World of Aluvia 2

by Amy Bearce

  Her mind knew all this. But her heart couldn’t help but thump erratically when his eyes closed briefly, as if overcome with emotion.

  He whispered something she couldn’t quite hear. But it sounded a lot like, “I wish you could stay.”

  “What?” Phoebe asked, throat tightening as she locked down the stirring hope.

  A dark shadow slid across them. A quick glance showed it belonged to an illegal fishing boat, breaking the human-merfolk treaty by fishing too far into the ocean, in the merfolk’s territory. Again. Tristan frowned and cursed in ancient mer. These fishermen were brazen to break the treaty even in the daylight.

  Reality shattered their crystalline moment as Tristan pulled back, removing his hand from hers.

  Her cheeks flamed. Had he guessed how she felt? The impossible future she often dreamed of?

  “Phoebe, I must get you back to shore quickly. I will have to leave at once to report the boat, but don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”

  The return trip was a blur, her mind reliving every detail of their moment alone. Had she heard him right? Had he wished their lives could be more entwined? He certainly couldn’t seem to deliver her to shore fast enough now. Sullenness pulled Phoebe’s lips into a frown, but she reminded herself it was for the best. Better just to forget about the odd moment than get into some embarrassing discussion about it. She was glad, really. They were best friends, and nothing should ruin that. She would be grateful for what caring they could share.

  As they neared the coastline, her mind raced ahead to the trip back to the house, to the explanation she might possibly give her sister if she’d come home.

  Tristan sped through the water without any of his usual acrobatic flips and reached the cove in record time. They paused as close to the shoreline as Tristan could comfortably reach. From here, Phoebe would have to walk onto land on her own two feet.

  This close to the surface, Phoebe could tell the sun touched the horizon, but plenty of light still filled the sky. Her journey underwater had felt like days, but had only been merely a short afternoon. The sea was magical and made time seem to stretch forever.

  He checked and reported back, “They appear to be gone, but Phoebe, I can’t follow you on land to be sure. What if they’re waiting in the forest? What if something happens to you? I don’t think I could stand that.”

  His eyes were still dark with magic and perhaps something else, some sort of emotion? Could he feel about her the same way she had started to secretly feel about him?

  She gazed into the blackness of his eyes, wishing she could fall right into them, but Sierra needed her. For once, Phoebe could actually help. If Sierra wasn’t on guard when she got home, those men could hurt her. They could take her.

  Panic zipped through Phoebe, and this time, it was she who pulled her hand from Tristan’s. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to go.”

  He bowed his head and said, “I understand. Take care of yourself, and come back to us when you can.”

  Though fear still coursed through her, Phoebe’s smile was brilliant in response to his obvious caring. “Always.”

  She walked onto the shore, her clothing dragging at her waist and legs, the water leaving goosebumps along her skin in the warm air. She turned and waved, and he lifted one hand in farewell. One in water. One on land. Just like their first goodbye. Déjà vu rushed over her, but she forced herself to walk away. She checked over her shoulder as she trudged across the beach and he remained, bobbing patiently in the cove. When she reached the forest’s dark edge, she took one last look. He was gone.

  She was all alone.

  Sierra will be late, Sierra will be late, Phoebe chanted as she ran back to their house in Tuathail.

  It was probably true. Her sister’s journeys had been harder of late. As Donovan had said, some people wanted nectar again, despite the turmoil it caused before. Fairy nectar, made by the little fairies, held the very essence of magic. For years, it was collected―no, hoarded and exploited―for healing potions and elixirs, dropping the amount of magic in the world to dangerous levels. What people didn’t know was that without the supportive net of magic spread throughout the land, their world was dying, earthquakes tearing it apart. After the littlest fairies had perished, starved of magic, the queens fled to the mountains to replenish themselves at the heart of magic, a hidden well-spring of power. Sierra practically saved the world by finding the queens again while also saving Phoebe. The queens’ return and the rebirth of the little fairies was a joyous thing indeed.

