Blood of a Mermaid (23 page)

Tiny bubbles streamed from his gills as Shea exhaled. He couldn’t afford to piss off the Lord Magistrate of Atlantis. Not when one of his best friends lay injured, possibly close to death, on a remote island in the middle of nowhere, while Kae was still being held captive… They’d kidnapped his girlfriend to get to him, and he’d practically ignored that threatening letter. He should never have gotten on that airplane. If Demyan had no qualms about crashing a plane full of people, what harm might he inflict on Kae? Panic roiled his stomach at the thought of her suffering because of him, shivers of fear prickling at the back of his neck.

He clenched his jaw. He couldn’t think about Kae right now or he’d lose his resolve. Looking the magistrate in the eye, he said, “Sir, I know it all sounds hard to believe, and realize it sounds like it’s all about me. And yes, I guess hearing myself say it out loud, I have trouble thinking anyone would have an ego large enough to attempt such a coup.”

The old merman’s eyes twinkled more. “Funny you should mention
ego
…”

“What I do know,” Shea said, raising his voice over the magistrate’s and cutting off his words. “What I do know is that Demyan’s forces kidnapped the mermaid I love and are holding her prisoner somewhere. I also know that he crashed my airplane and caused death and suffering. I suspect they’re using magick to prevent the rescue team from finding the survivors.”

“Are we talking merfolk or drylanders?”

The abrupt change of focus and the merman’s blunt tone took Shea by surprise. He hesitated before answering, “All drylanders, except one.”

He visibly relaxed and waved his hand dismissively. “Then it’s no concern of ours. Let the humans handle that problem. I’ll dispatch a unit from the University to clear the area of magical interference, but that is the extent of the help we can offer. As for your mermaid friend, the sooner we convict Demyan, the better off she will be as well.”

“But sir,” Shea persisted. “One of the girls on that island needs medical attention right away.”

“Again, drylanders are of no concern to Atlantis. Bringing Demyan to justice is most important in the here and now. The trial begins at first light.” The magistrate put a companionable arm around Shea’s shoulders. “Come now. Let us see the healer to get your wounds cleaned up, and then find you suitable raiment and a proper supper.”

Shea couldn’t believe the Lord Magistrate’s disdainful attitude toward the people trapped on the island. They were living beings, who were in danger because of Shea. If he hadn’t gotten onto that plane back in Athens, there wouldn’t have even been a storm and none of them would have been hurt. Or killed.

Demyan and his minions were hunting Shea, and didn’t seem to care who got hurt in the process. He hadn’t meant to abandon anyone, but swimming for help was the only solution he could think of to find the doctor Hailey so desperately needed. Now this guy was trying to tell him to forget about them? Not going to happen.

His hands curled into fists of frustration as he shrugged the magistrate’s arm off his shoulders. He tried one last time to make him understand. “Sir, I have to go back and help my friends. Tonight.”

The Lord Magistrate shook his head. “I will not stand on the steps of the Supreme Courthouse and discuss this with you any further. If you wish to plead some sort of case, we must continue this discussion inside. Over food, as I am famished.” He turned and swam back up the useless staircase.

Shea had no choice but to follow. Swimming in the older merman’s wake, his mind swirled. He couldn’t bear the thought of coming all this way to return to that island alone. That wouldn’t help Hailey get better. It wouldn’t help to free Kae.
What can I say that will
make this guy listen?
He realized any arguments regarding his human friends would fall on deaf ears.
What can I say that he would find beneficial? Irresistible, even?

They’d reached the top of the stairs and Shea saw a large open hall before them, infinitely larger than the Great Hall of King Koios. Mermen dressed in tunics similar to the Lord Magistrate’s were clustered together in groups of six or seven, some engaged in heated debate while others were laughing in a jovial manner.

“The business of running five kingdoms doesn’t stop when the sun goes down,” the Lord Magistrate said with a chuckle. “I tell you we are quite busy enough without sparing precious time on drylander problems as well.”

“Running five kingdoms?” Shea was puzzled. “I don’t understand, sir. Isn’t that what the kings are for?”

