"Maybe the void spawn was one of the evacuees," Tahlia said as we swam between two evacuated spires. "That would explain why none of the other spires have disappeared."
I nodded. "I thought of that, but the only way to be sure is to stop looking for it."
"But if we do that," Tahlia said, "how will we ever catch the thing?"
I shrugged. "I really don't know. I mean, if you have any other ideas, I'm game. I'm as unsure about which way to proceed here as anyone."
Tahlia looked at me blankly. "You're the leader, though."
I shook my head. "Only because I'm the one who connects with the wyrms directly. But when it comes to things like this... I might be the least experienced of all of us."
"I don't know about that," Tahlia said. "You've faced off with a good share of supernatural baddies in your time. I've never done much so risky at all."
"Seems pretty brave to me to stand up to the king."
Tahlia narrowed her eyes. "Are you kidding? I'm hiding from him most of the time. How is that courageous?"
I shrugged. "Sometimes it takes courage to do what you have to do to make for yourself the life you deserve."
"If I was that brave, I'd tell Agwe how I feel."
I bit my lip. I knew Tahlia was flirting with him before, back in Fomoria the first night I met her at the club.
But this was the first time I knew she had feelings for him.
Now, I felt guilty. Like I was betraying her somehow by letting him almost kiss me.
I sighed.
"I didn't realize you felt that way about him," I said.
Tahlia smiled widely. "How couldn't I? I mean, I know it's a little bit like a fairy tale. An outcast, someone who doesn't belong in any world, amongst the selkie or the Fomorians, sprouting a crush on a demigod!"
"Well, when you put it that way," I said. "It does have a little bit of a Cinderella vibe to it. If you know who that is."
Tahlia cocked her head. "Why wouldn't I know Cinderella?"
I shrugged. "It's a part of earth culture. I didn't know if the story made its way into subaquatic lore."
"Remember on my selkie side of the family, most of them shift between human and otter, not mermaid and eel. I'm definitely one of a kind."
"Not a bad thing," I said. "At some point, I'd like to hear the story of how your parents met. I mean, someone who looked human and a Fomorian getting together. It happened with my parents, too."
Tahlia shook her head. "It wasn't a human. My selkie ancestor was an otter at the time. And the Fomorian who got herself knocked up by him was all kinds of freaky."
I cocked my head. "Alright, I'm sorry I asked."
Tahlia put her hand over her mouth as if to prevent herself from laughing. It didn't work.' "Oh my God, you should have seen your face. I'm totally joking."
I smirked. "Funny. But I wasn't going to judge either way."
"Bitch please," Tahlia said.
"What?" I asked, laughing. "I can't believe you just said that to me."
Tahlia rolled her eyes. "You're seriously not going to judge a mermaid who gets hot and bothered by an otter? I mean, I try to be pretty inclusive and such, too... but even I'd draw the line there."
I shrugged. "So if you and Agwe ever did get together, you're saying it would be unnatural if he slept with you in eel form?'
"Of course it would!" Tahlia said. "Besides, I'm hot like this. That way, not so much."
I shrugged. "But what if you fell in love with an eel?"
"Ew," Tahlia said. "Why would I do that if I could be with sexy mermen and mermaids?"
I raised an eyebrow. "So you like mermaids, too?"
Tahlia shrugged. "If it doesn't pan out with Agwe, hit me up. You know what they say..."
I shook my head. "No, what do they say?"
"Once you go eel, you'll stick with it for real." Tahlia smiled wide.
"No one says that," I said. "And even if they did, you just said you wouldn't do another eel."
"I wouldn't. But if I was in eel form and with a mermaid... think about the ways I could pleasure..."
I coughed to interrupt her. "I really don't want to imagine that. Besides, we need to stick to the task at hand."
"Ease up, wannabe princess. I'm messing with you again."
"Sure you are," I said. "Or maybe you're just saying you're messing with me because you saw how I reacted. And now you're backpedaling, so I don't think you're a total freak."
