I swam over to Agwe, who stood atop the spire, staring off into the distance. You could see well beyond Fomoria from the spot.
"I'm sorry," I said. "You were trying to sing a song that reminded me of home."
Agwe chuckled and shook his head. "I can't believe I thought singing a song about big butts, or tails in my version, would be romantic."
I shrugged. "It was cute, though. And the whole idea of trying to sing something I'd know, even if not the best song choice, was sweet."
Agwe smiled at me. "Thank you for saying that."
I leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. "I'm sorry for acting like a bitch."
"You weren't wrong, Joni. I am having a hard time connecting with you."
"The only time we really connect is when we're fighting together," I said.
Agwe nodded. "I agree. I'm not sure fighting supernatural evils with aspirations to dominate the world is any more romantic, though, that songs about big tails."
I shrugged. "Maybe not. But it's our thing, don't you think?"
"But can that be our thing?" Agwe asked. "The whole point of fighting off threats like that is to stop them, to keep the people safe, to achieve peace and security."
I bit my lip. "What if we could go on an adventure of our own? Maybe it wouldn't be to fight something like the voidbringer or zombie sharks. But a lot of couples, human couples, do things like that."
"They do?" Agwe asked.
"Sure," I said. "Some couples like to go on safaris together. Others climb mountains or go white water rafting. What if we found something we could hunt. It might be what we need, you know?"
Agwe nodded. "But we can't leave. Not until we know for sure that Nephtalie and that pirate ship aren't coming back."
"What if we could?" I asked.
"How?"
"What if we could leave but come back to precisely the time when we left."
"Joni, don't tell me you're talking about going back in time."
I shrugged. "Why not?"
"Because you can mess a lot of stuff up when you do that. Didn't you learn last time? When you went back to the past, you actually set off the very chain of events that led to what caused the zombie shark problem."
"Bad luck," I said. "Besides, it isn't like I changed the past. What happened was always going to happen no matter what. Whatever we might do in the past, the present has already accounted for it. How do we know that we don't have peace now, that the pirate ship didn't disappear because we went on an adventure and somehow stopped it by something we did? Just because what you do in the past impacts the present, a present that happens regardless, doesn't mean that it will always be a bad thing. We could do good things, too."
Agwe sighed. "It's still risky. When you went to the past, before, the fate of the world was at stake. You took a calculated risk. If we do something like that just because we're looking to have fun together, that's irresponsible. There's always a chance that things would go awry, and we wouldn't make it back."
"Not really," I said. "I have Legba, you know. Worst case scenario, he can take us through the void and back to today."
"And if we're in the void," Agwe said. "We'd be vulnerable to a caplata's summons."
I snorted. "Well, dammit, Agwe. We need to try something. We can't stay in this funk forever."
"I'll tell you what," Agwe said. "If you can come up with an adventure, something that won't take us too far from Fomoria and doesn't involve time travel, I'm in."
"Any adventure?" I asked.
"Within the parameters I stated," Agwe said.
I smiled. "I might be able to come up with something."
"Make it a surprise," Agwe said.
I chuckled. "Are you sure?"
"You're right about how this life, this peaceful existence, has been a bit dull. Every day is predictable. I want to do something the opposite. Exciting and unexpected."
I grabbed Agwe's hand and interlaced my fingers with his. Then, I rested my head on his shoulder. "I'll come up with something. Want to come to bed?"
"To sleep?" Agwe asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Unless you have something... unexpected... planned, yourself."
CHAPTER SIX
THE WHOLE IDEA of going on an adventure together got me excited. Agwe and I had more passion that night together than we'd had since the night after we finished off the whole zombie shark fiasco.
