World of Aluvia 2

by Amy Bearce

  “You can’t―” exploded Tristan, but the mermaid cut him off with a pointed look. She raised her hand in a sign that clearly meant for him to wait. Not a word was shared between them, but their unspoken argument filled the silence.

  Never return to the quiet, serene beauty of the ocean? The thought was a kick to Phoebe’s stomach, all the more painful for coming without preparation.

  She’d only just returned to the sea. And now she’d have to leave it forever. She pressed a hand to her aching heart. “Why? But that creature! The shadow! I could help you―”

  “Even if the wraith is real―and maybe it is―a mere human will be no help against a water wraith or anything else, I am afraid. You would only get in the way,” murmured Elder Maher.

  Elder Seamus added with a sneer, “But you are not telling the truth. Humans only take and take. You perhaps have even charmed the mind of poor Liam, making him believe he witnessed a wraith. The skeleton you found means nothing. Anything could have killed our brethren. And unless my eyes are very much mistaken, you have a mer-tear, which is forbidden to give to a human. Who did you steal it from? What is your purpose? Need we any more evidence that you come only to rob from us?”

  “I didn’t steal it!” she shouted. The elders gasped at her temerity. She was past caring and had nothing left to lose anyway.

  That merman might hate her, but she’d done nothing to deserve this kind of suspicion. She jerked her chin high and wrapped her hand around the pearl.

  “Then who gave it to you?”

  There was no answer for that. They wouldn’t like that Tristan had left presents for her, but she truly didn’t know where the pearl had come from.

  And she couldn’t convince someone full of anger. She knew that from watching her sister speak to others about saving the fairies.

  “Someone left the pearl for me. I didn’t ask for it. I thought it was a sign that I should come to you.”

  “It wasn’t. That necklace was a mistake on someone’s part, but we will deal with that individual later. Once you return to land, the pearl will be empty of its magic. Tristan will send you home but will not accompany you. Never return, young human. We are finally free of slavery from humans, despite their attempts to overtake us once again. We won’t fall for another kind of servitude, especially some kind of emotional trickery.”

  Phoebe was speechless. No matter what Micah or Sierra said, Phoebe knew she didn’t have the kind of power that this merman thought. Well, she couldn’t know what they were truly thinking, but they were dead wrong about what they were accusing. Unfortunately, they also weren’t listening to her.

  The angry elder continued, “And neither of these two young merfolk will come to you ever again. You’ve clearly already wrapped them around your finger. You are too dangerous.”

  Sobs pushed at Phoebe’s throat. No. Surely the elder was exaggerating. She turned to find Tristan’s face stricken with horror. Mina looked stunned.

  How could she be dangerous to her friends? Was she somehow magically forcing them to care for her? Phoebe groaned, covering her eyes with her hands. The water went dark as the elders swam away. She floated above the rock, her feet barely grazing its surface, unable to move. But not from magic.

  From grief.

  ristan tugged Phoebe’s hand and whispered, “Come, we must go.”

  He darted into the waters. The gorgeous surroundings could not distract her this time. She supposed she should drink them in, as this might be her last time to ever see the underwater world, but she was too miserable. Mina swam beside them. No one spoke as the city dwindled behind them.

  “I can’t stand it,” Mina burst out. She grabbed Phoebe in a tight embrace.

  “You’re like the sister I never had,” the mermaid whispered.

  Tears finally stung Phoebe’s eyes then mingled with the seawater. Tristan kept swimming for a moment before he noticed the two girls had stopped. He turned and sped toward them.

  “I’ll miss you,” Phoebe told her, pulling back far enough to look into Mina’s dark eyes. “Take care of yourself, okay? And… take care of your brother for me.”

  Mina’s face crumpled.

  “He’s never going to get over this,” she whispered in Phoebe’s ear, making her flush.

  She didn’t know what to say, so she was relieved when Tristan reached them. “Mina, she’s got to leave. You need to let go of her.”

  “You’re going to let her go to shore by herself, then? Knowing that a wraith is in the water somewhere? Or something worse?”

