They were each other’s physical antithesis in every way. He was strong and tall with deep chocolate skin and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen, everything about him radiated vibrancy and energy. She was willowy and almost translucently pale, her eyes the faintest shade of blue, as if her irises were trying to blend into her perfectly proportioned pale face. The contrast between the two of them enhanced the other’s beauty.
“We wanted to tell you how brave and compassionate you’ve been since your arrival,” she murmured beside me, forcing me to whip my head around to look at her, as I disengaged my fingers from his grasp as graciously as I could.
She was smiling, her perfectly bowed lips a pale shade of pink against white teeth.
“Er, uh, thanks,” I stammered, unsure if I’d been brave at all. “Um… who are you?” I asked, the question sounding coarse and rude contrasted against their perfect manners and eloquent, otherworldly behaviour.
A deep chuckle from him had me turning my back on her again to follow his reaction.
“I am Llyr and this –” he extended his hand to the woman beside me “– is Muirgel.” She smiled shyly at me.
“I’m Alexandra,” I stated a few seconds before I remembered that they’d greeted me by name.
They smiled again and seemed to be waiting for me to say something.
“Uh… so what is it that you can do?” I asked.
Merrick chuckled beside me, making me wonder which Oceanid etiquette blunder I’d committed now.
Muirgel just smiled and said softly, “We collect the stories of our kind.”
“Oh cool,” I replied enthusiastically, “I’d like to read those someday!”
Llyr laughed heartily as did everyone else within earshot.
I ducked my head down, staring miserably at my toes, another bungle to add to my growing repertoire!
“They are blessed with extremely long memories which are passed down from parents to children,” said Merrick, the tone of his voice instantly quietening the laughter that surrounded me. “They know more about our species than anyone else.”
“What do you do with the knowledge you hold?” I asked, earning a faint smile of approval from Merrick at the question.
Muirgel answered, “Well, we ensure that our species remembers where they have come from,” she replied. “We would very much like to add your story to our history.”
“Why?” I asked bluntly.
“As you are to play such a pivotal role in our futures, we thought a good grounding on your history would be useful information for future generations,” murmured Muirgel, her face strained as she tried to maintain civility.
I nodded. “OK, I guess that makes sense.” They smiled at me, inviting me to settle around the tree as the other Oceanids around us did the same.
Over dinner I told them about my family, how my Mom had left her previous husband when Brent was a baby and met Dad three years later. What I knew about how he’d courted her and married her and my early childhood.
When I told them about the day Brent had died, I was surprised at how many questions they asked me, pushing me for details I’d never even thought of before, like whether the water had changed colour while I was beneath it.
They were particularly interested in the part where I relayed the pain and the jolting sensation, asking me for the timing of each element, how I’d felt afterwards, and wondering why I’d struggled to remember the breathing element Undine had been trying to communicate to me.
After the meal, their curiosity sated, I was able to start asking them some questions of my own.
“Tell me where the prophesy or legend of the fortieth generation Gurrer comes from?” I asked, sipping the honey-sweetened spring water that had been served as dessert.
“Our people have always lived in a threatening environment,” Llyr began, smiling as some of the other Oceanids gathered around. “But we are survivors.” The pride in his voice was unmistakeable, and a thrill of pride ran through me that I was part of these brave people.
“We have always found a way to adapt to our environment until a great shaking happened many thousands of years ago. The earth spewed poison into the water and for the first time in our history Oceanids were forced to flee to the land.”
“The tragedy of this time was twofold,” Muirgel continued, her voice tragically low, her eyes distant. “All of the Oceanid children were left behind, their parents forced to listen from the land to their tortured screams as they suffocated in the water.”
“We were not welcomed kindly everywhere by the humans.” Llyr picked up the story. “In some countries the beauty of our women resulted in them being taken captive and held in castle prisons for the pleasure of the king. In others we were seen as threats to the local dignitaries and particularly the church and massacred on sight. Many died, and even fewer were able to return to the ocean. But those that did never forgot how cruel the humans were to them.”
“One of the greatest Shaha – that is the name for Llyr and me,” Muirgel said, “foretold during this terribly difficult time of another shaking that could end our species if the fortieth generation Gurrer did not take her place. We have been searching and waiting for you ever since.” She smiled.
I was relieved when Maya, who had appeared in the little group that had formed around Muirgel and Llyr, interrupted her.
“Have you ever heard of Oceanids pooling their resources?” she asked.
Muirgel and Llyr both closed their eyes momentarily.
“There is history of two or even more Oceanids using their talents for one specific goal,” Llyr replied. “There is one specific story where some Oceanids used their powers on a King who had a beautiful daughter whom he loved very much. Princes came from miles around to win her hand, but none of them were good enough for the King. This King was the ancestor of one of the humans who had held our women captive a few hundred years before. In revenge three Oceanids who had got wind of the story approached the King to win her hand, one of them posing as a prince. One of the Oceanids had the gifts of persuasion, much like Aerowen,” he pointed at the Oceanid beside Luke, “and Indra,” he pointed at the Oceanid draped over Josh. “Another had the ability to implant dreams like Undine and the final had the ability to manipulate emotion. Working together over a few months they introduced the idea to the King that if no one could be found for his daughter she should be given to the sea. Within six months he had a large ceremony at which she was set adrift in a small boat, covered in flowers.”
