The reason for the mer’s speed became immediately apparent as a small yacht plowed through the water where they’d just been. The boat smacked into Halkyone’s body and bore it down as it dropped onto the wreck below, smashing into the central section and crushing everything below it. A cloud of rust, sand, and algae bloomed up, shrouding both wrecks from sight.
“Aidan!” Nick struggled to break loose. “No! He was down there!”
Liam held on. “He’s fine, Nick. I can still feel him. Calm down and you can, too.”
Nick stopped wriggling, frantically searching for proof that Liam was right.
And found it, a spark deep inside himself that beat in time with Aidan’s heart. He yanked Liam closer, hugging the mer unmercifully. “Oh, God. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Liam kissed him once, much too briefly.
“Li?”
Col floated next to them, a battered Claire in his arms. Severely injured by the fight with Thetis and Halkyone, the goddess’s ripped skin and flesh oozed a darkening blood into the water.
“Bearer, you have to help her,” the brown-eyed mer said.
Nick’s relief vanished, replaced by despair. He pulled free of Liam, touching the goddess’s battered cheek. “Claire? Can you hear me?”
Black eyes cracked open, focusing groggily on him. “Bearer?”
“I’m here.”
“Is Thetis dead?”
“No. She escaped.”
She shuddered. “Are the mermaids safe?”
“Yes. You saved us.” Even in the water, he could feel himself choke up. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She blinked, then closed her eyes again. “I can do no more. Fulfill your vow to me.”
****
Liam watched as Col gently laid the dying goddess on a patch of sandy seabed, then backed away. The cloud around the wreck was still settling, but it was clear that the impact with the sinking yacht had destroyed it as a refuge for Thetis. Fergus, Kasos, Lysandros, and the other mers and tritons had already gathered around to bear witness.
Liam’s fingers tightened around his trident. “Chuisle, are you sure?” he said, agonized. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”
Nick had settled into a half-kneeling position near Claire. Aidan crouched on her other side, with a blonde ranger next to him. “The only person who has ever stopped Thetis’s venom is Ian,” Nick said roughly. “Even if we could find him, I don’t know if he could help now. The venom’s too advanced.”
To Liam’s surprise Claire reached up, taking Nick’s hand. “You must fight her, Bearer,” she whispered. “Fight her with everything you have. She can’t be allowed to destroy this world.”
Nick’s face contorted. “I will, I promise.”
The goddess nodded weakly. “Now, keep your other promise. I can’t hold off the poison any longer. Stop me before I go mad.”
Swallowing hard, Nick turned to the gathered mers and tritons. “I need a knife.”
Kasos drifted close, drawing one of his knives from its scabbard and handing it over. Reluctantly, Nick turned it over and put the point against the center of the goddess’s chest. He stared down at Claire, hand clutching the blade’s handle. “I—I don’t know if I can do this,” he whispered.
Liam felt his torment and ached for his mate. Nick was a physician, trained to heal and help. To end someone’s life like this, even though it would be a mercy killing, went against the very fiber of his soul.
The blonde ranger reached across, her small hands wrapping around Nick’s. “I’ll do it, Bearer,” she said quietly. “This isn’t your duty. It’s mine.”
Nick turned tormented eyes on the mermaid, but she gently pushed his hands away. She moved closer, sliding one hand under Claire’s torso to anchor herself. “Thank you for everything you’ve done, my lady,” she said, voice low. “Mers and tritons will honor your memory for this, I swear.”
The goddess smiled faintly and nodded. Her body began to glow with a clear shimmering light. All the mers and tritons bowed in grief and respect as Claire, goddess of those who battled on the sea, surrendered her divinity.
With one move, Meghan pushed the blade into her heart.
Claire stiffened, then relaxed against the sandy floor. The shimmer that surrounded her body expanded, quickly spreading over the area. Liam felt it move through him, a bright, fierce energy. Around him he could see mer and triton alike stunned by the influence of divinity, eyes widening and jaws going slack as they received Claire’s blessing.
