Ice Crypt (Mermaids of Eriana Kwai Book 2) Page 15

  The totem poles had once been the main port of entry for tourists. For the last thirty years, the area had been abandoned and roped off to discourage anyone from venturing near the water.

  The welcome sign hung intact, faded and grimy, with bird droppings running down the sides.

  We hope you enjoyed your time on Eriana Kwai. The message was written in multiple languages, welcoming people from all over the world.

  I scowled.

  As we crossed the gravel that was once a parking lot, the wind picked up, moaning in my ears and making it difficult to hear anything else.

  I folded my arms against the cold. Without the canopy of trees to protect us, a sticky mist clung to my face and hair.

  Cedar logs marked the edge of the parking lot. The cultural centre crumbled beyond that, a lawn out front that had not been mowed in three decades. A faded ‘Closed’ sign hung on the door.

  “What’s in there?” I said.

  The window was opaque from grime, with a rock-sized hole in the middle. I peered through but saw only darkness.

  “Museum, dining hall, art gallery …” said Tanuu. “Probably a few rats.”

  “Museum?” said Annith. “Do you think it has information about Eriana?”

  “It’s aimed at tourists, so you’ll be more likely to find a miniature replica of the totem poles so people can take funny pictures.”

  We continued on, stepping over a line of rope to get to the totem poles. They stood at the edge of the grass, before the earth turned to pebbles and dead seaweed. The tide was halfway in—far enough that we wouldn’t be splashed by waves, but close enough to pose a threat.

  I scanned the shoreline as Tanuu led the way. The horizon was grey, the world below desolate. A seagull cried from a droppings-strewn buoy, barely audible over the wind.

  Blacktail gripped her dagger, eyes glued to the crashing waves.

  “Don’t trust your ears,” she said. “Keep an eye on the shoreline.”

  Tanuu stopped in front of the largest totem pole. One serpent towered over us, another one upside down at our feet, with several animal figures locked between the two heads. The poles might once have been painted in rich, deep hues, but now they were faded and chipped.

  We combed the area the same way we had done the Enticer.

  I knocked on the poles as Tanuu had done with the trees, but I wasn’t sure what to listen for.

  “Hey Tanuu?” I pressed my ear against what happened to be the side of a raven’s head. “This one sounds different when I knock on it. Is that because it’s bigger?”

  “Ah,” he said wisely. “That’s because this particular one was carved on a Tuesday afternoon.”

  I straightened, eyeing him.

  “Let’s see,” he said, jabbing me in the ribs.

  He pressed his ear against the raven.

  “Wow, the totem looks just like you,” said Blacktail.

  He pulled away and studied the figure. “You mean my large and manly nose? Or is it the dark and mysterious eyes?”

  She pulled a face.

  Tanuu clapped a hand over the beak. “You know what, Meela? You’re onto something. This one’s hollow.”

  I grinned.

  “The question is, how do we see inside?” he said.

  The four of us circled the pole, pushing and pulling different pieces, trying to see if anything opened.

  “Wait a minute,” said Annith.

  She backed up a few paces, eyes fixed on the topmost serpent. Her mouth fell open.

  “What?” I backed up to stand next to her.

  “Look at the way it’s carved. The serpent’s tongue. The bear’s open mouth. The raven’s beak. The horns of—whatever that thing is.”

  “A deer,” offered Tanuu.

  “Sure. Well, I think we have to climb it.”

  I gasped. “Annith, you’re right. Every totem has something to step on.”

  I placed my foot on the snake’s curled tongue and my hands on the raven’s beak.

  “Hold up,” said Tanuu. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  Already off the ground, I looked down at him. “Why not?”

  “It’s windy and you’re about to climb a slippery wooden pole.”

  I stepped one higher into the bear’s open mouth. We’d trained climbing masts for years. I wasn’t afraid of falling.

  “Meela, stop,” said Tanuu. “Let me do it.”

  I stepped on the raven’s beak.

