Tahlia raised one eyebrow. "They're in the void?"
"And for the better part of the time I was gone, I was in the past."
Tahlia cocked her head. "You went back in time? How cool is that?"
"Not as cool as you'd think," I said, shaking my head. "When the voidbringer came, it was partially my fault. But you all never blamed me for it."
Tahlia shrugged. "You were trying to save your baby. Who could have ever predicted..."
"Thing is," I said. "In the process of trying to figure out how to control these zombie sharks, I basically freed Marinette. I helped a caplata and basically gave them what they needed to cause this problem with the sharks to begin with."
Tahlia's eyes widened. "That is great news!"
I coughed in my hand. "Excuse me? Did you hear what I just said?"
"Joni," Tahli said. "You really think if these bokors or caplatas wanted to do something like that they couldn't have found some other way to raise hell without you?"
I sighed. "I suppose they would."
"Since you know how this started," Tahlia said, "it means you know more about how to stop it than we might otherwise."
I grunted. "Yeah, sort of."
"Casting blame, even if you're casting it on yourself, isn't going to solve the problem. You can't find victory in the future if you allow your missteps in the past to define your present."
I bit my lip. "Yeah. I get that."
"Do you, Joni?" Talia asked.
"I just said I did."
"But do you really get it? Because if you don't, if you are going to let the past hold you back, what are we even doing? Why even fight these things?"
I snorted. "A friend I met back in the past. Not just my past. The literal past. He said I'm too guarded. That I need to allow myself to be vulnerable."
"Sounds like a wise man," Tahlia said. "Before you left, all you ever did was sit in this room, look at that damn map, so you could defend the city. All we've been able to do since you've been gone is defense. Protecting Fomoria. Fighting the sharks so their zombie shit doesn't spread to the land. But with you here, we need to go on the offensive. It's the only way to stop this once and for all."
I sighed. "Alright. First, I need to try and use Legba's aspect to bring back Agwe and Ruach. Have any of that stoner kelp?"
Tahlia cocked her head. "Sure. But why would you want that?"
I chuckled. "I got captured by Conand's legions, back in the past. I mean, it wasn't under Conand's orders. Long story. But when I was bound in the dungeon, I was able to use a piece of kelp to get me in touch with Legba and to summon Agwe and Ruach from the void."
"You realize, Joni, that the kelp can't do that, right? It doesn't have any power to open the void."
I shook my head. "I know. But it opened my mind enough to do it myself."
"We can try," Tahlia said. "But if we're going to open the void, we probably shouldn't do it here. In the wyrm fields, maybe?"
I nodded. "Not a bad idea."
Tahlia smiled and turned to leave. Just as we passed through the passage out of my chambers, Titus showed up.
"Where are you two going?" Titus asked.
Tahlia kissed him on the cheek. I furrowed my brow. Tahlia and Titus? Really?
I cleared my throat. "You two?"
Tahlia giggled. "Long story. You have yours to tell. I have mine."
"Fine with me," I said. "At least you won't be flirting with my husband anymore."
"I wouldn't put that past her," Titus said. "She still flirts with everyone."
"I do not!" Tahlia said, her hands on her hips. "There are a few people I won't flirt with."
"Okay," Titus said. "She doesn't flirt with children or the elderly. But beyond that..."
Tahlia rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad. And I don't ever act on it. Not since we've been together, anyway."
Titus laughed and kissed Tahlia on the cheek. "I know. I suppose I should head back to my old quarters, Your Highness?"
I nodded. "Once this is over, if we can beat these sharks, I'll want my room back. But before you settle in, you should get the Wyrmriders, the legionnaires, ready. We'll need them sooner rather than later."
"Aye!" Titus said, saluting me. "Where are you two off to now?"
"To the wyrm fields," Tahlia said. "We're going to try to bring Admiral Agwe and Ruach home."
"The rest of the wyrms are already there," Titus said. "But if you need an escort..."
"We'll be fine," I said. "Thank you, though."
Titus nodded and left. Tahlia and I followed him through the corridors. Titus went in one direction. We went another.
