“We need even groupings,” I told them. “Make sure you pick Oceanids that have similar talents to you and please let me know as soon as it is done.”
The light was seeping from the sea when they all left to go and find their groups and then get ready for dinner as Aoi approached us.
“How many Oceanids are at The Haven?” I asked.
“Just over three hundred.”
“That won’t be enough. Are there any other pods you could call on to come and help?”
He nodded. “I will send out scouts immediately.”
“We also need to set up guards in the kelp.”
Aoi agreed and quickly issued orders for additional guards to start patrolling the kelp.
“Alexandra, Zydrunas, I do expect to be told of the whole plan before it happens.”
“We will need to discuss that,” Dad replied, surprising me with his wariness of Aoi of all people.
Aoi’s expression clouded with anger. “I am the leader of this pod, Zydrunas, I will not be kept in the dark.”
“If you are the leader, then you obviously know who the spy in your midst is?”
Aoi looked shocked. “Spy? What are you accusing us of, Zydrunas?”
“This is not an accusation, Aoi, merely an observation. Someone from The Haven, or at least very close to The Haven, has to have been in contact with Neith. Ferengren is a long way away from here and yet Neith’s gang was here to collect the children from that trap. Come on, Aoi, it doesn’t take a genius to realise that there is a person here communicating with Neith.”
Aoi was quiet for a few moments. “I must admit that I had not thought along those lines.”
“Well, you need to start,” Dad replied shortly.“You also need to start thinking about how Neith might attack or use you.”
“What do you mean?” Aoi demanded, frowning.
“You are the greatest target for Neith’s Påvirke. He will expect you to know everything and so probe your mind. That is why we are not going to be sharing the whole plan with anyone. Not because we don’t trust your motives, but because we don’t know how Neith is going to react when he finds out that Alexandra has fled here.”
“And he will know because of the spy you claim is in our midst?” Aoi asked, still looking sceptical.
Dad nodded.
Aoi looked at us thoughtfully for a few moments. “Contrary to my better judgement I must agree with you. I am the natural target for Neith, although I doubt he knows Alexandra is here.”
Dad nodded. “Well, we’ll see. If you begin to feel the Påvirke intrusion on your mind, you will know that someone at The Haven has let Neith know about Alexandra and is communicating our readiness for battle.”
“If you are right about this spy then we must flush him out as quickly as possible. We will see in the morning if there has been any Påvirke activity and if there has, we will take action immediately.”
“How?”
“We will set a trap,” he replied, “and then deal with the spy in the appropriate manner.” His voice grew hard and curls of black hatred swirled into the water around him.
Dad smiled at him. “You are a great leader, Aoi. Thank you for your trust.”
Aoi nodded once. “We need to explain this to the whole pod now. I suggest you allow me to do the talking.”
“Aoi,” I stopped him as he began to swim away. “Do you have any Shaha in The Haven? I need to talk with them about Oceanid war etiquette.”
“Two Shaha arrived this afternoon. You know them, Alexandra, for they and the other ten Oceanids with them all come from the mountain pod. They are waiting for you in the arena.”
16. Unity
I followed Aoi, a bubble of anticipation in my stomach as he led me to the place they called ‘the arena’. It was a wide and flat expanse of sand in the very centre of The Haven and in the middle of it familiar faces waited for me.
I thanked Aoi and rushed to greet Muirgel and Lyr, Sabrina, Maya and Marinus, the Merrow, Shannon, Kendall, Tirta and even Aysell. Several others were familiar by sight but hadn’t been close friends while I was in the cave with them.
“Where did you go?” Sabrina asked exasperatedly. “We’ve been hanging around the beach for ages waiting for you.
“Sorry, I kind of went after Merrick on my own.”
“You what?” Her voice rose in a little screech, her eyes wide in shock.
“Yeah, it was really stupid, but after Qinn died…”
“Wait…Qinn’s dead?” Marinus interrupted me.
I nodded. “He was caught and injured in one of Neith’s traps and a shark was in the area…I got there too late.”
The group fell silent. I explained what I’d found at Ferengren, and filled them in briefly on what was to happen that evening, being careful not give away too much detail, even to Oceanids I called friends, as we headed to the surface.
The Oceanids had spread loosely woven mats of kelp that floated just below the surface in a spattering of reed boats. On each raft several Oceanids rested and chattered with each other. It was clear from the discussion as they shared food that this was a nightly ritual.
I listened to my friends telling me of their journey, how many of them had only barely escaped detection from Neith’s patrols and how, when they’d finally made it to land, my absence had caused at least fifty of them to desert the rescue mission and go in search of more peaceful activities.
It was disappointing, but I was very grateful for those who’d remained and eventually made it to The Haven, having reasoned that this was the most likely place Qinn and I would come to if we’d met with any trouble.
“When are you going to tell us the plan?” Sabrina asked enthusiastically.
“Aoi will fill you in on what The Haven has decided.” I replied just as Aoi rose, standing awkwardly on the ever-shifting mat.
