“You will be returned to solitary until my veritician arrives to pull out your memories. Since you have failed to tell me what you know, I have called for her and she will get every detail from you whether you like it or not. An interesting fact about them; they can pull even the deepest truths from you. I suggest that if you are hiding their whereabouts, you tell me now and things will be easier for you. There might even be some reward in it for you. If I find out that you kept it from me, solitary will look like a vacation in comparison.” It wasn’t a threat; it was a promise.
I knew I would be fine, aside from some of the finer details of who said what, I’d kept nothing of importance from him. I didn't look forward to more time in the caves, but it’s not like I had a choice. All I could do was hope the veritician hurried.
Chapter 4 - Una
Frost called Craig back into the barren room and instructed him to return me to solitary. My stomach rolled at the idea of returning to that filth hole, but I knew I had no other choice. He took me down a series of completely different halls then when we came up. I was certain it was to try to throw me off, but little did he realize, I had grown up in caverns full of twists and turns like these. It was nothing for me to come up with another song as I had the first and memorize the path he took us down.
I knew it may be something we would need in the future, especially if any of us got caught and thrown down here again. It was always smart to keep a backup plan in place.
We reached my cell and he shoved me through the still open door. I tripped over a bump in the ground and landed with an oomph. I turned to see the guard’s satisfied smile in the dim light. “You going to take these off now?” I jangled my shackles at him. “I feel like that’s something you should do for a friend.”
“We are not friends,” he growled.
“But I thought we bonded over the whole bathroom thing?” I asked innocently and batted my eyelashes for good measure.
He grumbled under his breath and I missed what he said as he reached for the door to shut me in. I needed to try a different tactic before it was too late, and my opportunity was gone. “How about a trade? I sing you a song and you remove these shackles,” I said sweetly, and he looked up at me like I was crazy. It was all I needed though, just a moment of hesitation so I could work my magic. “I promise I’ll be a good girl. It’s not like I can go anywhere, you know iron walls and all.” Before he could argue, I opened my mouth and sang my haunting song, one that would bring him to me and make him do anything I asked.
I watched as he quickly fell under my spell and I hated myself for using my power against him, but I needed to be strong so that I could think clearly. After everything that happened with Mira, it was hard to accept that I had the power to kill in my voice. The difference between her and I though, was I would never take it that far. Now that I had someone that loved me, and a future to look forward to, I was no longer above using anything at my disposal to survive. This I would never do for pleasure as she had.
Once I had Craig fully under, I changed the lyrics and coaxed him to take my shackles off. The relief was immediate, and I smiled to myself as I stopped singing and he stared at me with a goofy grin. I instructed him to take the cuffs away and go back to his post. He would snap out of the trance when he completed my orders, none the wiser for what he had done as he wouldn’t remember anything after putting me in the cell. He would have no idea he went against Frost’s orders.
He closed me in and as his footsteps receded, I rubbed at my already healing wrists. There was no way I could have functioned fully with those shackles in place. Now that they were gone though, I felt my energy returning to me in spades. I glanced around the filthy room, boredom already creeping in. What I wouldn’t give to have a few art supplies around to pass the time.
Yelling through the bars on my door to demand something to pass the time would do me no good, so instead I searched the room for something I could use. Finally, in the corner I found a shard of stone about the size of my fist and grinned as I scooped it up. It was just small enough for me to hold comfortably and would work perfect for what I had in mind.
I crossed to the side of the room that had the light hanging on the wall. The surface was the smoothest there and would work nicely as a canvas. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, picturing my home and the feel of the waters against my skin. The joy the creatures and the currents brought to me.
I lifted the stone and started dragging it across the rocky surface, the scraping at first made me worried that someone would come investigate, but after a few passes I realized no one cared. My strokes left white scores on the surface against the black cavern walls, and quickly the image I had in mind took form on the wall.
The last day of my freedom. The waters had been a bit cool that morning but were already warming under the rising sun. I swam with the dolphins, playing with their calves as we raced through the currents and chased fish. It was that moment from the past that I captured on the wall. The pure joy that radiated off of them as we twirled around one another and they breached the waves before twisting around me again.
I smiled as I looked at my crude artwork and recalled how happy I was, my strong tail pushing me through the waters effortlessly. That morning had been so peaceful, and yet had gone so terribly wrong. I wanted to be a human back then, obsessed with their legs and watching them run. But now, I lived as a human and I would give almost anything to have my tail back, to be free to glide through the salty waters that were my home.
Exhausted, I laid down on my pitiful hay bed and stared at my drawing, memories turning to dreams as I fell into a deep slumber.
A loud pop sounded behind me, pulling me from my sleep and I sat up, this time knowing I would find the small fairy in my cell.
“Make it a habit of popping in other people’s cells?” I asked wryly.
She stared at me wide eyed as she had before, “Not really, no,” she replied nervously, her soft voice barely reaching me even across the short distance. Her eyes drifted to the dolphins behind me, “You did this?” she asked in awe, forgetting I was standing there as she walked by me and ran her hand over the surface.
