Ice Crypt (Mermaids of Eriana Kwai Book 2) Page 17

  “He’s still our ally. We’re not going to beat him into a blob of algae,” said Pontus with an air of amusement.

  “If we send him back, we could try bribing him into silence,” said Coho.

  “With what?” I said.

  There was a pause. All eyes landed on me. I backed away.

  “Nope.”

  “Just tell him you’ll go out with him,” said Junior. “You don’t actually have to do it.”

  “Yeah,” said Spio. “Where are you going to go for a date, anyway?”

  I scowled. He wasn’t supposed to side with them.

  I considered our options. We could let him come with us, or we could send him back and do our best to ensure his silence—which might not work anyway, knowing Strymon’s determination. As far as I was concerned, this was a lose-lose situation.

  I snarled.

  “Fine, he can come. But you understand he absolutely cannot know who our target is?”

  Pontus shrugged. “He might be into it.”

  “No. He won’t.”

  I tried to read each of them, hoping they believed me. I caught Spio’s eye. He nodded.

  They all turned to Axius.

  “Also, you fish faces have to keep him away from me,” I said.

  “Deal,” said Junior.

  “Aye, aye,” said Nobeard.

  “My pleasure,” said Coho, rubbing his knuckles.

  Spio returned the Iron Hook of Doom to me.

  Pontus waved Axius over, who stopped humming and let go of his ears. He seemed much too pleased for a guy who’d just ticked off a group of armed outlaws.

  “We’ve decided you can come,” said Pontus.

  Axius’ face melted into a stupid smile, like he was sinking into a pleasant dream.

  I clenched my teeth. “Now, tell us what you know about the mine.”

  He motioned behind us.

  “You’re swimming past it. It’s a league that way.”

  We all turned to face the direction he was pointing. How could that be? We were still in open water.

  Axius’ grin faded at our expressions.

  Pontus shook his head. “I was given directions from the—from someone who knows what he’s talking about. He said to keep following the currents until we feel the shallows.”

  “These are the shallows,” said Axius. “A league that way, you’ll find a cliff face. The mine’s on top of it.”

  I waited for Pontus to argue, but he didn’t. He looked down, plainly listening for the bottom.

  If I strained my ears, I heard a handful of bottom-dwellers snapping and grunting.

  Pontus clenched his fists. “He said the shallows. I asked him what to listen for. He told me …”

  But it made sense. This was probably it. In the middle of the open water, the shallows would still be quite deep.

  Spio placed a hand on Pontus’ shoulder. “It’s all right, dude. The mistake belongs to all of us.”

  Pontus shrugged away. “It’s not a mistake. I would have noticed.”

  “Either way, we should get moving,” said Junior.

  Pontus glared, but turned and led the way.

  Junior and Nobeard immediately flanked Axius. Spio and Coho fell into place beside me.

  After a moment, Junior said, “Keep low, brother. We don’t want to run into the line of prisoners again.”

  Pontus gave no reply, but obeyed.

  We swam southeast at breakneck pace. Gradually, the bottom rose beneath us. A cliff loomed ahead. We climbed to meet it.

  The comfort of solid land would have been a relief, except that prickly feeling returned, like the water around us was tainted.

  Though the mine would be decades old, with fish and greenery treating it like nothing more than a floating rock, the metallic, manmade scent was there.

  Pontus slowed atop the cliff, scanning the world ahead. We caught up.

  “There,” I said, pointing my weapon to the right.

  The spherical mine was barely visible through the blue, a shadow suspended in nothingness. The wire tethering it to the sandy floor had grown fuzzy with weeds.

  We watched it for a moment, as though waiting for it to move. No one spoke.

  Until now, I hadn’t known what to expect. I’d wondered whether the blast would be fatal. I’d wondered how Coho was going to detonate it. I’d even wondered if the mine had somehow exploded already and we would arrive to find a crater and a cloud of debris.

  The hovering shadow and its toxic aura drowned any doubts. We were in the presence of something more destructive than any of us had experienced.

