Torrents (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 3) (21 page)

     “Let’s go,” he said and we began to climb.

     Within minutes, my breaths were coming in short gasps and my arms shook. My left shoulder smarted with the uncomfortable position, but I set my mind on the goal up ahead, and ignored it. Legs trembling, we reached the top and I knelt quickly to let the bag drop to the ground. Two soldiers, a merman and mermaid came forward and dragged the bag to the side where they began to stack the balls in piles, hidden behind the trees. They even carried some into the rocky alcoves where they would be unnoticed by prying eyes. 

     “Glad to see you got some help,” the mermaid said, and she smiled my way. I smiled back between heaving breaths.

     “Yep,” Calmric exhaled. “Come on,” he waved me to him and we proceeded down the hill.

     “Are we the only ones?” I asked.

     “Yeah,” he pushed a branch away from his face. “The Outpost normally gets overlooked, but Elik wanted it armed and ready. We have a long day ahead of us.”

    
You can say that again
, I thought.

     Thinking of how many trips we would have to make up the hill nearly made me weak in the knees. Yet, I was never one to shy away from something challenging, or at least I would try not to now. Heaving another breath, my heart began to settle, as the oxygen returned to my limbs. I would be sore, that much was certain, but it felt wonderful to use my body again after spending so much time alone in the palace.

     For hours, we trudged up and down the hill—the lead balls seeming to get heavier with every trip. Sweat was pouring off my face and I had long since stopped trying to wipe it off with my shirt. The black fabric was just as soaked as the rest of me. Even the hair around my temples stayed damp with sweat and strands drifted in the breeze, having strayed from the crudely put up ponytail I had made after my third trip.

     The last journey to the top took what was left of my strength and I nearly collapsed on the ground. My hands were blistered from the bag, and the bottoms of my feet were torn from clinging so desperately to the ground. There was a satisfied aching in every muscle of my body, and if it wasn’t for the pain in my back, I would be happy with what I had put myself through.

     “Thank goodness that’s over.” Calmric was stretched out on the ground beside me, his chest heaving. When he rolled over to stand, strips of grass clung to his back and dirt was caked on his arms. He offered me a hand and pulled me to my feet.

     “I think one more trip would have done me in,” I confessed, and he nodded.

     “That’s certain.” He turned to Evna and Hrugh, who were unloading the last of the lead balls.   

     “We’re heading to the palace, that’s the last of them. I’ll send Elik up to inspect soon.” They both nodded without looking up from their work. I couldn’t help but notice Evna’s arms shaking beneath the weight of each ball.

     We walked down the hill, slower this time. As we broke through the trees and into the valley, I had the sudden awakening of remembrance. For those few excruciating hours it had seemed as though we were the only merfolk on the island, but once again, my weak mind was wrong. Every inhabitant was working together toward one main goal.

     “I’ll leave you here,” Calmric said. “Thanks for the help.”

     “Any time,” I said, and waved, heading in the direction of the palace.

     “You look awful!” Nixie called as I got close to the palace. I gave an exasperated laugh at her choice of words.

     “Thanks,” I breathed, finally reaching the cool marble of the palace steps.

     “Seriously though, what were you doing?”

     “Arming the Outpost.”

     “Eww,” she said, making it sound much worse than it had been. “No wonder you’re exhausted. I hate that hill.”

     Reaching the top of the steps, I gasped for breath and leaned against one of the columns. “It wasn’t fun,” I said, but somehow I was smiling.

     “Let’s get you something to eat,” she suggested and I shook my head.

     “I’d rather just rest.”

     “Let’s do both!” she grabbed my hand and pulled me behind her through the palace. She was nearly bouncing beside me as we walked. I was too busy staring at her feet lightly tapping along the floor when I almost missed the sound of an approaching group.

     They entered at the opposite end of the corridor—their broad shoulders stiff, as they paced beside one another in our direction. My stomach dropped seeing him next to the newly crowned king, his head tilted as he listened to what Tunder had to say. The king was gesturing with his hands, glancing toward the warrior, and they seemed to be in disagreement when Zale suddenly spotted me walking slowly toward them.

