Fire (The Mermaid Legacy - Book 2) (10 page)

As I watched him drift to the sea floor, a squeak of fright from a child behind me had me instantly alert again, ready to fight off whichever Oceanid attacked us. As I whirled, my blood ran cold as the head of a massive creature nosed through the reeds.

A huge head pushed its way through the kelp. The width of its mouth was the length of my body. It had a blunt jaw with slit-like nostrils on the top. Its eyes were enormous fiery liquid gold that focused firmly on me with a fierce concentration that made it difficult to breathe.

Its skin glittered in the early morning light, a patchwork of jade that mimicked the moving colours in the water making its outline difficult to see.

It blinked, a second eyelid sliding over the golden eyes before they refocused on me.

“Say something,” the little girl behind me prompted.

“They speak?” I muttered as I backed up against the netting again.

“No, but the battalion of keepers that all have Mizraks pointed at you do.”

I turned warily, looking for the Oceanids the children could see.

Their leader sat atop the creature and let out a short sharp whistle. As he did so they melted out of the shadows, dozens of them, all dressed in shades of green and moving constantly with the kelp, their muscled arms drawn back holding glinting spiralled blades that were aimed mercilessly at me.

I put my hands up in a posture of surrender. “I am a friend,” I said in the strange language that ran in my head. The words were uncomfortable in my mouth and they came out jarred.

“Who are the Oceanids around you?” the leader asked, pointing to those I’d fought with.

“They were trying to take the children,” I replied.

A rustle of anger shimmered through the group as they discussed my statement.

“How do we know you weren’t one of them?”

I turned to the children behind me.

“Ask them.”

He did, and the earnest burble as each tried to tell their view on the story at the same time, had the Oceanids relaxing their blades and smiling.

“So you are a Gurrer?” the leader said, bowing slightly.

“I guess so,” I replied, not wanting to get into my heritage just yet. If he was happy I’d helped the children and wasn’t about to set his monster on me, I had no intention of upsetting the proverbial apple cart.

The
spiritus
that swirled around him was still angrily defensive, belying the friendlier words.

“You will come with us to our leader.” It wasn’t a request.

“What about them?” I asked, indicating the children.

He nodded. “Of course they will come too.”

It took several of the Oceanids to spring the trap. I was surprised when the children rushed to my side, huddling around me as they watched the other Oceanids warily.

“It’sOK,” I whispered to them, wondering as I did so whether I was lying to them. From what I could see, though, I had little choice but to follow the Oceanids and their monsters. At the very least we were protected from any of Neith’s minions who may attack us along the way.

“But the Zmija…” Nessa whispered, cuddling into my side, “they are so fierce and mommy told me stories about them.”

“I think they’re friends,” I whispered back at them, earning me a slight but approving nod from the leader.

They moved in uniformed lines around us, using the current as a propulsion to jet through the water, their blades continuously drawn and pointed into the ocean on either side of them. The serpents or Zmija moved in wave-like motions, their bodies rippling with muscle and barely contained energy as they impatiently waited for us.

The easy pace their leader set gave me at least some hope that there was some gentleness beneath the fierce façade, as he patiently waited for the younger members of our party to catch up, allowing plenty of time to rest when they started to look tired.

We swam flanked by a Zmija on each side, which allowed me to observe the creatures’ mythical beauty up close. They were covered in jewel-like scales, each one a slightly different shade of brilliant colour to the one next to it, so that as they moved the colours melted into each other, blending through every possible shade of blue and green and back again.

Their heads were adorned with a delicate mane of membranes that floated with the current, obscuring their shape. A similar but slightly more structured fin ran the length of their body on their back and underbelly and their tail fanned out in whispers of translucent colour, that they could extend or contract.

On each side another fin ran almost the entire length of their body and I wondered what purpose it could possibly serve as they clearly didn’t use it for swimming.

