Fire (The Mermaid Legacy - Book 2) (13 page)

His face was creased in worry. “I never suspected her, Alex, not even for a moment. I’ve thought about her betrayal for years, trying to work out why I didn’t suspect it, and it was her complete dedication to me that did it.”

“Dad, we don’t have time for Neith to want to promote you to second in command. Why would he choose you?”

“I have a reputation for war.”

“Yeah but why would he believe that you would fight against your own daughter? He knows everything about you… In fact, he knows everything about anyone who was in the mountain pod. Our only hope for getting this part of the plan right would be to send in an Oceanid from The Haven… but I just…I don’t know any of them here.”

Dad sighed, rubbing his hand across his head. “OK, so we need to get the Oceanids in The Haven practising and quickly. I’d like to use this evening’s gathering to discuss talents and formations with them. And Alex…”

“Yeah?”

“Trust no one with this part of the plan. We’re going to have to talk to Aoi and try to work out who the best person would be to infiltrate Ferengren. We ’re also going to help you find your own Zmija and we need to get you trained in using a Mizrak…”

“You mean a serpent?”

“Yes, they are hugely powerful.”

“Yeah but I won’t need to ride one will I?”

He nodded. “It will help us get to Ferengren faster although we’ll have to let them go when we get there.”

“Why?”

“We don’t use animals in fights…it’s just not done.”

“And what was the other thing I should be learning?”

“A Mizrak is the blade you’ve seen them all using…”

He told me more about the weaponry we had available, and then went into more detail about the training we would all need to go through. The list went on and on until abruptly I said,

“We have no chance at winning this do we?”

He was silent for a few moments. “I have seen amazing things, Alex. There is always a chance.”

The full weight of what we were going to attempt weighed heavily on me. “I’ve been thinking we should apply some human tactics too, because Neith won’t know them.”

“Good idea, any specific concepts?”

“Maybe we should have sort of waves of talents to attack them, so organise all of the Påvirke we have to start sending them dreams immediately, then have the Aseet attack at a certain time and the Gurrers at another place and time and the Mami-wata at another. You know, like archers and cavalry…that type of thing.”

Dad grinned. “I like it, but I think we should also utilise your ability to share talents to strengthen the attack even further.”

“Yeah, only problem is I can’t be touching everyone all the time.”

ad looked thoughtful. “I think you might still be able to share the talents from a distance.”

“Really? How?”

“It’s easier to explain if I show you,” he replied.

“What about armour?” I asked, thinking of the thin garments many of the Oceanids wore.

“That’s not normally something we use.”

“Well, it is now, and that’s another thing, I want to talk to the Shaha to find out what is normal in Oceanid war.”

He nodded. “Paying attention to our traditions would be a good idea.”

I agreed, but not for the reasons he thought. I wanted to break every preconception of war the Oceanids had, because just surprising Neith in his lair would never be enough to beat him, of that I was a hundred percent certain.

The council meeting was thick with anger. All of the Oceanids were speaking at once, shaking their heads and waving their hands as they tried to get their point across.

Aoi held up his hands for quiet.

“Alexandra and Zydrunas have come up with a good plan…”

Thanh was the first Oceanid invited to the floor. He was relatively short compared to the others, but the wild energy that seemed to swirl from him more than made up for his stature. I recognised him as the Oceanid who had ridden the Zmija earlier that morning.

“The full rage of the Zmija is on our side, we can leave immediately and free these Oceanids and remove this scum from the seas.”

I was about to start arguing when Dad shook his head slightly.

The next Oceanid to speak was Takimu. He towered over Thanh, powerful muscles rippling across his torso and a long glinting blade holstered in a wide belt around his waist. His skin was covered in cruel-looking barbs marking him as an Aseet, and from the revered expression on the other Oceanids’ faces, I assumed many followed him.

“I am in agreement with Thanh, let us chase these abominable Oceanids down and relieve them of their lives.”

“They don’t know what they’re up against,” I muttered to Dad. “We can’t let them race out of here or they’ll become part of Neith’s army.”

