by Amy Bearce
Phoebe glanced up in time to see Odessa turn her powerful gaze to Tristan, who flushed a brilliant red and almost choked on an oyster. The mermaid elder resumed her intense focus on Phoebe.
“I don’t like you, Phoebe. I still believe that you are a threat to our free wills, but you could unlock the secrets our people need to recover to keep our peaceful claim to this part of the ocean. As a historian, I am well aware that history tends to repeat itself, and unfortunately, our history is full of tragedy. That tragedy has continued already. The seawee Liam is missing. I believe he has been taken by the creatures you saw. “
Mina gave a cry of dismay, and Tristan bit off a curse as his mother pinned him with a stern glare. He quieted, though his frown remained.
She continued, “The danger has grown past an acceptable level, far past it, but I have no wish to move. My studies show me it’s a fruitless search―predators are everywhere. Baleros, if he successfully returns in full, will seek us out anywhere we go, as the ocean is all connected. He won’t fade again if he can help it. I have studied the ancient shell carvings up through the golden era. Baleros nearly destroyed us when we had full use of our magic. We need to learn to use magic again, as you can, or we will surely perish. So we’ll cooperate, Phoebe Quinn. I’ll make sure all the Elders will, even if they must be dragged into the new era flailing their fins.”
“What makes you think I can help?” Phoebe asked.
“Though I dwell beneath, I am not without information. Magical creatures on land have been swimming in a surplus of their earth magic since the fairies returned. They have grown strong, while we are still weak. Why has our magic not returned? How can we reach it once again? I believe you are the answer. You somehow have accessed the magic that has grown strong in the ocean over the years. We will learn from you.”
“But I don’t even know how to use this body properly.”
Odessa’s eyes slid to Tristan, and she tsked. “You’d better tell her everything else she needs to know, son. Our home depends on it. This isn’t the time for being shy. Teach her how to be a mermaid.”
“You know more than I―” he began.
“You know more than enough. While I feel her draw, I do not share the same bond with her you do. You are the best choice for this job. If you teach her to use the little powers we still have, perhaps the rest will come naturally to her. And then we will study alongside her and try to duplicate it. Surely if a mermaid who is really a human can do such miraculous things, we as true merfolk can all learn to do so. The magic is there. We just have to reach it. But Tristan, best be on your guard. Who knows how strong her charms may grow?”
With those words, her smile disappeared, and the bit of sparkle in her eyes shuttered closed. She turned to leave.
“Come, daughter. The fewer of us around her, the better. Let these two get to work.” She beckoned Mina, who scowled.
Mina stuck her tongue out at her mother’s back but blew a kiss to her brother and best friend.
“You have to tell me all about it later, you hear me? Make him work hard, Phoebe! I expect you to be able to keep up with us from now on!”
Phoebe said, “I’ll do my best.”
Tristan just waved in a shooing motion.
Watching the brother and sister dynamics made Phoebe miss Sierra more than ever. “Wait, milady―my sister! Does she know what’s happened to me?”
Odessa paused on her way out of the cave. “We have sent word to your sister that you are with us and safe for the moment. But be aware: this is not her fight. She will not be permitted below the waves. She would be a distraction to you. She has nothing to offer us. But you, Phoebe Quinn? You do.”
Odessa’s green eyes turned black for a moment and spiraled into an eternity as their gazes held. Phoebe’s breath sped up in fear. Then Odessa blinked and spun away, calling over her shoulder, “Gird thyself, Phoebe. The sea is generous, but she always demands payment for her gifts.”
A pang of anxiety speared through Phoebe. Nell said the ocean would claim Phoebe if she accepted its gifts. Nell was never wrong when the voice came upon her.
Phoebe’s hand drifted to the pearl. The sea itself couldn’t give a gift. What gift had she accepted? And from whom?
ust Tristan and Phoebe remained in the cave, but the presence of Odessa was so strong it almost felt like she was still there. Phoebe wondered what Sierra or Nell would think of the elder mermaid.