     It was immediate, the reaction I had to him—a subtle fire stirring in my chest while the rest of my body turned to shivers. He looked me up and down, taking in my disheveled appearance, I could only imagine how I must look. The deep brown of his gaze was hollow, void of any feeling, and when he met my eyes for the first time since I had told him the truth, he showed me nothing. There was bite and sharpness in him, but nothing more.

     As they grew closer, I could feel the eyes of all the Lathmorians on me, and I could only look at him. My mouth parted, wanting to tell him how sorry I was, how I wanted to understand what he was going through, yet nothing came out. They were nearly upon us when the hollow depths of his gaze altered—the dull brown turning to embers of sparked flame. The fire stirred again, and he looked away, breaking what little connection I had noticed.    

     They passed by without a further glance, and the soldiers behind the king and warrior brushed against our shoulders. They exited the hallway and I remained frozen to the floor looking, to where he had disappeared.

     “Don’t worry,” Nixie said softly. “He’ll come around. Now come on,” she urged, and I let her pull me down the rest of the hall.

     Where we should have turned right, we turned left, and I wondered where we were headed. A simple hallway lay before us and we descended a short flight of stairs into a round chamber with curved windows. A light green door was hardly noticeable, along one of the walls, the chipped paint revealing cracked wood beneath.

     Nixie opened the door without hesitation to reveal pastel yellow walls and a canopy bed with pale green sheets. Everything was delicate and clean, each object having a perfect spot within the space—I was afraid to move from the doorway and disrupt the immaculate interior.

     “Would you like to take a bath?” Nixie asked as she fumbled through some drawers filled with clothes. “Calmric should have taken you down to the shore to rinse off.”

     “I don’t think he could take me down there.”

     “Why?” she asked and glanced my way, straightening with a clean pair of the black pants and shirt of a Lathmorian soldier.

     “Gendra said I wasn’t supposed to go anywhere near the shore.”

     “Hmm,” was all she said and tossed the clothes to me. “She’s just being overly careful. They all are.” She rolled her eyes as though it was of little concern to her. “Now, how about that bath? Or at least some water to rinse off?” I nodded to the second and she left, only to reappear moments later with a bucket of water and a rag.

     As I attempted to wash myself with the rag and change into the clean clothes, Nixie found a spot on the floor and began to talk about things which made me laugh. She was light in the midst of a storm and though I knew she was trying to distract me, I thanked her for it. Once again, I was suddenly aware of how mature she was. Everything she did was for others, to make them feel more comfortable—a trait I could appreciate and envy.

     “Did you know he actually thought we were going to live in one of the houses on the hill?” She said, the question rhetorical as her trill laugh rang through the room. “I told him I was staying in the palace whether he liked it or not. I wasn’t moving. I mean look at this room!”

     I smiled, dunking my hair into the water and letting it dry, water rippled down my back, the feeling wonderful and glorious.

     “In all seriousness though,” her voice grew softer, “I would have married him even if he lived in a shack. Although I would probably be a crankier wife,” she mused. “Someday we’ll get our own little cottage, I just wanted to wait until the war is over. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I’m afraid to start anything new when I know it can be taken away in an instant.”

     I straightened as her words became more solemn. All humor had left her face and in its place was the pain, I had been afraid to see. There was something about people who always smiled, to see them hurt, was to experience a tragedy.

     “It makes perfect sense,” I said softly. I hurried into the clean clothes and folded the dirty ones on the table next to the bucket. “You don’t want to start something new when there’s a chance it could all be ripped away. I get that.”

     She nodded, “I knew you would. I don’t know if Daggin really understands. I’m so afraid to lose him. When he left with Voon to get you, I was so nervous, I thought I would go crazy.”

     I nodded, but couldn’t really put into words what I felt. She had risked her happiness, by letting her husband fetch me from my home. It may have been Tunder’s command, but it didn’t mean she had to be happy about it.

     “It’s an odd thing isn’t it, being so in love with someone that you would die for them, but you can’t protect them?”

