caused many false alarms. April’s level of control had never been great. She expended vast amounts of power performing some of the simplest of pearl commands. The intensity of her power the other day must have been off the chart. Kayla shook her head and rubbed her eyebrows, she didn’t want to think about her sister.

  She approached the Iris Map and started flicking through the accompanying chart until she found this week’s energy listings. She tried to tap through the water screen to make it appear in descending order. Scanning in frustration for the right button she drummed her fingers. Yes, there we go Kayla thought leaning forward. An energy reading of 87% was at the top. The next highest reading came in at 30%. What had happened to April to cause her to unleash so much energy, Kayla thought. Questions and suspicions pulsed through Kayla as she swallowed back the sob that had formed in her throat. Double tapping on the energy reading to pull up the statistics, she streamed the information onto her Yelta Iris.

  The corresponding map zoomed into the location of the power surge. The island was not far from the Peace Treaty peninsula. A message popped up on her Yelta Iris informing her that the Junior War Council was assembled and awaiting her orders. As the data finished downloading she swam from the room, making a mental note to berate the ID later for not paying more attention to what critical information mer were accessing.

  ~

  Sitting at the head of the strategic table in the cave, Kayla realised that for the first time in this room she wasn’t nervous. For once she felt in complete control. She was the best mera to lead this fight. Kayla was going to fight this war to reinstate peace for her Dad and avenge her Mum and April. She flicked the downloaded images from her Yelta Iris into the water so everyone could see. She floated down into her chair and waited for the tips of her golden hair to float down onto her shoulders. Everything in order, she began her meeting.

  “Do we have any details about who owns this Island?” Kayla asked and silenced the table. This team were far less informed than the leaders of the War Council but their methods and ideologies were more aligned with Kayla’s.

  “Not yet Your Highness. How would you like us to proceed?”

  “I ..”

  A junior member of the team interrupted her, “Sorry, Your Highness. I think I have found something.” He looked apologetically up at her before continuing to speak. Kayla nodded at him. Never had she felt so powerful. Not even when she took on the master meritian warriors.

  “I was running the location coordinates through all the departments across government to see if they had any information. And, the environmental department does.” As he spoke he flicked a revolving picture of the island from his Iris pad into the water.

  “See these purple lines surrounding the island? This represents a toxic gulf of water. From here to inland the water is poisonous to mer. According to these figures they have been poisonous since one month before the Peace Conference. And it doesn’t stop there.” He zoomed out on the map. Kayla shared a look with Demetrius. The poisoned waters were all around American government-owned land. Kayla zoned back to what the junior member was saying.

  “You see, several of these islands and coastlines they have the same purple lines. They thought it was some mutant coral. But...”

  “But, it could be a weapon. A weapon against us,” Naomi one of the strategic experts interjected.

  “All of these areas should be investigated. If April is held in one of them all these areas could be headquarters or prisons,” the junior said.

  Kayla nodded impressed. These juniors had jumped to the heart of the problem in a matter of minutes.

  “The poisoned waters surround areas controlled by the US military and government,” she said slowly. “The leaders of the War Council are monitoring them. However, I would like you to investigate this Island please,” she paused for a moment smoothing her hair behind her ear.

  “We will launch a scout group on Island X to find out whether there are any prisoners there, or if April washed up there or ….” Kayla paused unsure of what she was saying. She took a deep breath. “In the meantime can you, Naomi, look into what inhabits this Island? Give us as much information before we reach Island X. And…”

  “Jared,” the junior member supplied as Kayla paused.

  “Jared, can you contact the development team. I want them to know that they have Yelta’s support. We need them to analyse the poison, find its source and create a neutraliser so we can safely reach the islands.”

  Jared nodded as he typed quickly on his Yelta Iris, his fingers flying over the screen.

  “Let’s start planning then,” she said with a tight smile.

  At Kayla’s words the table burst into action. Logistics planning commenced immediately. Her grief had intensified her interest in authority. It was a lot easier to work with the Junior War Council. She interjected once or twice to make sure she was leading the reconnaissance into Island X but other than that she was happy to let these council members do their job. Her mind drifted to her Dad. Should she tell him about April when she had no concrete proof? The more Kayla thought about it the less certain she became. Now that her body had had time to recover from the extreme pressure she could not be sure. The great emptiness had disappeared. She was thinking logically again. As the council meeting came to an end Kayla came to a new conclusion.

  “The mission to Island X is going to be a rescue mission. We will save her Royal Highness Princess April and bring her home to join the fight.”

  “Sorry Your Highness, but how do you know April is there?” Kayla recognised the voice even though he didn’t bother to assert himself. Gregor, one of the longest-serving members of the War Council, never failed to doubt her plans. He swam through the entrance to the chamber.

