Cora swayed, eyelids fluttered. Her breathing relaxed as her lips parted. Wrapping his mind around hers, Sean remembered.
Cora could feel her very spirit and soul gliding through the deepest oceans. She was weightless and free of any land bound restraints; she was free and weightless as she experienced what it meant to be a soul of the sea. Her eyes opened up as the sight before her made her breathless, It was breathtaking. Never in all of her years could she of imagined something so magnificent as this. She was sailing through the deepest waters over colorful reefs where fish darted through the serene crystal waters just in front of her.
Sean took her further through the deepest parts of the abyss, parts where no human land dweller had ever ventured. They sailed up and over reefs, through hidden caves that came to life with creatures of the sea. A moray eel slipped past them as its body rippled through its liquid blue home. In front of them, the cave opened up as a bright light poured in through its massive opening. Beyond the cave, seaweed gardens swayed with the ocean currents, but it was the sight through those reeds that opened up to a scene that she could have sworn came straight from heaven.
Just in front of them, large whales swam through the waters, their beautiful and ancient songs filling her ears. Beyond them, a tall white pearlescent castle spiraled up, as it towered over everything around them. She could feel herself gliding through the waters, right into the center of it. Mermaids and mermen alike swam through its corridors; they passed each one of them unnoticed like a spirit haunting a faraway land. Dolphins played with small mer as fits of bubbly giggles could be heard.
As Cora glanced around, she realized that this was a community, a world made of families, Sean’s world and a world he had shared with her. Cora breathlessly urged him on. “More show me more. It’s all so indescribably beautiful.”
Holding her to him even closer, he propelled them through the crowds of swimming mer, laughing, loving and so free. Up and over the highest towers, racing alongside the whales so close Cora could almost reach out her hand and touch them. Then up, up towards the beams of light that flowed down towards them from the surface barrier. The light became bright and warm as she felt it on her skin. Without thinking or hesitation, Cora brought up her hand and touched the face that now appeared in front of her. She realized that it was Sean’s face that she saw in front of her; she was no longer in that magical world, but back on the surface, her own world. And now, here he stood in front of her, the one that had saved her, the one she could trust, and still, he was someone that beyond all rationality should only exist in myth and legend.
The ring began to thrum against her skin. Cora touched it, her eyes intently fixed on it. “The ring sings can you hear it?” she asked.
Sean took a step towards her, then stopped, and held out his hand to touch hers. “The Ring of Mer,” he gasped.
She looked up at him as if in shock. “You know of it?” her voice shook. She jerked her hand away and slipped it behind her. She gave him a quizzical look. “Why have you not noticed it before? The ring has been on my hand this whole time.”
“I don’t know why I have never noticed it before, but once it sang, I knew immediately what it was. That ring was lost to my people many years ago, and now you possess a treasure and power that my father will not stop coming after until he gets it.”
Cora flinched. She stared at him for a long moment, confusion and fear plaguing her eyes. Sean pointed at the ring she kept hidden behind her back, her body trembled and she wanted to collapse where she stood. It made Sean’s heart ache to feel her fear. She gave him one last look and stepped away. Sean watched her as she crossed the cave and sat down on the seaweed bed. The first ‘Blue Moon Seer’ in years, and she had just been thrown into his protection. To make matters worse, his father wished to steal her soul.
His urge to follow her was overwhelming. Even after years of being subjected to solitude, Sean’s soul was still empty and yearned to be filled. Unfortunately, there was still a part of Sean that did not dare bond with the mortal.
He started walking over to the boulder, it was late and the night was quiet. He wanted to sleep, but his body was restless. Rest was something that would have to wait, he could only think of one thing that would calm him now. Through the entrance of the cave, Sean could see the ocean, the distant lapping of waves against the shore. There was no one around to distract him. The air was cool and fresh, it smelled of salt and sea. As he crossed the beach, his bare feet sank into the sand still wet from the previous storm.
Stepping into the water, Sean disappeared among the waves.
…
Cora sat in the cave and remembered the bond she had shared with Sean, the world he had shown her, and the kind of beauty that should only exist in dreams. Though at the moment, she was still pondering if what she had seen was not a dream. For all she knew, it was possible that the mer could have hypnotized her in some way. But even that didn’t seem entirely right, how did she explain the tail? But even more, how did she explain the ring, a ring that sung? She glanced down touching the ring; she twisted it on her finger as if thinking maybe if she touched it just right, the ring would sing again. But no matter what she did, it just stayed on her finger, silent and looking like a ring. Again, she found her mind on Sean, and how every time she was near him, the ring seemed to vibrate. Could she really trust him? How did she know whether or not he would continue to protect her? If only things were not so confusing.
The night became darker and Sean had still not returned. She had seen him leave earlier. She was actually glad that he had since it would give her time to think. She sat on the bedding and stared out through the entrance of the cave. The moon was out. She saw a figure move from outside the cave. A man ran toward her. Cora had nowhere to hide.
He shouted at her and lunged.
She screamed.
…
Magnus lay on a sandy shore unconscious. His mind once again returning him to days of past and memories that told of a prophecy to come.
