Midnight Law

by Geanna Culbertson

  I nodded thoughtfully. That was a good point, but the sacrifice Lonna made for it . . .

  “I can’t believe you did that,” Arabeth said, voicing a shock we all shared.

  “I can’t believe you were almost killed in front of our house,” Donnie said, turning his face to me. “Do you have any idea who they were or what they were doing here?”

  A buzzing sound abruptly got our attention. Jason—sitting beside me—reached for his pocket and pulled out his Mark Two. He flipped it open. I almost fell off the dock in surprise as Arian’s face filled the looking glass.

  “My men are supposed to check in every hour, on the hour,” he announced. “When they didn’t report back after I sent them to kill as many of you as they could, I had a feeling something went wrong.”

  I had a hundred questions and at least a thousand threats and insults for this guy, but my throat clogged up with anger when I opened my mouth and realized I couldn’t voice a single one.

  “Calm down, Blue,” Arian said, rolling his eyes. “I know you and your friends can’t speak right now. I have cameras hidden around the Inero property. My men have been monitoring the family since we took Mary Roberts, just in case any of you showed up. Can’t be too careful where Team Crisanta Knight is concerned. When I discovered you were there, I sent the men I have in the area to eliminate whichever of you they could. I know, I know, I probably should have sent more. Live and learn.”

  “You have my daughter,” Ashlyn exclaimed.

  “Yes, and she’s been quite useful.” Arian redirected his cruel gaze. “You should be proud, Ashlyn. Your daughter is very powerful, and she deals with the pain of Earth’s magic rejection with grace every time she has to heal Crisanta.”

  “You’re going to die. You realize that?” Donnie’s expression was dark as a thundercloud.

  “And the overly protective father speaks,” Arian said in a mocking tone. “I’ll tell Mary Roberts and Crisanta that you all say hello. Blue, since my men didn’t get the job done, I guess you and your friends’ demise will have to be postponed. I’m optimistic though. Midnight Law requires four flames and you haven’t even collected one. I still like my chances.” Arian’s gaze shifted to Chance, standing behind me. “Yours don’t look so good though, prince.”

  Abruptly, the glass mirror of the compact cracked and the whole thing erupted in a flare of sparks. Jason dropped it with a silent, surprised shout, and it splashed into the water.

  Ashlyn looked over the edge of the dock. “Earth doesn’t show mercy to magic tech either.”

  We stared down as the waves swelled over where the device had fallen. The sound filled my brain and provided a conversely calming soundtrack to the wide array of dismay, fury, and helplessness I felt.

  s I headed out to sea, standing on the deck of The Seabeagle with the Inero family and my protagonist crew, I felt the strongest sense of déjà vu.

  Turning over the hunting knife in my hands, I looked over the side of the boat and saw Lonna swimming under the surface a short way behind us. I still couldn’t believe what’d she done. I hoped her sacrifice was worth it. I knew Humilde could change because people could change. But that didn’t mean they were going to.

  I walked around the boat and found Girtha and Chance sitting on the bench where I’d napped and almost been murdered last night. The pair was fully absorbed in the Book of Speech Spells. Michael leaned against the railing. Four large black bags, which held the bodies of my attackers, were piled off to the side. Michael saw me eyeballing the body bags. I gave him my best look of regret. I didn’t feel bad about those guys dying, but I did feel bad that the Ineros had to take out the trash. They were a nice, partially magical family, not a bunch of mobsters.

  “It’s fine, Blue,” Michael said. “It’s not ideal, but with the black holes, we’ve had to get rid of way worse over the years. Tossing a few bad guys is nowhere near as bad as making the occasional gruesome sea monster disappear.”

  Girtha gestured at a page to Chance, giving him a serious look. I considered going over to see what the fuss was about, but Arabeth called out from the front of the boat, “I see the black hole! There!”

  I leaned over the railing to get a better look. Sure enough, I spotted our exit—a black portal swirling in the water like an ominous aquatic sinkhole the size of a dining room table.

  Donnie dropped anchor right beside the wormhole. Chance stood up as the rest of our crew started to come around the side of the boat. Girtha kept reading; it was like her eyes were glued to the enchanted text.