  Phoebe never begrudged anyone such happiness. She just wished she could be as useful and magical as her sister was. A moment of jealousy pinched at her, but she squashed it. It wasn’t Sierra’s fault that she had gotten all the magic in the family.

  Ducking among the branches, Phoebe stayed on the lookout for Donovan. The shadows of the trees blocked much of the dwindling sunlight, but at least she was better hidden, even with her bright red hair. Oh please, let her beat Sierra home.

  Phoebe reached the clearing where their house sat. Small, squat, and grey, their home was hardly anything to brag about. The corners still needed patching from the earthquakes that had rocked the packed mud and stone building for years. It slumped a little sideways, like a cantankerous old woman. They’d had no time or money to invest in fixing it up, but it was theirs. With their dangerous father dead, killed during Phoebe’s rescue, the sisters had more freedom and peace than they’d ever had.

  Soft golden lamplight shone from the kitchen window in preparation for dusk. Phoebe hadn’t left any lamps glowing when she left. Dread swelled in her. There would be no way to hide where she’d been. Water sluiced down her pants and tunic. She’d have to confess.

  Let’s see… dead merfolk, terrifying sea creature, and Donovan back to get her. She couldn’t hit Sierra with all of those at once. Phoebe would start with the most important. Only one of those things was a danger to them now.

  She twisted her hair to get rid of the worst of the water and squared her shoulders. Time to pay the piper.

  Through the open kitchen window, Phoebe spotted Sierra setting the table, her long braid hanging over her shoulder. Her ornate fairy mark gently shone like a jewel on the back of her neck. No one else appeared to be home yet.

  Phoebe stepped inside, and the heat of the cooking fire rushed over her cold, wet skin. The scent of baked bread filled the air, mixing with Sierra’s cinnamon honey scent, the fragrance of a fairy keeper.

  “Where have you been?” Sierra cried.

  She ran over and pulled Phoebe into a tight hug. “I’ve been so worried! Where were you? I told you to stay by the house while I was gone this time!”

  She patted down Phoebe’s arms, as if checking for wounds. When Sierra’s hands came away wet, her eyes narrowed, red dots of anger blooming on her cheeks. “Bug, tell me you weren’t in the ocean.”

  Anger lit inside Phoebe in response, a fuse that might just explode. As much as she loved her special nickname, it had become a symbol of her childhood. And by all the stars, she wasn’t ten anymore. Yes, she’d run into danger in the ocean. But she’d survived, hadn’t she? Which was more credit than her sister had ever given her. She’d survived a lot in life, in fact.

  “Sierra, I’m not a child! I’m not your little ‘Bug’ anymore. And yes, I was in the ocean, but it’s not what you think. And by the way, welcome home.”

  Queenie, Sierra’s glowing fairy queen, sat upon her sister’s shoulder, a wide smile on the fairy’s tiny golden face. Queenie shook a little finger at Sierra and zipped over to Phoebe to caress her cheek before flying off through the window to join the little fairies dancing in the trees.

  Sierra sighed and resumed setting the table, most likely biting back words of frustration. “Fine. Queenie’s right. I apologize for snapping. You’ll still need to tell me what happened, and we will discuss this breach of the rules, but first, you need to eat. You’re too thin, Bug―I mean, Phoebe. And go put on your nightgown. At least you’ll be dry.�
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  Phoebe ground her teeth. She hadn’t even decided how to break the news about Donovan, but, as usual, Sierra got to decide when and how Phoebe did everything. By all the magic in Aluvia, she was tired of being treated like a baby. She changed quickly, yanking on the first nightdress she found. But she couldn’t eat now. Any food she choked down would most likely come right back up.

  She padded barefoot back into the kitchen, reminding herself to stay calm. “Sierra, I need to talk to you about what happened today. It’s serious―Donovan came here, with another man. I had to dive into the ocean to escape them.”

  The plates Sierra was holding clattered to the table. “What! Are you hurt?”

  Sierra rushed over again. Her eyes were wide, eyebrows tilted up in worry, reminding Phoebe again of why it was she put up with such over-protectiveness. Sierra really did love her. She just had a hard time admitting her little sister was growing up, especially after almost losing Phoebe four years ago.

