Crystal Doors #2: Ocean Realm (No. 2) (16 page)

Breathless, Gwen said, “It’s so . . . is that —”

“— the crystal door to Earth?” Azric asked. “Yes. Fitting, isn’t it? I trust you can now see how useful this skill could be. Your own mothers broke the seal. Now Vic has opened it. And you, Gwen, will be the next.”

17

THAT EVENING, THE FIVE apprentices were reunited in the tower room where Gwen and Vic had received their tattoos. All but one of the windoors had been blocked with a heavy mesh of woven doolya strands. The merlon guards carried the exhausted cousins through the only open windoor — then stationed themselves outside it to swim guard.

They were glad to see their three companions unharmed, but before Gwen or Vic could express their joy, they sensed that something terrible had happened. Sharif floated in place, staring at the floor in abject misery.

Vic looked back and forth. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“We bring sad news,” Lyssandra said.

Sharif looked up, and his voice was heavy. “Orpheon murdered Piri. It was my fault.” The prince turned his face away and hunched over in silent agony. It seemed to Vic as if he had barely had time to blink before Lyssandra, Gwen, and Tiaret were all gathered around the grieving young man, putting their arms around him and murmuring words of comfort.

Wanting to know the answers, but not willing to press his grieving friend, Vic joined the circle. “Whatever happened, Sharif, you can’t blame yourself for Orpheon’s evil.” Scanning the faces around him, he noticed that Tiaret appeared grim and somber, and Lyssandra’s cobalt blue eyes looked as if they might be crying.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Gwen asked.

Sharif’s throat worked with emotion, and then, in a halting voice, he told his story. As he relived the experience, the boy from Irrakesh grew more and more agitated. Vic found his own outrage building just to hear what had happened, and he questioned his decision to cooperate with Azric. He had every reason to hate both of the dark sages.

Cutting off the discussions, merlon servants brought in a meal of cooked fish and seaweed, perhaps roasted over a thermal vent, along with shell cups filled with a viscous fluid the color of eel skin. To everyone’s surprise, the thick silvery liquid did not mix with the ocean water, but stayed in the cups until they tilted them up to drink. Whatever it was, it had a pleasant sweet-sour taste. When the merlons left again, the friends ate and drank, and resumed their conversation. Though Sharif couldn’t have had much of an appetite, he forced himself to eat.

“We must escape and find a way to destroy these murderers before they destroy Elantya,” Sharif concluded. “Piri’s death must be avenged.”

The cousins briefly filled the others in on what they had learned. Even though everyone knew that the cousins had been the object of the merlons’ kidnapping scheme, Vic was uncomfortable explaining why, and that Azric had threatened their friends to ensure Vic’s and Gwen’s compliance.

Gwen said in an intentionally loud voice, in case the guards were eavesdropping, “It’s been a painful day. We should all get some sleep.” Then she whispered directly to her friends, “If we pretend to sleep, maybe they’ll leave us alone.”

Outside, glowfish lights were covered, so that the sea became as dark as the night sky. In order to sleep, the friends found that they could tether themselves to rings on the floor with thin doolya cords, as they had seen other merlons do to keep themselves from being moved about by currents.

Slowly and quietly, Tiaret went to the main scalloped windoor, and looked out. She pointed at the opening, pantomimed guards and sleep, and stationed herself by the windoor to keep watch. The companions clustered close together, speaking in hushed, conspiratorial voices.

“It might take us a while to observe our surroundings and plan a way to escape. Did we learn anything today that might help us?” Gwen asked.

“You two discovered that we can breathe both in the water and out of it,” Tiaret said in a low voice. “That might be valuable information.”

Lyssandra pursed her lips. “And we learned that Orpheon and the merlons are pitiless and cruel.”

“Yup,” Vic said, “Azric too. In a way, he’s even scarier because he talks about murder like it’s just unfortunate — you know, like stubbing your toe or something.”

“Whereas Orpheon enjoys his cruelty,” Sharif said.

