Ice Crypt (Mermaids of Eriana Kwai Book 2) Read online

  As we retreated, Tanuu seemed to have lost the ability to hold his jaw closed. He kept stumbling as he looked over his shoulder to his attacker’s corpse, and then to Blacktail, and then back to the mermaid.

  Blacktail wiped the fire iron clean in the grass.

  Nobody said anything for a long time. My heart pounded. I thought I might be sick. For those few seconds, the Massacre had come surging back. My adrenaline kicked in so fiercely that my arms and legs trembled.

  Annith and Blacktail’s eyes were wide and glazed, their lips ashen. Annith’s frizzy hair was plastered to her dirt-smudged face, reminding me of the way she’d looked on the Massacre.

  I drew a long, slow breath, trying to calm my heart.

  Tanuu had nearly been killed carrying out my plan. What had I been thinking, letting him come to the beach? I should have forced him to stay back, or snuck away—anything to stop him from putting himself in so much danger.

  On top of that, I’d killed another mermaid. I’d pulled the trigger without thinking, as easily as I had on the early days of the Massacre.

  As much as I hoped to think I’d changed, I was still the killer my people had trained me to be.

  “Look,” said Tanuu, struggling to breathe. “This is a terrible idea.”

  “I tried to tell you that,” said Blacktail.

  “Not just for me. For all of us. Those sea demons … I mean, they’re …”

  He glanced at the water, looking like he might be sick. The dead mermaids lay half-submerged on the shoreline, rocking in the waves. Behind his horrified expression, he was obviously working out what we’d faced on the Massacre for an entire month.

  I bent double, rubbing sweat and salt from my face. “What else are we supposed to do?” I said, muffled by my hands.

  “Something that doesn’t involve getting eaten by a monster while we hunt for a cave that may or may not exist.”

  “You’re sure we can trust … that demon king?” said Annith, a bit too hesitantly.

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “They’re not monsters. They’re predators. Just like humans.”

  “Whatever they are, they’ve got a taste for human blood,” said Tanuu.

  “It’s not like that. They’re attacking us because—”

  “Because Adaro told them to, I know. But you’re doing what he asked. You’re looking for the Host. Shouldn’t he cool it with the attacks now?”

  I huffed. “He wants us to know he’s still in control.”

  They turned their gazes in unison, as though looking across to Adaro’s kingdom. I couldn’t tell if they were unconvinced, or uneasy about Adaro.

  Blacktail made an abrupt movement. I reached for my crossbow as she grabbed the fire iron with one hand and flung the other across Tanuu’s chest.

  A head poked out of the waves. She’d already transformed into a demon. She floated towards the shore, keeping her deep red eyes on us. I kept my grip on my crossbow but didn’t raise it.

  The demon wrapped her long, webbed fingers around the first mermaid’s hair and pulled her into the water. The sound of the body dragging across the rocks rose over the wind and waves. Then she did the same with the other body.

  A swell engulfed them, and they vanished.

  I didn’t loosen my grip on the crossbow.

  A wave smashed against the lava rock on our left. The spray hit me a moment later, clinging to my already cold face.

  “Let’s climb out of here,” I said.

  Annith pointed the dagger at Tanuu. “Gentlemen first.”

  He opened his mouth to protest, but Blacktail gave him a shove with the fire iron. “Go.”

  We clambered up the earthy slope, using Ravendust weeds as grips. The bank flattened into a field of waist-high grass, pricklebushes, and scattered boulders. Coal-black leaves poked out of the otherwise vibrant greenery, so the field appeared freckled.

  We scanned our surroundings. I vaguely knew the way home. But was home where we needed to go?

  I licked my dry lips, tasting salt after being on the beach for so many hours. Even this short distance from the water, the air felt thinner, less sticky. My entire body ached, now that I let myself relax. The others must have been exhausted, too. I should have let us stop sooner.

  “You hit up the school library, too, right?” said Tanuu.

  “We searched about a million books,” I said, my tone more waspish than intended.

  “Have you talked to anyone?”

