I look to my right and jerk back in horror at the rows of pointed teeth that greet me in what I can only assume is Sharpy’s version of a smile. Her eyes, pale as the skin on her face, spark with amusement. I don’t bother to look at Gulp. I’ve seen enough. “Give me back the pearl!” I growl.
“You and I both know that’s not going to happen,” says the demon queen.
“Who are you,” I ask.
“I’m called Vailea by those who still have the ability to do so.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Silence,” she commands, coming closer. “It’s my turn. How did you know about the pearl?”
“I’m an apprentice Keeper, healer, and archivist of Sol.”
“So you learned of its existence through a book?”
“Not exactly. But why should I tell you any of this?” I demand.
Vailea looks over her shoulder and quirks her finger. Ethan appears from out of the darkness, his movements manipulated by some power she has over him. His head hangs to one side, encompassed inside an air bubble. Not dead then, that’s a relief. But how did she find him, and where’s Kai?
“Alright!” I cry. “Don’t hurt him. My people are dying. There’s a sickness that has crossed the threshold of Sol and my mentor believed the pearl was our only hope. It’s always been this myth among the Aureate,” I say, getting caught up in my own story. “I never imagined it was real.” Directing my attention back to Vailea, “Does that answer your question?” Vailea doesn’t answer right away. Instead, she looks past me at her companions whose cold grips never waiver.
“Would it surprise you if I told you that the Ael also suffer from a sickness?” she says, looking back at me.
“I don’t know what any of this has to do with me?
“I need you to tell me how to wake the pearl from this entranced sleep it seems to be under.”
“How should I know?”
“It called to you, did it not? You read the histories. Tell me what I need to know Avelessa, or else...” Vailea looks in Ethan’s direction. Then settling her gaze back on me, “Do you think your tribe more deserving than ours for a chance at life?”
“The Aureate don’t kill needlessly. We don’t take pleasure in creating chaos. And we certainly don’t terrorize humans or other Mer tribes.”
“Ahh, yes, well, your dear Elders are to blame for that.”
“How can you say that?”
“They banished us to the pit we now call home. Ever wonder what would happen should the Aureate be denied their precious sun?” Vailea smiles revealing her own set of needle teeth and sweeps her arms out indicating her dark eel like form. “Turns out we don’t do so well without the sun. Mairin would never admit this. I don’t want what Mairin wants, but I’ll do what I must to survive, and you’re going to help me.”
Who is Mairin? “We are the sun. You are the blackest night. To say you’re akin to the Aureate is ludicrous.”
Vailea gives me a scathing look. “You mean your precious mentor never told you? Your sister knew.” A cruel smile creeps across her face. The witch! I see red. If she had anything to do with Acelin’s death!
Vailea is talking again. I force myself to focus on her words. “Mairin was Cordelia’s younger sister, in line to the throne, until she showed her true colors, that is. She wanted to put the humans in their place for the theft of the pearl. A “man hunt,” I think is what she called it. Nereus agreed with her. Convenient for Nereus that the remaining Elders have since chosen to ignore this.”
Sharpy and Gulp shift, renewing their grip on my arms. I make a point of ignoring them. I don’t know what Mairin has to do with all this, but I won’t play Vailea’s game. My parents and sister gave their lives for the chance to make things right. I’m prepared to do no less. But first things first.
“You sent your minions after Acelin and me that day in the kelp forest, didn’t you?” I ask. I need to know.
“You don’t get it do you? Foolish Aureate. You’re about as sharp as a hermit shell.”
“If not you, then who?” I plead, needing her to tell me the truth. I guess revenge is not as far from my mind as I fool myself into thinking.
“Ah, well, if I were to guess, I would say look no further than the Elders who vowed to protect your precious Sol. There are a number of Ael whose loyalties can be bought.”
Vailea is striking for all that she’s frightening. I study her profile, searching for signs that she’s lying. Why would the Elders want to harm Acelin? My parents? Still, she has managed to plant the seed of doubt.
