Sea-Witch

by JE Hunter

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  I forced my panic down. Someone had kidnapped Shia—it just as easily could have been me. My arms stung and my head was throbbing. Did Shia feel like this? Or were they doing worse things to her? I shuddered.

  Caesar came over and wrapped me up in his arms. “You're our best shot at rescuing Shia, Nessa. You can stop the boat. Use your powers to freeze the kidnappers in the water. You're a sea-witch, the most powerful of all Neptunians –”

  “No I'm not. I suck as a sea-witch. I didn't even know I was one until a month ago. I almost let you drown the other day, not to mention it takes me forever to get through Grandma’s lessons.”

  “But you do get through them,” Caesar said as a powerful, ripping ribbon of wind tore my hat off my head, tossing it to the waves.

  My hair flew around in the wind, red and long. Powerful sea-witch hair. Hair that meant I had a shot at saving Shia—saving her so I could take back some of the things I said in the moments before we were attacked. “I wish I would have paid more attention to Grandma. It's her we need; she's the powerful sea-witch.”

  Amynta brushed my hair back for me, stopping its whipping movement “She’ll come, but you still have to be ready. You can stop them with your powers, freeze them in the ocean like it's a block of ice, or use the tides to turn them back.”

  I grimaced. I’d only just learned to turn water to ice last night, and it took me three hours to do it. How was I supposed to freeze a whole boat in place? It sounded impossible. I shook my head. Using the tides might not be so hard; I was better at moving water than I was at freezing it. I looked out at the ocean and opened my senses, using them to latch onto the tides and control the water. I would be ready. I wouldn't let them hurt Shia anymore than they already had. I wouldn't let them take her.

  “Why do they hunt us?” I asked Amynta as Caesar left to speak with Markus and Juan.

  Amynta's eyes grew fierce. “What Telmath said about eating mermaid flesh is true; consuming the tiniest piece will add a hundred years to your life. And I didn't even know Shia was a mermaid princess...but if they did, they could be after a hefty ransom—the kind of ransom that could change the world.”

  Tears formed in my eyes. This was a dark part of the world I'd hoped to never venture into. My stomach churned as unbidden images formed in my mind; Shia being served for dinner on a rich man’s platter; being roasted over a fire; her eyes staring up at the starry night sky she loved, lifeless.

  We needed to save her. We needed to save Shia. We had to get to her.

  I nodded. “I can do this.” I forced the words into my bones. “I can do this.” I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I tested my link to the sea, and then I called on it to slow the boat that carried Shia. I churned the water with my mind, creating currents that any boats but our own would have trouble navigating through, that any creatures other than my friends would find as thick as jello, that anyone who had vile intentions would find as hard as ice.

  I was concentrating so hard my head began to pound. I used all my mental strength to pull on the currents, but still I felt my target slipping from my grasp. I felt the sharp smack when they crossed the boundary; they'd gotten away.

  “It’s too late,” I felt a tear slide down my cheek. “They're over the boundary.” I opened my eyes. Amynta was shaking her head, her green eyes encouraging me.

  “It isn’t too late. You can still influence the water outside the boundary. You can still stop them, just keep trying.” Amynta leaned closer and whispered in my ear. “If you get me close enough I can entrap the humans with my voice.”

  I closed my eyes again, concentrating on my breath. I reached out with the core of myself that was bound tightly to the sea. Please. Slow them. We need to save Shia. I could feel it working, but it wasn't working fast enough; we were barely gaining on the other ship.

  We found the boat.

  My eyes popped open. I'd heard the voice in my head, faint and quiet. It was Nor. I leaned over the side of the boat, dipping my hand into the spray.

  Shia's awake, but she's hurt. She said she's locked in a dark room at the bottom of a ship.

  “What is it?” Amynta reached out, gripping my forearm in concern.

  “Nor. They found her.” I shook my head. I needed to keep trying. I needed to stop the boat. Stop, I commanded silently, imagining the ocean thick like liquid concrete, growing more solid every moment. With each try it was becoming easier and easier to influence the currents. I could feel us drawing closer bit by bit. Even though the other boat was still progressing forward, I could sense the gap between our boats growing smaller.

  “Come on,” I whispered under my breath, reaching out to grip Amynta’s hand.

  “I think I see something,” she said, giving me encouragement. Another sharp snap in my mind told me that we’d crossed over the boundary.

  “Can you go any faster?” I called loudly, so those at the front of the boat could hear me.

  “I’m going as fast as I can,” Markus called back.

  I nodded, feeling my forehead begin to pulse as I tried even harder to reverse the currents of the wide open Pacific ocean and bring the kidnappers back to us. I wished I could push us faster, but was having a hard enough time trying to slow down the kidnappers. I could only concentrate on one thing at a time.

  Nessa, I’m here. Another gasp as I heard Grandma's voice in my head. Today was full of nothing but surprises. “Grandma,” I said out loud so that Amynta would know. “She’s on her way.”

  I will lend my powers to yours. We’re behind you. Be careful, you'll be there much sooner than we will. I felt our boat speed up and the intruders’ boat slow as Grandma threw her magic in with mine.

