Rule 9 Academy Series Boxset: Books 3-5 Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy (Rule 9 Academy Box Sets (3 Book Series) 2)

by Elizabeth Rain

  But I couldn’t worry about that now. We glided over the grassy tops, the tips brushing our bellies and thighs until we reached the tunnel. Niel had his light, but I gave a shake of my head when he went to switch it on. He wouldn’t be able to use it here. Instead, he and the others would have to rely on my ability to guide them.

  This made me wonder how the Seascrill functioned so well in the dark. I didn’t have to wonder for long. As we entered the tunnel, I realized that as my eyes adjusted, the darkness wasn’t absolute. Instead, the farther we traveled along, the brighter it became. The walls and surrounding tunnel were glowing, as if lit by a thousand little green lights. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it made additional lighting unnecessary.

  We were less than fifty yards in when Fern screeched inside my mind, “Hide!”

  I darted into the first smallish tunnel on my left. It was only ten feet long and ended in a tiny room barely big enough for us to squeeze into and turn around. The change in the current, and a flash of something dark past the opening, told me we’d had a near miss as someone passed by where we hid.

  “Clear,” came the weak response.

  We continued out and along the main corridor for another fifty yards when Fern whispered, “There, on the left.” Did the signal seem weaker than before?

  Another smallish tunnel opened up, and we took it. Ten feet in, we encountered bars. On the other side, Tarus Council, my sisters, Dael, and a handful of guards stared out at us owlishly, their eyes an eerie reflection in the luminescent dark. They rushed towards us. Pinna pushed through, thrusting her wan face forward as she cried, “Get us out of here! They’re going to kill me, I know it.”

  Mirra sent her an impatient glare, snatching my fingers through the bars. “You shouldn’t be here. If they catch you, they won’t be putting you in here with us. You’ll be dead,” she hissed.

  “I couldn’t abandon my family,” I said. Now I stared at the bars in despair. They looked solid.

  Thomas moved up beside me, brushing me aside and reaching out with muscled arms. He gave them several good yanks. I could have told him the bars were made of sturdier stuff.

  Nicholas and Niel moved to take his place, brushing us both back out of the way.

  A tired flutter of words entered my head. “Hurry…”

  We backed away to give them room. They examined the lock. It didn’t look complicated, but they certainly had no key. Finally, they placed their hands on either side of the steel plate housing the locking mechanism. Faces grim, and lips pulled tight, we watched as the panel paled to a frosty white, before taking on a pinkish hue, the luminescence eerie in the green glow of light from the walls.

  It came apart with an audible crunch. Thomas reached out and wrenched the door forward, and it opened the rest of the way.

  “Coming…” came the tired words, so faint… With a flick of my tail I turned, heading back the way we’d come, not pausing in the main corridor. We moved as fast as we dared, but my friends weren’t fish and without tails they slowed us down. We burst out of the tunnel opening and headed for where we’d left Fern at breakneck speed. We had barely cleared the tunnel when I heard the eerie rising cry from the others. They were calling the Abaneki’. The iridescent water dragons came by the dozens, in every painted hue of the rainbow, shuddering to a halt in front of us all. My Onlander friends’ eyes widened to impossible proportions. The Council and the Royals wasted no more time, each reaching out to the nearest water dragon and grabbing hold.

  With a wicked grin of delight, Sadie palmed the bony protrusion of a dragon that was nearly the same coppery hue as her own when she changed. Niel snatched a limp Fern to his side and reached out to hitch a ride on one of the larger males. His normally jovial manner was missing, his attention focused solely on the girl in his arms. We moved away from the caverns in a swirl of bubbles. Motion near the entrance to the cave caught my eye as we passed by. Several Mer-men and women emerged, all armed, and looking for us, I was sure. But it was a fleeting glance as the Abaneki’ carried us swiftly beyond their ability to pursue us. Seascrill especially were fast, but nothing was swifter than a water dragon.

