Tenebrasco: The Pearl Wielder Trilogy

by Hannah Reed

  Roxana sagged for a moment and then swam to her full height.

  “This has gone on long enough. It’s time for you to return to your real life.”

  “My real life,” Setha said shouting now, “So the last four years have been what?”

  Roxana stared at her daughter clutching a pillow in her hands. She opened her mouth to speak but Setha cut in first.

  “You’re just guilty you weren’t here for Dad when I was,” she shouted.

  “Setha.”

  “No,” Setha said, “Just no.” She swam from the room, dashed down the spiral and out the front door. Setha kept on swimming, putting on a burst of her Factus energy to propel her away. Without thinking she headed for the Floating Labyrinth. Her tail burned from the exertion and her breath caught in her throat but still, she pushed on. She couldn’t cope with losing her Dad, her best friend and now her home. Setha focused all her attention on swimming.

  Finally, she reached the mass of tangled weeds. The Floating Labyrinth was a hub of sargassum seaweed that floated on the outskirts of Hanaria. Thousands of fish made their home in its mass. The Floating Labyrinth stretched out for over a mile and the edges closest to Hanaria were well known picnic spots for the mer community. She shot towards the closest opening. Pushing the seaweed apart she found a hole close to the surface. Her Factus powers pulsed white energy across her tail, a sign that she had wielded her powers to their limit. Setha closed her eyes and sunk into the opening. No sooner had her tail curled beneath her, a thundering noise startled her. The sea was churning and the labyrinth rocked with the swell. Setha froze in panic fearing another attack. She looked up and broke into a smile.

  Above her a pod of at least five hundred Spinner Dolphins were racing through the water. They were leaping up and down in the surf then spinning high in the air before diving back under. There was a certain harmony in their chaotic progress. Setha stretched out in her cocoon hoping to get a photo of the pod. April would be gutted to know she was missing this. But, April was still nowhere to be found, neither was Ethan. None of her other friends mattered in comparison to them. She spent so much time with her Dad, or April, or at school that she didn’t know what to do with herself now they were gone. She twirled a piece of seaweed in her hand. It was like a long strand of dark green hair. It was deliciously slippery to play with but wasn’t a sufficient distraction.

  She couldn’t face her Mum again. She didn’t want to leave. Her friends, home and Grandmother were all here. She even planned to go to college in Hanaria at the end of summer. The calm life of Hanaria suited her. And now, it was where she would always feel closest to her Dad. Setha shot a stream of hot water through the loop she had been creating with the seaweed. She felt numb inside. For years she had prepared for the loss of her Dad. Yet, his death had been so unpredictable she didn’t feel like she got to say goodbye. And now, she felt more estranged from her Mum than ever.

  On a sudden impulse, she pushed up from her nest and dashed to the surface with the pod of dolphins. Propelling herself through the sky she felt free. The pod welcomed her and started to squeal in delight. This was true freedom she thought. The sun was shining and it warmed her skin as she dashed across the surface. As she sped up to keep pace with the dolphins, the cool wind brought a blush across her cheeks. The 500 hundred strong pod radiated strength and determination. As she swam with them the numbness of her heart started to thaw. She burst through the water and span as the dolphins did before plunging back down into the sea. She swam with them building up speed. Groups were starting to show off around her. They performed miraculous spins some rotating four times in the air before diving back down.

  Racing forwards again Setha breached the surface. Focusing her Factus energy she flipped high in the air. Her hair whipped out behind her and she made a perfect arc in the sky. With her ruby red tail she appeared like a flame dancing above the water. She dove back down into the sea and let herself sink in a flurry of bubbles. Her breath was ragged from the exhilaration. The pod members closest to her swam down and circled her in farewell before continuing off on their voyage. She wished she could understand what they were saying. But she waved goodbye hoping they understood. Setha floated where she was with a smile on her face as she caught her breath. Everything would be okay she thought.

