Stone Heart (The Cursed Seas Collection)

by Pauline Creeden

He didn’t respond. Instead, he stood and began walking again, faster this time.

  The trees gave way to the rock face of a mountain that made the path feel like a dead end. Kane did something to a spot on the mountain wall and a doorway appeared.

  “Whoa,” I whispered, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

  “You’re easily impressed,” he said and laughed.

  I smiled and said, “Don’t let it go to your head. I’d respond the same even if you weren’t attractive.”

  The words left my mouth, and I wanted to dive back into the ocean. Why in Caracas had I said that? What was wrong with me? Had the sharktopus poisoned me?

  “Noted,” he said, smiling broadly.

  I followed him into the mountain and stopped once I was clear of the door. A city sprawled out before me in the cave.

  “Whoa,” I whispered and stared at the buildings carved within the mountain. How had mages carved them? Duh. Magic.

  “This way,” Kane said, heading towards the center of the cave where a large structure stood. Though it was taller than the building that housed the elder’s council, it reminded me of it.

  A chill passed through me, causing me to shiver. Though it wasn’t cold in the mountain, it was a stark contrast to outside. No sun to burn down on me, like in the desert. No oppressive mugginess like in the jungle. There was even a breeze that licked away my sweat. I wondered how the breeze blew within the cave, but questions were filling my head, and Kane was leaving me behind.

  “Who is she?” someone off to the left asked.

  “Did he sleep with her or something?” another person asked.

  People walked by us and all of them stared at me. Had I not been so busy looking at the mountain city, I might have returned their stares. I did note that they all wore clothes that covered almost their entire body except their heads and hands. Why were they so embarrassed of their bodies?

  “You’re tanner than the others,” I noted to Kane, moving closer to him.

  “Most don’t go outside of the protection of the mountain,” he explained.

  “But you do?” I asked.

  He nodded. “I don’t like being cooped up in here. I prefer being in the sun.”

  Maybe we had more in common than I realized. “Isn’t it dangerous to go out?”

  He stopped and faced me. “Yes. There are large predators everywhere. They have camouflage, so you can’t see them easily. They ambush you. The council sent me because I know what to watch out for.”

  “So, you’re a daredevil?” I asked with a smirk.

  He resumed walking and shrugged. “Not really, but I’m not going to let fear keep me from being free.”

  My heart leapt in my throat. It almost sounded like the kind of thing my dad would say. I sped up so that I could keep up with him.

  “I always got in trouble for exploring beyond our boundaries. Do you get in trouble?” I asked.

  He smiled. “They pretty much let me do whatever, as long as I don’t put anyone else in danger.”

  Must be nice.

  “Have you ever been attacked?” I asked.

  He resumed walking and nodded. “Several times.”

  He picked up his pace while I waited for him to elaborate, but found he had no intention. We finally made it to the large structure which turned out to be a platform where several older males sat, overlooking those walking by.

  Kane stopped before them and bowed. “I’ve brought the siren as you requested.”

  “Wonderful,” one of the males said.

  They all looked ancient, like the elders from my clan. Was it the weight of responsibility that weighed them down and made them age so quickly?

  “What’s your name, siren?” another asked. He had bushy eyebrows and squinty eyes that made it hard to tell if they were open or not.

  “Ivy,” I said. “Sirs,” I added quickly.

  “And you are the one being sent to search for the stone?” another asked.

  I nodded.

  “May I be dismissed?” Kane asked, leaning heavily on his staff with half-lidded eyes.

  “Not yet,” the first one said. His eyes were full of fire, and as he looked at Kane, I got a sense of foreboding. This male did not like Kane. Why? What had Kane done to make this man dislike him?

  Kane stiffened and stood straight.

  Several people had begun to gather around us, coming to see the siren, no doubt.

  They all wore strange clothes, and I found myself wanting to touch a few of the items, to see if they were soft or coarse.

  “The time has come for us to send out a party in search of the stone,” the man who didn’t like Kane said.

