FIERCE: Sixteen Authors of Fantasy

by Mercedes Lackey

  “No, but we have plenty of options at the Grotto. We just leave these special ones where they might be needed most. We’ll send yours back here when you’re done with them. If we can find ‘here,’ right, Jasper?”

  The moth thing buzzed closer, and I saw that it wasn’t an insect at all, but a tiny man with a round belly and long, thin limbs. The wings that fluttered on his back were the color of dust, and a thin layer of fuzz in the same shade covered his body. His disproportionately large, black eyes studied me, and then he grunted and buzzed back to sit on Cassia’s shoulder.

  “Jasper’s a little ornery at the moment,” she explained. “He was sleeping.”

  “Hibernating, actually,” Kel added. “Cave fairies like their sleep. He wouldn’t have wakened for anyone but Cassia.”

  She turned her face toward the creature on her shoulder and smiled. “And we couldn’t do it without you, you know.” Jasper pinched her ear and turned red under his fuzz.

  “The fairies know the caves well, and can find their way anywhere,” Cassia said as we stepped back into the tunnels.

  Jasper rode most of the way, sitting on Cassia’s shoulder and making strange noises into her ear to tell her where to go, or sitting on her head and tugging on her hair to give directions. He didn’t seem to like anyone else speaking, so it was very much a silent trip.

  The caves were like nothing I’d ever read about or imagined. We passed through one with a thundering waterfall, and later came to a place where massive, glowing crystals hung from the ceiling like chandeliers, and jutted out from the walls so that at times we had to turn sideways to squeeze past them. I was so mesmerized by a spectacular formation overhead that I didn’t realize I was walking into danger until Cassia grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side.

  “Careful there,” she said. “We’re underground, but there’s still a whole lot more down under us.”

  I looked down. A wide, black crevasse opened up in the floor next to my feet.

  “Thank you,” I whispered through the lump in my throat.

  “A bit overwhelming, isn’t it?” She gave me a reassuring smile and squeezed my arm. “Just be careful. We don’t want to lose you.” And just like that, she won me over again. Cassia was becoming nearly as confusing to me as Aren was. I gave up trying to figure her out and just followed her deeper underground.

  Chapter XXVIII

  Rowan

  JASPER LET US STOP TO eat in a cave that reminded me of my aunt’s garden, but ten times as lush and beautiful. The space was bright, though without an identifiable source of light, and plants covered every surface except for a few paths, climbing the walls and dripping with fruits.

  “I love this one!” Cassia exclaimed as she pulled an emerald-green gem of a cherry from a branch overhead and popped it into her mouth. I followed her example and tried several of the fruits that looked at least somewhat familiar. Some were sweet, some rich and savory, but everything was good.

  Our stop wasn’t long enough for a proper rest, but our guide seemed eager to keep moving, and we had to leave the garden cave all too soon. We walked until we reached a flat, stone wall that stretched so high above our heads that the top was lost in darkness in spite of the glowing crystals surrounding us. Cassia thanked Jasper, who patted her cheek and buzzed away without even a glance at the rest of us.

  “He’s not usually like that,” she said. “They just get really pissy when you wake them up.”

  She and Kel each pressed a hand to the wall, and a doorway opened in front of us as the stone seemed to melt away.

  A bright light hurt my eyes after the dimness of the caves, and I lifted a hand to shield my eyes. The light had a strange, shifting quality, and brighter spots danced across a blue-marble floor. Kel led the way out of the tunnel, stepping into the light.

  “Welcome to the Grotto,” Cassia said.

  “Wow,” I whispered. The cavernous room was as different from the caves as it could have been. A high, cream-colored wall stretched out to one side of us, dotted with a row of doors in different colors and shapes, and over them a high balcony with more doors leading off of it. An empty banquet table occupied the far end of the room, and a huge mosaic, the pattern of which I couldn’t quite make out, decorated the center of the floor.

