Liam stilled. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would do many things to keep this grotto running on a calm tide.” Her eyes went cold. “Don’t test me, my son. I assure you, you will not win.”
“You might be surprised.”
“Would I? Are you willing to wager your chuisle’s reputation on that?”
Liam’s fists clenched at his sides. He didn’t care what people thought of him, but he wouldn’t hold Aidan up to scorn and ridicule. “This will be remembered, mamere,” he growled, turning to leave.
“I’m sure. Oh, and Liam?”
He paused.
“Your leave of absence request is denied. By order of the council.”
Rage washed through him, followed by despair. Struggling for control, he swam off to the small clerk’s chamber attached to the larger meeting hall. He went up to the desk, grabbing the edges so hard he heard the material creak.
Aidan’s right. She is a manipulative bitch. Never did he expect her to use Aidan’s submissiveness as a bargaining chip. I can’t let her ruin him, not after what she did to his father. I won’t—
A knock sounded at the door. “Enter,” he snarled.
It opened. Col peered around the edge, handsome face dark with concern and anger. “Your mother said you’d be here.”
“Oh, did she?” Liam said bitterly. “And what am I supposed to do now—go to bed with you?”
Col winced. “Gods, no.” He approached the desk. “I heard what she said. About you and Aidan.”
“Oh, even better. So who are you going to tell?”
The brown-eyed mer looked stricken. “No one, dammit. What you do in your bedroom is your own business.” He paused, his expression turning wistful. “Is that why you didn’t want me? Because I don’t like power play?”
“No,” Liam said heavily. “You’re an amazing male, you know that, but Aidan was always meant to be mine.” He put his hand on Col’s forearm and squeezed. “You and I, we’re friends. And believe me, I appreciate having you as a friend.”
“So do I.” The other mer nodded slowly. “Well, then. As your friend, it’s my duty to help you track down your mates. Both of them.”
“I appreciate the offer, but the tritons won’t let me leave the council chambers. Mother’s orders.”
A sly smile crossed Col’s face. “It’s a good thing I was never as obedient as you.”
****
“Father said that the council had this built after the Black Wave uprisings,” Col said, edging down a narrow tunnel carved into the bedrock. “After the First Elder was killed, the rest of the council wanted a bolt hole in case the rebels stormed the chambers.”
Liam followed the other mer, grateful for the dim lamps that glowed feebly at intervals, illuminating the rough-hewn walls. Their tridents bumped it occasionally as they kicked along. “I had no idea this was here.”
“I’m not surprised. Your mother likes to keep people bottled up where she can use them. If you knew this was here—”
“I’d be able to get out,” Liam finished bleakly. “Gods. Was I really that blind?”
The other mer glanced over his shoulder. “She’s your mother, Li. No one wants to think badly of their parents. But I’m happy you have Aidan and Nick now. You deserve a life of your own.”
The tunnel began a gentle curve upward, ending at a barred circular gate. Col undid the simple bolt and slipped out, and Liam followed. They were now in a narrow alleyway in the grotto’s manufacturing section.
“Where to now?” Liam asked.
Col squinted upwards at the grotto’s central exit. “Not that way, obviously. Your mother has rangers guarding it, and they may have gotten the order to keep you in. We’ll take the worker’s route topside.”
They kept to the alleyways until they reached the wall of the cavern. A wide tunnel opening there was big enough to allow four mers abreast through it. To Liam’s relief it had neither ranger nor triton guard. They swam up, prepared for a fast dash through the vertical tunnel to open water.
“Councilor.”
Liam whirled. Kasos floated in the doorway to one of the warehouses, trident at the ready. “I believe Lady Eine requested that you remain in the council chambers,” the triton commander said.
Liam bristled. “She did. I am not honoring her request.”
“Forgive me. Her order,” Kasos clarified, swimming over. “She was quite specific. You’re to remain safely under guard until this situation is resolved.”
