Kingdom of Salt and Sirens

by J. A. Armitage

  "Come on girl." I patted my leg the moment I'd jumped to my feet. Shelbie followed, leaping off the bed with grace I definitely envied. "We're going to have to be quiet, though," I warned her.

  Her huge eyes met mine, and I could have sworn she nodded. I gave her a weak smile. This wasn't very well thought out and was foolhardy at best, but it was something I had to do.

  I pulled the door open, hoping it wasn't going to squeak or otherwise make too much noise. It would be almost impossible to explain what I was doing if I was caught.

  The hallway was dark. Probably because Erickson hadn't considered that I might want to run away in the middle of the night. That suited me just fine. If he didn't expect me to go anywhere, then I could be there and back before he knew about it. At least I hoped that would do something to assuage the guilt inside me for disappearing.

  Shelbie walked silently behind me, the seriousness of the situation not lost on her. It would be comical if I wasn't so fixated on getting out of here without waking anyone up. Erickson hadn't introduced me to anyone else that lived here, but it wasn't completely unrealistic to think there were other people about. People that might be able to tell I was mer and do something that would make me regret ever trying to find things out by myself.

  A sigh of relief escaped my lips as the front door appeared in front of me. I slipped through, closing it with a quiet click behind Shelbie. At least I was good at directions and could slip through the streets easily to retrace the steps we'd taken earlier. The last thing I wanted was to get lost in a strange city with no idea where safety could be. If there was one thing I'd learned from having my soul stolen, it was that nowhere around humans was safe for mer. I didn't know what they might do to me now I didn't have a soul, but it wasn't like I wanted to find out. I imagined it was incredibly painful and not at all dignified.

  A rowdy group of people spilt into the street from one of the many doorways and I pressed myself against the wall, hoping they hadn't seen me and want to ask any questions. Shelbie followed, a soft whimper escaping from her. My heart skipped a beat. Was she unhappy? I hadn't meant to put her in this situation.

  I crouched down and scratched the spot she seemed to like behind her ears. "You don't have to stay," I told her. "You can go back to the sea if you want to." It would break my heart if she left me, but there was no way I was keeping her here against her will.

  She pulled back, my heart skipping a beat as it readied to snap in two. To my surprise, Shelbie didn't run away. Instead, she licked my hand and pushed even closer to me. Instead of breaking, my heart swelled in size. She was happy to stay with me. To go into danger to help save me. At least, that's what I was hoping all of this meant. Without her being able to talk, it was impossible to tell how much of the situation she could actually understand. Maybe I’d be able to tell more when I had more experience reading auras, but even that would be limited. Though it was certainly better than what I’d been able to do before.

  With the people gone, it finally felt safe to go back out on the street. As far as I could tell, I was nearly back at the spot where the warehouse was, and the nerves swimming in my stomach convinced me of the same. There was something close that I needed to be aware of. Shelbie was surprisingly silent. As if she knew it was vital for us to be sneaky and not just burst in.

  The warehouse was just as grey and imposing as it had been before. If not more so. I didn't know exactly what it was that made me feel that way about it. Maybe it was just that I was associating it with the souls potentially trapped inside. Or perhaps it was just the size of the structure. It was several times bigger than the largest building I'd seen before coming on land.

  "Alright then, where do we go now?" I mused aloud.

  A wind whistled past my head. Hopefully, that was Aaron with some idea of how to actually help me get in rather than just the same vague warnings as before. Just in case it wasn't, I continued to look into where I could get into the warehouse. There didn't seem to be any obvious entry points though, which was concerning, to say the least. If I had to go in the front door, then there were a lot more chances for me to get stopped or recognised for what I was.

  "There's a fire exit around the corner," Aaron said.

  I jumped, not having expected his voice even if I'd hoped he was there.

  "Thanks," I mumbled, hoping he hadn't noticed the way I'd responded to him. I didn't want him to think I was scared of him or anything.

  "Want help opening it?"

  "Please." Especially as I had no idea where to start. "I was just coming for a look around," I reasoned. I didn't want him to think I was doing anything too weird.

  "With or without the human?"

  "Without," I answered softly, hoping he didn't think too much of it.

  Aaron just nodded but said nothing. I was glad of that. I didn't want him to rub it in that he'd warned me to be wary of Erickson. As of right now, I had no idea if there was any reason to be. For all I knew, the insides of the warehouse could merely prove that he was just as innocent as the rest of us in this. After all, he was as soulless as the two of us.

  He led me around the side of the building where there was, in fact, a fire exit. At least he wasn't lying to me about that. My heart sank. I hated what coming on land was doing to me. Before, I'd been so trusting of everyone. So kind-hearted. Now...I didn't even know how to describe myself now. But it wasn't a nice feeling.

  "Are you sure about this?" I didn't mean to doubt him. This was more about my own nerves getting the better of me. For some reason, it no longer felt like this was a good idea. It could just be the general sense of foreboding that was coming over me. I didn't want to be that person. The one that demanded something from everyone but never followed through, but right now, that felt like the safest option.

  "There's no other way to know for sure," he responded.

  "Have you been inside?"

