"Mermaids are the most dangerous of species; they are the only creatures in the world that can truly kill elves. They generally habitat the sea although they can go on land if they want."
"Excellent, Alyssa." Kelsie snorted. "But also, mermaids cannot survive on land for long – the maximum a mermaid can live on land is twelve hours. If they stay out longer, they body automatically shuts down – it's kind of like being turned into stone for elves." Alyssa jotted down the notes in her book, Mr. Wright let her finish before he started again. He flicked through a thickly bound book that had fading yellow pages and miniscule writing all over it. "Mermaids can use magic just like us, but to a more powerful extent. An elf against one mermaid would lose considerably since mermaids have a bigger energy field. There have been no records of anybody killing a mermaid and if one day the time comes, they group together and wage war on us...well that would be the end of the entire elfish nation."
"This is stupid," Kelsie stated.
"We're leaving our opinions to the end, Kelsie," Mr. Wright reminded her sternly.
Alyssa put her hand up. "Sir, how can mermaids wage war on us if you say that only elves and humans had a soul?"
"Excellent question, my dear. It is just like any other creature. Take a pack of wolves for example, when the alpha wolf howls, they all answer it and fight alongside it. It's just like mermaids. Whenever a ruling mermaid calls war upon earth, all the mermaids will answer the call," Mr. Wright explained.
"Who is the ruling mermaid?" Alyssa asked curiously.
Mr. Wright's expression darkened. "I have no records to say who she is." Alyssa nodded. But she detected a lie in his voice and there was a distance look in his eyes. Kelsie leaned forward intriguingly; she apparently had heard the lie as well. Unless Kelsie was just suspicious of everything. "Anyway, where was I ...ah yes, so power is usually formed..." Mr. Wright kept talking about the confusing complex powers of mermaids and how they used it...blah, blah, blah. But for once, Alyssa wasn't interested. All she wanted to know, was how Ben had managed to kill a mermaid...when he was ten. According to Mr. Wright it wasn't possible. She had a feeling there was a lot stranger goings on than she realized.
Chapter Eleven
"Katie!" Azura hugged her long-lost friend with elation.
"Azura! How are you?" Katie grinned widely, she looked like an almost exact copy of her mother.
"I'm great! I've now got a fiancé – he's totally hot by the way – and he's all the way from Alltalos!" Azura laughed.
"Tell me all about it – come into the back room, my mother's just arranging some pansies in there." Azura followed Katie through her small but sweet little flower shop and into a cozy living room. A fire flickered in the hearth that smelt strangely of lavender. She sat down at a small coffee table and stared happily around the room.
"Would you like some tea?" Katie offered, getting up to a work surface where random bunches of flowers were lying.
"Yes, please, that would be lovely." Katie's mother turned around from tying her flowers together.
"Azura, it's been a while since I last saw you." Azura smiled and gave the woman a hug. Diana looked like she was in her twenties, but Azura knew better. She smelt of fresh bread and cereal, it suited her perfectly.
"Yes! I can't believe it's been just over ten years since I last saw you," Azura sat back down at the table. Katie arrived back with two warm cups of tea.
"It feels like forever," Katie said, Azura smiled at her new attitude. This was no longer the shy nervous girl she used to know; she could tell that Katie was opening up more to people.
"So, tell me about this boy? When's the wedding?"
Katie's mother looked surprised. "You're getting married, my, you've grown up so quickly."
"Yes, the wedding is going to be in about one month – I've hardly got any time to prepare," Azura's eyebrows creased when she thought about all the planning she had to do.
"I can help you; I'd be delighted too. My mother will put the price of flowers down for you," Katie nudged her mother.
"What? Oh, yes of course. Please feel free to take as much cereal you can eat as well – hardly anybody eat it these days. They all go for the chocolate shops, how despicable. I don't even know why; I mean chocolate is so unhea -"
"Yes, I think she understands, mother," Katie interrupted. She took a small sip of her tea. "So where is it going to be? Who are you inviting?"