I had an idea. A bit reckless, perhaps. But what the hell. It wasn't anything we couldn't handle. If going back in time to fight the Kraken was out of the question, what if I could bring the Kraken to us? Back in the day, it sunk a lot of ships. But those sailors weren't wyrmriders. If the Kraken, in fact, did just disappear, maybe it hadn't gotten old and died. Maybe some Fomorian queen from the future, yours truly, stole it from the past. Worst case scenario, if it ended up being a more significant challenge than I anticipated, the wyrms could create a portal to the void and send it through. No harm, no foul. Plenty of adventure. But I had to figure out where and when the Kraken existed. And, I had to convince Legba to allow me to pull it through the crossroads to the present. I couldn't be sure he'd agree to it. But what the hell. I could always ask.
Agwe was always up before me. He'd been a demigod a lot longer than I'd been La Sirene, a demigoddess of a sort. He didn't sleep much. His merman host body required some sleep, of course, but he usually got away with only about four hours a night. I required my full eight. Otherwise, I'd be crabby as all get-out.
Titus, of all people, woke me up. "La Sirene, there's a young merman here who said you told him to come to see you? He said something about shadowing Evan."
"Finn!" I said. "Where is he?"
"He and his sister are waiting in the throne room."
I rubbed my eyes as I wiggled out of my hammock—no beds in Fomoria. The hammocks helped prevent us from floating around and bumping into things while we slept. "Tell him I'll be there in a moment. Give me a minute to get back into sorts."
"Yes, your Highness," Titus said before turning and leaving my room.
Showing up in my quarters while I was sleeping. Hilarious. A regular comedian, that one. At least he didn't wake me up to any more bad fish jokes. And thankfully, I had my kelp bikini on. Half the time, I slept topless. I'd have to talk to Titus about barging in on me like that. I know I didn't have doors. And a knock might not have been enough to wake me up. But he could blow a conch shell or something. I suppose, having served King Conand for so long, he'd never had to worry about barging in on him underdressed.
Still, after being queen for more than a year, you'd think he'd have figured it out. Oh well. It wasn't like he did it every day. And I was excited to see Finn. I don't know why, but something about helping a young merman explore a possible career, and play matchmaker between him and Evan, was mildly thrilling.
Of course, I didn't even know if Evan was gay. So, there was no guarantee that Evan would reciprocate Finn's interest. But I'd never seen him with a mermaid, and he was a nice looking fellow. At the very least, Finn would get a chance to find out if there was something there worth pursuing. Career or relationship wise.
Shelly and Finn were waiting in the throne room—Shelly had a confident posture, her hands on her hips, while Finn floated just behind her. They both bowed a little, as was customary when I swam in.
"Oh, stop it, you two," I said. "I might be queen, but I'm a regular girl at heart."
Shelly smiled wide. "Thank you for doing this for my brother."
"Yeah," Finn said. "Thanks."
I cocked my head. "Finn, why don't you come with me? I'd like to chat with you a little."
"If you don't mind," Shelly said. "I have something I'd like to show you, too. If you have the time."
"Of course," I said. "Both of you, I have a more intimate room in the back. Better for a conversation. This room is a bit, well, ceremonial and pretentious. Not really my style."
"You're a bit strange," Finn said.
"Finn!" Shelly said, ba
ckhanding her brother on his shoulder.
"No," Finn said. "I didn't mean it that way. I suck at words. I didn't mean strange like weird. I meant strange, like different. I think it's a good thing."
I nodded. "Well, I'm not from around here, you know. I'm a born and bred southern girl at heart. Full of spunk, piss, and vinegar."
"That sounds gross," Finn said.
I smiled. "It's a saying from where I came from. It's not literal. I mean, sometimes I'm full of piss, but you know, isn't everybody?"
Shelly and Finn laughed as they followed me into a small room behind my throne. I rarely sat the thing. It was just a symbol, anyway. It wasn't like I had any more or less authority on a thronet. It was pretty, though. The whole thing glistened with pearls. Not at all comfortable, but you know, I guess that wasn't the point.
"So first thing first," I said. "Evan doesn't know you're coming. But he'll be fine with it. Because I'll tell him to be fine with it. You know, queen and all."
"Of course," Finn said, fiddling with his fingers.
"Second, Finn, you don't need to be nervous. If you want a boy to like you, just be yourself, okay?"
