Ling nodded. Becca and Neela took each other’s hands.
And Astrid’s stomach dropped.
This was the moment she’d been dreading. She’d known it would come, but she hadn’t thought it would come so soon. She wasn’t ready.
“Maybe it would be better if I helped out with Mulmig,” she said, panicking. “I’m good with bandages. You don’t need me for the convoca.”
Astrid felt Becca’s eyes on her. She glanced over at her. Tell them, Becca mouthed. It’s okay. Astrid shook her head.
“We do need you,” Ling said. “Vrăja told us that our magic is strongest when it’s combined. We’ll have a better chance of getting Ava if we cast together.” She reached for Astrid’s hand.
“I…uh, I’m really tired,” Astrid said, desperate. “I think I need some sleep.”
Becca couldn’t contain herself any longer. “You need to tell them,” she said. “This can’t go on forever.”
“Tell us what?” Ling asked.
Astrid glared at Becca. “Thanks,” she said. “Thanks a lot.”
“Is something wrong? Maybe we can help you,” Sera said.
Astrid heaved a deep sigh. They were kind and concerned now, but would they still be when she told them the truth?
Becca swam up to Astrid and put a gentle hand on her back. “When you keep a secret, the secret keeps you,” she said. “Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
Astrid had to tell them now. There was no getting out of it. “I can’t songcast,” she blurted out. “I lost my singing voice when I was little.”
“You have no magic?” Sera asked. “None at all?”
Astrid listened for any sound of derision or contempt in her voice, but she didn’t hear any. Only compassion.
“I have some magic,” she said. “Remnants, I guess. I didn’t even know it until Becca made me a whalebone pipe. I’ve learned to play a few basic songspells on it.”
“And this is a problem why?” Ling asked impatiently. “We haven’t got all night here, merls. Neither does Ava.” She held out her hand to Astrid again.
But Astrid shook her head. “I. Can’t. Songcast. You don’t want me with you. You really don’t. When you get into Abbadon’s prison you’ll need everyone to be at the top of her game. I’m not at the top of my game and I never will be.”
“We,” Ling said simply. “When we get into Abbadon’s prison. Need I remind you, Astrid, who saved the day back in the Iele’s caves? I’d be very happy for you to have my back in the Incarceron whether you were at the top of your game, the bottom, or anywhere in between.”
Becca crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s what I told her,” she said. “She doesn’t listen.”
“Maybe she will now,” Sera said, pulling her dagger out of its sheath.
“Whoa! What are you doing?” Astrid asked, her eyes wide.
“Bringing you into the bloodbind,” Sera replied, drawing the blade across her own palm. “We swore an oath to each other in the Iele’s caves after you left, and sealed it in blood.”
“A bloodbind is darksong,” Astrid said, remembering that Becca had told her about the pact they’d made in the Iele’s caves. “You break a blood oath, you die.”
“Yes, you do. Maybe now you’ll believe that we mean it. We want you with us, Astrid. Vrăja summoned six of us. Not five. We can’t do this without you.”
Sera handed the dagger to Ling, who made a small slit in her palm, too. Becca followed suit, then Neela. When Neela finished, she gave the blade to Astrid.
Astrid took it and stared at it. She was trembling. The EisGeist, the Qanikkaaq, even Rylka—none of them had made her feel as afraid as she did right now. What these four mermaids were asking was so hard. They were asking her to join them, to trust them, to let them be her friends.
Voices echoed in her head again. Even though she’d tried to forget them.
Her father’s. Who wants a mermaid without magic?
Tauno’s. She’s a freaky freakin’ freak!
And the mirror man’s. Where are you going, Astrid? To your friends? Do you really think it will be different with them?
At that moment, Astrid realized there would always be voices telling her she wasn’t good enough. Old voices. New voices. And she knew that she’d never be able to silence them.
But here, surrounded by friends who wanted her, she recognized for the first time that there was only one voice that truly mattered. Only one she had to listen to. Her own.
She took a deep breath, and cut her palm.
