Fire (The Mermaid Legacy - Book 2)

by Hardy, Natasha

  “Why have you kept Alexandra from us for so long?” one of the council members asked.

  Dad looked uncomfortable but answered anyway. “She is my child and I knew that if her identity was revealed all Oceandis would feel they had a claim on her and wheels would be put in motion to turn her into the warrior you all desire.”

  The group was silent as they listened to him.

  “I didn’t want this for her.”

  “Alexandra, is this what you want?” one of the Oceanids asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

  “I would never have imagined myself in this position and I find it difficult to split the two halves of who I am. I believe in Oceanids and all you stand for, but I’ve also seen kindness and unity and great power in humans too. Being asked to choose between the two is the hardest thing for me.”

  Aoi eventually sobered the meeting by telling them all that Takimu and six others had left with Cyan that morning. He gave no more details than that and allowed them to come up with their own conclusions, not wanting even those going into battle with us to know the full plan.“They will make all the wrong assumptions about him,” Dad told me quietly as we watched the pod absorb the news.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because they made those same assumptions about me.” He glanced at me, traces of bitterness in his eyes.

  “After I managed to escape from Nasrin, I tried on numerous occasions to go back to the sea. Each time I went into the water I’d end up running again. Nasrin had told everyone that I was the traitor, that I had been pillaging the outlying pods. There was a reward for capturing me alive, a handsome one. Even previous friends turned on me until I was forced to swim upriver. That’s how I found the mountain pod.”

  I hadn’t realised how much heartache Dad had been through.

  “When we get back from the battle I will set the record straight for Takimu,” he said quietly.

  Aoi moved over to us and spoke quietly.

  “It is time we tell everyone of our plan..”

  I gulped, the reality of the battle becoming that much clearer as I thought through how to explain the massive practice excercise I had in mind. It would be the first time that we would emulate battle, the first time all of the elements would come together and I was very nervous about it.

  I closed my eyes and almost immediately an image of Merrick popped into my head. He was smiling and holding out his hand to me as he invited me to swim with him. The sunlight sparkled in his eyes and his mouth formed the words that had started me on this whole adventure in the first place.

  Trust me.

  I opened my eyes and stood.

  “We face difficult odds in attacking Neith,” I began. “We cannot go into this battle without understanding a little of what we will face.”

  The Oceanids murmured amongst themselves.

  “What I also need to remind you of is why we are fighting Neith. He has broken every Oceanid rule by forcing Oceanids to kill, by using other animals as pawns in his game of power. Worst of all, if we fail he will expose Oceanid existence to the humans which they will respond to unequivocally. The consequences if we fail are cataclysmic, both to humans and to Oceanids.

  “Because he has such a strong army motivated by the potential harm he has threatened to do to their loved ones we have devised a battle plan that involves three layers of surprise. How these layers will pan out will only be decided in response to the battle ground but I do want to explain to you the layers we are going to use.

  “First we will use the Zmija and some selected animals we have been working with. Neith has colossal squid that patrol Ferengren and can only be fought by other animals. Second, we will use Mizraks and the harpoons and arrows, and third we will use our talents, both individually and as a group. Finally we will use organisation to co-ordinate the attack so that we maintain control as best we can.”

  The Oceanids were silent, their expressions sombre as they listened.

  “If something happens to me...”

  “Alexandra…” Dad protested quietly, but I shook my head, struggling to look into his eyes.

  “If something happens to me, Zydrunas will take over command. Each leader has appointed a second in command to take over should they be…” I struggled to find the right word, “overcome.”

  “When is this battle happening?” Azura asked, fear in her voice.

  “Tomorrow we will hold a sort of dress rehearsal in which we will practise these elements,” I replied not answering her question.

  Several other Oceanids asked about how we were going to get to Ferengren, who would be staying at The Haven and various other logistical questions. Dad, Aoi and I answered as many of them as we could.

  “Remember, more than anything else, what it is we fight for,” Aoi said as he closed the meeting. “We fight for the freedom for innocence to flourish. That will never happen if Neith wins.”

  The Oceanids slipped beneath the waves in pairings or on their own until only Aoi, Azura, Pelagius, Dad and I were left.

  “When do we leave?” Aoi asked quietly.

  “The day of the Full Moon Festival,” I replied. He nodded once, before he and Azura slipped beneath the waves.

  When they had gone I sank onto my reed mat and buried my head in my hands.

  “How am I going to do this?” I whispered, as much to myself as to Dad and Pelagius.

  They were both quiet and when I looked up their expressions were grim.

  “Alexandra, Defender of Men, you just have to do it one breath at a time. You cannot know how Neith will react or what he has set in motion and your fear will drive you to inaction if you follow this train of thought. Rather, my dear, rather look at each little action you must take in order to move forwards.”

  “Pelagius is right, Alex, just think about what needs to be done next and get it done as well as you can, and right now, you need to rest,” Dad replied.

  I slept fitfully that night, my anxious sleep pierced with Merrick’s anguished face telling me to turn back, to stay away from Ferengren…

  25. Practice

  The next morning I was full of energy and determination. I arrived at the arena as everyone was gathering, more than confident in their ability and ready to see how our battle plan could pan out.

