by L. EE
Five kappas launched themselves up into the boat, rocking it wildly. The nasty dead-fish smell assaulted their noses. Andy stood, trying to hold a ready position in the undulating craft. He moved Methuselah in an eight pattern, threatening to strike, knowing he had no chance against such a strong enemy in their natural environment. Alden cowered, balled up where he sat, waiting for the creatures to throw him in.
The presumed leader held up its hands and pushed Alden upright. Alden’s eyes could go no wider as he clutched the seat. The creature reached over and slid a clawed finger along Alden’s chest, gently lifting the intricately carved seashell necklace he wore.
“You can have it,” Alden pleaded, moving to take it off.
The leader shook its head then motioned, patting himself on the chest and repeating the movement against Alden’s chest. Andy stood his ground and continued to move Methuselah as the leader repeated the movements.
“Wait a minute! I think they won’t harm us because I have this necklace.”
The leader repeated the movement again and nodded.
Spark landed on Andy’s shoulder, not about to risk getting anywhere near the predators.
“So what happens now?”
Alden looked the leader in the eyes and bowed. The creature mimicked the movement and dove back in the water. Its companions followed.
The trio collapsed onto the seats.
“Whew, that was close! Boy, they reek!” Andy exclaimed, fanning the noxious air from in front of his face. “Glad you helped that kappa earlier.”
“Yeah, glad I did too! I’m never taking this off!”
Spark flew up and started zooming around in circles over the boat. The boys laughed, releasing their tension.
“We need to keep going,” Spark cautioned.
“You’re right,” Alden replied.
A long while later, his back and arms tiring, Andy asked, “How much longer do ya think, Spark? And when will you know if the island is visible or not?”
Having rowed with their backs toward the bow, they had not seen Sometimes Island taking shape ahead. Spark flew around to face them and pointed over their shoulders. The boys halted their strokes and turned. There before them, still a ways off, they could see sheer black cliffs jutting up out of the Sea of Mystery.
“That’s it?” Andy asked. He fist-bumped Alden and then sprawled out on the bench. While they had taken breaks throughout the day, rowing proved hard work. They had wrapped a spare tunic around the handle of each oar so at least their hands weren’t blistered, but their bodies were still exhausted. They lay there and laughed.
Andy glanced over the side and saw a large school of colorful fish swimming below. No sooner had he seen it than they darted away.
“Fast little buggers, aren’t they?” he said under his breath.
“We’re not there yet, so let’s keep moving,” Spark encouraged. She flew around with a nervous expression on her face.
“What’s wrong, Spark?” Alden queried.
“We’ve got to keep moving.”
Her deadpan mood shifted the boys back to reality and they resumed rowing.
It wasn’t long before the bow of the boat bobbed unexpectedly. The boys turned and looked. A clawed, webbed hand had grabbed hold and they started moving through the water faster than they had been. Alden crouched, moved over the benches to the bow, and looked down.
“Excellent! The kappas have formed a chain and are pulling us. We should have had them do this the whole trip.”
“I’d keep rowing. Maybe it’ll help them,” Spark suggested.
As Alden sat back down, Andy calmly but loudly said, “Uh, we’ve got company.”
A large white tentacle had latched itself onto the inside of the boat. Before anyone could react, the boat flipped upside down and they found themselves submerged in the freezing water. Alden came up first, coughing and gasping for air. He looked around but didn’t see Andy. Panicked, he thrashed toward the overturned craft. Just before his hand touched safety, he felt a tentacle grab his foot and pull him under. Andy resurfaced, taking in gulps of air. Even though the water was cold, the discomfort did not distract his focus. Another tentacle crashed down on the overturned hull, breaking it in two.