“That’s awful,” I interrupted him.
He smiled, looking suddenly very inhuman.
“It is the power of a well planted and expertly watered idea, my dear,” he replied. “And we can be exceptional gardeners.”
He and Muirgel stood and bowed before moving fluidly across the space to take their place among a series of couples who had moved to surround the fever tree.
“What was that story about?” I murmured to Merrick.
“Right now they are trying to decide where their alliance is most strategically place.”
“They would consider war?”
He nodded. “Readily, they have no sympathy for humans, not with the knowledge they carry. The pod, and indeed the whole species is split as to the best way forward. You represent the peaceful alternative to the war that many have been planning for some time.”
I watched distractedly as the pairs of Oceanids arranged themselves around the central tree, mulling over the story Llyr and Muirgel had told me. There was an interesting concept in their story of gardening. If the idea could be planted, that fossil fuel was not the way forward, not viable, somehow… then maybe there was hope for the Oceanids. It meant trusting Aerowen and Indra, which I didn’t at all. And therein lay one of the biggest issues, with so much division and politics splitting the pod: I didn’t know who I could trust just yet.
One thing was abundantly clear though, I needed to work out exactly what it was I could do, exactly which talents coursed through me, because
if I knew that, then maybe, just maybe we could come up with a viable plan for peace. And I was realising very quickly that I needed to find a peaceful resolution for two reasons I was desperately passionate about.
The first had been born when I’d held that first little Oceanid’s damaged hand. I couldn’t bear the idea of the Oceanid children, or any of them really, being hurt like that, and I was sure any war would have terrible casualties. The second I’d realised stupidly slowly. The Oceanids cared very little for humans and my mother and Josh and Luke’s safety now rested in my trembling hands.
Chapter 28
Dance
I continued to watch absently as the pairs of Oceanids slid effortlessly around the tree, their bodies intertwined in an intricate dance in which they almost touched each other. As the music swelled to a crescendo each dancer leapt into the air, their clothing swirling around them so it seemed as if they were drifting in space before landing in absolute precision to the last note of the music.
“Are you ready?” Merrick asked. He was standing already, his hand extended to me.
“No!” I squeaked, horrified at the idea of making a fool of myself in front of everyone.
“Trust me,” he invited, pulling me to my feet.
He took my hand, swaying gently as the music came alive again. Each note held nuances of sound I’d never heard before, each sung instrument easily identifiable and perfectly harmonised with its fellows. I could hear properly for the first time.
I gazed around me in awe as the colours came abruptly to life. Each Oceanid glowed, a halo of exquisite colour surrounding them. Rainbows danced off the water falling down the side of the cliff, and the tree blossomed in shades of green I’d never seen before.
I closed my eyes to block out the distraction of the rainbows of light my eyes could see bouncing around the cavern, swirling upwards, so like pictures of the northern lights I’d seen.
A sensation very like vertigo made me gasp, my eyes springing open, as Merrick swirled me around him, following me as we went, never letting go of my hand, but keeping our bodies just out of reach of each other.
I didn’t have time to register any sensory distractions after that because it felt like the whole world was spinning and the only thing that made sense was his face. His eyes sparkled as we moved, his mouth curled into a delighted smile.
I can’t remember whether I stumbled or tripped, but I was suddenly cradled in his arms as he continued to swirl and dip to the music.
As the last notes echoed off the cave walls, he tossed me into the air, leaping after me. We seemed to hang there for an age before I fell, rather inelegantly, and he landed catching me in time to stop me from hitting the ground.
I stood awkwardly, dizzy and breathless clutching at his hand. His eyes fiery, he slowly and persistently pulled me gently toward him, stepping backwards in a slower dreamier version of the dance we’d just completed.
He twirled me a few times and then entwined his fingers through mine, pulling me closer to him, his other hand resting on my hip, swaying my body in time to the music which had changed to a slow and lazy tempo.
Captured in the intensity of his gaze I moved with him as if in a dream, unable to look away from the fire in his eyes.
He slowed, falling out of the rhythm of the music and draping our entwined hands around his neck, resting his forehead against mine and curving my body to his.
I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think and nothing else mattered except the heat of his skin against mine, and his breath fanning my face.
Sabrina broke the spell by bouncing over and grabbing my hand, pulling me away from Merrick, reminding me that we weren’t alone, but surrounded by dozens of Oceanids. “Come on,” she urged, “Taika’s about to start.”
Merrick settled beside me, a smile playing on his lips, his back straight and his chin high.
“What are you looking so pleased about?” I whispered to him, enjoying the mischievous way he’d nudged Sabrina out of the way to sit beside me again, taking my hand and interlacing our fingers pointedly.