As her blood swirled in the water with the blood of her friends, Sera sang the words to a bloodbind. The others joined her. Astrid did, too, surprised to find that she somehow knew the words.
At last all six are joined together
And bonds of blood cannot be severed.
One mind, one heart, one soul are we,
Our vows as deathless as the seas.
My heart, my sister, and my friend,
Our ties no mer can ever rend.
Now the circle is complete
And Abbadon we will defeat.
The blood of the five mermaids combined, then spiraled back down into the wounds on their hands. Their flesh closed and instantly healed, leaving a thin, livid scar. Astrid knew she had the blood of her five friends in her now. Ava’s too, because her blood had mixed with the others’ in the first bloodbind. Astrid felt stronger than ever before.
“Okay,” she said, looking at each of her blood sisters in turn. “Enough touchy-feely stuff for one night. Can we get on with the convoca now? Ava needs us.”
The other four mermaids looked at each other, trying not to smile, then all five joined hands.
“OLÁ, GATINHAS!” Ava called out. “Como vai?”
“Ava, are you crazy? Keep it down!” Sera hissed. “The death riders are in the swamps now. They could be close!”
Ava nodded and held a finger to her lips. Baby circled her protectively. The spell had worked—Ava had answered them almost immediately.
“It’s good to talk to you!” she said in a quieter voice. “Astrid, is that you?”
“Hi, Ava,” Astrid said. “Wow. That is one creepy swamp you’re in.” Her mind’s eye took in the black water; the long, twining tree roots, and the alligator floating overhead.
“I know!” Ava said. “It’s smelly, too! You’re all together…does that mean your talismans are together, too?”
“All but the black pearl,” Becca said.
Ava whisper-cheered, and was about to congratulate them, but Sera cut her off.
“Ava, listen to me. We didn’t convoca you to chat. This is urgent,” she said. “After I found out my uncle’s troops were headed to the swamps, I sent a unit of goblin fighters there to protect you. The death riders killed all of them except one. She made it back here and told us that they’re closing in on you. You’ve got to get out of there. Forget about the talisman and make wake for the Kargjord!”
Ava shook her head. “No,” she said.
“No?” Sera echoed, dumbfounded. “Didn’t you hear what I just said?”
“I did, but I’m not leaving the swamp. Not without the ring. I can get it, I know I can. I talked to some swamp mer a few days ago. They say the Okwa Naholo are so terrifying that just the sight of them is enough to kill a mer instantly.”
“What? Ava, don’t you go near them!” Neela shrilled.
Ava laughed. “Aren’t you forgetting something? I’m blind! It doesn’t matter how scary the spirits are—I can’t see them!”
“You also can’t see the death riders coming!” Sera said frantically.
“I’m not leaving. Not without my talisman,” Ava insisted. “Don’t you understand? The gods chose me to go into the swamps and deal with the Okwa Naholo. Me and no one else. I’ll succeed because I can’t see the spirits. The gods knew that. They’re going to answer my question.”
Sera shook her head, speechless with frustration.
“What question? What are you
talking about, Ava?” Ling asked.
“I never told any of you how I lost my sight.”
“Ava?” Sera said, struggling to keep her voice level. “I’m not sure we have time for stories right now. Death riders could be close and they can hurt you. You need to get out of there!”
“Vrăja said stories tell us who we are. My story tells who I am. You need to know that. You need to know why I won’t leave.”
“Ava…” Sera said through gritted teeth.
“Let her speak,” Ling said.
“I live in a favela, a poor part of town,” Ava began. “When I was six, I came down with a fever. There was no money for a doctor. My parents tried to break the fever with home remedies, but nothing worked. The fever took my sight. My papi cried so hard when I recovered. He was happy I was alive, but very sad I’d lost my sight. He took my hand and told me the gods dimmed my eyes for a reason. His words were all I’ve had to hang on to. Growing up in a favela is hard. Growing up there blind…well, if it hadn’t been for Baby, who knows if I would have grown up at all?” She chuckled, then added, “There’s more than one bandido back home with a chunk missing from his bumbum.”
