Rising (32 page)

“No
,” he shouted. “I will not turn you over. You don’t have any idea what awaits you.”

“Death?”
she asked boldly.

“
Death is the easy part. What comes before death is the bigger worry.”

“Xanthus,”
his father shouted
. “I have my personal army standing by my side. You will find no friends among them. There is no one to help you here. If you cannot break from this witch’s spell, they will not hesitate to kill you, son. You need to try to break from it. You must bring her to us.”

Xanthus was relieved that he would not have to kill any friends today. He had no respect for his father’s soldiers
. They were heartless killers, each one. His father was careful when choosing those who fought alongside him.

Xanthus
led Sara into the tunnel.

“Sara, I will protect you.
But you must do what I say. If I say move, do it without question. If I say stay, don’t move. I must know where you are at all times.”

“But
…”

“Sara, if you don’t, you put us both in danger.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll do it. But I really think you should turn me in.”

Xanthus growled. “That’s not going to happen
. Keep close to me and trust me to protect you. This is what I do.”

Xanthus pulled her
in for a quick, crushing kiss. “I love you, Sara, never mistake that. And whatever happens, I will do all within my power to make you safe.”

“Should I tell them about my father?”

“No,” Xanthus snapped. “Whatever you do, don’t do that. Your life would be worth nothing. No, just keep quiet and if worse comes to worst, I will figure out a way to get word to your father. Now follow me.”

Xanthus
moved as quickly as he dared. Sara still wasn’t a very strong swimmer. His tail brushed against her outstretched hands while they swam through the tunnel. The light grew brighter as they neared the exit. He knew that the bulk of the army would be meeting them there. His mother would have told them where the exit was. She’d obviously let his father and the others into his castle. He couldn’t chance going through it. He’d made it nearly impenetrable, but that also meant that getting out would be a problem.

S
o the place of battle would be amongst the coral.

Xanthus
smelled the soldiers before he saw them. There were three of them ahead in the tunnel. He drew his weapon. It was a butterfly dart gun that could shoot two dozen tiny, poison-tipped darts. The moment they were in range, he fired. He heard cries and grunts from the Dagonians.

Xanthus
and Sara swam toward the exit of the tunnel, passing by the floating corpses of the three Dagonians. He slowed his approach, grabbed Sara’s hand, and pulled her against his body as they hugged the side of the tunnel.

The
light was blinding as they reached the mouth of the cave. Xanthus tucked Sara behind his back. He could feel her jump when the army sounded a battle cry.

***

Sara focused on breathing steadily and not panicking. The last thing Xanthus needed right now was her falling to pieces.

“Stay here,” he ordered, and then he was gone. She heard the clanking of metal as she felt currents of water pushing her from one side to the other, and from above. As her eyes adjusted to the light, Sara saw Xanthus flying like a ghost through the water. He clashed with Dagonian after Dagonian as they came at him one after the other. Each warrior’s face was contorted with rage, anger, and bloodlust.

Xanthus
clutched a trident in one hand and a sword in the other. He met and deflected each strike, each spear, even each harpoon that was being shot from a distance. Sara had no idea how skilled a warrior Xanthus was until now. Countless soldiers surrounded him, yet they couldn’t land one strike against him. But every blow delivered by Xanthus met its mark, slashing flesh, and dismembering limbs.

Sara was s
ickened when Xanthus took the head off one soldier and then in the same swipe, the armed hand of another. Red, billowing clouds filled the water. Out of the clouds, Sara saw a spear come straight for her head. She screamed—fear and horror driving her wailing cry. Xanthus deflected the spear at the last second.

A moment later, the sounds of battle ceased.
Sara continued to scream as she felt an arm clamp around her waist and a hand slap over her mouth.

Then there was s
ilence.

The fighting
must have been over, given the stony silence. That could only mean one thing—Xanthus was dead.

“Greetings, brother.” Xanthus barely heard Gael’s shout over the ringing in his ears. He emerged from the crimson cloud to find his brother with a small spear gun pointed at Sara’s temple. Xanthus caught Sara’s eye. The relief that came over her face was overwhelming. He had no idea why she was relieved, given the fact that he’d failed her.

“Her scream packs a punch down here, doesn’t it?
” Gael said. “It’s deafening, literally. I should have known what she was the moment I heard her scream before, but it wasn’t until I saw her with the sharks that I knew. And then those beasts wouldn’t let me near her.”

Xanthus shook his head
. The ringing in his ears was deafening. He could barely catch what his brother was saying. But his hearing was the least of his worries. Sara’s life hung precariously in the balance. One false move and he knew his brother wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. It would be the last thing his brother ever did, but that would be little consolation to Xanthus if Sara were dead.

“
The last time she screamed like that,” Gael said, “it took me a full two hours before the ringing stopped and my hearing returned. Thank the gods I have some ear plugs this time or I’d be having the same problem again.”

The coppery taste of blood was thick in the water. The limbs and
bodies of three dozen dead soldiers floated around them in a haze of red. Xanthus had killed nearly all of them. Sara’s high, wailing scream had driven the rest of them off. But that didn’t make any difference in the end. Xanthus had no choice but to submit to his brother. His mind was working hard to figure out how to get her out of this. Right now, nothing was coming to mind.