“We’ll let them all talk and then give them the direction they need,” he whispered back. “They were always going to rip our ideas apart at first.”

The next Oceanid to speak was a woman, Helle, her long thick black hair swirling around a slight frame and impish face.

“Our first priority must be the children. What if there are more of them abandoned in the forest, or even worse in the open ocean? So much knowledge and learning could be lost, and think of the detriment to future generations. Let us focus our energies on rescuing them from Neith’s clutches.”

The final advisor was older but still very beautiful. Her eyes glowed a deep sapphire blue and her white hair was pulled neatly away from her face in an intricate tangle of plaits.

“In times past, we have made use of the strongholds that have protected our people from evil. Let us leave The Haven and descend into the depths for a little while until this madness has passed us by.”

Their ideas were met with confused and unstructured conversation from at least ten Oceanids who, I was to discover later, made up the deciding committee. Aoi seemed swayed by each new argument as he struggled to guide the meeting and the emotions that swilled around them.

As I listened I wondered if I’d do a better job than him. It was all very well to criticise him, but I’d been in a similar position when I’d found the mountain pod in disarray. It wasn’t easy to make decisions for such a liberal people.

“Alexandra, Zydrunas, could you explain your plan?” Aoi invited us to the floor.

Dad reiterated the training he thought was needed in the pod amidst much muttering. When it was my turn I took a deep breath, hoping I’d be able to connect with a big enough group to sway the opinion.

“The Haven is the essence of all that is good in the Ocean. Neith is bent on destroying that by using Oceanid children as weapons. Not only will this put these children and their parents in great danger, but it will destroy their innocence and leave you with a legacy of violence and blood lust to deal with. At the moment Neith believes he has the upper hand...”

“And he is right,” the older woman cut in.

I held up my hand to stop the storm of arguments I could see brewing in their faces.

“He thinks he knows all there is to know about my ability to share talent.” I smiled at them.“He believes you to be weak.We are going to show him that he is wrong and that Oceanids will not just allow him to do as he pleases, that we will stand together against this abomination.”

A few nods and mutterings of agreement gave me the courage to continue.

“The Haven is going to beat him with varying layers of surprise. We are not going to be able to do things as they’ve been done in the past. And the first thing that will have to change is the openness of this forum.”

There was an immediate explosion of sound as each Oceanid argued.

I held up my hands again and waited until the sound had abated. “Each of you will be put in charge of an area of the attack, but none of you will know the bigger plan until it unfolds.” They began to argue again.

“The reason for this…” I spoke over the hub-bub, “the reason for this is simply to protect us from the probings of Neith’s Påvirke. They are immensely strong but I doubt they will be able to access everyone’s thoughts at once.”

“So you’re asking us to trust you, a stranger and a Halfling, with the our future and our lives?” Takimu asked.

“Yes.”

He shook his head.

“We could just wait this storm out. Just stay here and help those that come back from the battle,” Helle argued.

Pelagius spoke now.“You have developed a comfortable mind-set here in your Haven.” His voice was quiet around the harsh words. “You think that because you are within these walls you have the right to choose whether to stand against evil or hide from it. I have lived a long time now and what I have come to know of evil is that unless you stand, it will find you out. Apathy is not an option. Alexandra’s plan may seem foreign to you, but understand that Neith has no qualms with breaking tradition to get what he wants. If he is willing to endanger that which is most precious to our species – our children – do not think he will stop at anything to achieve his goal.”

They all stopped talking to listen to him.

“I know it is difficult for you to trust this young woman. She is, after all, a Halfling, but what you need to see is that it is this difference that gives us the advantage. She thinks differently, she will do things differently, and it is this difference that gives this impossible mission hope.”

Aoi moved into the centre of the council and nodded once.

“We will co-operate with Alexandra and Zydrunas.” Then he turned to us, his expression grim. “ But be aware that it is not a thoughtless co-operation and if at any point I see the need, I will withdraw The Haven’s commitment to you.”

