The Elemental Trial

by Claire Luana

  We swam in silence for about fifteen minutes before the strangest sight caught my eye—an underwater city beyond anything I could have imagined. It was nothing like the legend of Atlantis. There were no marble statues and crumbling buildings. This place looked…almost modern. The neat rows of buildings, some so tall that they would soar above us, was a strange contrast to the wildness of the merfolk. So was all the color. The buildings were decorated with shimmering mother of pearl mosaics and reflected every shade of pink and purple. Brightly-colored fish swam in and out through the open windows and doorways. And inside, the buildings glowed with bright faerie lights in deep blues and aquamarine. It was beautiful.

  “What are you going to do with us?” I asked when we finally stopped at the edge of the city. This close to it, I could finally see why much of it looked pink. Many of the buildings were made of coral.

  I turned to the mermaid to see what she had to say. She wasn't planning to kill us. If she wanted us dead, she could have left us for the shark. I had convinced myself this logic was sound, which was the only reason I wasn’t totally freaking out right now.

  "That's not up to me to decide. My father will pass judgment."

  I really didn't want to know the answer to the question, but I asked anyway. "Who is your father?"

  She puffed her chest out with pride. Somewhere a mile or so back, Ben's eyes were bugging out of his head—at least, they would be if he was filming this. Where was he? “My father is the great king of the Merfolk.”

  Great! Another freaking spoiled faerie royal brat! A princess to go with our prince!

  The Mer king’s audience chamber was the size of a college football stadium…if the interior of said stadium was built like a conch shell. The tall ceilings were ribbed with mother of pearl inlay coating and the curving walls held seats of a sort, where merfolk floated now, watching us with baleful gazes.

  The princess poked me with her trident as I slowed, not wanting to face whatever was coming. But when I caught sight of the raised dais with the elaborate coral throne, I couldn't help but forget my own problems for a moment. Because four other prisoners knelt before the throne—four prisoners I recognized. Dulcina, Phillip, Ario, and Molly. I guess our team wasn't the only one who hadn’t been unable to slip through the Mer kingdom unnoticed.

  The Mer king rose to his full height at the sight of us, his huge arms open wide. “My daughter returns with the other interlopers,” he boomed out, his deep voice scratchy and raw.

  I tossed a black look towards the princess. She had made it sound like I had offended them by being chased by the shark, but it turned out that they knew we were here and had come searching for us. At least, it wasn't my fault we’d been caught.

  The king looked nothing like the jovial, possibly-senile King Triton from The Little Mermaid, one of my and Cass’s favorite movies as kids. No, he looked like a formidable Poseidon, his long dark hair undulating in the current, his muscular chest and arms covered in gold and silver armor. When he smiled, he bared a row of razor-sharp teeth that reminded me uncomfortably of the shark I’d just met. His crown was encrusted with pearls and other jewels, perhaps stolen from some shipwreck like the one Orin and I had explored.

  The merfolk escorting us poked the back of our knees and we fell to the ground next to the other contestants. I experienced a brief moment of satisfaction at seeing Ario and Molly look so out of their element. Just try to seduce someone now, playboy, I wanted to croon at the incubus. Between their fingers stretched webbed flesh like that of a frog. It must have been the effect of their pearls. Dulcina and Phillip had mer-tails, like Sophia and Tristam did. They must have been tied for first or something after the Sorcery Trial.

  I took in all these details to avoid taking in the rest, which included the bristling weapons and teeth of the hordes of strange creatures surrounding us. Suddenly I had a painful longing for the sylph palace—for the downy lemon meringue pie I’d eaten after dancing with Orin. What I wouldn’t give for a riddle about poo right about now.

  The silence of the throne room was starting to become oppressive when Tristam finally spoke, addressing the king. “I am Tristam Obanstone, crown prince of Faerwild. We are here on a sanctioned mission jointly operated by the humans and the fae. We mean you and your people no harm. We are only passing through. But I must respectfully insist that you release us.”