I look over at Ethan. If what she says is true, and the pearl is dormant, then she needs me. Or at least she thinks she needs me. Sol Fyre is as much a mystery to me as when I first laid eyes on it. But something she said about the Aureate needing the sun has given me an idea.
Chapter 19
She’s right about the Aureate needing the sun. From what Cian told me, though, it’s a poor substitute for Sol Fyre. While floating here, I’ve felt stronger for its nearness.
Strangely, the fire opal around my neck has also been gradually heating up. My arms are incapacitated, held tight by Vailea’s minions, so I curl my tail up in a quick sweep. I feel if I can just make contact with the glass orb encasing the firestone…
Dazzling flashes of light explode from every pore of my body while immense surges of power pulsing throughout. My captors loosen their grips, temporarily blinded. I look over at Vailea, who is making frantic swipes at her eyes, the pearl temporarily forgotten.
For a moment, I imagine I can save both Ethan and the pearl, but I know what I have to do. Three against one are not good odds, but if I can just get Ethan to the shore where they can’t follow, we might have a chance. This isn’t the last Vailea has seen of me.
I grab Ethan, careful not to disturb the air bubble around his head. I worry about what happened to Kai, but Vailea didn’t mention him, so I feel it’s safe to assume he’s somewhere out of harm’s reach. I refuse to give up hope until I find evidence suggesting otherwise.
I’m nearing the shoreline when I hear a gut-wrenching shriek. Clearly, it didn’t take the ghostly trio as long to recover as I hoped. They’re far too close for comfort. It means revising my plan.
I surface with Ethan in tow and the air bubble dissipates. I’m able to change my tail for human legs while in the shallows, rather taking for granted how easy it is.
Whakaari is a barren island, covered in grey rock. The only color is found in the heated acidic pools of water. I carefully drag an unconscious Ethan across the rocky terrain to the cover of a large boulder.
I feel relatively safe until I hear Vailea’s cool voice calling to me just a few feet away, not from the water’s edge as I believed would be the case.
“Avelessa, do be a dear and come out. I tire of your games.” She can initiate a transformation too! I feel so stupid for not seeing this coming. Vailea continues, voice bright with assurance, “This pearl is everything I hoped it would be and more. Even dormant, I grow stronger from its nearness. I assume it has a similar effect on you—evident from that little trick you pulled back there. Only think of what it could do if there was nothing holding it back.” There is long pause before she continues in a low voice dark with intent, “I’ve come this far; don’t think I’ll let you slip out of my hands now, young Aureate.”
Ethan’s chances of living are much better without me in the picture. I hope that Kai is out there still and the two will find each other. I will it to be so. As for me, I shall lead the water demons on a merry chase, for it’s me they want.
Crouching beside Ethan’s prone form, I suddenly get the urge to leave him a token, something to remember me by. But what? The only thing I have is the fire opal my sister gave me, tucked safely in the crystal glass amulet I designed for it.
It’s only right that he should have it. If something were to happen to me, I would hate to think of it as forgotten, lost in some dark corner of the pit or, worse, around the pale throat of an Ael.
>
I tuck it in his cool hand and take one last look at his serene features before darting out from behind the rock. I imagine myself racing across the earth in a fashion not unlike one of those kiwi birds I saw on Aotearoa. Thin, knobbed legs and delicate feet beating a rhythm of unprecedented speed in ungainly style. I don’t have to look behind me to know Vailea follows.
I can hear her curses and screams of rage as she struggles across the rocky terrain. I’m at a slight advantage, as I’ve had practice with walking and running. I’m not overly optimistic, though, as I can imagine what awaits me once I reach the ocean’s cool embrace.
Chapter 20
I break through the water’s glassy surface with a hurried dive, no doubt alerting Vailea’s minions of my presence. This is no time to panic. Much to my surprise, I feel calm, almost detached.
I head in the direction of Aotearoa not altogether sure what I hope to find there. I think of the greenstone knife that Kai said his ancestors used to ward off the taniwha. I remember its strange effect on me when I first saw it. Whether I reach the island in time, or where I might find a ready supply of the elusive rock… well, that’s not something I can dwell on at the moment.