  The ride home on the ray bus was uneventful. She was still buzzing from swimming with the pod. Getting off at her stop she swam towards her Grandmother’s house excited to tell someone about the Spinners. As she reached the house she noticed a Moving Shell stopped outside. Setha averted her gaze from it. The large house was detached and offered a level of privacy Setha would miss in her Mum’s busy apartment block in Bolalia. She swam towards the door and let herself in.

  “Setha honey, where have you been?” Roxana immediately accosted her as she swam through the door. She enveloped Setha in a hug before pushing her back to survey her.

  “I’m fine Mum, I was just at the Floating Labyrinth,” Setha said.

  “Thank goodness! I was worried sick! We need to leave here immediately,” Roxanna said. She dashed into the kitchen and started piling things haphazardly into a bag.

  “What? Why? April is still missing and what about Grandma?”

  “April probably has hundreds of mer dedicated to the cause of finding her. Don’t you worry, and I offered for Jocelyn to come with us but she refuses.”

  “Mum, she’s my best friend.”

  “Yes, and you can visit her when all this is over.”

  “All what?’’ Setha asked incredulously. Her Mum was acting weird even for her. She was now piling her Grandma’s crab cakes into a tub before forcing them into her overly stuffed handbag.

  “These poison attacks. There was another one this afternoon.”

  “What?”

  “Right over the Palace, of course, the King was there so he was able to contain it.”

  “Did anyone get hurt?” Setha asked in shock.

  “No, fortunately not. It’s all over the news. The government has created an antidote.”

  Setha sat down at the kitchen table and watched her Mum continue to rush around the kitchen.

  “Anyway, I have packed your room up for you. We’re leaving tonight. There is an overnight Jet Stream to Bolalia.”

  “Mum.” Setha pushed herself up from the table. “We can’t leave!”

  “We can and we are. Don’t argue with me.” Roxana crossed through into the dining area.

  “Your Grandma is taking us out for dinner in an hour and then we’re leaving.”

  Roxana stared at her daughter through the doorway. When Setha didn’t challenge her she swam from the room, her normally styled hair in disarray. Setha looked after her Mum in bewilderment. She swam up to her bedroom but halted in her doorway. Everything was gone. Only her Grandmother’s furniture remained. Setha swam back downstairs in search of her Iris pad. She started typing another message to April.

  CHAPTER 43

  “Let’s go over this one last time.”

  Megan started detailing the plan once more and April tried to keep her attention focused. But, they had been sitting around the coffee table for hours and her brain had exhausted all the logistics. All she could think about now was getting down there, saving Ethan and finding her pearls. They had discussed the different options, and the pros and cons for each, going back and forth for hours.

  “Connor will stand guard outside each room as Alex and April look for Ethan and her pearls. Connor is that okay? I just feel you’re the best at thinking on your feet for an excuse,” Megan said. Her blushing around him had yet to stop.

  “Yes. That’s fine. And you’ll be up here to field any questions about where we are,” Connor said. He moved on before Megan could answer him. “Alex, are you certain your card works?”

  April rolled her eyes. This question must have been asked at least twenty times by now.

  “I’m positive, and if it doesn’t then we can pretend we’re lost and I will work on it until it
does work,” Alex said with slightly more bite than he had the other times.

  “And then, if all is successful you take April and Ethan to the port where they can grab a boat and return to the sea,” Megan said.

  “Exactly,” April chipped in. “So, we’re ready to go!” She pushed up off the couch and wandered into the kitchen. She fiddled with a thread that had come loose on the denim shorts she was wearing. Mooching around the kitchen she settled on the fruit bowl and rummaged around until she found a juicy green apple she liked. She bit into it harder than was necessary.