Vic nodded. What could he say to console a friend who had experienced such brutality and loss? “I’m sorry.” It sounded so weak and unhelpful. He was no good at this sort of thing. How could he say anything comforting to Sharif, when he was still in shock himself? If Orpheon could so easily dispose of Piri, he wouldn’t balk at killing Sharif or Lyssandra or Tiaret, if Gwen and Vic disappointed Azric.

“Piri’s light was beautiful,” Tiaret said with a surprising catch in her voice. “I will honor her memory in the Great Epic.”

Lyssandra gave Sharif a little smile. “Yes, watching her always cheered me up, even after I had bad dreams.”

“We’re all going to miss Piri,” Gwen said softly.

Vic tried hard to sound optimistic. “We’ll make sure Orpheon pays for what he did. Vengeance first, escape later. Or the other way around, maybe. We need to use any advantage we find.”

“Okay,” Gwen said. “One advantage is that we’re all together, and they took off our restraints. If we can keep them from tying us up again, we’ll have a better chance when the time is right.”

“Maybe Aquaman will show up to rescue us.” Vic rubbed at the raw place on his right wrist where the seaweed rope had chafed. “On the other hand, we can’t outswim a bunch of merlons or their pet sharks.”

“Perhaps we could find a helpful spell scroll?” Lyssandra suggested.

“I don’t think they use spell scrolls down here,” Gwen said.

“The merlons use molten aja to work strong magic,” Tiaret pointed out. “We have never seen a scroll in this place.”

“Yes, merlon magic works differently from Elantyan magic,” Lyssandra agreed.

Vic scratched his nose; his loose dark hair floated around his face. “We’ll just have to make our plan based on what we know and on our skills. Each day, we’ve got to learn what we can and incorporate it into our strategy as we go.”

“And we must remain alert for opportunities,” Tiaret said. “Any opportunities.”

18

THE NEXT MORNING AFTER the glowfish were uncovered, Vic noticed that the merlons began to treat the five friends differently. They were no longer just captives, but slaves and playthings, as well. After spending a restless night in the submerged tower prison, Vic was separated from his companions, including Gwen.

The new female merlon general, Goldskin, seized Tiaret and Gwen for what she called a “fighting practice.” A pair of merlon guards dragged Lyssandra away, saying that she was needed to attend to the anemonite scientists. Blackfrill, brandishing the teaching staff stolen from Tiaret, took Sharif to labor at the lavaja cracks.

Which left Vic alone with Azric. Cringing at the smile on the dark sage’s youthful face, Vic crossed his arms over his chest as the others were taken in separate directions. “If you hurt my friends, I’ll never help you.”

“Dear boy,” Azric answered mildly, “who said anything about hurting them? We intend to expand their horizons, make them more well-rounded.”

“Yup. I’ve heard that sort of speech before. But the strategy to separate us is obvious — divide now, conquer later.”

“Why, we only separate you for your own protection. I fear that if you are all together you might be tempted to . . . do something unwise. Bear in mind that I really need only one seal-breaker, whether it be Gwen or you. The two of you together are more useful, of course, but it would be unwise to try my patience. Now come with me. I have much to show you about the wonders of the undersea world.”

Vic refrained from commenting that Gwen was the one more interested in studying the ocean realm.

As if in response to a silent command, two sharks swam up to the tower openings. Azric held onto the sharp dorsal fin of one and motioned for Vic to do the same. Soon the aquatic predators streaked away, carrying them along.

The dark sage spoke in a friendly, conversational tone. “You know, you could learn to control these sharks.”

“I’d rather control a sea serpent,” Vic said.

“That’s possible. It’s only a matter of degree.”

Vic gave the wizard a false smile. “Then I could have it bite your head off.”

Azric actually chuckled. “Now, that would be a waste of your talents. You have so much to offer. Not only could you help me control the entire merlon kingdom, but once I open the sealed doors and unleash my armies, you could rule any world you chose. Imagine what you could do with an entire population at your beck and call.”

“Sheesh, the bad guy tempting me with promises of power, while trying to turn me to the dark side. Do you have any idea what a cliché that is?”