  We’re here for her. We will protect her. I heard the cacophony of merfolk and sea nymph voices in my mind. I was shocked by—and proud of—their strength and determination. I felt stronger now that all of my friends, classmates, and family were with me.

  We'd get Shia back. We had too.

  “There.” Amynta cried. “Just a little bit closer. Then I can sing.”

  I let my powers meld with Grandma’s. I opened my senses until I could tell exactly where everyone and everything in the ocean was: the mermaids, the sea-nymphs, the vodiani, the kidnappers.

  “There,” Amynta nudged me. I opened my eyes and saw the boat. I risked a quick glance over at Caesar and saw him pull a belt with a short knife out from under one of the benches. A diving knife, I realized, just as Amynta let her voice free in a beautiful cascading song. The words were nothing I could make sense of, but I felt myself drawn to her a thousand times more than usual. I could only imagine what her powers could do to humans.

  I turned my eyes back to the ship we were chasing and saw the small boat Shia had spotted on the island. It was tied to the side of a state-of-the-art, shiny white yacht.

  There was no sign of Shia.

  Standing guard on the deck were five men—all of which were brandishing bows and arrows or standing behind large, stationary harpoon guns—and only two of which were frozen in Amynta’s song—there were more Neptunians involved in this than any of us had guessed. One of the men on the deck pointed at us as we approached. Another one pinched something at his collar, likely a radio. All of the guards turned to face us, weapons ready.

  Markus piloted us as close as he dared, and then cut the engine as one of the intruders took aim at us with a long harpoon barrel. All around our little boat I could feel my classmates—my friends—moving closer, waiting to fight, waiting to get Shia back.

  We're going to climb up the boat and find Shia, I heard one of the sea nymphs say. We can use our water form to slither along the floor like a puddle. This way the kidnappers will not notice us.

  I’ll help you all I can, I replied, trying to hold the kidnapper's yacht in place. I used my influence to move our boat closer to the white ship and the men standing guard on it. What kind of Neptunians were they? Pirates? Vodiani? Some other strange creatures I’d yet to hear o
f? And why would they want to hurt their own kind?

  It took me a moment to realize that the yacht was running its engine's full out, yet it wasn't going anywhere. We waited in a stalemate, the intruders stared at us; we stared at them. What were they waiting for? With a sudden yell from inside the yacht’s cabin, the crew began moving, pointing their weapons at us. They fired.

  “Get down,” Caesar yelled. I leapt for the floor, dragging Amynta down with me as she sang.

  My adrenaline gushed through my veins and I used my powers to pull up an ice wall just in time. I heard something large hit it—a harpoon I assumed—and I heard the wall shatter. But my spirits soared—I’d just created an ice wall in seconds. As long as I continued to keep control over my powers, we’d be able to get Shia back. We had to.

  An arrow tinged against the side of the boat. I looked up and saw the long thin rods flying into the water. The intruders were aiming for my friends. I need to do more. I heard a sudden, deep smacking sound. I peaked over the side of the boat, ready to pull up walls of ice to protect myself if necessary, and saw the yacht rocking fiercely side to side. The intruders momentarily lost control of their weapons. The firing stopped, and I saw the flash of a black and white body moving underneath the water, heading for the yatch. It was Zeke in his Orcie form, trying to capsize the ship.

  But it wasn't enough, and seconds later arrows were again flying at us. I tried to work walls of ice up around the yacht while holding it in place, but it was too difficult. My head throbbed with pain and I was forced to duck down again, using the side of the boat as a shield.

  Join me, Nessa. We're almost there. Use the currents to help me tear their ship apart. I heard her voice and felt her presence. Grandma was churning the water in a way I’d never felt before—full of anger: protective, possessive anger. I thought of Shia. I thought of what the kidnappers would do to Shia. I let my anger and determination flow from my body and into the deep, dark waters of the sea.

  I'm with you, Grandma.

  I closed my eyes momentarily. The waves crashed dangerously around us. The sky grew dark and the wind began to pick up, almost drowning out Amynta’s song. I worked the ocean currents. I used my mind to ask the ocean to pull at the nuts and bolts and welded joints that held the yacht together. Grandma worked with me.

  I opened my eyes. Amynta was staring at me.

  “We're going to sink it,” I told her. She nodded in response, her mouth still moving in her beautiful song.

  I sensed the arrival of the Tiderunner family, all of which joined Zeke in beating on the yacht. I could sense the merfolk, circling the boat, waiting for the sea nymphs to rescue Shia. I felt the deep rage of Paket and Telmath, bringing a forest of seaweed, growing the weeds thick and heavy, using them to pull the boat and its unsavoury crew under the churning surface of the ocean.

  I looked over at Caesar, who crouched on the floor of our boat with Markus and Juan, attempting to stay out of the way of the flying arrows. I silently thanked the pirates for bringing us here.

  The air grew quiet, and I stood up boldly, mentally preparing to protect myself with my magic. I looked at the yacht, the merfolk and sea nymphs were all on the deck, fighting hand to hand with the intruders, forcing them over the side one by one where some were ensnared in seaweed and dragged under. I looked over at Caesar and caught his eye. He winked at me, pulled out the dive knife and placed it between his teeth, and then he jumped over the side of the boat, swimming to help the others on the yacht. I gripped the side of the boat tightly, wanting to protect him, but finding I was too tired to do so. I was exhausted from using my energy to lock the yacht in place, and trying to tear apart the boat. There was nothing I could do to help him.