“Ava, I understand, but this…this is a suicide mission,” Sera said.
“It’s not, Sera. You have to trust me. I’m here because I still believe what my father said—that the gods dimmed my eyes for a reason. I need to find out what that reason is, and nothing’s going to stop me—not alligators, or death riders, or slimy swamp spirits. I’m going to get the ring, and then I’m coming to the Karg. So make sure you get the black pearl by the time I get there!”
The convoca began to weaken. The six mermaids said their good-byes.
“Don’t worry,” Ava said. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be with you all soon…”
And then she was gone.
Becca dimmed the waterfire so they could get back to sleep. Ling and Neela returned to their seaweed beds. Sera remained where she was, distraught. Astrid stayed by her side.
“She’ll never make it out alive,” Sera said. “One frail mermaid against gods-know-how-many death riders. Did you see how thin she looks? I should have been truthful with her. Maybe then she would have left the swamp.”
“What do you mean?” Astrid asked.
“I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Orfeo has the black pearl,” Sera replied.
“It’s good you didn’t tell her, Sera. She needs hope,” Astrid said, returning to her bed.
Sera laughed bitterly. “Hope isn’t going to get us that pearl,” she said.
No, it isn’t, Astrid agreed silently as she curled up in the seaweed.
But I am.
LUCIA CIRCLED THE MALIGNO, the skirts of her gown swirling around her.
It was after midnight. She’d led the creature out of Alítheia’s den and into the ruins of Merrow’s reggia by the light of a weak illuminata spell.
“You’re so beautiful,” she whispered, running a hand across the maligno’s back. She marveled again at the cheekbones, the strong jaw, the broad shoulders, the powerful blue tail—all exactly the same as Mahdi’s. The only difference was in the creature’s eyes. They had no light. But that didn’t matter. By the time Sera looked into them, it would be too late.
Lucia stopped in front of the maligno. She held up a small conch. “Speak the words exactly as I told them to you,” she said.
The maligno opened its mouth and in Mahdi’s voice said, “Sera, it’s Mahdi. I’m near the Karg, in the Darktide Shallows. I couldn’t send this news with Allegra. We’ve got big trouble. Vallerio’s heading for the Karg. He’s got twenty thousand soldiers with him. He’s going to attack. There’s more to tell you, but I can’t come into the camp. There’s a spy in your midst and I don’t want to be seen. Come to the Shallows. Hurry, Sera. Please.”
The maligno spoke with urgency and fear, but all the while, his eyes remained empty and cold.
“Very good,” Lucia said when he finished.
She tucked the conch into the breast pocket of his jacket, then she held something else out to him—Sera’s jacket.
The maligno took it in both hands and pressed it to his face, scenting it for traces of its owner, as a shark scents the water for blood.
Lucia unbuttoned the maligno’s jacket, tucked Sera’s inside, then fastened the creature’s jacket again.
She snapped her fingers, and a huge, ugly black sea scorpion crawled out from under a toppled pillar. Its sting would cause instant paralysis, but it didn’t sting the maligno. It climbed its tail, crawled up the back of its jacket, and settled on its shoulder.
“Go to the Darktide Shallows. Send the conch to the mermaid Serafina, then wait for her. When you’ve captured her, bring her to me,” Lucia said. She smiled, her eyes glittering darkly, and added, “Alive.”
THE FIRST LIGHT of morning broke across the Kargjord, stealing into the command cave’s entrance and waking Serafina. She was exhausted. Worried about Ava, she’d barely slept a wink.
As she opened her eyes, she realized she wasn’t the only one who was up. Someone else was making small, hushed noises, as if trying not to wake the others.
Sera raised her head and saw that it was Astrid. She was sitting up in her bed, quietly putting things into her backpack.
As Sera watched, Astrid put on her coat, picked up her backpack, and left the cave. It was barely dawn.
Where’s she going at this hour? Sera wondered.
