The Sea Witch (The Era of Villains Book 1)

by Valfroy, S. J.

  Casius looked back at her, saw the array of emotion—tearful and joyous—cross her face, and felt a fierce desire to protect her. She had been so mistreated and neglected by her mother, so suppressed and shunned by her society that she could not see her own vast potential. She had the ambition; it showed in her dreams. She imagined that if she was ever queen, married to her sweetheart Triton of course, she would be more of a helper than a ruler. Yes, she had the noble ambitions, but she didn’t think she was capable of achieving them. And she had been taught to despise the most unique part of herself (through her mother’s dark actions and her fellow merfolk’s disdain), the part that could potentially help her achieve her grand dreams. No more. Not if he could help it. Anyone with a derogatory word about her would answer to him, and he would help her see that her power should be harnessed, not repressed.

  They kept their eyes locked for a moment, both thinking their own thoughts about the other, before Casius looked ahead and suddenly slowed his swimming. His tentacles splayed around him instead of streaming behind, and he pointed with one.

  “There it is,” he said.

  Serena looked around and realized she could see the ocean floor again, though it was a good distance below her. The floor sloped at a steady incline in front of them, and at the top of it, a few miles in the distance, was a city. Even from this distance, she could tell it looked nothing like Adamar. Adamar was full of rich color; the far off city looked grey and bleak.

  Serena looked up towards the surface. It had been late morning when she fled the palace. Now, above the waves, the sun would be almost level with the horizon. Once it started setting, darkness would fall quickly, and she did not want to be caught in open ocean at night. Endless blue had unsettled her; endless black would terrify her. Arcanus was still a good distance away.

  “Let’s get a move on then” she said.

  They swam fast, no longer speaking. Serena pulled up short when they got close enough for her to see why the city looked so bleak. It was made of bones, mostly whale bones judging by the size, and blueish-black volcanic rock. The whole city was built inside the top of an inactive underwater volcano, jutting up from the sediment and sand of the ocean floor. The entrance into the city was a whale’s ribcage that formed a strange sort of tunnel. The lip of the volcano had been carved away on either side of the whale carcass so that it led right into the volcano itself.

  “We have to work with what we can get here in Arcanus, without the magic of the Trident…or a sea witch,” said Casius. “Don’t be alarmed. The bones were all obtained naturally.”

  Serena gave the whale skeleton another uneasy look, but the water was getting darker by the second. She swam into the strange bone tunnel and stopped again, this time with a gasp of delight. Blue, phosphorescent light sprung up around her when she moved. She looked at Casius, her mouth agape. The light faded. She laughed and traced her name with her hand in the water, and it appeared in blue light for few moments.

  “I thought you said there was no magic here,” she said, twirling with her arms spread wide, creating a bright, blue whirlpool in the steadily darkening water.

  “It’s not magic,” said Casius. “It’s called Sea Sparkle. It’s a kind of plankton. We harvest it at the surface and bring it down here for a little extra light at night.”

  “It’s wonderful!”

  Serena swam through the whale ribcage on her back, watching the trail of phosphorescence left by her movement through the water. Casius followed. Serena nearly bumped into the barracuda guarding the entrance at the end of the tunnel. He eyed her suspiciously when she apologized.

  “She’s with me,” said Casius.

  “Alright then,” said the barracuda and swam aside.

  The mouth of the volcano had mostly been filled up and shut by hardening lava that had erupted a long, long time ago, but there was still about thirty feet between the hard lava floor and the lip of the volcano. The small city was nestled inside the circular opening, about ten miles in diameter. The buildings, fashioned from large, jutting, white bones and black rock were crammed together. The swimming paths were barely wide enough for two merfolk coming in opposite directions to pass each other. The few merfolk and sea creatures still moving about near the entrance in the enclosing darkness looked at Serena curiously as she swam in with Casius.

  “It’s too late to introduce you to the Council tonight,” said Casius, ignoring the stares. “You can stay with me until morning.”

