by Laura Lond
“Care for a splash?”
“Can I do that?”
“Sure, why not. I’ll hold the rope, you go spend some time in the water.”
He gladly followed my suggestion. The coolness of the sea revived him.
“Guess what? This water is salty!” he reported, eyes bright with excitement.
“That’s because it’s sea water, Reggie,” Cassandra smiled. “It is always salty.”
“Oh.” He was clearly disappointed. “So you knew.”
“We’re just a tad more experienced. You, on the other hand, are becoming quite a bit more experienced than most other Swirgs.”
That brought his grin back. “Hey, that’s true! They won’t believe it when I tell them about all the things I saw.”
“Pull him out! Quick!”
The urgency in Cassandra’s voice made me jerk the rope up, perhaps too fast—Reggie dangled helplessly until he grabbed it with both hands.
“What?” I asked, looking around. “What is it?”
“I saw something move in the water. Something big. Let’s fly higher up.”
We did, though it was hard, with our strength already taxed as it was.
“A shark?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“What’s a shark?” Reggie asked, back in my hood.
“A huge fish with several rows of sharp teeth. Bad news. I heard they can jump out of the water to catch flying prey, so yeah, we better not get too close to the surface.”
“I want to see a shark!”
“No, you don’t.”
We surveyed the sea below. The water was clear, but deep, so we could only see through its nearest layer. Except for an occasional group of small fish, there was nothing.
“Well, I don’t think a shark would retreat from a possible meal, so perhaps it was just a larger fish,” I said. “But we’ll have to keep an eye on the water, just in case.”
We pressed on, our task even more arduous than before since we had to fly higher and stay vigilant. Crossing a desert would probably be easier; at least there one could stop when they were exhausted, unload their burden, rub their sore muscles. And one crossing the desert would not have a sea tantalizing them: so close with its coolness, yet forbidden.
Some time later we figured that one of us could get down and splash some water on their face while the other stayed up high and watched the surroundings. We began taking turns doing that; it seemed to help. It brought some diversion and something to look forward to.
It was Cassandra’s turn when I saw a large shape rise from the deep, not very far from her. Then another one.
“Go up!” I yelled. “There it comes again! Two of them!”
She did her best to retreat from the water as quickly as possible, clenching her teeth with the effort. Together, we watched the two silhouettes continue to swim up, becoming clearer as they neared the surface. We stared in disbelief. These were not sharks, nor any other kind of fish. Fish didn’t have arms.
In a few moments a head emerged from the water—a man’s head, with a few streaks of gray in his dark hair and beard. The strong-featured face could have been described as regal if it wasn’t for the expression of open-mouthed astonishment.
Another head popped up, also a man’s, much younger. He eyed us with a rather smug smile on his face.
The first one just gaped at us. We gaped back.
“I have seen many wonders,” he spoke at last, “but you surpass them all.”
“I believe you,” I answered, considering what a sight we must have been. “And I can say the same about you.”
“Um, berry time,” Reggie said from my back. He chose not to shriek this time.
The water man’s eyes flicked to him. “And the talking wooden toy is real as well.”
He watched our every move, fascinated, as Cassandra and I reached into our pouches, fished out the berries, and shoved them into our mouths.
“Do I get that promotion, my lord?” the younger one asked.
“…Yes, Orman, it’s yours,” his master replied in a distracted manner, not turning to him, eyes fixed on us. “Who or what are you?” he asked.
“Two eccentric humans fond of unconventional traveling,” I replied. “And you?”
“We are the seafolk. Your legends call us mermen and mermaids. I am Lord Leomaris, and this here is Orman, one of my attendants. I thought I’d have to look for a new one today when he told me he saw two men flying over the sea, screaming worse than seagulls and trying to catch fish with a talking wooden toy.”
I gave a distracted smile, my mind scheming. So he was curious and inclined to talk; he was also a lord, which meant wealth and resources. Let’s see whether I can use it to our advantage, before we both collapse under our load. Even hovering like this, without moving ahead, was hard.
