World of Aluvia 2

by Amy Bearce

  “By the great shell, what on Aluvia are you doing, Phoebe? Trying to kill yourself?”

  Relief flooded her, leaving her weak-kneed like soggy kelp. She spun in Tristan’s arms to face him, her hair tangling around her neck and shoulders. Luminescence lit his skin all over. It wasn’t bright, but it was enough to see the green of his eyes, the first time she had ever seen their natural shade underwater. Those eyes grew rounder than sand dollars as his gaze traveled over her. He looked around and must have realized she was alone, as his mouth dropped open in shock. His lips moved in some sort of prayer or curse, and his gaze snapped back to hers, eyes still wide.

  “How did you get down here? Did Mina bring you?”

  “No… no… no one brought me,” she stammered. She thought he might be pleased to see her initiative, happy to see that she came to him, of all people. But maybe not.

  “Then how did this happen?!”

  Was he angry? He didn’t sound happy. Phoebe recoiled, her stomach twisting. But urgency pressed her past hurt. He needed to listen.

  “I had to warn you. The thing I saw―Tristan, I found out it’s a water wraith, and your mother could be right about Baleros. It’s possible that merman skeleton wasn’t as old as we thought―the marks on it could be from that thing. You’re in danger!” She paused, then added, a little awkwardly, “Your people are at risk!”

  He raised his eyebrows. “The water wraiths are just a myth, Phoebe.”

  She shook her head, sending her hair spinning. She shoved the long locks out of the way and grabbed his arms. The muscles bunched under her hands. “So were dragons on land, Tristan. And they’re out there now, setting fire to whole sections of the mountains, causing all kinds of trouble not even the fauns can stop. We need to tell the elders!”

  “You’re serious,” he whispered to himself. Then looked again at Phoebe more closely. “By the shell! A mer-tear!” he gasped. “So that’s how you got down here?”

  She froze. “You didn’t leave it for me?”

  He shook his head, hair swinging wildly in the current.

  “It was left where you usually give me presents. If you didn’t send this to me, who did?”

  As white as she’d ever seen him―which was a feat, considering his pale skin―he pursed his lips and said, “I don’t know. We’ll need to tell my people. We’re forbidden to share mer-tears with humans. Whoever did it will be in serious trouble, but that’s not your concern. And you can share what you experienced. Maybe the elders will know what creature attacked you. Let’s go. But don’t sing. You called me straight to you. Who knows what else you might have called? Don’t forget sound travels far under the water.”

  Mute with surprise, she nodded.

  Then he smiled a little half-smile at her. Softer now, he said, “When this is all done, though, I hope you will sing to me again. I do love to hear your voice, Phoebe Quinn.”

  Phoebe looked down at her body, surprised she wasn’t glowing from pleased embarrassment. Fine, she could keep from singing out loud. What he didn’t understand is that the music rarely went truly silent inside her. Sometimes it was just a quiet tune harmonizing in the background. Other times it took the lead in her thoughts as she daydreamed. Right now, the music in her mind picked up its pace into a happy jig.

  Before she could reply, though, Tristan said, “I’ll have to take you to the village. You’ll need to see the elders.”

  Phoebe gaped at him. “The village?”

  “Yes. To Morgance, the home of the merfolk.”

  Her heart tripped in her chest. These days, humans were not permitted in Morgance at all. Mina might have broken the rules and secretly shown her the village, but never Tristan. He said Phoebe couldn’t understand the importance of cooperation among his people. If he defied the elders, he could be cast out. She definitely didn’t understand. Sierra had defied their father and came out on top, but Tristan insisted the merfolk were different. Community was like the ocean itself for them, impossible to live without.

  This was her chance to see the merfolk’s village, which was built along the line of the shallows and the twilight realm of the sea. Forget her exhaustion. Forget Sierra. For a moment, she even forgot about the water wraith.

  Tristan’s eyes were so close, she could see herself reflected in them, wild red hair swaying all around her like chaotic seaweed, eyes wide and round.