  We covered a mile before we came to an abrupt halt. The Abaneki’ milled about, shuddering impatiently, their teeth flashing. All at once, our rides pulled away, abandoning us with a flash of silver fins and colored tails. Mirra and Dael pulled up alongside me, and we turned to face Tarus Council. They eyed Thomas and the rest of their rescuers in confusion. My guess was that it wasn’t every day they were rescued by a bunch of Onlanders sporting fins and breathing masks.

  My eyes clashed with Council Leader Leta. “We got you out. What next?”

  Her eyes blazed with righteous indignation. “We take Tarus back, that’s what. When we were attacked, most of the guards were scattered. But I think the Draco Rebellion has spread themselves too thin.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that. “There were Tarians amongst them. Did you recognize them?”

  Frustration flashed in her eyes. “No. Traitors with masks. They will be dealt with according to Tarus Council law.”

  I bit my lip. I knew what that meant.

  “We’d better get back then, and figure out how we’re going to get in and regain that control. The guards, inside and out, are scattered and hiding. Rebel squads have enacted a curfew. I’m assuming they have taken over the palace and set up temporary headquarters there as well.”

  She nodded. “I figured as much.”

  I frowned. “How are we going to get in? They’ll know we’re coming.”

  “We’ll figure something out.” She didn’t look sure of herself.

  Mirra cleared her throat, her expression thoughtful. “Maybe we’ll surprise them.”

  The older woman turned to glare at Mirra, her eyes cold. “And exactly how do you plan to do that?”

  Mirra met her gaze head on, refusing to look away. “Simple, we go in through the back door.”

  Leta’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Well, regardless of how we do it…” She looked around, her eyes pausing and hardening on those of us that didn’t belong before she finished. “We need more troops. These numbers simply will not do.”

  #

  We moved slower without our rides, floating just above or within reach of the pond grass that covered the lake bottom, the leafy fronds several meters high, providing meager cover. But we didn’t go to Tarus. Instead, Dael and Tarus Council led us away from the city. Mirra swam at my side, grim and unsmiling. I caught her dark eyes on Thomas several times—probably because he had glued himself fast to my other side.

  They led us to an isolated and empty landscape where the leafy vegetation gave way to acres of silt and sand in a section of Deep Lake that I’d never been before. It reminded me of pictures I’d seen of the Sahara—desolate and devoid of life. A mammoth rock pulled my attention. Easily the size of a house, it was embedded into the northernmost wall along the shore of Deep Lake.

  I turned to Mirra. “Where are we, and what is that?”

  “That is Addius Cave. Compliments of the glaciers when they came through.”

  I imagined it must have hurt to cough up such a huge monolith, like some great rocky fur ball.

  Dael moved up beside her. On my right, Thomas eyed him in open suspicion. “Addius Cave may just be one of the largest geodes on earth. There’s a crack near its base that leads inside. As desolate as this is? Wait until you see the inside of that giant ball,” Dael added.

  The Council struck out then, swimming towards a darkened hole near the bottom. The rest of us followed. I was tired of swimming into dark crevasses, but I imagined any predilections toward claustrophobia had been effectively tamed. Inside, the tunnel rose abruptly to surface inside a perfectly round cave. I stared in speechless wonder, my mind trying to catch up with what I was seeing. The awed gasps of my companions indicated they were no less amazed. Addius Cave defied description. It was a kaleidoscope of shimmering, brilliant oranges and blues and greens. Further heightening
the effect was the ceiling. It was as spectacular as any clear night sky on earth when every star lit the heavens. Only these stars moved, and they were a light fluorescent green.

  I frowned, suspicious. “Are those Silk Maidens?” I asked Dael.

  But it was Mirra that answered. “No. Neode Spiders. Unlike the orb weaving Silk Maidens, these don’t spin webs. They feed on the Silla Mites that are covered in the mineral rich condensation covering the ceiling and walls. It causes them to glow. Neat, huh?”

  “Spectacular…” Sadie murmured, her eyes reflecting the luminescence eerily. It was a relief to hear her voice now that she was out of the water.

  Thomas turned to me, his eyes filled with wonder. “Gorgeous,” he agreed. I felt a blush creep over my cheeks.