Dad and I nodded.

We started work immediately, splitting the group into their respective talents and testing their abilities to see what we had to work with. We then assigned each of them to do the same with the other Oceanids in The Haven.

“We need even groupings,” I told them. “Make sure you pick Oceanids that have similar talents to you and please let me know as soon as it is done.”

The light was seeping from the sea when they all left to go and find their groups and then get ready for dinner as Aoi approached us.

“How many Oceanids are at The Haven?” I asked.

“Just over three hundred.”

“That won’t be enough. Are there any other pods you could call on to come and help?”

He nodded. “I will send out scouts immediately.”

“We also need to set up guards in the kelp.”

Aoi agreed and quickly issued orders for additional guards to start patrolling the kelp.

“Alexandra, Zydrunas, I do expect to be told of the whole plan before it happens.”

“We will need to discuss that,” Dad replied, surprising me with his wariness of Aoi of all people.

Aoi’s expression clouded with anger. “I am the leader of this pod, Zydrunas, I will not be kept in the dark.”

“If you are the leader, then you obviously know who the spy in your midst is?”

Aoi looked shocked. “Spy? What are you accusing us of, Zydrunas?”

“This is not an accusation, Aoi, merely an observation. Someone from The Haven, or at least very close to The Haven, has to have been in contact with Neith. Ferengren is a long way away from here and yet Neith’s gang was here to collect the children from that trap. Come on, Aoi, it doesn’t take a genius to realise that there is a person here communicating with Neith.”

Aoi was quiet for a few moments. “I must admit that I had not thought along those lines.”

“Well, you need to start,” Dad replied shortly.“You also need to start thinking about how Neith might attack or use you.”

“What do you mean?” Aoi demanded, frowning.

“You are the greatest target for Neith’s Påvirke. He will expect you to know everything and so probe your mind. That is why we are not going to be sharing the whole plan with anyone. Not because we don’t trust your motives, but because we don’t know how Neith is going to react when he finds out that Alexandra has fled here.”

“And he will know because of the spy you claim is in our midst?” Aoi asked, still looking sceptical.

Dad nodded.

Aoi looked at us thoughtfully for a few moments. “Contrary to my better judgement I must agree with you. I am the natural target for Neith, although I doubt he knows Alexandra is here.”

Dad nodded. “Well, we’ll see. If you begin to feel the Påvirke intrusion on your mind, you will know that someone at The Haven has let Neith know about Alexandra and is communicating our readiness for battle.”

“If you are right about this spy then we must flush him out as quickly as possible. We will see in the morning if there has been any Påvirke activity and if there has, we will take action immediately.”

“How?”

“We will set a trap,” he replied, “and then deal with the spy in the appropriate manner.” His voice grew hard and curls of black hatred swirled into the water around him.

Dad smiled at him. “You are a great leader, Aoi. Thank you for your trust.”

Aoi nodded once. “We need to explain this to the whole pod now. I suggest you allow me to do the talking.”

“Aoi,” I stopped him as he began to swim away. “Do you have any Shaha in The Haven? I need to talk with them about Oceanid war etiquette.”

“Two Shaha arrived this afternoon. You know them, Alexandra, for they and the other ten Oceanids with them all come from the mountain pod. They are waiting for you in the arena.”

I followed Aoi, a bubble of anticipation in my stomach as he led me to the place they called ‘the arena’. It was a wide and flat expanse of sand in the very centre of The Haven and in the middle of it familiar faces waited for me.

I thanked Aoi and rushed to greet Muirgel and Lyr, Sabrina, Maya and Marinus, the Merrow, Shannon, Kendall, Tirta and even Aysell. Several others were familiar by sight but hadn’t been close friends while I was in the cave with them.

“Where did you go?” Sabrina asked exasperatedly. “We’ve been hanging around the beach for ages waiting for you.

“Sorry, I kind of went after Merrick on my own.”

“You what?” Her voice rose in a little screech, her eyes wide in shock.

“Yeah, it was really stupid, but after Qinn died…”