“OK, this is what we’re going to do. When the guards come back to fetch me I’ll attack them and you swim as hard and as fast as you can. Head for land, it’s close and they can’t track you as easily there. Once on land you can move around and re-enter the ocean somewhere else.”
“What about you?”
He kissed me fiercely, the pain in his eyes a clear answer. He wouldn’t be coming with me.
“I can’t leave you to be tortured like that.”
His muscles tensed as he listened to something my ears were unable to pick up.
“We’re out of time, my love, they’re coming.”
I tried to protest again, but he took me by the shoulders and shook me gently. “Alex, this is the only way. I know you’ll be back for me and then…then we will get rid of Neith for good...together.”
He pushed me against the wall of the tiny cell closest to the doorway, his body shielding me from the Miengu who entered it.
Merrick attacked him with a ferocity and hatred I’d never seen in him before. The Miengu was unprepared and in the few moments before his instincts kicked in I slipped out of the door and swam, arcing with the curve of the passage and desperately looking for a way into the dark terrifying water beyond.
I swam past it at first, having to double back just as a group of Oceanids approached the entrance. I pressed myself into the ceiling and watched as they swam into Ferengren. As I was about to slip out into the open water, in that moment just before I turned, five little arms stretched out to me from a cell. Flashes of brilliant colour registered briefly before I shot into the dark cold water and swam with all my might.
8. Escape
I’d swum through the night and day and now the ocean was darkening with the setting sun but I kept swimming, pushing my body beyond its limits. Merrick had managed to get me only a few minutes’ head start, just enough time to get out of Ferengren and into the blue. The further I swam from Merrick the harder it got, every cell in my body screaming that I should be with him, that I was a monster, an unfeeling monster to have left him in Neith’s awful clutches, but then I’d remember the intensity in Merrick’s eyes as he’d earnestly reminded me of the hope I carried in my veins. I was the fortieth generation Gurrer, whether I felt like it or not. Merrick believed I could defeat Neith and he’d already shown me how I could do it. I needed to learn everything I could about Oceanid culture and particularly Oceanid war culture and then break every rule I could. I needed to become a complete wild card, prove to Neith that there was nothing predictable about me. I needed to behave so far out of the timid character he’d pegged me as so as to foil his every move.
I smiled grimly as I swam, wondering if Neith understood this element of human psyche. He’d pushed me too far. Neith not only threatened the man I loved, but every other person I loved too. He thought me weak, for loving and in a way I was, I loved Merrick with all of my heart and it was the threat of that love that had pushed me into a place where I would come out swinging.
I ran through different scenarios in my mind as I pushed myself beyond what I thought I was capable of, swimming with every current and focusing intently on losing those that hunted me.
I was so focused on my internal world that I only noticed how shallow the water had become when the pink tinge and golden warmth of another rising sun filtered onto my skin. A sharply barnacled rock brushed across my thigh leaving a score of scratches.
I hadn’t known exactly where Ferengren was in relation to any shore, and I could have swum for weeks without ever finding land, yet somehow I was here, my instincts had picked the right currents and taken me exactly where I wanted to be. The thought was a little comforting, that somehow my body knew more about the ocean than I did, that subconsciously I was already behaving like I belonged in the sea.
I allowed the waves to spill me onto a softly sanded deserted beach where I lay for a few minutes, resting as the water lapped in cool swathes across my bare legs.
Breathing on land again was an active task that sapped a disproportionate amount of my strength as I allowed the early morning sun to warm me. Once I’d regained a little energy I stumbled along the tide line until I found the washed up remnants of mussel shells, sharp enough to cut through the netting that still encased me. As soon as the net was off my talents returned in a rush, their absence only truly realised when they returned.
I walked inland – South – and as I walked the scenarios I’d been running through continued to flow as I imagined how I could rescue Merrick and stop Neith. I knew I couldn’t do it alone, that much had been made abundantly clear. My talents weren’t as reliable as I’d initially believed them to be, which meant I would need an army to help me, and finding one would be my first challenge. Qinn had instructed me on how to reach the other Oceanids from the cave; if I could find a point of reference as to where I was, I was sure I could navigate my way back to them.
The beach was frustratingly devoid of sentient life. It ran in a white ribbon as far as I could see, encased on one side by the blue of the ocean and on the other by a flat scrubby landscape lit with daisies in exuberant tones of yellow, orange, pink and white.
It took me most of the day to find the first remnants of humans, and my hideout for the night. I’d grown more and more anxious as I’d walked, painfully aware of how much danger Merrick was in and desperate to put my impossible rescue plan into action.
As I rested in the shelter of an abandoned and rusting ship that had been beached years ago, huge holes in its side and an eerie whistling of wind making me shiver as the waves flung themselves at it in a mist of spray, I ran our last conversation through my mind continuously. Merrick believed in me enough to have stayed at Ferengren, knowing the torture he’d face. I refused to entertain any thoughts that betrayed that trust.
The breeze that had grown persistently stronger throughout the day and had succeeded in blowing in dark clouds that mushroomed upwards and obscured the sun. Suddenly the sky erupted with a crack of lightning and a roll of thunder that rippled over the turbulent sea as rain began to pelt the beach.
