The Mermaid's Madness

by Hines, Jim C.

  From here, Danielle could see the exposed underside of the Phillipa. A network of long, pale tendrils lay limp against the hull. Roots, she realized.

  “I can’t drown out here,” Varisto said. He sounded like he was talking to himself as much as anyone else. “Gustan’s shade would never let me rest if I died trying to save him. I’m not spending the next life listening to him gloat.”

  Danielle grimaced as she pulled herself upright. Her chest and stomach burned from the effort. “Lannadae! Tell your people we need them to take us to Hilad. The kelpies might be fast enough—”

  “I can’t command them,” Lannadae said, swimming up beside her. “Lirea named me traitor. To follow my orders is to commit treason. I’m too young, and my scent isn’t strong enough to break Lirea’s hold.”

  “You said they listened to you,” Danielle protested.

  “Because we were helping to fight Morveren, another traitor. You’re asking them to escort us into the heart of the tribe.”

  Danielle looked around at the undine floating on the surface. “You saw Morveren’s ship!” she shouted, fighting tears. “You have to know Morveren will destroy your queen. Is this what you want? Will you obey Lirea’s orders even if it enslaves you to a witch who devours the souls of her enemies?”

  “They can’t disobey,” Snow said softly. “Do you remember what happened when we swam through their waters last time?”

  “Yes,” Danielle said, her face hot. “What does that—”

  “The scent Lannadae and Morveren talk about is a kind of love potion. Given time, I might be able to counter it, but . . .”

  “But some of the undine did leave Lirea,” Danielle protested. “They joined Morveren.”

  “Who probably used magic to help them resist Lirea. You remember the song she sang on the Phillipa, back when Lirea attacked?”

  “When she almost killed us?” asked Talia.

  “Morveren is skilled enough to sing two spells at once, and nobody would have known.” Snow rubbed her hands together, blowing on them for warmth. “I think she was calling to her followers, severing Lirea’s hold on them. I’ll keep trying to do the same, but you and Talia might want to start coming up with another plan.”

  Danielle realized Snow was close to passing out. Her face was bloodless, her movements stiff with pain. She had already fought Morveren’s air spirits and broken the spell that nearly killed Danielle.

  “Stop,” Danielle whispered. “You need to rest before you kill yourself.”

  Snow started to shake her head, but the movement made her gasp.

  Danielle looked at Beatrice. “What do I do?”

  “You have to stop Morveren,” Bea said gently. “You know that.”

  Danielle searched for Morveren’s ship, but it had already disappeared from view. She turned to watch the kelpies circling. Raising her voice, she called out, “I surrender myself to Lirea. I helped to shelter Lannadae. Bring me to your queen to face justice.”

  Talia yanked the side of the boat, nearly dumping Danielle into the water. “What are you doing?”

  “Can you think of another way to reach Morveren in time?” Danielle asked. Talia’s jaw tightened, and she shoved away from the boat.

  “Me too!” Snow’s eyes were closed, but her voice was firm. “I’m the one who prepared Lannadae’s cave for the winter. I even read her stories.”

  “I sheltered her too,” Talia said grudgingly. In a lower voice, she added, “Brilliant plan, Highness.”

  “Do you have a better one?” Danielle asked.

  “As prince of the Hiladi Empire, I demand you capture me as well!” Varisto bellowed.

  Danielle still had a hard time reading undine expressions, but their confusion was clear. They swam together to confer, gesturing and pointing at the humans.

  Danielle didn’t wait. Taking advantage of the confusion, she whispered to the kelpies, who swam closer in response to the urgency of her summons. Moments later their heads disappeared into the water.

  Beatrice grabbed the sides as the cutter rocked with the waves. “What are you doing?”

  “Watch.” Danielle pointed toward the Phillipa. “Hold tight, Captain!”

  “To what?” Hephyra shouted. The ship shuddered as the first kelpie pressed his head against the hull. Hephyra staggered backward. Two more kelpies joined the first, straining to right the ship.

  At first, they simply pushed the Phillipa sideways through the water. Danielle ordered two of the kelpies around to the opposite side to brace the bottom as the rest lifted. Whatever else happened, she would at least save this crew.