"There's plenty kelp in the wyrm fields," Tahlia said. "So we can use that."
I nodded. "Good call."
As we left the firmament guarding Fomoria and entered the open ocean that separated Fomoria from the wyrm fields, Tahlia looked all around to ensure no sharks were lurking nearby.
"Ever figure out how that one shark got through the firmament before?" I asked.
Tahlia nodded. "Yes and no. We think it was because it was a juvenile. But it's only a working theory. We haven't allowed any sharks to get close enough since to repeat that travesty."
It wasn't a long swim between Fomoria and the wyrm fields. I did my best to fill in Tahlia on the details of all that happened. She listened intently but didn't have much to say in response. It was what it was.
We passed through the firmament protecting the wyrm fields. Nammu, Tohu, and the other wyrms were curled up in the foliage. They were out of their silk armor which, I supposed, they probably needed help from their legionnaires to put on. Wyrms are mighty powerful, but you can only do so much without hands.
Tahlia dove down into what looked like a thick patch of seaweed. She returned a few moments later with a piece of blue, glowing, bioluminescent kelp.
"You ready?" Tahlia asked.
I nodded. Tahlia draped the kelp over my neck.
Colors started to swirl. No flash of darkness. No blackness. And thankfully, no repeat performances by Burt Reynolds. Just colors.
"Papa Legba, you there?" I asked out loud.
No response.
"Papa Legba! It's me, Joni! La Sirene!"
Silence...
Nico said I needed to be vulnerable. I needed to really embrace my role as queen. But I thought I was doing that. I mean, what else could I do? It wasn't like I could just flip a vulnerability switch in my mind, and Legba would show up like a jolt of electricity in a light bulb.
I sighed, removed the piece of kelp from my neck, and dropped it, letting it sink to the ocean floor.
"It's not working," I said, shaking my head.
La Sirene? Nammu asked, slithering her way toward us. I could help if you'd like...
I bit my lip. "You can open up a portal to the void, cant' you?"
Of course, La Sirene...
"And when you do, you can bring back Agwe and Ruach from the right time? I mean, does time matter in the void at all?"
Nammu looked at me and cocked her head. In the void, all times in the void exist at once and none at all. But the Agwe who is meant to return here, along with my Ruach, will come as they are meant to do.
I snorted. What Nammu said didn't make a lick of sense. But when talking about a realm beyond space and time, trying to make sense of it was a lost cause. I'd been there, myself, and wasn't sure what to make of it. But I trusted Nammu. And she was right. With my power aiding her, she could open a portal to the void.
"I think we should do it outside of the firmament," I said.
Nammu nodded her massive head. Be warned. When the void is open, what comes from the void can be unpredictable. If anything tries to come through...
"Like another voidbringer?"
Yes... or anything else... we may not be able to stop it once it enters the portal. If you see anything coming other than Agwe and Ruach, we will have to close the portal.
I nodded. "Alright, we'll keep our eyes open for anything nas
ty."
It is more a matter of being sensitive to it in your spirit. For not everything that might come from the void can be seen, La Sirene.
I took a deep breath and exhaled again. "With my spirit... I'll try... but we need to get Agwe and Ruach home one way or another."
Tahlia and I hopped on Nammu's back, and she carried us outside the firmament. I siphoned enough magic from it to combine with Nammu's portal.
I released my magic, giving it to Nammu, as she cast the portal-a giant swirling pool of gold, turned black, opened.
"Tahlia," I said. "You have Agwe's aspect. Can you speak to him through the portal?"
Tahlia nodded. She closed her eyes. She didn't have to speak out loud to make the connection.
I looked at Tahlia intently. She winced.
"What is it? Is he okay?"
"He's fine. So is Ruach. It isn't that..."
"Then what's wrong?"
"Something else... he says its something you sent to the void before... it's there; he's trying to separate from it."
I sighed. "Ghost pirates."
"Can we close the portal the second he and Ruach get through? Before the pirates?" Tahlia asked.
I nodded. "Probably. But if they do come through, don't get on their ship, whatever you do. They'll suck the life right out of you if they catch you."
