Sea of Secrets Anthology

by J E Feldman

  Marina sighed. “What’s done is done. But, perhaps, you can acquire the sage’s forgiveness now that you are illuminated of the truth. Maybe there is some way that you could make sure that our son is accorded the title he was born to have. I cannot have my promises broken because of your actions, my Lord. I will not have it so.”

  He nodded. “Yes, yes, I will not have my legacy lost again.” He got up and started to walk toward the gates of his citadel, but when he saw his wife standing with the support of her crutch, eyeing him with an anger he had never before seen in her, he stopped short.

  “Who are these people?” Merinmeda demanded. “Tell me now.”

  Some twenty-five years ago…

  Rumors ran aplenty in Galacor, but the tale of a skirmish between mermaids and daemons seemed outlandish. The great King Adanas refused to place faith in such tales, many of which were just an exaggeration of something simple that had occurred. How people loved to embellish tales! That much was known to him. He himself used to do it when he was a child. That was the age when he told stories to just about anyone who would listen—stories of dragons and basilisks, of mountain adventures and fights with mammoth lions. He used to write too, but with royal duties, his passion for stories had lessened, along with his tolerance for tall tales.

  So when a soldier who patrolled the borders of Galacor brought reports of a skirmish between mermaids and daemons, he merely laughed. He told the soldier that he was like him a few years ago, but mermaids were all stuff of legend and myth; they never existed. But when the soldier, who had apparently thought ten steps ahead, threw a glistening scale of mermaid skin onto the sparkling white marble of the courtroom, his laughter shut down. The king looked with great curiosity on that entrancing piece of shimmering light.

  He rose from the throne and walked down the steps to pick up the shining scale. He held it in his hands. Though it seemed hard, it somehow also felt really soft to the touch. When his fingertip made contact, the light dimmed, albeit slowly. The skin revealed itself to be light blue in color on both sides.

  “Where did you find it?” he asked the soldier, who was now convinced that his king would go down the right path.

  “On the northern borders, Milord, near a small town called Makaranya.”

  “Makaranya?” he remarked, trying to place where the town was.

  The soldier, seeing the king’s confusion, said, “It is near the Armandorean border, Milord, a few ways south of Port’s Mouth, on the banks of the River Zaila.”

  He hummed. “And what did you see?”

  “Milord, usually those places are quiet and not a pin drops there without its sound being heard. The people there are mutes, you see, cursed by god-men. And anything they do is also kind of quiet. Six days ago, I was at the outpost on the border when I received news that a couple of those mutes had caught a woman who had a fish-like tail. I laughed, as even I thought it to be the stuff of legend, but when I reached there, lo and behold, it was a mermaid!”

  He laughed at the soldier’s style of narration. It was rather dramatic. He quickly quieted down, though, allowing him to continue without interruption.

  “The mermaid was finicky and shook in the nets, trying to rip it apart. I knew it would be free by the time I called in some reinforcements, so I decided to question her myself. Or should I say, it? So I did. She begged me to free her and warned us of fire coming and that only water could stop the onslaught of The Fallen.”

  “The Fallen?” he asked. “What have those wretched vermin of The Shadow have to do with this?”

  “I did not believe in the tales she wrought, but a day later, we were attacked, my Lord, by weird flying creatures who breathed fire down our necks. We let the mermaid free after that. And half a day later, she returned with a full force of mermaids, with a sapphire-adorned diadem on her head. She proclaimed to be a queen among mermaids and had gathered reinforcements to battle the ones who had dared attack her out of nowhere. A huge battle was fought, Milord, over river and land. Mermaids fought with what they called elemental magic and daemons flew above, fighting with fire. We helped as we could, Milord, but with magic of that kind, we were left vulnerable. We managed to fend the minions of The Fallen off, but casualties were many among our folk and The Mer. They had injured people too.”

  “But the daemons were eliminated?” he asked.