"I'll try," Finn said. "I guess I never thought, you know, he'd so much as talk to me much less spend time with me."
"Make the most of it," I said. "And remember, while I won't stop you at all if you two hit it off, remember this is also a career opportunity."
"Of course," Finn said. "I understand that."
"Good," I said. "Now, Shelly, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"I wanted to show you something," Shelly said, opening her hand. She had a small bag made of seaweed in it. She reached into it and pulled out a long, glowing strand.
"What's that?" I asked.
"I'm an aspiring inventor," Shelly said. "I've been reading about how humans have electricity, almost like a kind of magic that powers their world."
"Right," I said. "Doesn't usually mix well with water, though."
"Until now," Shelly said. "Here, hold one end in one hand."
I grabbed the strand as she held it out to me. "What is this, exactly?"
"Now touch the other end."
I took the other end in my hand. The second I touched it, I felt a shock. "What the..."
"Electricity!" Shelly said, beaming with pride.
I cocked my head. "Seriously? How did you do this?"
"You've heard of electric eels, right?" Shelly asked.
"Of course."
"Well, I caught one. I've been studying how it produces a current. This strand, here, it's something I developed that can carry a current safely in the water."
"And the source?" I asked.
"All chemical," Shelly said. "Kind of complicated, but simple at the same time. I can reproduce this on a large scale. Think of it, La Sirene. We could have electricity in Fomoria."
"Holy crap," I said. "This is brilliant, Shelly. Truly!"
Shelly smiled wide. Finn put his hand on his sister's shoulder.
"My sister is sort of a genius," Finn said. "She's been working on this nonstop for months."
"Just months?" I asked.
Shelly shrugged. "Well, I've been thinking about it a lot longer than that. But when I sorted out the chemical reaction needed to produce the current, the whole project sort of took off."
I bit my lip. "And you think you could use this to develop other technologies for the kingdom?"
"I have a ton of ideas!"
"Well," I said. "It looks like the both of you will be starting your careers today."
"Seriously?" Shelly asked, giddy with excitement.
"Seriously," I said. "This is revolutionary, Shelly. And I want to make sure you have every resource you need."
"You won't regret it!" Shelly said.
"Report to me," I said. "Run everything by me, so I know what you're working on."
"Yes, of course!"
I nodded. "And if I'm not around, you can work with Tahlia just the same."
"Thank you, La Sirene!"
"Joni," I said. "We're going to be working together a lot. I'd rather you call me Joni."
"Yes, Joni. I'm so excited!"
"Me too!" I said. "Now, Finn, let's go introduce you to Evan."
"Oooooooooh!" Shelly said. "Evan!"
"Shut up, Shell," Finn said, blushing a little.
I chuckled. "Both of you, follow me."
CHAPTER SEVEN
EVAN WAS ENTHUSIASTIC about training Finn. The introduction, of course, was a little awkward on account of Finn's shyness. But he'd come around. At least, I hoped he would. Finn was every bit as handsome as Evan. I suppose growing up with a twin sister who is so outgoing and brilliant might have given him something of an inferiority complex. I'm no shrink, but I could see how he'd likely lived in his sister's shadow. Even now, in fact, when the meeting was supposed to be all about Finn, Shelly stole the show. I don't think Finn blamed her or resented his sister. Still, he was so accustomed to playing second fiddle it probably hadn't ever occurred to him that he might have something to offer, too. As an only child, I wasn't exactly an expert on sibling dynamics. Still, it made sense. It was good, I thought, to give Finn a course to follow that was his own, something he could learn and embrace as his own without his sister constantly arresting all the attention.
All that said, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enthralled by Shelly's brilliance. She was a pretty girl, not the nerdy sort you'd expect someone with her affinity for science and invention to be. I talked with her for a bit to get an idea of her ideas, and she rattled off one after another.
"I'll tell you what, Shelly. Why don't you narrow it down to four or five of your best ideas? We'll get to the rest eventually. Put together a plan for how you might implement those ideas, how they might benefit Fomoria, and present your ideas to me tomorrow."