  Slowly, the ship began to right herself.

  “Harder!” Hephyra crowed. “Put your fins into it!”

  Water poured from the deck and the portholes. Hephyra danced along the hull, whooping as the Phillipa rose higher.

  “Overbalance her to starboard,” Hephyra yelled. “We need to shift the weight back to center. Easy, now. Not too far.”

  Waves shoved the crew back as the kelpies rocked the ship to and fro. Their fins and tails sent small vortices dancing over the water. Danielle did her best to coordinate the kelpies’ efforts, tilting the ship as Hephyra raced about the deck.

  “That’s good enough for now.” Hephyra began tossing ropes down from the deck. The ship sat much lower in the water than before, but she appeared stable for the moment. “What are you lot waiting for? Get up here and man the pumps! The rest of you get below and secure that mess. If I sink, I swear to the gods I’ll take every last one of you with me!”

  “She still won’t be seaworthy for days,” Beatrice said. “Even with all of Hephyra’s magic.”

  “That doesn’t matter.” Lannadae bobbed in the water, her pride obvious even to Danielle. “They’ve agreed to capture us. We’re going to Hilad.”

  CHAPTER 17

  THE KELPIES RACED THROUGH THE WATER toward the black wall ahead. Some of the undine had fallen behind, unable to match the kelpies’ speed. If Danielle’s silent urgings had increased that speed, so much the better.

  “This is fun!” Snow still appeared wan and weak, but she was smiling. She lay with her feet through one of the loops of the kelpie’s harness, clinging to another loop. “Danielle, can we get a kelpie for the palace?”

  “If we do, I’m not feeding it,” Talia said.

  Danielle’s stomach clenched as they neared the coast. Even from this distance, Morveren’s song was strong enough to make her shudder. Danielle knew little of magic, but even she could hear the power in that voice. Morveren sang a chorus of anger and despair. Danielle could almost hear the individual souls Morveren was using to feed her power.

  “Anyone have any wormwax?” Snow asked. When nobody spoke, she closed her eyes and said, “I could have used a longer rest, but I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.” She began to hum a quiet harmony to Morveren’s own song.

  “By the emperor’s blood, the mermaid sails as poorly as my brother!” Varisto stared at the wreckage of Morveren’s ship. She had crashed the ship directly into the archway in the wall, all but blocking the way. The water around the shore teemed with undine.

  One of the undine broke away, hurling a spear. It bounced off of the kelpie’s thick hide, but others quickly followed. Another spear tore through a merman’s leg, and he dropped from the harness with a scream.

  “Morveren,” Snow said.

  “She’s controlling them?” Danielle guessed.

  “Nothing so crude.” Snow spoke in a broken rhythm, humming between pauses. “She’s heightening their fear and hostility. Nudging them into attacking of their own will. I can protect this small group, but I don’t have the lungs to fully counter her song.”

  “She’s turned them against us.” The mermaid who spoke wore a necklace with two oysters, a symbol that appeared to denote some kind of rank. She sang a shrill command, drawing the kelpies to a halt.

  “She’ll do worse than that, Nevidhal,” said Lannadae. “She enslaved my sister to a human so
ul. You saw how she’s changed. Morveren intends to rule this tribe through Lirea, and to do the same to all of us. You have a duty to protect your queen.”

  “I know my duty.” Nevidhal glanced toward the shore. “How do you mean to stop her?”

  “Do you think you can fight your way through that many?” Danielle asked, glancing down at Talia.

  Talia made a show of counting the endless swarm of undine. “Depends. Can you lend me a few more knives?”

  “I will deal with the undine.” Captain Varisto pulled himself higher on the kelpie’s body.

  “What are you doing?” Danielle asked.

  Varisto’s eyes were wide. “You think my brother was the only one given spirits to guard him? We were each bound to the empire as children. Gustan was given the spirits of the air.”

  “And you?” Snow asked.