  “The disturbance which I’m sure you all felt recently was because of a power surge from my sister. She channelled some of her energy through my body.” As Kayla spoke she flicked the data from her Iris pearl onto the screen. “As you can see these mer power readings are astronomical and coincide with the time of April’s distress. The location…” she said while scrolling down to the map “of this burst is the same as one of the island’s surrounded by poisoned waters. I know that my sister is on that island, and we will rescue her,” Kayla said definitively to Gregor. She was not ready to face her sister’s death so soon after losing her Mum. She was on a rescue mission. Kayla put aside the terrifying thought that it might be her sister’s body she was bringing back. She stared down Gregor until he nodded his approval. Gregor swam around the table looking over the notes the Junior Council had in front of them.

  “Was there anything you required?” Kayla asked her eyes unblinking as she focused on Gregor.

  “No
,” Gregor said with a smile raising his head. “Your Highness.” He bowed minutely still smiling up at her.

  “Meeting adjourned then.” Kayla swam from the chamber without another look at Gregor.

  CHAPTER 18

  Frederick enjoyed inflicting pain. That was the first thing Ethan learnt as he was marched through the facility by his leash. Frederick took no care to stop Ethan from being bounced from corner to corner of the corridor. If he fell Frederick kept on walking. When Ethan finally stumbled into the laboratory of choice for today he squinted. The bright light seemed to permanently stream through the windows in this facility. Ethan mused to himself that he had probably never seen so much white in his life.

  “Arghhh,” Ethan screamed mid-thought as his neck was wrenched to the right. Frederick had sent the leash’s electronic connection to the head of a chair. Ethan twisted in the chair until he found a somewhat comfortable sitting position.

  He sat and watched Frederick move around the room. He was well built but there was a reptilian quality to his features and movements that hindered him from traditional handsomeness. He flicked his eyes from object to object with cold calculation. Frederick moved out of Ethan’s sight as he disappeared into a back room. Ethan tried to get his bearings. He hadn’t been in this lab before. He looked around at the equipment to see if anything was familiar from Flotsam College. He saw drilling tools of some form and laser machinery. But most of the equipment was well beyond his knowledge. Lydia hadn’t been lying - this was an experimental lab. Every time Ethan was dragged to a different lab he was shocked at how much equipment Lydia and Frederick had access to. Before Frederick returned to the room Ethan could feel a shift in the air. His hands relaxed in his lap and his leg stopped twitching. His senses were heightened and a feeling of warmth and strength washed over him. Immediately, after relishing in his new health a sense of dread sunk through him. Ethan turned his head toward the door. He knew what had created this feeling; it could only be April’s pearls.

  “Your flushed appearance betrays you,” Frederick laughed as he walked into the lab. He placed a box in front of Ethan just out of reach.

  “We’ve been successful with our pearl tests before. But, with the acquisition of this piece.” He gestured at the box. “Our efforts have become futile. I’m hoping you can help.”

  Frederick moved to lean against the window. Ethan’s sense of dread increased. What were they going to ask of him? He had a pretty good feeling he was incapable of helping regardless of whether he wanted to or not.

  “You see, the mer have an unfair advantage. You stole all the power for yourselves, and Lydia and I are working to readdress this imbalance. We plan to make your powers accessible to all.”

  “They aren’t accessible to all,” Ethan interjected. Frederick’s head snapped around in obvious anger. “It’s a unique gift. Everyone has different abilities and capabilities when it comes to wielding the pearls.”

  The glint in Frederick’s eyes darkened but Ethan ignored him.

  “Even, if I did help you, which I presume is what you need. Right, help.”

  Frederick’s eyes narrowed.

  “Only the first born in the royal bloodline has ever been able to control all the pearls. You have the wrong mer. Aghhhh!”

  Bright red spots burst into Ethan’s vision. His head felt like it was exploding. What was happening he panicked? He tried to bring his hands up to cradle his head but his wrists were tethered to his armrests with another blue laser. He squinted up to look at Frederick’s smirking face and the stabbing vanished leaving a dull ache in its place.

  “You will help,” Frederick said striding over to the table. “You think you know it all don’t you,” Frederick said as he leant against one of the lab tabletops.

  “‘It’s a unique gift’,” he cruelly mimicked. “Well, we’ve harnessed it. You’re not the only mer to come through here.”

  Ethan’s face betrayed his shock as Frederick laughed again. “We’ve already experimented on you,” Frederick said. “Your injuries from the bombs were healed by energy extracted from the Curo pearls.”

  “No,” Ethan said. He struggled to recall if he had heard of such a thing before.

  “Yes,” Frederick smiled.

  Frederick moved his fingers minutely to press on his control cuff. With a smile, he sent another shock through Ethan. Ethan writhed in pain in his chair. His wrists strained against the lasers holding him down until red welts appeared.

