Goddess of the Sea (43 page)

The sound of wailing came from the cliff, and CC glanced up. Lynelle, Bronwyn and Gwenyth were clinging to each other and crying with terror. Around them milled several of the monks. Some of them were on their knees praying, but most of them stood in impotent silence. There was no sign of Abbot William.

Dylan hissed in pain, and CC's eyes snapped back to her lover as Sarpedon's blade sliced a trail down the muscles of his chest.

“That is just a taste of what is to come, son of a human. My Undine will watch as I carve you into pieces,” Sarpedon said.

Dylan circled him warily. When he spoke his voice was calm. “You may kill me, Sarpedon, but you will not win her love. She will loathe you forever.”

Sarpedon's laughter was sharp. “An eternity is a long time. She will forget you.”

An eternity
. The words echoed within CC's mind. It was Dylan's promise to her. And there was only one way she wanted to spend eternity—next to Dylan's side.

Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, she beat against the water with powerful strokes of her tail, so that she rose up, lifting her entire torso from the waves.

I am the daughter of a goddess, she told herself, and I claim my birthright. With a voice that filled the morning air, she called to her mother.

Then, using the sea magic that sang within her true mermaid body, CC reached out and cupped some of the bubblelike foam that surrounded her.

“Make me a weapon,” she commanded the waters. Instantly, the handle of a knife formed against her palm. Her blade wasn't the color of foam—it was the crimson of her newly shed blood.

“Dylan!” she called to her lover, and both mermen paused in their battle to turn to her. “Catch,” she said and tossed him the dagger.

Dylan caught the knife deftly and sent her a tight smile of thanks. Then his attention shifted back to Sarpedon.

“That will not help you,” Sarpedon snarled, and they continued circling each other, blades flashing in the morning light.

CC felt the change in the air the moment before the goddess materialized. She strode from the foliage at the base of the cliff. Her anger was terrible; the air around her crackled and sparked with it. The knight and the squire dropped their weapons and cringed before her on the beach. She spared no glance for them. Her attention was riveted on the sea monster that had dragged Isabel to within inches of its gaping maw.

The goddess stretched out her hand and in a burst of green light a leaf-colored spear appeared. Gaea plucked it from the air and hurled it straight into the monster's open mouth. The force of the spear was so great that it traveled through the creature's body and exploded out the rear of it, followed by a slick fountain of blood and entrails.

“Return to the dark depths from whence you were born!” Gaea commanded.

The monster writhed spasmodically. Losing its grip on Isabel, it sank below the surface in a muddy cloud. Isabel scrambled to her feet, but she wasn't able to walk and she stumbled, falling in a heap at Gaea's feet. The goddess knelt and passed her shining hands over the old woman's body.

“There, the pain is gone, my Isabel.”

Isabel's eyes widened in recognition as she gazed upon Gaea. The old woman crossed herself reverently.

“Thank you, Holy Mother!”

Gaea touched Isabel gently. Then she stood, facing the sea. Her silver cloak billowed behind her and the white silk of her transparent gown shimmered with the goddess's might. She walked to the water's edge, and the sand surged forward, hardening under her delicate feet until she stood on a bridge of earth that jutted out into the sea.

Mere feet from the goddess, the mermen were locked together in silent combat, each straining to end the battle with a killing slash. Dylan was bleeding heavily from several gaping wounds. His body looked like it was clothed in scarlet.

The power of the word was a tangible thing, lifting the hairs on CC's neck and ringing through her blood. A wall of white light exploded between the mermen, knocking them apart. CC swam quickly to Dylan's side.

Sarpedon spun on the goddess, raising himself out of the water until he levitated over her bridge.

“This is not your battle, Land Goddess,” he spat. “I preside here in my father's absence.”

“Foolish child,” the goddess's voice held pity. “I have tolerated your interference out of love for your father. But your hatred has gone too far.”

Gaea lifted her graceful arms to the sky, crossing them at the wrist. Above her materialized a cloud of power that spun and sparked like the dust of diamonds.