  The soldier shook his head. “No, Milord, though it has not come to battle yet, we could still see those creatures up in the sky. They are hanging back for now, but who knows for how long?”

  He paced from left to right at the soldier’s news and furrowed his brows in thought. “What I do not understand is the coming of The Fallen and its creatures to our very borders. I was under the impression that my ancestors had dealt with The Brothers Dark a long time ago. If they have come back, we have to know why.”

  The soldier shuddered. “There has not been such a sign of evil, Milord. Tales tell us of many signs that manifest when their aura is near at hand. Nay, I believe that these are just threats from the minions who serve their shadow-masters. The Fallen are behind this, though what they are attempting is beyond any reason I can see. Perhaps you will, Milord, wise that your lordship.”

  “Very well. You’ve done good in bringing me this information. I think I should pay these mermaids a visit.”

  “Thank you, Milord.” The soldier left the courtroom.

  The king, however, looked once more at the scale and decided that he would visit the mermaids and learn why The Fallen had decided to resurface after three thousand years.

  The town of Makaranya was indeed a small town. It was situated on the banks of the River Zaila on the borders of the Rushwood forests. Except for his patrol soldiers and tax collectors, few visited, as the town belonged to the mutes and not much trade occurred there. His accountants never made mention of the town, and neither did any of his courtiers.

  He stepped onto the ground, away from the chariot. Men and women alike stared at him with an indifference that surprised him. They had never seen their king before, so despite his royal attire, it seemed no one recognized him. But it mattered not. He had not come here to add to their knowledge that he was their king and ruler. He had come to discuss with the mermaids a thread of an important subject matter that he had long thought buried.

  Messengers had told him of a mermaid encampment on the other side of the nearly charred town. It could be accessed only by going through the towns and rumor had it that it was under some protective enchantment that forbade those of evil intentions from spying their camp.

  He walked the empty streets, if they could be called one, alone with no guards at his side. He had forbidden any kind of soldiers from accompanying him on the quest. Frankly speaking, he didn’t need them. He was capable of destroying armies, being a formidable bow-master who had learned from the best of the race that called itself The Hashims. He had a deep understanding of bow-magic and had learned to defend against anything The Fallen could throw at him. However, the arrival of those evil daemons spelled the inevitable onslaught of chaos, and chaos would inevitably lead to doom. But why they had chosen to return was not becoming any clearer. Perhaps the mermaids had some answers.

  The road through the town was perhaps a league at best. He covered it in no time, a fast walker that he was. The charred buildings gave way to a cluster of trees amidst which were many trodden forest paths. Roots protruded out of the ground, all thick and brown. He made his way around them, silent and wary. The forest got thicker as he went in deeper, but he kept to the side of the river, whose gushing sound he heard to his left.

  As though on instinct, he made an impulsive halt. Rummaging through his leather pockets, he brought out the scale and looked at it. The blue in it had faded to a distinct gray, the scale refusing to shine. As he curiously went over it, the scale showed signs of cracking and then it shattered into a hundred small pieces. He let them fall to the earth, his intrigue peaked. What had just happened?

  Just then, a woman
dressed in a blue gown peeked at him from one of the trees a few ways yonder. He stared at her face, which he found beautiful beyond measure, and called out to her. “Come out here, my lady. I mean no harm.”

  The woman hesitated for a moment but then stepped forward and stared at him just as intently, perhaps because she had never seen a human dressed in such attire. He was wearing a white dhoti that covered the lower parts of his body and a yellow cloth that covered half of the upper portion. A necklace of pearls went around his neck. On his head was a crown with a crimson red gem that shone bright with the light of the sun.

  She bowed her head. At least she was well versed with the land’s customs.

  “What are you doing in the forest, my lady?” he asked, smitten. “It is unsafe with all those daemons around and, even without, wild animals stray in these lands.”

  “You are roaming alone in the forests too, my Lord,” she replied, a smile curling her purple lips, her hands going through her long, curly, black hair. “And without a weapon too.”