  “No, I should climb it,” said Blacktail. “I’m the smallest. You can catch me if I fall.”

  “With what?” said Annith. “We should get a tarp or a blanket. This isn’t safe.”

  “Good idea,” said Tanuu. “We can …”

  He sighed. I was already half way.

  I kept my eyes on my hands, knowing my legs would betray me if I looked down.

  A gust of wind pushed me away from the pole. I tightened my grip. I didn’t stop until coming face-to-face with the angry eye of the serpent.

  Clutching its forked tongue with both hands, I could see further down the beach than before. The only life besides us was a bald eagle fighting three crows a short distance away.

  Feeling around the pole with one hand, I traced my fingers along the creature’s mane of horns, fumbled down the back and around the sides, and pushed against the wood.

  “There’s nothing,” I muttered, feeling around the back of the head one more time. “I’m coming down!”

  Then the wood shifted. I pushed harder. It was loose.

  “Ha!”

  I shuffled around the pole, using the short wings of a saw-whet owl as a foothold.

  A voice yelled at me from below, but I couldn’t make out the words over the wind.

  “What?”

  Regrettably, I looked down. My stomach squirmed, and I reflexively pressed my body against the pole.

  “Did you find something?” yelled Annith.

  “Maybe. The wood here is loose.”

  She yelled something back, but it was lost in the wind.

  A rectangular panel had been cut into the pole. I dug my nails into the crack and worked my fingers around it. It slid to the left. I kept pulling until it opened enough that I could peek inside.

  The totem pole was hollow, but I saw only the other side of the trunk.

  My body trembled from some combination of exhilaration, the cold mist, and my straining muscles.

  I stuck an arm in and felt around, trailing my hand along the rough insides. Something rolled beneath my palm. I ran my fingers across it. Twine.

  I pulled, feeling the weight of something dangling at the other end.

  Excitement bubbled in my stomach.

  “Someone really wanted to keep this hidden!”

  I used my teeth to hold the twine while I pulled it up, bit by bit, until I reached the end.

  “It’s parchment,” I said, more to myself.

  Several pages of tan animal skin parchment had been tied to the end. I slid the roll from the loop and stuffed it down my shirt for safekeeping, then fitted the door back in place.

  I climbed down, moving slowly. My arms and legs were trembling.

  At the bottom, the others gathered around and watched as I unfurled the parchment.

  “It’s in the old language,” said Blacktail. “Tanuu, you’re the only one who went to high school.”

  Tanuu took the stack of papers with a flourish. “I see you require my intellectual prowess.”

  “So you’re more than just a good swing, then?”

  He smirked.

  As we watched in rapt silence, Tanuu scanned the first page, turned it over to check the blank reverse, and then riffled through the remaining pages.

  “Give me a minute. They’re out of order.”

  “Let’s do this away from the water,” I said.

  We retreated to the cultural centre and sat on the front step while Tanuu sorted the pages. While the overhang blocked the wind, it did little to stop us getting wet, with
mist drifting up our sleeves and down our backs from all directions.

  I studied Tanuu’s face for a reaction, forcing myself to be patient and let him think. His eyebrows stayed pinched in concentration.

  Finally, he stopped shuffling pages. He stared at the words a moment longer.

  “Hurry up!” I said.

  He glanced up, cleared his throat, and read, “The day a bargain was made between Eriana and the Aanil Uusha, chaos befell the Gaela’s earth.”

  My heart beat faster. This was it. The story did involve a bargain.

  “While history must be preserved, this knowledge is best left guarded by the spirits of the island. This is a chance for you, reader, to withdraw from these pages and trust the spirits with their secrets. This is the story of Eriana’s Crypt.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The Mine

  I couldn’t bear the thought of the army watching me hunt for them like some fish wench, so I gathered food while everyone slept.

  With each fish I caught and beheaded, I pretended it was Strymon.

  I formed a pile of tiny corpses on the raft.

