The Mermaid Trials

by Cameron Drake

  “How much Trial history do you know?”

  I shrugged, popping some roe into my mouth.

  “Same as everyone, I guess. I didn’t have any special information from my dad. Maybe if he’d lived longer . . .”

  “Every Trial, there are practical tests and competitions of strength, cunning, and endurance. Then there are some contests that go beyond that. Magical contests that look inside you. Today, we will face two.”

  “What are those?”

  He exhaled, looking around.

  “Today, you will face your greatest fear.” Starla looked pasty at the thought. I imagined I did as well. “And your greatest wish.”

  “But how?”

  “Magic, of course. Annaruth.”

  I shivered, recalling how she’d seen inside me so clearly when she dressed me. Anything she wanted to know was revealed without my even knowing it. She told me it was hard to stop, even if she did not want to know. The knowledge would come to her unbidden.

  “How do you know this?”

  “My cousins are Royals. Lower-rung.”

  I wasn’t surprised. He was always well-fed. His clothing and armor were elegant and well-made, though nowhere as flashy as most of the well-to-do Mers.

  “You can’t tell anyone else.”

  “I won’t.” I glanced at Starla and she nodded vigorously in agreement. “Me either.”

  My appetite disappeared suddenly, but I forced myself to take another bite. I chewed slowly, barely tasting my food. I gazed thoughtfully at my friends. Facing my worst fear was terrifying, but facing my greatest hope? How could that possibly be dangerous? But it must be or they wouldn’t have made it a Trial.

  Either way, it frightened me.

  More than I would ever admit to anyone, especially Starla.

  Two long lines stretched from the edge of camp toward the arena, one for boys and one for girls. Apparently, we would have an audience for today’s Trials, which tested two Mer at a time. I was not looking forward to people seeing what my greatest fears were.

  Being in the audience might have been interesting, but partaking? And possibly failing? I dreaded it. For the first time since the Trials began, I felt less than confident in my abilities.

  The truth was, I was terrified.

  The lines moved steadily. You would think that taking two at a time would take hours, but apparently, they had finally weeded out some of the competition last night. Only the top half of the competitors were still here.

  Unfortunately, that meant Thalia had done better than expected. I saw her ahead of me in the line, laughing and tossing her pretty blonde hair with her cronies. Several of them had made it through as well.

  “The line is moving fast.”

  “Well, there are fewer of us now. And they have slowed time down in the arena. If an individual trial takes half an hour, only a minute passes outside. If it takes an hour, then two minutes pass. Of course, most of them will take considerably less than that.”

  My eyes grew very wide. Time magic was one of the most difficult, and rare, forms of magic there were. It wasn’t just impossible to do, it was hard for me to imagine.

  “They must be getting hungry in there.”

  Dane laughed, floating in the line parallel to me. He said that he hoped we could go into the arena at the same time. I secretly hoped he would go in with Starla. There was a chance we would be able to help each other.

  “You are always thinking about food.”

  It was true. I was already getting hungry again, even with my nerves. But the leftover food was back at the tent, buried in the sand beneath my cot.

  Not far ahead, Rip and the Spiky girl were next in the line approaching the arena. Soon enough, we would know who was going in together. It certainly looked as if they had planned to pair up.

  He turned and looked over his shoulder. I looked away immediately. I had to admit being curious about the two of them and Juno. They were my biggest competition so far, other than Dane. The thin, dark-haired Mer had not done well in the second day of the Trials, though I suspected he was still in the running for Messenger. He’d been second-fastest after me.

  I wondered if they took sour dispositions into account when deciding these things. I wondered how much pull Annaruth had with her insights and premonitions. And then I shook all of that off.

  I had bigger fish to catch at the moment. I had to survive and pray that my friends did as well.

  The line kept moving. As we got closer, it became clear that we were, in fact, paired up. Starla was one spot ahead of us, paired up with a young Mer named Macum. He was the one with the third eye, which was closed right now. He seemed nice and had done just well enough to stay in the games. They’d struck up an easy banter during the wait. I had to hope they’d make it through together.