  The king chuckled; the sound, like grinding gears, was not comforting. “You must insist?” he asked. “Land dwellers have no claim to insist upon anything within these waters. Beneath the sea, you have no jurisdiction, crown prince. This is not Faerwild. This is Deephold. And I am king here.”

  Tristam blanched. “Of course. I did not mean to suggest that you do not have full authority here. But I know that you and my father have a diplomatic relationship. It was my understanding that our passage through, for purposes of the race, was discussed, and even agreed to.”

  The king had negotiated our passage through the Mer territory? That was interesting. Though I suppose it would have been incredibly irresponsible of the FFR to send us into dangerous territory without making some sort of prior agreement. Which is exactly why I had assumed that’s how it went down.

  Tristam continued. “I would ask that you allow me and my companions to continue on our way. We travel to Elfame. Perhaps you could grant us passage, in the interest of furthering fae-mer relations.”

  “And if I have no interest in furthering fae-mer relations?” the king asked. “As of late, your people have been abusing these waters. Perhaps what I truly desire is war.”

  The Merfolk around us cried out at that, cheering and howling and drumming their tridents on the stones of the floor.

  I looked around nervously. This was derailing quickly, even for the FFR.

  “Surely there must be something we can offer you in exchange for our release,” Tristam said. I thought of what he had said earlier. That his brother had been held hostage here. They had been able to negotiate his release somehow.

  The king boomed, drawing up to his full height. The guy was built like the Rock. “You deign to think that you have anything to offer me, King of Deephold, Lord of the Seven Seas, Defender of the Tides, most honored of all Aquatic Life?”

  “Well—” Tristam began, but the king had clearly heard enough.

  “You will take them to the Abyss.” The king waved his hand to dismiss us. “I will consult with my advisor about what should be done with them.” I exchanged a worried glance with Orin. The Abyss? That sounded…unpleasant.

  The princess pulled me to my feet, as did the other contestants’ captors. We swam out of the building, the shouts and jeers of the onlooking merfolk following in our wake. I really didn’t think I liked mermaids anymore.

  The Abyss turned out to be just about what it sounded like. We took a tunnel that led us deep below the Mer city, the darkness oppressive around us. My pulse skittered in my veins the farther we got from civilization. This felt like the kind of place you took someone to execute them and then drop them in a mass grave. I could barely see in the low light of the tunnel; without Orin’s enchantment over my eyes, I would have been totally blind.

  Just when I thought I might scream to release the tension, the tunnel started to ascend, and we came out into an area lit by the dim light of what appeared to be glowing algae. We floated in a narrow chasm—I couldn’t even see the light of the surface above—and below us was nothing but the black depths.

  “The Abyss is where we keep our most dangerous citizens,” the princess said, nodding for us to move forward. I saw now that there were openings in the sides of the cliff, strung with thick bars embedded into the stone. They were jail cells.

  We neared one of the cells, and the merfolk herded us all into it. It wasn’t exactly roomy, but there was enough space that we weren’t all piled on top of each other. But when the door closed and one of the mermen turned the key in the lock, it felt like it shrunk by half.

  “How long are you going to leave u
s here?” Dulcina asked, floating up to the bars, peering out at the retreating forms of the merfolk.

  “That’s up to my father,” the princess said with a toothy grin. “If I were you, I’d pray to whatever surface god you worship that he doesn’t just leave you to the fishes.”

  23

  If I thought being in a race with this bunch was difficult, being locked with them in a cell under the water was ten times worse.

  Gazing through the bars, I could see nothing but dim light and the occasional fish that ventured down this deep. The weight of the water was oppressive, and I felt as though I was being squeezed from all sides, giving me a headache and making my mind cloudy. It wasn't helping that I could hear anguished screams coming from a nearby cell. I didn't think it was helping anyone else either, because the panic I was feeling seemed mirrored on every face in the cell.

  Dulcina had retreated to the back of the cell where she'd pulled her tail up to her chest and was quietly rocking, her eyes closed. Small murmurs came out of her mouth that sounded a little like a nursery rhyme, and even in the dark light, I could see she was shaking.