  “No one supports us. And I don’t trust them.”

  “Come on. Forget the Massacre Committee. Everyone else loves you.”

  I snorted.

  “It’s true!”

  I started across the field, stepping high through the long grass and hidden stones. The others followed.

  “We could try talking to elders,” said Annith carefully. “Or teachers.”

  “You don’t have to tell them it’s about the Host,” said Tanuu. “Just ask about our history. You know all the good stuff’s been passed verbally.”

  I watched my feet. There were probably people who had more information than we’d been able to find in our research. But could we approach any of them?

  “Ask the training master,” said Tanuu.

  When Annith and I let out cries of disgust, he added, “Anyo, I mean! He’s teaching at the elementary school now.”

  Anyo, an elementary school teacher? I couldn’t picture him teaching kids how to multiply.

  “He does know a lot of history,” said Blacktail. “Bet he’d be happy to share it.”

  I slashed long blades of grass out of my way with the crossbow. I was still angry with Anyo for not defending us at that disastrous meeting.

  “Meela, you gotta trust some people,” said Tanuu. “We’re all a part of the same fight.”

  If we were all on the same side, why did I feel so alienated because of what I wanted? My people might have wanted freedom, but they wanted to kill mermaids to get it.

  I considered Tanuu’s words. Of anyone who might be able to tell us our island’s history, Anyo was probably the one I trusted most.

  “He wasn’t necessarily against us finding the Host,” said Annith, watching me. “He could’ve been quiet because of the others. He might even support our search for the legend, now that he’s been sacked.”

  I didn’t know if he’d go as far as supporting us, but I could hardly imagine him ratting us out to the committee. Besides, after what I’d just seen, blindly searching for the Host was a much bigger risk than simply going to Anyo for information.

  Sighing, I checked the position of the sun. Behind the patchy clouds, it sat low on the horizon. School would have let out long ago.

  I scanned our attire. We were wet, filthy, and miserable looking. Blacktail’s clothes were splattered with blood. Not to mention our weapons. Even if Anyo was still there, we couldn’t go to a schoolyard like this.

  “Tomorrow,” I said. “After the kids go home, we’ll talk to Anyo.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Lesser Evils

  A blanket of hammerhead sharks darkened the world above. They came from the west, a tight cluster of at least a hundred.

  The baitball and the tuna scattered. A pair of feeding dolphins shot away.

  I yanked my weapon from Spio’s bag.

  It wasn’t the presence of the sharks that scared me, but the way they moved. They bumped into each other, moving too fast, too erratic. Rather than swarm the easy meal, the sharks had pushed straight through.

  “They’re fleeing something,” I said.

  Spio let the half-gutted tuna float away and pulled out his own Iron Hook of Doom.

  “Smells like merpeople.”

  My lips prickled. My teeth had lengthened, cutting into them. Ready to fight, my body transformed without my will. I gripped my weapon with both hands.

  A few mermen up, Officer Strymon drew himself closer to the shoal. He scanned the line. “Enemies on all sides, soldiers!”

  He’d barely drawn hi
s longblade when a war cry sounded. The current changed at my tail.

  Instinctively, I bared my teeth and rounded on the threat.

  An army surged from below. Hostility closed around us, thick and suffocating.

  They were going to pinch us between them and the sharks.

  “Sideways,” I shouted to Spio.

  We spun, but the opposing army already directed the sharks back, surrounding us. The predators formed a wall, trapping us inside the swirling ring.

  The Battle for Eriana Kwai flooded back to me, bringing to life my every nightmare. This wasn’t how I was supposed to die—half a world away from everyone I loved, fighting for a cause I didn’t believe in.

  Sharks and adrenaline-fueled mermen wreaked havoc on my senses. I didn’t know where to turn. Everything moved at blinding speed. I was used to fighting against the predictable, slow pace of a human.

  Ripples grazed my skin from below. A merman with dreadlocked black hair shot towards me.

  Spio dove between us. “I’m on it!”

  He swung hard. The hook sliced the merman’s chest, spilling a cloud of blood.