  “You’re going to find a way to release the energy inside these pearls,” Frederick said. “I suggest you get to work.”

  He turned and exited the room. Ethan put his head into his hands, relieved to find that he had full movement of them again. What was he going to do he thought. He couldn’t release the powers. He wouldn’t release them even if he could. He leant forward to test his neck leash. Standing carefully, he moved over to the box. He lifted the lid and there, nestled inside the box, lay the most beautiful pearl necklace. All nine pearls glimmered with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies linking the pearls together. He picked up the necklace and walked over to the window. His electronic leash at least allowed him this privilege. He looked down at the pearl necklace in his hands and leaned his head against the fortified window.

  “Where are you April?” he whispered.

  ~

  The sunrise today was unbelievable. Ethan had to hand it to Lydia, she couldn’t have chosen a more beautiful location for her scientific experiments. The light glistened off the waves and the pale pink rays mixed perfectly with the new blue of the sky. Ethan reckoned he’d been returning to this lab for over a week now. He couldn’t be sure though. Often Frederick became so frustrated with a lack of results that the ensuing torture meant Ethan passed out in pain. He had no idea how long these bouts of unconsciousness lasted. He looked at his reflection in the window. His naturally tanned skin looked pale and dark circles under his eyes were now a permanent feature. Bruises spread out across his arms in varying shades depending on their age. Despite this, Ethan felt relatively healthy. He was given regular meals and was forced to exercise often. He almost laughed at the thought. He was living in hell and was scared to the point of numbness, but at least with some make-up on, he would look right as rain.

  He looked down to April’s necklace wrapped twice around his wrist. It went some way to making up for the lack of his watch. He looked around the room. Knowing that other mer had been through this same hell made the lab seem even more sinister with its clinical cleanliness. There was no trace of the previous mer. Once again, he focused his energy on the Curo pearl. Straining every fibre of his being he tried to connect with its energy.

  “Urghhhh!”

  This was futile. What did they want from him? He couldn’t even wield the Curo pearl to stop his headache. He started to wander aimlessly around the room, opening drawers and closing them again. He had given up hope that he would find anything of use. But it gave him something to do. Wandering around agitatedly he eventually made his way to the window again and slunk to the ground. He went over his options of escape again and again but unless he could break the electric tether he could see no way out. A door slammed outside the room and Ethan sprang to attention. Moving up from the floor he strode over to one of the lab desks so he could look like he was doing something. A polite knock on the door sounded. That was odd thought Ethan, he hadn’t been granted the dignity of a knock before. After no one entered Ethan jokingly called, “Come in?”

  In marched a young man dressed unsurprisingly all in white saying, “Your presence is requested at breakfast with Frederick. He asks that you follow me.”

  “He asks?”

  Before Ethan had finished the question, his electric leash had attached itself to the server’s wrist cuff.

  “Right, I see.”

  Ethan slid off his chair and made his way towards the door.

  “So where are we going?” Ethan asked. “Does Frederick have something special in mind? …Is this his ide
a of a date?” Ethan laughed. The man stood still and minutely raised his eyebrows. Great, no information was coming out of his escort. Their journey was made in silence. Ethan was pretty certain that they were going somewhere in the facility that he hadn’t been before. He followed obediently. He wiped his sweaty palms against his white uniform and continued his mental mapping of the corridors.

  “Pancakes? That is your breakfast food of choice?” Ethan said stepping into the room. ‘Room’ was probably a bit of an understatement. It was a vast kitchen into lounge area tastefully decorated in duck egg blue with subtle touches of lemon yellow. Never before had Ethan been so grateful to see some colour. The white was beginning to oppress his spirits.

  “That will be all Oliver.” Frederick gestured and Ethan was immediately attached to the chair opposite Frederick. He took this as a gentle suggestion and went and took his seat.

  “Thank you for joining me Ethan,” Frederick said.

  “As if I had a choice,” Ethan muttered.

  Frederick continued, ignoring him. “Please have some breakfast.” He waved at the heavily laden table.

  Ethan turned his eyes back towards the table, other than pancakes there were waffles, strawberries, an array of sauces and the traditional lemon and sugar. When he visited legged hotels with his Dad he always ordered the waffles. They possessed a crispness that was difficult to achieve underwater.

  “Thank you,” Ethan said.

  Frederick took his time eating breakfast and Ethan started to get nervous again.

  He cautiously helped himself to a plate of waffles and tried some of the different sauces. Frederick ate in silence. Ethan looked around the room, at his food, in his lap anywhere but at Frederick whose silence was unnerving him. Subconsciously, he started to pick at the skin around his nails.

  “So, I suppose you’re wondering why I brought you here Ethan?” Frederick said. Ethan looked up startled.