  “Let’s go, then,” she replied.

  “The elders won’t like it. Are you prepared for that?”

  She lifted her chin. “I’m ready for anything.”

  “Let’s find Mina, first,” he said. “If anyone can talk their way out of trouble, it’s that girl.”

  Phoebe laughed. He took her hand and led her into the dark waters.

  With Tristan pulling her, they sped through the water faster than the quickest shark of the sea. The deeper they went, the more he glowed. If Phoebe was still breathing air, he would have taken her breath away. As even the moonlight faded around them, his skin let off an even brighter silver radiance that shimmered, illuminating the fish and sea plants as they passed.

  “During the day, this area is full of sea creatures you’d recognize, but at night, completely different fish and animals swim from the depths to enjoy the feeding,” he explained.

  Rainbow lights glittered on a rising squid and reflected against the coral.

  “Those are night hunters,” he commented. “They eat fish and crabs. We’re not their prey, don’t worry. You’re fortunate to be here at night, to see the display. We often douse our own light when traveling, but this area is safe for us and quite beautiful. You will be able to see better if I show the way.”

  Phoebe’s body relaxed as she let him pull her along. She was safe now. She was with Tristan.

  They didn’t have to look long for Mina. She found them before they swam far. Merfolk slept only briefly, so they were often looking for ways to pass the time. Mina in particular was frequently out looking for fun and adventure.

  “Tristan!” a sharp voice called, lined with both shock and mischievous pleasure. “What are you doing with Phoebe? You finally decided to take my advice?”

  Mina spun into sight from behind a wide column of coral, her eyes flashing like a cat’s as they reflected Tristan’s light and her own. Her smile was wide and demanded a smile in return, as always, and she winked at them.

  “It’s serious, Mina. She has a great deal to report to the elders.”

  “Why can’t you tell whatever it is to the elders yourself?” Mina smirked at him. “You know you’re just glad to have a reason to finally show off our home to her.”

  Tristan looked flustered, which made Phoebe hide a smile. He had wanted to bring her to his home? Warmth filled her, bubbling like fizzy apple cider.

  “You know why I haven’t,” he muttered, neck and back stiff.

  “Oh relax, Tristan! You’re going to get everyone’s tail in a twist, and I, frankly, cannot wait to see it!”

  “Phoebe’s message is serious business,” he chided.

  Mina whistled, a strange warbling under the water. “So you’re going to take a human to all the elders? In our home? Ha! The chance to see you finally stand up to those old barracudas makes all the tragedy almost worthwhile.”

  He rolled his eyes. “We’ll see what happens. But I cannot allow things to go on as they have.”

  Mina kissed his cheek. “It’s about time.”

  ill you really show me your village?” she whispered to Tristan as Mina swam alongside them. It was one place in the sea he had never shared before.

  He nodded and gulped at the same time. She almost regretted asking.

  “I don’t want to cause any problems for you,” Phoebe said as they glided through the water.

  Mina laughed and teased, “Too late for that, little songbird.” She emphasized the nickname.

  “Mina!” Tristan groaned, but Mina was unrepentant.

  Phoebe looked back and forth between them, pinned as she was between t
heir bodies. The ocean floor flashed past at a dizzying speed. “Tristan?”

  He growled in frustration but glanced at her before looking away. “What my sister means is whether or not our family approves of our friendship, it’s a choice we’ve already made, and we wouldn’t make a different one.”

  “That bad, huh?” Phoebe said, unhappiness lodging in her belly.

  Mina answered when Tristan did not. “Let’s just say that when Tristan helped rescue you, our mother and father were unhappy that he didn’t ask permission first.”

  He glared at his sister, who glared right back.

  Phoebe looked back and forth between them, eyebrows arched high. “That was four years ago. They’re still holding that against you?”

  Tristan said, “It doesn’t matter―”

  “It does,” Phoebe interrupted. “You never told me you got in trouble for helping me.”

  Sighing he said, “Our people value cooperation above all things, you know this, along with respect for our elders and tradition.”

