The Prophecy (Children of the River Book 1)

by Ren Curylo

  “Muirgan,” he said, “lift your skirts and bend over the table there. I’d like to have a go before I leave.”

  Erish saw Muirgan shiver and she conceded to herself that she didn’t care to see this sight either, so she used her Fae abilities and managed a knock at the door, making it as insistent and impatient as possible.

  “You don’t want to be late,” Muirgan said quietly but the relief in her voice was evident.

  Yann sighed sadly. “At least give me a real kiss before I leave,” he said.

  Muirgan closed her eyes and turned her face to his, submitting to his kiss, but her response was lukewarm. Yann didn’t seem to notice as he passionately covered her mouth with his.

  Erish didn’t particularly care for humans, especially the males of the species. For that matter, I don’t care for the males of any species. She calmly watched him salivate on his wife’s face either not noticing or not caring that Muirgan responded not at all. Both women watched him gather up his coat from the peg beside the door. Both women stole panicked glances at the box on the chair back, but for completely different reasons.

  Yann picked up his coat, slipped it on, and started for the door. Muirgan closed her eyes and murmured, “Please don’t remember the box.” Erish murmured, please forget the box, to herself as well. Yann hesitated with his hand on the door handle. The breath of both women caught in their throats as they stood watching him pause at the door.

  He turned around, strode to his seat, and snagged the box from the back of his chair before he returned to the door to open it and step out. Erish hurried behind him as close as she could without touching him. She intended to have that box anyway she could get it. She followed him down the trail toward a harbor where several ships were docked. She could see the harbor looming up ahead before it disappeared at a sharp bend in the path. Seizing on the opportunity, she grabbed a thick piece of driftwood and smashed it against Yann’s head, striking him hard across his right temple.

  His knees buckled and he dropped to the ground with a low grunt. Erish wasted no time snatching at the box on his back. It wouldn’t budge. She cried out in anguish as she realized his heavy body was lying on the straps. She rummaged through his pockets and found a small skinning knife. It didn’t burn me when I touched it, it must be steel. She removed it from its leather sheath and looked at it—steel. She sighed in relief that it wasn’t made of iron like many cheap knives. She cut the straps from the box and flew, with both items, far away down the beach. She pried the lock open with the knife. She had to be certain the skin was in there before she approached Muirgan with her demands. Erish held her breath as she slowly lifted the lid. She gasped at the sight of the rich brown pelt neatly folded inside. She stuck her hand in and lovingly caressed it. It felt divinely soft, softer than anything Erish had ever felt before. Oh, how Muirgan must miss it and the freedom it represents.

  She snapped the box shut with a resounding click. She tried to relock it but the crude, tinny lock was broken. Now I need a safe place to put this. I can’t have anyone else finding it. Erish thought for a moment before deciding that the safest place for it was under guard in her palace. She Traveled instantly to her bedroom and put the box in the safe where she kept the few jewels that belonged to the queendom. They would be passed down to the next queen for they belonged to the entire colony of Lilitu.

  After she shut the safe, she changed the code on the lock before turning to the door and shouting for Durada.

  Moments later, a lithe slender Lilitu maiden with a sword— almost as long as she was tall—strapped to her back, opened the door. “Yes, your highness,” she said with a bow.

  Like all the Lilitu women, Durada was strikingly beautiful. She had rosy pink hair and rosy pink cheeks and sparkling blue eyes. Her mouth was a kiss poised to be stolen by a secret lover. The sword was at odds with her soft beauty, but she had a steeliness to her backbone that spoke of other things besides softness.

  “I need you to guard this room and make certain that no one enters besides me.”

  Durada’s face registered confusion for only a moment. “Yes, Queen Erish,” she said with a nod.

  “I want you to stand outside this door and do not let anyone in other than me. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, my lady,” Durada said.

  “Stay here until I return. If you must take a break to relieve yourself, choose someone that you trust with your life to stay in your stead.”

  “That would be my twin sister, Talya.”