“We live in dangerous and desperate times,” he began. “But it is times like these when we discover what we truly stand for. I truly believed that it would be humans who posed the greatest threat to Oceanids, and it was for this reason that the purity and beauty of The Haven and its surrounding forest was planted and so meticulously maintained. But it is not humans who threaten us, friends, it is one of our own, and in this lies our greatest challenge, for he is fuelling his war with the family bonds that hold us so tightly.”
There was a communal gasp of horror.
“All of The Haven leaders have been briefed and so I feel it only fair to allow them to express their opinion to all of you.”
Aoi nodded and Thanh stood and addressed the group.
“I do not disagree with the focus of Neith’s fury, but his plan to use the power our children hold to attack them is beyond abominable. Not even humans utilise their young for such dastardly means. For this reason I am willing to fight and so will the Zmija.”
The other Oceanids associated with Thanh all cheered their agreement.
Helle stood. “You all know me as a peaceful and gentle Oceanid. I would not have thought this morning when I woke that I could be roused to this, but after the council meeting at which Alexandra and Zydrunas discussed Neith’s plans and told me of theirs I went and spoke to the children. In our species, it is the children who have the clearest wisdom, the most powerful and untainted grasp of their talents and the greatest insight into the motives and emotions of those around them. We come to remember what our adult selves have forgotten when we spend time with them I specifically went to visit the children who were found in our forest this morning. They are traumatised beyond belief, and are so afraid that they never want to leave The Haven again. They believe their parents will be murdered because they escaped and this terrible guilt weighs too heavily on their tiny shoulders. Despite their fear they are willing to fight Neith, if for no other reason than to free their parents and stop Neith doing this to anyone else. They have reminded me of what true courage is and so I will fight.”
Takimu stood as Helle finished, the Oceanids around her cheering as well.
“By fighting Neith we protect the humans,” he began. “This goes against every fibre of my being, but so does Neith’s corruption of all that is good about Oceanids. For the first time in my life I will protect humans and in so doing protect Oceanids.”
Aoi nodded to me and I stood awkwardly on the mat, the unsteady movement of the water making me stumble.
“We have a great deal of preparation to get through. In the coming days, and we have just days I believe before we must be ready, we will be doing things completely differently. Zydrunas and I are going to ask you to trust us, we are going to ask you to do things differently and believe that what we are asking of you fits into a bigger plan, but we cannot tell you what the bigger picture is just yet. We need to work together…”
There was a muttering throughout the pod.
“Why should we trust you?” someone shouted.
“Because I have more to lose than all of you,” I replied. “Not only is my love held captive and tortured daily by Neith, but as a half human, all of my family and friends are the unsuspecting target of his plan. I am also half Oceanid and so Neith’s plan destroys everything I have come to love about your people. This attack is against all that I am, all that I love, and I cannot stand by and watch it destroyed without trying to stop it. Together we can, stop Neith, but I need your help to stand against him.”
My Dad stood on his reed mat and was soon followed by Aoi and the other council members. One by one the Oceanids struggled to their feet, holding each other up as they did so.
Aoi smiled.
“We begin immediately,” he announced before diving into the water.
The Oceanids split into their talent groups and a member of the council was assigned to them as their leaders.
Dad and I took the Påvirke aside.
I split them into three areas of duty, the first to keep a constant vigil for dreams or thoughts sent to members of The Haven from Neith’s army; the second to call as many Oceanids to The Haven as possible, and the third and biggest grouping to begin planting the idea that Neith’s plan was as horrible as it really was and that escape was the best route to self-preservation for those Oceanids under his command.
“You will need to be doing this around the clock,” I told them. “We will have an information discussion every morning and evening, and if anything happens, you need to call me from wherever I am.”
They nodded and began organising time slots.
Dad and I spent another two hours organising the different groups,, explaining what they would need to do in the morning.
Maya led me on a lightning-fast tour of The Haven. I was exhausted, hardly taking in her incessant chattering as she pointed out the circular shape of The Haven, explaining how the coral that enrobed it played varying roles. There were food gardens, play areas, learning sections, sleeping quarters and the council room.
I nodded and made appropriate understanding noises before sliding gratefully into the capsule she pointed out for me. It bobbed amidst dozens of others, all of which were attached to the rock face with the same purplish fleshy ropes I’d seen in Ferengren.
It felt like I’d just drifted into an exhausted sleep when my world was shattered by a terrifyingly vivid dream. In the dream Merrick was screaming, his blood clouding the water around him and his face scrunched in terrible pain.
I woke sobbing as my capsule was jolted as someone urgently called my name in a hushed whisper.
It was Baylee, the head of the Påvirke.
“Are you all right?” she asked as I emerged from my capsule, still shaken. I described as briefly as possible my dream.
“I’m so sorry, Alexandra, we picked up the attempt to get to you too late to stop it. They must have been using two or maybe even three very powerful Påvirke to get to you.”
I nodded, running my fingers through my hair. “Can you be specifically alert to those Påvirke in the future?”
