“I will not!” Elan doubled his fight against Iner’s pressure. “I would rather execute myself.”
Iner’s crazed eyes fixed on Elan. “I know.”
He knew?
Was Iner truly crazy? Or had the All-Council decided to torture the city before killing it down to the very last warrior?
“No!” Elan shoved off Iner’s trident and twisted to face the general. “My king is innocent. Nothing will force me to execute him. I refuse.”
“Nothing?” Iner pivoted and flew to Commander Haren. He lifted his trident to Zain’s throat. “Not even a threat to the life of your young fry?”
Elan froze.
A shocked growl echoed through the mer. Even the foreign invaders shuffled uneasily.
“Your own dishonor forces me to do this!” Iner shouted. “Obey, Elan. Do not hurt your own young fry.”
The invaders glared at Elan as if he were the one holding the blade to his young fry’s throat.
Commander Haren twitched. He was not so easily misled and clearly fought his own instincts to support Iner’s threat.
Zain struggled and wailed. He accidentally cut himself on the sharp blade.
The commander pulled Zain away from the danger.
“Hold him to the blade,” Iner ordered. “It is not your hands causing injury. Elan is the one who has no honor.”
A sick stillness masked Commander Haren’s face. He held Zain against the blade as ordered.
Panic fought with agony. This was Elan’s nightmare. He could not fail Zain or Zara. If either were hurt, he would die.
“Kill me.” The king moaned behind Elan. “I allowed this. I allowed all of this.”
No matter the cost.
His insides trembled. Elan turned to the king. “I also allowed this.”
The king’s face twisted in agony. But still he tried to comfort Elan. “It is okay, Elan. End this. Save our young fry. You were always … honorable.”
No, Elan was not. He had run from his fears over and over. He had run from his failures and only caused more pain.
Now, he faced his nightmare crisis.
He stopped running.
He faced the darkness no matter the loss.
Elan expanded his chest and roared. “Young fry are the blood of the city!”
His shout echoed across the Life Tree dais.
The king winced. At Elan’s volume and also because it was the first line of the familiar chant, recited by all warriors-in-training, listing the values of Dragao Azul.
“The blood of the city is the sap of the Life Tree! The sap of the Life Tree is the life of the warrior! The life of the warrior is duty to the king!”
As he shouted the chant full volume, the warriors of Dragao Azul began to mutter and agitate.
The king had ordered them to avoid bloodshed. But obedience only made Iner’s plot easier to execute.
The stark disconnect between their values and reality forced them to open their eyes.
Once honorable First Lieutenant Elan would have obeyed the king’s orders without question. Fearful Elan would have sacrificed the whole city, mer by mer, to protect his son.
But now was no time for sacrifice. Iner would use Zain against Elan until the bloody end — and then kill Zain, too.
Zara never compromised on evil. She fought with her whole heart.
So did Elan.
“Honor! Duty! Life Tree! City!”
The rallying cry shuddered through the doomed city. His fellow warriors roared, coming to life and fighting back.
“Someone shut him up!” Iner ordered. “Execute the king. Destroy the Life Tree!”
The All-Council warriors moved, weapons out.
Elan brought his trident down and sliced through the king’s bonds. He crumpled at the base of the trunk.
Then, Elan turned the blade on his own bonds, freeing his ankles and knees. He shouted the rallying cry. “Dragao Azul! Dragao Azul! Dragao A—”
23
Determination propelled Zara through the water, kicking Lucy’s magenta plastic fins.
She’d long since passed the point where she worried about whether she would make it to Dragao Azul in time, whether she would be welcomed or hunted, or whether she would even be able to see Elan and Zain.
All she did was kick into the endless ocean sky, following after Faier.
He was more lithe under the water than on the surface. His extensive scars did seem to slow him but not as much as her plastic fins slowed her.
Around the far side of Pico island, an ocean trench dropped three thousand feet, filling the water with vast packs of stunning wildlife. They followed yipping pods of dolphins to wailing blue whales. At the lower depths, Faier switched currents, and the deep “skies” filled with melodic, hundred-pound groupers, frisky, timorous swordfish, and arrogant, bubbling tuna.
He broke the silence to ask if she needed to rest.
“I can push on,” she said.
As they descended, the water grew a thick, woolen texture.
Elan had once told her it was the change from the silky, warm surface temperatures to the woolly, frigid bottom. Her ability to see miles in all directions didn’t change. The deeper she went, the more she witnessed — from the shrimp-like krill to their mammoth baleen predators. Each glowed like luminescent dancers in a brightly lit rave.
The vastness of the ocean was oddly comforting. Like gazing into the mouth of the Grand Canyon and picking out every tiny mouse, sparrow, and ant, to say nothing of the wolves and grizzlies, and from such a great distance they were easily avoided.
Faier focused their journey. Which was good since Zara was sure she’d horribly slowed them.
He finally broke their longest silence. “We are not far behind the war party.”
Hope rose. “Then, we could catch them?”
“No. I am leaving their trail now.”
“Why?”
“Someone is injured. The scent of blood is fresh enough to draw scavengers.”