And then the meager reef, partially crushed by the yacht’s impact with the wreck, responded as well. All around them, the coral began to grow at blinding speed, spreading over both ships in wild, beautiful outcroppings. The water around the reef cleared, turning crystalline. Liam took a deep breath of it and tasted life.
A shallow reef lagoon had formed around them, billowing walls of coral rising towards the surface. Liam could imagine a time when the reef would flourish with plant and animal life, Claire’s last gift to the waters she loved.
When he looked back at the goddess, he saw that her body had disappeared, replaced by a beautiful feathery stand of pale orange polyps. Somehow, it seemed appropriate.
He rose into the water. “Let it be known that this is the final resting place of the Lady Claire, goddess of the waters and protector of those who do battle on them,” he announced. “She sacrificed herself to save us from death at the hand of the Mad Nereid Thetis. May the Lady Claire be welcomed into the arms of Gaia and cherished forever for her bravery. This reef is her last gift to us, and we shall hold it as a place of life and refuge in her honor. So say we all.”
“So say we all,” the mers and tritons shouted back to him, lifting their tridents in salute.
Deep inside, he heard a quiet, immense voice add, So say we all.
Shaken, he dropped back down to where Nick and Aidan were waiting for him and pulled his mates into his arms. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Fifteen
“How dare you disobey a direct order from the First Elder?” Lady Eine thundered. The rest of the Elder Council were at their desks, a disapproving audience. “You were ordered to stay within council chambers and facilitate the investigation into the explosion at the transformer station.”
At the center of the council circle, Liam floated with Nick and Aidan on either side. As Liam had expected, his mother had deliberately called a public meeting for his shaming. Tritons and mers from the battle with Thetis as well as residents of the grotto crowded around the periphery of the circle.
He bowed his head. “The First Elder is correct in that I disobeyed her order to remain within council chambers,” he said. “My reasoning to do so was that one of my mates had been kidnapped by an unexpectedly intelligent ilkothella. My other mate followed him and the creature in order to facilitate a rescue. It was my determination that my services were not required to investigate the transfer house accident. As such, I left the chambers and the grotto illegally, and I admit to that fact.”
Eine’s expression darkened even more, and she lifted her chin as she stared at Kasos. “And you, commander, were instructed to keep the councilor in the council chambers, a task in which you woefully failed.”
Kasos stepped into the circle, sketching out a bow to the Elders. “Forgive me, First Elder, but your specific instructions were to keep your son safe. As there had already been a possible attack on the grotto and a definite kidnapping, the councilor’s suggestion that he be allowed to go to Olympic Cove and consult with Lords Bythos and Aphros seemed logical to me.”
The audience began to mutter while the other Elders leveled questioning looks at each other. “We were not aware that the councilor had approached the Sea Lords for assistance,” a greying male with sharp eyes and a beaky nose said. “While I admire his initiative, I must agree with the First Elder that he should have petitioned the council for permission first.”
Liam glanced at Nick. His human mate looked exhausted and
increasingly angry with the fact that a squad of tritons had required them to detour to Bright Water and give the council a debriefing on the Thetis incident. “The humans have a saying,” he said. “‘It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.’ I decided this was one of those times.”
“I note that neither Sea Lord accompanied you to the altercation with the Nereid,” Eine said acidly. “In which case you should have returned immediately to the grotto.”
Liam decided to gloss over the incident with Whitfield and his goons. “I was delayed by human activity in the area,” he said. “At which point Commander Kasos had learned about the whereabouts of my mates and ordered a joint rescue operation with Captain Fergus.”
Eine turned her attention to the grizzled mer on the periphery of the circle. “Yet more individuals operating under their own authority,” she snapped. “What do you have to say for yourself, captain?”
Fergus tilted his trident in ironic salute. “My duties are to oversee the safety of the grotto and its inhabitants, First Elder,” he said. “Once I was confident that the accident at the transfer station was indeed an accident, I ordered my people to come to the assistance of one of this grotto’s citizens.”