Pressing against the walls, the chamber gave way and opened into a large vast room. Merlin walked over to a pool of water and began to chant the ancient words. “Ugo, Nu, Manu, Cle Neff, Na Seta.” Waving his hands over the pool, the water began to churn and swirl. “Show me what I need to see, show me what is to be.” The water became still as a face formed on its surface. Merlin watched as the vision became clear. A voice spoke from the pool.
“A kingdom shall fall with its king. A battle will end and a prophecy will begin. Four seers will come, four guardians will stand. A sword shall be lost as seer and guardian are no more. A world of darkness will take hold, and with the darkness, a sickness will reap. Great nations shall rise, but all will be lost if the prophecy is not fulfilled.”
Merlin peered down into the water. “Tell me the answer to your riddle, old wise one. Will the Fae be lost? Can Arthur succeed?”
“Give the king the blood of a red dragon, into his heart it must enter. He will sleep as death, but no death will find him. Many years shall pass before he will awake and save a people of many nations. For the sword will return when the king awakes and rid a land of darkness. Lay him under the king’s mountain until the return of the seer and guardian. As four moons become one, a sleeping king shall arise. Camelot will shine once again as past and future becomes one. But fail and the world will die in darkness.”
“Where will I find the next seers and guardians?”
“In a distant time, under the four moons you will find them. Under a hunters moon you will find courage. Under a blue moon you will find heart. Under a wolf moon you will find honor, and under the ice moon you will find strength. All of these things are Camelot and its king. Without these things, all will be lost. There is no more I can tell you.”
The vision in the pool began to fade, and in front of it, Merlin was left standing over it staring into its empty depths.
Magnus opened his eyes. In front of him a form from his past stood. He gazed up and met the eyes tha
t belonged to him.
“We have remained separate long enough you and I. It is time to reconnect that which has been lost to you.”
Magnus rose from the ground weakened still. Walking towards the form, the two became one, and Magnus became whole once again. Power radiated through him, ancient and old, from past and present, Magnus to Merlin.
CHAPTER FIVE
TRUST THE NOT
Cora’s heart began to race as she desperately searched for a place to run and hide. Running for the entrance of the cave was definitely out of the question, that would mean that she would have to pass this guy too closely, and possibly landing her straight into this man’s clutches. “You’re in deep trouble now,” she told herself. “So deep, and your protector is not here to save you this time.” In a last second effort to ditch the man, Cora ran for the back of the cave and pressed her body as far as she could up into a corner. Frightened, she stared at the man approaching her, but when he got to the makeshift seaweed bed on the ground, he stopped his advance. Thinking maybe the ring could be the cause for his sudden halt, she quickly looked down at her hand. No ominous glow was coming from it. “Figures, no protection from you either,” she mumbled.
The strange guy looked up at her muffled words and gave her a strange look. “Are you daft girl?”
“Daft? You’re the one that tried to attack me.”
“I don’t take kindly to any house guests.”
“House guest,” was this guy for real? She wasn’t sure if she should run or laugh. She was pretty sure now that whoever this guy was, he was not a threat to her like Sean’s father. But just to be safe, she still kept her guard up. She wasn’t taking any unnecessary chances. That moment, a figure came running through the cave entrance, Sean. Her protector had finally decided to show up.
The man turned to look at Sean and then grunted with disgust. “You youngsters are all alike. You think you can just come into a body’s home and do as you please. Well I have some news for you young hooligans,” the man walked over to Sean and pointed a finger straight into his face. “This is my home and I want you two out of here.”
Sean moved his mouth and mimicked the words that formed in the man’s head. He spoke with calm and compassion. “Sorry, we did not know we were intruding. If you give us a minute, we will be out of here and on our way.” Sean pulled out a wallet and handed the guy a fifty. “I hope this will cover the expense of our stay.”
The guy only saw the money in Sean’s hand. It was doubtful if he even heard a word after that. “Hey thanks, anytime.” The man proceeded to walk back over to the bed on the floor. “I didn’t mean to scare you earlier, girl. Don’t care really where you guys hang out, just not here.”
“We completely understand, please accept our apologies.” Sean waited but the man never uttered another word. “Cora, we need to go.”
Cora crossed the distance of the cave and took Sean’s hand, exiting through the entrance. Once they were a safe distance from the cave, Sean finally allowed Cora to hear him. “The old man would not have harmed you, he was of no threat. He was homeless and only looking for a warm place to sleep. You just happened to be in the spot he usually sleeps.”
Cora understood, she was just remembering the image of Sean giving him money. How could someone have so much compassion and come from a creature as vile and evil as Sean’s father? And then it was the image of his father that filled her mind. She could feel the fear trying to creep through her again. She grasped for something else to think of, anything.
Glancing over at Sean as he led her down the beach, she noticed how handsome he was, with deep blue eyes that seemed to sparkle every time he looked at her. He had blue eyes that were the color of the deep blue sea, crystal clear and mesmerizing. Those eyes were also full of secrets and wonders, but also full of a great deal of raw emotion and pain. Cora could almost feel her heart aching for him. These new feelings were confusing. She had no fear of him, but he was also the son of her tormentor, and that made it much harder to trust him. So trust would be her hardest part. Could she bring herself to trust him, trust him completely? If it came down to a choice between her and Sean’s father, whose side would he ultimately choose? Feeling anything for him could possibly be putting her life in greater risk.