  Molly was sulking, her arms crossed and a grimace on her face like she'd just been grounded by her parents, and Tristam was holding onto the bars, his knuckles white with barely concealed rage. Only Ario, Phillip, and Sophia kept their cool. Ario smirked when I glanced his way as if this was all some kind of joke, and Sophia ignored us all and kept herself busy by running her fingers through her hair like a comb. Phillip swam around the small cell, checking the walls and the bars for something—Cracks maybe? A secret button that opened the doors? Who knew?

  I was somewhere in the middle of the panic scale, but at least I had Orin by my side. He was close enough to let me know he was with me, but not close enough to cause discussion. The last thing I needed was everyone speculating about the pair of us. From way above, a searchlight shined down. I squinted, and as it approached, I recognized it as Ben's submersible. Excitement ran through me. I'd never been so happy to see a cameraperson in my life—especially Ben. He’d do everything in his power to get us out of here.

  “Jailbreak,” Ario said calmly, when he too spotted the submersible, causing both Molly and Sophia to stand. Only Dulcina stayed in her wrapped up position on the cell floor. I think she was way too terrified to even notice there was someone else with us.

  “Ben!” I exclaimed. “The Mer king locked us up. Can you get us out?”

  Tristam pressed his whole body to the bars. “Talk to my father. This is unacceptable.”

  Ben pretty much ignored Tristam's tantrum and looked at me instead, his eyes troubled through the glass of the submersible. Even before he spoke, I knew it wasn't going to be good news.

  His voice sounded tinny through the speaker. “We've been looking for you all over. The FFR was made aware that you'd been taken by the Mer king. King Obanstone has already spoken to him.”

  “So when are we getting out?” Tristam asked, visibly relieved. Having a king for a father certainly came with benefits, and this time it seemed, it would benefit us all.

  “You aren't. The Mer king made it clear that your father has no jurisdiction down here. He only let the camera crew in because he wanted to show the world that no one is above him and he can do what he pleases in his own kingdom. He’s aware of who you all are and your level of fame. I think he planned this all along—it’s why he originally agreed to allow you passage. Your father is doing what he can to try to secure your release, but he doesn't know if he'll be able to.”

  Tristam slammed his hands into the bars at the news. I guess he wasn't used to his father not being able to get him out of scrapes.

  “Can you fix some rope to these bars and pull them with your submarine thingy?” Molly asked hopefully, but Ben shook his head.

  “Not unless I want to end up in there with you. There are hundreds of mer-people up there. There's no way I'd manage to get you out without being seen. Look, I gotta go.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Tristam shouted, directing all his anger at Ben. “You came down here to tell us that there's nothing that can be done? Is this funny to you?”

  Ben directed a steely gaze at Tristam and held his hand over what looked like a microphone to muffle it. “This isn't my doing. You got yourself into this mess. I only came down here to tell you that your father is doing what he can. I also came down here to film you because that is my job, so congratulations, you were caught on camera looking like the giant prick we all know you are.”

  Normally I'd have cheered; it was about time someone stood up to Tristam. But I was angry too. How could the FFR have gotten us into this mess? They sent a reality show into a war zone! I gave Ben a half-hearted wave as he turned around and left us, once again, to the darkness.

  As Ben’s light dimmed and disappeared, I felt the darkness and weight wrap around me like an old friend. That was it then. There was no chance of escape, and the king couldn't save us.

  But hey, at least, we were all famous!

  I thought of my parents back home. Soon enough they'd be watching this, along with half the world. I turned my thoughts to the FFR. John would be going apeshit at this turn of events. It would make amazing TV, the tension of all of us captured and locked up. The will they/won’t they escape or get released. It would be great for a week or so, but after that…who would watch? No one, that's who. The eight of us would be down here for god knows how long and the viewing public would find something else to watch. It wouldn't be long until we were a distant memory with no one left to save us. It was a depressing thought, but it was a million times better than the next thought that invaded my mind.