  I would have loved to have had time to admire its beauty, but ours was not a social call. We looked along the long sloping shore, covered in fallen shards of sharp crystals. Seated in random groups were the missing members of the guard—those that had escaped capture by the Draco Rebellion.

  Maybe forty wan and tired Tarian soldiers stared at us as we emerged from the pool. I looked for our captain, Shade. He was missing, and I wondered what had befallen him. Maybe he hadn’t made it out. But if so, where was he, then?

  Leta stopped next to a tall woman with short cropped blonde hair. Liia, Shade’s first lieutenant, stood at attention wearily. A large gash bisected her muscular right bicep.

  “Where are the rest?” Leta asked.

  Liia shrugged. “Dead? Captured? We don’t know. What you see is what you get, I’m afraid. This wasn’t the haven we thought. There were over a hundred when we arrived here after the attack, but the Seascrill and…others were already here and waiting. We fought, and we were able to beat them back, but it cost us over half of those of us that were left.” Her eyes darkened in remembered horror. “And something else. Not all of them were Seascrill. Some of them were Tarians.”

  “We’ve figured that out. Did you recognize any of them?”

  She shook her head. “No, they were all masked.”

  Leta’s mouth firmed at the news, though she didn’t seem at all surprised. Her eyes roamed over the gathered group of Tarians, all looking at her expectantly, and waiting for her to give them direction.

  Her mouth hardened as she addressed the small beaten group gathered there. “I know you are weary and hurting. We fought a mighty battle in Tarus—and lost. But now is where we have to rally. By now the Seascrill Rebellion will know we have escaped. And since Addius Cave is obviously no longer a secret, they will know this is where we will come to rally the remaining troops. We need to be gone by the time they get here. Next stop for us all? Tarus. It’s time to take back our city before we lose it to the Draco Rebellion for good.

  When everyone simply stared at her in wan eyed defeat, she growled in frustration. “Get up, I tell you. We aren’t done here yet!” she shouted. A few rustled and stood.

  I stepped forward. “Is this it, then? You’re going to let them have your homes? What about your families? They are still there, under control of the Rebellion. What think you of their chances with the Rebellion in control of your every move? Do you really believe your lot will improve?”

  “It might…” came a belligerent voice from the back.

  Leta immediately hissed, “Who said that? I’ll have you…”

  I whirled on her. “Hush. You don’t strengthen your case.” I turned back, addressing the nervous crowd. “Look, I know I don’t belong here. I’m not really one of you. Regardless of what anyone thinks, I’m an Onlander.” I waved my hand to show my flippered friends, their odd breathing apparatuses still in place as they breathed through their mouths out of the water. “My companions, too, are Onlanders. Some of you wonder what you are fighting for. And I have to admit, I’ve wondered the same thing.”

  The Council gasped in outrage behind me. I held a hand up to still their protests. “The thing is, the Rebellion has fed your head full of empty promises they don’t intend to keep. They have no intention of making things better, of seeing that you have more rights, or of changing laws that make no sense for who we are as Mer-men and Mer-women anymore.”

  “The law states…” Leta ground out behind me.

  I whirled on her. “Yeah, well, it’s a stupid law, and it needs to change.”

  A ripple of gasps went through the Council members. “Maybe you aren’t the best choice for queen…” one of them threatened.

  “Maybe you should have thought about that when you were trying to force it down my throat,” I shot back.

  To the crowd, I continued. “The point is we aren’t fighting for rebel rights, or the laws of the Council, or even for the Royal Family. Not anymore. Instead, we fight for our very livelihoods, all of us collectively. For our families and loved ones. And I wish we had time to debate things, but we don’t. Leta is right, the Rebellion is on its way. They may be knocking on the cave door even now. We have to go. My friends and I? We’re headed to Tarus to fight and take our city back because it’s the right thing to do. Because there are a lot of innocent Mer-people there who need us. If you choose to join us, that’s great. If not, you can sit here and wait for your fate to arrive. Because it’s coming.”

  And then I turned, ignoring the glares and whispers of the Council at my back. I dove clean back into the pool, pausing beside Thomas.

  His eyes gleamed oddly as he murmured, “Look at you, Sirris Waverly.”