“The Bearer of the Rod of Asclepius, while a minion of a god, is not a citizen of this grotto.”
“No, but both his mates are, and by rights of the mating bond that citizenship is also extended to him,” Fergus pointed out. “In any case, First Elder, my actions weren’t in support of the Bearer. They were in support of my ranger.” He nodded at Aidan. “If one of my people are in danger, it is my sworn duty to do anything I can to assist them. That’s in the Captain’s Charter, if you wish to refresh your memory.”
Eine’s jaw muscles tightened. “I wish to get to the bottom of this regrettable contretemps where a junior member of this council took it upon himself to shirk his sworn duties, inveigle another junior member and a triton commander in his plans, and interfere with the legally designated assistance being extended to this ranger and his mate,” she bit out.
“He’s my mate, too,” Liam growled. “And I will not sit by uselessly if either of my mates is in danger.”
His mother glared at him. “You will do what the council tells you to do,” she said, her voice rising. “And if you cannot bring yourself to do this, may I remind you that this body is within its rights to have you incarcerated, your release to be dependent on the pleasure of the council?”
Liam stiffened. That particular law was reserved for those who were deemed a danger to the general public, and hadn’t been enforced in centuries.
“You can’t do that,” Nick yelled, red-faced.
Eine’s expression turned flinty. “I assure you I can, human. And you shall be silent until you are called upon, or you shall also be incarcerated.”
“Then you’ll have to throw all three of us behind bars,” Aidan snarled, grabbing Liam’s hand. He felt Nick take his other hand, the three of them presenting a united front. “This is an idiotic ruling, and you know it.”
Her glare was now turned on Aidan. “This is what comes of showing leniency. You and your entire family should have been banished years ago from this grotto.”
“Yeah, you did your best with that, didn’t you?” Aidan taunted. “Too bad one of your own colleagues screwed up your plans.”
Eine gripped the obsidian sphere on her desk and slammed it down hard. “Guards, take them to the cells—”
“Hold.”
Liam looked over his shoulder as the crowds parted. A determined-looking set of Sea Lords entered the circle, hooves and tails gleaming in the chamber’s soft light. Lord Ian swam between them, looking as grim as his mates.
“I apologize to the Elders of Bright Water for our tardiness, but we were delayed by certain events requiring our attention,” Lord Bythos said, hefting his trident. “We have been made aware of the situation regarding the Bearer of the Rod of Asclepius and his mates, including their recent battle with the Mad Nereid, and we are here to intervene on their behalf.”
Eine’s eyes widened slightly, but she retained her composure. “We thank you for your presence, Sea Lords, but I can assure you that this council is more than ready to deal with those who cannot follow the laws of our grotto,” she said evenly.
“Which pleases me,” Bythos said. “That being said, you are unilaterally threatening the three males currently on trial here.”
“They’re not on trial, Lord Bythos,” the beaky Elder interjected, earning a dirty look from Eine. “They’re simply here to answer questions about their whereabouts and what happened with regards to the recent battle with the Mad Nereid.”
“Ah. Good to know.” Bythos nodded. “In any case, First Elder, threatening these men with incarceration falls outside of your purview. Incarceration at the pleasure of the council must be voted upon by all current members of the council and receive a unanimous vote, if I remember this grotto’s laws correctly.”
Eine’s lips thinned. “Thank you for your clarification, Lord Bythos. I shall put their incarceration to a vote immediately.”
“Before that, however, I think everyone should hear about what happened with Thetis.” Lord Aphros kicked forward, planting the butt of his gleaming trident on the council floor. “Lords Bythos, Ian, and I were sent to help quell some unusual weather patterns in the mid-Atlantic. We now suspect these were created by Thetis in order to keep us busy and unavailable to Nick—sorry, the Bearer and his mates. We’ve questioned some of the mers and tritons who were present at the skirmish, as well as the freed mermaids who had been captured in order to be mutated into new ilkothelloi. Their unanimous report is that these three behaved bravely and in the best tradition of mer defense. In fact, if Nick hadn’t distracted Thetis long enough to allow the Lady Claire time to attack her, we wouldn’t be having this discussion at all.”
