Sea of Secrets Anthology

by J E Feldman

  Adanas, however, did not lose heart. He stared at Marina for a moment as she lay as still as the water in a pond, her skin all pale and bloodless, and then he looked at the daemon. He let loose another arrow into the sky. The sharp tip changed its form to a curved fang. A blue light illuminated it, its rays charging at the daemon. The arrow pierced its shoulder. It let out a howl and grasped the arrow with its sharp claws and pulled it out. The daemon broke it into two pieces and charged at him. Adanas quickly conjured a shield of water, which made the daemon wince in pain and back away.

  Weariness filled his body and a black dread crept up on him. He staggered and rested himself against the bark of a tree. Breathing deep, he held his bow as high as he could and fired arrow after arrow, aware that they would not make a dent in the daemon’s armor. His sight went to where Marina lie, but to his surprise, she wasn’t there. Where had she vanished to? Did the daemon do something to her while he had lost his focus?

  The evil monster loomed in front of him and grasped his neck by its claws. He struggled for air, his windpipe crushed under the grasp. He tried to speak an incantation, but no voice, save for a painful groan, escaped him. The daemon lifted him off his feet and was about to sink its fangs into him when a ball of water hit it squarely on its face. It bawled and leapt off him and turned in the direction of the ball.

  After landing on the ground with a thud, Adanas turned to see who had saved him. It was Marina. She looked different.

  It seemed that while the daemon had been concentrating on him, she had crawled her way into the river, and somehow, she had gotten stronger. She no longer looked pale and on the cusp of death. But it wasn’t her healed body or her return that held him in surprise. It was where her legs should have been. She had a fish tail instead. Marina was a mermaid.

  It now became clear to him her innate powers. Water really did grant powers to mermaids and now she fought the daemon with a wrath that could make a man melt in his spot. Her spear belched forth lights of golden hue toward the monster of darkness, who was blinded by the sudden onset of light. She kept the daemon in check, rooted to its spot, conjuring shield after shield, light after light.

  At first, he wondered what she was trying to do, but after one look at the daemon, he understood. She was trying to melt the creature’s armor. And she was succeeding. The hellish armor was being liquefied. The creature’s dark skin became visible to him. Seeing his chance, he summoned one of his special arrows, which had golden tips. With an incantation, he bound water to the arrow, whose shaft turned a shade of blue once he had completed the spell. With careful aim, he let it loose.

  The arrow flew with the wind and pierced right into the daemon’s bare skin. Dark, gooey blood spurted out of the wound and the daemon collapsed to the ground, making a ruckus that sounded more like a wail. He conjured another arrow, whose shaft was as fluid as the river, and let it fly straight into the daemon’s head. The arrow protruded out on the other side and the life-force of the daemon left it to journey into the void.

  He breathed deep and sighed even as Marina stepped onto the land, her fish-like tail changing into beautiful, slender human legs. “You...you’re a…”

  “Mermaid...yes…” she said, a smile on her face.

  “H...how...you were…”

  “Dead?” she suggested.

  He nodded.

  “Well, I was...nearly...” She smiled, albeit a weak one. “After the wonderful night we had together, I couldn’t sleep and I went out for a stroll. They came out of nowhere—six of them. I managed to kill five, though I was gravely injured. Somehow, I made my way to the tent and was going to warn you, but the sixth one, who I had thought ran away, attacked me, and then stabbed me with its fangs. It began to drink what blood I had left in my body.”

  Seeing the confused expressions on his face, she added, “Yes, daemons love to gorge on mermaid blood. They find it...well, delicious. They have drunk of us as though we were fruits and our blood the juice within. This happened for centuries until we finally entered into war with them. We allied ourselves with your ancestors and finally, with our combined powers, we drove away The Fallen from these lands.

  “As for why they like our blood, I cannot tell you. Perhaps mermaid blood gives them access to our power, which the gods granted to us in the dawn of time. Yes, we mermaids are ancient creatures, older than men and daemons. Well, the daemons I faced tonight did seem more powerful than before. Add to that, I fought on land, where I am at my weakest. I would have died tonight if it hadn’t been for your timely distraction. That monstrous creature was this close to filling its belly with the entirety of the life-force that runs through my veins.”