  “Weapons up, Lysi. This fight’s gonna be off the hook.”

  Yelps rose over the rushing current as more soldiers closed in. They resembled us in appearance and weaponry, except for the dishevelment they all shared. They must have travelled an entire tidecycle to get here. Where had they come from?

  A tiny mermaid with a dagger in each hand darted around Spio. He retaliated with disorienting speed.

  Mermaids?

  This wasn’t one of Adaro’s armies, divided by gender. This was the side I should have been fighting on. Could I join them? Would they know I was an outsider?

  My hope vanished as someone charged me from behind. I whirled. A merman swung a mace at my head and I curved out of range. He struck again, tireless, covered in scars and apparently fearless about acquiring more.

  I was faster than him, but I could only retreat for so long. Already the sharks were at my back. I had to act.

  Holding my weapon with both hands, I swung hard. The hook grazed his stomach. It was a weak attack, but I had the advantage of iron. A line of blood seeped from his flesh, below an existing scar that stretched across his chest.

  The merman snarled. He aimed for my head and I somersaulted backwards. I came back with another two-handed swing, hitting his stomach in the same place, cutting deep. He spluttered, blood clouding in front of him.

  I shoved him away. He slumped over.

  Panic squeezed my lungs. I hadn’t meant to kill him. Had I? Did I have a choice?

  Spio appeared next to me. He watched my victim sink and then shouted over the din, “That guy really had an iron stomach.”

  I turned to him, numb.

  His expression flickered. “It’s all right, buddy. Our guys are good. We’ll win this.”

  “Spio, we’re not winning anything, here.”

  Something changed in his aura, but I didn’t have time to decide what. His nostrils flared as he focused on something behind me.

  I glanced back. The sun had set, darkness stripping the world of colour. Between the soldiers and whirling bubbles, Officer Strymon’s glare fixed on us, eyes blending with the bloody water. The illusion of his eyeless skull sent a ripple of unease through me. Had he heard me?

  A mermaid descended on him and he turned, swinging his longblade.

  “We can talk about this later,” said Spio. “This fight’s getting messy, and it’s time to iron out the kinks!”

  He sped away, twirling his weapon. I gaped after him.

  Clouds of blood spilled in all directions. It clung to my skin, dirty, thick, warm. It was impossible to move without tasting it.

  The spinner dolphins shot past, cackling. They wore the assault vests. Sure enough, anyone in their path dove out of the way.

  A body crashed into me, throwing me backwards. I stopped myself before I hit the circling hammerheads—but not before a tooth sliced my shoulder, drawing a stinging line of blood. My temper rose.

  A bony mermaid with patches missing from her blond hair closed in, raising a slate dagger. I gritted my teeth and shot towards her.

  She realised what the hook was made of too late. The iron met her sternum. Her mouth opened and bubbles exploded from it. She must have screamed, but the world was too loud for me to hear it.

  I pushed myself away from the sharks, wiping my shoulder clean. The animals were becoming more agitated. I caught their desperate urge to join what they must have thought was a feeding frenzy. Some tried to break the circle, chasing whatever prey was bleeding freely, only to be shoved back by a swinging tail or weapon.

  An empty pocket had opened in the centre of the ring. I detected a huge presence, wild, out of control.

  The great white had been injured, and she was angry.

  Something sharp grazed the side of my neck. I spun and found my assailant clutching a knife. I retaliated hard. The hook caught him in the arm.

  Bubbles left his mouth. He reached for his seared flesh, eyes locking onto the iron that did it.

  In his moment of hesitation, I roared and swung again, knocking him into the wall of sharks.

  They erupted. No anger, no excitement, only bare instinct to attack.

  The merman’s scream carried as unimaginable force clamped on his arm, tearing through at the elbow. Another bit his waist. His weapon fell from his grip and sank.

  I turned away. My anger gave way to panic. I needed air. Why was I doing this? I was letting the surrounding aggression become my own. Even the sharks seeped into my senses.