  Michael and Donnie began tossing the dead men through the black hole. I guess that was one way to get rid of dead bodies—nothing says efficient murder scene clean-up like tossing people into another dimension.

  “Mom,” Arabeth said, “have you thought anymore about what I asked last night?”

  “I’ve already called them, dear. They’re going to meet us at the house in an hour. We’ll be fine.” At my questioning look, she explained. “We don’t typically like having local police on our property; it minimizes the risk of them interfering with things they wouldn’t understand. But I told them we’d experienced some break-ins from our tourism competition and I’ve summoned them to help us locate any cameras and other bugs Arian planted.”

  I nodded, relieved.

  Bodies disposed of, Donnie dusted his hands. “Okay, kids. Be safe and be fast.”

  “Yes, Dad,” Michael said. He and Arabeth hugged their parents and Tina Louise.

  “Since in our experience the black holes in Mer consistently connect with Bermuda and vice versa, hopefully you won’t have far to go to reach Humilde,” Ashlyn said.

  I reached into my backpack and pulled out the most important snack container I’d ever owned. I distributed magic saltwater taffy to our team members—much smaller pieces this time since Arabeth and Michael were joining. We’d already explained how the enchanted candy would work. We didn’t have to worry about Earth’s magic rejection with this either, as the taffy’s powers didn’t activate until we were in water.

  Hopefully the magic in these small bites would sustain our undersea abilities for as long as we needed. I could’ve and should have used it all up to play it safe, but on instinct I saved the smallest wad of taffy and stored it in my backpack.

  Two pieces left in hand, I popped one in my mouth and then nudged Girtha on the arm, offering her the last piece. Reluctantly, she closed the Book of Speech Spells—quill sticking out like a bookmark from the last page she’d read. Her eyes were full of resoluteness and gumption. It was a look I knew well from expressing it when I had a big idea. I wondered what Girtha was thinking?

  She took the taffy from me and chewed as she shoved the book into her backpack. I clung to the straps of my own pack around my shoulders.

  Backpack, check.

  Cloak, check.

  Utility belt and temporarily magic-infused hunting knife, check.

  Okay, let’s do this.

  “I’ll go first,” Lonna called from below. “Thank you, everyone, for your hospitality. And Ashlyn, it was an honor to meet you.”

  “Trust me, dear,” Ashlyn said, leaning over the railing. “It was an honor to meet you.”

  Lonna gave us a final nod then swam through our exit from this dimension. Chance, Girtha, and Jason shook hands with Ashlyn, Donnie, and Tina Louise before leaping over the railing and through the wormhole. Arabeth and Michael followed. Then it was just me. A handshake didn’t seem like enough, but was a hug the right thing?

  Ashlyn made the decision for me. She patted my hair affectionately and put a hand on my shoulder. Then Tina Louise gave me an aggressive side hug and whispered, “Good luck.” Donnie slapped me on the back. Cumulatively it was the perfect farewell.

  I nodded at them, climbed over the railing, and didn’t look back. The swirling depths of the black hole dared me to jump, and I did. Straight into the water and the pending finale of this Little Mermaid-themed adventure.

  The ocean was dark
and it took me a minute to get oriented. It was still nighttime in Book, but I easily spotted my teammates’ glowing eyes.

  Gills, check.

  Webbed fingers, check.

  All my magically enhanced teammates, check.

  Okay, let’s really do this.

  Jason called up his Hole Tracker and we crowded around it.

  “We’re ten miles from the Abominable Abyss,” Lonna said, pointing at the map. “My magic currents can get us there in about forty minutes. Arabeth, Michael, you guys doing okay?”

  “Are you kidding?” Michael said. “Arabeth and I have never gotten a chance to use our powers without experiencing pain before. I know the stakes are high, but I’m stoked.”

  “If all goes well, you won’t need to use your powers,” Lonna said. “Remember, the plan is to satisfy Humilde, not destroy her. We’re aiming for a peaceful resolution. Now brace yourselves; I don’t normally go this fast.”

  Lonna glowed with blue energy and we were consumed in a blanket of her aquatic power.

