Brellitine Grever and The Sea of Gelled (The Brell Trilogy Book 1)

by Ruhi Jain

  “Brell? Where are you?”

  “Callum! I’m in a passage way leading up to the stage.”

  She swam up quickly, her heart pounding. The moment she reached the top, Callum said, “Dilan the royal messenger will be there. The Drone will have no effect on —”

  Someone’s hand punched her stomach and she flew back with tremendous force, hitting the back wall of the backstage with a gasp. Scrambling over the mess of cables, she came face to face with Dilan. Behind him she saw curtains dividing the stage from the backstage.

  “Get out of here,” he said slowly, his eyes glinting maliciously. “Or you’ll get hurt —”

  “Stab him!”

  “Sorry.”

  Swiftly removing the knife from where it was hidden behind her back, she aimed at his tail. Before she could throw it, he grabbed her arm. Twisting her hand behind her back, he pulled it sharply and she muffled a scream as the wound on her shoulder complained. She twisted from side to side but he had managed to use his other hand to keep her in place.

  “I’m going to kill you,” he sneered, a smile on his face.

  She bit his arm ferociously, digging her teeth with as much force she could muster into his skin. He cursed, and immediately let go of her. He was too bulky for her to fight, so she used her speed. She dived down and reached for her knife, wanting to save her magic for later. Just as her hand touched it, a sharp object ripped her already wounded arm. She bit her lip, whirling around to see Ralf.

  Strong hands grabbed her and hauled her backwards, slamming her against the wall. There she lay, dazed and stunned with blood pooling out of her shoulder. She knew she had to move, she had to fight. If she didn’t her brother would die. From the corner of her eye, she saw Dilan clutching his arm where bite marks were oozing blood. She placed her wrist behind her, keeping the crystals out of their sight.

  “This is the time for revenge!” Zeldae’s voice was much louder now and much, much closer to her.

  Ralf launched himself upon her and held her down, restricting her movement. Dilan snatched away her knife and bound her tail and hands with a thick chord, his black eyes glinting with everything hazardous.

  “You. Will. Die.” He said flatly and humourlessly. He jabbed his finger into her shoulder wound, causing her to wince as pain shot through her. “That’s for biting me, you little blighter.”

  Ralf pulled out a taupe coloured cloth and advanced towards her.

  “Use what you have around you!”

  The eclipse must have been just a minute away, because she felt a rush of energy course through her veins. It pumped through her like a wild horse running. She stirred to life, scanning the room around her and seeing cables everywhere. She focused her thoughts; thick cables rose in the air and with her now surprisingly obedient magic, she made them wrap around her attackers’ tail, torso and throat. She saw a moving wheel not too far from them and latched the other end of both the cables to the spokes of the wheel. They made a strangled noise as they were dragged towards the wheel. Both of them stared at her with outrage, furious eyes glinting as she made her dagger cut the cords that bound her.

  Gripping her dagger in one hand, she ripped the black crystal from her bracelet and charged through the curtain and onto the stage.

  Chapter 32: Do or Die

  The water tangled her hair, pulling and pushing her till she swayed. The turbulent sea was rocked with the mass of moving water. Her eyes strained, adjusting to the dimness around her. The first thing she saw were millions of people. Some were sitting on the luxurious chairs in the garden, wearing garments bejewelled with crystals while many were standing outside the castle gates. The crowd stretched out as far as she could see. The first thing she heard was a collective gap running through the crowd. A triton shell slipped from the fingers of one of the Royal Guests.

  She heard a small whimper next to her and turned her head to see Timmy. Her heart began to pound frantically when she saw his bound wrists and ankles. He was stretched on the copper frame in a vertical position wearing only a pair of dark brown pants. His chest was bare and his eyes were wide and round with fear. He was just a yard away from her.