She looked doubtful. “We can try but it is not something we are used to doing, we normally use our skills to help others, not send terrible dreams or seek out those that might be.”
“All I can ask of you is to try,” I replied, looking around at the slight lightening of the water. “What time is it?”
“Just before dawn.”
“I’d better chat to Aoi and Zydrunas.”
She nodded and led me to where their capsules swayed in the current.
Their reactions were equally horrified and angry as we discussed what had happened.
“Thank you, Baylee, if you could keep up the protection of the rest that would be good.” Aoi dismissed her.
I allowed Dad to pull me into a brief hug, the first since I’d seen him again, before pulling away.
“He knows,” I told them.
Dad nodded and Aoi looked thunderous.
“That was a direct and very violent attack on me,” I told him. “Neith knows that I’m here and I’ll bet he also knows that I’m a big part of the attack plan.”
“Who is this spy?” Aoi asked angrily. “I would never have suspected one of my own…unless it’s one of the mountain pod.”
I was immediately defensive, but Dad quickly cleared up any doubt.
“They arrived after Alex and Pelagius were attacked outside The Haven. Your spy was here and communicating with Neith before the mountain pod got here.”
Aoi nodded in agreement. “I will make the necessary arrangements to catch him. We’ll know the next time he leaves The Haven.”
“We are going to have to practise in isolated areas of The Haven and keep a look out for anyone moving between the groups. We are also going to keep the date of the attack secret until it happens.” I said.
This time he didn’t argue.
I wasn’t pleased about the secrecy With so much at stake we needed to move quickly and practising in different parts of The Haven was going to take more time than I would have liked.
“Zydrunas, you can start training the Oceanids in basic hand-to-hand combat while Alexandra gets up to to speed on the Zmija and Mizrak.”
“Shouldn’t I be part of the hand-to-hand combat training?”
“Yes of course, but finding your weapons must be your first priority.”
I swallowed hard, knowing that this would be the biggest test of my courage to date. The Zmija were huge and very much independent creatures and the Mizrak…well, I had never heard of any human weapon that was alive…
17. Trust
I swam towards the exit of The Haven with Dad, his face creased in concern.
“Are you sure you’re OKto do this alone?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “But I don’t have a choice. You need to be training the Oceanids, and besides, how hard can it be, right?”
His expression did nothing to calm the nerves that bubbled anxiously in my stomach.
“Be careful, Alex, and remember who you are, they will sense that more than anything else.”
“Right, I am the leader?”
He nodded. “You’ll beOK.”
I wondered as I swam whether he was trying to convince me or himself.
On the other side of the single entrance and exit, Thanh waited for me, having been woken by Aoi.
“OK, Alexandra, here’s where your theoretical plan gets put into action.” He grinned, transforming his fierce face into a likeable one.
“Yes!” I laughed. “I don’t think there is room for another ounce of theorising, let’s do this.”
He nodded. “Well, let’s hope you have enough Oceanid blood in you to make you quick enough to learn about what really matters and survive this encounter.”
He let out a piercing screech that reverberated around the inside of my brain and was answered by a far more feral noise that grew louder as it approached us until it was a deafening all-encompassing roar.
Thanh’s Zmija encircled us with its massively long and exquisitely coloured muscular body, its mouth open as it greeted him with a series of long blasts of sound.
/> Thanh laughed, returning the greeting with as much gusto as he could, his whole body tensing as he produced the sounds, before swimming up to its massive head and scratching the scales on its snout.
The water around us thrummed with a vibration too deep for me to hear audibly but which made the water within the circle of her body shudder.
Thanh laughed, his face as carefree as a boy.
He warbled something to her, resting on her snout and gazing deep into her golden eyes. After a few moments, he motioned for me to join him as he slid into the gap between the mane that surrounded her head and the sail-like fin that rose from her back.
“Before we go I need to teach you the response when your Zmija chooses you.”
“Wait, I thought I was choosing it?”
He laughed and the serpent beneath me seemed to chuckle too.
“You don’t choose a more intelligent being, it chooses you,” he replied. “Normally we form these bonds as children. The Haven has proven very helpful in providing a space for Zmija and Oceanids to grow together over the years. Allentia over here,” he patted the muscular neck of the Zmija as she moved, her mane rising slightly at the sound of her name, “and I have been friends since we were very young.”
“So why would a Zmija choose me? I haven’t grown up with any of them.”
“Apart from the friendship and the symbiotic use of The Haven to protect our young, Oceanids are able to share their talents with their serpents,” he replied. “Allentia has gained the ability to communicate with all ocean creatures in their own tongue from me. She can access this talent whether she is with me or not, which is very useful for her. We haven’t tested it, and I never would, but she could probably talk to humans too. This talent has been useful to her in hunting and protecting her young over the years. She has also used it to keep me and The Haven safe too from Orca Whales and other such predators who sometimes venture here. I’m hoping that there is a Zmija out there that would be interested in forming a symbiotic relationship with you in order to access your talents.”
Fire (The Mermaid Legacy - Book 2) Page 11