     “Yeah,” was all I could say. Whether she was speaking of her father or Daggin, I wasn’t certain, and when her green eyes lifted, there was water rimming in their depths.

     She huffed a loud breath, “Look at me just gabbing away,” she dabbed at her eyes. “I’m going to fetch you something to eat, and you can go ahead and lie down to rest.”

     “Nixie,” I objected, “you don’t need to—”

     “Yes,” she butted in, more forcefully than I had ever heard her, “I do.” She quickly vacated the room and I had the sudden feeling my one glimpse into her real thoughts was gone.

     Spotting a comfortable looking chair beside a window, I crept toward it. The cushions were warm from the light of the setting sun and it wasn’t long before my eyes began to close and my thoughts drifted. Curled up in a little ball in the chair, I fell into a daze, only to stir when a blanket was laid over my body.  I snuggled beneath its warmth, my thoughts turning to images of Zale and his back turning away from me.

     Even as the warmth of the sun disappeared and rain began to spatter against the window, I remained in a daze of sleep—somewhere between oblivion and awareness, until darkness settled all around me like a blanket of security.

     Finally, my mind broke free, giving into the pit of unconsciousness. And I fell.

The next morning brought a soreness I had only experienced once before. After Bolrock’s beating on my body, I had been unable to move due to injuries. The heavy loads of the lead balls had had more of a toll on my body than I originally thought, and when Nixie had woken me, I had groaned to stand.

     Every movement seemed accentuated, though this time I felt a sense of satisfaction in the soreness.

     “Lissie,” Kryssa called from across the room. We were in the dining hall eating bread and cheese. I waved her over. “Come with me, there’s something you need to see.”

     “What is it?” I asked, swallowing a mouthful of bread as she came close.

     “It’s Zale.”

     “What happened?” I was on alert.

     “I don’t know, Elik just told me to come to the valley.”

     She didn’t need to say anything else. My protesting limbs were already following her through the halls and out onto the grassy knoll. The ground and trees were worse for wear from the trouncing rain of the night before. The marble steps beneath our feet still wet with little bubble-puddles that splattered into smaller drops when our feet touched them. A cool breeze hung in the air, and as we walked down the steep slope toward the valley, every now and again the wind would stir the trees and it would seem as though it was raining again. Little patters danced above our heads, as drops of water fell from leaf to leaf, only to land near us or decorate our hair for a moment before evaporating in the wind.

     As we got closer to the valley, a grunting sound reached my ears. Glancing to my side, Kryssa obviously heard it too, and I wondered how much longer she had been aware of it.

     “What in the world?” she mumbled to herself and began to walk faster. I swallowed the last large bite of my bread and picked up my pace to match her long strides. A loud cry issued from somewhere below us in the valley and the sound was one which worried me. Again, the grunts continued and a rhythmic thumping preceded each grunt. Rounding a little curve in the path, we came to the clearing and what I saw made my mouth hang open.

     In front of us, a small gathering of Lathmorians surrounded a group of mermen shuffling across the padded grass, engrossed in a fight. Bodies swirled and moved, grunting when arms and legs were hit with elbows or fists, but each Lathmorian soldier came back for more. In the middle of it all stood my warrior, a picture of perfect concentration as he dealt with each attacker in a dalliance of lithe moves. I was about to run to him, when I felt Kryssa’s hand on my arm restraining me.

     There was a hint of a smile on her lips as she watched the bodies fumble around one another. Some of the soldiers fell to the side, arms red and cheeks heated with exertion, but they always hopped back on their feet, searching for an opening. No blood was drawn, it was a repeat of what Zale had done when he showed up in the throne room. He was fighting with precision and skill; no movement made unless necessary. He was water moving through the soldiers, keeping them at bay with perfectly placed elbows, knees, feet and fists. They attacked him from all sides and still he remained standing, using their own charges against them to make his job easier, until, as though a command was given, it came to an end.

     The warrior remained in the middle, the others around him shaking their heads in disbelief, all bodies glistening with sweat and their dark shirts stained with their exertion. A hint of a grin tugged at the corner of Zale’s mouth. His expression was clearer than it had been last night, but I had no idea what I would see when he looked at me.

