Kingdom of Salt and Sirens

by J. A. Armitage

  Nix isn't here. He’s always here by now. It doesn’t usually take him long to come and see me once I get down here. But not today. I don't know what to do so I put my bikini on and put my bag into the hole in the rock. I jump into the sea. It’s freezing. It takes a lot longer for me to warm up than normal.

  Once I warm up, I swim over to the Lost Caves. I haven't been here for a while and I need to think. After a couple of hours, I know he really isn’t coming to see me. My self-doubt kicks in. Maybe he was trying to let me know yesterday that he didn’t want to see me anymore. I knew there was something going on.

  Did I really expect him to hang around with a human when his parents don’t like us? I must have been mental to think it wouldn’t make a difference to him.

  After crying for a few minutes, I realise I'm not that girl. I am not the girl that gives up easily. I fight for what’s mine. He told me I’m his soulmate. He told his parents I’m his soulmate. Your soulmate will do anything to find you and something isn’t right. I swim back to the shore with determination. Climbing back onto the rocks, I take my bag out of the hole. Inside my bag is a small tub of Rubins.

  Before I can change my mind, I take a piece and hold my nose at the same time, because I still don't like the taste, and swallow it. Before I jump into the water, I grab the remaining Rubins and put it into my bikini top. I don't know how long I'm going to be, because I’m not leaving the sea until I find him. I dive in the water and swim over to the island, just in case Darya is there. When I get back, all I can see is Eva. She’s the last person I want to see. I hide behind the rocks, but she might be my only hope to find his home.

  I decide against speaking to Eva and dive under the water. As I swim farther down, I can see the palace ahead and I start swimming in that direction.

  Approaching the palace, I can see guards moving to stand in front of the door, effectively blocking my way. “Halt. Who goes there?” one of the guards says.

  “My name is Sophia. Nix is my soulmate. I need to find him.”

  “I’m sorry Ma’am. We can't allow you to enter.”

  “But I need to find Nix.” I’m getting frustrated and I’m more worried now.

  “Can you ask Darya to come and see me please? I really need to speak to her.”

  “There’s a bit of panic in the palace at the moment. I’ll see if I can find her.” He disappears for a few minutes. When he comes back, Darya is walking behind him.

  “Darya!” I shout.

  She runs into my open arms. “Sophia, are you okay? Is Nix okay?”

  Pulling back from her, I screw my eyes up in confusion. “I was coming to ask you the same thing. I haven't seen him today, but when I spoke to him last night, it sounded like he was saying goodbye.” My voice breaks and tears are pooling in my eyes.

  Darya gasps.

  I continue, “He told your parents he’s my soulmate. Why would he leave me? I can feel our connection is getting weaker. What happened? Where is he? Where’s he gone?”

  “He wasn't here for breakfast,” Darya says. “We thought maybe he had come to see you early, because he does that sometimes. With you being here looking for him, I’m worried he’s done something he promised me he wouldn't do.”

  “What? What do you think he did that he shouldn’t have? Darya, you’re not making sense.”

  “He's gone to find a way for you to live underwater and for him to mix with your kind. A way that doesn’t involve Rubins.” Darya shakes her head.

  “I didn’t know. I thought the Rubins was the only way.”

  Darya takes my hand. “I need to take you somewhere. We need to go and see this guy, then you’ll understand.”

  She grabs my hand and drags me along until we come to a cave.

  “Hurley! Hurley. I need to talk to you,” she shouts inside.

  A big merman comes out. He clearly knows why Darya is here. “Come in, both of you.” We follow him inside and take a seat. Before he starts talking, he holds his hands up. “I know why you're here. Believe me when I tell you that I didn't encourage it. Nix made his own decision. I just gave him the information he needed.” Hurley turns to look at me. “You’re very special to him. He's done this for you. I hope for all your sakes that he makes it back.”

  “Why did you fill him with lies? I’m going to lose my brother.” Darya is angry and pacing the room.