  She breathed deep. “Even though my healing powers are greater than humans, only water can speed our recovery. To save you, I had to make sure I reached the river. So, I crawled with whatever strength I had left. I was very weak and wondered whether you would be all right. Fortunately for me, you held off quite well against the daemon. But I also saw that you weren’t able to get through its armor. You see, drinking mermaid blood gives them that outer layer of protection. This is what I found out today, to my deepest horror. I reached the river and swam into it. I knew I would have to reveal the truth of me being a mermaid to you in order to help you, but I cared not about the truth or the hiding of it. And then you know the rest.”

  He sighed as he took in her words. “But why didn’t you reveal yourself sooner?” he asked.

  She smiled. “I hid my truth from you for a purpose, my Lord. You see, a few years ago, a god-man cursed our kind, leaving us barren. After having begged him for some kind of absolution, he spoke of a way we could avert the curse. You see, the reason he cursed us was because we had accidentally killed an innocent child who he had intended to bless us. The child was meant to play a role in the grand scheme of the gods, but when we killed him, we interfered with that plan. As punishment, we could no longer bear children, but the man-god offered a solution. If one of our kind fell in love with a king who had no heirs, the curse could be broken. The female would just have to conceive…”

  She paused for a moment, as if to let that sink in. “Some fifteen days ago, however, we received news from the sirens up north that The Fallen were gathering and would soon attack the northern borders of Galacor. We knew The Brothers Dark held a special enmity with your family so we came to honor our allegiance, but the daemons ambushed us. And then you came. I, being a queen among mermaids, can read minds as well. I knew you had fallen in love with me and you had no heir, so I purposely led us astray so that we could spend the night together, to ensure that you would have an heir, my Lord; someone who will take Galacor to even greater heights.”

  When the king only stared back at her with stunned disbelief, she continued. “I felt the seed take fruition during the battle, when I lain on the ground, pale and bloodless. Some magic was protecting that soul, which the sage had prophesied would be reborn as our first child.”

  He did not know what to reply to such a grand declaration. He felt happy, but also guilt for betraying his wife.

  Marina smiled. “I know what you’re thinking, my Lord. You feel guilty and like a cheat. I completely understand, but I also get why you did it. Your wife has not been able to bear you an heir. It is like her womb itself is cursed. I gather she is pregnant even now, my King. Who knows? She might even give you an heir this time, though the chances are less, because if it were more, our curse wouldn’t have abated.”

  She sighed. “In any case, my Lord, I will need to return to my home now. My role in this tale has come to an end and so has my journey. This has indeed been a companionship worth treasuring and I know that the parting will be tougher for you than me. I am going to take this baby with me and no, I won’t be coming to Maishire. It will only cause you pain and trouble, my Lord. But this I promise. Twenty-five years hence, when this son of yours becomes old enough, I shall send you to him and you shall proclaim him as your heir with your wife’s permission.”

 
He could not say a word. He felt distraught at her leaving. Tears welled in his eyes, but he never let them free. “I...will...miss you...Marina,” he finally said.

  “I would feel the same, my Adanas. But this is for the best, I assure you. A mermaid and a human have no future together and our places are different. We cannot abandon our duties. You are a king and I am a queen.” Smiling, she turned and walked toward the river with brisk but graceful steps. Without once glancing back, she dived into the gushing river and vanished from his sight. Even as his back hit the bark of the tree behind him, the sun rose from the eastern horizon, showering the lands with the first rays of dawn.

  Upon hearing the conclusion of the story of how they met, Queen Merinmeda turned toward her husband and said, “You dared to seek pleasure outside of our union, husband! All because I could not bear you a child? That’s perhaps the only way I have dissatisfied you. But you betrayed my trust and love for you, my King. Did you not at all feel guilty while falling for the sexual schemes of this seducer?”