  Phoebe nodded. “So?”

  “So, by aiding in the conflict against Bentwood, I not only violated our peaceful way of living, I didn’t ask the elders before involving the merfolk.”

  “But because of your actions, Bentwood was eventually destroyed. Don’t they appreciate that? Without you, they’d be in slavery still.”

  The two merfolk were silent for a moment. Then Tristan said, “Not everyone sees things in this light.”

  “Then they’re fools,” Phoebe snapped.

  A horrible thought occurred to her. She whispered, “Did they hurt you?”

  “They punished me―but not physically. They told me to stop seeing you. They told both of us to avoid you, four years ago. They couldn’t stop the little seawees from coming to your singing but said we were old enough to know better. Obviously, we ignored them, though it has been harder and harder to sneak away to visit.”

  “Tristan! You’ve been sneaking? What about honoring your elders and all that?” She could hardly believe it. He was always so cautious about following the rules. She must mean something to him for him to risk such behavior!

  He looked uncomfortable. She could tell this was more important than he was letting on. “They were being unreasonable, and our friendship hurts nothing. But when we told them of the skeleton, it came out that we’ve still been in contact with you. They were… displeased. And with humans breaking the treaty so often these days, it has only added water to the flood. They wanted to reduce your influence in my life from the very beginning.”

  Horrified, she stared at him with her mouth open.

  He closed it with a light finger under her jaw. “Obviously, they’ve failed.”

  Bright pink stained her cheeks, she knew from the burn, that tattletale blush, the bane of redheads. She wanted to say something, but no words would come. Absolutely nothing. Great.

  Mina nudged her shoulder. “We both chose you, Phoebe. We’d be the fools if we didn’t. You’re our best friend. Never forget it. No matter what they say when we get to the village.”

  And with those words, Phoebe felt she could conquer anything. Her friends loved her. She mattered. They’d never leave her. And no one could take that away from them.

  The waters were darker on the far edge of the shallows, but a glow along the ocean floor was clear on the horizon, growing larger and larger. The village. A sudden flurry of nerves shouldered aside her moment of exhilaration, and she gripped Tristan’s hand tighter as he pulled ahead of her. He smiled at her over his shoulder as they came around a bend, and waved his free hand at the cliff that dropped below them.

  “Welcome to Morgance,” he said, with a wry twist of his lips. “It’s not what it used to be, but it’s home.”

  She understood his tone as she gazed down at the village, which grew almost organically from the cliff’s wall, like wild mushrooms popping up among the forest floor. The village was smaller than she had imagined. Village seemed to be the wrong word, actually. It was more like a sketchy version of a tiny port city: crowded, basic, falling apart.

  The trio swam lower along the cliff face, and Phoebe was surprised to see merfolk-sized holes in the rock, clearly dwelling places. They were like the many dwellings in taller buildings of the ports, but no building on land ever reached so high. Nets of lantern fish hung along the craggy wall, where the living, glowing fish provided a low illumination matched by the soft glow of the merfolk’s skin. A silver bubble of light condensed below where a large crowd of merfolk congregated.

  Phoebe, Mina, and Tristan followed the cliff down toward the sea bottom. As they zoomed past the cave openings, Phoebe noticed many of the holes had swaying curtains of sea grasses covering the entryway like a door. Within the open caves, many of the merfolk were too young to have their tattoos yet. Some strummed musical instruments, creating a waving, sonorous melody rippling through the water. Others reclined on cushions eating and chatting with each other.

  A crowd of merfolk gathered at the base of the cliff. The silver glow here pulsed with their agitation. White crabs scurried from their light, and flattened fish flopped and buried themselves in the sand. Screeches and wails clashed as the merfolk argued below. Bubbles flew past Phoebe’s face at the rapid pace of her friends’ swimming. The light from Tristan and Mina’s skin dimmed as they approached the brilliance of the gathered merfolk.

  “Uh, Tristan? Mina?” she said, voice wavering, and not just from the water speeding by her lips.