As Gaea spoke the command she brought her arms down in a sweeping arch, fingers pointing at the surrounding water. Like fireworks, the cloud exploded, raining power and energy, and the echo of the goddess's words into the sea.

Sarpedon's face had paled, but when he spoke his voice was still filled with arrogance.

“My father will not answer your summons. He is not an Earth child to jump at your bidding.” His laughter sounded hollow and forced. “And he is much too busy presiding over the problems of the islands. The Shark God and I have made quite certain of that.”

Gaea shook her head sadly at the merman. “Lir's absence stank of your interference. I knew it, and I should have interceded. The deaths that have happened today were needless. Your hatred caused them, son of Lir, but I could have prevented them. That guilt will be my sadness to bear. But with or without the presence of your father, I will cast judgment upon you—and fulfill your punishment.”

“You have no right to punish me, Earth creature!” Sarpedon growled. “I am a sea god. In the realm of water my desires are fulfilled, and my commands obeyed. I will have Undine as my mate, and the rest of these pathetic creatures will stand aside or face my wrath!”

Before the goddess could respond, the water surrounding them began to seethe and bubble. Then a pillar of brilliant seawater geysered into the sky. The thick column swirled, morphing in color from the clarity of glass to the turquoise of shallow water, which refracted and changed in shade to the blue-black of the ocean's depths. The center of the pillar suddenly split, as if a bolt of lightning had cleft it apart, and from within that split appeared a giant of a man, carrying a massive trident made of deadly looking ebony. On his head was a crown of golden shells speckled with the iridescent white of perfect pearls. His silver hair was the color of moonlight on water and it curled in a thick cascade around his shoulders, mingling with the luxurious length of his beard. His togalike robe, the exact color of waves, was draped across his body. It left much of his powerful chest exposed, and as he stepped free of the pillar and strode to Gaea, walking as if the water was solid ground, CC couldn't help but marvel at his majesty.

Gaea spoke first, offering him one slender hand, which the giant took and bowed over, kissing it with an easy intimacy.

“Lir, the Earth welcomes you.” The goddess's voice was warm and intimate.

“The sea responds in kind,” the giant said. “It has been much too long since we two have met.” Lir spoke with obvious affection. Then his attention shifted to the scene surrounding them and a frown creased his brow. “What have we here, Earth Mother—errant children?”

“Father, this Earth goddess interferes in matters of the sea. There is no trouble here that is not of her making,” Sarpedon blurted.

“Sarpedon, your tone is offensive. Gaea does not meddle in the affairs of others. Be wary that you do not make the Earth your enemy.” Lir's face tightened and though his voice remained calm, his reprimand was sharp. He glanced around the restless water and the sea god's eyes narrowed in anger as he noticed Undine's injury.

“Who dared to harm my child?”

The waves trembled at Lir's words, and CC's tongue felt thick and awkward. But Dylan's answer was swift, and he met the sea god's eyes unflinchingly.

“The arrow that wounded your daughter was meant for me. Although Sarpedon did not loose the arrow, it was his jealousy that caused the humans to try and destroy me.”

“Undine.” Lir turned to her. “What has happened here?”

CC took a deep breath, swallowing her fear and the pain that radiated in cruel fingers from her shoulder. When she spoke her voice sounded tinny and strange, like it belonged to someone else.

“First of all, you need to know that I'm not really Undine. My soul is human. Your daughter and I exchanged places because she hated it here and because—”

Lir's roar stopped her words. “Deceit and deception!” He whirled on Gaea. “Did you do this?”

Calmly, Gaea touched the sea god's arm. “Allow the child to finish, Lir. Her soul may not have been born as your daughter, but she is tied to you through her body and, unlike Undine, she has a deep, abiding love of the sea.”

Lir narrowed his eyes, but he nodded tightly and turned his attention back to the mermaid.

“I will listen.”

CC tried to smile her appreciation, but her lips could only form a brief grimace of pain. Then Dylan's hand linked with hers. She clung to him and drew strength from his touch.