  “Council?”

  “Yes, the leaders of Arcanus. They decide who is allowed to join the community. They’ll listen to your story—why you wanted to come here—and if they think you will fit in here, you will be assigned quarters of your own and a job. Everyone has to pitch in here—even the Council members.”

  “You didn’t say anything about having to go before a council,” said Serena, suddenly nervous and wary once again of this dark, eerie place of bones.

  “No need to be worried. No one I’ve vouched for has been denied yet. And none of them had your abilities.”

  “No, no. Remember the deal,” said Serena. “No one knows about my mother or my powers. If you mention either one, I’m out of here. This is my fresh start, remember?”

  “Yes, yes, I’m sorry. It was a slip of the tongue. I was just trying to make a point. I have no intention of breaking our deal. But honestly, Serena, you have nothing to worry about.”

  — — —

  Serena’s nerves were making her queasy, and the mollusks she’d had for breakfast just a half hour before were not sitting well in her stomach. She raked her fingers through her hair, trying to free the tangles, and fidgeted with the straps of her coral-colored shell top as she and Casius waited outside the Council building.

  “Relax, Serena,” said Casius. “You’re jumpier than a pufferfish.”

  “Sorry.”

  Serena forced her hands to her sides and studied the brown and green double doors to the Council building. They were made of woven sea plants— some dead, some still alive— and had curved bones, much like smiles, for handles.

  “You’re not on trial here, you know,” said Casius. “Most of the creatures here have actually been on trial, and they don’t wish to repeat the process or force it upon others. They just want to make sure you aren’t going to cause trouble. They only want merpeople who actually want to be here included in the community.”

  Before Serena could reply, the doors swung open and a young merman, no more than twelve, beckoned them with his hand and said, “The Council will see you now.”

  Serena sucked in a slow, calming breath and followed Casius inside. The building was a single, large, open room, much like the atrium or the throne room of the palace in Adamar. The room was dim despite the many windows because of the dark hue of the rock. At the far end of the room, three merpeople sat in three chairs (much like thrones but far less grand) made of bone. In the middle was a very long, middle-aged mermaid whose name, according to Casius, was Bria. Her hair was a lovely dirty blonde, a collection of multiple hues of soft browns and bright golds, and she had it plaited in a long braid that fell across her right shoulder, tied off with a kelp leaf. Her top was made of silky, brown seal hide, and Serena wondered if she had been banished from Adamar for poaching—which was only a step below murder in the underwater world. The thought amped up her nerves even more, and she could feel her pulse throbbing in her neck. Bria’s tail was dark green, which made Serena think of Hazel and suddenly ache for home. She shoved the feeling aside quickly. To Bria’s right was a muscular merman with a stern face who, based on Casius’ descriptions, Serena guessed was Ronan. He had short, black stubble covering his entire jaw. His skin was the same color as the Bria’s top, and the contrast it made with his light blue tail—the color of the sky or a tropical fish—was striking. The merman to Bria’s left, who by process of elimination must be the one called Ji
nn, was wiry with an angular face and the pointiest chin Serena had ever seen. A black goatee sat on the end of it. His eyelashes and eyebrows were thick, and darker than the stone surrounding him, but his head was completely bald. The left fin on his black tail looked shredded, as though a barracuda or a small shark had taken a bite out of it. His sharp gaze made Serena nervous. She focused her eyes on the merman named Ronan. Despite his stern expression, his eyes were soft and calming. A small smile transformed his face when he locked eyes with her, and her pulse slowed. She smiled back. But, to her disappointment, it was not he who spoke first.

  “You are Serena?” said the Bria.

  “Yes,” said Serena, relieved that her voice sounded steady and sure.

  “And why has Casius brought you to Arcanus?”

  Serena glanced sideways at Casius, who inclined her to go on with a forward movement of his eyes. They had rehearsed what she would say that morning, at Serena’s insistence. Casius had insisted she needn’t practice to simply tell the truth. But Serena had reminded him she did not wish to tell the whole truth.