  He shook his head. "I could have, but it didn't feel right to."

  I gave him a weak smile. I understood that. As much as he clearly wanted to help me, this was my thing to deal with, not his. If he knew what was inside, that would change things. And from what I'd seen of Aaron, it might mean that he tried to convince me not to go inside at all.

  "I'm going to dissolve into air and slip through the cracks to open it from the other side," he told me.

  "Okay." My voice came out far smaller than I intended it to. Not that there was anything I could do about that. The need to find out what was beyond the door was too strong to ignore.

  The moment it creaked open, I had a decision to make. One that could decide my eternal fate.

  13

  Huge shelves cast shadows across the warehouse floor, giving the whole place and eeriness I hadn't been prepared for.

  "Where is everyone?" I whispered, being careful not to break the peace too much. Shelbie and Aaron were doing the same, both barely making a sound as the three of us walked further into the building, looking around us with each step we took.

  "They must not work nights," he answered.

  "Is that normal?" My knowledge of this part of human life was woefully slim, and it was starting to show.

  He shrugged. "I don't know. I spend most of my time by the sea and not watching the people here."

  "Pity."

  "In my defence, I didn't know they needed to be watched."

  "And would you have? If you'd known about this?" I asked.

  His lack of answer told me all I needed to know. Though he probably had no idea I’d worked that out. "No. I don't think I would have. My place is by the sea. Nothing can change that."

  "The sea?" What did he mean by that? I knew the sea was where I belonged, but I was mer. It was my home. Where I'd been born. The place I'd explored throughout my childhood. Yet Aaron seemed to be made of the air. His place also being by the sea didn't make that much sense to me.

  He was saved from answering by an odd clattering noise from the left. I spun on my heels, confused and intrigued about what might h
ave caused it. I glanced back at Aaron, noting the confused look on his face revealing that I wasn't the only one who wasn't so sure.

  With nothing to lose, I changed direction, creeping through the warehouse and towards the source of the noise. I just hoped it wasn't anything dangerous. Or that we'd get caught investigating.

  Aaron didn't move to stop me. Instead, he shuffled along behind, keeping pace with Shelbie who was being abnormally quiet. Maybe it was just because she didn't make as much noise as a seal compared to the dog form she was in now. More likely, it was that she understood the situation and was supporting me through it. At least, that was the way that made the most sense to me. She was far too smart for me. I should be letting her lead this odd expedition.

  The doorway in front of us was lit up with a soft glow from the inside. But more importantly, for me at least, was the call from within. Something in that room wanted me to find it. Wanted me to free it. To touch it. To...

  "Mari?" Aaron's worried voice cut through my haze, and I twisted around to see what the matter was. "Are you okay?"

  "More than okay," I responded dreamily. "This is where I need to be."

  Not waiting for him to say anything to stop me, I stepped into the room, bathing in the glow that was stronger here. There was something about the light which filled me with longing. I needed to find out what was making it, no matter what Aaron thought or said.

  A song filled my heart. A call from the sea and to it. From hundreds of people and from one. I couldn't work out what I needed to listen to first. The importance of everything was lost.

  Shelbie yipped, breaking my focus and pulling my attention to where she was stood in front of me, her tail between her legs and her head cocked to the side as if to ask what was wrong with me.

  I shuddered. She was right. What had I been thinking?

  "I sense it too," Aaron assured me.

  "What is it?" I whispered.

  "A siren call." He looked into the distance wistfully, though I wasn't too sure what had gotten his attention.

  "Sirens aren't real," I pointed out.

  "They are. They're just a certain kind of mer. Every mer has the potential to become one. It just depends on the circumstances."

  "How could you know that?" It didn't seem like the kind of information he should have. Especially when he wasn't one of the mer he claimed to know about.

  "I've witnessed a lot," he answered vaguely. "It just means that I've learned a lot too."

  "Hmm."

  "I think it might be the souls though. One or more of them must have the potential to become sirens."

  "How would they do that if they were nothing more than souls?" I shouldn't have come on this mission without more information, and I cursed myself for my foolishness now. If it wasn't for the kindness of Erickson and Aaron, I'd never even have made it this far.

  "I don't know. I've never seen a soul outside of a body before."

  I knew he was telling the truth. I had no idea how, but I did. "So, what do we do?"

  "I guess we answer the call." He shrugged, as if it was as simple as that and we weren't risking our very lives being here. Well, my life. I doubted he was in much danger given he could just disappear into thin air with nothing more than a thought.

  "I still don't know how to do that," I pointed out.

  "Me neither. But that's the beauty of it. We'll find out in just a moment."

  I sighed, but stepped forward anyway. Not knowing what was going on all the time was fast becoming frustrating, but I knew Aaron would tell me if he knew anything else about all of this. If only because it would make his life easier.

  Listening to what he'd said, I opened up to the part of me that wanted to respond to the siren call. If what he said was true, then the mer souls should call to me and tell me where they were.

  I stumbled forward, heeding their call and searching for what I knew to be true. They needed me. The voices called to me. Singing my name and demanding I come to them.