If the counsel were honorable, he could
tell them what and who Sara was. Honor would demand they turn her over to her father. But the counsel was less than honorable when it came to the Mer. Their hatred ran deep. Telling them Sara was a mermaid would end very badly. The council would be safe from Triton’s wrath if he and Sara were both dead. Dead men tell no tales. Yet, if he held his tongue, they would be sent to Panthon Prison to await execution. It would be hell, but at least they would be alive. And while he lived, there was always a chance of escape. Xanthus had never thought so before, but then he’d never been so highly motivated.

“L
ead. Brother, you…” Gael spoke too softly for Xanthus to catch every word.

Xanthus
shook his head in confusion.

“Oh for the love of…” Gael
shouted, “P-a-n-t-h-o-n P-r-i-s-o-n.” He enunciated both words loudly and gestured in the direction of the prison. Xanthus understood and nodded. With a lump in his throat, he led them on to their doom. Gael followed, dragging Sara along, his hand clamped over her mouth and the point of the harpoon digging into her temple.

Gael didn’t give Xanthus any window o
f opportunity for escape. Gael was very careful not to loosen his grip or turn his attention from his prisoner. Xanthus knew as long as his brother kept her in close peril, he would have no choice but submit.

On their way
to the prison, they were met by other soldiers who surrounded them. One look at Sara’s blue eyes and the shouts of outrage began. Xanthus looked up and saw Kyros among the men. His friend was white with shock. Xanthus saw him speak with a guard, who was snarling in anger. Kyros shook his head in disbelief. He gave Xanthus a desperate look. He didn’t move for several long minutes. With a sigh, he swam towards Xanthus’s home.

If only
Xanthus could have given Kyros a message. But they were not alone. He couldn’t chance it.

The scene unfolded in horror before him. Word spread quickly that a half
-human had been captured. Crowds gathered, lining the road to Panthon Prison. The Dagonians shouted, taunted, and hurled out threats. It took all of Xanthus’s control not to retaliate. The only thing he could be thankful for in this situation was the fact that Sara didn’t understand the sick and horrific threats they were shouting. But she could see the anger, and she looked terrified.

S
ara kept darting desperate glances over to him. He was her only hope. And he couldn’t help her. Despair slammed into him and he could scarcely breathe.

***

Sara smelled the prison long before she saw it. The stench overwhelmed her. The only thing she could compare it to would be the carnival latrines she’d seen as a child. Add to that oozing, rotted meat and multiply it times a thousand and it might come close to the smell.

Sara’
s eyes widened when she saw the prison. It was enormous, dark, and foreboding. She’d never seen such a stark structure in her life. Wooden spikes stuck out of the ground like porcupine quills surrounding the outer perimeter of the prison. Skulls balanced on many of the sharp points. One of them was obscured by frenzied fish. Sara was sure that she wouldn’t want to see what was in the midst of the ravaging fish. She doubted it would be pretty.

“
Scary, isn’t it? Just wait ‘til you get inside.” Gael’s whispered voice chilled her as they approached the terrifying prison.

“
Sara, when I remove my hand from your mouth, you will not scream. If you do, Xanthus will die. If you try to contact anyone outside of the prison, try to escape the prison, or do anything at all to displease me, Xanthus dies. Do you understand? His life is in your hands. You decide if his head is the next one impaled on these spikes.”

S
ara began to tremble as the full weight of their situation sunk in. She kept her eyes on Xanthus. He looked calm, like he had everything under control. Maybe he had a plan for their escape. She just hoped the plan didn’t end up getting him killed.

T
he guards moved to open the heavy entrance doors. Inside, the dark hallway gaped open like the entrance to hell. Sara sobbed as they entered. She could see Xanthus’s calm façade burn away. He struggled against the guards when they led him away from her. He snarled angry, desperate words.

A
guard answered with his own rage as he struck him across the face and shouted at him.

Sara
gasped as the cruel guard slammed the blunt handle of his spear into Xanthus’s back. She wanted to scream at the guard to tell them not to hurt Xanthus. But she remembered, all too well, what Gael had threatened and held her tongue.

“I wouldn’t cause any trouble,
if I were you.” Gael sneered as he spoke to Xanthus. “If you give them any difficulty at all, or if there happens to be any commotion anywhere around you, the guards will alert the warden and he’ll kill the half-human immediately.”

Sara felt the last shreds of hope peel away with those words.

As soon as Xanthus was gone, Gael pulled Sara up so they were nose to nose. “Enjoy your last day alive, human. Mark my words. You will die soon and I will be the one to deliver the fatal blow. You will yet die by my hand, mermaid,” Gael said, and then shoved her into the hands of the guard.

Sara’s
mind flickered to a thought. Wasn’t Xanthus supposed to take her punishment? She clenched her mouth shut, unwilling to remind them and risk Xanthus receiving her punishment. He would probably die anyway for all the soldiers he killed today. And if he died, she wouldn’t want to live. She’d welcome death.

A moan
ing cry escaped her lips as she trembled in fear. Xanthus had told her of the danger she’d face if she were found. But she’d never really thought it possible. Things like this just didn’t happen to good, American girls. But here she was, living a reality worse than her most terrifying nightmares.