  “Talya, oh yes, of course. That’s fine, Durada, but keep in mind if anything happens on Talya’s watch, you will be the one responsible for it.”

  “Of course,” Durada said.

  “I don’t know when I’ll return, but please, take your post outside the door right now.”

  “Yes, my lady,” she said, turning quickly and leaving the room. She positioned herself squarely in the middle, blocking the door completely.

  Satisfied that her room was well guarded, Erish closed the door, locking it from the inside. She slipped on a cloak and Traveled from inside her room to a sandy spot on the beach not far from Muirgan’s shanty. Knowing the exact location, she could effortlessly return here anytime she pleased.

  A short ways down the beach, she could hear a hubbub and she assumed that someone had found Yann. She didn’t think he was dead, but she didn’t care other than the inconvenience it would cause her if they accused Muirgan of the crime.

  Erish disregarded the noise even as it drew closer to her. She was not visible to these lowly mortals and their approach did not concern her. She had tasks to accomplish that were far more important. She made her way toward the shanty Muirgan reluctantly shared with Yann. She wondered if the girl would believe that Yann no longer had the skin, but she wasn’t willing to risk bringing it with her for proof. She’d have to find a way to convince her.

  The shouting voices grew louder as she neared their home. She grew alarmed as she drew closer and found the front door gaping open and heard Yann’s voice screaming, “What did you do with it you bitch?”

  She heard Muirgan crying in fear and pain. The baby’s wail joined her own to make a discordant cacophony. “I didn’t do anything, Yann,” she said pleadingly between sobs. “I’ve been right here since you left.”

  “You sneaked up behind me and hit me in the head,” he snarled. “I ought to…” the sound of fist hitting meat punctuated the sentence.

  As Muirgan’s sobs became muffled, Erish grew more concerned for her safety. She is useless to me dead. I can’t let him kill her. She hurried to the shanty and reached the open doorway in time see Muirgan struggling to stay conscious as Yann strangled her with one hand and slapped her face hard with the other. “You fucking whore,” he snarled. “I never thought you’d steal from me.”

  Muirgan shook her head but couldn’t make any sounds. Yann released her neck enough to allow a gasp of air to wheeze into her lungs. “I didn’t,” she rasped. “If I had it, do you think I would still be here? You imbecile,” she said.

  She’s clearly beyond caring. I have to stop this moron. Erish looked around the shanty for a weapon. She remembered the knife she had taken from him. It rather seems poetic justice to stab the bastard with his own blade. Do I still have it? She groped around in her pocket and smiled as her fingers curled on the grip. She pulled it out of her pocket and made herself visible. She wanted Muirgan to know who had rescued her from death.

  Erish stepped up behind Yann and slid the knife easily between his ribs. She didn’t want to kill him. The idiot might prove useful further down the line. It was enough to get his attention away from murdering his wife. He screamed in pain and stumbled backward grabbing at his back. He clutched the knife handle and pulled it out, doing far more damage to himself than Erish had done.

  “What?” he asked confused. He looked up, and saw Erish for the first time, smiling calmly at him.

  “It’s a sin to harm a Selkie,” she said with a placid smile. She held out her han
d to Muirgan. “Come, darling,” she said, “let me rescue you.”

  Muirgan didn’t need a second invitation. She instantly took Erish’s hand and let her whisk her away from the shanty. Erish landed in a wooded area several miles inland. It seemed safer than taking her near the beach.

  “Is Yann…going to die?” Muirgan asked shakily.

  Erish shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t know. Do you care?”

  “I…I would rather he not be dead and I certainly don’t want to be blamed for it. I just want to go home.” Her voice cracked and tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Erish said confidently, though she wasn’t at all sure. He might be dead already for all she knew. It would serve him right if he was dead, the nasty thing.

  “Thank you for getting me out of there,” Muirgan said. “Who are you? And how did you come to be at my house at that time?” The Selkie in human form looked at her companion for the first time, scrutinizing her closely. “You’re not human, that’s clear.”

  Erish laughed. “No, I’m a Lilitu,” she said, but didn’t offer anything else.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Erish,” she said. “I need your help, Muirgan.”