Spark flew over to Andy and yelled, “The squid’s got Alden!” Andy scanned the water, looking for any indication as to where he might be, but didn’t see anything. Seconds later, Alden’s head broke the surface followed by a kappa. Another giant tentacle thrust out of the water and crashed down inches from where Andy dog-paddled. One of the kappas grabbed on and bit down. The giant arm waved violently, trying to rid itself of the unwanted passenger. Another tentacle grabbed Alden and pulled him under again. As he yelled for help, Andy reached for Methuselah, making sure he had a firm grip on the hilt. The blade extended and Andy dove, slashing at the rubbery flesh. He spotted Alden and made his way toward the thrashing limb. He sliced and a cloud of milky-white liquid began spewing from the gash. Alden pulled free of the creature and swam for the surface. Andy also resurfaced and Spark flew toward him. Just before she reached him another tentacle smashed down, taking her with it.
“No!” Andy screamed and dove after her.
Again he slashed at the monster’s flesh, sending more milky white clouds billowing through the water. He could barely see but managed to spot the limp figure of the pixie drifting down in the water. Before he could reach her, a tentacle cut through the water between them. The force of the wake knocked Andy back and he struggled to right himself. He felt his lungs beg for oxygen and knew he needed to resurface, when he caught sight of Spark once again. He swam over, pulled her body against his chest, and reached for the surface one-armed.
He broke through, gasping for air.
Alden saw him and yelled, “I’m over here!”
Three more flailing appendages erupted from the water. One carried a kappa that attacked it with ferocity. Without warning, just like on the Oscray field, Andy saw motion around him slow. He slashed at the monster’s seemingly innumerable arms that kept coming one after another. The water turned a thick milky white. I can’t keep this up much longer, he thought. Andy attacked two more tentacles and the creature began to slow. As it did, time resumed its usual pace.
“Whew!” he exhaled.
No sooner had the air passed his lips than three dark plum tentacles pierced the surface.
“Another squid!” Alden shouted.
Andy could see Alden slicing at purple appendages. He knew the two of them couldn’t keep this up. Spark, still cradled in his arm, had not moved. He struck at a tentacle that shot up mere inches away. Purple liquid began mingling with the milky white, turning the water a lilac color. He felt a tentacle wrap around his leg and had just enough time to fill his lungs with air before going under once again. The water rushing up forced Spark’s body from his grasp. He struggled after her, but the relentless tentacle dragged him farther down. He slashed at it. The cloudiness of the water made it impossible to see. Just as he extricated himself from the monster’s grip and headed for the surface to fill his screaming lungs with air, another arm snaked around his waist and pulled him deeper.
This is it, I’m gonna die! The thought drifted through Andy’s mind just as the beast unexpectedly let go. Strong arms wrapped around his middle and propelled him to the surface. The instant he broke the surface, Andy gulped in air and began coughing violently.
“You okay?” came a deep voice. Next to Andy swam a bare-chested creature with hair and beard made of seaweed.
“Glaucin!” Alden yelled from several feet away.
Glaucin was a merman, Mermin’s cousin, twice removed. He had helped the boys cross a raging river on their quest for the red dragon scale. Now here he was.
Andy saw several flashes under the water.
“What’s—?”
“Not to worry, my soldiers have the situation well in hand,” he reassured.
“Spark! We’ve got to find Spark!” Andy cried. “I couldn’t hold on t
o her!”
“Spark?”
“She’s a pixie who helped us find Sometimes Island and she was gonna show us the hidden library,” Andy stammered, trying to keep it together.
“Wait! The vials! They’re lost in the water too!” Alden yelled.
“The what?” asked Glaucin.
“We need Andy’s backpack! It’s in the water somewhere!”
“I’ll have my soldiers look for your friend as well as the backpacks,” Glaucin assured. “Anything else?”
They shook their heads and Andy saw fish-like scales and a robust tail glimmer in the late afternoon sun as Glaucin dove.
“What happened?” asked Alden as soon as he reached Andy.
Andy started to tell the story but broke down, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Several minutes later, Glaucin, six other mermen, and five kappas surfaced. The mood was somber as one of Glaucin’s soldiers lifted a tiny lifeless body and brought it over to the boys who were treading water, gently placing it in one of Andy’s waiting hands.