“I repeat, I am not honoring it.” He gripped his own trident more firmly. “One of my mates was kidnapped by that wounded ilkothella, and the other is tracking them.” He hoped. “I will not sit by and do nothing while the males I love are in danger.”
“Commander, please,” Colm said in a conciliatory tone. “There’s absolutely nothing useful that the counselor can do here. Lady Eine has given him frankly insulting makework.”
“Be that as it may, I have my orders.” Kasos shook his head. “I’m truly sorry, councilor, but I can’t let you go after your mates.”
Liam thought quickly. There had to be some way to trump his mother’s order. “What was my mother’s order? Word for word.”
“That you were to be kept under guard and away from danger until we determined what happened at the transfer station.”
And there was his loophole. “But there was nothing specific about me staying in the grotto?”
The triton’s mouth quirked. “No, councilor. As a matter of fact, there wasn’t.”
“So if you come with me, I’ll be under guard, yes?”
“Yes, but you’re forgetting about the second half of the order. You’re to be kept away from danger.”
“I understand,” Liam said triumphantly. “In which case, commander, I want you to escort me to safety. Take me to Lord Bythos’s cove.”
****
Nick estimated that the interior of the sunken ship had been cleared out fairly decently, judging from the varying thicknesses of algae on the walls and the scrapes of clean metal he could see here and there.
He drifted along behind Thetis, who still held the Rod. Halkyone swam at his back, pushing him along when he slowed. The Nereid turned and gave him another horrible smile as she ducked through a rusted hatchway. The ilkothella prodded him to follow.
The new room, one of the cargo holds from the size of it, was lit with the same kind of glowing globes he’d seen in the mer grotto. Arrayed along one wall were a series of screened boxes and a variety of cages.
In each cage floated a mermaid.
“I was so lucky to find this ship,” Thetis said conversationally, drifting over to the cages. The mermaids shrank from her approach, squeezing into the far corners of their cells. “Apparently this vessel had been used to transport animals before it sank. The creatures died along with the crew, of course, but their former cages have proved to be quite useful.”
She snapped her fingers, and an ilkothella lurking in the corner swam up to her. “The one on the far end. Bring her to me. And no biting.”
The ilkothella made a clumsy sort of bow, clawed hands crossed over its chest. To Nick’s surprise, the female it pulled out of the far cage was no mermaid. Humanoid, she had long flowing green hair and large blue eyes, and her skin was softly mottled with the two colors. She seemed torn between fear and anger, fighting the ilkothella’s grip as it towed her forward.
“This is Claire, a minor sea goddess,” Thetis said with relish. “Her charge is protecting sailors who serve in human navies and do battle on the seas. Quite a feisty little thing, I have to say. I think she’ll do rather nicely for this experiment.”
The word “experiment” made him go cold. “My lady, please, you don’t have to do this,” he begged.
“Oh, but that isn’t the scientific method, is it?” Thetis tutted. “One must develop a hypothesis, then perform experiments based on that hypothesis and record the results. How else are we to learn how to use this wonderful world around us?” She tappe
d the Rod against her decaying lips. “My goal, you see, is to create intelligent minions in my own image. The ilkothelloi were only the first step. They’re useful in their own way, but far too stupid for anything but shock troops. I need officers now, creatures that can not only follow orders but give them to the lower ranks.”
Another snap and the ilkothella dragged Claire before the Nereid. The mottled goddess bared white teeth at her captor. “Try what you might, I will never bow to you,” she snarled.
“We’ll see about that.” To Nick’s horror Thetis lunged forward and sank her teeth into Claire’s shoulder. The goddess screamed, trying to writhe away from the bite, but Thetis held firm for a full five seconds. She finally unlatched, grey tongue snaking across her teeth and licking away the blood. “Put her back.”
The ilkothella dragged the keening goddess back to her cage. Nick could see blood streaming from the deep bite on her shoulder as she curled in on herself, moaning in pain.
“I’ve infected her with a new strain of my venom, the same kind that created my lovely Halkyone,” Thetis said, holding up the Rod. “You, Bearer, shall use this and track how the venom moves through her body and changes her into her new form. I want a full and detailed report on every change, do you understand?”