There was something not quite normal about the Zmija, an animal that shook my preconceptions about sentient life. They didn’t communicate by any audible means but their movements were co-ordinated enough for there to be an obvious connection between them.

I tried to see their
spiritus
, concentrating on the wisps of colour I should have been able to see surrounding them, but instead there was a palpable shove in my direction, as if they were purposefully rejecting my attempts at understanding.

The Oceanids who rode them had the slightly wild demeanour of the Mami-Wata and what seemed to be a relatively tenuous hold on the beasts they rode. They were dressed in similar reed matting to what I wore beneath Pelagius’s robe, adorned, as I’d seen before, with shells and pearls.

The other Oceanids, the ones who had pointed their blades at us, were a mixture of male and female, all of them powerfully built with large black eyes and an emerald tinge to their skin. I had never seen so many Miengu in one place and the presence of so many had me wondering what precious treasures must be hidden in The Haven.

The Zmija came to a halt, their muscular bodies circling us and pushing us through the relentless confusion of green as it drifted open to reveal a tiny passageway, big enough for only one Oceanid to enter at a time. The leading Mami-Wata dismounted from his Zmija, his mouth moving silently, gently scratching the scales above its nose before the creature turned its massive head and rippled quickly out of sight.

A few of the Miengu entered the tunnel first before we were invited to go through. Dark black rock crowded the space so that I had to wriggle through it, fighting the claustrophobia that threatened to incapacitate me.

Light blinded me on the other side. It filtered easily through shallow, warm, turquoise water fringed at the top with wavering kelp. The space was enormous, stretching away from me in a perfect arc on either side. And everywhere I looked, colour exploded in vibrant life, as coral grew and schools of ridiculously coloured fish busied themselves with the humdrum of their lives.

A delicious giggle floated through the water, the innocence and sheer joy of it making the hair on my arms stand on end. I turned, trying to find the source of the infectious laughter and as I did so, my little company of children who had been clustered close to me relaxed and drifted a little way away, craning their necks to see where the sound had come from.

“Our leaders want to meet all of you first,” one of the Miengu informed me. The children cowered at the sound of his voice and surrounded me again in fright.

“It’sOK,” I whispered, hoping again that I wasn’t lying to them.

He led us silently to a structure that looked like it was on fire. Hundreds of thousands of bright red anemones wavered in shades of vermillion tipped in yellow. The structure was dome-shaped, the sides soaring towards a seam that ran the length of the building.

We entered again in single file, the children trailing behind me before gathering around me again once we were inside. The pure white interior of the structure formed the perfect backdrop to the beauty of the Oceanids that inhabited it.

The leading couple were tall and willowy, their hair, which was very white, was in deep contrast to the almost purple-black hue of their skin. They were dressed in long pale robes that swirled in the ever-moving water, and their beautiful faces were dual masks of judicial concern.

In one corner I could see Pelagius peering out from behind a huge Oceanid. The Miengu’s thickly banded chest and arms were held in a stance of readiness and looked almost comical compared to Pelagius’s slighter form. In the other corner, a similarly large Miengu stood guard over someone else. I strained to see who it might be but whoever it was was completely hidden by the Miengu.

I hovered with the children in the middle of the room, wondering what they were all waiting for and growing both impatient and nervous as the time continued to slip away.

The woman whispered something to a few equally beautiful Oceanids behind her. Ten of them immediately swam to me, forming a living cocoon around me and separating me momentarily from the children, who made little squeaks of alarm.

“It’sOK,” I soothed them in their strange language, as the Oceanids quickly stripped, and then dressed me again in an emerald green robe.

“Thank you,” I told them, embarrassed by my brief nudity but infinitely grateful for the proper clothing as my little companions crowded around me again, clinging to my hands

“You are welcome, Alexandra, Defender of Men.” Her musical voice held a soft lilt and a smile lit her eyes.

