Ripples (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 2) (28 page)

    “Stop,” I butted in and he did, finally turning his gaze toward me. “As if I’m not to blame either, I had my own secrets.” A sigh passed through my lips and I waited for them to ask about Zale, but they didn’t.

    “He came to me in Coveside, even before you and Kryssa visited.” I nodded my head in Elik’s direction. “I’d thought he was going to take me back to Hyvar, but he didn’t. He was too afraid for my life with Bolrock around.”

     Tunder’s head cocked to the side in curiosity. I took a deep breath knowing this was going to take some time to explain. I launched into the story trying to give them the general idea, without making it too personal, but there were times when I knew they saw right through my words. Everything ran together as I spoke. I wanted them to understand what I felt, but didn’t know how to put it into words. How could I make them realize what he meant to me?

     When I finished, we all sat in the silence again, each of us lost in our own thoughts. My mind was adrift, wondering where Zale was at that precise moment, when Elik cut into my thoughts.

    “Why won’t you tell him who he is?” he asked. I heaved a sigh and closed my eyes, not wanting to discuss this with them, and yet, knowing I had to.

    “Because, I can’t stand the thought of him not remembering.” Tears bubbled in the corners of my eyes, and I let them roll down the sides of my face and onto the pillow. “If I told him and he had no recollection of what we’d been, it would be like losing him all over again. And I know I should hate him for the deaths he caused, but I can’t.  He is what he is and I can’t help but love him.” A large knot of saliva filled my throat and I coughed harshly to clear it, pain shooting all over my body.

     My eyes were still shut in fear of their reaction to what I’d said. I knew they wanted Zale’s blood for all the lives he had ended on Lathmor, but I couldn’t bring myself to view him that way. He had told me about the anger, about how his mind shut down and his body functioned on its own. The monster, who caused those deaths in Lathmor, wasn’t really him. That wasn’t the man I knew.

     Tunder sighed heavily once more and I knew what was coming. “Lissie,” he said gently, as though speaking to a small child. “I know it’s confusing and I don’t even know what to think now since I’ve seen him, but he isn’t Patrick. Patrick died, and he’s never coming back.”

     I snapped my eyes open and glared at him, “You don’t think I know that?”

     “What he means is, he’ll never remember you. So even though you feel obligated to love him you don’t have to.” Elik said, his tone calm and gentle.

     “I don’t feel obligated.” My voice was flat. “I understand and accept who he is. He’s saved me over and over again, and I refuse to believe there isn’t any good in him.”

   Stubbornly, I closed my eyes again. Somewhere in my mind, I thought it was appropriate they were speaking to me like a child, because I was definitely acting like one. Tunder shifted in his chair, the wood creaking, and then he stood up to walk around the room. His footsteps filled my ears. I reopened my eyes and spoke to both of them, hoping my words could convince them.

    “Look,” I said, trying to reason with them, “Zale is so confused, he doesn’t even know which side he’s on. He’s somewhere in the middle.” Elik’s eyebrows rose in disbelief, but I continued. “Just think, he isn’t doing everything Morven tells him to do. You both said it yourselves. He’s acting on his own terms.” Before they could berate me about how it was worse that he was acting on his own, I kept talking. “What if he could be persuaded to leave Morven?”

     “I don’t think he would join us,” Elik shook his head. “Nor would we let him, after what he did.”

     “I know,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “But Morven has already lost Bolrock, if he also loses Zale, he’d be hard pressed to gain any more ground.”

    Both mermen pondered my words for a moment, but Tunder opened his mouth to speak. “I can’t take the risk of not knowing what he’s up to.”

     “What do you mean?” I asked, what little hope I had in solving the problem was beginning to recede.

     “I need to know what he’s doing,” Tunder closed his eyes as though the words pained him. “Whether or not you think he’s changed, when we find him, we will kill him.”

     My eyes widened in disbelief, “How could you say that?!”

     “Because I can see the truth!” Tunder voice filled the small room. “Patrick is dead. His soul died and in its place came a mutilated monster that has turned this war into the bloodiest mess merfolk have ever seen!”

     “He saved my life and your wife’s!” My voice rose to meet Tunder’s head on, and the shock on his face was evident. “He was the one who accidently gave me the information about the attack. Without him, this war would already be over. And while I understand you lost a lot of good merfolk, you didn’t lose your wife and child. You have him to thank for that.”

     I was breathing heavily and so was Tunder, the tension in the room was like a sharpened knife. I watched from my spot on the bed as Tunder calmed himself. His jaw relaxed and slowly the fire in his eyes simmered.

     “Please,” I said softly. “I’m not asking you to like him. I’m just asking you not to kill him, if you capture him. Please let him live, because I don’t think he’ll be as much of a threat to you anymore.”