  The further into the room I got, the more the glow intensified. That, coupled with the louder singing, told me all I needed to know. This was the right place. A ball hovered in front of me, just bigger than my head. The glow was coming from it, so white that it was almost blue. I reached out to touch it, before thinking better of that. I needed to be more sensible about this. I didn't know what the souls were encased with, for all I knew, it could be dangerous.

  "They're beautiful," I whispered.

  "They really are," Aaron responded.

  "But in pain." Their once alluring song turned to shrieks in my ears. They demanded to be freed. They wanted better than this, and I would be the first one to admit they were right. It was hard to forget that my soul was among them.

  Deciding it was worth the risk, I reached forward to touch them once more. This time, my fingers grazed against glass and I sighed with relief. Glass I could deal with. It would just be a case of working out how to separate it from whatever held the ball suspended, and then smashing it.

  I reached out with my other hand. There was no time like right now for getting this over with.

  "Are you sure that's the best idea?" Aaron asked, though I could tell he wasn't trying to stop me. He just wanted to be sure I was going about it the right way.

  Part of me wanted to ask why he cared. It wasn't that he'd taken a liking to me, though I hoped that was also true. Something about this was far more personal to him. Perhaps the humans had stolen souls from his people too.

  The moment both of my hands were on the glass, it started to vibrate as the souls bounced from one side to the other, anxious to be free of their prison. I didn't blame them.

  Voices sounded in the distance and my eyes widened. Did I have time to take the ball and break the glass before the people arrived, or had my hesitation cost me my chance?

  "We need to go," Aaron insisted.

  "But..."

  "No buts. We need to go now or they'll catch us." His panic was infectious and I pulled my hands away from the ball.

  "I'm sorry," I whispered to the souls. "I'll be back. I promise." I knew I meant it. There was no other choice as far as I was concerned. They deserved to be free. And not just because I wanted my own soul out of there either. No one should be in that situation. Not even the worst people in the world should be trapped like that.

  My heart ripped in two as I turned away, even though I knew I had no choice. It felt like a betrayal to leave them behind.

  "We'll be back," Aaron assured me.

  "I hope so," I responded.

  I didn't look back as I left the room. I couldn't stand the idea of it.

  14

  "What's wrong?" Erickson asked, pulling my attention away from the food in front of me.

  "Nothing..."

  "I can tell you're lying to me," he replied. "You're not very good at hiding it."

  I sighed. That was true. I'd never been a good liar, and was grateful for that most of the time. "I went to the warehouse last night," I admitted softly.

  "You did what?" His mouth fell open, a clear indication that what I'd done was wrong. "You know how dangerous that is, right?"

  "Yes. I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have..."

  "You're right," he snapped. "You shouldn't have. I said it was too dangerous for a reason."

  "I know." I looked down at my plate, ashamed of my recklessness. A soft whimper came from Shelbie at my feet. She knew we were in trouble too. Not that it was her fault. All she'd done was follow me.

  "I'm sorry." The bite was gone from his voice. "I didn't mean to snap. It just scared me that you put yourself in so much danger."

  "I found them though," I admitted, an edge of excitement in my voice. My recklessness might have been stupid, but at least it had led to actual information.

  "The souls?"

  I nodded eagerly. "They're keeping them there, in a glass ball. I almost managed to free them too."

  Something odd flitted across his face, but was gone before I could work out what
it was. "What stopped you?"

  "There were people coming." I stayed quiet about Aaron's involvement, still unsure why I was doing that, but feeling as if it was right to keep it quiet.

  "That's annoying."

  "I know. But at least now we know where they are. Plus, we can look for your soul while we're there again. Just in case they're keeping them in a different place," I said. I wasn't sure how I knew that it was only mer souls I'd found, but I did.

  "That's true. Did you see anything else that might help?"

  "There's a fire exit." Guilt filled me. Was telling him that betraying Aaron? I didn't think so. Not when Erickson was also helping me to get the souls and free them from their cage.

  Erickson nodded. "That's good. Do you think we can get in there tonight?" he asked.

  I frowned and cocked my head to the side. "Why not now?" The sooner we went, the sooner we could free everyone.

  "I have to go to work. I'm sorry."

  "Oh." It hadn't crossed my mind that he might have to go to work. While we did all have responsibilities in the underwater city, no one really had jobs that they got paid for. The economy worked very differently on land, that was for sure.

  "I'll be back before you know it. Will you be okay?"

  "Of course," I responded. Maybe I should have waited until today to sneak into the warehouse rather than going last night. Though it might have been more reckless. There would be more people around now. Workers who hadn't been there last night.

  "There's a library down the corridor, if that interests you."

  I nodded.

  "Wait, you can read, can't you?"

  A small laugh escaped me. "Yes, I can read." We even had books underwater, though they were very different from the ones I'd seen so far in shops here. They wouldn't survive a moment in the water.

  "Oh good. I was worried for a second..."

  "Don't worry about me. I'll find something to occupy myself with. Is there anything I can look up or practice for tonight?" The last thing I wanted was to come so close to the souls again and not be able to do anything about it, I would be devastated. I'd come here for a reason, and there wasn't a thing in the world that would stop me from doing just that.