The temperature dropped suddenly and hail pounded from the sky, bouncing off any exposed skin and skittering along the beach. I watched it sweep across the empty expanse of the beach in a curtain of needled ice.
I discovered that most of the old oil tanker had disintegrated with the neverending pounding of salt and sun and wind as I searched its skeleton for a more substantial hiding place. Eventually I managed to crawl into a space that was partially buried in the soft white sand that entombed the ship but was still covered by some of the remaining structure.
The hail pummelled the iron deck and sides of the ship, increasing in tempo as it competed with the roar of the ocean.
I was huddled in a ball, trying to keep as much of my skin away from the needled storm when something fluttered starkly against the dark rust red of the ship. My heart stuttered in fright and my senses became instantly alert..
I’d almost dismissed it as sand lashed up by the wind, when movement on the other side of the hull had me focusing every ounce of energy into sight.
It was hair, long, white hair that was quickly swept away with a trembling bony hand.
I moved into a crouched position, narrowing my eyes as I tried to work out if the person was human or Oceanid, friend or foe.
“I know you’re there,” I called as I reached out and tapped the hull of the ship. It echoed a little, the sound quickly whisked away in the scourge of forceful wind.
Long old fingers ending in talon-like translucent nails, curled around the edge of the ship as he slid into the shelter. He wore the long flared trousers of the Oceanids, faded a dirty grey. The cloak that covered his chest had wide sleeves and fell in a tumble of folds to his knees. The hair I’d seen whipped around the side of the ship was long and very white and clung to his skull in the pounding rain. He watched me carefully with piercing, knowing, blue eyes that scudded quickly over my bedraggled, shivering form. Even pressed into
the slight shelter the ship provided he stood with an air of dignity, his shoulders pulled back and his head held high.
He continued to watch me for a while, making no attempt at introduction, his expression growing harder as he did so.
“Stand up,,” he barked eventually, his voice gravelled with age.
I obeyed hesitantly, an edge of irritation making me wonder what right he thought he had to order me around.
His wrinkled face creased into a frown as I straightened up.
“Where are your clothes?”
I glanced down at the strips of matting wound tightly around me before the netting had been tailored to my body.
“Neith took them,” I replied, not knowing if he knew who Neith was but not wanting to explain any of it either.
His frown deepened. “Disgraceful,” he muttered angrily before straightening and picking his way over the rusted bones of the ship to my side of the hull.
My skin prickled as he closed the space between us, all too aware that I didn’t know this man or where his loyalties lay. He could be my enemy and I’d have no way of knowing until it was too late.
I pressed my palms together, allowing the comforting tingle to trickle down my arms and shimmer across my palms.
“You won’t be needing that,” he informed me, his eyes flashing to my hands.
“I don’t know that.”
He continued to gaze at me, the frown still creasing his forehead as he slipped the long robe from his still powerfully built shoulders and handed it to me.
“You are Alexandra, Defender of Men,” he announced.
“My name is Alexandra,” I replied, his knowledge of my name making my hair stand on end. I took the robe gratefully and draped it over my shivering shoulders.
He shook his head.
“You are Alexandra, Defender of Men!”
“OK whatever, what’s your name?”
“I am Pelagius, King of the mountain pod.”
9. Transformation
“You can’t possibly be Pelagius.”
Merrick had once shown me the beautiful monument Pelagius had created for his Queen Sabine when she died. An entwined carving of two lovers suspended between two massive boulders and draped in a tumble of lacy vines that tangled around them in a leafy embrace.
I’d asked Merrick how Pelagius had died and he’d brushed the question aside stating that no one knew, and that perhaps Pelagius still lived. I’d laughed at him because Pelagius would have been well over a hundred years old if he still lived.
I pulled away from the memory as Merrick’s smile filled my mind.. Every time I thought about Merrick, worry would fill my stomach with knots of dread.
Pelagius had been watching me for a while having not graced my question with an answer.
“What are you doing here, Alexandra, Defender of Men?”
“I’m escaping and planning,” I replied, deciding this was the simplest answer to a such a complex question.
“To the ocean.” It was a statement.
I shook my head. “No, not yet, I needed to get out of the sea so the trackers can’t find me.”
His frown deepened. “Why?”
It was a question that held far too much explanation, far too much tactical information for someone I’d only just met. For all I knew he could be on Neith’s side.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, hoping to garner a bit more information before I gave too much away.
“I’ve been following the unfurling of events through aquatica and recent abominations have pulled me from my Somnus. It seems there is perhaps need of the timeous wisdom I possess.”
“Aquatica?”
“Yes, Alexandra, Defender of Men, I am a Water Sprite I am privy to all that the water communicates.”
“So you know about Neith?”
He nodded grimly.“He has and still is committing a great many atrocities. I am ashamed to say he comes from the mountain pod, for I fear that what he is doing will forever be a blot on our good name.”
I was already feeling a lot more comfortable with him but needed just a little more information on where he’d been for the last fifty years and what it was that had drawn him out now.