  “I am a maid in the palace at Adamar,” she said. “Not because I wish to be, but because that is all I am able to be. There are certain…circumstances surrounding my family name that you will forgive me if I do not wish to tell.” She hesitated, waiting to see if any of the Council members would protest to this. Bria remained indifferent, and Jinn continued to look cold and stiff, but Ronan encouraged her with a slight nod of his head. She tried to thank him with her eyes and continued, “I was so bold as to suggest that Prince Triton escort me to the royal dinner party.” She felt a blush rise in her face and neck, shame at the memory and reliving it in front of strangers. “The queen told me I was not worthy to lick the floor he swam over, and that if I was ever so bold as to even look at him again, I would be fired.” As she said it, a sudden and fleeting rush of anger surged through her blood. “Casius met me shortly after, when I left the palace. I do not wish to be a maid any longer, especially not in the palace, but I cannot start over in Adamar. My name is marred there, and from no wrongdoing of my own. I wish to live in Arcanus and join your community because Casius has assured me that I can start over here, be something more worthwhile, without judgement, and that sounds absolutely wonderful.”

  Now Ronan was smiling wide enough to show a glimpse of his teeth, and the lines of suspicion around Bria’s eyes had softened. Jinn only continued to stare.

  “You seem to have already captured the spirit of Arcanus,” said Ronan. “You are welcome here, Serena. I believe my fellow Council members agree.”

  “Most certainly,” said Bria.

  Jinn nodded, his pointy chin cutting through the water like a spear tip.

  “Everyone in Arcanus must contribute,” said Bria. “Do you have a preference where you are stationed?”

  “I have no training in anything.”

  “You will be trained wherever we place you,” said Ronan.

  “Then I would like to help people,” said Serena without hesitation.

  “You can work with the doctor then,” said Bria. “His name is Victor. Casius will introduce you. He will also assign you your living quarters.”

  “You will soon adjust to how we live here,” said Bria. “Merfolk here must be hardworking, but they also have freedoms not given to them in Adamar. As long as you do not bring harm to any members of this community and you do your assigned job, you are free to do as you like.”

  Any members of this community? Serena thought with unease. What about bringing harm to creatures outside Arcanus? She glanced nervously at Bria’s seal skin top again.

  “The Council does not run Arcanus tyrannically, as the royals of Adamar do,” said Jinn, startling Serena with his clear, somewhat high voice. “All decrees we propose must be voted on by the merpeople. We keep order, but we do not impose our frivolous whims on others like the royal family.”

  Serena’s discomfort was growing, and she felt her body stiffen. The little smile she held on her face felt strange.

  “No one here holds themselves higher than their fellow merfolk,” said Ronan, a mischievous smile growing on his face. “You can proposition whomever you like to go to a dinner party here, though we don’t have many.”

  A high, nervous laugh escaped Serena’s lips, and she longed to swim back through the double doors.

  “Welcome to Arcanus,” said Bria, one corner of her mouth pulled up in a smirk.

  “Thank you very much,” said Serena. “I’m very glad to be here.”

  But at that moment, she wasn’t so sure she was.

  — — —

  “What were the council members banished from Adamar for?” said Serena as she and Casius maneuvered through the narrow pathways of Arcanus on the way to the infirmary to meet Victor, the doctor.

  “Do you really want to know?”

  “Yes. If I’m going to choose to stay here, I want to know everything.”

  Casius sighed. “Very well, but please keep your reactions subtle. If you haven’t already noticed, it’s very cramped quarters around here, and most everyone is very fond of the Council members.”

  “I’m not an idiot. I’m not going to shriek like a gull.”

  “Jinn was accused of plotting to assassinate King Marten, Triton’s grandfather.”

  “Accused?”

  “There was not much solid evidence against him. That’s why he was banished rather than executed.”