"It's going to be down at the grove, it'll look so beautiful! All those willow trees and luscious green grass – it's perfect. I'm inviting all my friends: Alyssa, Kelsie, Travis, Connor, Piper etcetera. I was hoping that you could be one of my bridesmaids?"
"Of course! I've never been a bridesmaid before," Katie said smiling.
"It will be so lovely to see everyone again, all together – just like we use to when we were younger." Azura sighed dreamily. "Yeah, it will be fantastic – that reminds me, I need to go and buy the dresses, Eeek! So much to do!"
"Oh, let me help – I've got some time off work right now. I'd love to help."
"Thanks so much, I really couldn't have planned this wedding without you or Alyssa," Azura wrapped her hands around her mug, soaking in the warmth. "How's your work then right now? I heard that you're now working in the palace kitchens – is it nice?"
Katie pondered. "It's ok, a little bit dull I suppose. But great news! I've been promoted a job as a maid servant for the king of Alltalos – that means I get to go back to Alltalos with you!"
"What? Really, that's great! I can show you all around it, Alltalos is so beautiful. You will not believe your eyes, it's amazing!" Azura said, exhilarated that one of her best friends was going back to Alltalos with her.
"Wow, I can't wait," Katie said with pleasure. "Come on, let's go and get your dresses." Azura quickly gulped down her tea and put left in on the table. She waved goodbye to Diana, who promptly waved back with a bunch of sunflowers in her hands. Katie led her down back into the front of the shop. Row after row of flowers decorated the room, filling it with a sweet scent of plants. A 50% off sign was standing next to a large jar, full to the brim with cereal.
Katie noticed her looking at it. "Yeah, my mother is still completely obsessed with cereal."
"I can tell," Azura replied, noticing the ten other massive jars of cereal around the small neat shop. A small bell rang as Katie opened the door and stepped out into the busy street, full of bustling people with their shopping. Children ran across the road, playing hide and seek with their friends. It reminded Azura of good times when she was younger. She could hear a busker playing a lively jig on a violin somewhere down the street, it blended perfectly with the noise and chatter in the air.
A boy was pushing his way towards them, Azura recognized him. "Azura, you're back," he stepped forward and gave her a hug, Azura hugged him back though she felt a movement in her pocket.
"Give it back, Connor," she said playfully, holding out her hand. Connor smirked and held up her wallet, at first, she thought he was going to keep it, until he placed it back in her hand. She closed her fingers over it and carefully put it back in her coat pocket. "Where's Travis, by the way? I thought you two were inseparable." Connor looked mischievously at Katie, who blushed a deep shade of red.
"We had a... fall out – nothing to worry about."
"It certainly didn't sound like a fall out – more like a full-on battle. You and Travis were fighting like a pair of idiots," Katie scolded, although her face was still pink.
"That's a good thing though. Who doesn't want to be an idiot, huh? If no one is idiotic, then they haven't lived," Connor shot back and winked slyly at Katie.
"What's going on?" Azura asked curiously. She could sense a love triangle forming in front of her eyes. Katie opened her mouth to speak but Connor beat her too it.
"Travis was getting a little territorial about a certain girl here...ha you should've seen his face – priceless! So basically, this little girl here can't seem to make up her mind between the two of us and
sometime soon Travis is going to start losing interest -"
"Wait, what!" Katie looked panicked. Azura muffled a laugh at her expression.
"Travis is one of those boys who fall in love easily, when he realizes that you're not going to take the message – well he's going to move on before he can fall in love anymore."
Katie looked devastated. "But I'm moving to Alltalos – I've got a job there; it's not going to work."
Connor shrugged unhelpfully. "Not my problem, sweet cheeks."
"Thanks," Katie said sarcastically.
"Hold on a moment, Connor, do you and Travis both love Katie then?" Azura put in.
Connor laughed. "Travis does, but I don't – no offense – but you're not my type of person," he told Katie. She nodded, though she didn't seem that bothered about it.
"I think you should go now, Azura and I have to go somewhere," Katie said, pulling Azura along with her.
"Bye! I'll tell Travis that you're moving to Alltalos then," Connor called.