  For a half-tide, the world was peaceful. Gentle snoring and lapping water whispered in my ears. Then the waves glimmered as the first rays peeked over the horizon. Fish dashed about, hunting for breakfast. Too soon, activity stirred on the raft, and I hadn’t slept all night.

  I tossed my armful onto the pile and submerged before anyone could bother me.

  I pushed myself into a tangle of weeds to get at the fish inside. Kelp wrapped around my neck and arms like a noose. Sensing some kind of activity, I pried away a log to reveal a sardine haven.

  “No one hides from the fish wench.”

  I’d just stuffed one in my mouth when Axius appeared next to me.

  “Morning, beautiful,” he said, drifting closer than necessary.

  That sense of confidence wafted at me like a cloud of whale pee.

  I untangled myself from the weeds with little grace.

  “I wanted to apologise,” he said in that low, suave voice. “I didn’t mean to threaten your relationship with that other guy.”

  “Sure,” I said, trying to keep feelers on the scattering sardines.

  “It’s just, you really caught my attention.”

  I picked a bone from my teeth.

  “Lysi, I’ve felt something special since you came here. Like you and I were meant to—”

  His words dissolved as I surfaced to add more catches to the pile. It had gotten significantly smaller in that short time. Mermen pulled themselves over as they awoke. They saw me rise with fresh catches, but I ducked back under before they could say anything.

  “ … usually the centre of attention when I go out,” said Axius. “Maybe partly my looks—I definitely got my mother’s hair and my father’s strength.”

  I scanned the overhead raft. The sardines had vanished. I resorted to picking clumps of sea lettuce. When I rose to add them to the pile, everything I’d caught so far had gone. A group of guys hovered nearby. I bit my tongue so as not to snap at them.

  I dove to find Axius talking about his parents’ estate, how it was actually an ice castle or something.

  Eventually, I turned to him.

  “… should be making enough to buy my own business centre out west,” he said.

  “Axius, I’m really not interested. Also you’re scaring away my fish.”

  He carefully pushed a lock of hair across his eyes. “All right. I can take a hint.”

  I raised my eyebrows.

  “I’m here if you change your mind,” he said. “Where we take this passionate adventure is up to you.”

  I tried not to pucker my face. Passionate adventure?

  “Thanks—”

  “But I think if you give this a chance,” he said, drifting closer. “You’ll find something special between us.”

  I squinted at him. Maybe if I hid on the other side of the raft for a while I could lose him. I swam purposefully in that direction, irritated when he followed.

  “Are you and that guy engaged?”

  I considered lying, and then thought he might ask why my hair wasn’t jewelled to mark the engagement, and then wondered if it would make a difference for him either way, and by that time my hesitation told him the answer.

  “Lysi, a pull of the universe made Adaro send you here, and that same pull made him send me here. I think it’s f—”

  “No. Do not say fate. Everyone gets drafted. Nothing magical brought us together.”

  I stopped, realising we’d swum the entire perimeter of the raft. Above us, a mackerel pushed its nose into the weeds, trying to get at a sardine.

  “Not much of a romantic, are you?” said Axius.

  I closed my eyes, willing myself to stay calm.

  “I promise I’ll be a better boyfriend than that weird geek.”

  I rounded on him.

  “Axius, I swear, if you don’t shut up and leave me alone I’m going to punch you in the face.”

  He faltered. My eyes had filled with blood.

  “Am I bothering you?” he said, deflating, as though realising there might be a chance I wasn’t interested in him.

  Someone slid into the water behind Axius. Junior caught my eye and nodded in the direction of the floating junk that had been our meeting place.

  I smiled a little, and regretted this at once, because Axius seemed to take it as a sign that I’d fallen in love with him. He made to grab my hand, but I casually pulled it back to scratch my nose.

  “When this is all over, Lysi, I’d like to introduce you to my parents. My mom has a great place up in the Bering. You’d love it. We’ve got dolphins. I could teach you sports.”