  Adanas bowed his head. He had no words.

  “You erred on that occasion and planted a seed in the mermaid’s belly. However, for what purpose?” Merinmeda accused. “Even though she bore you a son, you went ahead and ridiculed a god-man. You earned his curse and this young man here,” she said, pointing at the young warrior who had shown his true mettle in the duel, “cannot be proclaimed heir, much, no doubt, as this mermaid had planned for him. So, in a way, you have betrayed all the commitment we have shown you. Your fallacies have led us to this predicament, my Lord. If only you had come to me, husband, and told me about her, I would have gladly given you my blessing for I know well, being a queen and your wife, that the Greentree family needs a successor. Unfortunately, none of us here can provide you with one, all because you chose to execute the ascetic who had granted you a boon and you lost patience waiting for the fruits to take root.”

  The king moved to speak, but the queen raised her hand. “But, still, the dilemma could be saved, my King, if only you beg the god-man’s forgiveness. I am sure he will modify his curse so that it becomes a boon. The Greentree blood cannot just wither away into oblivion. Do this, my King, and earn yourself the good grace of the gods.”

  Turning to the mermaid, she said, “I do not appreciate you coming between my husband and me, and know this, I don’t want to see your face in Galacor again. Not while I live. You represent my husband’s unfaithful nature, but I will not blame your son for the moments of promiscuity between you and my husband, however brief they were. So, I beseech you, Mermaid, return to your holdings in the sea and begone from here.”

  Marina gave the queen a thoughtful look and smiled. “As you say, my queen. Regardless of this animosity between us, you shall remain in my mind and heart as family. But I shall go now. My task has been accomplished and my purpose fulfilled. I saved my son from patricide and that was what I came here to do. It was sad that you had to find out this way.” The mermaid bowed her head and vanished into a puddle of water that then retreated back into the river.

  Airasanda stepped forward and bowed to the queen as his mother had done. “I thank you, Queen Merinmeda, for the kindness you have shown me.” Turning to his father, he said, “I hope I have done you proud, father, but it irks me to say that you have not done me the same. But, like the queen says, I do hope that you apologize to the god-man and find some way to alleviate the curse. The Greentree family tree is essential for the times ahead and we cannot have someone outside the bloodline taking hold of the throne of Galacor.”

  King Adanas sighed. “If by apologizing to the god-man this doom can be rectified, then I will do what’s required.”

  He then stared at Airasanda and Merinmeda. A moment later, he walked away, toward the palace walls, leaving his son and wife smiling.

  “Greentree men! So easy to manipulate!” the queen said, moments after the king had left. Turning to Airasanda, she said, “You took your sweet time in coming, especially after the fire-message I sent your mother.”

  “I was...held up, stepmother,” he replied. “Daemons held me and I had to fight with them.”

  “Daemons?” she asked, brows creased. “In Galacor? Again?”

  “Again, stepmother?”

  “Yes, again. The last time the daemons were seen in Galacor was twenty-five years ago. Who do you think had one of the fortresses that belonged to The Fallen ransacked for all its gold and laid clues pointing toward this family? In revenge, they had risen after three thousand years and made plans to attack the city of the mutes in order to convert them to their cause. But the Mutes, being mutes, knew of their trickery, and sent word to the Sirens in the far North for help. Since the Sirens wouldn’t come so far south, what with their distaste toward warmer climates, they sent word to the mermaids, who longed for revenge. I knew they had been trying to break the curse given them by the same god-man who gave your father this curse. So I made a deal with Marina, their queen, that I would make sure their curse was broken and in return the mermaids would give me their firstborn. I knew about the innocent soul whose childish body had died due to the mermaid feasts and knew the loophole suggested by the sage. I accepted that I could not give him a child and he longed for one.”