  “My help?” Muirgan asked perplexed. “How can I help you? I am about the most powerless person you could have chosen.”

  Erish laughed again and took a seat on a fallen log. “You are far more powerful than you realize.”

  Muirgan shook her head. “That human nearly killed me, I wouldn’t call myself powerful.”

  “I need your help to find my daughter,” Erish said, smiling at her companion.

  “How could I possibly help you find your daughter?”

  Erish narrowed her eyes and looked at Muirgan. “I think you can enlist the aid of your Selkie friend, the one you go to the beach to see when you think Yann isn’t looking.”

  Muirgan’s eyes flew open and her head snapped toward Erish, giving her full attention. “You must be mistaken,” she said barely above a whisper. Her voice was shaking with fear and her eyes had a haunted, panicked look in them.

  Erish pinched her lips together tightly and rolled her eyes a bit before closing them for a scant second. “Don’t play games with me, Muirgan, I know what you are. I saw your friend leaving you at the beach. Is he your husband?”

  “Yes,” Muirgan whispered.

  “How were you so stupid as to get caught by a human?” Erish said, and her tone was judgmental.

  “It was cold, so cold and the water hadn’t warmed up. I was freezing every day and I couldn’t get warm. One day, the sun finally came out and I left the water to sit on the beach and warm up. I took off my skin…”

  “And when a female Selkie divests her skin, they look like a beautiful human woman,” Erish said. “I know the legend. I wasn’t at all sure until today that I entirely believed it. But, go on.”

  “I had it lying on the rock with me. I had folded it to use as a pillow.”

  “I am sure the vision of you lying naked in the sun was more than a poor fool like Yann could bear.”

  “I must have dozed off in the sun. I awoke when my head hit the rock sharply. I turned to look and there was Yann, holding my skin in his hand. I jumped up and reached for it but he held it above his head and I could not get it. He’s a lot taller than me.” Muirgan’s voice cracked as she related the memory to Erish.

  “Humans are assholes,” Erish said bluntly. “I’ve always hated them. They are perfectly useless.”

  “I had never known one before that day.”

  “So, Yann kept your skin from you on the beach. Then what?” Erish prompted.

  “He took off his belt and tied my wrists and dragged me to his shanty. Once we got to his house, he gave me a shirt of his to wear and went in search of clothing for me. He took my skin with him. When he came back with the clothing, he laid it on the table and he had that box. I knew my skin was in that box. I tried to open it, but it was locked. I don’t know where he had hidden the key.”

  “And he never let the box out of his sight, did he?”

  Muirgan shook her head. “I never got a chance to open it. I tried several times, but he’d always wake up.”

  “How long have you been here?”

  “Almost a year and a half, I think,” she said. “We don’t pay attention to passing time at home. It’s rather hard for me to think in those terms.”

  “He didn’t waste any time in giving you a brat, I see,” Erish said.

  “That’s his child,” she said.

  “It’s yours, too,” Erish said.

  Muirgan shook her head. “I don’t feel an attachment to it. I cannot take it home with me, it will drown.”

  “I can’t say that I blame you. Generally speaking, I don’t like children.”

  “You said you were looking for your daughter,” Muirgan reminded her. “Surely you must at least love your child.”

  Erish smiled. “My daughter has broken the rules of our colony and I want her back to make amends to the rest of our people. I cannot allow her to break rules that all the others must follow.”

  “I don’t see how I can help you; I am completely lost. I’ll never get home. I don’t know who took Yann’s box with my skin in it, but I can’t go home without it and I have no place else to go. Now, I can’t even go back to Yann’s place.”

  “You needn’t worry about that, Muirgan. I have your skin. It’s quite safe.”

  Muirgan’s eyes widened and she looked relieved for a moment before worry crossed her face. “You have it?”

  “Yes, I do. I will keep it to ensure that you’ll help me and do as I ask. When this assignment is completed, you can have it back and you can return to your husband in the sea. What’s his name?”

  “I don’t see how you think I can help you,” Muirgan protested.