  “You think so little of me, sister?”

  Mina’s smile curved into a smirk. “Quite the opposite, brother of mine. But the elders will be looking for us to make sure we’ve obeyed.”

  “And I’m sure you can assure them that we have and that I’m off sulking somewhere.”

  Mina’s laugh chimed for a moment before her face grew somber again. “You impress me, twin. There’s hope for you yet, no matter what the elders do. I’ll cover for you. Look out for Phoebe. The ocean’s a dangerous place for a human.”

  “It’s dangerous for anyone, it looks like,” Phoebe pointed out. “So just watch yourself, okay?”

  The mermaid gave Phoebe one final hug and darted off toward the village without looking back. Phoebe raised one hand in goodbye anyway.

  “Come,” Tristan muttered. “It’s time.”

  They swam a few furlongs before Phoebe’s frustration ate too far into her patience. She burst out, “Tristan, you’ve got to believe I’m telling the truth. What I saw is real. You can’t ignore the danger, can you?”

  “Shh. Just wait.” He gripped her hand and pulled her into a thick tangle of seaweed.

  He reached an empty hole in the weeds and spun to face her, hands wide, imploring. “I know you saw it. But I don’t know what to do! They’re just making excuses. They’d rather not risk anything or change our ways, even if it means our death!”

  He cursed again in the trilling language of the merfolk. “Let me think. If I can find the lair where this thing lives, maybe I can be a witness. They can’t use the temple’s magic on Liam because he’s too young, but I’m no longer a seawee. I’m of age, just as you are. They can test me using the magic they used on you. It should work, and they would have no more excuses. In the natural order of things, I would be traveling to the temple very soon to commit myself to serving the sea as an adult merfolk anyway.”

  “Would they really believe you?”

  “I don’t see how they could deny my testimony if I were questioned within the blue light. You are human. I am merfolk.”

  The stark summary pinched her heart for a minute, but she shook off the reminder of their basic incompatibility. “Okay. So you need to see this wraith with your own eyes so you can testify. But, Tristan, the ocean is huge!”

  He nodded, leaning forward, his eyes shining with hope. “True. But my mother told us Baleros lived in the abyss of the midnight realm, which begins on the other side of the ancient city. I imagine this wraith could be somewhere around there, maybe near the old city itself. Maybe it would be drawn to the old power there, especially after the display of magic from the ritual today.”

  “That sounds risky. How will you know if the wraith is really there?”

  “I have no idea.” He rubbed his brow.

  Phoebe chewed her lip for a moment, studying him. The elders’ insistence that she drew merfolk to her was plainly ludicrous and yet… she’d feel better if she heard him deny it himself. It felt like poor timing to ask now, but there was no easy time to ask it and at least they were alone. “Tristan… can you sense this magical draw the elders spoke of? Does something about me, um, compel you to be my friend?”

  She didn’t really believe the ugly accusation of Elder Seamus, but she had to check.

  Tristan sighed. His mouth twisted before he admitted, “It’s true that I have always felt drawn to you, Phoebe, but not in any dangerous way. They’re old fools, so afraid of the future that they refu
se to see what’s staring them in the face.”

  Phoebe raised her hand. “Wait. You said… you do feel something from me? And always have?”

  She shook her head, closing her eyes against the sharp pain that struck. No. No. She struggled to understand… Was Tristan only her friend because she had somehow forced him to be? The thought left ashes in her mouth. All those times of laughter and fun shared with her mer-friends flashed through her mind, reforming themselves into something entirely different. Something unnatural. Something terrible.

  He grabbed her hands. “Phoebe, listen to me. The day your sister rescued you, do you remember? You called to me, to help you. I didn’t know it was you, but I knew I had to get back to where I left the fairy keeper. It was you, though. I’ve thought about it many times but knew you had no inkling of the situation. It doesn’t matter. It’s not why I… it’s not why we’re friends.”