“I really enjoyed that dance,” he informed me, glancing down at me with a naughty grin. “And now everyone here knows our intentions.”
“They do?” I asked surprised, glancing around the circle, and noticing for the first time how many of them were throwing glances in our direction. Some of the expressions were amused and approving, others angry.
“And what are our intentions?” I asked him, keeping my tone light and playful, but genuinely curious.
He grinned down at me, delight and tenderness shining in his eyes. “To be together,” he told me simply.
I smiled shyly at him, thrilling in the simple complexity of what he was so sure of, because it was exactly what I wanted.
I was still smiling at him when I went blind. I knew my eyes were open, because I was stretching them as wide as they would go, but all I could see was a deep midnight blue.
A strange warbling whistle rumbled around me, building in intensity and then ebbing away.
I was shaking I was so afraid.
I jumped as something brushed across my arms, and then my legs, silky soft and wet.
The sound began again, closer this time. It surrounded me, plunging me into an agony of previously unheard decibels, which seemed to be intensified to unbearable proportions by Merrick’s hand locked in a vice-like grip around mine.
He wouldn’t let go of me, and my eardrums were going to burst.
My terrified, confused brain dredged up a reflex reaction where I found the soft flesh between Merrick’s thumb and other fingers. The double contact with him intensified the sound exponentially, and I thought I’d faint from the sheer volume of it.
I clamped down on his thumb with all my might, wrenching my hand away from him when his grip relaxed a little.
Instantly normality returned.
I took a deep shuddering breath before an even greater dread filled my every pore.
All of the Oceanids sat ramrod-straight, eyes stretched wide, as Taika walked methodically from one to the other, stopping briefly behind them and bending over them, her face creased in concentration.
A silvery mist-like substance trailed from her, touching each Oceanid. I shuddered away from it as it swirled around me, horrified.
Merrick had been right; she was using the “magic shows” to collect spinal fluid from the Oceanids which she then dripped into her mouth, her eyes closed in ecstasy as the clear fluid dribbled between her puckered upturned lips.
All of this only took a few seconds to process, and the next thought that hit me was what would happen if she found me watching her.
Almost as if she could read my mind, she straightened suddenly from where she’d been bent over one of Miengu, who had crept out of the shadows to join the show. Her back was to me giving me a few precious seconds to decide what to do.
There was no way I could leave the circle before she noticed, I wasn’t sure I could fake the same thoughtless mask that was mirrored on each of the other Oceanids’ faces. It left me with only one other choice.
Lunging at Merrick’s hand, my stomach dropped in dizzying nausea as the sightless cacophony of sound assaulted my senses. The pain intensified to unbearable, and I wished I’d pass out just to get away from it. And then suddenly with a vicious jolt that rattled my teeth, it was gone.
I opened my eyes to find all the Oceanids lying flat on their backs, their legs still crossed in front of them.
I was the only conscious one, which freaked me out completely. I turned to Merrick, and my stomach dropped sickeningly. He was pale, his eyes stretched open and unmoving and I couldn’t see any breath lifting his chest.
It was Brent all over again.
The first thought that went through my head as I desperately searched for signs of life was that I’d never told him how much he meant to me. I’d never told him that he was the only person who’d ever really understood me, the only person I looked forward to seeing, even if we’d on
ly been apart for a few minutes.
It didn’t seem possible to feel so strongly about someone after such a short time, but as my hands fluttered uselessly over his deathly still body, dozens of memories from the whirlwind of events that had taken place in the past few days sharpened the pain that filled my heart with dread until I finally recognised it.
I’d unwittingly fallen in love with him. And now it was too late. Something had happened and he and everyone else in the cave was dead.
I stroked the hair from Merrick’s face, tracing the outline of his eye, cupping his cheek, and softly kissing his still warm lips.
A strange low keening filled the cavern, chilling in its sorrow. I didn’t realise it was coming from me, until Sabrina stirred from where she’d been lying beside Merrick.
I gasped as I saw her move, her eyelids fluttering open as she looked around her, bewildered.
Slowly the Oceanids woke, their murmured confusion amplified when they discovered Taika, still holding a phial of spinal fluid, crumpled behind the Miengu she’d been sampling.
The confusion turned to fury as they realised what they were looking at. The Miengu scooped up her still form, throwing her roughly over one of their shoulders and climbing angrily up the side of the wall and out of sight.
I watched the whole scene in distracted confusion, still sickeningly worried about Merrick.
I hadn’t noticed Sabrina leave until she returned with Maya in tow, the little Oceanid looked ill again, her shoulders hunched as if she were in pain or very cold, but she didn’t hesitate in kneeling beside Merrick and placing her hands on his chest.
“What’s wrong with him?” I whispered, very afraid of her answer as all of the other Oceanids had now recovered and were milling around in confusion.
“I’m not sure,” she replied. “He’s unconscious, but everything else is working fine. What happened to us?” she asked no one in particular.
“We were all knocked unconscious,” Sabrina answered her, “only for a few moments.”
Cold fear trickled up my spine at her words. I hadn’t been affected at all.
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