  It was all beautiful, but it was the wall across from the strange doors that held my attention. It appeared to be made entirely of impossibly large, clear panes of glass. And outside of this enormous window was the bright blue water. Not the surface, as one might see from any other window, but beneath it. This was the source of the mottled light, sunlight that had filtered through the water and been magnified by the glass. As I watched, a school of thousands of small, silver fish swirled past, chased by a few dozen larger fish snapping at the back of the group.

  “Is this still the lake?” I whispered to Kel.

  “No, my dear. The caves brought us much further than that. This is the sea, though I’m not at liberty to say exactly where.”

  I stepped closer to the window and looked down. A coral-covered wall dropped away on a slight slope, disappearing into darkness in the depths below. When I looked up, I couldn’t tell how far we were from the surface.

  “Kel! Cassie!” A child’s voice bellowed from an open archway under the balcony, and two children in dirty pink dresses raced across the floor toward us. The little girls jumped into Cassia and Kel’s arms.

  “We didn’t know you were going away,” the smaller one said crossly, and squirmed until Kel put her down.

  “Kind of a surprise trip, kid,” he said, and mussed her curly, brown hair. The girl ducked out from under his hand.

  The other girl gave Cassia a kiss on the cheek, then slid down to join her sister. They could have been twins if not for the difference in height, and the fact that the older one had blue eyes and the younger one a warm hazel. Both had clear, olive skin, round cheeks, and the same wild hair. The younger was about five years old, and her sister only a few years older. They stood side by side and stared at me and Aren.

  A woman who looked a lot like the girls followed them out more slowly, wiping her hands on her apron. “Girls, I told you they—oh!” She saw that Kel and Cassia weren’t alone, and stopped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize we had guests, I would have cleaned myself up.” She gave us a bright smile and came forward again. “Forgive me for not shaking hands. I’m in the middle of baking and I don’t want to get you covered in flour.”

  “Shawn makes the best pies in the world,” Kel said, “and she grills an excellent tuna, too, if you like cooked fish. Shawn, this is Rowan and Aren.” She nodded to each of us. The taller girl cleared her throat. “Oh, yes. And these delightful young ladies are Sadie and Lisbeth.”

  The girls looked solemn as they shook our hands. Lisbeth, the younger girl, leaned toward her sister and said, “They’re not mer, either.” They giggled and raced toward a wide spiral staircase, climbed to the balcony, and disappeared into a room, slamming the blue-and-gold door behind them.

  “You’re human?” I asked Shawn, and she laughed.

  “I’ll take it as a compliment that you couldn’t tell,” she said. “We are, and temporary visitors. Sorry about the girls. I’ve been busy helping to get ready for the feast and haven’t had much time to pay attention to them today. They’re going a little crazy.” Shawn wiped her hands again, and flakes of pastry fell to the floor. “I really should get back to the kitchen, but it was lovely meeting both of you. Will you be joining us tonight?”

  Kel snapped his fingers. “I forgot in all of the excitement. There’s going to be a party tonight. Dancing, fancy clothes, music, food. If you’re interested.”

  “Oh, of course!” Cassia’s face lit up. “Rowan, you have to let us help you get ready. We’ll get a bath ready for you, and I’ll see who I can round up while you rest. It’ll be fun. Please?”

  She seemed so excited that I had to laugh. “Sounds good to me. Aren?”

  “Have fun. I’ll see you later.” T
here was hesitation in his voice, and he didn’t quite accept the invitation for himself. I squeezed his hand, and then Cassia grabbed mine and dragged me toward the stairs.

  She’s even more enthusiastic about this stuff than Felicia is, I thought, and felt a moment of sadness that she couldn’t be with me to see all of this.

  Cassia pulled me along the balcony, banging on doors and introducing me to more people than I’d ever be able to remember the names of, all of them merfolk, most wearing soft robes and getting ready for the party.

  She found an empty room for me, one with a red door in the shape of a pointed arch. It was a large bedroom, with a wide, wooden bed suspended from the ceiling on thick ropes that attached to the floor beneath. There was a white stone fireplace surrounded by bookshelves, and a large, round tub half-sunk into the floor in the corner. A mismatched dressing table, wardrobe, and wash-basin occupied the space next to it. Cassia ran her fingers over the curved edge of a writing desk. “It’s all from shipwrecks. Does that bother you?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Good. Now, make yourself comfortable, get off your feet for a bit. It’s going to be a late night.”