“To a certain extent, yes.”

“What does that mean? To what extent?” From what Shea’s mother had told him, he’s assumed the ruling class did just that – ruled. Brynneliana had explained that the Courts of Atlantis helped settle disputes between kingdoms, officiate weddings and ceremonies, and of course teach the next generations at the University.

But actually running the kingdoms?

They had finally reached the far end of the large hall, where long tables laden with food lined the back wall. Shea was reminded of the Solstice banquet at his grandfather’s castle, and the busy kitchen that created that feast. He wondered at the magical feats it must take to keep so many mouths fed on a daily basis here in Atlantis.

Magick.

The Lord Magistrate was popping another bite of sushi into his mouth when Shea swam close and put a hand on his arm. In a low voice, he said, “Sir? I just thought of another compelling reason for you to help me rescue my friends from that island.”

Shaking his head to indicate his lack of enthusiasm, the magistrate swallowed the food in his mouth. “I already explained, young Prince, that the plight of drylanders poses little concern to Atlantis.”

“But what about the sorcerer who caused such a storm? Would not a merman with that kind of magical ability be useful here in Atlantis?”

“Well…”

Shea could practically see the wheels turning in the magistrate’s head. He pressed his advantage, even though he had no idea if his words held any truth whatsoever. “If we leave now, your guards can capture that sorcerer. Imagine having that kind of magick at your beck and call.”

“He must be a powerful wielder of magick,” the Lord Magistrate mused, almost to himself. “But any Adluo sorcerer would have to face Atlantean justice,” he pointed out half-heartedly.

“And who holds the final say over such sentences from the Court?” Shea was pretty sure he knew the answer to that question even as he asked it.

“Well, as Lord Magistrate, that responsibility falls upon my shoulders,” he conceded. He stroked his beard, a faraway look in his eyes. “Perhaps we should further investigate this situation. You say you know how to return to this island?”

Shea nodded his head as relief washed through him. “I can lead you there. How fast can you ready the guards?”

From the darkening shadows of the waves around her, Kae knew the sun had dipped below the line of the horizon. She hoped they weren’t too late.

Although she and her father had made huge progress since mounting the dolphins at Outermost Village, they hadn’t yet reached the City of Atlantis. 

The thin leather harness around the dolphin’s neck did nothing to increase or slow the creature’s speed, but only served to steady the rider, especially when they rose for air. Despite their full-grown size, the dolphins were fairly young and enthusiastic, and Kae had nearly fallen off during several earlier aerial jumps. But as the day passed, their energy had waned.

“I think the animals need to rest, Father,” she called to him as they crested the surface again, and her own mount slowed even more. She saw that she was right about the time of day – the sun had disappeared, and the blue sky had shifted to the darker purples of twilight.

Lybio looked back at his daughter and pulled up on his reins. “We should stop and let the animals rest and feed,” he declared as they slowed to a halt. He removed the leather straps from his dolphin’s thick neck and indicated that Kae should do the same. The pair clicked and nickered to each other and then turned and made similar noises to Lybio before swimming off together.

“I never knew dolphins had to surface so often,” Kae said as she watched them go. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to untangle some of the knots that had formed over the last several hours. The animals swam much faster than she could ever hope to, but jumping through the waves rattled her nerves. And her curls.

Her father smiled. “They’re mammals, little one. They have no gills and breathe only air, not water.”

“What about the dolphins that pull wagons and such in other parts of the world? Like the wagon that Prince Azul brought from the Pacific Ocean. That was pulled by dolphins.”

“Those are special animals, cross-bred at the University in Atlantis especially for the purpose with the addition of gills, very similar to the ones in your own neck,” Lybio explained. Kae’s hand strayed to her ears, running her fingers along the slits hidden beneath her hair. “However, our king doesn’t believe in the subjugation of other intelligent creatures.”

“But there are stables at both the summer castle and winter palace,” Kae pointed out.

“For visitors. In the Atlantic, we allow the dolphins to choose whether to help us or not, and come or go as they please. They almost always choose to help when asked. It is in their nature.”