Nick stared at the poisoned goddess, then at the Rod, and finally at Thetis. “And if I say no?”
Suddenly her hand was around his neck, clamping down in a strangling squeeze. “Listen very closely, Bearer,” Thetis crooned, foul breath coursing into his face. “The only reason why you are still alive is that your precious Rod won’t respond to me. Thus, I need you to use it as I direct. That being said, I only need your mouth and perhaps one hand for that to happen. I’m more than happy to let Halkyone nibble on your other limbs, not to mention various body parts you hold dear as a male, should you continue to be obstreperous. Do I make myself clear?”
The squeeze eased up a fraction. “Yes,” Nick choked out.
“Excellent.” And the hand was gone. He hunched over, coughing and trying to draw water past his abused throat. The Rod was thrust into his hands, and he grabbed the end of it, not wanting to touch any more of Thetis’s skin than he already had. “Remember, the more detailed your report, the less likely it is that my handmaiden will be dining on you tonight,” Thetis added.
The Nereid swept out of the room, her lumbering handmaiden in her wake. Wincing from the pain in his throat, Nick kicked his way over to the row of cages. The trapped mermaids stared at him, eyes dull and hopeless.
In the last cage, Claire clung to the bars with her uninjured hand, the other one held tightly against her bitten shoulder. “My name’s Nick—I’m a doctor,” he said quickly. “How deep is the bite?”
“Deep,” Claire said through clenched teeth. “Gaia, it hurts.”
“Okay, I’m going to try and help you.” He held up the Rod. Pythia?
The tiny gold snake lifted its head. I’m here, Nicholas. Thank you for reclaiming me from that foul creature.
You’re welcome. I need to look at Claire’s shoulder.
His mind cleared, and an image of humanoid shoulder anatomy appeared. Black streaks were already snaking down from the wound, infiltrating the goddess’s bloodstream with the venom. We need to stop this stuff. Is there any way we can do that?
The image in his mind abruptly magnified, showing a black film being sucked into a softly pulsing vein. The Nereid chose well. If she’d bitten a limb, we could have amputated to stop the venom from spreading.
He grimaced. Not like I have surgical tools anyway.
Indeed. This venom is similar to the venom you found in the ilkothella named Halkyone. Very powerful, very potent. The snake flicked her tongue. It seems to be directed, somehow. It’s not simply infiltrating her circulatory system.
Nick cursed. So Thetis is controlling it somehow. Can we block her control?
Unlikely—we don’t know how she is doing it. Stopping the venom is also unlikely. If Claire were a mortal, we could possibly enlist her immune system to fight it off, but immortals have no need for immune systems.
Is there anything you can do?
I can analyze, interpret, and diagnose, Nicholas, but I do not have the power to directly affect a patient. Pythia’s voice was sad. That came from Asclepius. I am merely a tool.
He cursed again, zooming out. Claire was still clinging to the bars of her cage, but she now looked drawn. He could see black streaks trailing down through the skin of her shoulder from the bite.
“Well?” the goddess asked, pained.
“We don’t know how to counteract the venom,” he admitted. “You being divine is actually working against you in this case. Is there any chance that you can stop this?”
“How?”
“I don’t know—use your goddess mojo or something.”
Surprisingly, the corners of her mouth tipped up just a bit. “Haven’t heard that word since the 1970s, human.” The smile disappeared. “I don’t have the gift of healing, but if you tell me what to do I might be able to direct my power inward.”
“Works for me.” He zoomed back in, tracking the course of the venom. “Picture your body in your mind. Threads of thick, sticky blackness are stretching out from your left shoulder, crawling through your cells and into your bloodstream. You need to find it all and force it back up to the wound on your shoulder, out of your body.”
Claire nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating. Nick reached through the bars and took her right hand, lacing his fingers through hers as he resumed his scan. It wouldn’t do a damn thing to help her, but at least she knew she wasn’t alone.