  So far, two Mers had been grievously injured, though the Medics and Annaruth’s magic had just barely saved their lives. No one had died. But it was only a matter of time.

  One Mer was still missing, which was something no one was talking about. A young Mer had gotten lost during the Trench Trial. She’d simply gone in and never come out again.

  I supposed . . . well, by the end of the day, she would probably be the first true casualty of the Trials. And there were sure to be more.

  Before I knew it, there were five Mers in front of me and five before Dane. Then four. Three. Two. One.

  Starla went in with Macum, with a quick hug from each of us. It seemed less than a heartbeat passed before it was our turn. I knew it was magic, but the sense of wrongness was thrumming in my bones.

  I didn’t trust Magic. It was unpredictable at best, and dangerous if one didn’t know precisely what they were doing. Thankfully, Annaruth did know what she was doing. And I knew she would try not to let me die. But she must be tired. Technically speaking, this Trial had already been going on for days.

  The heavy door swung open and we were told to come inside. Dane and I exchanged a glance and then swam into the arena.

  Chapter 18

  The Arena looked completely ordinary as I swam to my side of the large circle where a small circle of stones waited for me. There were no signs of magic or weapons, save what was strapped to our backs. There were no threats.

  I did notice that a few Mers seemed to be dozing, while others were eating.

  Aha! So they do get hungry!

  My stomach grumbled as I saw vendors doling out what looked like seaweed salads and crab legs.

  Dane took his place in the stone circle in the center of the other half. I turned to look at him, feeling myself losing the battle with my fear. In fact, it felt like the fear was palpable, filling the very water around me and seeping into my bones. I feared for myself, but I felt equal fear for him as well. I knew he could handle himself well. I should be hopeful for him. But instead, dread was pounding in my veins.

  The Trial had already begun, I realized with sudden insight. The wait outside. The stillness of the crowd. The fear itself was part of it. It was Magic. I wondered if the Mers in the stands could feel it.

  The arena went dark. I held perfectly still, waiting for something to happen. At first, nothing did. And then I felt it.

  Movement.

  Something was in the water behind me. Something big. I turned and realized I was back in the sea cave, this time with the giant squid. The arena wasn’t dark. It was gone. And I was lost in the sea of kelp with a killer who was hungry for my flesh.

  But it didn’t come for me. It didn’t need to. It had its lunch and its dinner.

  There were already two Mers in its clutches. Two young female Mers. I screamed when I saw who it was. Starla and Thalia were struggling to free themselves from the thick and heavy tentacles.

  I reached for my shoulder and my waist, grabbing a weapon with each hand. I grabbed the spear with my right and a curved dagger with my left. Pulling them down in front of me, I charged forward.

  I slashed at the monster again and again. I ended up doing nothing more tha
n annoy it. It tried to catch me, but I evaded it with short bursts of speed. I darted around its massive, swirling arms. One brushed me, sending me careening into the sand. I rubbed my flank. That tentacle had felt like fluid stone covered with rubber. It was thick and heavy, pure muscle. I felt the oxygen leave my body in a whoosh as I lay there stunned.

  Then I saw it.

  The squid was protecting something.

  In the shadow cast by its massive body lay an egg sack, shining faintly in the dim light. I could just barely see movement inside the cluster of eggs. The squid was a she. And she was breeding.

  Starla and Thalia screamed my name frantically. This time, I ignored them, swimming right for the eggs. The squid roared as I threw my spear, tearing the sac open. Starla and Thalia were released and swam quickly away. Starla glanced back but Thalia didn’t pause. I called out frantically to them.

  “Go! Get as far as you can!”

  I faced the squid alone, praying they were far enough away to be safe. Right now, the squid only had eyes for me. I took my other dagger in hand, waiting. It launched itself at me, terrifyingly fluid in its movements. It was like fighting smoke.