Tristan met Phoebe’s eyes. “Well, now you’ve met my mother. Maybe you can understand why I never introduced you before. Or mentioned her.”
All at once, laughter burst from Phoebe. It reminded her of the night Sierra left for her long journey to find her fairy, how they both guffawed and snorted and giggled at the most inappropriate time. Sometimes, laughter was necessary in order not to cry.
“Okay. Now really, how can I help?”
“I knew you’d want to.” He sighed. “Well, my mother knows a great deal about how magic was used by our forefathers. I’m expected to take over as historian one day, so I’ve studied alongside her. Your magic has many similarities to theirs. Her thought is that you could learn to duplicate all their skills. You’ve called me to you before, and we can assume you did so using your magic unintentionally. My mother thinks you could learn to sense the location of particular merfolk and even call them to you on purpose. And you’ve got to learn to control what you’ve done twice before with the light.”
He ran his hand through his unruly green locks, woven through with braids. The gesture was full of frustration, but his voice was flat when he said, “You’ve only done it in moments of danger or panic. Maybe we can try to make it happen consciously. But first things first.”
“What’s that?”
“You’ve got to learn to use your fin, Phoebe.”
He couldn’t suppress a grin.
Before she could decide if she should laugh with him or feel offended, his expression changed from amused to awestruck. “You are the first human to ever become a mermaid, something we thought was impossible. Even if the pearl is causing it, you need to learn to use your body properly.”
They both looked at the pearl for moment. It still glowed softly.
He continued, “It’s natural that it’ll feel awkward at first. But it’s possible your legs will return if you go on land or remove the pearl. Mother is searching the oldest magic texts for solutions, but first she wants you to help us master this magic you have before she helps you regain your legs.”
Phoebe narrowed her eyes. Who was being kept in servitude now? She was a hostage to the merfolk as surely as she had been to Bentwood. “She could help me but isn’t?”
“She’s searching for an answer she’s confident she can find. She doesn’t have it yet,” he corrected.
“How is that different?”
“Mother is ruthless. Trust me, she won’t change, but she is sincere about finding you an answer. So, let’s get started. The sooner we get this part done, the sooner you can get your legs back.”
She squelched a twist of disappointment at the thought of being human again and focused instead on Odessa’s command. Anger at Odessa’s presumption mixed with relief. As annoying as she was, Phoebe trusted that if anyone could help, Odessa could. Of course, she just wanted to get Phoebe out of her realm. Unlike Bentwood, the merfolk elder wasn’t interested in keeping her.
“Okay, fine. I help her. She helps me. That sounds fair enough.”
“It’s not.” He hung his head. “I’m quite shamed. You have already risked your life for us. You saved me from dying! I think she ought to help you return to your human form right away.”
She touched the pearl. A new warmth radiated from it now. “Well, at least I will have had this time with you here, even if it turns out I do revert to a human after I take off the necklace.”
“I hope you do.”
She flinched. He might as well have slapped her.
Tristan leaned forward, eyes wide, hands spread, voice cracking. �
�Don’t you see, Phoebe? They’re hunting us. If the wraiths took Liam, they could take you next.”
“I want to be here, though.” The words cost her to admit.
“Whatever your power is, little songbird, it’s obviously grown exponentially to affect the elders, though I must confess I don’t feel a difference. You have always drawn me this strongly.”
She gulped, her heart kicking up to a speeding rhythm. Tristan wasn’t finished, though.
“But what if your power calls the water wraiths to you? That’s probably why one of them grabbed you in the first place. Or worse, Baleros? If he is seeking magic to return to his former glory, he will no doubt seek you out.”
Phoebe shivered. Sierra would know what to do, but she wasn’t here. Phoebe was. She’d have to be enough. “Hopefully not. But wait, what about the other elders? Surely they have a plan to rescue Liam and save the merfolk?”