She followed, being careful not to disturb Becca, Neela, and Ling, and found Astrid sitting on a rock. She was softly playing the notes of an illuminata songspell on her whalebone pipe. A light, drawn from the sun’s first rays, formed near her. Sera swam over and sat down next to her.
“Cool trick,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“Leaving us again?” Sera asked.
Astrid snorted. “I’ve been trying to leave you ever since I met you. I never seem to get very far.”
Sera smiled at that.
Having made a good illuminata, Astrid put her pipe down. “You’ve changed. A lot. You’ve become an amazing leader,” she said.
Sera was surprised, and pleased, by Astrid’s praise. Compliments were not something Astrid Kolfinnsdottir lavishly bestowed.
“I don’t know about that,” Sera said.
“I do.”
“Thanks. I’m trying. I keep hearing Vrăja’s words in my head. After you left the Iele’s caves, I sat down with her.”
“Let me guess…to complain about me,” Astrid said.
“Pretty much,” Sera admitted. “While I was with her, Vrăja told me that to lead, I needed to help the others. I needed to bring out the best in them. She said I have to help Ling break through silences, and help Neela believe that her greatest power comes from within, not without. I have to help Becca believe that the warmest fire is the one that’s shared, and help Ava believe that the gods did know what they were doing when they took her sight.”
“You’re doing all that, Sera. The others…they’re different now, too. I can see it.”
“I hope so,” Sera said. “Neela’s changed for sure. Her power really does come from within now. She hasn’t demanded any zee-zees or worried about her hair ever since we’ve been here.”
Astrid laughed.
“But Becca and Ling? I have no idea. They only just arrived. Ava?” She shook her head. “I only hope I get the chance to find out.”
“And Astrid?” Astrid asked. “What about her?”
“I’m not sure,” Sera said, meeting her frank gaze. “I told Vrăja you were scared.”
“What did she say?”
“She said I was scared,” Sera confessed.
“You both were right,” Astrid said. “I am scared, Sera.”
Sera was pretty sure she knew why. “You’ve seen him, too, haven’t you? Orfeo. You didn’t say so, but I saw the expression on your face last night when we were talking about him,” she said. “Has he come to you in a mirror?”
Ast
rid nodded. “I didn’t tell you everything. I have seen him. He wants me to go to him. He knows I can’t songcast, and he wants to fix me. I’m his descendant. Which means I have his blood in my veins, the blood of the most powerful mage who ever lived. He wants to make me powerful, too.”
“So you can help him unlock Abbadon,” Sera said. Dread filled her heart. She knew what Astrid was going to say next.
“I’m going to him, Sera. I’ll make him think he’s won me over, and somehow, some way, I will get the black pearl.”
“No, Astrid, you can’t,” Sera said vehemently. “It’s way too dangerous.”
“It’s the only way. No one else can get close to him. He’ll kill anyone who tries. I can do this. I can bluff him.”
“Maybe you can bluff him,” Sera said. “But can you resist him?”
Astrid cocked her head. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“He’s powerful, Astrid. So powerful that he cheated death. He’s going to focus those powers on you. He’s going to try to make you his own. What if he succeeds?”
“He won’t.”
“Astrid—” Sera said.
“I’m going.”
Sera, furious with her friend, rose and slapped the rock she’d been sitting on with her tail.
“Hey, that’s mature,” Astrid said.
“I just got us back together,” Sera said angrily. “All of us except Ava. I need you, Astrid.”
“Yes, you do. You need me to get the pearl. I’m the only chance we’ve got, and you know it.”
Sera heaved a sigh. As painful as it was to admit it, Astrid was right.
“Find Ava. Get the remaining talisman,” Astrid said. “Then go down to the Southern Ocean with them. I’ll meet you there.”
“When?”
“I don’t know. I’ll get word to you. You may have to wait for me, but I’ll be there, Sera. With the black pearl. I promise.”
“Wherever you’re going, you’re not going alone,” Sera said. “You have us with you now. Me, Neela, Ling, Ava, and Becca…your friends, your sisters.”
Waterfire Saga, Book Three: Dark Tide: A Deep Blue Novel Page 27