  She also heard a low snarl. With her eyes narrowed into slits and grasping a small, sharp dagger that was strikingly similar to Brell’s own except for the white diamonds and sapphires that encrusted the handle, Zeldae was barely five yards away from her. Her eyes were rimmed with kohl and she wore a long black robe with a very deep slit in the front, probably to make it easier to put the heart into her own body.

  As Brell lunged for her brother, she bit into the black crystal. The entire sea went dark at the same time; the eclipse. Black smoke poured out of the crystal, engulfing her, surrounding her, protecting her. But it was so thick that she almost choked on it. The smoke spread, covering many yards, preventing anyone or anything from coming next to her. Zeldae’s frustrated shriek pierced the air, making her move faster.

  The moment the eclipse took place, she felt an indescribable power coursing through her veins. Something stirred inside her and she felt so… alive. It was like exhaustion never existed, her wounds were non-existent and her mind wasn’t foggy.

  Her fingers groped for the rope that bound his ankles and the moment she encountered them, she began sawing at it with her dagger. The smoke was so thick that she couldn’t even see her hands. She yelped as the blade sliced her finger but she kept on sawing until his left ankle was free.

  “Dan, Dan!” she said, shaking Timmy’s left leg. “You have to come with me the moment you’re free, okay? Follow me, promise!” She said desperately, coughs seizing her. She was sure there was smoke in her lungs by now. “Promise me!”

  As she hacked away at the ropes on his other ankle, his feeble voice whispered. “I… p-promise.”

  By now both his legs were free. The adrenaline pumped through her veins, making her move with a frantic desperation to free him. Even though the smoke was still surrounding her, she could see it thinning slowly. From the corner of her eye she could also see some bright flashes. Zeldae was trying to attack her. Maybe other merpeople were too.

  She reached for the ropes around his wrists, and then realised that it was a simple sailor’s knot. Quickly undoing the first one, she moved on to his left wrist. He whimpered, “They’re going to kill me.”

  “Shhh! Don’t think too much. You only have to follow me okay? Follow me and you will be safe.”

  When she had freed him entirely, she grabbed his trembling hand and looked at him fiercely in the eye.

  “You’re not going to die but you have to follow me. Now!”

  For a wild moment she wondered if her invisibility wish would still work, and she rapidly mouthed the rhyme

  “Grant me invisibility on my wish

  and make me appear when I wish.”

  Having no time to see if the spell worked, she yanked Timmy and dived behind the curtains into the backstage.

  Ralf and Dilan’s eyes followed them, becoming as big as golf balls, as they strained at the cables that held them back. Clearly, she was still visible.

  She bolted to the passage way, hearing merpeople yelling and Zeldae screaming. She had to half-drag Timmy down the passage. His lack of tail reduced their speed drastically. So she scooped him into her arms and shot down into the darkness. His hysteric sobbing cut through the water, making her yearn to wipe away his tears and comfort him. But not now. Now was not the time.

  By the time she reached the bottom of the ramp, her adrenaline was gone; she had burnt through it. The peak from the eclipse was gone too, leaving her with the pain, tiredness and exhaustion she had earlier. The change was so sudden that the extra effort required just to move forward sapped her energy. The guards were still unconscious, thankfully. Her shoulder and fingers burnt painfully. Biting her lip in anxiety, she pulled Timmy along with her and shot towards the servants’ quarters. Now where should she go? She knew that if she did not get out of here as soon as possible, all the effort she had put in
up to this point would be in vain.

  Just as she rounded the corner, she crashed into someone. Looking up, she gasped. Natalie.

  Natalie’s eyes widened with surprise. For a moment she didn’t say anything. Then her eyes flickered to Timmy.

  “You don’t under —” she began, but Natalie slapped her hard across the face and gripped the back of her head.

  “Don’t you speak to me, you filth,” she spat, twisting Brell’s head backwards. “What the —.” A Drone popped beneath her nose, and she collapsed.

  Brell immediately felt a tug at her arm and she turned to find that Timmy had fallen asleep too. There was someone behind him.