She hoped it wasn’t Elan. He’d been stabbed in the arm. How bad was it?
Zara had no choice but to trust Faier. His unshakable calm made him easy to trust. Not once had he tried to talk her out of her quest or demand her plans.
“Are you from Dragao Azul?” she asked, kicking to follow him into the new current. “I don’t remember you.”
Faier shook his head.
Not that she knew all the Dragao Azul warriors. She had been locked inside Elan’s castle most of the time — except when she could convince him to break the rules and sneak her out.
Faier’s lopsided gate crossed the current. “Now, I am from Atlantis.”
Elan had tried to destroy Atlantis. Did Faier know who he was helping?
“Did you ever meet Elan?” she asked casually.
“I tried to kill him several times.”
So he knew. But he was here anyway.
“Thank you for helping us.”
He glanced back. His dark eyes focused on her. “I am helping you.”
Not Elan. “Why?”
“I know the pain of being forced from a city you have faithfully served.” He kicked out of rhythm. “Being denied honors. Having your abilities discounted and your dreams crushed.”
That was exactly what Dragao Azul had done to her. And Elan had denied her too. She’d let him do it because she hadn’t known any better.
Well, now she knew better. She was going to swim right into Dragao Azul give Elan a piece of her mind. And he was never going to discount her again.
“Yes,” she said fiercely. “That’s it exactly.”
Faier faced forward again. His chest vibrations floated back to her clearly. “I will do all I can to help you demand justice. But, success will depend on you.”
Because she was a queen, and she was racing to save her husband, her son, and her city. “I understand.”
They reached the outer glow of Dragao Azul. The whole ocean seemed to quiet, and the bare rocky sea bottom filled with
vibrancy. She had forgotten what it was like to enter the territory. How could she describe a mer city to someone who had never seen it, like Milly?
City castles floated like big green balloons around the glowing Life Tree. The Life Tree looked like a winter-swept, mighty oak that had already shed its leaves, leaving behind bare branches. But the Life Tree didn’t actually produce leaves. Only small blossoms and large drips of sap that pearled up like sparkling tears.
This sap became the valuable Sea Opal gemstones. Thought to cure cancer, tumors, all illnesses, and even reverse aging, they contained mystical healing properties and commanded enormous prices on the surface. Yet under the water, they represented the ancient covenant between a merman and his bride. And so they dripped off the Life Trees in every city, raining down human wealth and mer wedding promises on white daises across the whole ocean.
Faier tucked his long trident into his side. “Trouble gathers outside the city.”
“Where?”
He pointed.
Small dots moved like ants in the infinite distance. But there were definitely a large number, and they buzzed the city like flies over rotting meat.
Uh oh.
“An army,” Faier confirmed. “Surrounding the city. They await a signal to attack.”
“What signal?”
“Possibly our arrival.” But, rather than turning aside, he aimed directly into the army’s center.
Zara kicked after him.
Warriors flew forward. Their tridents formed a bristling lattice of metal like a barricade.
Faier stopped and floated upright, trident close to his body. “We have business in this city.”
A leader flew forward. “This city is under judgment of the All-Council.”
“Our business is with the All-Council.”
Zara floated, weightless, nerves squelching in her belly. There were twice or three times as many males in this barricade as lived in Dragao Azul. They had the hard, hungry look of brutal warriors who could raze the city at the slightest provocation.
And they were all naked. Even the leader had a giant, lax member swirled with two-tone tattoos in gunmetal gray and subtle purple orchid.
Most of the time, she barely noticed nakedness underwater. Faier was completely naked, and as soon as she’d hit the waves and converted over to “mer” sight, she couldn’t be bothered to care about it.
And this army certainly didn’t pay any attention to her pasty chub. She might as well have been wrapped head-to-toe in a shapeless curtain.
Their nakedness only struck her because she felt vulnerable. And, it was weird to see a tribal army carrying deadly weapons but wearing no protective armor.
“I am Commander Faro, second unit, assigned to the All-Council.” The leader with the gunmetal gray and orchid tattoos pointed the tip of his trident at Zara. “She does not belong here.”
Faier tensed. “Do you raise your trident to a bride?”
A mutter swept through the army. Had Faier just insulted them?
Commander Faro’s lips tightened. But he did not change his tone or posture. “Brides do not belong here.”
“She has come to retrieve something your warriors stole.”
Another ripple of dissent tested the control of the army.
Commander Faro lifted one hand.
The mutters instantly silenced.
He raised a proud countenance. “You are mistaken. The only things taken belong here: A traitor and his young fry. Now, return the bride to the surface where she belongs or we will do it for you.”
Faier twisted his grip on his trident. “No one touches this bride.”
Commander Faro did the same. “Then do your duty according to the code of honor.”
A tense standoff filled the water with threat.
Wait. No. This was wrong.
Zara raised her hands. “Just a minute. I’m here because one of your warriors broke the rules.”
Commander Faro never lifted his gaze from Faier. “We do not care about human rules.”
“Your rules. He broke your rules.”
Commander Faro’s gaze flicked to her.
Good. He was listening.