  “What do you mean lose him? What’s he done?” I’m panicking now. This all sounds final.

  “Sit down, Darya.” Hurley looks at me. “I told Nix about Zale.”

  “Zale? Who the hell is Zale and what does that have to do with me?” I grind out.

  “Zale is part of a legend. Apparently, he knows the secret to humans and mermaids living together without Rubins.”

  I relax. “Really? So there is another way?”

  Hurley nods. “Yes, there is, but it’s dangerous and only a legend. I’ve known plenty of my friends set off on the quest and never come back. I don’t think anyone has ever come back.”

  Darya starts to cry behind me. “That can’t be right. Nix wouldn’t have just left like that without talking to me. He knows we need each other to stay alive. How can he do this to us?” I calm down, and the reality of what is happening hits me. “Is that why our connection feels weaker this morning?”

  Hurley looks at me and reaches out to touch my hand. “Yes. You both need each other to survive. Especially him. He needs you more than you need him. He must be hurting being away from you. But this is important to him. To both of you.”

  “I need to get out of here.” I stand and swim back out of his house.

  Darya follows me. “We need to tell my parents. They need to go and find him.”

  “No. They’ll hate me even more if you tell them. Can we give him a couple of days? See if he comes back, and if he doesn’t, then tell them and I’ll leave here forever.”

  “I don’t like that. What if he’s lost and needs our help. We’ll be leaving him an extra couple of days before we can help him.”

  “Please. You know how much I care for him. Please, Darya.” I take her hands and pull her into me for a hug. I feel the moment she gives in as her body is no longer stiff.

  “Okay. Two days, that’s all.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I need to go home and tell Mum and Dad that he’s spending the day with you. You’d better leave and I’ll get him to come and find you as soon as he comes home.”

  “Thanks, Darya.”

  I swim away from her and make my way up to the surface. I can feel the Rubins running out and need to get some air.

  The sun is shining above the water and I’m within touching distance of the surface when I feel something wrap around my tail. Smiling, I turn to look at Nix and scold him for leaving me. But when I turn around, it’s Eva. She’s pulling me back under the water.

  “Ha, now I’ve found you. Do you think you can come under the sea as you please? You came down here without Nix. Are you stupid?”

  “Eva, leave me alone. I’m going home.”

  She starts laughing. “No way are you going home. I’m taking you with me.”

  She pulls on my tail. “This is my only chance to get you without Nix being here to rescue you.” She pulls me farther under the water.

  Panicking, I realise I’m about to run out of air. I reach into my bikini and take some Rubins, chewing it and swallowing it as quickly as I can. Phew, I can breathe again.

  After she pulls me down really far, I notice the sea is a lot denser and darker and she finally stops, pulling my tail so I’m in front of her.

  “I’m going to leave you here to rot. Nix will never find you here. See you in hell, you human bitch.”

  I struggle to get away from her but she pushes me into a little hole and pulls some rocks over the front of the entrance. Everything goes black and I stumble back and bang my head.

  Darkness overtakes me and I slip into unconsciousness.

  15

  Nix POV

  Aft
er sleeping for a couple of hours, I know I need to move onto the next part of my quest. The narwhals.

  It’s really hard to find my way. I don’t know if I’m swimming back up or down. The only thing that I can feel changing is the temperature, so I swim where it’s getting colder.

  After a long time swimming, I can see some lights ahead. I’m either having hallucinations or I’m getting closer to the narwhals.

  A narwhal is a big whale with a huge horn. They are referred to as unicorn whales because they have the same horn as a unicorn. The only difference is that they aren’t nice like unicorns. Also, their horns start at six feet long and can grow up to twelve feet long. The only advantage for me is that they have a light at the end of their horns so I can see them and dodge them.

  “Hello?” I cry out, trying to get their attention. They’re dumb whales, not much intelligence between them, but they are dangerous because of their horns.

  “Hello?” I try again. Suddenly, all the lights stop moving and then face me.

  One of the lights gets really close to me and I can see his face. “Who are you? What are you doing down here?” he asks me, confused.