  “Lukas! Thank God! Help me. Lift him up.” She bent down, but he didn’t. “Lukas?”

  He had created a swirling black hole in the wall of the castle which kept getting smaller by the second. “Get in!” he urged, a rather strained look on his face. “Go! I’ll be right behind you.”

  Brell hesitated only for a second, then grabbed Timmy and shoved him inside the swirling sphere. Taking a deep gulp of water, she jumped in too.

  Chapter 33: Relations

  Twenty minutes earlier….

  Lukas smoothed the red and black leather jacket he was wearing. From the stage, he could see the throng of merpeople gathered, some with keen, excited eyes while others had disgusted ones. The ceremony was about to begin in about five minutes.

  Why was he so tense? It wasn’t as if he was the one saving Timothy Grever from Zeldae. No, he was nervous for her. For Brellitine.

  Dilan swam up to him. “Hey man, Prince Callum commands that you go to his chamber.”

  Lukas swam back swiftly into the castle, knowing that the plan was seriously flawed. The most frustrating part was that he couldn’t do anything about it. Why couldn’t he get to contact her through the Dreign? A pang of jealously hit him as he wondered about the conversations Callum and she had in all these months she was here.

  Callum’s room was really far away and when he finally reached it, he pushed the door open without knocking and then stopped short.

  Books were strewn across the bed, the table and the floor. A bedside table was overturned and so was a chair. It looked like a tsunami had hit the area. Callum was standing still in the far right corner of the room, with a rather large and fat maroon book in his hands. He was staring at it open mouthed. His hair was tousled as if he had run his fingers through it absentmindedly — a habit Lukas knew he had when thinking deeply about something. He hadn’t even put on the clothes that he was supposed to wear for the Transfer yet; they lay in a neat pile on his bed.

  “What’s going on?”

  Callum didn’t respond immediately. He seemed frozen in place. Like a statue. After a moment or so he put the book down with shaking hands. “It’s impossible… or is it?”

  Lukas picked up a few books lying on the table. History of the Seven Seas. This book was ancient; when he flipped the pages they almost seemed as if they were about to disintegrate. He quickly scanned the other titles. The Doors of the Royal Family, Unlocked. Legend of the Kings and Queens. The Royal Family Tree. These books could only be found exclusively in the Royal Library. They were all really old, dating back to a century before.

  “What the hell!” he flung them back at the table. “You’re not supposed to be reading at a time like this! We have more important things to do — like guiding Brell!”

  Callum’s head snapped up. “Brellitine Grever.” He mouthed, his eyes still in shock. “Brellitine.” He whispered. “Princess Annitine. Oh my goodness.” He swam a few paces, gesticulating with the book. “No one would care to look up the family tree. Why would they? She was said to have only one child!”

  Far away, it seemed, a voice sounded. The Ceremony must have begun some time ago.

  Lukas lost whatever little was left of his patience by now. He clapped his hands on Callum’s shoulders. “You need to come now, or Zeldae will suspect something.”

  Callum’s eyes focused on him for a second before they unfocused. “Brell? Where are you?” he whispered a moment later.

  Lukas realised that he must be communicating with her but his lack of presence made him speak loudly and not in his mind. Not that he was complaining.

  “Move now! Dilan — the royal messenger will be there. The Drone will have no effect on —” he stopped short, gasping.

  She was already on her way. “Callum!” He waved his hand in front of his face. “Where is she?”

  “Stab him!” He muttered, and Lukas felt a chill run down his spine. She was in trouble.

  “I’m going to find her.” he turned to leave, but he felt Callum’s hand on his shoulder.

  “No.”

  A second later, Callum cursed. His eyes shifted. “Use what you have around you!” he choked out.

  Lukas wrenched his hand away. “I have to go to help her.”

  Callum’s eyes finally focused on him. “Go! She will most probably be at the hallway leading to the castle gate. Take her to the house at Aiken Avenue for me. Not Lily’s home. Aiken Avenue.”