"Got it!" Shelly said. "I won't disappoint you!"
"I don't expect you will," I said, smiling.
Shelly was giggling like a school girl might who had a crush. Only her object of affection wasn't a boy. It was her inventions. I was more than a little curious to find out what ideas she'd have to share with me the next day.
Still, I had other plans for the day. My first priority—learn what I could about the Kraken and figure out if there might be a way to bring it here so Agwe and I could wrangle with it.
I know. I know. A bit reckless, right? A lot of boys, and a few girls, I went to school with were really into the rodeo. It's a thing in the south. Riding a bucking bronco is reckless, too. But a lot of young men get a thrill out of it. This was no different. The Kraken, if I could find it at all, was undoubtedly more wily than a bronco or even a bull. But I wasn't some common cowgirl, either. I had power. Agwe had power. I was accustomed to riding a wyrm, for God's sake. To get the sort of thrill others might get from the rodeo, I had to kick things up a notch or twenty.
I checked in with Finn and Evan before I left. I usually let Evan know since he'd see me on the map. I figured it was an excellent opportunity for Finn to see how the map worked for the first time.
I could hear Finn and Evan laughing as I neared the map room. I smiled a little. It was good to hear that they were hitting it off.
"How's it going, boys?" I asked.
"Fantastic!" Finn said, looking up at me wide-eyed with excitement. "This map, it's amazing!"
"Has there been any activity, Evan?" I asked.
"None at all, La Sirene. But you know, the map is pretty impressive even when it isn't showing anything."
I nodded. I almost forgot how incredible it was. When I first became queen, I obsessed over it. I watched the map constantly. I was so worried about the caplatas and whatever threat might be coming next that I hardly did anything else. It wasn't my best moment. It made me a crappy queen for a time. This arrangement was far better. And I was really starting to grow into this whole queen gig.
"I'm going to be heading to land," I said. "I'll be taking Nammu, so you should get quite a show."
"You will," I said. "And of course, Evan, if you see anything crazy, you know what to do."
"Of course, La Sirene."
"Crazy like what?" Finn asked.
"She means," Evan explained, "if anything magical shows up like it's coming after her or whatever. Suppose we have any reason to believe she's in trouble. In that case, we blow the conch, and that will signal the wyrmriders and the rest of the legionnaires to assemble and prepare to engage the threat."
"What if they don't make it in time?" Finn asked.
"I'll be with Nammu," I said. "Trust me, there aren't many threats out there who could keep up with us. Besides, you know, the wyrms can cast wyrmholes, and I'll get out of there stat and meet up with the rest of the wyrmriders and the legion to go after whatever threat there might be."
"Badass!" Finn said.
"Very badass," Evan said, smiling at Finn.
"You two are cute," I said, smirking.
Finn's eyes went wide. Had I embarrassed him? Probably. Evan cocked his head a little, apparently confused why I said that.
"Cute?" Evan asked.
"You're working well together," I said. "That's all I meant. I remember how it felt the first time I saw the map, the first time I saw everything in Fomoria. So much wonder. You remind me a little bit of myself, Finn."
"Thank you, La Sirene!"
I nodded. "You guys have fun, okay?"
"Will do!" Finn exclaimed.
"Good luck on your journey, La Sirene," Evan said.
I nodded and left. My plan wasn't great. There was one person who might have an idea about how I might find the Kraken. She wasn't born yet when the Kraken was a thing, but she'd been around the block a few dozen times and seemed to know a little bit about a lot of things. I needed to check in with Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen.
The problem? It would be the first time since my human form was infected with vampirism that I'd been to shore. But I've always been a strong-willed woman. Like I was going to let a few blood cravings mess with my plans. Besides, short of showing up at Mercy's house and telling her that, surprise, she'd made a mermaid vampire baby, Marie Laveau was the best chance I had at figuring out how to navigate my new, darker nature.
Wyrmrider Justice: An Underwater Magic Urban Fantasy (The Fomorian Wyrmriders Book 3) Page 3