“And why not?” Eine said waspishly.
“Because the three people currently being questioned,” he glanced around the chamber, “as well as a large number of spectators present, would all be dead.”
Horrified gasps and mutters echoed throughout the chamber. “So you’re saying they’re heroes?” the beaky Elder asked.
Aphros nodded. “Every member of Bright Water grotto should be proud of their councilor and ranger for their courage under fire, as well as grateful to the Bearer for his quick thinking. I would also strongly suggest that the threat of incarceration be tabled, as none of them pose a danger to the grotto’s public.”
Liam watched his mother rear back as if slapped. He couldn’t remember the last time her personal authority had been challenged in this way.
The beaky Elder knocked on his desk. “I will not vote for incarceration.”
“Nor will I,” said another Elder.
“Nor I.”
The rest of the Elders chimed in with agreement, leaving Eine white-faced at the center of their arc. “So be it,” she said through her teeth. “This council shall show clemency to Councilor Liam, Ranger Aidan, and the Bearer of the Rod. That being said, it still remains that Councilor Liam contradicted a direct order and abandoned his council duties.”
“True, and he should be punished for that.” Bythos moved closer to Liam, those grey eyes studying him carefully. “I believe the traditional punishment is to have the councilor stripped of his position, yes?”
Eine stiffened. Liam could imagine her dreams for ruling the council through him washing away on a sudden high tide. “That is the ultimate punishment, yes, but—”
“Then it is appropriate. He does need to be punished, after all. Elders, what say you?”
One by one, the Elders agreed to strip Liam of his councilor rank. He bit his lip, afraid that he would break into a huge, beaming smile and ruin it all.
His mother grabbed the edge of her desk, leaning across it. “I won’t agree to this,” she barked, desperate. “Liam, do you have nothing to say in your defense?”
He paused for a moment, then reached up and
unclasped the councilor neckband for the first time since it had been placed on him. He felt free. “I bow to the wisdom of the council, and accept their judgment for my actions, First Elder,” he said, depositing the band in Bythos’s open hand.
Murmurs sounded throughout the chamber again, louder this time. He went back to his spot between Nick and Aidan, taking their hands. Bythos swam easily to the First Elder’s desk, depositing the neckband on it. “If you have any concerns over your son’s future, First Elder, rest assured that I intend to offer him employment as my aide-de-camp,” he said.
Liam startled at that. “My Lord?”
Bythos smiled at him. “I’ve needed a good assistant for quite some time, and as your mate now lives in our cove, it makes sense to appoint you to that role.” One eyebrow went up in amusement. “If you wish it, of course.”
Liam nodded so hard he started floating backwards. “I do,” he said as a chuckling Aidan and Nick pulled him back. “I do, Lord. Thank you.”
“And just so everyone knows, I’m offering Ranger Aidan the same position,” Lord Aphros said, gesturing at Fergus. “With your permission, of course, captain.”
Fergus shrugged, but Liam imagined he saw a twinkle in the mer’s eyes. “I hope you’re ready to ride herd on him, Lord.”
“Oh, I’m sure I can think of something to keep him busy,” Aphros said easily. “Ranger, what say you?”
Aidan’s face bloomed in a wide grin. “It would be my honor to be in your service, Lord.”
“Excellent.” Bythos rubbed his hands together. “And with that, I respectfully request that we call this council meeting to a close.”
With a glacial movement, Eine raised the obsidian round and clacked it gently on her desk. “The Elder council of Bright Water grotto is released,” she said dully.
The room exploded into cheers, and more than one mer and triton crowded into the circle to clap the trio on the shoulders and congratulate them. Fergus forced his way through the scrum, pulling Aidan into a backslapping hug. “We’ll miss you, lad, but I’ve got a feeling you’re meant for bigger things,” he said roughly. “Don’t let me down out there.”
Olympic Cove 2-Breaker Zone Page 29