  Whoa!

  This new current was way speedier than before. It was like going down an intense, never-ending waterslide. After a while though, the effect started to feel calming. Forty minutes flew by and before I knew it, we careened into the grasp of the abyss. The green light trail of the Midnight Law flame still remained in the depths.

  No monsters waylaid us this time. Lonna guided us through the abyss in pursuit of the light trail until we arrived at Humilde’s cave. Then with a rush, the waters that’d been cradling us dispersed in all directions.

  “Well, I’m tired.” Lonna put a hand to her head as her aura left her. “Why don’t I—”

  A bright silver light shot out of the cave behind us. It split apart like a meteor and rammed into Jason, Chance, Girtha, and me, sending us tumbling back into the water. My body seized, and I felt like someone was reaching down my throat. The sensation and light vanished as curtly as they appeared. I coughed and held my throat.

  “Ugh. That hurt.” My eyes widened. “I can talk!”

  “We can all talk,” Jason said, rubbing his own throat. “Humilde’s two-hour deal is up.”

  “Good timing for once,” Chance said. “Come on.”

  We swam through the entrance—Chance in the front while Arabeth and Michael pulled up the rear. When we entered Humilde’s lair, we were dismayed to see five miniature spider sharks with her this time. They were a lot more intimidating now that we knew Humilde could magically alter their size.

  “Hello again, children,” Humilde said in her mismatched voice. “I see you brought two new friends with you, but I don’t see my five cousins. I take it you want me to extinguish this flame?” She pulled the flame from the breast pocket on her top and it crackled as it expanded to its regular size.

  “We have a new deal to put on the table,” Chance said. He gestured to our mermaid friend. “Lonna.”

  Lonna swam forward a bit.

  “You . . . you cut your hair?” Humilde was genuinely shocked.

  “I did,” Lonna said. “So that we could offer you this.” She nodded to me and I took out my hunting knife and raised it up.

  The spider sharks reared protectively around Humilde, but I held up my other hand to show I meant no harm. “Lonna used my knife to reap the soul energy of a villain. Now the blade is enchanted and can be used to save someone else. Instead of your original deal, we’re offering to use this knife to resurrect your mother in exchange for the flame.”

  “And there’s something else I want to offer along with that,” Lonna said, swimming into the center of the room. “Humilde, you and your mother have been treated unfairly. I can’t change what our family did to you. No one can rewrite history. But we can decide what comes next. You were right before. Both of us are princesses. We look different, and we have different experiences of the world, but we can make a shared new future together. I am heir to my family’s throne and I swear that so long as I breathe, I will make sure you and your mom always have a place in my family and palace. I don’t want to prove your worst assumptions about my kind correct, but in order for this to work I need you to prove our assumptions about you and your mother wrong. Help me move forward, and I’ll help you do the same.”

  Humilde swam forward to square off with Lonna. Humilde didn’t say anything at first. She floated there for a long pause, examining our friend critically. Then Humilde nodded.

  “Do you know where she is?” Humilde asked.

  Lonna didn’t break eye contact. “Doesn’t everyone?”

  Humilde snapped her fingers and pointed at her desk, then a bookshelf. A spider shark brought her a quill while another monster grabbed a thick book. Humilde pocketed our green flame again.

  “This is the Blank Book,” Humilde explained, gesturing to the book the monster brought forth. “It is from a set of three ancient magical texts. The Book of Speech Spells I lent you is another, and you may be familiar with the most powerful and famous book in the collection—the Book of Bindings, which holds the Midnight Law spell. The set was separated long ago, but these two copies were passed down to my mother. This is how we make our deal.” She flipped open the text. “The pages in this book are blank because they are meant to create magical contracts that do not yet exist. While holding the book, state your name and your promise. I’ll do the same. After we sign, the deal is done, and we are bound to honor it. The page in the book will then disintegrate.”

  Crud. That’s a powerful book. Does Lenore know that this exists?

  Lonna took the book from the spider shark and opened it. She locked eyes with Humilde.