Tahlia shrugged. "Say I was into that... it would give the name Wyrmrider a whole new meaning..."
I rolled my eyes. "Eels aren't wyrms. But nice try."
"Close enough. Similar shape," Tahlia smirked.
"La Sirene!" I turned, it was Cleo calling me. Since she called me by my formal title rather than my first name, like she usually did, I knew she was here on urgent business.
"Yes, Cleo," I said. "Any news?"
"We've found the void spawn," Cleo said. "And you're not going to be at all happy about who is possessed."
I cocked my head. "So it's someone I know... one of us?"
Cleo nodded. I don't know if you can hyperventilate if you breathe water rather than air. But if it was possible, by the way she was breathing, she probably would. "No. I mean, yes. He's one of us. But not one of us, if you know what I mean."
"Stop talking riddles, Cleo. Spit it out."
"It's Enki. Agwe has him bound... he..."
"Wait," I said. "Nammu's baby... Enki is possessed by the void spawn?"
"Yes, that's what I said. And Agwe is trying to bind him now. Trying to exorcise it from him. But Nammu is freaking out. On a rampage. We need you to talk to her."
I nodded, drew enough magic to summon my trident just in case, and kicked my tail so hard I nearly ruptured a scale.
I had to get to Nammu quickly. And it wasn't because she and I had a connection... that probably wouldn't be enough to quell her rage. But I knew what it felt like... for you baby to be consumed by something else... And there probably wasn't anyone else, certainly no one in our little group, who could understand her fury. Not like I did.
32
NAMMU LEFT FOMORIA. Probably a good thing. Otherwise, she'd have leveled the whole place. She was looking to take out her rage on something or someone. I knew the urge. Hell, I felt it nearly every moment on account of the dragon's essence inside of me. Every moment when I wasn't in Fomoria or riding on a wyrm.
"Shit," I said out loud as I caught a view of her tail from afar. She wasn't just looking for something to attack. She was going straight to shore, right in the direction of one of the human clans' harbors. A clan that regularly sent its warriors in pursuit of Fomorian heads.
While I wasn't at all empathetic to the clan's cause, I also knew that one reason they'd had no chance against us was because the Wyrmriders had every advantage in the open sea. But if she took the fight to them directly... there was no telling what might happen.
I wasn't going to catch up to her. Not in time. She was too fast and, even though I'd gotten a lot faster and could swim with the best, I wasn't a wyrm.
An arrow whizzed through the water to my right. I instinctively moved to my left, and another one almost struck me there.
Then another one plunged into the water not far ahead.
Archers were raining arrows down on us. Presumably, they'd spotted Nammu and were unleashing everything they had.
Nammu, I shouted through the psychic connection we had. You have to come back. I know you're angry. But this isn't going to fix things...
No response.
A half dozen more arrows shot through the water around me. I was lucky so far. Chances were Nammu had been hit by a few—but with her thick hide, I doubted the arrows did any damage. Still, this kind of unprovoked attack, even if she did survive, was bound to only exacerbate tensions between the humans and the Fomorians. As if things weren't bad enough already.
From the many times we'd thwarted their efforts to claim Fomorian heads, the humans knew the Wyrmri
ders were aligned with the Fomorians. I don't think they realized we—at least Cleo and me—were Fomorian ourselves. We looked more human-like, aside from our tails, than the likes of Balor and the other ancients. Even so, while they might not know what we were exactly, the humans knew what side we represented. An attack by Nammu they'd see as an attack by Balor himself. That Balor had no idea what was happening was beside the point. They didn't know that.
Nammu! Come on! We can help Enki...
Thankfully, my medallion had a full charge of magic. I had enough to do what I needed to do.
I leaped out of the water and shifted, mid-air, into dragon form. It was probably the quickest shift I'd ever done. And since shifting wasn't exactly my thing, I was admittedly impressed with myself.
I wasn't large. But perhaps I was frightening enough I could scare the humans off before Nammu did something she'd regret.