  “We have to go. I’m not sure what we’ll do when we get there, but I have to do what I can to save the innocents being held hostage in Tarus. I wouldn’t blame you if you went back, this isn’t your fight.”

  I looked at all my friends, treading water in flippers with rubber masks spelled to their faces. They looked like something out of some crazy science fiction film.

  Sadie piped up, rolling her eyes. “You talk too much, Sirris, and we are wasting time. Let’s go.”

  To nods all around, we dived.

  Whether it was my inspiring speech, or the threat of imminent death, we weren’t alone when we arrived on the outskirts of Tarus. Still, forty beaten guards and a handful of elderly Council members didn’t an army make. Liia took over, doing her best to marshal the troops and form a plan to retake the city despite her injuries.

  In the end, it basically involved storming the city and shooting anyone that shot at them first. Those that surrendered would be spared to stand trial. Extra troops would remain at the tunnel entrance and pool into Tarus.

  We would use the cover of darkness to aid our entrance. The sky was black on the surface as night descended, fading visibility below to near zero if you were an Onlander.

  I glanced over at Thomas, frowning when he turned gleaming red eyes in my direction—frightening eyes. That couldn’t be right.

  We were all gathered, ready to move, when Leta stepped forward, her disapproving eyes moving over those of us missing tails. She spoke up, her voice a warble of sonar I could understand. Thankfully, my friends could not.

  “They can’t come. They aren’t Tarian. They aren’t even Seascrill. They don’t belong inside Tarus.”

  I shot back. “Onlanders, you mean? They are my friends and you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them.”

  Her lips firmed, her eyes icy with disdain. “That may be, but the law is clear. Onlanders are not allowed inside Tarus.”

  I opened my mouth to say more when Fern moved up beside me and grabbed my arm roughly. But she wasn’t looking at me. I followed her eyes to where Thomas was being supported between Todd and Nick. He was shaking, his hands clenched in fists and his mouth a tight line. His eyes were impossibly red and filled with alarm. Suddenly, I got it. It was night and there was a full moon. I didn’t have to work hard to imagine the ramifications if he changed under the water. There was no spell to glue a mask in place to that. He’d drown in seconds.

  Frantically, I moved in his direction, pointing towards the surface. Behind me, the Council leader tried to ge
t my attention, but Thomas had all of it. I cut in between Nick and Todd, where they frantically kicked their flippers towards the surface, and wrapped my arms around him as he shuddered and fought the change, trying to hold it back. And then we were flying to the top and towards shore as fast as my mermaid tail could propel us. We were fifty yards out on the lake’s surface when he lost the battle. I felt it all—the ripple of changing bone and reforming sinew, and the soft, slick pelt that emerged and thickened. He was fully the beast, his canines sharp and his eyes fiery crimson when they turned on me, his jaws snapping at the air before he thrust me away. Animal instinct took over as he swam for shore, and I kept pace. But I didn’t stop him or grab hold. Beside me, the others surfaced, struggling to keep up. I stopped several yards offshore, watching as he pulled himself free, fully changed. He was much larger than any timber wolf. He shook madly, water flying in all directions. And then, almost as if a small vestige of who he was remained, he turned and looked straight at me. He gave a short chuffing bark, his dark, gold eyes hungry on mine, and then he turned and loped into the woods and vanished.

  “Well, I have to say, that’s something you don’t get to see every day. And I don’t care who you are,” Sadie murmured, treading water at my side.

  Todd gasped beside me, “I have to go after him. In his current state, there’s no telling what he’ll do or who he’ll attack. We just replaced our prize bull, too. And that steak is definitely not on the menu,” he growled.

  I thought of what I was facing below, and the misplaced prejudice of the Council. We needed everyone on the same page, not fighting over who belonged—or didn’t. I opened my mouth to speak, but Fern beat me to it.

  There was an odd look in her eyes I’d never seen before, almost as if she was privy to some secret I wasn’t. “It’s okay, Sirris. Go. Do what you have to. We’ve done what we came for. Besides, Todd’s right. I believe he may need our help to…cage the beast.”