  The gloom thickened as we drew nearer. Ripples spread from little fish darting around the iron horns. It made me queasy. This explosion could end our own lives along with our target’s.

  “I’m going to find my angle,” said Coho, motioning with his crossbow.

  His voice carried in the smothering silence, sharp and resounding.

  He separated from us. The rest of us continued over the empty sand.

  “There should be a bunch of coral coming up,” said Pontus. “We’ll hide in the divots.”

  Axius darted forwards to fill the gap beside me.

  “So how long until your target gets here?”

  “Don’t know,” I said.

  Below, sand turned to boulders and coral. A rainbow of reef fish darted around as we passed over them.

  “You tired?” said Axius.

  “A bit.”

  Even with the reef fish, the coral wasn’t as active as it should have been. Intermittent crackling and pale colouring remained in what should have been a vivid landscape. I wondered if the bare sand and rock beneath the mine was once a reef.

  “You’ve had a long journey,” said Axius in a pitying tone.

  “We all have.”

  So far, nothing suited as a hiding place. At the sparse edge of the reef, every clump of rock was too shallow.

  Ducking behind a boulder wouldn’t be enough. I pushed further from the mine.

  Fish darted inside the coral and disappeared from sight, sound, and feel. Prime predator protection. Borrowing their homes would have worked, if we could fit.

  “Let me catch your dinner tonight,” said Axius.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Just a snack, then.”

  “No, thanks.”

  “Too late.”

  I glanced over. He held out a dead anchovy. I raised my eyebrows. Had he been carrying that with him?

  “Guys should do the hunting once in a while,” he said, as if this was some noble gesture.

  I didn’t take it. My stomach was too knotted for food.

  I turned my attention back to the floor. Most crevices weren’t big enough. The rest were too big, and wouldn’t be snug enough to protect any of us from the blast.

  Something foreign darted by, sending squiggly ripples across my stomach. I recoiled. An eel disappeared between two rocks. Everything here was strange and unfamiliar. What kind of fish had dark and white stripes like that?

  Maybe Spio would know its name. I glanced around, wondering where he’d gone off to.

  “Most girls think it’s sweet when I catch their dinner,” said Axius.

  Though I couldn’t see Spio and Nobeard, I sensed them darting around across the way. They obviously hadn’t found a hiding spot, either.

  Fear crept over me. What if we couldn’t find a place? What if Coho couldn’t find somewhere close enough to shoot from?

  I peeked behind a cluster of dead coral. Pathetic.

  “I’m not impressed, here,” said Axius.

  I closed my eyes, reminding myself that it was rude to punch others in the face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I caught your dinner. I poured my heart out to you. I’d expect you to take my hand, kiss me on the cheek—show me you care, you know?”

  I stared at him for a long moment.

  “You caught me an anchovy. After I said I didn’t want it.”

  He op
ened his mouth to say more, but Junior and Pontus swam over.

  “Hey, guys!” I said, a little too excitedly.

  “We should breach,” said Junior. “He’ll be here soon.”

  I glanced to the surface. “Have you found a place—?”

  Spio appeared next to them. “Better do it quickly. I feel them coming.”

  I exhaled in surprise. Spio turned northwards.

  We froze, listening, feeling.

  The sting of iron bled from the mine and clouded my senses. I pushed past it.

  Over the chattering fish and snapping shrimp, a larger, deeper oscillation carried. They made no sound, but the rhythm of their tails was distinct. Controlled, precise movements grazed my skin.

  Was it Adaro’s crew, or another group of travellers? I caught myself hoping it wasn’t Adaro. We’d been trekking all day, but in that time, I still hadn’t mentally prepared myself.

  “Hide,” whispered Pontus.

  We scattered. Panic struck me from every direction, blooming across our group like algae.

  Axius tried to tail me, but Spio tugged him away. Pontus, Junior, and Nobeard shot in the other direction.

  I brushed close to the rocks, searching frantically. I passed boulders, flecks of coral, and swaying anemones, none of it useful.

  A few fathoms ahead, Spio disappeared behind a dead ledge of coral, forcing Axius down with him.