“Your warrior touched me.” Zara’s voice shook with the memory. “Me. A bride. Even though he was not my husband.”
Commander Faro narrowed his eyes. “Explain.”
“I am a mother. That ‘young fry’ your warrior stole is half mine. And he was in my arms when your warrior attacked.”
Faier pushed her point. “Attacking a bride is a clear violation of mer law.”
Commander Faro was silent for a long moment. Then, he shook his head. “That kind of violation is up to the husband’s city to punish.”
Frustration scraped her. “That’s why I’m here.”
“Then you will receive your judgment after the city receives its judgment.”
Faier also clearly disliked that answer. “There may be nothing of the city left.”
“That is unrelated. My duty is to prevent anyone from leaving or entering. And I will do so.”
Zara made fists. “But it’s not fair!”
“It is the law.” Commander Faro motioned to three warriors. The trio flew forward, tridents out and bolas ready.
“I was wronged! Your warrior dishonored me. He chased us onto the land!” she shrieked.
Commander Faro dismissed her. “Lies.”
“It’s not a lie!”
Faier moved directly in front of Zara and slashed his trident across the water.
The trio of warriors slowed. Their guards rose as though they were surprised by his expert movements. Whatever injuries he had, he apparently lulled his opponents into a false sense of confidence. A single slash put the proper respect into the other army’s eyes.
“Do not call Queen Zara a liar,” Faier said softly. “You dishonor yourself with such an insult.”
Queen Zara.
Commander Faro scowled. “I find her changing story to be highly convenient.”
“It’s not changing. It’s the truth.” She looked around wildly for proof.
One of the warriors in the barricade looked familiar to her. As her gaze passed over him, he flushed.
A pang of recognition smacked her like a heat wave. She pointed. “That’s him! He’s the one who attacked me.”
Commander Faro turned.
The warrior shuffled back, breaking formation, and looked away as though searching for an escape.
“Swim forward,” Commander Faro snapped.
The flushed warrior obeyed reluctantly.
“Did you attack a bride and young fry on the land?”
He shook his head, but his face was troubled.
“You did so! In front of witnesses,” she said.
Commander Faro’s voice hardened. “You exposed yourself to modern humans?”
The warrior shook his head harder.
“Hundreds. People had cell phones. Those videos are all over the world right now. Everyone saw a merman come out of the ocean, chase me and Zain across the land, attack us, and kidnap my child.”
His face crumpled.
Commander Faro snapped. “Answer.”
“I was ordered,” the flushed warrior said weakly. “To capture the young fry using any method.”
“On land?”
“Commander Haren ordered—”
“Revealing yourself to humans is strictly forbidden.” Commander Faro slapped the flat of his trident against his scarred palm. “You are here to serve the All-Council, not break sacred rules, expose yourself, or attack humans on the land. Where is your intelligence?”
The warrior looked aggrieved. “Modern humans already know we exist.”
“That is no justification for breaking the law.”
“It is not all true. I used a net. She lied. I did not touch her.”
“Now you have revealed more secrets to humans.”
“Commander Haren commended my accomplishment!”
“Hmm.” Commander Far
o dismissed him. The warrior returned to his place in line, disgruntled. Commander Faro eyed Zara and Faier, conflicted. “I cannot allow you to pass.”
“They stole my son,” she snarled.
“It was wrong,” Commander Faro conceded. “And I have my orders.”
Her fury built. It was just like arguing with Border and Immigration, but this time, she had less reason to obey him — and less time. Her hands tingled. But she didn’t want to attack him. She wanted to make him understand.
Zara placed both hands on her chest. “That warrior declared war against me. I am here to answer. Not to you. To him and to the people who issued his orders.”
Commander Faro remained silent.
She lowered her voice. “Do you have no respect for justice?”
His entire gunmetal-and-orchid swirled body went taut as a bowstring. He did not disagree. But he also would not allow them past.
Faier cleared his throat. “The All-Council judges violations of the ancient covenant. Our business must be brought before them. Or do you assume their judgments are now yours to decide?”
Commander Faro growled at Faier.
Faier faced him directly. Diplomatic, implacable, and blazing with truth.
“The acting All-Council representative, General Iner, is in the city.” Commander Faro turned from them with a swish and motioned for the trio of warriors to escort them into the city. “Take them to General Iner.”
To Faier, he added, “Do not raise your blade or they will end you.”
“Understood.”
The army parted. Commander Faro swam with them to the edge of the castles.
Faier lowered his voice to address only the commander. “A male so dedicated to honor is rare within the All-Council’s ranks. You were not at the Battle for Atlantis?”
Commander Faro shook his head. “My unit was intended to clean up and arrest deserters.”
“Then perhaps you do not know the All-Council ordered the death of three Atlantis brides and their unborn young fry.”
“That is unjust,” Commander Faro said, without changing expression. “Dishonor must be judged by the proper authorities.”
“The All-Council no longer upholds the laws. Honorable warriors are leaving their ranks.”
“How troubling.” Commander Faro stopped at the outskirts and faced Faier. “Because that is exactly when honorable warriors must remain.”
Sirens and Scales Page 71