Tristan cursed and threw up his hands in frustration. “They talk. And they talk. And they talk! By the time they decide what to do, we’ll all be dead! It’s always so with my people. If I had asked permission to help you and your sister, you’d still be trapped at Bentwood’s!”
He didn’t seem to notice when Phoebe shrank at the mention of her foe’s name and continued, “So, since they will do nothing but sit on their fins all day, twisting their hands in useless concern, my mother has whispered to me that we must act. Because I have shown skill in teaching young seawees to master the little magics we have now, such as sending moonglow through our skin, she thinks I will be able to guide you into your own powers as a proper merfolk.”
His voice stumbled a bit on the word ‘merfolk.’ Had he even winced? He hid his feelings well, but she’d known him a long time. He was definitely disturbed. Phoebe hoped that her new form was not too distressing to him. It wasn’t every day that your close friend changed shape. It had been shocking to see Micah change from faun to human and back again, and that was a much smaller change.
He was staring at his own clenched fists. If being with her was too difficult for him, she’d learn from someone else. “Are you willing to be my teacher? I don’t wish to cause you any hardships.” Her voice was softer than she’d intended.
Tristan looked up at her suddenly, face half-hidden by his hair. His eyelashes were a dark fringe shadowing those deep green eyes. He smiled, a charming lopsided grin that demanded a smile in response.
“Time spent with you, Phoebe Quinn, is never a hardship. Believe it.”
His words―that voice―sent goosebumps along Phoebe’s arms. His response vibrated with intensity, rich with deeper meaning. His serious tone didn’t match the light-hearted, friendly smile. Which was the truth of his feelings?
She took a deep breath, focusing on their shared goal. Learn to control her magic. Right. “If learning to be better at what I can do will help, I’m all for it.”
Tristan met her eyes, green to brown. He gripped her hands, and Phoebe was flooded with sudden warmth. “We will be in dangerous waters. I couldn’t bear to lose you, Phoebe.”
She pulled a hand free and touched his cheek. “You won’t lose me. I promise. I come from pretty tough stock.”
She smiled, and he reluctantly grinned back.
“Are you sure you’re willing to stay?” he whispered.
“Absolutely.”
“Then let’s begin. First step: learning to be a mermaid.”
ristan took Phoebe by the hand and pulled her along to an area of the ocean she’d never been in before, farther away from shore but closer to the surface than the mer-village. The trip was difficult for Phoebe; she kept feeling like someone had glued her legs together as a practical joke. Her movements were jerky and unnatural, not to mention slow. They finally reached a spot he declared acceptable for training.
“First of all, we must do something about your fin technique,” he said with a small smile.
Phoebe flushed as red as her hair. “I’m swimming wrong?”
She was moving through the water, wasn’t she? She scowled.
He laughed. “Not wrong. Just not efficient. It’s the same as when you could swim before, but I taught you how to best move through the water with your human body, remember?”
How could she forget the hours spent in the water, laughing and pulling herself along until her muscles burned? The sea was the one place where the heavy sense of shame and grief from Bentwood’s prison disappeared, washed away by the salty water. Any child living on the coast learned to survive in the water. Tristan had taught her how to thrive in it.
“So?”
“So.” He shook his head at her. “You’re being stubborn. This involves logic. Swimming with two legs is quite different than swimming with one tail. There are stories―myths―of merfolk who were land walkers, able to live in both worlds. I believe that once upon a time, magic was sufficient for such a feat. Their legs always returned to fins when in the water. If they could learn to walk on legs, you can learn to swim with a fin.”
Phoebe’s heart leapt at the thought of Tristan on land. He could see her home! He could see Sierra’s fairy hatch and sit by the fire and have hot chocolate. She could barely imagine what that would be like, but if she was truly going to be a mermaid now, she supposed it no longer mattered.
She squared her shoulders. “Fine, show me how.”