     “Why?” Tunder asked, his voice gruff but controlled.

     “Every time I see him, he seems to be breaking free of Morven’s control. No one dictates his life now.”

     Tunder scoffed, shook his head and I lost hope, but after a long silence he ran his fingers through his hair. “Fine,” was all he said to me and then he turned to look at Elik. My heart lightened at the one word knowing that Zale would at least remain alive if he was captured, but there was nothing I could do to convince these soldiers to leave him alone.

     “Well,” Tunder said, still looking at Elik. “I’ll head back to Lathmor and get the king.”

     “The king?” I blurted out quickly.

     Tunder’s eyes met mine, “He told me after the battle he wanted to speak with you as soon as he could. He was going to come tomorrow, but I think it would be better if he saw you now.” Bewildered, I only stared at him. “Get some rest.” He said and turned to leave the room, but stopped at the door. “Do you really think this is what Patrick would have wanted?”

     Stung by his words, I watched him leave and begin to walk across the wooden bridge to the main cabin. My thoughts were a jumbled mess and I tried to sort through them, but gave up quickly and closed my eyes to rest. Maybe he was right. Was I wrong to hope and love what had become of Patrick? Was it wrong of me to prevent others from hurting him? Everything I remembered of Patrick told me he would have been against this monster he had become. The fear he had felt about becoming a mindless puppet for Morven’s own exploitation was something I would never forget, and yet, I still couldn’t bring myself to think he deserved death.

     My heart felt as though it was torn in two and I remembered my nightmare in a new light. When Patrick had pulled on one arm and Zale on the other, I had thought it meant I was falling for Zale and leaving Patrick behind, but I was wrong. I was letting the man he was to overcome who he used to be, and in its wake, I had forgotten how he felt. Feeling as though I had betrayed Patrick, I let the tears spill over and slide down my cheeks.

     “You’re wrong, you know?” Startled from my thoughts, I opened my eyes to see Elik looking at me from his seat; I’d forgotten he was in the room. “Zale isn’t free.”

     My brow scrunched together, “What do you mean?” I asked. He stood slowly, his body obviously tired, and walked over to the side of the bed.

     “I mean you’re the one controlling his life now, not him.” With a gentle nudge, he touched my cheek and left the room, leaving me with a whirlwind of thoughts to ponder.  

     It was the second time in one night I had been told Zale was following what I told him, rather than Morven. And while I wished it was true, I knew it couldn’t be. It may have been the truth in the past, back when I was what controlled his anger, but that had died on this night. Like the death of the Hyven soldiers, I had seen it in the look he gave me before he left. If I truly was what controlled him, then the bed wouldn’t be empty beside me. Gradually, my mind slipped into sleep but one last thought resounded in my mind.

     Where are you?

Morning came swiftly and the sunlight woke me up as it streamed in through the window and stretched over the floor. There was no moment of confusion when I awoke this time. I knew what had happened and what was to come. A small knot tightened across my middle as I wondered when the king would arrive.

     Before attempting to sit up, I tested different parts of my body. Pain was definitely going to be my companion for the next few days, as the slightest movement shot needle like pricks all over my flesh. With a small groan, I pulled myself up into a sitting position, making sure not to jostle my shoulder. This part of my body I hadn’t even attempted to move, as it was in a sling, and I knew it would hurt more than any other physical wound I had been given the night before.

    Carefully, I placed my feet on the floor and limped over to the small dresser with the mirror. I knew it wasn’t going to be a pretty sight, but what met my eyes was revolting. My entire body was wrapped up in all sorts of bandages from my forehead to my ankles, and what wasn’t wrapped was spotted with deep black and purple bruises. A part of me wished for my eighteenth birthday to arrive soon. Due to my still human nature, it would take some time to heal. I had to admit it almost hurt to look at me and I pitied whoever would see me.

     Shrugging those thoughts aside, I made my way to the open door and paused against the frame for rest. It was a long way over to the main cabin across the bridge and I really had no control over my shaky body. Rather than try and be strong, I called out for Elik and he came quickly to my aid. He carried me across the bridge with ease and ever so gently set me down on the wooden bench in front of the empty fireplace.

     “Thanks,” I said softly, as I rested my tender back against a pillow and stretched my legs over the curved wood, while waiting for the spinning in my head to stop. Even though he had moved me as gently as possible, it still hurt. Slowly, I half-opened my swollen eyes to see Elik had sat down in a chair beside the bench.

     “When will the king be here?” I asked, my voice raspy.

     “Should be any moment now.” He shrugged, “Would you like some coffee?”

     I shook my head and then regretted it immediately, as stinging pricks poked my neck and my head pounded.

