by M H Ryan
“Lyra?”
She laughed. “No. I am the one in the tunnel, below the seal. Ben and the Shultar woman you have would call me Murrack.”
Her voice had moved again, and I spun to the spot it came from.
“Murrack? The monster under the island.”
“Monster,” she said and laughed again. “I’m the embodiment of oceanic power. I thought you were too weak to speak with, but when you killed that creature, I felt you. It gave me a jolt of…” She took in a deep breath and exhaled with a shuddering sigh. “Something I haven’t felt in a man in a long time.”
“Are you here to harm the girls or me?” I asked, sensing a change in the Crultar on the hill.
“I’m not sure,” Murrack said. “I haven’t decided yet. The last time I let a man into my life, I ended up trapped behind a seal.”
“How did you get out?”
“You stopped Ben,” she said. “You gave me the chance to get into his head and do what I’ve been trying to do for many years. Then you did the next thing I needed: a man of your power to touch me.”
“So, you killed Ben?” And I let her loose.
“Yes. He had a brilliant mind, but so limited in its focus—nothing like yours. You are like an array of colors, where Ben was a single tone. You remind me a lot of…” She stopped and didn’t finish her sentence.
“Why don’t you show yourself to me?”
“In due time, I will, my sweet boy,” she said, her voice moving across the sky above me.
“You know, we dealt with the other like you—the Anyck,” I said. “If you give us trouble, we can do the same to you.”
She laughed again. “I like you. You make me feel things. Real emotions.” Her voice moved locations again. “Don’t worry. You didn’t kill Anyck. You might have killed her favorite pet, but she is alive. Weak beyond recognition, but there, right where you left her.”
“The king sealed you, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t like having power divided, so he punished us. I don’t have much time left, my dear boy,” she said, sounding softer. “I am still weak, but I will get stronger.”
“You felt like the world when I reached to the seal. What are you?”
“I can give you a glimmer of my former self. Look up.”
Above me, a woman in a flowing white dress floated. She looked like she was in the water, her clothes moving slowly as she did. She was beautiful, with white hair flowing just like her clothes. Her face looked angelic, ageless, but with a wisdom of a thousand years, and my heart slowed just looking into those eyes of gold. Her thin fingers reached for me, and I reached for them, wanting to hold her hand.
“What are you doing?” Aubrey said.
“Shit!” I jumped back, dropping my spear. “You scared the crap out of me.”
Aubrey’s eyes narrowed, and she looked at the sky directly above me. I glanced up to make sure Murrack wasn’t still there. Nothing but tree canopies and black skies.
“You were talking to the trees. I heard you.”
“You didn’t see her, floating above me?” I asked, checking the trees once more.
“No, you were just reaching for…nothing. You’re kind of freaking me out, Jack.”
“Why are you out here? I thought I told you all to wait for me back by the raft.”
“You never want to be alone. It’s sort of your thing. So when you said you wanted to go out into the dark woods alone, I knew something was up. So spill it. What’s going on?”
I scanned the forest. The Crultar were on the move again.
“No time to explain. We got a fish problem up here, remember.”
“Fine, but don’t think I won’t have Emma get every detail from that head of yours.”
“Let’s just take care of these creatures so we can get on the road to Hanna.”
“Ha, road to Hanna,” Benji said, coming from behind a tree. “Good one, Jack.”
I huffed a sigh. “Who else came?”
“Just me,” Sherri said.
I laughed and shook my head. “Cass, I see you back there.”
Cass came out. “Sorry, I wasn’t feeling it down there, plus I kind of want to see what I can do with this knife.”
“Whatever, so we’re all here,” Kara said, walking around Cass. “We’re not exactly good at separation, Jack, if you haven’t noticed.”
Carmen, Shaya, and Emma came out of the darkness. They already had weapons in their hands, possibly fashioned from fallen branches, while Carmen carried a rock.
“I don’t think these guys are going to be too much trouble for us,” I said.
“I can take care of them for you,” Murrack said, and I jerked in the direction of her voice.
“What?” I asked.
“What?” Aubrey asked, looking at me like I was crazy.
“You guys didn’t hear that?” I asked.
“Hear what?” Benji asked, looking around.
“Nothing.”
“Only someone as strong as you can hear my weakened voice,” she said.
“Don’t do that,” I said.
“Do what?” Benji asked. “You’re acting strange, Jack.”
I took a deep breath. “I hear a voice. The voice of the seal in the tunnel. Murrack.”
“No!” Shaya yelled, loud enough that it shocked us all.
Shaya grabbed Emma and pulled her toward me.
“You can’t trust anything she says,” Shaya said. “She’s evil. A great evil.”
I heard Murrack in the distance, laughing at Shaya.
“Eliza?” I asked.
“She’s right,” Eliza said. “But there is something we will need from her one day. And it will come at a great cost.”
“Great, another vague prophecy,” Cass said.
“About as helpful as a one-legged man in a butt-kicking competition,” Emma said, still holding Shaya’s hand.