If you’re out there, Gaia, please help her. Help us both.
****
Aidan crept through a thickly waving stand of seaweed that paralleled the reef, staying as flat as he could against the sandy floor. He’d already pulled a tiny sachet of shark scent from his belt, opening it so that it would mask his own smell. None of the patrolling ilkothelloi had decided to investigate, so it was working.
Reaching the edge of the stand, he paused, evaluating how close he was to the wrecked ship. It was a large one, much larger than the ships humans would deliberately sink in order to create reefs. It also meant that humans were unlikely to be diving around here any time soon. The ship’s sides and railings were heavily coated with algae and rust, but looked to be structurally intact.
Something nudged Aidan. He looked down and saw a long spotted shape snuggling up along his side. “Moira! Dammit, what are you doing here?”
The moray nudged his hand, beaky mouth gaping in a fishy grin. We must have left the front door unlatched. Dammit to Tartarus, what am I going to do—
An idea blazed through his mind. Reaching up, he detached his neckband and wrapped it securely around Moira, tying it off. “Go to Captain Fergus,” he ordered. “Find Fergus and bring him here, good girl.”
The moray nosed him affectionately, then turned and swam off into the deep blue. If she showed up at the station house with his neckband wrapped around her neck, Fergus or one of the other rangers would recognize it and know something was wrong. With any luck, they’d show up with reinforcements.
The only question was, when.
He couldn’t wait for them. Gripping his trident, he continued his reconnoiter of the wreck.
****
Liam swam as close to shore as he could before changing into human form. Standing, he saw Col and Kasos in his peripheral vision doing the same thing.
“Might I ask what you plan to do now that we’re here, councilor?” Kasos asked, striding onto the beach.
“Go over my mother’s head.” Liam jogged up to Ian’s cottage, checking the porch. It was empty. He went to the back door and pounded on it. “Ian? Lord Aphros, Lord Bythos?” he shouted. “Is anyone home?”
There was no answer.
“Going to the sea lords? That’s a pouchy move,” Kasos said, impressed.
“It’s only going to work if they’re actually here
.” Liam went to one of the kitchen windows and cupped his hands around his eyes, peering in through the glass. There was no sign of the blond storm god or his mates. “Dammit!”
“So what now?” Col asked.
Liam tried to think. Any member of the divine triad would have been enough to overrule Kasos, not to mention recruit for rescuing Nick and Aidan. But that option wasn’t available. What other divines are in this area?
It came to him. “I have to go into Olympic Beach.”
“The human town? Out of the question,” Kasos said. “Mers aren’t allowed to go into human settlements.”
“I have leave from the council.” True, it was so that he could find his human mate and thus didn’t apply anymore, but the triton didn’t need to know that. “I need to talk to the Nereid who works there.”
Col’s eyebrows went up. “A Nereid works in a human town?”
“She owns something called an antiques store,” Liam turned to head back to the water. “If she can contact Lady Amphitrite or Lord Poseidon—”
“Councilor, wait.” Kasos grabbed his arm, his grip a warning. “I agreed to escort you to a safe area, which is this cove. I said nothing about letting you gallivant around a human town.”
Liam wrenched his arm loose. “Right now, commander, I don’t give a damn what you said or what you think. I’ll foreswear fealty to the Bright Water grotto right here and now if that will satisfy your need for rules, but I am not going to stop looking for my mates.”
Kasos expression turned thunderous, and Col quickly stepped in. “No one is saying you should foreswear fealty, Li,” he said. “But the commander has a point. It’s dangerous for us to go among the humans. We could be discovered.”
“I’ve been there before,” Liam said. “I know the town, and I know where to find the Nereid.” That wasn’t strictly true, but he vaguely remembered the store from Nick’s description. Dredging up all his persuasion, he grasped his friend’s shoulders. “Col, I can’t sit by with a fluke up my ass and hope that Aidan can rescue Nick. They’re going up against Thetis, which means they need divine help. And if that means going into a human town, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
Olympic Cove 2-Breaker Zone Page 24