  “I can summon any weapon at will, my lady. Fear you not.”

  She laughed. It had such a musical touch that entranced him. “Who said I am afraid?”

  Giggling, she went ahead, her hands touching the barks of each tree that came on her way.

  Intrigued and enamored at the same time, he followed her as she led him deep into the forest, away from the river. He knew he was going away from his ultimate destination, but the woman! She was so beautiful he began to lose track of his objective.

  “Who are you?” he asked, catching up to her.

  “Name is Marina, my Lord. And who might you be?”

  “King Adanas of Galacor!” he answered, proudly.

  Her eyes bulged wide open as though in surprise. “And what might a king be doing in such a remote place as this?”

  “I came here to seek mermaids and learn of the battle that happened here a few days ago.”

  “Mermaids?” she laughed. “Those be but stories, my Lord. They aren’t real.”

  “They are, my lady. I had a scale, but it shattered and broke into pieces.”

  “Ah!” she grunted. “So went the only proof you had of mermaid existence. But, if the mermaids are here, as you say...” she looked skeptical, “...where are they? If there were merfolk around, I would know.”

  “Hidden by spells, no doubt,” he replied with a sigh.

  “Spells of magic and creatures of legend...l never thought I would meet a king who was also a good storyteller.”

  “Believe me, Marina, I tell no tales. My soldier witnessed them and told me the truth only a day ago.”

  She gazed at him, thoughtful. “I see. Very well then, let’s go look for them. I would so love to see mermaids. Stories speak of them as brave folk with spears and tridents for weapons. They also tell of the different kinds of magic they practice and how they helped drive The Fallen from their strongholds in the open seas. But seeing them here, so inland, even in the stories, it is unheard of. Quite frankly, my Lord, I put little faith in the existence of merfolk, and what little I have, it is because it seems I have to trust you since you are the king of this land.”

  He smiled. The fact that she trusted him only because he was the king told him many things about her. But what she was doing in such a remote corner of his kingdom, he had little idea. Every time he moved to ask her that question, she took hurried steps or diverted the topic back to the legends of mermaids.

  If she were here a few days ago, she would have seen the battle and the mermaids. The fact that she refused to believe in their existence told him that she had come to these forests only recently.

  They traveled toward the river. She spoke of hearing uncanny voices near the rapids of Tolingua. Perhaps those voices belonged to the merfolk, she surmised. He could not refute. She could be right. Perhaps their spells weren’t so infallible after all.

  When they reached the rapids an hour later, the roar of the waterfall was overwhelming. He stepped closer to the ledge, intent on looking over, but the view was all but forgotten when he saw the bodies of the merfolk lying around. Not one mermaid was breathing. Everyone, it seemed, was dead.

  A tear streamed out of the corner of her eyes just before she ran to the dead corpses littering the banks of the river. Strewn across rocks, their blue blood trickled down the holes in the gray rocks. She bent beside one, trying to check her pulse. She shook her head at him and he understood. The merfolk had been attacked and none of them had survived. Now he would never know why The Fallen had arisen. No one would be able to tell him.

  A lowly grunt escaped his parched mouth and he sat down on a sturdy rock, its exterior rough. His brows furrowed in thought. Had The Fallen attacked the merfolk and broken through their enchantments? Had the battle been so brutal that none survived? Surely, some must have escaped. All they had to do was jump into the water and swim away. As far as his knowledge went, the minions of The Brothers Dark detested water and anything that had to do with it, although it was rumored that they had grown to tolerate the presence of the elemental. But they never stepped foot in it. Perhaps that was why the mermaids had succeeded in driving away The Fallen the first time around, because they fought from the water.

  “Marina, we must leave! Those who did this...they might still be around.”

  She shook her head. “Perhaps, but I sense no darkness around.”