“I’m sorry, okay?” Eliza said. “It’s not like I’m seeing a play. It’s more like a feeling of something.”
“It would be good if we could have something more concrete once and a while,” Cass said.
“Hey, Eliza has single-handedly saved us many times and is also solely responsible for your rescue, Cass. Her insight is invaluable, just as all of your abilities are,” I said. “Now, while we’ve been squawking over here, the Crultar are heading this way.”
“What are we going to do?” Carmen asked, gripping the rock in her shaky hand.
“I’m going to do what I do best.”
“You’re going to fuck them?” Aubrey asked.
I flipped her the bird and turned to face the incoming Crultar. They weren’t far away and were gathered tightly in a group running toward us. Emma curled her hand around mine. I felt a warm sensation from her, and she shuddered, then cracked a grin.
“You guys had some fun while we were sleeping,” Emma whispered, nudging me with her elbow.
“Focus, Emma,” I said.
“Sorry, just when I get in your mind…” Emma said and then took a deep breath. “Sorry.”
With Emma, I felt the whole group of Crultar and could make out their emotions and desires. They were confused by us, and the leader was shocked at our presence but not angry. He felt nervous, but there was now a diplomatic nature to his thoughts, as he weighed out options. Too bad there weren’t any for those that tried to cook us like hot dogs at a campfire.
I delved into my power with Emma and locked into all of their minds. In one single command, I told them all to come to me as quickly as they could. A dozen fish-men ran recklessly through the forest and down the hill. Their thoughts were filled with obeying my command. I walked with Emma in hand to the edge of the forest clearing.
One by one, they ran into the edge of the clearing and stood twenty feet in front of me. I felt the pressure in my head from controlling so many of them. Before Emma, this would have put me in a coma, but now, I handled it, knowing I’d just have a ki
ller headache after.
I focused on the leader and had him step forward.
“This is fucking crazy,” Carmen said, eyeing the group of Crultar.
“Jack is scary strong,” Cass said.
“You.” I pointed at the leader, who had the square tattoo branding him and his brethren to the king.
They were also bound to the king in some way that made them die if they spoke too much. I knew from previous conversations that I would only have a few sentences before it became fatal for them.
The leader was about the same height as me with a larger build. His big eyes bulged out from terror. He had a large, curved blade at his hip and a necklace dangling to his abs.
“Who sent you?” I asked.
“Everything is for king,” he said with pride.
“Why did you try to kill us?” I asked.
“Everything is for king,” he said again.
Blood dripped from his nose and over his blue lips.
This is boring. The female voice that belonged to Murrack complained A voice only I could hear her. I resisted the urge to look around and see her again.
Emma’s hand jerked against mine, and I looked to her.
“Did you hear her?” I whispered.
“Yes,” Emma said, looking pale.
Very interesting. Did you know that you can remove the hold he has over these simple beings? I could help you, if not for my weakened state.
“That’s unsettling,” Emma said, but I was reeling from the comment.
The curse that these people were stuck with could be changed? It seemed as if their very blood was part of his hold over them. I searched the leader’s mind, looking for something that shouldn’t be there…something the king might have left behind.
“Does the king know we are here?” I asked.
“He knows all?” the leader said.
“What were your orders exactly?”
“First to reestablish communication with Ben. If failed…” He fell to his knees, blood pouring from his nose. He struggled to get the last words out. “Burn it down.”
“Ha, so he still doesn’t even know we exist,” Kara said.
“What do we do with them?” Benji asked, lowering her bow.
“We can’t let them go,” Cass said. “They’ll be creeping on us the whole time if we do.”
“And they could tell their boss about us,” Aubrey said.
“We can’t just kill them,” Benji said. “I mean, look at them. They tried to kill us once, and given a chance, they’re going to again, but they’re… helpless.”
They would kill us as soon as I let them go, I knew that as well. I could change their minds, but there were so many of them. It might be too much for me to handle, and if I didn’t get them all, I might as well have gotten none of them.
Let me handle them for you, my dear. A parting gift, if you will.
“No,” I said, but it was too late.
All of the Crultar fell to the ground, and the light of their lives was gone. I cringed at the feeling of being connected to so many minds in their final moment. Emma even yanked her hand from me and bent over, looking as if she might throw up.
“Why did you do that?” I yelled, looking to the sky.
“Did you kill them all?” Benji said, staring at me.
“No, it was Murrack. She said she would help us with this,” I said.
“He’s right,” Emma said, standing up straight. “She’s in his mind. I can hear her. I can almost feel her as well.”
Right then, a giant bird flapped its wings. I hadn’t sensed the animal, and no one else had seen it, but in a moment, the massive creature flew right over us, its red wings flapping and sending a gust of air over us as it quickly rose back into the sky.
“Shoot it,” Eliza said.
Benji fired an arrow, but the bird traveled higher into the sky, out of reach of the arrow.
“Shit, was that bad?” Cass asked, looking to Eliza.
“That was bad,” Eliza said. “We need to leave this island and get to Hanna.”
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” Kara said. “This island is changing and not for the better.”