“What a pleasure to meet someone of my own station,” I said with a polite nod. “I am Lord Arkus, my manservant is called Archie. And my little friend here you have referred to as a wooden toy is Reginald. I’m sure he has taken no offence, he is a rarity even in the human world; but it would not be polite to call him so again.”
The merman took the bait. “I beg his pardon, and yours. What kind of a being is he?”
“Quite a fascinating one, I’m sure he would keep you entertained for hours with his stories. Ah, this makes me wish I was traveling by ship. I would have invited you onboard to share a glass of wine and indulge in a mutually enlightening conversation. I’ve always loved sea legends. We’d have a marvelous time. However, the way things are, I must apologize and continue my journey. We have to reach the nearest island before dark.”
The sea lord looked like a boy whose candy was about to be taken away.
“I would have offered the hospitality of my castle,” he said, “but from what I understand, humans can’t breathe under water.”
“That is unfortunately correct.”
He spent a moment thinking, then exchanged looks with his attendant.
“You said you are fond of unconventional traveling?”
“Very much so, why?”
“Well, if you don’t mind riding a sea serpent, it would be my pleasure to take you to your destination.”
A sea serpent. Right.
I glanced at Cassandra, already knowing what I was going to see. Yep, her eyes shone with excited anticipation. Reggie was no better, jumping up and down in my hood. Well, I couldn’t blame them. They did not have my history with monsters.
I looked at the merman and shrugged. “As long as our supplies don’t get wet…”
“Don’t worry about that, I’ll tell him not to dive.” Lord Leomaris turned to his servant. “Get Merwyn up here.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“And send for Lady Marielle. She would enjoy spending time in such unusual company.”
Orman hesitated. “Her ladyship might not be up to traveling yet, after yesterday’s flare-up.”
The lord’s face darkened. “True. Well, let her be the judge of that. Send word to her anyway.”
The servant bowed and disappeared under the surface.
The beast must have been waiting nearby, hiding in the deep; we saw an enormous long form come into view almost immediately, swimming up in smooth, circular motions. He was the size of a ship, if not bigger.
The sea serpent surfaced, the pointed dragonlike head next to his master, shrewd gray eyes focused on us, studying, evaluating.
“These are friends, Merwyn,” Lord Leomaris said. “Why don’t you greet them with a smile.”
He did, displaying a stockade of teeth. I noticed a playful glint in his eyes, as if he knew exactly what impression the “smile” produced.
Most of the sea serpent’s body was still under water, he seemed to be waiting for something. I noticed Orman swimming around, working on some kind of a contraption that was secured to the beast’s back. Several minutes later he stuck his head out.
“Everything is ready for surface travel, my lord.”
>
“Good,” his master nodded. “We’ll be up in a moment,” he said to me.
They all submerged, including the beast. When Merwyn surfaced again, Lord Leomaris was sitting in a large coralline armchair under an elegant canopy, with three more empty chairs positioned in a half-circle. He was very impressive now that we could see all of him: broad shouldered and barrel-chested, dressed in a fine dark blue outfit of some unknown shiny material with a ferocious sea creature embroidered on the chest. The color of his clothes nearly blended with that of the massive fish tail gracefully curved in front of him. Something told me staring at the tail would not be appropriate, so I tried not to.
“Welcome aboard,” he smiled, making an inviting gesture. “Isn’t that what your sailors say?”
“It is. I am amazed how much you know about human culture, Lord Leomaris.”
He smiled again, very pleased. “With all the human artifacts that come down our way, it’s hardly a big surprise. Well, and of course we do some spying, too.”
I moved closer and carefully stepped under the canopy, trying not to focus too hard on what I was stepping on. Cassandra did the same. It was such immense relief to be able to relax at last and let go of the sacks; we both nearly collapsed on the chairs. It was not lost on our host.