  But I did not stop. I sliced my dagger across a tentacle, diving beneath it. Blood filled the water, along with ink. But I could feel my enemy. And after a time, I realized I was winning.

  The real turning point was when I sliced clean through a tentacle. The roar of pain and fury was so loud, it nearly knocked me on my tail. Instead, I took off another tentacle. And another.

  And then it lay there, bleeding. Barely moving, the squid mewled pitifully. I realized that the kind thing to do would be to kill it. I lifted my sword above my head. I was about to drive it through the creature’s eye when light filled the arena.

  “Well done, Katriana. Well done, Dane.” Annaruth was before us, seated with the Royals. “You have conquered your greatest fears.”

  I looked over at Dane. He was crouched on the ground with his helmet covering his face, as if he’d also been in the midst of a battle. I noticed broken chains and ropes lying on the sand around him. His eyes were on me as he slowly rose to his full height.

  I nodded and he nodded back.

  “Katriana, you feared losing the people you care about. Dane, you feared being trapped. Neither of you let the fear overwhelm you or change your character.”

  I glanced over at him. Trapped? And why had Thalia been in my Trial? I swallowed, realizing that even though I despised her, she was the last family I had left in the entire world. She might be a pain in the fins, but I didn’t want her to die.

  I’d never wanted that.

  And Annaruth had known.

  “Now you must face your greatest wish.”

  My eyes grew wide. Now? The next Trial started now?

  Annaruth nodded as if I had spoken aloud.

  “But this one, you will face together.”

  The crowd gasped but I barely noticed. I was swimming toward Dane and he toward me. We were reaching for each other when it began.

  Our fingertips brushed as the convulsions started. My body arched in the water, falling to the sand below. I was suddenly heavy, awkward, unable to stop the pain that ripped through me. I twisted and contorted, feeling as if I was being torn apart. But not by sharks or even a two-legger propeller blade.

  I was being torn apart from the inside.

  I tried to search for Dane with my eyes but I could not find him. I twisted again, and there he was, his eyes wide and terrified as he tried to reach me. From what I could see, he was going through the same thing. His muscular frame shook and shivered, exactly as mine did.

  I felt it the moment I saw it.

  Something was wrong with Dane’s tail. It was growing pale and withering. I stared down at my own body. It felt like I was dying. But with an awful rending sensation, I felt my tail tear in two.

  I wasn’t dying. I was growing legs.

  I was becoming human.

  I screamed at the realization. I would be a human and my gills would close up. Not a Spark. A Spark would have a tail underwater and legs on land.

  A human at the bottom of the sea was in terrible danger indeed. There was no time to reach the surface, but we had to try. I had to swim before my gills closed up. I had to get air. I had to—

  “Go!” I screamed at Dane. And then I swam. My legs were not fully formed yet. It felt so strange to be using two weak, inflexible tails instead of one powerful one. I wracked my brain as I rose up and over the edge of the arena. Dane was just behind me, I was grateful to see when I paused, looking around.

  I stared in horror as his gills closed over.

  “We need a cave! I know one!”

  “No time!”

  Our words were muffled, unclear. Our Mer voices, meant for speaking underwater, were gone.

  “Use magic!”

  I stared as he held his hands around his head, closing his eyes. I quickly followed suit, trying to imagine a magical, oxygen-rich air bubble surrounding my head. I thought I felt something and opened my eyes.

  Nothing.

  I fought the urge to inhale sea water, knowing I would quickly drown if I did.

  Forget the old ideas, Tri. Annaruth said you had buried Magic. Try again.

  I closed my eyes and tried again.

  Dig deep. Find it hidden within you. Believe.

  I imagined bright, dazzlingly white and gold Magic pouring from my heart, up my arms, and out through my hands. I felt something in my hands and opened my eyes.