  Several people began murmuring but stopped when he raised his hands.

  “We will be sending Kane with this siren, Ivy, to search for the stone. Let’s all show our gratitude to Kane for taking this journey to help our lands thrive again.”

  Everyone around us bowed, except the men sitting in the chairs upon the platform. The man who didn’t like Kane smiled down at him with smug satisfaction.

  Kane stood straight, his eyes wide. His jaw tensed as he met the elders’ gazes. Without a word, he stalked off, pushing his way through the crowd.

  I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. I wanted to go after Kane, but he looked ready to kill someone. So, I stayed where I was and waited for my orders.

  “We have a room prepared for you,” bushy eyebrows said. “You and Kane will leave tomorrow morning.”

  I bowed. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll show you to your room,” a girl who looked to be around my age with golden hair and freckles along her cheeks said. She scowled and looked down her nose at me, making no attempt to hide her contempt.

  “Thanks,” I said and followed her.

  She led me to the opposite side of the mountain where I’d come in from, to a room carved into the mountain. “Someone will bring you food shortly.”

  “I need some clothes,” I told her.

  She looked at my borrowed shirt. “Is that why you’re wearing his shirt? Because you had nothing to wear?”

  I nodded. “My clothes were lost in a fight with a sharktopus,” I explained.

  “A sharkto-what?” she asked, her nose scrunching up.

  “Never mind. Can you just have someone bring me whatever it is you guys wear?” I wasn’t sure what they were called. I knew what pants, shirts, and shoes were called, but I was fairly certain there were things underneath their clothes, too.

  “Underwear?” she asked.

  “And pants,” I said with a nod.

  She sighed, looking extremely put out. “Fine.”

  “And a belt!” I yelled at her retreating back.

  She sighed again and then closed the door to my room.

  I expected to be in total darkness, but there was a strange blue glow at the top of my room that gave enough light to see.

  “Did you hear? Kane is being sent on that mission?” someone said outside my room.

  “Some said it’s because he slept with the siren. She came in wearing only his shirt!” someone replied to them.

  “I bet it’s because Malachi hates Kane,” the first one said.

  “That siren isn’t even that pretty. I thought female sirens would be gorgeous,” the second said.

  Their voices moved away, and I grumbled as I sat on the bed in the room. Not that pretty? I was pretty. Not gorgeous, no, but I was pretty. Plus, sirens weren’t all attractive. That was a stupid rumor. Then the rest of what they’d said struck me. I frowned. They hadn’t seen a female siren before. Did that mean the other female that volunteered never even made it this far?

  Someone knocked on my door and I stood to open it.

  “Here,” the girl who’d walked me to my room said as she thrust a stack of clothes at me. A second girl walked in and set a tray of food on a small table on the side of the room, and then they both left.

  “Thanks!” I called after them, but neither turned around. I shut my door an
d examined the clothes. The pants were too long for me and felt coarse to the touch.

  I slipped on the underwear and the weird thing that supported my breasts. It was a bit restrictive, but with no water to support them, I bet the thing would hold my breasts while I ran. I put Kane’s shirt back on, and then cinched the belt around my waist, to keep it from riding up. Not having pants allowed me to be able to grab the knife I had strapped to my calf as well.

  A floor length mirror sat in the corner and I eyed myself. This was good enough. I could enjoy freedom of movement as well as stay covered enough for the journey. Satisfied with my attire, I sat and ate the food they’d provided me. I didn’t know what any of it was, but it all tasted good and was very filling.

  I wanted to go explore the city, but I was worried I would get lost. Plus, my brown and silver hair, and my silver eyes, weren’t common here. People were bound to stare and gossip, and I didn’t really want to deal with that right now.

  So, I lay on the bed and closed my eyes.

  Kane had been really upset that they’d assigned him to be my partner. He didn’t seem happy about them asking him to do anything. Was he just lazy? Or, was he scared to go? Maybe they assigned him to go because he seemed adventurous like I was. Or maybe it was considered a fool’s errand here, just as it was in my territory. Maybe his being sent on this quest was akin to exile, too.