  “I, Princess Lonna Langard of Mer, promise to use the enchanted knife, which I used to cut my hair, to resurrect the mother of Humilde. I will do this in exchange for my friends’ Midnight Law flame. If you, Humilde, abandon all intentions of wickedness, I will honor my offer to welcome you into my court and family, and stand by you despite what anyone else thinks.” I watched in awe as shining silver writing magically scrawled across a previously blank page in the book—Lonna’s words.

  The mermaid handed Humilde the book.

  “I, Princess Humilde Langard of Mer, your cousin, accept your terms and promise to give you the Midnight Law flame once my mother is resurrected. I welcome your offer into court but cannot commit to staying there indefinitely. That is dependent on how your family accepts me and my mother.”

  Humilde’s words lit up the page. Then she took the quill from her pet and signed the book. She offered the quill to Lonna, who did the same. The Blank Book flashed brightly. Silver light ejected from the text and encircled both women in a tornado. It got faster and faster until all of a sudden it broke apart and the light shot away in opposite directions and disappeared. Sparks glistened on Lonna’s and Humilde’s skin for a moment. The page in the book they’d signed caught fire—silver fire—that burned powerfully like a Midnight Law flame in spite of us being underwater. In seconds the page was destroyed.

  “Well then,” Lonna said. “I suppose it’s time for a family reunion. Lead the way, cousin.”

  Lonna wrapped those of us with two legs in a light current so we’d keep up with her, Humilde, and the five spider sharks. The final resting place of the Sea Witch was in an even deeper part of the abyss, a thirty-minute journey from Humilde’s lair.

  When Lonna extinguished our magic current, I knew we were getting close. We must have been thousands of feet below the surface now. Thank goodness the glowing barnacles remained present in all parts of the abyss. They made it slightly less shadowy and creepy.

  A minute later we turned a corner and the fossilized Sea Witch finally came into view. My heart skipped a beat. It was a lot to take in. Evidently the Sea Witch had been transformed in the midst of using her powers. Her coral statue resided in a deep crevice, so I couldn’t see all of her, but in total she must’ve been roughly the height of an eight-story apartment building. I didn’t frighten easily, but that giant, enraged face combined with massive tentac
les reaching toward the surface, was intimidating.

  When Lonna signaled for my hunting knife, I reluctantly handed it over. I was a fairytale history nerd, as well as a hero and destroyer of monsters. Every fiber of my being told me not to wake a villain from a previous story. But Humilde had agreed with the plan and we needed that dang Midnight Law flame.

  “Wish me luck,” Lonna said.

  Lonna and Humilde exchanged a nod then our friend dove down.

  I anxiously floated next to Jason. Everything about these surroundings had my instinct going nuts. The miniature spider sharks swam near Humilde protectively, able to grow at a moment’s notice if she willed it. The walls of the abyss went indescribably high above, trapping us in. There was no way to escape cleanly if we needed to. Too many ways to die in such a contained space.

  Lonna swam past the Sea Witch’s face—the statue’s mouth was so big it could swallow any of us.

  I suddenly found myself grabbing Jason’s hand. He glanced at me, but I didn’t make eye contact. I didn’t want him to make a big deal out of this; I just needed someone to hold on to.

  Lonna reached the place where the Sea Witch’s massive heart should be. She looked up at us, steadied, and then BAM!—she sunk my hunting knife up to its hilt into the fossil as if the statue were made of butter.

  Giant geysers of blue energy shot out of the penetration point, filling the abyss with light. Cracks of the same aqua color spread across the fossil, widening until the entire statue shattered in a massive cloud of underwater dust and light that came barreling toward us. We shielded our eyes and coughed. Being able to breathe underwater clearly didn’t make us immune to choking.

  When my eyes readjusted to the dim barnacle light, I saw Humilde swimming toward two forms in the crevice where the statue had previously resided. The rest of us followed hesitantly. Lonna seemed fine; she floated in front of the woman so many Mer people feared. The original Sea Witch—now returned to normal size—had the same short hairstyle as Humilde, only her locks were silver instead of bronze. Her skin was silvery also, with hints of indigo, while her tentacles were vivid purple on top with a peachy underside. She wore a similar mussel necklace to Humilde’s around her neck.