  An air bubble! Not much, and not enough to cover my head. But I pressed my face to it and breathed in. Dane was struggling, having produced nothing. I swam toward him, offering him a sip of air from my bubble. He gasped the air gratefully. I tried again. I needed a bigger bubble! We both did!

  I had an idea and grabbed his hands. “Four hands are better than two!” He nodded, getting my meaning. We crossed our wrists so that our palms faced inward in the form of a circle, and we closed our eyes.

  Floating, but not in water. I had the odd sensation of floating but holding perfectly still at the same time. The strange sensation made me open my eyes. Dane lay inside the giant air bubble across from me. He was laughing and coughing at the same time. Water spilled out of his mouth to his chest. But he was smiling, visibly relieved.

  I inhaled deeply, then coughed up sea water. The air felt wonderful in my lungs! Soon, I was laughing too. I stared at him, and then my legs. The skin was pink and smooth. I touched them, amazed that they had freckles, not unlike my arms, chest, and face.

  Then I realized something wonderful.

  This is what I would look like as a Spark.

  “I guess we both really want to walk on land.”

  He shook his head, smiling, and grabbed my hand.

  “You did it, Tri.”

  “We did it.”

  We sat there holding hands as the bubble slowly dropped back into the area, landing on the sand with a slow-motion bounce. We stared in awe through the membrane. The world looked so different through the air. Clearer, but distorted. His hand felt sort of smooth, and yet our skin had a bit of friction where we touched. Annaruth walked slowly toward us with a large smile.

  “Well done, children.”

  And then she popped the bubble.

  Chapter 19

  “No one else competed together. We were partnered deliberately.”

  “We both want to be Sparks. That must be why, right?”

  Dane clenched his jaw. We were sitting outside the Medic tent, our wounds having been declared non-urgent. It was true. We’d escaped our Trials with only a few superficial cuts and bruises. Starla was still being treated.

  “Something like that.”

  I was still recovering from the shock of the day’s events. It was hard to decide which of the Trials had been harder. The first event had shaken me, but the second one had taken me completely off guard, particularly at the end. Our tails and gills had reappeared with the first splash of sea water. But I�
�d feared for my life for a moment.

  So yeah, getting your fondest wish was pretty terrifying.

  And then there was the first Trial.

  It turns out, that had been real. Not only the giant squid, but Starla and Thalia had truly been there. And I hadn’t saved either of them fast enough to prevent injury, though neither was hurt too badly to continue in the competition. They were inside the tent now, getting fixed up. On the bright side, I didn’t have to worry about not finishing off the monster I’d left maimed. I’d already been told the giant squid had been magically healed and would continue to serve the Royals, though the phrase ‘obediently serve’ was conspicuously missing.

  Her name was Morla. I shivered. Morla would haunt my dreams for a long time, I knew without a doubt. I wondered if the octopus from the opening race also had a name. I decided I preferred not to know. Morla was quite enough for me, thank you very much.

  I just hoped she didn’t participate in any more of the Trials. Especially if she held a grudge. After all, I had attacked her egg sac. I’d simply been trying to save Starla and Thalia, but I doubted Morla knew the difference. It still rankled me that my half-sister had been included in my Trial. I hated that she knew that I cared about her, even though that familial emotion had been pushed way, way down, far below the surface.

  Any love I felt for Thalia was basically deep in the trench of my soul. But apparently, it was there despite all the years of bad behavior and rejection. I supposed it made sense. I’d known her for almost all of my life. But I didn’t have to like it.

  “So . . . Thalia? Really?”

  I groaned.

  “She’s my half-sister.”

  He stared at me, a mottled bruise forming over his cheek. The truth was, it made his eyes sparkle. The Mer was pretty much too handsome for his own good.

  “She’s from one of the wealthiest families in this region.”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “So how in Triton did you end up with no armor? Or supplies? Or food?”

  I couldn’t look at him. The shame of being rejected by my so-called family was too great. I tried to sound nonchalant, when the truth was . . . I was mortified.