"Alright," Tahlia said, narrowing her eyes. "They're on the way."
"Nammu," I said. "Something is trying to follow Agwe and Ruach... can you close the portal the second they're clear of it?"
Of course, La Sirene...
I stared at the black portal. Agwe and Ruach blasted through it.
"Close it now!" Agwe shouted.
Nammu was on it. She cut off the portal the second the tail end of Ruach was through.
I didn't realize I'd been holding my breath. Well, the equivalency of what breath is when I'm a mermaid. Oxygenated water, really. Now that they were through, and the ghost pirates weren't, I allowed myself to exhale.
Nammu nuzzled up with Ruach. She didn't need to use the same kind of connection to speak to him that she did with me. Still, I imagined she was telling him all about their six new children. Ruach pulled away and stared back at Nammu, then slowly swam past her into the wyrm fields.
"Is he okay?" I asked.
Not so much time has passed for him as for me. He is still in mourning. I am, too, but for Ruach, the loss of Enki is still fresh.
"Makes sense," I said. "And suddenly having six new children..."
He is overjoyed but also laments that he not only lost Enki. We also missed most of his childhood, and we barely got him back before... and now Ruach has missed out on the first two years of our other children's lives.
I sighed. "I hadn't thought of that."
Agwe put his hand on my back as Nammu nodded and returned to the wyrm fields. To be with Ruach.
"Glad to see you made it home in one piece," Agwe said. "Didn't expect you'd take so long to bring me back."
"I barely got here," I said. "For some reason, either I screwed up when I used Marie's enchanted skull, or she set it up to send me back at this time instead."
Agwe sighed. "Have you figured out anything we can use?"
"I have," I said. "Actually, Nico discovered something, and he left it for me. Had it waiting for me at his house when I arrived here, in this time."
"What is it?" Agwe asked.
"He discovered that Marinette derived her power from Erzulie. Isn't she... you know... your other wife?"
Agwe sighed. "I told you, my marriage to Erzulie was political. It wasn't about love."
"And ours was different how, exactly?" I asked, shaking my head.
Agwe cocked his head. "You think the only reason I married you was to make you a queen? So you could use Legba's aspect, so you could reach out to Merlin to help with the voidbringer?"
I shrugged. "Sort of got shafted on that deal. I've only been able to call on Legba a total of two times now."
"Perhaps that had something to do with the timing of our marriage, Joni. But I've been enthralled by you ever since we met. I would have wanted to marry you, eventually, regardless."
I shook my head. "That's nice to hear. But no offense, Agwe. I wasn't ready for a relationship. And since we were married, you haven't exactly acted like a husband."
"I know you weren't ready, Joni," Agwe said. "Which is why I've been giving you your space."
"But you haven't respected my authority as queen! You left with Ruach, went to the void, without so much as consulting me!"
"You're upset that I haven't honored you like a queen when you've expected me to act all the while as if I were your subject? Joni, I'm a Loa. I'm not a Fomorian. I've never been a subject to any Fomorian monarch, not even Conand."
"Then you still could have told me what you were doing. As your wife... you should have let me know."
Agwe nodded. "I thought I was doing what was best. But I see now that you're right. I should have told you."
"Or at least left a message," I said. "I mean, I get why you left. You did what you needed to do. And I probably wouldn't have allowed it."
"I don't know," Agwe said. "You've always made the sacrifices you've needed to make for the sake of the greater good. You were just trying to be a good queen. Trying to adjust. I was frustrated that you didn't step in as if you'd been trained for ruling an underwater merkingdom your entire life. You needed time to grow into your role."
"Perhaps we can both admit that we haven't' behaved as we should have," I said. "Either way, right now, I have what we need to summon Erzulie. The hooves of the pig that Marinette first sacrificed to harness her power."
"With that," Agwe said. "We should be able to silence Erzulie's power. If we do that, Marinette will become mortal again."
"And if Odette and Nephtalie cannot use Marinette's power to command the sharks..."