  The weight of what she had done was starting to dawn on her. She had been missing for over two weeks now. Why on earth hadn’t she tried harder to make it back home beforehand? Her security team were going to be fuming. At least now she had the chance to get her pearls back and save Ethan. But, still. What had she been thinking? April leant against the kitchen island and looked over at Megan, Connor and Alex still huddled over the table discussing the details of the plan. Her chest tightened. She was going to miss these leggeds.

  “Guys, what is going to happen to you when Ethan and I escape with my pearls?” April said.

  “Don’t worry, we’re going to feign ignorance. Pretend that you’ve been playing us this entire time,” Alex said.

  “Are you sure that will work?”

  “Yes, positive. Dad doesn’t think much of us anyway,” Connor answered. He looked back down at the papers in front of him.

  “Right, so tomorrow it is,” Megan said.

  “Yup,” Connor said despondently.

  They all fell into silence. Alex started shuffling his papers together and organising the table again. April looked around at her friends. She wanted to do something to say thank you to them. She wanted one final evening together where they could pretend they didn’t have anything to worry about.

  “We should do something fun tonight,” April said.

  “Fun? Like what?” Connor replied. He was not making this any easier for her.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “What do you guys do around here for fun?” She was met with silence.

  “Are there any human things you want to do April?” Megan asked “You know, for your last night masquerading as one and all.”

  April felt the clenching return in her chest.

  “Umm we could make pizzas,” April blurted out.

  Alex immediately started laughing and even Connor cracked a grin.

  “Pizzas?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah, I’ve never had a pizza. It doesn’t really work underwater”

  “What, no way!” Megan said.

  “I took a pizza making course once.” Everyone turned and stared at Alex.

  “You did what?” Connor asked dumbfounded.

  “I happen to like cooking. It relaxes me.”

  April smiled. “Pizzas then?”

  CHAPTER 44

  The oven beeped and April opened the door. She reached to slide the pizza onto her plate having been warned by Connor several times that it was very hot. Licking her fingers, she moved over to the island. Alex and Corner were rolling out their dough in preparation while Megan was neatly arranging her ingredients on her pizza.

  “You know what I don’t get April?” Alex said while attempting to throw his dough in the air.

  “Umm hmm,” she murmured her mouth full of pizza.

  “Well, how do mermai…I mean mer, speak underwater, how do you breathe for that matter?” Alex asked.

  “Seriously?” April said sounding surprised.

  “Yes,” Alex said indignantly.

  “Don’t you learn these things in school?”

  “Nope,” Alex said. Megan and Connor both shook their heads.

  “Well, do you remember I told you about the pearls and the powers they have. This one,” April shook Ethan’s watch around on her wrist and pointed at the rose-coloured pearl. “The Essentia pearl monitors the life of the wearer. Legend has it that when the first person transformed into mer form the Essentia pearl realised they couldn’t breathe underwater. So, it provided them with a spirit to accompany them. When we transform there is a thin layer of air surrounding us. Mer use far more of their lung capacity than leggeds so we don’t need to breathe as often and the Essentia power keeps rejuvenating so you never run out.”

  Alex stared at her. Connor’s face was devoid of expression also. Megan’s however, was lit up.

  “That makes so much more sense than the books explanation. So, you don’t need the pearl you just need the Essentia power?”

  “Pretty much, I think some people compare it to chakras. Essentia is within us all even if we don’t realise it.”

  Megan nodded her head vehemently. “So, this is why you don’t have gills?”

  “Of course, I’m a mammal, not a fish!”

  The boys continued to stare in silence.

  “I’m not sure I get it,” Connor eventually said.

  “Okay, imagine you’ve put on sun cream all over.”

  “Sun cream?”

  “Yes, so you can’t see the sun cream as it has sunk in and is now part of you. But, you know it’s there. And this sun cream lasts forever. So, wherever you go you will never burn.”

  “You’ve lost me.”

  April frowned.

  “How about this,” Megan piped up. “It’s like you’re in a bubble, but a very tight-fitting bubble that is specifically designed to the shape of you.”

  “Close enough,” April said.