  Or maybe I didn’t know anything because I was completely out of my element here. As they said, I was a fish out of water… literally.

  Chapter Three

  In the middle of a dream about riding on the back of a horse with wings, someone knocked on the door to my room, waking me. I grumbled and staggered to the door, wiping my eyes and trying to wake up. The room had a gentle glow that came from the rock ceiling. Whether it was from magic or naturally occurred in the rock, I wasn't sure of, but it seemed to soak in the light when it was turned on and then continued to glow faintly once the lights were off so that it was never quite pitch black. It was comforting while I was going to sleep and now it kept me from tripping my way across the stark white room.

  “What?” I asked as I opened the door.

  I stared at the darkness of the hallway before me, caught off guard because there was no glow. Hadn’t someone knocked? And why was it so dark?

  “Sorry to wake you,” Kane’s voice said.

  I stepped back from the darkness, realizing that it was his shirt, and looked up to meet his eyes. “Kane? What’s up?”

  “I wanted to talk to you before tomorrow.” His brows were furrowed and his eyes serious. Hadn't he slept at all yet?

  My foggy brain took a moment to comprehend his words. I blinked a few times at him, and then flipped on the light in my room. I stepped back and gestured him forward. “Come on in.”

  Once I backed up, he eyed me up and down. One of his brows lifted and then the slightest smirk played on his lips. “Why aren’t you wearing pants?”

  “They’re restrictive,” I answered around a yawn, too tired to put a hand to my mouth. Outside the window of the room, everything was in darkness except for the faint glow of the rocks around the cavern city. Everything had gone quiet. It made me wonder how they knew when it was daylight outside and when it was night. If they had working clocks around here, that would be amazing, considering that in the ocean we had to tell time by the position of the sun above the water.

  He came into the room and then turned to face me. That mocking look he'd worn a moment before had slipped from his face. “Look, I’m going to be blunt. I don’t want to go with you.”

  “That makes two of us,” I grumbled and plopped back onto the bed. I pulled my feet underneath me and sat cross legged. Everything in the air felt too light without the pressure of the water against me. But my body was already starting to adjust.

  “What?” he asked, blinking at me and narrowing his eyes.

  “I didn’t choose to come on this mission. They sent me away." I yawned again, this time covering my mouth as I did. Did he think he was telling me something new? Who would want to go on this fool's errand anyway? Who would volunteer for it? But did Kane really even have a choice in the matter? If he did, then he was doing better than me.

  “Why? What did you do?” His eyes widened a bit.

  I shrugged. “A few harmless pranks. And they didn’t like that I ventured out past our borders too often.”

  His smirk returned, and his eyes softened. “Sounds like we have a bit in common.”

  I yawned again. “Is that all you wanted to say? To let me know that you didn’t want to come? Because, I knew that when you stormed off after that weirdo announced it. You can’t refuse to go, because they’ll throw you in confinement, and you’ll be labeled a coward. So, you just have to suck it up, like I am, and treat this like an expedition. One you’re really terrified of.”

  He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Terrified? You’re terrified of this trip?”

  Now I was frowning. “How many sirens have made it to this mountain?”

  His brow wrinkled. “Including you? Four.”

  My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach as I blinked at him. “Only four? We’ve sent twelve.”

  He nodded. “Every spring we wait by the shore during the first phase of the full moon in April. Sometimes a siren comes ashore, sometimes they don’t. And there are also times when the mage who went out to collect the siren doesn’t come back.”

  My frown deepened, and I looked down at the floor by his feet. He had really big feet. “The monsters in the jungle must have gotten them.”

  “I guess.”

  Somehow, I didn’t think he was taking this seriously enough. I glared at him. “Look. We don’t know what kinds of crazy monsters we’re going to run into. There are far worse things out there in places you haven’t explored. Plus, there are pirates and all sorts of weirdos lurking around. We could die as soon as we step foot out of this cavern. I would have died by touching that stupid bug if you hadn’t been with me. How sad is that?”