  Varisto stripped off his shirt, revealing a jagged brown tattoo on the left side of his chest. “I was bound to the rock of the earth.” A geyser of steam shot into the sky from beyond the wall. Varisto bared his teeth. “And in this part of the country, if you crack the rock, you’ll find fire.”

  The archway began to collapse, enormous blocks of ebony stone plunging into the water and crushing Morveren’s ship. More steam rose from the water, and Danielle glimpsed orange fire flowing beneath the waves, pouring forth like syrup. The undine fled, seeking the safety of deeper water. Even Morveren’s magic couldn’t hold them here to be boiled alive.

  “That’s what happened here all those years ago, isn’t it?” Snow stared at Varisto. “One of you unleashed fire over the land.”

  “There was a rebellion, back when the empire first began to crumble.” Varisto never took his eyes from the shore. “From what I’ve read, it was a very short-lived rebellion.”

  Smoke rose from the wreckage of Morveren’s ship. The land shook again, and flames raced to engulf the ship. Varisto’s gaze appeared to reflect the fire as he watched it burn.

  “You remember we can’t swim through fire either, right?” Talia asked.

  “Take us around to the edge of the wall.” Danielle pointed to the right of the palace. “Just be thankful we have clothes this time.”

  “What was that?” Varisto spun around so fast he nearly fell from his kelpie. “My spirits told me of your intrusion, but they seem to have omitted certain details.”

  Lannadae sang a command. The kelpies veered to the right, swimming through fleeing undine toward the blackened shore.

  “We can’t follow Morveren onto land,” Nevidhal said. She brought her kelpie around until she faced Danielle. “Even if we could, her song is too strong.”

  “Get Lannadae away from here and keep her safe.” Danielle jumped down from her kelpie. The water was shallow enough her toes touched bottom. She pushed to the surface and grabbed the kelpie’s rear fin for support.

  Nevidhal hadn’t moved. “What of our queen?”

  “We’ll protect Lirea,” Danielle said. “I promise.”

  The air rippled from the heat. The smell of sulfur was stronger here, and the steam left droplets of water on her skin and hair. The water was warm as well, though not unpleasantly so. But anyone swimming toward Varisto’s fire would be boiled alive.

  “Danielle!” Lannadae clung to her kelpie. “I want to help!”

  “Help by taking your people away from here,” Danielle shouted. “Sing as loud as you can to help them block Morveren’s song.”

  Lannadae started to protest, but Nevidhal said, “Lirea and Morveren have taken their battle beyond our reach. We must get you away from here.”

  Danielle kept her smile hidden. Already Nevidhal and the other undine began to treat Lannadae as a royal instead of a banished criminal. She and Talia helped Snow down, and together they swam toward shore, giving the pillars of steam a wide berth.

  Several undine tried to attack, but most were more concerned with escaping the liquid fire crawling through the sea. Those who approached were easily knocked aside by Talia. Varisto bellowed at another, raising his ax to frighten the merman away. Morveren’s magic worked against her now, inspiring the undine to greater panic.

  The rock scraped Danielle’s hands as she climbed onto land. Was it her imagination, or was the earth warmer than before?

  Talia appeared to be having similar thoughts. “The rest of this place isn’t going to crack open and spit fire, is it?”

  “Not unless I so command,” said Varisto.

  “How reassuring.” Talia began to jog toward the palace. “Where exactly are they, Snow?”

  “Morveren is by the tower. The same one as before. I think Lirea is inside.”

  “Wait.” Danielle stared at the distant tower. She knew what she had to say. She had known since she spoke with Beatrice, back at the boat. She bowed her head. “Talia, try to get into the tower. If Morveren is too strong—” She swallowed. “If we can’t stop her, you’ll have to kill Lirea.”

  Talia turned around. “You promised the undine—”

  “I know.” Danielle drew her sword, trying not to hate herself. All Lirea had wanted was to be with the man she loved. Instead, she found herself discarded by her prince and enslaved to her grandmother’s magic. “This is only the beginning of Morveren’s plan, and too many people have already died. You saw her crew. Other undine transformed like Lirea. She said Lirea’s children would be the start of a new race, but do you think she’ll stop there? How long before she creates more of those knives? How long before the undine who follow her begin hunting human souls? Without Lirea, Morveren’s scheme falls apart.”