  “Does everyone have the Essentia power then?” Alex asked.

  “They do, and the power of Commutavi. But while everyone has the Essentia power, not everyone can wield it,” April said.

  “Then why do you need the pearls?” Connor asked.

  “Well, if you believe the legends the pearls are the source of our powers and so it is symbolic to carry them. Plus, they are full of magical energy and if you can access the energy then your powers are heightened. They’re like magical catalysts.”

  ~

  Everyone in bed asleep, April snuck back downstairs. She made her way carefully down the stairs hugging the wall as she went. Setting her foot down silently on the bottom step she sighed with relief that she was alone. She made her way into the lounge and summoning her Tempus powers she wielded a soft wind to part the heavy curtains. As they parted a stream of light flooded the room. She knew it. It was a full moon that had been calling her. Sinking to the floor she sat cross-legged and stared up at the moon. Her palms relaxed down onto her knees and she let out a deep sigh. The power of the moon flooded through her.

  Connor watched from the stairs. From this vantage point, April looked every bit the all-powerful mer Princess. The ebb and flow of the sea crashing against the cliffside moved in time with her breath. It was mesmerising to watch. He took a careful step forward and moved down into the lounge to join her. As he approached he could see that she was glowing a myriad of colours. It was as if her powers were dancing around her.

  “I can feel them.”

  Connor stepped back in shock.

  “I can feel my pearls,” April said. Connor sat down beside her keeping a respectful distance. April turned her head to face him.

  “They’re calling me.”

  “Don’t worry April. We’ll get them back tomorrow. You’ll be reunited with your pearls and have access to your full powers,” he said with a rush.

  “All my power,” April repeated quietly. She turned her focus back to the moon. Connor stared at her. It was as if she was in a trance.

  “April,” he started tentatively, “I, I don’t want you to leave.”

  April closed her eyes momentarily. She wielded her Curo powers over to Connor. A glow of blue surrounded his chest and Connor looked down in amazement. He instantly felt rested, warm and safe. He looked back up at April to see her smiling at him.

  “I know, I don’t want to leave. But, I must.”

  “You could stay, we could figure this out together.”

  “I can’t.
I need to help the mer. I need to get some answers about my powers from the shamans.”

  Silence settled over them. Connor shifted his focus to the moon to see if he could feel whatever it was April was channelling. Connor put his head in his hands and tried to summon the courage to tell April how he felt. He couldn’t lose her.

  “I wish I could come with you,” he said softly.

  “Then why don’t you?” April said turning rapidly towards him. All the colours faded around her. Connor lifted his head out of his hands.

  “Because I can’t April. You saw,” he said and touched his head to the window “I just can’t.”

  “You can, you just don’t believe,” she said. Her words brought a light breeze around her lifting the hair off her shoulders. “Sorry,” she said and the breeze disappeared as suddenly as it came.

  Connor sat still, goose bumps rose over his arms from the sudden cold. His eyes grew wide as he looked on bewildered.

  “I’m going back to bed now,” April stood up and walked towards the stairs. Connor waited for her to turn back to him. His eyes followed her as she walked up the stairs. But, not once did her footsteps falter.

  CHAPTER 45

  April patted her bag once more. Then, for what felt like the hundredth time, she opened the airtight plastic bag to check she had all the documents and equipment she needed. After a thorough inspection, she pushed herself off of the couch and moved to the window. There she paced up and down moving from one corner of the room to the other. In the midst of her fifth lap, she was startled by a noise. She jumped and turned towards the sound.

  “Good morning,” a man sarcastically drawled at her. April’s eyes widened in shock at the man in front of her.

  “Good morning. Freddie, right?” April said brightly. She composed her features so she looked at ease.

  “Yes, I’m afraid we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting. Alex has been keeping you all to himself,” Freddie said smirking.

  He was charming like Alex, but there was something about him that made April uncomfortable. She hugged her arms around her waist.