I stared at the dead bodies, trying to come to grip with what Murrack had just done. If she could kill them that easily, could she kill us in the same way?
I wouldn’t do that. I like your group. I think we can help each other…
She sounded weak and distant now. I could barely hear her.
I will do what I can to help you but the further you get from this island, the less I can do.
The idea of that gave me more reason to get off this island. We needed to get the boat back in the water and get to Hanna as quickly as possible.
Chapter 20
The sun rose as we traveled on the water. The mainsail stayed tight in the wind, favorably blowing against our backs and toward Hanna. Aubrey assisted when she felt strong enough by pushing wind against the sail. It gave us a nice boost, and we held on when she did it. Sherri practiced as well, giving the boat a boost on occasion, through her manipulation of the currents. The activities taxed both of the women, but when they looked at each other, I knew they were in a competition again.
It seemed like ages ago when they battled each other in paddling the boat with their muscular bodies, but now they were fighting with the abilities. I didn’t mind some competition because it got us closer to our destination and further from the troubles behind us.
My thoughts felt clearer with each foot of distance from the island. I kept expecting Murrack’s voice to pop back in my head, but if she was there, she kept quiet.
The whole night on the hill with the Crultar felt like a dream—as if I was there but not really there. Emma had said much of the same in the time she spent holding my hand, sharing in my world. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but Eliza didn’t like it.
The bird had been just one of many things that happened on that island, but I felt the worst about it. It was my job to feel the dangerous creatures around us, and I didn’t have any sense of the animal. It could have swooped in and killed one of us before we got one shot off.
Also, I was pretty sure where the creature was heading, and it meant the end of our anonymity from the king. He would not only know about the girls, but he would know about my powers. The bird would report back that I killed all those Crultar in one motion, even if it hadn’t been me.
It made it all the more critical that we got to Hanna and the other two girls from the ship that much quicker.
“How much further?” Cass asked, looking over to Shaya.
She took Emma’s hand and said, “A few hours.”
“Shaya, can you come here?” I asked as I stood at the back of the craft, holding the rudder.
Shaya got close to me and nodded. Emma had followed her, but they were no longer holding hands.
“Murrack said I could remove the bind that the king has over you,” I said, trying to find her with my sense.
Her eyes went wide, and she shook her head as Emma took her hand once more. “No trust her.”
“Let me just try.”
I stared at her big eyes and her bluish skin that moved like a gradient into whites and even shades of green. While stunning, a hurt crept into her eyes, as if she’d seen too much in her short life. I’d personally seen her dad and brother die, mostly due to my hands. There had to be some feelings attached to that for her. Maybe that was the edge I saw in her eyes.
I reached for her hands, touching her soft skin, and then closed my eyes. Keeping her image focused on my thoughts, I concentrated on what wasn’t her.
The boat swayed softly up and down in the ocean waters as I held her hands. The breeze, steady at our backs, blew some of my hair into my face. The water splashed against Luna as we cut through the sea. I felt the vibrations of the boat coming through the bottom of my feet. The smell… all of my senses became stronger as I concentrated on Shaya.
She felt blank, as all the women had since I found
out this gift—as blank as I felt them back in my old life. Then I felt hands over my shoulders, and the sensitivity of my ability amplified. It had to be Emma, but I kept my eyes closed.
Shaya wasn’t black to me anymore. There was a shape to her, a feeling that something surrounded her very being. As if she had been shrink-wrapped in something.
I felt the edges of the wrapping around her, and the more I prodded, the more slippery it all became. Then I found an edge, like a tiny flap in the wrap. Too small for a finger pull, I needed something like tweezers to pry it off. I pinched and prodded, but nothing would get it free.
The more I tried, the more elusive it seemed. After a minute, my already-bad headache intensified. I pushed a bit further and let go of the idea of physically moving the wrap and instead imagined letting it go. At first, nothing—then a corner of the wrap peeled back, and for the first time, I experienced the smallest piece of her, the true her. The fear in her spilled out against me, but I ignored the emotion and went deeper, trying to let the rest of it go.
The wrap wasn’t just over her, but in her, in her very blood. It pulsed through her body, and I wondered if removing it would kill her. It seemed to be part of her.
I let her go and hunched over, breathing hard. To my surprise, Emma was still standing next to Shaya. I thought she had been behind me, touching me. I looked behind me, only finding the ocean and the barest glimpse of Ben’s Island.
“Did you touch me, Emma?” I asked.
“No, I was with Shaya.”
“Did it work?” Shaya said, and then grabbed at her head, giving herself the answer.
“No, but I found it. It’s wrapped around you, but there’s an edge. She was right. I think I can get rid of it. But… it may hurt you or worse. I didn’t want to take the risk, Shaya.”
Shaya looked concerned but just nodded her head as if she understood. After collecting my thoughts, I marveled at what the king did. He had somehow tied off this control to the fish people. He even made it to where it was more like a virus, infecting them from one mer-person to the next, ensuring a control that would persist for generations.
The complexity of doing something like that boggled my mind, and once again, I felt like I knew nothing.