“You look tired,” he remarked. “Is that because the flying ability comes at such cost or because of the heavy load you carry?”
“Mostly the latter,” I admitted. “This is actually the first time I have tried crossing the sea this way. Having to shoulder all the provisions is a big disadvantage.”
Orman grabbed the sea serpent’s neck, heaved himself up and sat on it, tail dangling in the water.
“Where to?” he asked. “The Crown Island? That would be the nearest one.”
“I don’t know what it’s called, but we’ve got a map. Archie?”
Cassandra pulled it out. I took the map from her and handed it to Lord Leomaris.
“Yes, the Crown Island,” he confirmed after taking a look. His eyebrows drew together as he further examined the map. “I see you are traveling from this little unnamed speck over here?” He pointed his finger at the witches’ island. “Straight south from the Crown?”
My instincts told me he didn’t ask out of plain curiosity, there was something behind it, and I’d better be careful with the answer. There was no use trying to deny it though, the red line drawn by Triar clearly showed where we’d started out.
“Yes, we are,” I said in a casual tone. “A tiny spot, to be sure, but not a bad choice for a picnic.”
He looked me in the eye. “Did you… happen to see anyone there, by any chance?”
Saying ‘no’ would be the safest, but it would also close the subject, and I wanted to know what this was about. Had he encountered the witches? Was he their friend or enemy? The way he’d frowned, it didn’t seem like he held any warm feelings toward them.
“We did, in fact,” I nodded, looking slightly surprised. “Three rather disagreeable old ladies.”
The sea lord’s eyes flashed, his hand grabbed the armrest. He definitely wasn’t their friend.
“Merwyn, turn around!” he ordered. “Orman, send forth our men! I apologize,” he said, turning to me, “I’ll take you to your destination, but I must try to get them first.”
Orman slid off the serpent’s neck; the beast, already moving steadily north, began making a sharp turn.
Ah no, we didn’t need that at all.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Lord Leomaris, but this would be a wasted effort. They are no longer there.”
His shoulders sank.
“I knew it.” He slumped in the chair and rested his forehead on his hand. “It’s no use. Keep going to the Crown, Merwyn.”
The serpent changed direction yet again. Orman’s head popped up, a silent question in his eyes. Seeing his master’s defeated posture, he sighed and swam next to the beast, one hand touching the scaly side.
“May I ask what distresses you so, Lord Leomaris?” I ventured. “Perhaps we could be of help?”
The merman shook his head. “Those three are witches. They’d put a spell on my wife. Lured her close to the island, tempted with human food. We’ve been trying to catch them ever since, but it’s no use. They don’t live there. Once in a while I get word that they were seen on the island again, but by the time we get there, they’re gone. There’s never a ship or a boat; that I could have easily dealt with. But they show up and disappear in some magical way.”
Hmm. Good thing I kept my mouth shut about killing them.
I stole a glance at Cassandra. She must have thought the same thing.
“Well, whatever spell it was, it will no longer work because my friend Arkus has killed them all!” Reggie announced, jumping off my shoulder.
A talking wooden toy indeed.
The merman slowly lifted his head. “What?”
“Yes! All three of them, and they also had three huge scary beasts, so it was six against one! It was such a battle…” the Swirg caught my glare. “What’s wrong? What did I say?”
“Is this true?” Lord Leomaris demanded.
I held his flaming gaze and braced myself, preparing for the worst. All he had to do was to tell Merwyn dive.
“It is. They attacked, I fought back. I am sorry.”
“What are you sorry about?” Reggie cut in again. “You’ve helped him!”
I gave him another meaningful look. “Killing a witch does not necessarily destroy all her spells, Reggie.”
The little Swirg looked crestfallen. “Oh. I didn’t know.”
Lord Leomaris appeared to be thinking, his face hard.
“If they’re dead, at least they can no longer torment her,” he muttered. “As for the rest…”
“Lady Marielle!” Orman announced, surfacing.