“It’s nothing, really,” I shook my head.
“They are so beautiful,” she breathed out, tracing the lines of one of the calves. She jerked her hand back, seeming to remember where she was and stared at me. “I’m sorry,” she twisted her hands together and looked at her feet.
“Hey, it’s no big thing. I’m glad you like them,” I grinned as she looked up at me, surprised. “I don’t bite as a general rule. You don’t have to be so nervous.”
“I don’t know who to trust anymore,” she admitted, anxiety still lacing her voice.
“I get that. This is a hard place to survive. But hey, it’s nice to have some company down here,” I shrugged, hoping to put her at ease. “I’m Una, what’s your name?” She might be timid as fuck, and I was not normally a people person, but damn it was lonely down here.
“Shaylah. You can call me Shay though,” she gave me a small smile.
“Nice to meet you, Shay. So, what got you tossed in solitary?” I asked, my curiosity again getting the better of me.
“Solitary?” her face furrowed together in confusion.
“You know, like down here in this hellhole by yourself instead of upstairs in the hellhole where at least you’d be surrounded by other people.
“Oh, I was brought straight down here. I never stayed upstairs,” the frown still distorted her fine features as she looked at me bewildered. Normally, I would have assumed she had to have done something terrible to be brought straight to solitary, but knowing this place, that might not be the case. Not to mention, she didn’t look or act like she would hurt a sea slug.
“Yikes. How long have you been down here?” I asked.
“Three days?” she responded. “I’m not really sure, I was doing a lot of sleeping in the beginning,” she seemed to be getting more comfortable the longer we talked.
“Not all of this is from being here,” she shrugged.
“What got you sent to Shadow Isle?” I asked before I realized the words that came out of my mouth. “Look, I’m just too curious sometimes. You don’t have to tell me,” I amended quickly.
“For some reason, I actually think you're decent, so I don’t mind,” she sat cross legged on the floor and a troubled look crossed her face as she took a deep breath. “When I was young, my parents passed, and I was given to my uncle for protection. He needed money and so he sold me to a group of drug dealers. They kept me locked up unless they were collecting or using, and then I would go right back in my cage.
One day, I overheard some of them talking about how it was a good thing they acquired a rare fairy like me before I had learned my powers or they would never have been able to keep me,” she looked at me. “I like to tinker, so I was able to work the locks free, that was until they got bigger ones. So, that was when I started experimenting to test what powers I had. I figured out I could pop in and out when I felt like it and that’s what got me sent here. I no longer stayed in my cage, so they would chase me down and re-capture me. Finally, they found a buyer that said he could control me, and I was sent here.”
“Wait, what?” I asked as the questions bounced around in my head. “Why would someone buy you here?”
She looked back at her disheveled wings and fluttered them a little. I watched in astonishment as they started to softly glow in the dim space, “Pixie dust,” she stated grimly.
My eyes went wide as everything from her story suddenly clicked together. What a miserable life she must have had only existing to be used by the filth around her. She might appear tiny and frail, but I suddenly liked her all the more for being as strong as she was.
“They controlled me at first by drugging me, though with my fast metabolism they had to dose me really high to get it to work. Even then it only lasted an hour at most. They realized that at such a high dose it was making me produce less dust so they stopped,” she shook her head.
“Who bought you?” I asked, wanting to know who needed a fix so bad they would bring her here.
“I have no idea. Someone powerful from what I was told. I was warned not to piss him off or being dusted would be the least of my worries.” There was only one person here that people would be that scared of. What I didn’t know though, was why he would want her here. From everything I knew and heard, Frost didn’t touch the stuff.
“I’m pretty sure I know who. They were right to warn you about him, that’s for sure. He’s the headmaster here and will stop at nothing to gain power. I guess controlling the pixie dust is just another form of power to him,” I told her grimly. She was not in a good situation at all, that was for sure.
“I’m glad I popped into your cell, Una,” she said. “It’s been so long since I had an actual conversation with someone.”
“I’m glad too, and I don’t even like people as a general rule,” I chuckled. “How do you do that anyways? The whole poof you’re gone thing?”
“When I was in that tiny cage, I wanted nothing more than to get out. Hearing them say something about my powers was all it took. I simply wished to be out and it happened. The first time was a fluke but I learned how to do it when I wanted and it was easy. Here though, something is throwing me off and I pop out at random places, or if I sneeze….” she trailed off with a short laugh. “Well, you saw what happens when I sneeze.”
I laughed with her, “Kind of hard to miss.” I thought about it for a minute as I considered what might be the cause of her issue here. “Ever heard of iron affecting your magic?” I asked at last.
“Iron? No, but then again, I was never taught anything about my magic, save for the tiny bit I snuck from my Uncle’s books before he sold me.”
“These caves are laced with a natural iron ore. It’s what keeps magical creatures so drained down here. Eventually, some of us that are more susceptible to it are driven mad.”