Katie turned around. "Don't you dare," she yelled over the noise of the market street.
"Whatever!"
"Ahh, he's so annoying," Katie complained as they made their way into the perfume scented dress makers shop
"How did you even end up with him in the first place?" Luke sniffed and thought whilst he wiped, his sleeve under his nose.
Kelsie tried hard not to cringe. "I was a regular elf, just like you are now, and I was trying to go off on an adventure. I used to be such an adventure seeker – I wanted to achieve things that hadn't been done before, so I strayed into Maladroit Forest. Apparently, there was some scary monster hidden in there that everyone feared. Of course, I went out to find it...alone. All I had with me was my sword and shield – I thought I saw something move in-between some trees, I couldn't tell for sure since the ground was all high and low with millions of rocks everywhere. "I heard footsteps behind me, I summoned up my magic and spun around to face my opponent. I thought it was a monster, but it turned out to be a gang of children – they all had a strange orange aura around them..." Luke sniffed again. Kelsie handed him a tissue, which he blew his nose like a trumpet on it. "So, ok...back to the story. I killed them all but one of them had left me a nasty wound on my back –the scar is still there now; do you want to see it?"
"Uh, no thanks – it's ok," Kelsie said hastily.
"Ok. Well after that I fell unconscious and when I woke up, I found myself in an underground lair. This mad man called Leo started experimenting on me – for about five days until he turned me into...this," Luke gestured to his body.
"How did you find out that he had a broken heart?" Kelsie pressed on, trying to get more information.
"I heard him muttering to himself about random things – he often mentioned names, but he kept telling himself he couldn't remember. After that I put all of it together and then realized what he had been suffering from." Luke's wide red eyes stared sincerely into hers. Kelsie wondered what he looked like before he was a goblin.
"So how are we going to change you back to an elf and heal Leo's mind?" Luke hesitated.
"I don't know, we need magic – definitely. But it must be strong, very, very strong. Leo himself doesn't know how to turn me back, so even if we do cure him – I'll still be a goblin."
"Who do you think could cure you? The king?" Kelsie fiddled with the carpet by her foot. She was sitting cross legged next to her bedroom fire, with Luke sitting opposite her. "Your tutor you sometimes talk about, he sounds like he might be useful. He does do a lot of research on mythical creatures, doesn't he?"
"Too much," Kelsie muttered, remembering her lesson this morning about mermaids. It was a complete waste of time; she didn't even understand why she had to learn about mermaids – although Alyssa seemed quite interested in them.
"I think you should follow him, see what he does in his spare time – it might be useful information," Luke suggested, blowing his nose again into the already used tissue.
"But I have been trying though and it's not working! He keeps disappearing before I get the chance to follow him," Kelsie retorted.
"Then go to his actual chambers and follow him from there – see if he makes potions in there, or if he keeps anything suspicious in his bedroom...I don't know, but just try it."
"Fine, I will. But for my benefit, not just yours – I need to know if he's getting up to something behind our backs," Kelsie said. Luke nodded; his small grubby face solemn. –
The water swirled around her; shoals of fish shot past trying to stay clear of her. She felt a lust for blood, she hadn't eaten in a few days and many elves steered clear of the ocean. She swam closer towards the wooden harbor in front of her. She could see the jetty legs buried in the sand from underwater, algae was growing up the sides. Her senses went crazy when she smelt fresh blood pumping steadily through a fisherman's veins. He was sitting at the end of the jetty, with a fishing pole in his hands. In a shower of water droplets, she poked her head through the water. The air rushed to meet her and filled her lungs with a different type of oxygen. The fisherman suddenly looked out at the sea, he gazed at her, hypnotized by her beauty. She was the most exquisite creature he had ever seen in his life. A soft melody escaped her lips as she started singing, slowly weaving magic into her words as she sang in the language of the Mer. The fisherman dropped his mouth open in awe, his fishing rod fell into the water as his hands loosened its grip.