  I asked Mitra to organise the dress rehersal, having chosen to stay off her back so that I could be part of the discussion with Dad and Pelagius.

  She obliged me. After ten minutes I wished she hadn’t.

  The Zmija milled around the top of The Haven, creating a froth of bubbles before they dived down inside.

  Mitra, what are they doing?

  Practising

  I raced into The Haven only to find them in a tangled mess near the arena, their great bodies churning the water into destructive waves ripping the capsules from their tentative hold on walls.

  Mitra! Get them out of there!

  She did, but not before letting me know that she was highly irritated with my response.

  I hovered in the middle of The Haven and called the Oceanids who were to shoot the arrows into Ferengren to line up around the edges.

  I swam up to their height.

  “I don’t want any arrows going into The Haven, so just draw your bows and fire every ten seconds.”

  I sank a bit lower and gave the order for the dress run. Three arrows whistled past me, narrowly missing me as I shot for the surface and out of range.

  I couldn’t tell which Oceanid the arrows had come from and as I hovered over them trying to calm my nerves Dad rushed up to where I was.

  “Who did that?”

  “I don’t know, it must have been a miscommunication.”

  “Or someone was trying to get rid of you.”

  I hadn’t thought about that but it was a possibility I hadn’t considered as yet.

  Next all of the Oceanids were lined up around the circumference of The Haven and I began to shout the words we’d all learned for the different talents.

&nbs
p; For the practice I started with disguise, watching with satisfaction as they all disappeared as I watched.

  The next word I shouted was for poison. As they began to produce poison in their hands I started to feel a little light-headed.

  Pushing the sensation aside as simply a reaction to a night of disturbed sleep I next ordered them to communicate with the ocean life, the Zmija, the dolphins. They did so with great enjoyment, laughing as they understood their fellow inhabitants of the sea. My ligh- headedness continued, accompanied now with nausea.

  Next I instructed them to form balls of energy in the palms of their hands. It seemed to take them a little longer to access this talent and as I watched them one by one forming the energy in their hands, black spots began to dance in front of my eyes and my vision grew blurry. I found I didn’t have the energy to swim any more and simply allowed the current to move me in any direction.

  I faintly heard Dad yelling for the Oceanids to stop as he raced to me, desperately asking me questions, shaking my sagging body before screaming for Maya to come and help him.

  I heard Maya telling Dad from a great distance away that I was too weak for her to heal me without it endangering her own health.

  “Is there nothing else we can do?” I recognised the grief and panic in Dad’s voice and I wanted to tell him not to be sad, I wanted to tell him that they had to go on without me.

  The loudest voice of all of them was Mitra.

  What happened?

  I don’t know, I thought dreamily, feeling faintly irritated that she should be so loud in my head.

  NO!

  Mitra’s bellowing scream filled the water and my mind as I watched her massive form darken the water above me. She dove into The Haven before swooping beneath my now limp body.

  As soon as my skin touched hers I began to regain strength, able, at last, to give the order for the Oceanids to stop. I drooped over Mitra as Dad, Maya, Pelagius and at least another dozen Oceanids crowded around me.

  It took a long time for me to have the energy to sit and talk to them.

  “What happened?” Dad demanded, his fear making him angry.

  “I don’t know…”

  “Did you feel odd before this?” Maya asked.

  I nodded, explaining how faint and nauseous I’d felt as the Oceanids had drawn on different talents.

  “She isn’t strong enough to share that much with everyone,” Maya murmured.

  Dad ran his hands through his hair, looking at me with a mixture of relief and grief on his face.

  I managed to leave Mitra, still feeling exhausted but much better as Aoi motioned Dad and meinto the council room.

  “The attack can’t go ahead,” Dad told me as soon as we were within the privacy of the room.

  I felt the blood rush from my face.

  “Dad, we have to…”

  “I won’t risk losing you, Alex, you nearly died and that was just a training exercise. Can you imagine what would have happened if that had been in open battle and you were trying to fight?” He shook his head. “It’s too much.”

  “Dad, Merrick and all the Oceanids are relying on us, we can’t just walk away.”

  Aoi shook his head. “I don’t see how we can go ahead without accessing your talents, Alexandra. It’s risky enough that all the Oceanids are going after Neith, but to do so without additional talents, that is simply suicide.”

  “I’ll be stronger next time,” I told them desperately.

  Neither of them would listen and Maya slipped into the room a few moments later insisting I needed to sleep.

  “Don’t tell them,” I asked Dad and Aoi, “not yet, just give me some time to think of a solution.”

  They both looked at me with such pity that tears welled in my eyes because in that pity was our defeat.

  “Please?”

  They both nodded and I allowed Maya to lead me to my capsule.

  I was asleep within seconds of closing my eyes, a deep, bone-aching exhaustion sucking me into a mercifully dreamless sleep.

  I woke at dusk with a mental nudge from Mitra. I lay in the confines of my capsule desperately trying to work out how we could still beat Neith without my talents.