  When she said nothing, he rushed on, “Please understand. After our first meeting, I had to meet with you to see if you were okay. I couldn’t get you out of mind, the way you looked… so wounded, standing in the surf, watching me with eyes as deep as the sea itself. And after that, well, I simply enjoyed your company. It was nothing shameful or bad. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “Has it been just you that feels this thing? Does Mina? The elders complained about it, but I don’t feel like I’m doing anything, and you never said anything about it!”

  He had the grace to look ashamed. “I didn’t know others would feel it. I assumed it was my own―” he flushed, an amazing shade of rose flooding his pale skin―“Mina and I never even discussed it. Phoebe, I have cared for you for many moons now. Surely you know this?”

  Her heart was breaking. The elders were right. Tristan was finally trying to tell her what she’d dreamed about hearing all year, but it turned out she had tricked him somehow. He was saying she hadn’t, but how could they know for sure? Irony. She had magic but couldn’t use it to get what she wanted. What she had wanted was for him to desire to be with her. But now, she wanted him to feel that way without magic forcing him. And maybe that was impossible.

  She turned away. It wasn’t like they had a future anyway. He would always live in the sea, and she was nothing but a temporary visitor here, forbidden to return.

  She trembled. “It’s probably better that I have to go, then. I wouldn’t want to spellbind anyone into being my friend.”

  He protested, “Nonsense, I’m stronger than that. What do you take me for, some impressionable guppy? And your magic hasn’t always been this noticeable―not since yesterday. Not even you could make me fall… make me care for you if you weren’t so…”

  He tripped over his own words, bringing a sad smile to her face. So maybe he did care as she did. But things had changed. “Tristan, can you honestly say it doesn’t bother you, not even the tiniest bit? That what you feel might be manipulated by my magic? Even a little? That our friendship might be based on a compulsion? Be truthful.”

  His eyes flashed. “I’m always truthful.”

  “Not always,” she reminded him.

  “Withholding information is not the same as lying.” He jutted his chin forward, reminding her of when they first met and argued over which was the most magical creature in Aluvia. She said fairies; he said merfolk. It hadn’t taken Phoebe long to be convinced. He only locked his jaw like that when he was being particularly stubborn.

  “Fine. But don’t hold back now. Doesn’t it make you wonder, even just a tiny bit, if nothing we’ve felt is real, if it’s all from the magic?”

  She reached up and held his chin, making him meet her gaze. She knew her Tristan. He wouldn’t lie outright. He started to speak twice but stopped, reconsidering his words. Her hands trembled, so she wrapped her arms around her waist to hide them.

  He finally said, “The tiniest bit of me, perhaps, is the slightest bit concerned, maybe, but it is far overshadowed by the rest of me. I trust you, Phoebe. You’d never take my free will.”

  Phoebe couldn’t think past the first part of his statement. He did care that her magic was forcing him to be near her. She wanted to curl into a ball. The pull between them, powerful from the beginning, now turned out to be a magical welcome mat to any merfolk who came by, though no one had ever made her feel as he did. As much as she wanted to tell him how much she cared for him, dreamed about him, maybe it would be easier for him to think she just wanted to be friends. Far easier to lose a friend than a sweetheart. She’d been banished, after all.

  It was too much to consider. They stared at each other without saying a word until her chest burned, reminding her to breathe. The tension rose, creating a magnetic pull between them. She wanted to lean against him―but couldn’t. Not now.

  Time to focus on the main problem here. Their tangled relationship would have to wait.

  She cleared her throat, and the moment passed.

  She said, “I understand it’s complicated, to be sure. But let me help you and your people, no matter what the elders say. Maybe this magic I have that lures merfolk will attract the wraith. Or maybe I can sense where it’s hiding.”

  “Phoebe…”

  “Please. Tristan. I need to help you.” The last words were barely spoken, but they reverberated. The water between them seemed to thicken like honey, swirling between them and connecting them.

  His green eyes darkened, not with magic, but with emotion. “If something happened to you―”

  “It won’t. You’ll be with me. I trust you.”

  He looked over her head for a long moment. Indecision twisted his face, but then the conflicted expression fell away, as if he’d made some kind of choice.

  “We can’t let the elders see you.”