  “Cassia? Are they going to let Aren stay?”

  She turned back to where she’d left me standing on the thick, blue carpet in the center of the room. “That will be up to Aren.”

  I continued to explore the room after she left, but couldn’t stop worrying about Aren. Would the elders let him stay? If they didn’t, would he come tell me? Cold dread pooled in my stomach. He wouldn’t just disappear. Not now.

  I went to the door to make sure Cassia hadn’t locked me in. It was heavy, but pulled open easily. Silly.

  I took a book from the shelf and lay down to read. The ropes held the bed firmly in place, allowing only a little movement even when I pushed off from the floor.

  He’ll figure it out, I thought. He has to.

  I was finishing a story about a young mer-woman who was tricked into falling in love with a land-bound prince when there was a knock at the door. Cassia entered, followed by six of the women I’d met earlier. They brought platters of food and drink, and encouraged me to eat while they went to find dresses.

  As they were leaving, another mer woman came in. I guessed she was older than Cassia, but it was difficult to judge any of their ages. She carried herself gracefully, and though her skin was unlined, her black hair was streaked with silver. Her smile was kind and warm.

  “Cassia,” she said, “I remember your friend Aren, though he’s changed much since we last saw him, but I don’t believe I’ve met this young lady.”

  Cassia took my hand and led me closer. “Mariana, this is Rowan. Kel and I brought Aren and her here because they were in danger and had nowhere else to go.” I sensed that Mariana already knew this, that asking was only a formality, but Cassia chewed her lower lip nervously after she spoke.

  Mariana smiled. “You are welcome here,” she said to me, “as long as you can make yourself useful and your presence does not cause discord among my people. You are safe here from what would harm you above. Will you be joining us tonight?”

  “I look forward to it,” I told her. “And thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, my dear. Kel told me about your other problem. We’ll want to begin testing in the morning.”

  “Thank you.”

  She rested her hand on my arm. “It may be difficult for you, physically and emotionally, but it will be the best way for us to know what to do next.”

  My stomach dropped, but I nodded. “Whatever will help.”

  “Good. Try to relax and enjoy yourself tonight. Cassia, I’ll send the others in now?”

  “Yes, thank you.” Mariana left, and Cassia turned to me. “She’s lovely isn’t she?”

  “She’s amazing,” I said, and tried not to think about what the testing might entail. “She’s one of your elders?” I reached for a golden pear and bit into it, and the sweetest juice I’d ever tasted flooded my mouth.

  “Yes. If we were human, I suppose she’d be our queen and Arnav our king. They’re very wise.”

  One by one, Cassia’s friends came back into the room with arm-loads of dresses and shoes. The colors were like nothing I’d ever seen before in clothing. Rich, sparkling jewel tones layered on top of one another in what should have been an eyeache-inducing clash, but instead seemed warm and exotic and beautiful.

  “Don’t worry, you don’t have to try this all on,” said a red-haired woman when she saw my wide eyes. “We brought things for ourselves, too.”

  “But there’s plenty to choose from!” added a blonde who had the longest eyelashes I’d ever seen.

  “All right, bath time!” Cassia called, and led the way to the tub, which was quickly filling with water from a pair of bronze faucets. No one seemed inclined to leave while I undressed, but they weren’t watching, either. Some were already busy trying on dresses. A petite young mer who might have been my age sidled over and stood next to me.

  “It’s okay,” she said softly. “It’s normal for us to be unclothed around each other, but I can ask everyone to leave, if you’d be more comfortable.”

  “No, don’t worry about it,” I said. “I’m in the Grotto, I’ll do as you all do.”

  I stepped out of my dress and into the water. It was cooler than I was used to in a bath, but I didn’t take my time easing myself in. After I sank into the water and wet my hair, I sat on a sunken ledge inside of the tub. My new adviser sat on one of the steps on the outside, and smoothed her plain blue dress over her knees.