But the vision he had shared with her of his world, a world of wonder and beauty, it was a world more beautiful underwater than on land. How could anyone give up a world such as that? The question only made Sean that much more mysterious.
After walking most of the day, a bed and breakfast not far from the shore came into view. Following Sean inside, she watched as he paid the woman at the front desk and signed them in. they walked up a flight of stairs to the second floor and found their room. Cora noticed that the room only had one bed, it was indeed a nice big bed, but she had no intentions of sharing it with him or anyone else. Nervous, she hesitated and glanced around the room. The only other option was the floor. Biting her lip, she remembered the cave floor. A soft bed did sound nice about now. Would Sean give up the bed and take the floor? He had paid for the room. How did mer people get money anyways? For all those ten seconds of arguing with herself, Cora stood there hoping that Sean would just be a gentleman and offer her the bed and save her the time of asking. Instead, as usual he said nothing.
She traveled the distance of the room and plopped herself on the foot of the bed. She looked up and smiled. “You don’t mind if I take the bed do you? I mean, it is the gentleman thing to do.”
He gave her a strange look but said nothing. Cora jumped up higher on the bed, tossed off her shoes that landed with a thump on the floor, and snuggled up under the covers. Noticing Sean still standing there staring at her, she reached over grabbing a pillow and tossed it at him. “I noticed an extra blanket up on that top shelf,” she pointed to a wall rack. “Thanks for the bed by the way.”
Shaking his head, Sean retired to a chair over in the corner of the room, and shut off the light without so much as a word.
Sometime during the night, Cora was plagued by another nightmare. Her heart hammered against her chest, and it was hard to breathe. She felt sick, and was ready to heave, even in her dream.
Sean’s father had found her. She had no use of her body, she could not move. In desperation she tried to scream, but she found that her voice was lost to her as well. She could still see Sean sitting over in the chair, and with eyes open, watching everything. Fear took hold as she felt her tormentors cold and wet hands wrap around her. He pulled her body off of the bed and down onto the floor. She was helpless. Slowly, the floor underneath her opened up as Sean’s father began to pull her through the gaping hole. The whole time, Cora felt as if she were drowning. Sean only sat there watching, allowing his father to take her. A dream she told herself, only a dream. But it felt so real, not like a dream at all.
One after another, each of her limbs was pulled down into the hole just as she finally screamed. She panicked just as the hole above her closed, leaving her in complete an utter darkness. She cried and screamed out, but there was no one except the sound of her own voice echoing back to her. Then, in the distance, there was a light. It was a small light at first, and then it grew and became much brighter. A voice resonated through the remaining darkness and found its way to her, Magnus.
The man she remembered was not the same as before. He looked much older now, wiser. But those deep blue eyes like that of the ocean were still there. Cora held her breathe staring as Magnus walked towards her.
“Danger is coming, but the danger you feel now is one that you have brought on yourself. This nightmare is of your own making, caused from your own self-doubts.” He held up a thick wooden staff and brought more light down upon them both. With his other hand, he helped her up.
Cora could see that he had aged a great deal. Down from his chin hung a full white beard. Strong lines had formed under his eyes, but he was still the same kind hearted Magnus she had met in her dream before. She watched his face, studying the older feature
s that he now wore. His hair had turned to a deep winter white, and he wore a long purple robe trimmed with gold. “What happened to you, why do you look so much older?” she asked.
“No need to worry yourself my dear, what you see is my true form, one that I had separated myself from many years ago.” He raised a hand to hush her before she could ask anymore. “There is only so much time, and as before, I need you to listen.” He looked at her straight and clear. “It will not take him long to find you, Cora. He has his eyes on you. He will find you eventually. You must not stop moving, it is imperative that you continue to move at all times. Do not allow self-doubt to fill you with fear. Do not bring attention to yourself, keep yourself hidden. There are eyes watching everywhere.”
“I have nowhere to go, I know of no one but the family that raised me. Where am I supposed to go?”
“You are stronger than you think, Cora. But are selfish and only think of yourself. There are those that would help you, if you would only let them. You are capable of so many things, great things. There is a power that lies within you, and when the time comes and you are ready, you will know how to use it.”
“Why can’t you tell me more? I don’t understand, why me?”
He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and frowned. “My dear girl, it is because you are the one that the ring has chosen and no one else.” He slumped over looking tired and weary, his strength still new and building. He closed his eyes. “It’s time to awake now Cora, trust Sean to keep you safe. You have been dreaming long enough now.”
Cora shook her head. “No, I need more answers.”
“There is no time.” Magnus’s shoulders hunched down even more. “You have to learn to trust, Cora. Trust in the heart, trust in yourself, and above all, trust Sean.”
Blue Moon: The Ring of Mer (Seer's Of The Moon) Page 4