“That would explain the screaming and moans I’ve heard,” she stated.
I nodded, “Iron doesn’t affect me as strongly as most magical creatures, as I have lived my whole life being exposed to trace amounts of it in the ocean. Any of us from the seas are the same as me, very little reaction. Some of the others, though...” I trailed off as a scream echoed down the hall, proving my point.
“That’s where you’re from, isn’t it?” she asked, pointing to the wall.
I nodded, “I would give anything...” I stopped short as the sound of keys rattled outside of my door. “Go, Shay, they can’t find you here,” I urged.
She squeezed her eyes hard as the door started to open. Just as light came into my cell the faint pop sounded and she disappeared as Craig stepped in.
“Talking to yourself already, huh?” he sneered. “That's the first sign of going crazy down here.”
I stood from my seat and crossed to him, suddenly not feeling so bad about using my song to have him take my shackles off. He was no better than the warden, gaining pleasure from the inmates pain. Next time, I should make him dry hump the headmaster’s leg or something equally humiliating. A smile played on my lips as I pictured Frost’s face with Craig attached to his leg. It was very hard to keep in my laughter.
“Wait, where are your cuffs?” he demanded.
“Better not keep the warden waiting. I wouldn’t want to piss him off if I were you,” I smirked as I strolled by him and out the door, turning back to see if he was going to follow. His hand dropped to his taser and I shook my head, “I wouldn’t if I were you. The warden won’t be too fond of you making me unable to give him any more information, would he?”
I turned from him and started down the hall, confident that he wouldn’t try to tase me, not with the threat of Frost looming over him.
“No funny business, princess,” he sneered as he caught up to me.
“Me? Never,” I feigned shock as he opened the door to the stairwell. Time to see what Frost had up his sleeve next.
Chapter 5 - Una
I was led to the same room as before and Craig shoved me through the door, though this time I was not as weak so I didn’t stumble. I ignored the solitary chair stationed in the middle of the space and looked around to see who was here.
“No cuffs, Una? How did you manage that one?” Jack strolled toward me and I saw a woman standing at his back, shrouded in shadows.
“I can be charming when I want to be. Just like you,” I beamed fakely at him.
“We shall see how charming you remain when you’re questioned,” he narrowed his eyes on me. “Please, Una, have a seat.”
“Why, Jack, I don’t mind if I do,” I batted my eyelashes at him, barely able to suppress my glee at seeing the anger flash across his face. What did he expect, acting like we were at a proper human tea party or something. I sat as he wanted though, knowing I could only push him so far.
“Una, may I introduce you to Aleta? She’s a rare veritician and is here to ask you a few questions,” he said pleasantly, gesturing to the woman at his back, though there was no hiding the undercurrent of anger that laced his tone.
“I’ll answer anything she asks,” I replied amicably.
Aleta’s large almond eyes met mine as she stepped forward. Jack stood watching intently from the side as she circled me, and I struggled not to fidget. I had nothing to hide, I reminded myself. She might be able to pull thoughts from my mind, but I didn’t have anything to worry about.
“Hmm,” she muttered as she stopped in front of me. “You are an interesting one, Princess Una of the Seven Seas,” she accented the ‘s’ as she named my home and her eyes darkened while she stared unblinkingly at me.
“Better than being boring,” I quipped.
Frost started to speak up but she held up her hand and he bit his lip. Interesting that he followed
instruction from her. I wondered what it was about her that had him reining it in. “Indeed it is, Una.” She circled me again, looking me up and down before stopping once more and speaking, “You do not have many untruths in you do you?” she eyed me curiously.
“No point in lying. Jack here doesn’t get that,” I jerked my thumb at him, knowing I was probably a little sassier than I should have been. But something about this woman no longer made me fear him with her in the room. Instead, I trusted her, felt drawn to her in a way I couldn’t explain. It was probably part of her magic, to make me trust her so I would speak freely, but I had nothing to fear and I knew that.
“Jack Frost does have his secrets, this is true,” she drew out the last word as if musing over something as Frost took a step forward, his face actually turning blue as he tried to repress his anger.
“We are not here to discuss me, veritician. Remember the deal we struck,” he snapped out.
“Indeed, we are not here to discuss Jack Frost,” she tilted her head at me without ever glancing in his direction. “Una of the Seven Seas, will you reveal your truths to me?” she asked melodically as she placed her forefinger on my forehead and traced a line down to the bridge of my nose. Her eyes grew unnaturally wide, the pupils dark and dilated, until there was nothing but black filling her orbs as she stared at me.
The power rolled off of this woman in waves as she began to speak again, “Una, of the Seven Seas, what do you know of the escape plan devised by Evangeline Bylar and her assorted acquaintances?”
I started to tell her, nothing more than what I had already told the headmaster, but a weight filled my lungs making it hard for me to speak. Instead, I settled on doing as I had with him, and told her as little as possible, yet sticking to the truth. “Not much. Only that they planned to escape before the full moon and it was moved up.”
Oceantide Page 4