  “Well, was he actually guilty?”

  “No one knows for sure. He won’t say—and for good reason. If he admitted to it and word got back to the royal family, he would be hunted down for execution.”

  “He seems capable.”

  “Now, see, you’re judging based on appearance and hearsay—precisely what you don’t want others to do to you.”

  “You’re right,” said Serena, a knot of guilt twisting in her chest.

  “That’s Adamarian society for you. You’re brought up to think that way.”

  Serena said nothing, unsure and ashamed.

  “Bria…well, Bria was a poacher.” Now Casius was the one who sounded guilty. His bright orange pigment dimmed to a grayish purple as he spoke, and he would not meet Serena’s eyes when she looked over at him with horror on her face.

  “I noticed her top,” said Serena, coming to an abrupt stop in front of Casius, blocking his way. “I thought that might be it, but I couldn’t imagine that she could be elected a leader if it was true. What kind of a place is this?”

  “Keep your voice down,” said Casius.

  Serena locked her lips in a firm, angry line and stared at Casius, waiting for his explanation.

  “I admit,” said Casius, his voice very low even though there was no one passing by them at that moment, “Bria unsettles me.”

  “I should think so. A giant octopus would make a lovely trophy for a poacher.”

  “She’s not that kind of poacher. She doesn’t hunt for sport. She believes that merfolk are the superior creatures of the ocean and that they should be able to harvest natural resources—like blubber, meat, and hides—from other, inferior creatures despite, and I’m quoting her words here, ‘Despite the fact that they can speak to us.’”

  “That’s disgusting. Have you ever spoken to a seal, or a whale, or even a clown fish? They are just as sentient as merpeople!” Serena ignored Casius’ protest to keep quiet and went on. “What exactly makes them inferior? The fact that they don’t look like us? Poaching shouldn’t be just below murder, it should be murder.”

  “Serena, you don’t have to convince me,” said Casius. “I’m one of Bria’s so-called inferior creatures. I told you, I…” He cut off as a merman swam towards them on the path. He spared them a quick “Hello,” which they returned, before he swam around a corner. Casius continued in a voice so low Serena had to lean in to hear him. “I am not fond of Bria. Fr
ankly, she frightens me. But the good here far outweighs the bad.”

  “Really? Because you keep talking about how there isn’t any judgement here, but Bria sounds pretty judgmental to me with her ‘inferior species’ idea. This place is full of criminals, just like my mother. I can’t stay here. I’m leaving today.”

  She started to swim away, but Casius looped two tentacles around her tail and held her back.

  “Serena,” he said. “Serena, please, just listen to me for a moment. I think I deserve that, at least, don’t you?”

  Serena blew bubbles out of her mouth in an exasperated sigh and turned to face him.

  “Serena, there are always exceptions to every rule. Bria is the exception here. There are only a handful of other merpeople who share her views, so she is always outvoted whenever she proposes something unethical. She’s a Council member because she was an original founder of Arcanus, along with her older brother and another friend, and she’s very smart. She is the one who proposed we harvest the Sea Sparkle for light.”

  Serena chewed her lip, disappointed that the Sea Sparkle idea had come from Bria’s brain.

  “The thing that makes Arcanus special is that the creatures who live here have the right to decide how their community is run. One person or one family does not decide everything or lord the power of a magical object, handed down through generations, over the public as the royals of Adamar do. Yes, there are a lot of criminals here. However, a large number of them regret their crimes. There are also people like Ronan here.

  “Ronan was banished by King Poseidon for helping his friend escape a jail cell. Ronan was only seventeen, and his friend was a very poor fifteen-year-old merman who was sentenced to a year in prison for stealing pain medicine to help his younger sister who suffered from a long-term, genetic illness. Ronan’s friend was given such a hard sentence at such a young age because he worked as a palace servant, and he stole from the palace stores. The royal family took it as a personal insult. Does that seem right to you?”