  “You are a woman, these are magical folk. They stood no chance with all their magic at their side. You…”

  She smiled. “Don’t take me for a damsel who would sooner want a warrior to rescue her, my Lord. I can fight well enough on my own.” She held her palms to the side and a blue fire breathed out of her skin. A moment later, she clenched her fists and the fires extinguished.

  He stared at her with wide, open eyes. “How...who are you, really?” he asked, surprised that she could do magic. He had heard of witches, enchanters, and mages who practiced various forms of magic. He wondered what she was.

  She laughed. “I am not a witch or an enchanter or a mage, my Lord. I am a simple woman who has learned how to manipulate the energies present in nature. By the blessings of the Gods, I can conjure almost about everything.”

  He moved to speak, but stopped himself. “But, still, we must leave this place. It isn’t safe here.”

  He led her down the way they had come, albeit keeping to the side of the bank, toward the town of Makaranya.

  Every day that followed, King Adanas and Marina scoured the area for any signs of their enemy, the latter often harnessing her abilities to sense dark auras. He wanted to know where and who she had learned it from. Whoever her teacher was, he must have been a very good one.

  She was almost a ranger, this one. Her feet made less sound than his silent trackers and that was saying something. Even her words came to him as a whisper wafting in the cool breeze that blew throughout the day, no matter the season. It was as if this place belonged to a different world. He couldn’t understand why the seasons didn’t affect this region. He knew well that it was the time of summer, but it felt like winter.

  Marina watched him from a tree a few ways yonder and with a wrinkle of her brows, asked what he was feeling. He wondered whether he should be asking her about his doubts, but thought better of it. Just because she was a practitioner of magic didn’t mean that she had access to a well of knowledge. He shrugged and carried on.

  Despite her oddities, he had become fond of her in his own way. He knew he shouldn’t be feeling that way about any other woman because he was married. His wife was back at Maishire, safe in the citadel of the Greentrees, but she had yet to give him an heir. He worried about his kingdom’s future. Most of his siblings and their children had been killed in faraway wars and he was the only surviving heir. Who would rule Galacor after him?

  It was a thought that haunted him and one that continued to resurface as he and Mariana searched on, ever deeper into the forest.

  On the night of the seventh day, a loud scream woke h
im up. Adanas stepped out of the tent to see a daemon holding Marina by her neck. Its fangs had pierced her throat. Her face had gone pale, ashen, and deathly, just as the corpses had been near the rapids. He held his left hand upward and conjured a huge bow made of a strange kind of wood.

  The daemon turned toward the flash of light that surrounded him for a moment. It removed its fangs from Marina’s neck and let her body fall limp on the ground.

  He hoped she was not dead. When he looked another time, her eyes still blinked, so he heaved a deep sigh of relief.

  The daemon advanced toward him, step by narrow step. He aimed his bow and pulled the string. A silver arrow appeared. Screaming loud, he fired, the arrow transforming into a fiery beast that resembled a helkenbeist, a wicked creature of flame and shadow that hunted for The Brothers Dark. The helkenbeist attacked the daemon with its teeth, dripping wet saliva. Where the drop of saliva touched the ground, it burned to a black crisp.

  The daemon’s eyes glowed red and with one wave of its hand, smacked his beast aside. A yelp to the left caught his attention. The helkenbeist had vanished into a crimson patch on the ground. He conjured another arrow and let it loose. This time, it took the shape of a dog-like creature with three monstrous heads. Its body was full of swirling darkness.

  But the daemon did not stop. It conjured a stream of scarlet light, which blasted the dog into smithereens.

  He saw it advance toward him, intent on his death, but he wasn’t going to let it get what it wanted. He pulled the string of his bow again. Beads of green appeared in the air-filled space between the string and the wood. A twang of his bow sent those beads flying toward the daemon, blasting poison at its face. The hellish creature bellowed loud, sending tremors through the land. The earth below shook and clouds ate the stars above.

  None of his weapons, however, had any potent effect on the shadowy creature. It lifted its huge dark wings and hoisted itself into the air, letting out a huge roar as it did.