“Spark. Spark,” Andy sobbed.
Alden swam over and put his arm around his friend and wept with him.
“Are these the backpacks you need?” one of the patrol asked, hesitant to interrupt.
“Yeah,” Alden composed himself enough to reply.
The merman handed one pack to Alden who looked inside and found the two vials still intact. After Alden put the pack on, the merman handed him the other as well.
“It’s getting late,” Glaucin said after a time. “We need to—”
“I want to bury her properly,” Andy interrupted.
Alden nodded in agreement.
Andy watched Glaucin glance between him and Alden. The seriousness of their expressions communicated everything.
“Hop on my back. We’ll take you to the island where you can bury her, but you can’t stay there long, it’s not safe.”
Overcome with grief, Andy didn’t hear the merman’s words, but Alden caught what he said.
“But where else—?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll stay with me and my family tonight.”
Alden handed Andy his backpack. He momentarily handed Spark’s body to Alden, put his pack on, and gently took her back.
The kappa leader exchanged comments and several gestures with Glaucin, then saluted before he and his four fellows dove out of sight.
Minutes later the boys were standing on a narrow rocky beach of Sometimes Island. Andy cradled Spark’s body in his arms. The cold water had chilled both boys to the bone. That combined with the wet clothes and backpacks they now stood in made their bodies quake. Andy grabbed Methuselah just in case; his dagger had been a casualty of the conflict and was missing. Alden hadn’t had a chance to draw his sword in the chaos, so it was safe, although his dagger also had been lost. They lay their packs down and Alden unsheathed his blade.
Alden surveyed their barren surroundings, then pointed at a rocky outcropping. The ground around the sheer cliff rose gently to meet it.
“That’ll be a good place,” he chattered, another chill rocking his body.
Andy didn’t say anything but followed Alden up.
I caused this. If she hadn’t helped us, she’d still be alive. I killed her. These and many similar thoughts flooded Andy’s mind as he walked.
They reached the spot Alden had picked out and Andy gently handed him the pixie’s body. He knelt down and even though his body shook, he began digging in the rough stones. It didn’t take long for his hands to begin bleeding.
“Here, let me—” interrupted Alden.
“No.”
The exertion chased the chills away. He felt driven to cleanse himself of his guilt and grief by laboring. Tears streamed down his face and he whimpered, unafraid of what Alden might think. The sun’s rays grew long on the horizon before he had dug a hole he deemed worthy to be the eternal resting place of this amazing pixie. For the first time since he had begun the task, he wiped his face and looked up.
“Hand her to me, please.”
Alden stepped over from where he had been watching and placed the tiny body in his friend’s bloodied, waiting hands.
Andy laid her gently in the hole. “She looks so peaceful,” he managed to get out.
Alden placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “It’s not your fault.”
“She died because of me. Because of us.”
“No, she died because a stupid giant squid attacked us.”
Andy didn’t feel like arguing but remained convinced he was responsible. Never again, he vowed.
Alden picked up a pile of the stones Andy had removed and began filling in the grave. Andy moved away, unable to watch, and hunted for a large rock as a headstone. Finding one, he carved an inscription using Methuselah. Satisfied, he picked it up and brought it over to where Alden had finished his task. He placed it at the head of the grave.
“Here lies Spark, a pixie and a friend,” Alden read aloud.
“I don’t mean to rush you, but we’ve got to get going,” came Glaucin’s call up the face of the cliff.
Upon reaching the shore again, the boys holstered their weapons and picked up their packs. Glaucin handed them a strange looking plant.
“This is bubbleweed. Each of you pick off a pod and put your head in it,” he instructed. “This will be your air supply under water.”