  Talia nodded. “It’s a good plan, Highness.”

  “No, it’s not.” Danielle started toward the tower. “But it’s the only one we have.”

  Approaching on land, her vision blurred by clouds of steam, Danielle could imagine the palace as it had once been. The wall that separated the moat from the open sea angled back, forming a five-sided barrier around the palace. Observation towers stood at each corner, surrounding the larger structures in the center. There must have been other buildings, now completely wiped away by fire and magic. All that remained was rippled black rock, leading to the crumbled ruins of the wall. In some places the wall still rose high enough to block her view, but most was little more than broken blocks of stone.

  Even here the steam scalded her skin. Danielle wondered how many undine had been caught by Varisto’s fires, not to mention the fish and other sea creatures. She could see crabs scrambling over the rock, but many more would have perished the moment the fire poured from the rock.

  Once they crossed through the broken wall, Danielle spotted Morveren hovering outside of Lirea’s tower. Her air spirits kicked up swirls of dirt and rock as they held her aloft. On the ground, Morveren’s transformed undine surrounded the tower with weapons ready.

  A spear flew from the tower window, but the air spirits knocked it aside.

  “You don’t understand,” Morveren shouted. She clutched the cup with Gustan’s spirit in her hands. “You’re dying, Lirea! Let me save you!”

  “I can reach the tower.” Talia hadn’t taken her eyes from the undine standing guard. “Once I start climbing, can you stop them from putting one of those spears up my—”

  “It will be our pleasure,” said Varisto.

  Danielle joined him, following a curved path that would hopefully draw the undine away from Talia. “Snow, we can keep the undine busy, but you’ll have to deal with Morveren.”

  Snow was still pale, but she smiled as she plucked the largest mirror from her choker. “Mirror, mirror, in my hand. Drag that mermaid back to land.”

  Morveren squawked as she fell. Her air spirits raced to catch her, slowing her drop, but she still hit hard enough to knock the breath from her chest.

  “You realize we’re badly outnumbered,” Varisto commented, readying his ax. He took up position in front of Danielle as Morveren’s undine ran toward them.

  Talia had already split away from the others, running along the edge
of the moat toward the tower. A few of the undine turned to follow, while the rest continued toward what they perceived as the greater threat.

  A silver blur buzzed past Danielle, catching one of the undine in the shoulder. He fell, tripping another. Snow grinned and threw a second of her steel snowflakes. This one took a mermaid in the arm. It also came awfully close to taking out Danielle’s earlobe.

  “Do you mind?” Danielle asked.

  “Sorry,” Snow said. “My vision still isn’t quite right.”

  She turned to Morveren, who had risen from the ground and begun to sing. Snow countered the melody, but this close even the dissonance of their songs was physically painful, like a knife scraping along Danielle’s bones.

  “She used most of her power to get here,” Snow said. “But she’s still stronger than I remember.”

  “Strong enough to beat you?” Danielle asked.

  Snow rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”

  Varisto settled into a low stance, ax ready. “Stay behind me, Princess. I’ll protect you and your friend for as long as I can.”

  Danielle raised an eyebrow. A silent request brought the crabs skittering toward the approaching undine. Morveren had spread scales over the bodies of her warriors for protection, but those scales ended at the ankles. The first undine yelled as he fell, a large crab clinging to his toes. Another followed, and more crabs swarmed onto the bodies. Soon more than half of Morveren’s undine were busy stomping and stabbing Danielle’s reinforcements.

  “Thank you for the kind offer of protection, Your Highness.” Danielle stepped forward and raised her sword. Varisto merely grunted.

  The first of the undine threw her spear as she ran. Danielle ducked, barely recovering fast enough to parry a downward slash by a second mermaid. Danielle grabbed her sword near the tip, using both hands to brace the weapon as the mermaid pressed down. The enchanted glass wouldn’t cut Danielle, but even so she was no match for the mermaid’s greater strength. Varisto stepped sideways and struck the mermaid’s shoulder with the butt of his ax before turning away to intercept another attack.