  Then Callum leaned forward and whispered four words into Lukas’s ear. Hurriedly, he explained those words. Four words Lukas didn’t think he’d ever forget.

  Lukas shot towards the castle gates, the words still ringing in his ears. As he rounded to the corner, he saw a mermaid slap Brell across her face. Her right shoulder had a huge gash on it and there was a trail of blood behind her.

  Her fingers were wound tightly around a small boy’s hand. He was shirtless, had curly russet hair and looked scared out of his wits.

  Lukas created a Drone right below the mermaid’s nose and she collapsed. The little boy — Timothy — fell asleep too.

  Brell whirled around and bent over Timothy, and then she saw him. Her face was covered with small cuts and shallow slices. Blood trickled down a cut in her lower lip. Bruises seemed to cover every inch of her arm and he noticed that she had sliced her finger. Her shirt was torn at places and she had gruesome scuff marks on her wrists. His stomach twisted. He should have been there to help her. She tucked a piece of wild hair behind her ear. Did she know he found that so adorable?

  She said something, but he focused his thoughts on forming a portal to Aiken Avenue.

  “Get in! Go! I’ll be right behind you,” he said, wanting to get her as far away from the castle as possible.

  She glanced at him once, shoved her brother into the portal and jumped in after him. Lukas picked up the rather heavy mermaid who was lying on the floor, and deposited her as far from the hall as he could. It was best if she wasn’t connected with Brell’s escape. Then he jumped into the portal and closed it after him, only one burning thought ringing in his head.

  How could someone so good, be related to someone so evil?

  *

  Brell curled protectively around Timmy’s body. He looked so still that it frightened her.

  “Don’t worry he’s just sleeping.” Lukas said behind her. He was panting for some reason; must be from the exertion of making the Meander.

  She looked around. They were on Aiken Avenue in one of those grey, colourless boulders that seemed to suck the life out of everything. “Is there a way to reverse the Drone’s spell? Please tell me there is.”

  He sighed. “No. You’ll just have to wait till it wears out.”

  She couldn’t believe that she had done it. She had got him away from Zeldae. Just— “What are we doing here? I should be back on land, shouldn’t I?”

  She suddenly became acutely aware of the fact that her right shoulder was injured and her left arm was still recovering from its cut with the poison arrow. It hurt terribly and when she tried to move her right arm, she couldn’t without it exploding into pain. Her face felt sore, as if a swarm of bees had stung her.

  “It’ll take at least ten minutes for them to realise that you are not in the castle and another ten to reach here. And that is if they know our exact location, which they don’t. So we have time.” He
picked up one of the grey cushions of the sofa and pulled out a cloth bandage from the pillow cover.

  She squinted at him, still not completely recovered from her fear of being caught. Why were they waiting here? She knew she would not be able to relax unless and until they were on land and Timmy was awake. He gently wrapped the cloth around her injured shoulder and she suppressed a whimper. “Time for what?”

  “I need to tell you something.” He looked uncomfortable. “But you have to promise me that after I tell you, you won’t go looking for answers from someone else. Promise me that you will… keep yourself safe.”

  “What are you talking about?” There was something about the tone of his voice that made her wary. What was so important that it had to be said now? She thought she knew him well enough to perceive that something was terribly wrong.

  Lukas looked everywhere, except at her. There was pin-drop silence in the boulder; the calm before the storm. A ripple of water brushed against her tail.

  “Brell, Zeldae is your cousin.” He whispered softly.

  Chapter 34: Reality

  Were her ears playing tricks on her? Or did she actually hear those terrible, terribly ghastly words?

  “No!” She shook her head and kept on shaking it. “Not possible. I am a human. My family is all human! My mother didn’t have any siblings. My father didn’t have any siblings other than Uncle Sam.”

  “He did.” Lukas said softly, again. “He did, Brell.”

  “No.” She backed away. “No, you’re lying!” But why would Lukas lie to her?