"Perhaps, if we can bring them under the command of one with the aspect of a Ghede, we can take control of them ourselves. This vampire, Nico, is he still here?"
I shook my head. "He isn't. But his progeny is here. Her name's Mercy. And she seemed to think, based on what Nico told her, that we might need her help later."
"We will," Agwe said. "We'll get her when it's necessary to do so. First, though, we must bind Erzulie."
"Can we do that here?" Tahlia asked.
Agwe shook his head. "We must summon her in Marinette's presence. And that is something easier said than done."
Chapter Forty
We left Titus in charge this time. He beamed with pride at the announcement. I hadn't really even resumed my role as queen, and I had to head off again on another world rescuing mission. Titus couldn't command the wyrms without either Tahlia, Agwe, or me-one of us was needed to speak to the wyrms to ensure we could communicate our intentions.
But he could defend the city with the merlegion. In the two years since I left, the young recruits had grown up. No longer were they limited to patrols around Fomoria's perimeter. They'd successfully managed to prevent the zombie shark pandemic from reaching land. They'd protected Fomoria, albeit with the wyrms' help, from what could have been another zombie shark incursion.
Tahlia had to come with us for two reasons. The first, quite simply, was that she wanted to. After acting as my vassal for the last two years, she wanted to be a part of ending this once and for all. Second, though, as the priestess of Fomoria, she'd also learned a lot over the last two years.
Neither Agwe nor I could conduct the ritual to summon Erzulie. Agwe was married to Erzulie. I was married to Agwe. There was a bond there, according to Agwe, that made it impossible for us to complete the binding. For Loa, a marriage is a form of an alliance. Agwe couldn't bind Erzulie. And since I was married to Agwe, I inherited his alliance to Erzulie by proxy.
Stupid Loa politics.
Tahlia, however, had learned enough as the priestess of Fomoria to understand the basics of how one might summon a Loa. Cleo, apparently, hadn't done much o
f that. When she was priestess, there simply hadn't ever been an occasion for that. But the priestesses were, apparently, mambos of a sort. At least, they used to be. Tahlia had learned enough she was confident she could complete the binding summons.
We gathered the supplies we needed-the things Nico had left me, which I had brought with me to Fomoria in plastic zipper bags-and returned to the wyrm fields to get Nammu, Ruach, and Tohu.
Nammu was a little anxious about leaving the children to fend for themselves. I understood that. Sure, wyrms might mature faster than humans. But they were only two, after all.
Tahlia helped us get the silk armor on our wyrms. It was rather impressive. It was thick material. The way the Fomorian armorers or tailors had weaved the sea silk together made it formidable stuff. And best of all, flexible enough and light enough the wyrms could still move in it.
And the saddles... I'd had the same thought myself, how a side-saddle might make holding onto these wyrms easier. The saddles, also made of seal-silk, wrapped around the wyrms' massive bodies and had a little hoop on the side for our tails. All I had to do was fold my fins in a little and stick my tail through it. With the reins, for my hands, shaking me off of Nammu wasn't likely to happen even if she was moving at full speed or had to jerk her body around suddenly.
All in all, it was incredible what Tahlia had come up with. I'd already commissioned similar armor for the legion. But to oversee enough production to produce armor for the wyrms too? I hadn't thought of that. Mostly because it didn't seem possible to pull off. Tahlia proved me wrong, on that account. A part of me wondered if Fomoria might be better off if she assumed the throne.
It wasn't really my choice, though. The Fomorians acclaimed me as queen when I took down the voidbringer. And, based on their history, they didn't often depose monarchs. I wasn't even sure how many centuries Conand had ruled Fomoria. Still, I doubted after such a long reign that Fomoria would accept my abdication of the throne. Tahlia wouldn't allow it, either. Perhaps, though, with her at my side, I could be the queen that Fomoiran needed. I didn't have to be the be-all-end-all for the kingdom. A good queen, someone told me recently, knows her weaknesses, her vulnerabilities, and trusts others to be strong where she is weak.
Wyrmrider Vengeance: An Underwater Magic Urban Fantasy (The Fomorian Wyrmriders Book 2) Page 21