“So what were you doing before the er…Som…?”
“What is the word in English now?” He tapped his forehead impatiently with a talon-like fingernail. “Sabine taught me…” His mouth twisted a little in sadness around her name.“Ah…hiberning.”
“Hiberning?”
“Yes, um, sleep…”
“Oh you mean hibernating?”
He beamed at me, transforming the folds in his face and making him look much younger.
“Yes, yes that is the word. I must remember it, she would want me to remember it…” His face fell and his eyes dulled a little as I recognised the grief at the loss of his love Sabine. “You were planning something?” His direct question left me with little choice but to answer.
“Yes, how to save Merrick actually.”
He nodded. “You were either very brave or very stupid to go to Ferengren on your own.”
“Thanks,” I muttered.”
He beamed at me. “Come, Alexandra, Defender of Men, you must eat something if you are to regain your strength for what is still to happen. And as you said, we must plan very carefully our next move.”
“Who said you were part of my plan?”
He laughed heartily. “You will need me in the days that come, Alexandra, perhaps more than you know. It is always good to a have a friend on your side, wouldn’t you agree?”
I did agree with him, I just hoped that he was the type of friend I could trust.
The rainstorm had blown inland as we spoke and he led me back to the beach, instructing me to wait for him.
I watched him slip around the sea-facing side of the ship, returning a few minutes later with his arms filled with plump oysters.
Using his talon-like fingernails he touched the hinge side of the oysters lightly, a slight smile playing on his lips as they opened obediently.
He removed them quickly, washing them in the surf before setting them out in their clean shells between us.
I watched as he ate his noisily, slurping the grey mess into his mouth and smacking his lips with each swallow.
“Eat,” he ordered around a mouthful of oyster.
I picked mine up gingerly, closing my eyes, and poured it quickly down my throat. A salty savoury flavour filled my mouth. It was delicious except for the texture.
He placed another six before me and continued to enjoy his meal.
“I haven’t had those in a hundred years.” He sighed, his eyes closed, the wind whipping his long hair around his face. “Good, yes?” His blue eyes were piercing as they waited for my response.
I nodded.
“Now tell me, Alexandra, Defender Of Men, why is it that you are back on land?”
“Before I answer your questions I need you to answer some of mine.”
He scowled at me but waited.
“How do I know you’re not with Neith?” I decided to be as direct as he was, not having the time to mess around with half answers that gave me no clear understanding of which side he was on.
“Did Merrick tell you about my Sabine?”
I nodded.
“Then that should be answer enough for you. I could never destroy the species she came from.”
I gazed at him for a few moments longer, weighing up the risk of trusting him before deciding I didn’t really have a choice. He seemed sincere and if I was to form the army I knew I needed I would have to start trusting Oceanids at some point. I shrugged in answer to his original question.
“I had to leave Merrick because Neith would have persuaded me to join him.”
“How so?”
“You’ve been ‘listening’ to the water, you should know.” My tone was belligerent even to my own ears, but I really didn’t have the confidence in my decision to leave Merrick for anyone to question it.
&nb
sp; I eventually looked up when the silence had grown so deep and long that I wondered if he’d perhaps left.
“You are full of much courage, Alexandra, Defender of Men,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
“Would you stop calling me that!” I snapped at him.
“But it’s your name!”
“I am no defender of men, I can’t even defend the only man I have ever loved. I had to run to stay out of Neith’s clutches and Merrick is still there with him. I can’t bear to even think how much he’s been hurt for helping me to escape, and if Neith kills him…” I gulped at the briny air before shaking my head defiantly. “I need to get back to him, I need to stop Neith…”
He curled his long fingers over my shoulder and squeezed it gently.
“I too have suffered great loss, dear child, and with all of my power and influence and strength I was powerless to save the one I loved. You have shown great courage and determination in leaving Merrick with Neith, extraordinary really, given who you were when you first met Merrick. That is the power of true love, it enables us to do great things. You will still prove your name Alexandra but instead of saving just one man, you will save countless.”
I gazed at him as his eyes deepened in colour and pain.
“I find myself quite in awe of you, young Alexandra.”
I shook my head. “There is nothing to admire in me..”
“I too have run in the past, Alexandra, I know the shame of it. The difference between you and me though is that while I ran from my responsibilities, I ran from those who depended on me and I hid away in a half-life, burying myself in my grief. You run towards those things. You run so that you can save Merrick, save humans, save Oceanids from Neith’s tyranny, because as much as pollution threatens us, Neith’s tyranny threatens us much, much more. Prove yourself worthy of the love and hope Merrick has placed in you by trusting yourself to defeat Neith.”
I hoped with all my heart that Pelagius was right.
“For now, my young friend, you must rest and learn, if only for a few hours before we set off on this adventure together.”
He stood, patted my shoulder, gathered the shells from the oysters and drifted off down the beach, picking up pieces of driftwood as he went. I watched his slow and graceful movements, mulling over all he’d said, watching as he occasionally walked in the surf, his ageing body glistening pale in the storm-washed streaks of the setting sun.
Fire (The Mermaid Legacy - Book 2) Page 6