  Hope rose in Phoebe. “It’ll be like one of our games. Hide and seek. We hide from the elders and seek the water wraith. Mina would love it.”

  “I don’t want her involved. She gets into too much trouble as it is. Getting caught with you again would be a lot worse for her than me. Okay. You can stay with me, but I’ll take you back to land as soon as we find the lair, agreed? You can’t let the merfolk know you stayed at all.”

  “Agreed.”

  “I hope we don’t regret this.”

  Phoebe knew she never would.

  here do we start?” Phoebe asked.

  “Somewhere with a lot of magic, I imagine. The wraith would need to feed on it, even with the merfolk it’s been stealing energy from.”

  “Let me guess,” Phoebe groaned. “The ancient temple of Lyr? Wouldn’t we have seen something while we were there?” She really did not want to return there, to the strange light that took over her body like that.

  “Well, actually, the Abyss is the place with the most magic of anywhere in the ocean. Some believe our magic actually flows from there, in the depths of the midnight realm, but it’s forbidden for many reasons, Phoebe. It’s full of hidden dangers, even lethal ones. I think the ancient city will be powerful enough to start with. It could easily feed the wraith. Our civilization crumbled because of such power in the wrong hands.”

  “Well, if we don’t do something, it looks like your civilization is going to crumble again, but this time, there’s not much left to collapse.”

  Tristan flinched, and Phoebe offered an apologetic shrug. She hadn’t meant to be harsh. For a moment there, she’d sounded almost like Sierra. Maybe Sierra spoke like that because she was stressed and worried, too.

  “Let’s go, then,” Phoebe urged. “Your family will be looking for you soon, no matter how many excuses Mina comes up with.”

  It didn’t take long to return to Lyr, even being as stealthy as they could be. Phoebe and Tristan swam above the city, scanning it carefully. The darkened stone temple sat hulking across the open patch in the seaweed. A maze of buildings spread out beyond it, until the ground dropped steeply, disappearing into darkness.

  Just beyond the drop, a narrow cliff of white rock rose up from the black depths like a fisted claw, with a cave e
ntrance visible on one jagged side. The cliff sat between the edge of the fallen metropolis and the black waters of the midnight realm, a strange tower marking the change in the basin floor. Phoebe hadn’t noticed it during her last, admittedly chaotic and unexpected, visit to this location.

  “Do you sense the magic around us?” Tristan asked. “It lies over the city like a blanket.”

  Phoebe frowned while concentrating. She felt… something. A stirring, a tingling along her skin. “Maybe. But it’s not very strong.”

  “There’s plenty of magic here, trust me. Let’s explore.”

  They dove down into the city, past abandoned homes that still held woven baskets and the shells of sponge beds, through open squares that must have once held busy markets. The silence crawled along her nerves and hurried Tristan’s fin.

  But they found nothing. No sign of any living creature the size of a wraith, hibernating or otherwise. Tiny sea snails and fish, yes. Evil water wraith, no.

  They rose back over the city for another panoramic view.

  “I was sure it would be here,” Tristan murmured. “It’s really the only place with sufficient magic to feed such a powerful creature. Except the Abyss.”

  Phoebe thought for a long moment, her eyes continuing to be drawn to the lone cliff ahead, followed by sheer blackness beyond. It was like the land simply stopped. “What’s that cliff? And why can’t we see anything past it?”

  Tristan looked where Phoebe was pointing. “That’s the Last Stand. It’s the cliff where our people lost their last hold on the city and retreated. Beyond that line is the midnight realm, and within it lies the Abyss. Even along the divide, the waters are nearly impossible to see through, and the trenches hide deadly creatures.”

  “Does this Last Stand have great amounts of magic, too?”

  He sighed. “Yes.”

  They looked at each other and then back to the cliff. Its edges were craggy and rough-hewn. Long scratches were visible along the side facing them, gouges that looked made by giant claws.

  In silent agreement, they linked hands and swam lower, dodging between the buildings as they slowly wound their way to the city’s far edge. They gazed up at the cliff’s striking white-rocked face, reluctant to move out into the open so close to the pitch darkness.