  “I’m Nix, prince of Oceanus. I’m here to see Zale.”

  “Zale?” The narwhal starts laughing. “No-one goes to see Zale and tells the tale. What makes you think you’ll be able to?”

  “I’m here to discuss something with him that I think he will be interested in and I intend to go home afterwards.”

  “I’d like to see that,” one of the other narwhals says, coming closer to me. “Please stay and talk. We’ve not had visitors for ages.”

  They want to be friends? This isn’t what I expected.

  “I really need to be on my way. I don’t have much time to visit with you.”

  The nice narwhal grins at me. “We won’t let you past until you visit with us for a while. We want to hear all about life outside of The Deep Loop.”

  Knowing that I don’t really have a choice, I tell them about my life and the other species of fish and mermaids back home. My heart is racing and I’m finding it harder to breathe. That’s my connection with Sophia. It’s getting weaker and weaker.

  After a while, I know I need to get on. I can’t stay here forever; I have a quest to finish.

  “I need to go and see Zale. Can I go past you, please?”

  “Why should we let you past?”

  “I know that you like Rubins and I have some for you.” Rubins is like their catnip. It’s like them taking hallucinogenic drugs. They go mad for it, but they can’t grow it down here.

  “Really? Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?”

  “I wanted to talk to you and get to know you better first.” I hope they believe me.

  I hand over some of my stash. I can’t give them all of it. I might need it for Sophia if this doesn’t work.

  They all get excited and I give everyone a small amount. Then they start sword fighting with their horns. It’s hilarious and I would love to stay and watch them, but this is my opportunity to leave.

  Silently, I slip through the water out of their reach and use their lights to guide me further down into The Deep Loop.

  Suddenly, my head hurts. Could it be that it’s the pressure this far down? Or is it something else? Grabbing the sides of my head, I press it hard to try and stop the pain. In that moment, I know that it’s Sophia. She’s hurt.

  For the first time in my quest, I think about turning around and going home. I hate that I’m not there for her, but I’m so close. I can feel the victory. I need to go on. Still holding my head, I pull inside myself and say, Hold tight. I’ll be home soon. I’m not sure she can hear me, but I hope she can.

  I have no idea how long it takes me to reach the bottom of the Deep Loop, but I’m exhausted when I feel a ledge below my tail. Looking around, I can’t see anything. It’s hard to breathe, but I can feel creatures touching my tail. It’s freaking me out.

  “Hello? Is there anyone there?” I shout. I don’t know where Zale is, or if he even really exists.

  I can feel a current around my body. Something is coming towards me and it’s huge. I can see a light coming towards me too. Is it one of the narwhals that noticed I’d left?

  The light gets close, but it’s bobbing around. I see it’s above someone’s head and then it slows down. The light shows me a terrible sight. A huge fish with legs, and a lot of teeth. He looks like a lizard, but he’s meaner. When he gets next to me, he growls and my body vibrates. I stand fast. I don’t want to upset him and show my weakness.

  “Who are you and what do you want down here? This is my territory and I kill anyone that comes into my land. Why should I not kill you now?”

  I have to think fast. “I bet you don’t get many visitors. Maybe we can just talk for a while.”

  “Talk. I don’t want to talk. I stay down here because I don’t like people interfering in my life. That’s why I kill anyone who finds my peace and quiet.”

  “I get that. But I have come all this way to see you.”

  He stops swimming towards me. “You have?” He looks confused.

  “Yes. I wanted to ask you about a legend and was hoping you would tell me about it. I have a gift for you.”

  “What do you have that I could want?”

  “I know you like shiny things. I brought you this knife from the Palace of Oceanus.” I take it out of my pocket and hold it up to his light so he can see it.

  I’d be lying if I said I’m not scared. I’m petrified. I’m worried he’s going to kill me. I’m worried that the legend is just that and I’ve done all of this for nothing. But more than that, I’m worried that if I die, Sophia dies too.