  “Is it too hot?” she asked, and I shook my head. “Things are more different on land than most merfolk realize. We tend to assume that you’re comfortable with the same things we are.” She brushed her seaweed-green hair away from her face.

  Compared to everything else I’d seen since we left the lake house, her hair shouldn’t have seemed so strange, but it was. Not the color itself, but how natural it looked against her warm skin and bright blue eyes.

  “I’m Niari,” she added. “Sorry I missed meeting you earlier.”

  “Pleased to meet you.” I reached for a bar of soap and cleaned myself under the water. “You seem to know a lot about land-dwellers. I thought merfolk didn’t spend much time up there.”

  “Most don’t, but some of us enjoy it. If you don’t mind me saying so, I find the ways you live simply fascinating.” She held up a glass bottle of a thick, clear liquid. “Do you mind?”

  “No, please.” She poured the soap over my hair and massaged it in, rubbing her fingers in tight circles over my scalp. Having a stranger touch me while I bathed was only uncomfortable for a moment. It felt incredible. “How do you find it different?” I asked.

  “Well, compared to what you might be used to, I’d say we’re more relaxed. You all have lists of rules longer than I am tall. Rinse.”

  I ducked my head under the water. When I came up, Niari continued. “It made me afraid at first. I thought that any people who were only a law away from theft and murder must be something like caged monsters, but you’re not. At least, most of you don’t seem to be.”

  “Is that the only difference?”

  “Not at all!” She leaned closer and grinned. “I have a particular interest in the mating habits of humans.”

  “Aah.”

  “You pair for life, or at least hold that up as an ideal. We’re much more casual about these things, more fluid. But we’re also not as easily damaged by separations as you are. You have fragile spirits, and you become attached to one another so easily. There was a time when I pitied you.”

  “And now?”

  “Not so much as I did.” Niari held up a towel for me. I hesitated, and she looked away as I checked to make sure no one was looking, then stepped out of the bath.

  “It’s just a different world entirely,” she continued. “Your people have to procreate like salmon because of your short lifespans and high rates of mortality. We’re long-lived and very difficult
to kill, so we bring new lives into the world less frequently. When we do, we raise them as a community rather than in the little family groups you keep. We’ve been accused of emotional detachment, but it’s not true. We care deeply for one another, and are loyal to our community and even to our human friends. But one adult relationship tends to be like any other. We’re not limited like you are.”

  “Oh.” Opposed as I’d been to marrying before I was ready, I’d never thought of being with one person as a limitation. I wondered how Aren felt about that, after spending so much time with the merfolk, and growing up with a father who had five wives. It wasn’t the kind of thing I’d have thought to ask.

  Niari smiled. “I’ve met plenty of humans who were willing to accept mer-like terms for a short time. It just doesn’t seem to work for many of you on a permanent basis.”

  I slipped into the dark-blue robe that Niari offered, and accepted a drink with smiled thanks from another mer-girl as she passed by. “When Cassia said that Mariana and Arnav were your elders, I just assumed that they were more permanent than that.”

  “You’re actually correct there,” Niari told me. “They’re not the only ones, but it’s extremely rare. When two mer-folk have that kind of love and devotion to one another, like they’re really one spirit in two bodies, we call it a soul-bond. It’s absolutely unbreakable. Beautiful to see, but it’s not desirable to most of us.”

  We sat on a firm, curved-backed sofa near the fireplace. A few of Cassia’s friends went to the tub and sat on the edge with their feet in the water, chatting and brushing each other’s hair like mermaids in a story book. A few more exclaimed over shoes that they’d laid out on the bed. A mer woman who Niari introduced as Dianna sat with us. She and Niari were as interested in my life as I was in theirs, so we had plenty to discuss.

  It took me a while to realize that Cassia was missing. I asked if anyone had seen her, but no one had. Perhaps she’d stepped out for some quiet. I decided to do the same, thinking that I might see Aren and ask how things had gone with the elders.