I haven’t gotten far when, suddenly, a strong whirlpool catches me up. It’s as effective in imprisoning me as steel bars. Using both my tail and fists, I beat at the wall of water as it begins a steady trail back toward my assailants.
Relentlessly, I struggle against the torrent of water trying to find a weak point, but it’s no use. It’s taking me somewhere I don’t want to go. I give up fighting to save my strength for what lies ahead.
The vortex comes to an abrupt stop. Why doesn’t she just end it? Vailea is surely toying with me. And, although I can’t see much from where I’m positioned, that doesn’t stop me from searching for the pale eyes or yellow light organs floating eerily in the blackness, anything to warn me of the Ael’s approach.
A shadow blots out the moon’s light from above, reminding me of the one thing I haven’t tried. With enough thrust and proper use of the revolving currents, I might just be able to propel myself out of the eye the vortex. I feel foolish for not having thought of it sooner.
Sitting low on my haunches and pulling from the same waves of energy used to spark a transformation, I spring myself for the light at the top of the vortex. Breaking through the surface, I arch my body in the air in order to distance myself from the vortex, while drawing in a breath of cool night air, feeling pride at my cleverness and relief from what I’ve narrowly escaped. But it’s too soon; an excruciating jolt of pain shoots through my scalp. I feel claws tearing at my hair as I’m jerked off balance.
I grab for the hand intent on bringing an end to the pain. I let out a yelp of pain as another clawed hand comes into contact with my back. Oh, no you don’t! With both her hands locked in a firm grip, I tuck my chin in and pull my attacker over my head. Wrapping my arms around the neck of one of Vailea’s underlings, I contract my muscles, not really comprehending what I’m about to do, just wanting the pain to stop.
I can feel sharp pricks all up and down my stomach from the barbs along her spine and I wonder that I could ever become one of these creatures. Take the sun away, and, over time, would I too take on the likeness of one of them? Perhaps the Ael were just as much victims of circumstance as the Aureate. It dawns on me that it might just as well have been me on the other end.
We were in the same boat, this Ael and I, both born to a race with no souls. Without Sol Fyre, wouldn’t that always be the case? There had to be a way for both the Ael and Aureate to benefit from the pearl’s return. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to give the problem proper attention when I was locked in a battle for my life.
“Wait!” I cry. Sharpy, whose neck I still have in a chokehold, stops struggling. Not dead, just compliant for once, perhaps as interested to hear what I have to say as anything. “Vailea, I know you’re watching. Let me talk to the Elders, make them see reason. The Ael could return to Sol where we could all benefit from the pearl’s healing presence. Surely, you can see this makes the most sense.”
Vailea and her other compatriot float from the shadows like two pieces of flotsam riding on a smooth wave.
“You’re naïve if you think the Elders will ever let the Ael return to Sol. No, Keeper, this is how it has to be. There’s no happy ending for you, I’m afraid. You have become more burden than help. Perhaps, some time in the Pit will change your mind. If not your mind, then your…” Vailea waves a hand at my figure, “appearance.” She finishes with a cool tone and that malicious smile of hers.
“Stay back,” I yell, strengthening my grip on Sharpy in warning. Vailea waves Gulp forward, and it doesn’t take a Keeper to know I don’t stand a chance. I let go of my hold on my Ael captive and dart full force ahead in a last shot for the pearl.
Gulp sweeps in before I make it even one fathom. The force of her impact propels us downward, and before I know what’s hit me, I’m lying limp against a hard stone at the bottom of the ocean. I peer upward, through quickly fading vision, to see what looks like Ethan hovering above Vailea with a spear in hand. All I can think of is, Fool, who will save you now? Then everything goes black.
Chapter 21
“Ava! Quick, catch it,” giggles Acelin. My child hands open and close as I try to catch one of many baby seahorses floating around us near the coral reef where we play. Acelin has been counting down the days till their birth and insisted on being there to protect them, mothering them just as she so often did me.