  Good. Hopefully he’d keep Axius hidden so that cod wouldn’t see what was happening until it was too late.

  But where would I hide?

  The group was close enough to distinguish. At least twenty of them. I glanced over. A dark shadow closed in.

  I was out of time. Would Spio and Axius have room for me? I’d have to try and squeeze in.

  I streaked towards them.

  As I swam over the next cluster of boulders, I stopped short. They formed a tight semicircle. The middle one slanted inwards over a rut in the sand, providing a small cave that faced away from the mine. I would fit if I curled my tail in front of me.

  I dropped and wedged myself inside.

  I kept as still as the rocks, listening, trying to feel beyond the sting of iron. My wake dissipated.

  Mostly males, but at least two females.

  Something moved to my right. Coho. I leaned out of my hiding place. He was in the open, unloaded crossbow in hand. He seemed to be searching for somewhere to hide. Why wasn’t he preparing to shoot?

  I waved my tail.

  The current caught his attention. He darted over. I moved my weapon so we could both fit, stabbing it into the sand.

  Coho squeezed into the tiny cave beside me.

  I jabbed him in the ribs and raised my eyebrows.

  He shook his head, pointing over our shoulders.

  Was this a false alarm?

  In such close contact, Coho’s fear seeped into me, making my heart pound faster.

  I leaned over, barely enough to see past the rocks.

  My eyes found Adaro. His tangled hair flowed behind him, matted around the six-pronged crown on his head. The others surrounded him, keeping him safely in the centre as they travelled.

  Yes, even a skilled assassin would have a tough time shooting iron through his heart. This was the only way. We had to take them all out at once.

  Guards made up the outer ring, each carrying an argillite longblade. My jaw tightened when I saw Katus and Ladon. Those flanking Adaro inside the ring were adorned with jewels and didn’t carry any weapons. They must have been the ones the guys had mentioned—chief administrator, secretary, and whoever else.

  My eyes locked onto a mermaid, curvy and tan-skinned, with immaculately groomed black hair, a headband of white pearls, and red lipstick. She turned her perfectly shadowed eyes in our direction.

  I leaned back.

  Coho’s racing pulse told me everything.

  “Ephyra?” I mouthed.

  He nodded.

  She swam within arm’s length of the king, protected by the ring of guards. If the blast killed Adaro, it would kill her, too.

  I worried the entourage would feel my pounding heart the same way I felt Coho’s. I kept as still as the rocks, not even daring to exhale.

  Their presence grew stronger. They were close to the mine.

  We were going to miss our chance. But how could Coho shoot when his wife and unborn child were beside our target?

  At the thought of his children, I grabbed Coho by the wrist, as though to stop him from pulling the trigger.

  What could we do? Could I make a diversion to give Ephyra a chance to flee? Would she take the opportunity if I did?

  The combination of panic, the iron-tainted water, and a desperate need for oxygen sent a wave of dizziness to my head.

  They drew level with the mine.

  A disturbance pushed the water in front of us. I straightened, listening.

  Coho didn’t seem to feel it. His head was turned, facing the back of our cave as though he could see through it.

  Something pulsed again.

  It was a mermaid. She moved with fluid silence, and then I lost her.

  I kept staring.

  A moment later, the tiniest hint of a vibration. I barely saw her through the blue, but felt her gaze. She stared at Coho and me, motionless.

  Something was different about her. The current around her body revealed a longer, leaner frame. Her hair reminded me of living snakes. Something glinted from her cheek—a gemstone.

  As faintly as the gurgling current, I heard a whisper. I strained my ears to understand.

  “Para la reina.”

  Para what?

  She’d said it in a human dialect. I didn’t know any human languages other than Eriana.

  I sat frozen, my pounding pulse the only difference between the rocks and me.

  Who was she? Why was she also hiding?

  A stronger disturbance brushed my skin, coming from the side. In an instant, the mermaid disappeared.

  I glanced over. Spio and Axius were visible from here, ducking beneath the ledge of coral.

  Axius was struggling.

  Coho noticed, too. He leaned forwards, his dread palpable.

  Spio fought back, forcing Axius beneath the coral.