I spread my wings and charged for a fortress wall—where it appeared the archers were hiding and lobbing arrows in our direction on command.
I inhaled. That burn in my gut... No need for Rolaids. This was coming out.
I was a small dragon. Not the most frightening thing in the world and not nearly as terrifying as Nammu. But I was also a smaller target.
I dove over the edge of the wall and blasted the ground with flames sending the archers in a sort of clumsy dance the other direction.
One of them turned and quickly fired an arrow at me. I parried to the left then, tucking my wings behind my back, dove down toward him and exhaled a small flame charring his ass as he turned and ran.
He screamed like a schoolgirl.
I was mildly amused and satisfied.
Nammu, I said, as the archers cleared the walls. Please...
I wasn't so worried the archers would hurt her—but I didn't want her to do something she'd later regret.
These humans had nothing to do with what happened to Enki... and taking it out on them is only going to make things worse.
I heard a soft sob in reply.
I spread my wings and turned back her way. I could see her giant body barely moving as she slithered across the surface. She wasn't hurt. She wasn't bleeding or anything. But she was paralyzed by anguish.
I don't know what else to do, La Sirene...
Be there with him, Nammu. I said. He's probably more afraid right now than you are.
Nammu snorted out-loud, sending a fountain of water a good twenty feet high.
It almost hit me as I flew around her.
I don't know what to do...
Be brave, I said. Enki needs you to be brave for him.
How can I be brave when there's nothing I can do? Nammu asked.
I took a deep breath, then exhaled carefully. Trying to prevent my natural case of flame-broiled reflux from unintentionally interrupting our conversation. Sometimes doing nothing. Being present. That's the bravest thing you can do, Nammu.
Who was I kidding? Being present. The one thing I wasn't for Merlin. Sure, I was there when he was still cursed and bound to dragon form. I was there when Agwe and Cleo helped heal him... but since then... I'd left him.
Was it the right thing to do? Merlin, himself, said it was. But I wasn't so sure. Maybe it made me a massive hypocrite to say it. But what I did was done. Nammu didn't have to make the same mistake.
Trust me, Nammu. You don't want to leave your baby behind.
I feel so helpless...
I dove down to the water, released my dragon form, and as a mermaid again, I mounted Nammu, squeezing her as best I could reach with both arms.
You aren't alone, Nammu. I'm here. I'll always be here...
Yes, Joni La Sirene... let's go back...
I nodded. We needed to do this quickly. I wasn't sure if Agwe could hold him forever. And this was different than what they did for Merlin when he was cursed to dragon form. This was a possession... and if they exorcised it, it would have to go somewhere.
They needed me. They needed a siphon. I was the only one who could trap the void spawn.
33
SEEING MERLIN AGAIN, albeit in middle age, had filled the void in my heart when I left him, as a baby, at his father's doorstep.
Could I handle another void? Could I keep it at bay? With Fomorian magic, maybe so. Provided we saved the city, and if I remained with Nammu and the Wyrmriders outside of the city... I had to believe I could handle it, just like I managed the dragon's essence.
And it wouldn't be forever. We knew it took time for the void spawn to completely consume its host. How long had the thing been inside Enki? Presumably since before we came to Old Fomoria. Maybe we'd figure out another solution...
I hadn't kept track of the days. But it felt like we'd been there for months—so many adventures, not an inkling of evidence that the void spawn was inside of Enki.
At least if I took the thing inside of me, it would buy us time. We'd know where it was... and with the wyrm to help, all we'd have to do was force it into something else and cast it into the void.
As Nammu and I approached, I was struck by how Enki's eyes had changed. The wyrms typically had golden eyes... but now they were pitch black. Black as the void itself...
Agwe had it bound. Not with ropes, With some kind of whirlpool that held him spinning slowly in circles. Every time he moved the vacuum's force caused by the funnel pulled him back to its center.
This wasn't a miniature cyclone. It looked like a massive tornado. I was more than a little impressed Agwe could pull it off.