  After looking at the knife, he stands on the bottom and reaches out one of his arms to take it from me.

  “This is beautiful. Did you steal it?”

  “No. I’m the Prince of Oceanus

  “Oh, really? Does anyone know you’re here?” He circles me.

  “No, but I’m sure they’ve worked it out by now. I spoke to one friend who told me the legend and knows that I intended to come and see you.”

  “What makes you so special that you think you can come down here, past Bathysaurus, past the narwhals to see me? Did you kill them all?”

  I laugh. “No, I didn’t kill them. I negotiated with them.”

  He laughs. I didn’t expect that. “So what do you want to negotiate with me?”

  “I want to give you my knife because I know you like shiny things. I want to ask you about a legend.”

  “Which legend?”

  “My soulmate is human.”

  “Ah, I see. You want to know the secret to living with and loving a human. Is a knife all it’s worth to you?”

  “No, it’s worth a lot more. But it’s all I have right now. Well, apart from some Rubins, but I don’t think you have an addiction to it like the narwhals.”

  He laughs again and everything shakes around me. “I like you. What’s your name?”

  “My name is Nix.”

  “Nix, follow me and I will tell you what you’re looking for. Then we can discuss my payment.”

  As I follow him, I stumble, but he catches me. “Be careful. There are a lot of skeletons around here. A lot of your kind have died when they visited me.”

  “So, some have made it this far then?”

  “Some, yes. But their methods are different to yours. They were all confrontational. I like your method best.”

  I follow him for a while before he shows me into a large ship which has been shipwrecked. In the main hall of the ship, he points for me to sit down.

  “I will tell you the legend, the truth, and then I will tell you what I want from you.”

  “Why don’t you start with what you want from me? At least then I know what I’m dealing with.”

  “A sensible man. I want your life!”

  16

  Sophia POV

  God, my head hurts. I don’t know how long I’ve been in here, bu
t my breathing is becoming more difficult. Thank God Eva didn’t know I had Rubins on me. After rubbing my head, I take a small bit of the Rubins, chew it, and swallow it. I laugh to myself because I’m even getting used to the taste.

  I wonder how long I’ve been here. It’s pitch black and the space I’m in is small. There’s not much room for me to move. I’m slightly claustrophobic and it feels like the walls are moving in on me.

  “Help. Help me!” I shout out, hoping someone will hear me and come to my rescue.

  Nothing. I don’t hear anything. Slumping on the ground, I sob. Am I going to die here? Am I never going to see Nix again?

  I can hear something in my head.

  Hold tight. I’ll be home soon.

  What is that? Is that Nix? No, it can’t be. It must be the lack of oxygen sending me mad.

  All I can think about is how I’m going to see Anna again. That makes me smile. I’ve missed her so much.

  A short while later, I hear someone outside the cave. “Hello? Who’s there?”

  “Are you not dead yet, bitch?” Eva. She is a nasty piece of work.

  “No. You can’t kill a good thing.”

  “I killed your sister, didn’t I? She was a goody two shoes just like you.”

  “Wait, what?” I can’t believe she’s telling me she killed Anna. “You killed my sister? She didn’t just drown. You bitch. Wait ‘til I get out of here. I’m going to destroy you.”

  I just want to lash out and hurt her. I want to cause her pain so she suffers like we have. I want her arrested. I wonder if that’s a thing down here.

  “You’re never getting out of there, Sophia. You can go and join your sister. We don’t need your kind down here, interfering with friendships and breaking couples up. You humans are designed to stay on land and we are designed to stay underwater. That’s how it should stay.”

  “Would you get a grip of yourself, Eva? I didn’t break up your relationship with Nix. It was already over when he realised what a nasty piece of work you are.”

  “Well, Anna was taking Darya away from me. She shouldn’t have done that. I made sure she didn’t come between us again. She squealed like a baby and I watched her being jostled against the rocks. It made me smile to think she was battered when she was eventually found. I made sure she didn’t land in Kizzi Cove so it was a couple of days before they found her.”