  “What’s your Selkie husband’s name, Muirgan?” Erish asked sternly.

  “Aindréas,” Muirgan murmured. “What do you want from me?” Muirgan fought back another sob.

  “I will take you to the sea, somewhere away from here so Yann won’t find you and somewhere where you won’t be hunted for attacking him or…” Erish paused and raised a slender black eyebrow at Muirgan. “For murder,” she finished.

  Muirgan sat down on the ground quickly as if her legs would no longer hold her up.

  “I will take you to the sea, as I said, and you will call Aindréas up however it is you do it. And you will send him to find my daughter, Adamen.”

  “How will we know where to find her?”

  “I have reason to believe she is at or near the shore, somewhere. She is probably with Ársa, The Creator. You know of him?”

  “Yes,” Muirgan said, nodding.

  “Good, that should make it somewhat easier. You will send Aindréas on a mission to find Adamen and bring her back to me.”

  “He cannot bring her to you unless she is near water and you are, too.”

  Erish thought for a moment before speaking. “He can bring her to you and you can bring her to me. When I have Adamen in my possession, I shall give you your skin.”

  “I don’t know if it’s possible to find her,” Muirgan protested.

  Erish snapped, “If you want your miserable little skin back, you’ll do as I ask. I need my daughter. She’s pregnant and I must have her at home when the baby comes.”

  “Why? Isn’t she an adult?”

  “That’s none of your business. I have your skin and if you want it back, you’ll have to do this task for me. It’s your only hope.”

  Muirgan paused only for a moment. “I will do it. I will ask Aindréas to help me find Adamen. But how will I get her to you?”

  Erish rose from her log seat and walked toward Muirgan. She put her hands up to her neck and fidgeted with the chain hanging there. She fondled the charm swinging from the delicate chain and held it for Muirgan to see. “I will give you this when the time is right. You will use it to bring my daughter to me. Wh
en you have one hand on Adamen, you will take this in your other hand and you will wish to come to me. It will bring you to my palace along with Adamen. I will give you full instructions on how to work it when the time is right, Muirgan.”

  “Your palace? Are you…”

  “I am Queen Erish. If you do not do as I ask, I will see to it that you spend the rest of your days in a human prison. You’ll never see your precious Selkie mate again.”

  “All right. How much time do we have to find her?”

  “Four months. But the sooner, the better. If it’s too late and you don’t find her before she gives birth, then bring me the child. If you can’t do either, I will burn the skin while you watch. I will turn you over to the authorities for attacking Yann. If he is dead, I will see you hanged for murder. It’s all up to you, Muirgan.”

  “I’ll talk to Aindréas,” Muirgan said sadly.

  “Then take my hand, I’ll take you to a beach where you can summon your mate.” Erish held out her hand and waited for Muirgan to take it.

  Muirgan hesitated only a moment before she took Erish’s hand and went with her. They landed on a beach on the northwestern coast of Corath.

  “You will, no doubt, recognize this coastline, Muirgan,” Erish said with a sidelong glance.

  “I do,” Muirgan said. “We call this place Beach Cliff, but I haven’t been here since before Yann…”

  “I thought this would make it easier and certainly safer for you to contact what’s his name…I believe you called him Aindréas. This is, after all, a popular gathering place for you Selkies due to its remoteness.”

  “But not this time of year,” Muirgan said with a dejected tone.

  Erish laughed and it sounded colder than the chill breeze that blew in from the ocean. “That’s why I chose it. It will be isolated until late spring, which means you’ll have finished your task by then, succeed, or fail.”

  A solid wall of stone behind them on the inland side of the beach formed a formidable barrier to the mainland. The cliff rose several hundred feet above them and was virtually unscalable by creatures unable to fly. It was rocky, and craggy, with sharp stones jutting out at various angles. The face of the cliff was coal black and forbidding. At the towering top, you could see tufts of grass growing but none of them dared drape over the edge. The wind was fierce at the top and the few trees that risked living there grew bent and twisted, leaning away from the edge.