“Pelagius has explained your story and we are most grateful that you stayed with the young ones until our people could free them,” the man continued. “We must apologise for the formal manner in which you have entered The Haven, but precautions are infinitely necessary, particularly these days.” My name is Aoi and this is Azura.” He indicated his partner. “Might we know your names?” He directed the question at the children who looked to me for guidance.

“Go ahead, you’re safe here,” I murmured.

Each of them introduced themselves, Nessa first and then the little boy who’d been hunted, Bo; Nanami, a child with a brilliant yellow skin, Alazne an older girl and Conway one of the older boys, both of whose brilliant colouring was beginning to fade to a fainter pastel shade. Each child explained what had led them to the kelp forest. They told of how they’d discovered each other in amongst the reeds and had formed a little band hiding in the weed and trying to avoid the hunters that had managed to capture two of their party in their first run-in with them.

“We thought they were friends, but then they snatched Sunil and Lill,” Nessa explained,

“How did you escape?” Aoi asked them, the horror of their story clearly imprinted on his face. The children all looked at each other nervously.

“Please don’t be afraid,” Azura told them gently. “Whatever happened, you are not in trouble.”

They nudged Bo until he moved forwards a little, his hands twisting nervously as he spoke. “I used my talents, mommy said I wasn’t allowed to…and I’m sorry…but they were trying to take me and…” I put a hand on his shoulder as he flinched slightly.

“You are not in any trouble at all,” I told him gently.

Azura moved forward and took both of Bo’s hands in hers. “Using your talents to protect yourself is why you have them in the first place, dear. You were very brave.” Bo smiled shyly.

“We swam away from that part of the forest as fast as we could and the next moment we were trapped in the net you found us in…” Nanami explained.

“They’ve been in the trap for a day,” I told the group. “Pelagius and I found them because they were calling for help. We weren’t the only ones who heard them.”

“Why did our patrols not hear them?” Azura was clearly upset and directed her angry question at the leader of the Zmija.

“They were on the very edge of the forest, my lady. We seldom patrol there.”

“That is not good enough, Thanh. Make sure you widen your sphere immediately.”

Thanh nodded.

Aoi quietly instructed some of the Oceanids behind him, who returned presently with several other children. They hid a little shyly behind Aoi and Azura before drifting forward and inviting the children around me to come and explore The Haven.

They hesitated at first but after I’d encouraged them to go, they slipped from the council room quickly, chattering amicably with their new friends.

“You are most welcome in The Haven, Alexandra and Pelagius. We hope to provide you with the rest you will need before you continue on your journey.”

“No, I…you don’t seem to understand,
this
is our destination,” I replied, watching as their friendly façade ebbed.

“Why so, Alexandra, Defender of Men?”

“Because I need you and your people to help me stop Neith.”

“Neith?”

“Yes, the Oceanid who is building an army of children to attack humans with.”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

I’d been thinking about how I would convince the Oceanids in The Haven to help me before we’d entered the forest, but now that I was in front of all of them I scrambled to order my thoughts.

“I was born a Halfling, the fortieth generation child of a great Gurrer and a human woman.”

There was some surprised mutterings from the crowd which I ignored, desperately needing them to concentrate on the danger Neith posed, needing them to listen to the important part of my story.

“My heritage was kept secret from me…” I didn’t go into how betrayed I felt at that, skipping over how angry I still was with Dad. “I discovered Oceanids in the mountains of Injisuthi in South Africa…”

“Oceanids on land?” Aoi was astounded.

“Yes, a whole colony of them.”

“I didn’t know that Oceanids could successfully live on land,” Azura murmured.

“Pelagius has more detail on the mountain pod.” I struggled to contain my impatience with their distraction. They were too relaxed, too interested in the insignificant details.

“Neith was part of the mountain pod and I believe his experience on land is what has sparked this obsession he has with taking over the human world. He believes that Oceanids should rule both environments.”

“Why would we want to leave the blue?” Aoi asked bewildered.

“As I’m sure you know, humans are destroying the ocean and making many Oceanids sick.”