  I let every feeling and emotion I had flow out of my body, mixing it with my magic. I let it tangle with Grandma’s, feeding life into the ocean so that it could feed life into the storm around us. I watched eagerly as the vodiani seaweed slithered its way out of the deep blue water, brown and green tendrils wrapping themselves around the beaten ship, enveloping it. I cheered each time the merfolk won a battle and tossed an intruder over the side of the yacht, into the sea where the orcies and others could hunt them down. I cringed every time one of my friends took a hit and fell into the water themselves.

  I saw Colleen jump up in her Selkie form. She leapt high above the water and then came down hard on the back of an intruder that was trying to swim away. He cried out as she dove down, preparing to do it again. But the second time he was ready for her. When Colleen leapt into the air he reached out a hand and grasped her by the neck, squeezing.

  “Caesar!” I called out in panic, hoping he could hear me. He was only a few feet away from Colleen but his back was to her. He couldn’t see her struggle. “Caesar.” He turned toward me and I indicated behind him, pulling up an ice wall just in time to stop an arrow from piercing my shoulder. Caesar caught sight of Colleen and changed his trajectory. He dove at the intruder, hitting him on the back of the head with the butt of his hunting knife. Colleen scrambled away, submerging again.

  You can do this Nessa, I believe in you. Grandma urged me on. Together we can stop them from ever harming a Neptunian again.

  I worked with Grandma; the closer she got the more I could feel her magic strengthen mine. Gritting my teeth, I worked through my throbbing headache. I used my mind to create fingers in the water. I stuffed those fingers into cracks in the yacht and I used those fingers to pull the ship apart. The minute the currents ripped open the bottom of the yacht, flooding it with water, I felt it. The pain in my head lessoned, as I no longer had to work so hard. I smiled, and then I panicked—was it too soon? Where was Shia? So many of my friends were still on the boat, were they okay?

  My eyes scanned the ship; the last of the hunters had disappeared. Where had they gone? Had they all been dragged under by the seaweed, imprisoned with the ship at the bottom of the ocean for eternity? Could they turn invisible too?

  I saw one of the watery sea nymphs carry Shia across the deck just as it began to sink beneath the waves. Shia was in her mermaid form, and her long, aquamarine tale hung from the crystal clear arms. A long stream of red stained Shia’s scales. Her face was pale and her eyes were shut. I took a desperate gasp of air, telling myself she was alive—she had to be. And Caesar, where was he? I turned left, then right, and finally saw him swimming back toward me.

  My eyes scanned the boat as my thoughts worked to sink it. Only the small tower part of the yacht was not submerged now. Slowly, the boat sank. In the final moments, I saw him, the grey-haired man, the hunter, the kurage, on top of the ship. He looked at me, making my arms burn with pain. The yacht sank just as the group of sea nymphs and mermaids reached our boat, supporting an injured Shia between them. I helped lift Shia into the boat, using my powers to push Shia’s unconscious body up and onto to the padded bench. When I looked up again there was no trace of the yacht, or the kurage. I searched the sea and found no one in it other than my friends.

  I looked over at Grandma's boat, which was drawing nearer.

  Where are they? I asked her with my magic, so that only she would hear me. Where have all the hunters gone?

  We cannot be sure, I heard her silent reply. Possibly they all perished. Possibly...

  I swallowed thickly, it was a horrible thought, but the alternative was even more horrible: that the hunters had slipped through the water, and out of our net of seaweed, and that somehow they had escaped into the deep, vast ocean. Hiding. Waiting.

  “We’ll need something to stop the bleeding,” I said, seeing the golf ball sized hole in Shia’s tail.

  Amynta opened up the bench on the other side of the boat. She came back seconds later, Nor in tow. “Will this work?” She handed me a thick, grey and red blanket.

  “It will have to,” I said, taking it from her and pressing it to Shia’s wound.

  “Nessa, thank goodness you’re alright.” I looked up as Grandma butted her boat up to ours. She looked down at Shia, h
er face blanching. “Quickly, help me transfer her over here.” Without another word, Grandma called up tendrils of water and used them to lift Shia, transferring her to the other boat. “Mira, I’ll need your help, and the stores of medicine you keep on hand.” Grandma looked out at the water where the orcies, merfolk, sea-nymphs, and others waited. Mira transformed back into her human form, swam over to Grandma’s boat and climbed onboard.

  “We’ll go straight to your house.” Grandma nodded at the enormous, grey haired woman and then turned back to me. “Make sure everyone else gets back safely, Nessa.” Her dark eyes filled with emotion, and then she closed them to focus on her powers. Her boat moved speedily through the water, back to the island.

  Amynta grasped my hand. I leaned on her shoulder as Caesar climbed onboard the ship. As soon was everyone who didn’t want to—or couldn’t—swim back to the island was on the boat, Markus started up the engine. It was time to go home.