  Phoebe thought about what she told Tristan. Could she really keep the secret of the mer-skeleton and the scary sea creature from Sierra? There had been a time when the two of them shared everything; it was Sierra and Phoebe against the world. She really missed that. She missed the big sister who used to make up silly rhymes and sew stuffed animals for her. Where had that Sierra gone?

  She’d gone on a quest to save Phoebe, that’s where, and the fairy keeper who’d come back was a different person. Happier, but with a new mission—a mission bigger than the needs of one little sister.

  Then Sierra grabbed Phoebe’s shoulders and hugged her tight again, and Phoebe couldn’t hang on to her irritation. Guilt pricked her conscience.

  “I’m okay. But the men were here earlier and could still be around.”

  Sierra blanched. “What? What happened?”

  “I was down at the coast again this afternoon―”

  Sierra cut her off, her hand making a slicing motion as she lost her tenuous hold on her infamous temper. “Argh! You and that ocean! So you did leave the house! I swear one of these days you’re going to grow scales from all the time you spend at that smelly place! If you had stayed home like I asked you, you wouldn’t have had to deal with those men. Old Sam would have warned you if anyone was nearby, and our locks are made with the finest steel money can buy. You can bet I made sure of that before I left this time.”

  Phoebe gasped in sudden understanding. Rage boiled, at sudden flashpoint. She pointed a shaking finger at her sister.

  “You knew. You knew we were in danger and didn’t warn me.” She turned on her heel and stormed to her room, throwing herself onto her pallet in the little space that had once been theirs.

  Phoebe held her pillow and waited for the tears to come. But today, her tears remained trapped inside. They clawed at her stomach like wild animals but couldn’t push past the sense of betrayal.

  The knock a few minutes later was not unexpected. But Sierra’s relative calm was.

  “You want to talk about what happened? We assume you went with Tristan and Mina, given that you’re soaked,” Sierra said.

  Corbin peeked around the edge of the door. The others must have arrived for dinner. Perfect timing. Now she could tell everyone what she’d been up to in their absence.

  The gentle fairy keeper’s dark brown eyes were soft with some emotion. Pity? Sympathy? Knowing Corbin, it was both. “Hey, kiddo. We need to know what happened. Are you okay?”

  Phoebe dragged herself into a sitting position. “You have some time?”

  “For you?” Corbin said, putting his hand on Sierra’s shoulder when she scowled and opened her mouth. “Of course.”

  Sierra pursed her lips, though her anger was evident by the two bright red spots remaining on her pale cheeks. Guilt stung Phoebe again. She had disobeyed, and they’d been worried. But then she remembered they had essentially lied to her, hiding the knowledge that Bentwood’s old dark alchemy crew would be around. Phoebe loved her sister and friends, but they just couldn’t accept she was growing up.

  “You can stop glaring at me like that, Sierra. If you’d told me Donovan and his men were coming after me, you can bet all your fairies I wouldn’t have left the safety of the house.”

  Sierra paled. “They came for you? Micah, get in here!”

  Micah glided in from the back room. He looked completely comfortable in the human form he wore so often these days. He was always handsome, but Phoebe privately thought he was more handsome in his natural state, in the glorious magical form of a faun. Who would choose to be human when they could walk around bursting with magic? Although, transforming into a human allowed Micah to better live in Sierra’s world as her beloved. They were practically inseparable. Phoebe’s heart still warmed at their devotion to each other.

  “Good evening, little sister. It’s good to see you.” Micah paused, furrowing his brow for a moment. He inhaled deeply, and his expression cleared. Then he bowed to Phoebe, as he often did in greeting.

  Sierra rolled her eyes at his courtly manners, as usual. Micah stood near the door. The four of them were crowded in the little room, but no one complained.

  Sierra commanded, “Okay, now tell us. Clearly. Donovan came for you?”

  “Him and some other man I didn’t know. While I was at the water.” Her hands twisted in her old quilt made by their mother years ago. The loose threads looked like lace. “I went down to finish a conversation with Tristan and Mina, but they weren’t there.”