“Look, Ace; it likes me,” I insist, holding up a chubby fist, pointer finger extended toward the sky. There, wrapped tightly around the small digit is a tiny, nearly transparent fry.
“You’re cute, Ava,” Acelin says in her most grown-up voice, and I bask in her praise. The two of us play there on that reef for hours, soaking up the sun’s rays streaking through the shallow water, our only concern being how we would keep the hundreds of seahorse fries contained and safe from predators.
***
“Ava?”
I turn my head toward the voice, eyes still closed. Sunlight streams down through an open window, warming my eyelids. I smell an earthy aroma wafting in the air, the steam from a ready hot meal cooling against the side of my face.
“I know you can hear me, you lazy girl,” Ethan says in his usual jovial manner. “You need to eat.”
I manage a half smile before opening my eyes to peer out at him. “I keep trying to tell you I feel fine, but someone keeps insisting that I stay put. What did you bring me?”
“Some kind of mushroom soup. Kai is adamant that it will aid in your quick recovery.”
Earlier, Ethan had explained to me what happened that night. He said he was able to find me because of the whirlpool. He had attached the pounamu he discovered earlier to a branch he found washed up on shore, and was able to make a spear. He used the light from the fire pendant I gave him and didn’t really think beyond that.
But the strange thing was that once Ethan showed up, wooden spear in hand, Vailea and the other two took off without so much as a second glance. “It’s like they were frightened by something,” Ethan had said. Ethan dragged my body back to White Island where Kai showed up in the canoe shortly after.
None of it made any sense to me. Why Vailea had fled when she did. How Kai had managed to find us in time. And Ethan… braving the cold water in the dead of night, putting his life on the line to save me.
“Kai still hasn’t come to see me,” I say. “I thought we had a truce. He doesn’t know about me, does he?”
“We both thought we lost you. It’s been hard for him to accept what happened out there. Quite frankly, it’s been hard for me to accept. And Kai is a Guardian, after all, and well… I think he feels ashamed he wasn’t more involved in your rescue. He doesn’t know, but we really should tell him the truth, Avelessa.”
“No! I need more time. Vailea still has the pearl, and if Kai hates the Ael, what would possibly stop him fro
m hating me?
“He’s my friend. I think he could be your friend too if given half a chance. I know you guys didn’t get off to a good start. Kai’s never had the luxury of making friends. He certainly won’t appreciate being the last to know.”
I consider this. I also don’t have the luxury of making friends. The people I get close to always end up getting hurt.
“Once I’ve fully recovered, I promise, Ethan, that I’ll tell him. And then I’ll set out to finish what I started.” I just need some more time
The next two days pass much the same. An older women called, Ori, is assigned as my caretaker. She is both effective and efficient, but she remains aloof as though not sure what she ought to feel toward me. This suits me just fine. I’m not sure I could muster anything to say if she talked to me.
Would that Ethan had left me to Vailea and her bullies. In the light of day, I have nothing but the memories of how close I came to saving my people. I can still feel the pearl, smooth and warm in the palm of hand, and I remember the rush of elation turned to deepest, darkest bitterness.
What had I been thinking? Coming here alone. Unarmed, except for my words and book knowledge. I am the Keeper of my people, not a Guard or Hunter, as my parents once were. It was foolish, indeed, to think I could accomplish what hundreds, before me, had set out to do and failed.
Now what? Do I dare go home? What of Cian? It may already be too late. But if I don’t return to Sol, do I dare venture into the Pit and face Vailea alone?
“Why the glum face?” Ethan asks, one morning, startling me from my dark thoughts. I hadn’t even heard him come in. “Have you thought of what you’re going to do next?”
“I have thought of nothing else. Cian had such faith in me, and I was so close to saving him, but now… what am I going to do?” I ask, beginning to feel tears, once foreign to me, streaming freely down my face, and, with them, the realization that I can’t do this alone.
“I’ve thought about it some myself. I would like to do an experiment if you’re up to it.”
Lady of the Sea: The Aureate Chronicles, Book One Page 8