  “Shh!” Tristan said, pulling her behind him as he all but skidded to a stop behind the crowd. “Something’s happened. Something else,” he whispered to Mina.

  The two exchanged a glance, and then Mina slipped from their side and slid into the crowd with the ease of an eel.

  Phoebe was practically hidden behind Tristan’s broader frame. She peeked out around him. Most of the merfolk were facing away from them, toward a group in the middle of what had to be their elders. Long braids floated above the shoulders of the seven mermen and mermaids in the middle of the circle, each wearing a necklace of clam shells. All of the adult merfolk had black tattoos decorating their arms and shoulders. The mermen’s bare torsos were embellished as well.

  Tattoos magically appeared on each merfolk after some mysterious ceremony ushering them into adulthood, a sacred ceremony her friends said they could not talk about. Naturally, it always drove Phoebe wild with curiosity.

  Phoebe only knew that each tattoo pattern held deep personal meaning. The dark lines of their tattoos stood out against the glowing luminescence of their skin, leaving a breathtaking design across their bodies. Despite their wild beauty, most did not look well, appearing even thinner than Mina and Tristan. The lines on their faces were too sharp; their collarbones jutted out, all points and angles. The scales of some of the merfolk were dull and even cracked.

  They were speaking. Phoebe could understand most of what they were saying in trade speech, as most merfolk rarely spoke their native language anymore. Tristan and Mina had explained to Phoebe that the constant use of trade speech required during their years of slavery to humans had left its mark on their culture. Just one more reason for merfolk to resent humans. All seawees still learned the merfolk language, of course, but only the most staunchly conservative elders spoke it regularly.

  “I’ve seen one, I tell you!” a seawee was saying, face red. He couldn’t have been more than eight or nine, and his skin shone like diamonds. He did not cry, but if he did, surely a fountain of tears would leave an avalanche of pearls to wish upon. His anguish made Phoebe want to comfort him.

  An elder made a noise, but the seawee refused to acknowledge it.

  “Liam,” the elder tried to sooth him again.

  “You think I’m crazy, but I’m not! I saw a water wraith! It looked just like every story I’d ever heard, and it looked at me and hissed! It was huge.” He shuddered.

  An agitated murmur rolled through the crowd.

  Phoebe stiffened, and Tristan
reached back to put a restraining hand on her arm.

  “We all know things have been hard for you since the disappearance of your father last month,” continued the elder mermaid, whose arms were covered with tiny dolphins and whale tattoos. “Perhaps your grief has led to some confusion?” The old mermaid raised one eyebrow, as if to suggest that, obviously, this was the explanation.

  The little seawee glared at the elder, causing a number of matronly-looking merfolk to shake their heads at the youth.

  “This is not our way,” the elder admonished. “You must control yourself, Liam.”

  Several seawees floated closer and closer to Tristan, tiny frowns on their faces. One craned her neck past Tristan and met Phoebe’s eyes. The little one’s eyes lit up. The seawee grabbed the arm of her friend and pointed over at Tristan. Any moment now, Phoebe was going to be exposed, she just knew it.

  “Are you going to tell them what I saw?” Phoebe whispered to Tristan.

  He spoke low over his shoulder. “Wait. Let Mina see if she can find out anything. She knows Liam. His father often disappeared for days at a time, and she always kept a special eye on Liam.”

  Mina’s face was ashen from Liam’s intense distress. Even the little seawees who had spied Phoebe paused in their pursuit, staring over at Liam.

  “Those eyes! You’ll never forget them once you’ve seen them. And if we don’t do something, you will see them! You’ll all see those blood red-eyes―and you’ll die! They’ll steal your life, strip you bare!” The boy was raving. His voice rose shrilly.

  The chill of the water reached Phoebe for the first time since Tristan saved her. A number of mermen gathered the seawee up in a hurry and carried him off while he jabbered about the end of the world. Mina stared after them.

  Phoebe couldn’t stand it anymore. She pulled herself from behind Tristan and announced loudly, “I saw it, too. A water wraith tried to kill me.”