The merman’s eyes flicked to me. “Don’t say a word to her. She doesn’t need to know that there’s no one to remove the spell now.”
***
Chapter 8
[Back to Table of Contents]
The serpent slowed to a stop. Four dolphins emerged, pulling a carriage made of sea shells and corals. The front of the carriage was open. I rose to greet the mermaid inside.
Good thing I was holding onto the back of the chair. Otherwise it was quite possible I would have lost my footing as I saw… Rosmarina. That is, Rosmarina in her beautiful form, before Cassandra had forced her to drop the rose. And with a mermaid’s tail.
As I stared, forgetting all propriety, I observed that this Rosmarina was paler, thinner, with slightly sunken cheeks and noticeable shadows under the otherwise stunning emerald eyes. She looked like she was recovering from a long illness, or perhaps just beginning to recover.
Lord Leomaris stood up (an ability I didn’t expect), reached over and helped the lady onto the serpent’s back, easily lifting her from the carriage. She noticed my stare and noticed that I missed the introductions her husband had given. Her expression changed from embarrassed to puzzled to suddenly hopeful.
“You are looking at me as if you’ve recognized me, Lord Arkus,” she said. “Pray tell me, have you seen my likeness walk among humans? Perhaps yesterday? Around noon?”
I nodded, even more amazed. “Indeed I have.”
She shot at excited glance at Lord Leomaris. “He’s seen her!! What incredible luck! Where?” she proceeded, turning back to me. “How did it happen? Please tell me everything about it, you have no idea how important it is!”
The merman’s stare urged me to keep quiet.
“That’s exactly right, my dear, our guest has no idea,” he said, placing a gentle hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Our questions will sound very strange to him. Perhaps we should tell him what happened first.”
“Yes, of course,” she agreed. “I am sorry for my impatience, but when you hear my tale, you will easily understand it.”
We all sat down. Reggie, who had wisely retreated back into my hood, stayed there. Orman
and another merman servant showed up with platters of tropical fruit. Having quickly and expertly cut it into bite size pieces, they passed the platters on to us. With that done, Orman hopped on his spot on the serpent’s neck again and nudged Merwyn to move.
“I was taking a surface ride on a dolphin,” Lady Marielle began, “all by myself, around what we had always considered one of the safest areas. I smelled this sweet aroma coming from a small island. I couldn’t resist. When I made it to the shore, I saw three human old ladies. They told me the aroma was from the pies they’d just baked, and offered me one to try.”
She paused and lowered her eyes.
“Human food can be very alluring to us,” the sea lord explained, “especially baked sweets. We can’t make them, for obvious reasons.”
“I know I should have been alarmed,” the lady continued. “There was no ship or boat, and as far as we knew, the island was uninhabited. But I asked them, and they said they were dropped off, waiting for another ship to pick them up in a few days. They looked harmless and kind. Besides, I think they might have added something to the bit of pie I ate.
“The pie was delicious. I asked whether I could purchase the rest of it. I had a gilded dagger with me, so I offered it as payment. They agreed. Then they asked whether I wanted to buy other pies as well, they had three more, different kinds. I did, but I had nothing else to pay for them.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I probably should have mentioned that all this time they’d been flattering me, praising my beauty, lamenting the fact that theirs was long gone, and even when they did have it, it was nothing compared to mine. Now one of them asked whether I would be willing to ‘share my beauty’ with them for payment.
“It sounded like witchcraft, and if I had all my wits about me, I would have fled right then. But, as I said, I think they’d added something into the food to dull my perception. Still, I was hesitant. They had assured me it was perfectly safe, I would not have to give my beauty away, just let them use it for short periods of time. I foolishly agreed. One of them uttered a spell, making me hold the dagger in my hand. Then she took the dagger from me, spoke another spell, and suddenly turned into my complete likeness. Except that she was still human, with legs instead of a tail. Immediately, I felt ill—weak, shaky, my head started to ache. I was frightened, I wanted to cancel the deal, but they only laughed.”