     “So tell me,” I cleared my throat, “how come when everyone else freaks out about stuff, you’re able to stay calm?”

     Thinking back to how angry he’d been after the attack on Lathmor, I knew it was a bit of an understatement, but it was still true. Out of all the Lathmorians, he always remained composed in the most dire of situations.

     “I wouldn’t say I stay calm,” he said reading my expression and I smiled. “Actually, when it comes to you, I know not to panic. Although you’ve given me good reason to,” he gave me a knowing look, “there’s just something about you that makes me trust you. I’ve always known you had our best interests at heart, regardless of what your reasoning might be.” Touched by his words, all I could do was whisper my thanks to him once more.

     “How about you eat something,” he said, more of a statement than a question and he stood up to go and fetch some food.

     For just a moment in time, it was as though everything was back to the way it was before Patrick was taken. Elik and I chatted as old friends and the conversation let my worries drift. Everything fell into the back of my mind, things I could worry about at a later time. Unfortunately, that time came too soon for me, when the evident sound of footsteps thumped on the stairs up to the cabin.

     Elik sighed heavily, “Here,” he held out his hand for my now empty plate and I let him take it. Without another glance, he walked to the kitchen as the front door opened. Tunder and King Oberon stood on the threshold and they entered the room with a presence commanding attention.  For a moment I sat completely stunned. The king looked so different from when I had last seen him, it was unnerving. His hair was slightly longer, the lines in his face deeper, and his shoulders were not held so straight. A dark blue shirt was buttoned up across his chest, and dress pants completed his dominating appearance. But all of these changes had nothing to do with the difference in his eyes. It was almost as if no emotion was in them, as if sorrow had wiped them clean of all feeling.

     I swallowed hard and opened my mouth to talk but nothing came out. I didn’t have the slightest idea of what to say to him. 

     “Leave us,” his words were soft but a command all the same, and obeyed immediately by Tunder and Elik without a word. They exited the cabin and walked down the stairs. My heart began to pound loudly in my chest as I waited for their footsteps to recede. When they could no longer be heard, the king spoke.

     “First of all,” even his voice sounded wearier than before. “I want to thank you for coming to Lathmor when you did. If it wasn’t for you, we might have been entirely overrun.”

     Stunned, I blinked at him; this was not what I had been expecting to hear. I’d thought he had come here to lecture me about all the things I had done wrong. In the deepest part of my heart, I had presumed he would force me to give up Zale and I had worried about this more than anything else. For I knew I couldn’t give him up and that would have made me an enemy of Lathmor.

    When I didn’t respond to his words, he continued. “What I am here for is to find out what you plan on doing next.” He said the words as though they were fact, rather than a question, so I remained silent.

    “Do you have a plan?” he asked bluntly.

     Forced to give an answer, I finally spoke, “No.” And then added, “sir.”

     King Oberon nodded his head minutely at my denial and took the seat Elik had recently vacated. Awkwardly, we sat in silence and I tried not to look at him but ended up staring, while waiting for him to speak. He pursed his lips for a moment and finally looked at me.

     “I know all about you and Zale, Tunder told me everything last night.” There was no anger in his voice, no inflection of emotion. “What I want to know is if you’re willing to help us?”

     Taken aback, I stuttered, “M-m-me, sir?”

     He nodded once more, “Yes, but if you do this, no one must know. Not my daughters, not Elik, and especially not Tunder. He has enough to worry about right now.”

     “What is it you would have me do?” The nervous flutter, returned to my stomach.

     The king leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs, “There’s a reason you and Patrick were picked. Patrick was young and hotheaded, at least back when Nerissa changed him.” A solemn affectionate smile passed over his lips. “He was the perfect specimen for becoming the warrior Nerissa wanted, and although she died, Morven carried on her goal.”

     I swallowed hard, this time my throat felt as though my heart was pounding inside it. I wondered if I was breathing loudly, but didn’t care, as I waited for his next words.

     “I know things about you and Patrick, things Cordelia told me just before she died.” His lips turned down slightly at the mention of his beloved’s death and I pitied him, knowing what it felt like to lose the one you loved. But I knew his pain was greater, for he had shared a life with her, had children with her, and now he had been left to carry on till the end of his days, alone.

     “Just before she died, she asked to speak with me alone. Now what she told me is something I can only reveal if you’re going to be in this fight.”

     He waited patiently while I thought about what it was he was asking. He wanted me to fight whatever it was Morven had planned, to stand against him and do what I could to thwart his plans. The idea seemed to be a threat to my life, but wasn’t it what I had been doing this entire time?

     Coming to a conclusion I cleared my throat. “Yes,” I said my voice slightly scratchy. The king took a deep breath and then opened his mouth to speak.