  Phoebe went on to explain how the men trapped her and why she ran into the water.

  “You’re sure it was Donovan? And that they were supposed to take you?” Sierra asked, biting her lip, exchanging a glance with Micah.

  “I’d never forget that face.”

  Sierra sat down and looped an arm around Phoebe. “Go on, then.”

  “I knew Tristan and Mina were coming, so I swam out far into the sea, hoping the men wouldn’t come after me.”

  “You’re lucky the merfolk came in time,” Micah said, solemnly. Phoebe considered mentioning the reason the merfolk had been meeting her, the discussion about the skeleton, but then Corbin interrupted.

  “What’s that mark on your ankle?”

  Everyone stared. Huge reddened fingerprints marred the pale skin on her right leg. Phoebe hadn’t noticed the mark until now. She hastily covered her bare legs and feet with a blanket, but it was too late.

  “And what. Is. That?” Sierra chewed out the words.

  Phoebe sighed. She was going to have to tell them after all. This wasn’t going to be pleasant.

  hoebe told them the truth about the sea creature that grabbed her. She didn’t tell them of the terror she’d felt, but she described the creature in detail.

  “Wait, wait,” Corbin gasped, waving his hands to stop Phoebe. “A water wraith?”

  “A what?” Sierra stood, hands on her hips, ready for a fight.

  Corbin gulped, staring at Phoebe. “It had… red eyes and sharp teeth?”

  Sierra’s eyes popped, and her gaze pinned Phoebe to the wall. “Yes, Phoebe, do tell. Did this thing have red eyes and sharp teeth, when you were under the water where you weren’t supposed to be?”

  Phoebe flinched, but she spit out, “What, you’d rather Donovan caught me?”

  Sierra took a deep breath as if about to argue, but Micah hushed her with a finger against her lips. She complied with his silent request when she’d never listen to anyone else like that. He winked at Phoebe.

  Corbin said, “The water wraiths are an old myth. I’ve only read about them in a few rare scrolls from countless years ago. The old tales say they are the servants of a giant, ancient sea creature called Baleros, and both preyed on the merfolk, stealing their magic.”

  Phoebe stifled a gasp at hearing that unusual name mentioned again.

  “So, if one servant of a powerful, awful sea beast is awake again, doesn’t that mean more wraiths could be around? Aren’t the merfolk in terrible danger? Maybe even from this beast itself?” P
hoebe asked.

  She thought of the skeleton, of its crushed skull, of the faint image of the stirring shadow she sensed as the wraith had held her. Dread was an icy pit in her stomach. Maybe the horrifying shadow creature she saw when she was dying had been a warning, a vision of the thing that destroyed that poor merman. Maybe the elders were wrong, and Tristan’s mother was right.

  The others exchanged glances, but Sierra just said, “We don’t know that for sure yet. Let’s talk about that in a moment. First, though, what happened after this thing, whatever it was, grabbed you?”

  Phoebe took a deep breath and continued. She briefly touched on the strange shadow she had seen as she lost consciousness, which distressed the others, but by the time she finished explaining what happened with the blue light, everyone’s jaws reached the floor.

  Sierra, for once, seemed at a loss for words.

  Micah asked a question no one else had yet. “You said there was a blue light, when the water wraith held you, and then it let go?”

  Phoebe nodded. “The light was bright blue, like sapphires. It pulsed once and was gone. I thought Tristan had done it, but he said he saw nothing near me when he arrived.”

  Micah was silent, though Phoebe noticed Sierra eyeing him with suspicion. They were keeping secrets! That was most definitely a keeping-things-from-Phoebe-again face.

  “What do you know that you’re not telling me?” Phoebe demanded. She stood up on the pallet, feeling the need to be taller and more grown up than sprawling on her bed. “Why didn’t anyone tell me there’d been new threats against us?”

  Here the other three had the grace to look abashed. “I didn’t want you to worry, Phoeb’,” Sierra whispered. “I know I shouldn’t keep things from you, and I really am sorry, but you were so frail after we got you back and you still, well, you still get upset sometimes. You know how you get?”