  He had realised who our target was.

  Ladon’s voice cut through the pressing silence. “Do you feel—?”

  “Oh, my necklace!”

  A mermaid. They were so close that I felt the vibration from her moving lips. Was that Ephyra?

  “Sorry,” she said. “I see it. One moment.”

  “You weren’t wearing a necklace,” said another mermaid.

  “I was. It fell off back there. Excuse me, please.”

  The water pulsed. She’d moved away.

  The way our cave blocked the current made it hard to tell exactly where she was. But this was it. Coho had to act.

  He loaded a dart into his crossbow and leaned forwards.

  “Your Majesty!”

  The shout came from beside us. Axius.

  Coho froze.

  Adaro’s group stopped. The changing current glopped in my ears.

  Coho leaned around the rocks.

  Axius shouted again, voice cracking with hysteria. “Sir! Move—away from—”

  His words broke. Spio pinned him between the coral and his Trident of Terror. I smelled flesh searing beneath iron.

  “Treason!” shouted Axius. “Get away from the m—”

  Spio stabbed Axius through the chest. Axius spluttered, his last breath leaving him in a large bubble. It rose like a beacon from where Spio was hiding.

  “Shoot!” I said to Coho. “Now!”

  Adrenaline turned my words into a shriek.

  I peered around the boulder. The group was focused on Spio’s hiding spot—except for the brown-haired mermaid at Adaro’s tail, who turned her head. Her green eyes found mine.

  In the next heartbeat, everything happened at once.

  The nearest guard charged straight for Spio. Ephy
ra’s tail flipped up as she disappeared over the cliff. Katus and Ladon seized Adaro by the arms, pulling him backwards.

  Coho squeezed the trigger.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Family Crest

  Mist dampened our skin and clothes as we huddled on the front step of the cultural centre, waiting for Tanuu to continue reading the pages. He scanned our faces. We must have shown desperation, because he hastened on.

  “For millennia, the waters of the Pacific were ruled by one beast. Sisiutl, leviathan, the two-headed snake—she is one creature with many names, her malevolent presence scattered throughout ancient history.”

  “Leviathan,” said Annith. “I’ve heard of it. Isn’t it supposed to have seven heads?”

  “One head,” said Blacktail. “It’s supposed to be like a gigantic alligator.”

  “Sisiutl has three,” said Tanuu. “The middle one’s human.”

  “Apparently, it has two,” I said impatiently. “Keep reading.”

  Tanuu returned to the page. “Not earth, air, fire, or water can wound the leviathan. Neither iron nor bronze, weapon nor poison. Her double coat of armour is impenetrable; the shields cannot be parted. She is spared from blindness by the presence of two heads, neither weaker than the other. The mouths are lined with venomous teeth, their bite strong enough to crush stone. This is a creature with no equal, and so she lives without fear.”

  “She’s indestructible!” said Annith.

  Some mixture of awe and terror roiled in my stomach. This serpent was a living, breathing weapon.

  “As man settled near the ocean to raise his sons and daughters, the leviathan’s presence threatened life above all other forces. None could vanquish her or predict when her wrath would fall upon the town. Yet if man was to prosper, someone would need to tame the untameable. Then, a child was born with an unprecedented gift.”

  “Eriana,” said Blacktail.

  “Eriana. The child possessed a connection with the spirits of animals, which grew stronger as Eriana grew older. She lived under the protection of the Gaela, who saw value in her skill and sought to protect the girl from Death. But Eriana betrayed the Gaela. She abused her gift, which struck imbalance upon the Gaela’s earth.”

  “That’s the snowstorm,” said Annith. “When she killed all those caribou.”

  I shushed her. The three of us had leaned closer to Tanuu.

  “Angry, the Gaela sent the Aanil Uusha to punish Eriana. The Aanil Uusha went to earth, but with his own plan. He had long felt cheated by the two-headed serpent. The beast destroyed villages and killed its inhabitants before Death was ready to claim them. Even the Aanil Uusha could not take the life of the leviathan—but in Eriana, he saw the chance to control it.”