Bubbleweed was a long strand of green flesh connecting several clear, glowing pods the size of basketballs. It looked as if someone had gone nuts with a gigantic bubble machine. With a merman soldier helping them, each boy squeezed into a bubbleweed pod. As soon as Andy’s head was inside, it constricted around his throat, forming a watertight seal and making him feel claustrophobic. The outside of the bubble felt soft and gooey; inside, the just-picked pod blew a stream of oxygen at him. It smelled like soap suds. Through the clear glowing membranes, the boys saw Glaucin motion for Andy to get on his back and Alden to hop on a soldier’s back, which they did.
They headed out from the shore and Andy glanced back one last time to Spark’s resting place on the outcropping above the beach. You haven’t died in vain, he promised. Just before turning back, he saw the shadowy silhouette of the bellicose standing on the beach.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Glaucin
The water had cleared of the battle’s lilac-colored cloud, but it remained chilly as Glaucin, carrying Andy, Patri, carrying Alden, and the other members of the patrol got into formation and dove into the sea. None of the mermen had tridents. It appeared they had all upgraded to a disc under the skin, the same as Glaucin had mentioned when they’d asked him about it last year.
Thanks to the radiating light of the bubbleweed pod, Andy could see about fifteen feet in any direction despite the darkness. He saw several clusters of bubbleweed growing close to the island, swaying in the current off to their right. The curious school of colorful fish he had seen earlier closed in around them, investigating the procession. The mermen shooed them away.
As the patrol sped through the water, the boys heard the whistles and songs of the mermen communicating in mermish. The scenes shifted in the darkness. One minute Andy saw small silver fish zip by, and the next they were passing glowing coral formations. Alden kept glancing over and smiling at each new sight. Andy judged they were headed to the other side of the island. Another patrol swam past, whistling and singing to Glaucin, who nodded.
After several minutes they slowed and entered a dense kelp forest. Enormous blades of fibrous green plants waved like curtains in the water. Here it felt a little warmer. Chilled to the bone, Andy’s body gave a shudder. The patrol followed paths visible only to the trained eye, and Andy felt lost and disoriented. He kept thinking how fortunate they were to have an escort. We never would’ve found our way on our own.
They passed several bubbleweed plants swaying in the water just before emerging from the forest. Sheer black rock rose up on either side of an underwater valley. This didn’t surprise Andy as
much as what they saw next—a town, illuminated like any large city at night back home. Lights shone from dwellings carved into the rock. As they proceeded down the main street, Andy saw a crowded restaurant with mermen and merwomen dining at hewn rock tables. Lantern fish floating lazily above each table created a romantic mood. Another patrol passed them going in the opposite direction. They saw a bank and a couple clothing stores before following the valley as it branched to the right, the result of another large outcropping jutting up from the sea floor.
The procession entered a residential neighborhood and eventually stopped outside the door of a cave home. A plaque above the door was inscribed “Glaucin & Family.” A beautiful mermaid opened the door and hugged Glaucin. Patri whistled and then sang to the rest of the patrol before motioning Alden to dismount. A merwoman and two merboys appeared, all singing and whistling to each other. Glaucin motioned for Andy to dismount and indicated they should follow him as Patri and the rest of the patrol left.
Andy and Alden swam as fast as they could, which amounted to a slow crawl compared to the merfolk with their broad tails. Glaucin led them upward, finally stopping at a place where a jet of bubbles billowed from a room carved out of the black rock wall. He plunged through the stream and the boys followed.
Andy’s teeth had been chattering nonstop for quite some time, but as he saw the room a broad smile creased his face while another shudder rocked his body. Alden, also frozen to the bone, managed to fist-bump Andy. Glaucin watched and smiled.
They had emerged into a brightly lit room with water filling the lower half of the space. Air filled the top half of the cavity. Andy wondered what generated the light but let that thought pass for now. A sizeable ledge divided the cavity as it protruded from the wall. The boys climbed up onto it, removed the slimy bubbleweed pods, and set their packs down while Glaucin remained in the pool.
“Th-th-that’s b-b-better,” Andy commented through blue lips.
Glaucin laughed.
Andy immediately noticed a change in the temperature; it had grown pleasantly warmer. He traced the heat source to the back wall of the room.