  Something tightened around my hair and pulled me down. I shrieked, twisting to find a mermaid swinging a club at my head. I lifted an arm to block it. The club hit my wrist and my weapon fell from my grip.

  “No!”

  It disappeared in the chaos below.

  The mermaid released me, winding back for a two-handed blow. She was muscled, tough, her head shaven almost to the scalp—maybe to avoid whatever parasite had eaten the last mermaid’s hair.

  I shoved her away with my tail, keeping myself out of reach.

  A struggle above grazed my skin. Coho struck a fatal blow to a merman, who dropped a conch shell. I lunged for it.

  My opponent shot towards me. I seized the shell, flipped over, and drove into her.

  A shark darted by our heads, snapping at a cloud of blood. We flinched. Several sharks had abandoned the circle, diving inwards to feed on the corpses. Our own military animals fought back, chasing them outwards—partly training, mostly instinct.

  The mermaid tensed to strike. I swiped the shell at her face from close range, but didn’t put enough strength into it. It slid across her flesh without a mark.

  I pushed her away before she could swing at me.

  Her eyebrows pulled together, like she sensed my reluctance. The expression softened her face. She must have been no older than me.

  A shark blasted between us. We recoiled from its swinging head.

  Without taking my eyes off the mermaid, I cast my senses around. Hammerheads thrashed among the bodies, feeding, snapping at anything. Some fled.

  The mermaid seemed to consider striking again, but her focus was elsewhere. She glanced over her shoulder.

  I considered chasing my iron hook. If I swam fast enough, could I catch it?

  I stayed put. The suffocating depths were uncomfortable even by day. Now, the deep-sea creatures would be rising for the night. I was in no state to fend off overlarge teeth and a hinged jaw.

  In front of me, terror rose from the mermaid like a wall of ice. The red drained from her eyes, her skin paled, her teeth retracted. She spun around, searching.

  Her army was gone. Had they retreated?

  No. They’d been killed. Bodies floated around us, the smell of death thick.

  Before the mermaid could react, two officers seized her by the arms. Someone shoved me out of the way. Strymon appeared between us.

  “If you ha
ve a moment, darling,” he said to the mermaid, “I have a few things to ask you.”

  The mermaid’s green eyes widened.

  Nearby, mermen shouted to get the animals under control. The spinner dolphins circled at top speed, cackling.

  “Where’s the mako?” someone shouted.

  “Left with the shoal,” said someone else.

  At least ten soldiers closed on the great white, who wove between the corpses, tearing off chunks of flesh with violent jerking motions. Blood clouded from a long gash in her side.

  The billfish fed, too, driven into a frenzy.

  “Are there more where you came from?” said Strymon.

  The mermaid turned her head, jaw tight. Strymon’s dark gaze flicked over her shaven scalp. He didn’t mask his disgust.

  “You must understand, darling, that this attack has left us a few soldiers short. Of course, we didn’t lose as many as you did”—he chuckled, waving a hand—“but His Majesty will be displeased if we swim into the same net twice.”

  Still, the mermaid said nothing. Strymon’s aura darkened, though the faint, insincere smile remained on his face.

  I lingered behind them, suspended. Nobody else seemed to notice or care about this interrogation. Soldiers breached, tended their wounds, and rounded up the scattered animals and supplies. The commander wove through the flurry, shouting at everyone to gather the assets and move away from the bodies.

  Strymon exhaled dramatically. As though given no choice, he pressed the argillite blade against the mermaid’s throat hard enough to draw blood.

  “You can be certain that whether or not you tell me, we will find the others. When that happens, we will deliver the same treatment as we did today.”

  He pushed harder, until blood swirled around her pale face.

  “So you can make our job easier in exchange for your life, or you can die here, knowing we will still find—”

  “Medusa’s army has no limits,” said the mermaid.

  Strymon eased up on the blade. “Where are they stationed? Are there more coming towards us?”

  The mermaid’s gaze flicked to me, and then back to Strymon.

  No one could help her, and she knew it. Her fear dissipated as she surrendered to her fate. Resolve took its place.