  "How long does the magic of those pearls last?" I asked. I hadn’t worried about it before—I’d thought we’d be in and out of the underwater kingdom within a few days. But it was clear we were way off script here.

  A panicked look shot around the people in the room as it dawned on them what I was saying. Most enchantments didn’t last forever, and I couldn’t imagine the FFR had given us pearls that would make us permanent underwater denizens. Which meant that at some point, the magic would be up, we'd all turn back to our normal selves, and seeing that none of us were water-based faeries, every single one of us would drown.

  “Can we use magic to get out?” Orin asked. “Melt the bars or something?”

  “I tested the entirety of the cell,” Phillip said. “It’s thick with counter-enchantments. I think any attempts to compromise the bars will alert our captors if it works at all.” Oh, so I guess that was what he’d been doing.

  “I'm going to use my ring,” Molly said, but Ario jetted across the room and grabbed her hand to stop her.

  Orin gave me a look as the pair wrestled, looking down at his own ring, our only hope of getting out of here. I knew what he was thinking. Zee and Gen's rings hadn’t worked. The FFR or the king had let them die. Even if the race staff could get in here to rescue us, would Orin’s ring work?

  I'd never heard Ario raise his voice before, but now it echoed around the cell. “Don't. We've come too far. I'm not letting you give up on my behalf. We've only been in the cell ten minutes. We might find a way out.”

  “What if we don't?” Molly cried defiantly.

  I had to give her credit; she was strong and feisty and was putting up a good fight against Ario who was almost twice her size. I wouldn't want to fight him for sure.

  “There's no point anyway,” I said quietly. Both Ario and Molly turned to look at me. “The FFR can't get us out; King Obanstone can't get us out. Not down here. Even if you all use your rings, it won't change that fact.”

  Molly broke into tears as she realized it was the truth. Her ring was nothing but a decoration on her finger.

  This was it. I gnawed on my lip and thought about the magic pearls. How long would they last? Orin's and mine were the least powerful, so it stood to reason that we'd be the first to die. To drown in an underwater cell, the most famous people on the entire planet. I turne
d to Orin and slipped my arms around his waist, pressing myself into his chest. I didn’t care anymore what the others thought. I needed him. We were all going to die anyway, so what did it matter about the gossip?

  Orin spoke whispers of comfort in my ear and wrapped his arms around me. I snuggled my face into his shoulder while he smoothed my hair down. There were probably worse ways to die. I wasn't looking forward to having water gushing into my lungs, but wrapped up in Orin, I could, at least, pretend that wasn't going to happen...for a while.

  “Let’s think. Is there another way?” Phillip asked. “Can we bribe them somehow? There must be something they want.”

  Tristam sighed. “They’re obsessed with precious gems and metals. You saw how much bling the king had on. They especially love ancient things—relics of the deep. But I don’t have a treasure trove hidden in this wetsuit, do any of you?”

  A ringing noise sounded as a guard ran the end of his trident along the bars, making me jump.

  Immediately, Tristam was on him, throwing himself against the bars. The guard had ventured too close to the cell, and Tristam managed to grab him by his neck and pull him right to the bars. "Let us out of here, or I'll squeeze the life out of you."

  I'd never seen Tristam look so angry. It was terrifying. The normally cool and calm facade had dropped completely, leaving nothing behind but the monster he was. I raced towards him and kicked his leg. “Stop!”

  The guard's face was already beginning to turn blue under Tristam's grip.

  Tristam glared at me, his teeth bared.

  I started to shy back but then held my ground. “The guard can't help us if you kill him first!”

  My words seemed to sink in because Tristam let go of the guard, who swam back clutching his throat.

  “Please, sir,” I shouted to him once his color had returned to normal. “What can we do to get out of here? There must be something we can give you?”

  Tristam slammed past me, almost knocking me over as he swam to the back of the cell. “Yeah, ask him to let us out as a favor. That'll work better than my way!”