“First, you should be able to sense the center of gravity inside you, can you not? It’s a heavy place that keeps us from floating to the surface like humans do, and your new body will automatically shrink or expand this part to change your buoyancy, to help you rise and lower in the water without the effort of swimming. It’s as automatic as breathing and happens in here.” He pointed to his stomach, right where his scales met the flesh of his torso.
Phoebe nodded, relieved to have the strange sensation explained.
“Now, look at how I move my body. We don’t move side to side like a fish. We are more like the dolphins, moving our bodies up and down in a wave pattern that allows us quite a lot of speed. Watch.” He lifted one finger to indicate she should stay put. Her hair swirled around her head, and she twisted it into a loose bun at the base of her neck so she wouldn’t miss a thing.
He looked over his shoulder at her and then swam in exaggerated movements so she could see exactly what he was doing with his torso and tail. Up, down, up, down. She realized his body didn’t roll from side to side at all the way hers did when she kicked her feet. The steady motion of his tail moving up and down pushed him quickly and efficiently through the water, and he didn’t use his arms at all. She had still been trying to use the strokes he had taught her as a human. She realized now that her tail alone was so powerful that her upper body needed to stay straight to steer, like a rudder.
“I see!” she called out, a glimmer of eagerness sparking through her. How fast could she go once she mastered this?
He waved her onward, signaling her to swim to him. Properly.
Her tongue sticking out slightly from her intense concentration, Phoebe closed her eyes and allowed herself to focus on her body in the water. The salt levels added a different buoyancy in this form than in her human body, and when she flexed her tail, the swoosh of water against the fin sent her zooming in a fast jet. She squealed and stuck her hands out, as if she could stop herself, but of course, she cut through the currents easily.
“If you want to stop, point your tail toward the ground and flick your fin in the opposite direction, sort of like how rowers of boats drag their oars against the current to slow down.”
She tried this and managed to flip herself upside down twice before mastering how to stop. They spent most of the afternoon practicing proper swim techniques, until she could swim, stop, and spin without flailing. She was getting much smoother.
“I’m really doing it!” Phoebe beamed.
Tristan looked pleased as well, and he tugged on her hair that had escaped once again from her attempt to contain it. “You’re working very hard. Even my mother should have n
o complaints.”
“I imagine she could find something.” Phoebe rolled her eyes, and Tristan laughed, the deep rolling laugh she loved.
“Now, let’s try to see if you can call me again on purpose. I can feel your presence. Do you feel mine?’
She stared at him, uncertainty replacing her small sense of victory.
He sighed. “I can handle it, Phoebe. Your worries are stamped on your face. You’ve called me twice, but both times were by accident. You’ve got to get this under conscious control.”
“So I, what? Call you like a lost dog?” The words sounded harsher than she meant. It also evoked the wrong image.
He flinched, and she bit her lip. “I didn’t mean―”
“I know, I know. Look, just try to close to your eyes and ask me to come to you. In your heart or with your words. I’ll swim over there to the reef. If I feel compelled to come to you, you’ll know you’ve done it.”
Tristan swam far enough away that his expression was indiscernible even with her new, magically improved water vision. He was serious about this. She felt ridiculous. What if she called him and he didn’t come? Worse, what if he did? She would hate for anyone to have that kind of control over her. What if her call really was stronger now? He would most certainly fear her, then, like the mer-elders did. And maybe he’d be correct to.
“Your waiting does us no good, Phoebe,” he called.
With a start and a flash of guilt, Phoebe closed her eyes. The thrumming of her heart distracted her, along with the slow swish of the currents over her skin. Concentrating, she pictured Tristan in her mind: tender smile, gentle eyes, tousled green hair, older now than when they had first met but still her friend. Still someone she cared for. She focused on that caring for a moment, allowing everything else to fade away, and whispered his name, so softly she knew not even his excellent hearing would catch it. He’d have to feel the magical call.
“Tristan.” The name barely slid over her lips. “Tristan, come to me.” She waited but heard nothing, felt nothing. She opened her eyes just a crack, enough to see him still over by the coral, several lengths away.