  He chuckled humorlessly, without even smiling or with any mirth in his eyes, and then sobered and sighed. “You’re right. We have no idea what we’re going to be facing. Or where the stone is. Or how long this stupid trip is going to take. Or if we’ll survive.”

  “I guess, we just have to be glad we have each other,” I said pointing at myself and then him. “I know the ocean and you know the land.”

  “I have magic and you…can breathe underwater." His eyebrow lifted again.

  “I’m not completely useless,” I grumbled. I shook my head and hardened my glare on him. I could do a few tricks non-sirens didn’t know about, but I wasn’t going to reveal them to Kane right now. “I get it. You don’t want to go. But, let’s promise not to take out our frustration from the croakers who sent us out on this mission, on each other. Okay?”

  He let out a long sigh before smirking again and nodding. “Okay.”

  He stepped back toward the door, his hand hesitating on the handle a moment. He didn't turn back toward me before shutting off the light. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Have a good night,” I said, pulling the covers out of the way so I could tuck myself back in. The room glowed a little brighter from soaking in the light while it had been on, but I could almost see the glow fading a bit in the ten seconds after Kane shut the door behind him. After he left, I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but I quickly fell back into a new dream—one of pirates and monsters.

  “You look pretty tired,” a girl on my right said. Her skin was lighter than Kane’s and almost as pale as mine, but her eyes were the same shade of mahogany.

  The table we sat at was only a shade or two darker than the color of her eyes. And her eyes weren't the only ones that were on me while we ate a breakfast of oatmeal and bacon. It actually amazed me how much wood the people in the cavern used. Underwater we rarely used it for construction of things like tables. I’d seen metal and glass but almost never wood. Even the
cups and bowls were made from wood.

  “Why are your eyes silver?” a little boy asked. He sat across the table, his brown eyes fixed on me. He was short and plump. I could only imagine it would have taken the mages a fair amount of magic in order to keep him from floating. Our elders frowned upon people adding too much fat to their bodies since it made it hard for us to stay near the bottom of the ocean, otherwise.

  “Why are yours brown?” I lifted a brow at him.

  His little brow furrowed, and he looked at his mother. “Why are mine brown?”

  I knew I was smirking, and I didn’t try to hide it. It wasn’t the kid’s questions that were a problem, it was the general feeling of rudeness among the population. No one corrected the children for staring or pointing or even asking me pointed questions. For once it felt good just to turn the tables on them a little bit.

  His mother frowned a bit. “Both your father and I have brown eyes, so you have brown eyes.”

  The little boy looked back at me. “So, your father and mother have silver eyes?”

  “I know my mother does, but I can’t remember my father well, so I can’t say for sure.” I peered around the dining area in the cavern. This place had no ceiling above our heads, but instead was a large, rocky open area. The tables were made of wood, as were the benches where we sat. The wood on the benches had been worn smoother than the table which still had rough cut divots in it. They lacquered it smooth, but my bowl still wobbled a bit while I scraped the last bits of oatmeal out of it. I’d never had oatmeal before, but cooked food in general was a new experience for me.

  “Your hair has silver streaks too.” The boy’s eyes sparkled in the light of the posts positioned at intervals throughout the common area.

  I tugged on a strand of the silver and said, “I’m actually the only one who has these streaks. I’m not sure where I got them.”

  “Maybe your father had them, if you don’t remember,” the little boy said with a shrug and finally spooned some oatmeal into his own mouth.

  “Maybe.” It was something I’d wondered about on my own. Truthfully, I knew next to nothing about my father. He had been the first of our clan sent out to find the stone and had never returned. No one ever talked about him. That was most likely what would happen to me, but I had to hold hope that I could make it back. The odds were not in my favor, but I needed to be hopeful, or I would just be terrified and depressed.