“It’s a valid offer, Vic,” Azric said, unruffled. “You did well yesterday in repeating the spells, but I didn’t sense your wholehearted participation. I do not reward insubordination. If you don’t cooperate, then perhaps your cousin will. If you both defy me, your friends will begin to die. First Lyssandra, perhaps. Or should it be Tiaret? Or that poor grieving prince of Irrakesh?”

The sharks had carried them over a rugged seabed where four giant armored turtles plodded along, each footstep sending up a puff of silt. The sea turtles, with merlon brands burned into their leathery shells, moved along like slow pack animals hauling baskets of ore that merlon smelters would use to make more weapons. Two of the turtles carried sealed containers that glowed with warmth and light, apparently full of fresh lavaja taken from the cracks in the seabed.

Azric said, “Do you like turtles, Vic? You could control those creatures as well. Everything here in the undersea realm is interconnected, like a large web. You could place yourself at the center.”

“I’ve never liked spiders much,” Vic said.

“Would you rather be a spider or a fly?” Azric said. “You will have to choose.”

“Why? I have no interest in either option.”

“It seems you require a fresh perspective.” The sharks dove down toward the plodding turtles. “For the next several days, I will assign not only your friends to work with the other slaves, but you and Gwen as well, hauling cargo with the sea turtles, laboring at the edge of the lavaja cracks. Once you understand what it feels like to be a fly, I think you’ll change your mind.”

Armed merlon warriors swam up from the sea turtle convoy to intercept Vic and Azric. They grasped the young man’s arms. “Don’t damage him too much,” Azric said. “At least do no irreparable harm.”

The merlons pulled Vic away.

GWEN AND TIARET FACED their own ordeal in the watery arena by the hall of the merlon king.

“The most effective method for teaching merlons to fight humans is to let them practice against real surface dwellers,” Goldskin said, looking at the young women with strangely hungry eyes. “Therefore, you two will be instrumental today in training merlons to slaughter humans more efficiently.”

The female merlon general drifted in the huge empty space in front of the undersea palace — a three-dimensional fighting arena. Silvery fish flitting around like tiny spectators left the area when she swam forward. Two large eels, one scarlet, the other obsidian, curled around her legs like pets begging for a snack.

The female general was armed with a wickedly sharp seashell dagger and a long club topped with a spiny sea urchin; a grappling hook on a finely braided cord dangled at her scaly waist. She grinned, showing the needle-sharp teeth in her fishy mouth. “Come — both of you fight me at the same time.”

With a quick glance at Gwen, Tiaret growled, “Your skills will be insufficient to defeat both of us. Are you prepared to sustain injuries?”

Goldskin laughed. “I can triumph over a pair of weak hatchlings. Choose your weapons.” She pointed to a display of deadly undersea implements on a rack formed of coral extrusions.

“I fought in the Grassland Wars,” Tiaret said. “I am no stranger to adorning my weapons with the blood of an enemy. I plan to refamiliarize myself with that sensation today.”

Nibbling the edge of her lower lip, Gwen looked uneasily at the spiked clubs, long scimitars, pronged tridents, and jagged spears. “I’m not sure how well I can fight with any of those, Tiaret. My reflexes are good, but I’m not the seasoned warrior you are.”

“Nevertheless, your instincts will protect you. Your reactions are swift and you often employ unexpected maneuvers.”

Gwen and Vic had received a fair amount of specialized training from their mothers in the ancient discipline of zy’oah. At the time, never suspecting the existence of hundreds of strange worlds connected by crystal doors — or that their mothers might come from one of those worlds — the cousins had thought they were learning an obscure martial arts technique. After Gwen’s parents died and Kyara left, Cap had encouraged Vic and Gwen to keep up their zy’oah practice sessions.

“I’ll do my best. What other choice is there?” Then, taking a deep breath of water through her gills, she muttered to herself, “Suck it up, Pierce. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

The two young women swam to the weapons while Goldskin and her eels waited impatiently. Merlons gathered to watch the contest, along with Orpheon, who seemed quite intrigued at the possibility of violence. Gwen sensed a ripple in the water, a murmur of excitement, and saw that the merlon king himself had arrived.