  I began to sob quietly as I faced the reality of the situation: I was unable to empower my army enough to beat Neith. He had won and Merrick…my heart twisted in my chest as I closed my eyes against the horror of the death I knew he’d face.

  “I’m so sorry,” I sobbed, “I failed you…”

  You are weak. Mitra’s abrupt and irritatingly obvious statement filled my mind.

  Yes I know, Mitra, that is why we can’t win.

  No, you are weak, but I am strong.

  Immediately I remembered the strength that had filled me as soon as she touched me.

  Thank you, I told her with all of the warmth I could muster as I struggled out of my capsule and raced to find Dad and Aoi.

  We were back in the white confines of the council room.

  “I can do this if I’m on Mitra,” I told them, wanting to pop with excitement. “As soon as her skin touched mine I began to get stronger…I am too weak to share my talents with the pod on my own, but with her I can do it.”

  “It’s too much of a risk, Alex,” Dad said immediately.

  “Dad, it’s at least a risk we can manage.”

  He shook his head and I took both of his hands in mine. “Dad, you told me I wouldn’t be able to control everything about this battle, that I should just do what was in front of me, well this is a solution to the problem. Mitra will be there for me – for us – and she will enable me to share my talents with the pod.”

  “It’s too dangerous.”

  “Dad, if we test it and it doesn’t work, I’ll admit defeat, but I can’t give in knowing there is a possibility this might still work, knowing that I didn’t do everything in my power to rescue Merrick and Takimu and every innocent child that has been taken by Neith.”

  Dad dropped his head for a few moments before finally agreeing to another test.

  “Not at The Haven,” Aoi told us firmly. “I know of a place not too far from here which has a similar structure but is deep enough for the Zmija to practise without wrecking our home again.”

  When we announced the plan for another rehearsal there was some muttered resistance which was quickly quashed by Aoi and Dad.

  “When do we attack?” many of them asked.

  I knew it was a risk to tell them, but they needed time to prepare themselves mentally too.

  “During the Full Moon Festival.”

  There was a surprised gasp from many of them.

  “But that festival is sacred.” Lyr spoke up.

  “Yes, and that is why we are going to use it to ensure that Oceanids have the freedom to celebrate it in the future,” I replied, squashing all arguments instantly.

  The group eventually dispersed and as I slipped into my capsule that evening hope of success warred angrily with the failures of the day.

  26. Waiting

  I woke before the light could slowly seep into the water turning it a misty grey. Smearing the green and turquoise paste all over my skin and wriggling into my battle gear my chest heaved out vast streams of bubbles as I tried to control my panic.

  Soon I will be re-united with Merrick, I told myself.

  The thought was meant to be a comforting one, but instead I fought hard to keep a handle on the panic that threatened to overwhelm me, because so much lay between now and then. If the second practice round didn’t work out, I’d never see him again, I’d never feel his arms around me, his lips on mine…

  It might have only been a few hours before the battle of Ferengren, but in that time I could quite possibly lose everyone I loved and wind up dead myself.

  Mitra? I thought, needing some encouragement.

  She didn’t answer me but I felt her questioning awareness.

  I’m scared, I admitted.

  To my surprise I felt a sharp mental jolt.

  You a
re the Queen, she replied. No place for fear.

  “Thanks,” I muttered as I wriggled out of my capsule, snatching my Mizrak from where it was buried in the rock walls, and heading down to the arena which was still empty.

  I drifted in the centre of the arena, waiting for the rest of the pod to join me.

  And as I waited I imagined for a moment that Merrick was with me. I imagined what he would say to me.

  They were words of encouragement, words of belief, and they helped me to contain the fear that threatened to overcome me, because at last we were going to be rescuing him and in just a few hours I would see his wonderful face again…I just hoped he was still alive.

  The first to arrive at the arena was Pelagius.

  He smiled when he saw me there and came to stand beside me.

  “You will conquer more than just Neith in the coming battle, Alexandra, Defender of Men, you will conquer your own fear and you will prove to everyone that you are their rightful leader.”

  I smiled tightly at him, struggling to contain the tension that had my neck and back tight with anticipation. I dreaded the start of the battle and yet I also craved it. If only the practice went well I would be assured of Aoi and Dad’s commitment to follow me to Ferengren.

  Once the rest of the Oceanids had joined us in the arena we all went outside and surrounded The Haven.

  “I want you to practise the sequence here one last time before we move to the bigger practice ground.” I told them.

  Mitra and another thirty Zmija formed a ring around its perimeter and at a signal they all swam to just below the surface, behaving far better than they had the day before. Once there I began to say the words that we’d all practised, each word being passed around the circumference of The Haven until it reached me again.

  The Oceanids in charge of the harpoons and underwater bows stood ready and shouted the order to fire at the right intervals, their weapons hanging loosely at their sides as they ran through the drill.

  The words for the talents were repeated again and the Oceanids spoke through which talents would be used.

  I watched all of it anxiously, trying to picture the devastation that would be unleashed on Ferengren and how we would get Merrick, the children and Takimu and his group out alive. I rubbed my eyes, pushing at the worry that seemed to hound me constantly.