“Undine's desire to exchange places with a human wasn't just because she longed for the land; a big part of it was because she wanted to escape from Sarpedon.”

“She lies, Father!” Sarpedon shouted.

“Silence!” Lir commanded his son. Then he gentled his voice and said, “Continue, child.”

“I know all too well what Undine felt. The first thing that happened to me when I found myself in her body was that I had to escape from an attempted rape—by him.” CC tossed her head in Sarpedon's direction.

“More lies, Father!” Sarpedon exploded. “There was no need to force myself on her; she wanted me. Then she decided to dally with this pathetic son of a human, and I have simply tired of waiting for her to finish her little game. Now I claim what has always been mine.”

“Love is not something that can be possessed and ordered,” Gaea broke in, her voice filled with scorn. “And the only lies spoken here have come from your mouth, Sarpedon.” Gaea raised her hand, palm up, and drew a glistening oval in the air before them. “Behold the truth, God of the Seas.” The goddess pursed her shapely lips and blew a delicate breath of air onto the shining mirror. Instantly, images flashed across its surface like a movie playing in a darkened theater.

First there was an image of the plane wreck, and CC watched herself being pulled beneath the waves and exchanging souls with the beautiful mermaid. Then the scene flashed to Sarpedon's attempted rape, and CC's magical transformation into a temporarily human body. The mirror showed Dylan's rescue of her and Andras's subsequent discovery of her as he pulled her from the sea. Glimpses of scenes from CC's days at the monastery included Gaea's various calls for Lir's aid, and the death of the loyal dolphin messenger at the hands of Sarpedon. Included in the images was the discovery of the Mother's statue in the chapel and her growing friendship with the women, as well as her hard treatment at the hands of Abbot William.

Then the images shifted again, and Sarpedon's presence was clearly seen drifting, oil-like, out of the well. The mirror reflected the events that unfolded when the merman inhabited the knight's body, and it clearly displayed the havoc Sarpedon's influence caused among the humans.

CC felt her head spin as she watched the mirror's image of herself being shown the wonders of the sea by Dylan. She experienced again the magic of their love as it was born and reveled in hearing the mirror image of her lover repeat his promise of waiting an eternity for her.

Again, the scene changed to show the humans' discovery of CC and her lover, and Sarpedon's materialization from the body of Andras. The last vision exposed through the glassy surface was of Gaea calling forth Lir to preside over the punishment of his son. Then the glistening surface went blank, and Gaea blew on it again, causing it to dissipate into a puff of shining smoke, leaving a shroud of silence that hung over the water.

Lir spoke first to the goddess. “I did not hear any of your calls.” He shook his head sadly. “Sarpedon should not have been able to keep them from me. I allowed myself to be distracted.”

Gaea nodded in understanding. “I knew Sarpedon was involved in your absence, but I was loath to act against your child. We share the responsibility of our errors.”

“Yes. And too many have paid for them in our stead.” The sea god faced the beach.

Andras and his squire were still crouched in the sand, eyes glassy with shock at what they were witnessing. Bronwyn, Lynelle and Gwenyth had joined Isabel on the beach and the four women stood together, their hands linked. Most of the monks had fled from the cliffside, but the few who remained were kneeling as if in prayer. The abbot was nowhere to be seen.

Lir glanced at Gaea and asked, “Are you willing to exchange roles, so that justice will truly be served?”

The goddess lifted her brows questioningly. “What do you propose?”

“I propose that I render judgment in your realm, as you will in mine.”

Gaea hesitated only a moment. “Agreed.”

Lir turned his attention to the humans on shore. First he focused his hard gaze on Andras and his man. “My judgment is thus—the knight and his squire shall return to their kingdom of land unharmed.” Lir paused, and his eyes took on a sly glint, then he added, “Sir Andras, you shall learn the value of women. Henceforth you will be able to father only daughters, and your daughters will bear only female children. You would be wise to remember that the goddess of the Earth will be watching closely that you treat your daughters well.” The knight's face drained of all its color, and he seemed to shrink in upon himself; then the two men scurried off the beach.