“Will this pair come back?” She felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. They had come so close, and yet it felt like they would never reach their goal. She’d never been to the City of Atlantis, and had no idea how much further they needed to swim, although she had to admit she wasn’t as tired anymore. Catching a ride had given her a chance to rest her tail muscles. She could swim through the night if she had to.

But she also had no idea if Shea and Xander were even in Atlantis. Her father’s great plan to stop the sorcerer fell short of actually having a “plan” of any sort. The only thing she understood was she needed to find Xander. Or rather, Zan. She frowned and slapped her own forehead.
Xander doesn’t exist
, she reminded herself.
Zan was pretending to be someone he’s not.

By her side in the waves, her father’s head and shoulders bobbed above the surface as he scanned the horizon. “There should be a small archipelago a bit further west,” he said, turning to face her. “If I’m remembering correctly, we’re still a half day’s swim from the City.”

Kae followed his gaze. “Father, is that smoke on the horizon, or just clouds?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Hard to say from this distance. Come. Let’s take a closer look.” He dove beneath the surface.

With one last tug on her hair, Kae tossed her curls behind her back and dove to follow her father.

* * *

“Who are
you
?”

Her question took Zan aback. She seemed to have no fear of him, facing him with her hands on her hips. For someone so obviously ancient, she stood tall and straight, with no deference in her posture. In fact, she actually seemed angry.

His stomach clenched into a hard knot. He had no desire to hurt her. This was supposed to be a quick stealth mission, sneak in and grab the boy. He didn’t have time to argue with some old woman, mermaid or not. “I asked you first,” he said, cringing at the petulance in his own voice. “Who are you, and what are you doing with these drylanders?”

She narrowed her eyes but didn’t change her stance. “Your accent is of the Adluo clan. Are you here with that monster, Demyan?”

“What do you know of Adluos and monsters, old woman?” He kept his words tough, but on the inside Zan felt fear snake down his spine.
Who is she?

“I know for certain you’ve been watching the island all day,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “What I don’t know is if you are the
villain
who caused this situation in the first place.” She said the word villain with such animosity that Zan felt as if she’d slapped him across the face. “You sorcerers all think you’re so brilliant with your magick. You forget that
actual people
suffer the consequences of your actions.”

Zan’s mind flitted to the merman lying in the pool of his own blood at the airport, then to the bodies he’d found trapped in the wreckage of the downed airplane. Yes, a few souls had gone to meet their makers, but he had a purpose. He needed to free the mermaid he loved. Demyan promised to release her when Zan brought Shea back to the Arctic.

Demyan was the true villain, not Zan.

Straightening his back, he looked the old woman in the eye and enunciated carefully. “I never meant to harm anyone. I’m. Following. Orders.”

Her laugh sounded hollow. “The excuse of every man and monster back to the dawn of time, from Xerxes to Adolf Hitler to Saddam Hussein. I thought we merfolk were better than that. Are the Adluos nothing more than underwater Nazis?”

He felt the heat rushing to his cheeks as she chastised him like a recalcitrant schoolboy. How dare she accuse him – and his clan – of such things! “What do you want of me, old woman?”

“I want you to do the right thing.”

“
The right thing
?” Zan sneered, incredulous at her naiveté. “The right thing for whom? For you? For your precious drylanders? ‘Right’ is such a subjective word.”

“And yet, you know that the path you are swimming is the wrong one,” she countered. “Harming others is not in our nature…”

“You know
nothing
of my
nature
, or my circumstances,” Zan yelled, interrupting her. He narrowed his eyes, feeling the anger inside of him rising to the surface. “I owe Demyan my life.”

“And how many others must suffer before your debt to him is repaid?”

“As many as it takes.” The breeze off the water picked up and began to swirl around him as his emotions took hold. This woman stood in the way of his mission. He raised a hand toward her, intending to engage his magick, but a cry on the wind stopped him.

“Xander! Wait!”

His eyes flew wide as he turned toward her voice. Was the twilight playing tricks on him? The mermaid swimming toward the shore looked just like her, but how could that be? “Kae? Is that really you?”