      “As you know Cordelia and Nerissa were cousins and very close to one another. While they were young they had made up stories of how they were going to take over the world together and rule it as queens with equal power. When they got older, Cordelia faced reality and left their childhood ideas behind, but Nerissa didn’t.

     “She began to experiment on humans with the help of Pyron,” the king said, and I noticed how his face grimaced at the merman’s name. Kryssa’s words from long ago came back to me and I remembered it was Pyron who had been infatuated with Cordelia. “It was Pyron’s attempts to train the humans that alerted us of their dark dealings. I still remember the screams,” The king shuddered and I felt a shiver run down my spine. “My wife banished Nerissa and Pyron, we thought we were rid of them, but one night Nerissa snuck into Lathmor and told Cordelia, she had succeeded.”

     I pictured in my mind, the room I had seen in the palace that used to be the old nursery. It was vivid, and the king’s words placed me in the room so many years ago.

     “Nerissa told Cordelia of something that we’d never heard of. For centuries, it had been a crime to change a human into a merperson, but now Nerissa was doing something different. She believed transformed humans had special powers, if they were taught, they could become the greatest weapons in this world.

    “She spoke of a young woman she had changed into a mermaid. She had trained her to sing, and had used her to lure sailors to their deaths.” My eyes widened as I realized the stories about sirens were true, there really had been sailors lost at sea because of the seductive voice of such a creature. “But when all the girl could do was use her power on humans, Nerissa killed her.”

     I exhaled sharply. Everything in the world seemed to slow down and hone in on what the king was saying. He had paused and was looking at me, wondering if I had understood him.

     “So I will be able to lure merfolk with my voice?” It sounded stupid even to my ears, but the king nodded. I had heard this before when Shaylee had told me, but that was when Patrick was by my side. Hearing it now and seeing what Morven had created in the warrior, I felt my stomach clench tightly.

     “Now,” he said, his eyes beginning to burn with intensity. “I am not positive you’ll be able to, but, Morven certainly thinks you can. I also don’t know what sort of training you would have to go through in order to achieve those skills.” My mind flashed to Patrick and what Morven had done in order to make him what he was. Doubt filled my mind, that I would ever be able to achieve this power the king spoke of. Let alone, endure the torture.

     For a moment I sat quietly, my eyes hooded, as I tried to gather my thoughts. “What should I do?”

     My eyes met his and a small smile played around his lips. “I want you to do the same thing you did to Zale.” My brow furrowed in confusion. “You changed Zale so he’s out of Morven’s control. He’s no longer completely loyal to Morven, and that is a problem I am certain our enemy hasn’t become aware of yet.”

     “So, you want me to use this power against him?” I asked testing the idea, and he nodded.

     “Morven created you for his own use. Take what he gave you and use it against him.” The king confirmed, and I felt a hint of hope begin to build in my chest.

     Would it really be possible? Could I learn how to use my own voice as a weapon and somehow help to bring down Morven? Just the idea of his threat no longer being over me was enough to fill my head with a determination to succeed.

     My eyes lifted to the king’s once more and he saw their fire. He didn’t acknowledge my decision with words, but rather with another small nod of his head.

     “What about Patrick?” I asked. In that small amount of time my mind had returned to thoughts of him, wondering how Morven had turned him into the warrior he was.

     “Before I can answer, I need to ask you another question. Do you know about the different abilities mermen and mermaids have?”

     “Do you mean the blades?” I asked, hoping he didn’t think me so dull as to not realize the difference.

     He shook his head from side to side. “No, I mean their physical abilities. Mermen have much greater strength than mermaids, they can run and swim faster.” This all seemed obvious to me and I wondered what it was he was getting at. “Yet, mermaids have better hearing and vision.” I nodded, remembering the mermaid scouts who had swum ahead of us during the rescue attempt of Patrick. They had been our first line of defense, their eyes and ears on alert for any danger up ahead. 

     “It’s my belief,” the king continued, “Nerissa figured out a way to make the ultimate merman and mermaid,” he paused for effect. “Cordelia knows Nerissa had cut off one of her blades and placed it within Patrick.” My mind flashed to the pale scar that had been on Patrick’s shoulder and which now shimmered black on Zale’s flesh. “This had held him in a sort of preservation until she could turn him into a merman. But she was killed before she could begin training Patrick as her warrior. Then Morven was the one to finish the job. He put his scales inside him, in much the same way he did with you.”

     A memory of the waterfall and how our scars had touched together that night flooded through my mind; rippling black pressed against flickering lavender. Heat rose into my cheeks.

     “So there’s a difference between the scales and the blades?” I asked, bringing my mind back to the present information at hand.

     “A very important one,” the king said. “Now, go on,” he urged.