His blue eyes glazed over and he jumped into the water and unconsciously started wading towards the mermaid. A smile tugged at her lips; this was how it was meant to be. She was the predator and she was going to show her prey that there was no one better. His heart beat steadily, it was closer now. She reached out and gripped the man's arm, he didn't even react. On his face was a dreamy smile, he kept smiling as she pulled him under the surface of the water.
Chapter Twelve
A figure stepped out into the dark courtyard, he avoided the center where the moonlight streamed in through the buildings and turrets. He kept close to the line of pillars that stood on the left-hand side of the square quad. He crept along the side of the battlement, just out of view from the night guards that stood at the entrance with their flaming torches. He was careful to tread lightly on the stone cobbled ground, since the walls tended to echo at even the smallest sound. A curtain moved in a window of a tower, he pressed himself closer into the wall. He waited five seconds before moving again, sneaking around half the perimeter of the yard. A black cat scampered out of a doorway and ran off into the darkness.
The sentry guards noticed it as it went past, he took the opportunity to attack. As quick as a flash, he unsheathed his sword and stabbed the first guard in the back before he had the chance to cry out. The guard tumbled silently to the ground at the feet of his companion, who looked up at him with a mixture of terror and rage. The guard placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, but he was too slow. The stranger's sword stabbed smoothly into his belly and he too joined his friend on the courtyard entrance. Blood soaked into their tunics and leaked out onto the floor, their faces were deathly pale, and their breathing was becoming less frequent. The dark robed figure stepped over the bodies and stole a horse from the stables, then he left as silently as he had come, vanishing into the night
"Stand back! Stand back everyone!" The king pushed his way to the front of the horrified crowd. He gazed down at the two unmoving bodies, with no emotion.
"My lord, my lord! What are we meant to do? We are no longer safe in our own kingdom," an elf said, her eyes full of fright and alarm.
"How can this be possible, my lord?" another villager trembled. Series of complaints starting erupting from the gathered crowd of elves. Alyssa looked at her father's reaction.
"This case will be investigated, but until then there is nothing, we can do about it. Go back to your homes and remember to keep your doors locked and your windows shut. Whatever this was, it's going to strike again," her father said sternly to the petrified audience. Cries and o
utburst started filling the air, some women and children were crying openly. This was the first time they had ever seen a dead body before. And it scared them immensely.
"Enough," The king ordered. "I want everyone to get out of the courtyard and let us deal with this matter." The crowd went silent and started dispersing out the entrance, giving their last respects to the deceased night sentries. King Frederic waved his group of knights over. "Take these bodies to the physician, tell him to find the cause of their deaths."
"Yes, my lord," they picked up the burly sentries with ease. The dead bodies lay limp in the knight's arms. Alyssa looked away at the gruesome sight, she was sure that she was going to have nightmares tonight. She saw a black cat watching her from the side of the courtyard with wide green eyes. It was partially hiding behind a pillar but still visible. Looking back at the crime scene, she saw thick viscous blood still on the cobble stones, a few grisly bits of flesh lay floating in the red liquid. A sudden lurch in her gut made her step forwards.
She could taste her breakfast trying to make a reappearance. She felt it come up again, doubling over she coughed her vile puke on...her bodyguard's boots. Alyssa wiped her mouth and looked up apologetically. Ares looked like he was trying to choke something down his throat. A hand on her shoulder suddenly made her jump. She spun around on the spot and found herself looking into swirling green eyes...
"Hey, are you ok?"
"No, what does it look like?" Alyssa eyed the pile of yellow sick on the stone ground.
"Ok, ok, no need to be so irritated," Ben stepped backwards slightly, giving her breathing room. She stared at his face again, drinking in his perfect features... "Hello? Can you stop doing that? It's a little bit unnerving," Ben clicked his fingers in front of her face.
Alyssa snapped out of her trance. "Don't do that, and you can't tell me what to do."
"Fine, I was only being nice," Ben turned to leave.
"Wait, don't go," Alyssa gripped his wrist, out of nowhere a spark jolted up her spine.
Dark Oceans (Ocean Series Book 1) Page 7