"Look at him," Tahlia said, swimming up beside me. "His muscles... as he directs the ocean itself..."
I smirked. I had to admit, Agwe did look kind of hot. But that wasn't exactly my focus at the moment.
"Tahlia, I..."
"I know you like him, too."
I cocked my head. "No, Tahlia..."
"It's okay. It's obvious."
"It is? I'm not sure it can be if I don't know... besides, that's not what I'm worried about right now."
Tahlia nodded. "I know. I'm sorry."
I nodded back.
I looked around, trying to locate Merlin. I found him. He was standing beside Cleo, speaking to her.
I couldn't hear what he was saying, but she was nodding along.
"Y'all ready for me to draw this thing out of him?" I asked.
Merlin swam up to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Mom, I can't let you do that."
I furrowed my brow. "It's the only way, son."
"No, it isn't," Merlin said. "And I don't think you're doing this because there aren't other options. You haven't so much as asked what else I thought we might be able to do."
I looked at my son blankly. "Because I didn't want you to try and stop me, Merlin."
Merlin shook his head. "It's because you're punishing yourself. You think you deserve this. Because you left me behind."
"I... no, it's because..."
"Mom," Merlin said, not about to let me finish. "I told you, I had a good childhood. Things happened as they were meant to happen. And this time we've had now, the times we've had throughout the years when you found your way back to visit... it was enough..."
I felt my eyes well up. No tears would fall. Not in the ocean. But they were there. "Merlin, it could never be enough..."
Merlin wrapped his arms around me. "Right now, mom, I need you to trust me, alright?"
"Merlin, I..."
"Trust me, mom. Promise me you won't siphon this thing. Not until after I'm back."
"Merlin, where are you going? Why can't you stay..."
"Not until after I'm back, mom," Merlin said as he kissed me on the cheek. "Promise me."
I sighed. "Alright. I promise. But please, hurry."
Merlin nodded. He glanced at Cleo and then made eye contact with Agwe. Each of them nodded back. They knew what he was doing... whatever he was doing...
Why was I the one left in the dark?
Merlin smiled at me kindly. He said to trust him.
That's the second
hardest thing as a mom I'd had to do, next to leaving my infant Merlin with his father. Trusting my child... even my grown-up baby... to leave the nest and tackle the worst life has to offer without being there to hold his hand. It wasn't that I didn't think he was capable. It wasn't that I didn't believe he might have a better plan. But a mother's instincts... it's why many moms, I think, struggle with empty nest syndrome when their children are grown and leave home. Everything inside of me was telling me to be there as his safety net, to be ready in case he fell, to catch him...
But I had to trust him.
Be brave, Nammu said.
I smiled. Nammu was using my own advice against me. But she was right. I needed courage.
Merlin summoned his own staff. He hadn't used it much since I'd seen him here, in Old Fomoria. In fact, I'm not sure I'd seen him use it at all. His staff was still a staff, not a trident like mine.
He spun it over his head, and a golden cone of energy formed around him.
Merlin was gone.
No sooner did his cone dissipate, and it reappeared again.
And so did he...
But now, his hair was white. His skin wrinkled. He was the older version of himself, even a few years older I'd wager than he was the first time I met him.
And this time he held a different staff...
He'd already handed the gatekeeper's staff to another... this was Merlin post-retirement. Just as powerful. Still able to create gates and portals, apparently. Even with an alternate staff. But he was tired.
He swam over to me, still with the mer-tail he'd had before.
I cocked my head. "Merlin, what are you doing? How long were you gone?"
Merlin smiled. "A few seconds. And a lifetime."
"And you have a plan for how to stop this thing?" I asked.
Merlin nodded. "I do. But once I'm done, you and the Wyrmriders. You'll have to save New Fomoria. You'll have to take out the voidbringer. But once I've done this, you'll know what to do. Remember what it's like to be a mother. The urge you felt when I left, just moments before."
Gates of Eden: Starter Library Page 46