  Junior dove and disappeared.

  “What?” I said.

  Overhead, the mackerel kept burrowing into the raft.

  “For real! You can see them when you come stay with me.”

  I didn’t have time for this. The guys would meet without me. I needed to get rid of this suckerfish.

  “No,” I said. “I’m not coming to stay at your weird … dolphin ranch.”

  “Why not?”

  Abruptly, I snatched the mackerel from overhead and bit it behind the skull, killing it.

  “Look, I’m supposed to be gathering food. Can you take this up for me?”

  He hesitated, and then gave a lopsided smile that was probably supposed to be charming.

  “Anything you want, beautiful.”

  He drifted upwards—apparently too cool to swim normally. The moment he breached, I dove.

  “How about you be the fish wench for a while,” I mumbled.

  I shot away at top speed, finding a favourable current at a deeper swim.

  I hoped the guys had waited for me. What were we meeting about? More planning?

  The bottom was fathoms away, leaving me in emptiness. The timber raft grazed my skin as a single, faint energy. Something else moved far below. I couldn’t tell what it was. Maybe a giant squid, but I couldn’t be sure.

  Some distance ahead, deeper still, a smaller body moved. I felt it out for a moment before deciding it was Spio. I dove to catch up.

  My lungs tightened with the pressure. I normally didn’t have cause to dive this far, and here was the second time in two days. Blackness pressed in from below. Looking at it made my stomach churn like I’d swallowed a school of guppies.

  “How was the great white?” I whispered as I caught up to Spio.

  “A bit frisky, but you know how sharks are. It was just a matter of nimble spearwork and keeping her mouth occupied.”

  We stopped in front of Coho, Pontus, Junior, and Nobeard. They were suspended in the middle of the twilight layer.

  It must have been too risky to meet anywhere else with Strymon lurking around.

  Pontus carried a chert longblade, but the others were empty-handed. Spio wore his favourite hat. Nobeard had found his eyepatch—or he had made a new one.

  “How’s your boyfriend?” said Ju
nior.

  I groaned.

  The guys burst into muffled laughter.

  “I’ll gladly defend your honour next time,” said Coho, cracking his knuckles.

  I smiled, feeling a rush of fondness for these guys. My brother would have made the same offer.

  “Show him your demon side, Lysi,” said Spio. “Remember that time you scared the flippers off that scuba diver? He would’ve killed us with that blowhole thing if you didn’t bust the fangs out.”

  “I think you and I remember that story differently.”

  Something approached from the side. We turned, listening. A merman.

  We stayed frozen, not daring to move.

  The commander appeared. I relaxed a little, though he projected a grave aura.

  “The target is on his way,” he said at once, keeping his voice hushed. “He is taking the planned route and will be passing the mine this afternoon.”

  No one said anything. I glanced to Spio, my pulse quickening.

  “I presumed I would receive more warning than this, but can you all be ready to go immediately?”

  “Yes, sir,” said Pontus.

  “Follow the long currents in the open. Pontus knows where to switch and where to break for the shallows. Pontus, you will share the directions with the others in case something happens?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Coho, remember to arc the shot. From that distance, the impact will be light, but it will be enough to detonate the mine. I trust your aim.”

  Coho nodded.

  “Hide among the coral until the explosion happens,” said the commander to the rest of us. “Once you have confirmed the target is dead, split up as planned.”

  He paused. I caught a fiery determination that hadn’t been there on our first encounter at the Moonless City. At once, it made his aura seem years younger, yet I somehow knew he’d fought a lifetime of battles for King Adaro.

  “There is something we all need to understand about this plan,” he said. “I know we are all eager to bring a new, free regime to the North Pacific, but this is not the time for heroics. If anything goes awry, your priority is to keep yourself safe and hidden. We must keep our identities secret so we can try again, and again, and again. If you attempt to help a comrade instead of fleeing, you risk being revealed and tried for treason. Understand?”