  She paused to breathe. “So, I arranged for the patrol-guard to be at the exact place where the battle between the mermaids and the daemons would take place. Curious, as I know my husband to be, he did exactly what I thought he would—go there himself. Marina and he met and you were born. Marina made him a promise that when you would be able, she would return you to Galacor to your rightful place. I would proclaim you as one of my own and the people would accept you as the future king of Galacor. Also, you were born of mermaid and human, and hence stronger than either of them. You would be unbeatable, Son. And with the teaching you have had, I do not doubt it. You bested my husband, who is the strongest warrior there is, and this tale of the duel will spread.”

  She heaved a deep sigh. “What I did not expect in this tale of ours was your father resorting to foolishness. That was something I hadn’t foreseen. I was weak from my latest miscarriage and could not stop him. Hence, I sent a quick fire-message to Marina, asking her to send you here as quickly as she could.”

  “So it was your plan all along?” he asked. “Why then did you berate my father and mother so in public?”

  “Dramatic tension, Airasanda. You see, to control the flow of the events, which are as fluid and unpredictable, you need to act according to the situation. Do you think people would have accepted either of us if I had not done so? Now, people will perceive me as one with a big, kind heart. I accepted you even though you remind me of my husband’s betrayal. And my humiliating your mother, calling her a seducer and other names, was all part of uplifting my public image. I already have their sympathy because of my latest miscarriage. Even with all this, I do not think the people will accept you as the future king now that people know you have a mother who had a sexual fling with my husband. The initial plan was to not have her come here at all. She would not have come today too if you hadn’t gone overboard in the duel. Someone had to stop you from committing patricide. Such an act blackens one’s soul and we cannot have a pure soul such as yours be darkened because of any wrongdoing on your part. So she had to come and save you. Even I came outside, despite being weak and unable to walk properly, to stop you from committing such a horrific crime.”

  “So now what?” he asked. “If your plan was to crown me as the future scion of The Greentree family, your plan has failed. The god-man has cursed us.”

  “Haven’t you been listening to me, Airasanda?” she spoke in an admonishing tone. “I always get what I want. You will be king.”

  “But, stepmother, the sage specifically has cursed my father that his heir shall never be king.”

  “True. You will not be succeeding my husband on the throne. Someone else will. That’s the loophole.”

  “I do not understand.”

  “Must I spell everyth
ing out to you, Airasanda?” she asked. Grunting, she continued, “The sage said that you as an heir cannot be crowned king. But he didn’t say anything about how you could not be a king. You see, if a king marries another who already has a daughter, then that other woman can be a queen and the daughter a princess. If you marry the princess, you will be a prince, and eventually, when that princess becomes queen, you will automatically become the king, will you not?” She smiled.

  “But you would have your husband marry another time?” he asked. “Wouldn’t it be polygamy and isn’t such an institution banned in Galacor?”

  “Not if I annul my marriage with him first, stepson.”

  “And why would you do all this, my queen?” he inquired, wondering why she was sacrificing so much for the good of the Greentree family.

  “For love, of course, though I must say it wasn’t part of anything I had planned. I have dedicated myself to The Greentree family for years, tolerating my husband’s abusive father, my husband’s foolish initiatives. Do you know what it took me to turn my husband’s head into the right direction? You have no idea; perhaps never will. But if the second marriage makes my efforts not go in vain…” She stopped and looked as if in grave thought.

  Airasanda couldn’t help but admire the strength the queen had in herself. She was willing to sacrifice everything in hope that he would be called king and that his children would empower the family she had dedicated her life to. “Where would you go?” he asked. “After the...”

  “Annulment? Speak freely, stepson. I will return to the south and seek out The Hashims beyond The South Ranges. I fear the coming of a dark age and daemons have been lingering on the borders of Galacor for a long time. Waiting. The Cursed Lands are starting to become whole again, those deserts showing signs of evil returning. At least my informants say so. And this is why the line of The Greentrees must remain pure and unblemished. That is why I have put many things in motion the past thirty years. Even the ransack of the castles that belonged to The Fallen was to drive them away from Galacor and send them a clear message. Galacor will not stand unavenged against The Brothers Dark. Their pure selves will revolt against the onset of The Shadow. And you will carry on with this legacy, Airasanda, for on your shoulders the burden falls.”