    As we approached the group, I noted how different the valley looked than during Nixie’s wedding. The trees still glistened, but this time they melted with water rather than sparkled with the hanging lights dangling in the trees.

     “Hey there!” Elik called, his own face dripping with sweat. He had obviously taken a turn at fighting Zale moments before our arrival. Looking around, I noticed most of the faces were covered with dirt stains and sweat, but their eyes were kindled with something I hadn’t seen in a long time. Even some of the mermaids, who stood off to the side, kept glancing at Zale and though their voices were veiled, I knew what they were saying. A sting of jealousy struck me.

     “What’s going on?” Kryssa asked, her gaze roving over the group.

     “Just a bit of training,” Elik said, quieter now for having reached her side. He placed a kiss on her forehead as some of the soldiers dispersed.

     “Is he helping?” she sounded astonished, and rightly so.

     “Not really,” he said, “more like showing off.”

     The beginnings of a smile traced the edges of the warrior’s lips, but upon meeting my gaze it disappeared, turning hollow in an instant. He approached us, his arms still braced with the cuffs, though chains no longer contained his reach.

     “Kryssa,” he said curtly and stuck out his hand for her to shake.

     Baffled, she took it and when their hands parted she looked at me; her thoughts clearly mirroring my own.

     “Uhh—” she stumbled for words, “nice fighting.”

     The warrior quirked an eyebrow and remained focused on her face. She blushed beneath his perusal and I remembered how he had stared so intently at my family back home. Recalling the night he had made such an entrance into my home almost made me smile.

          “Another round?” Elik asked, trying to take Zale’s attention away from Kryssa, even though it was obvious he found it amusing.

     “No,” he shook his head and turned back to the Lathmorian soldier. “She needs training.”

     “Me?” Kryssa asked, slightly offended. “I’ve had training.”

     “Not you,” his gaze flickered my way and back again, “her.”

    
So that’s the way it’s going to be,
I thought wryly, my own pride stinging a bit.

     “Why?” Kryssa asked, still sounding confused. I silently thanked her for voicing my concerns. I didn’t want to raise any objection to him, but the way he was avoiding my gaze, I knew it wouldn’t be long before my silence was broken.

     “Because,” he retorted quickly, “her full transformation is coming soon. And from what I’ve seen, she isn’t prepared for what’s coming. Her fighting is sloppy and too easy to overcome. She leaves herself open for attack and doesn’t know how to protect herself.” He might as well have punched me in the gut. His words cut me deeper than anything Gendra had said. “She needs real training.” As though he had given his final word on the subject, he turned away from us and walked back to the center of the gathering.

     Holding my head up high, I felt the breeze swirl past me as I followed him forward. I knew he wanted me to, and even though I would do as he bid, there was a twisting in my stomach for what was about to come.

     All eyes were upon us and I looked anywhere but directly at him. The group shifted and a feeling of anticipation filled my lungs, even as the warm wet sunshine poured across my back. Simply looking at all of the skilled soldiers who had been defeated by Zale, made me realize what I was up against. There was no chance I was going to be able to beat him.

     I stopped when we reached the patted down grass where they had been fighting before and scanned the group. Most looked my way and one merman had a rather large cut on his lip. He was the only one to show outward signs of bleeding and I wondered why. The mermaids still tittered under their breath, their eyes on the warrior. His dark golden hair drifted and floated in the breeze and I gritted my teeth as he turned back to me, his body fluid and powerful.

     “The first thing you want to do,” Elik said coming up to my left side, “is size up your opponent.”

     “Done,” I whispered, knowing I was more aware of the power Zale withheld than any of the Lathmorians standing in the clearing. A hint of humor flashed through Zale’s eyes.

     “Good,” Elik nodded beside me, “now, what would be your first move? And you can’t use your voice.” He tacked on as an afterthought.

     “I don’t know,” I shrugged, “throw my dagger?” A few laughs reached my ears, but I ignored them. I felt as though I was proving everything Zale had just said about me. 

     “You could do that,” Elik said back, cutting off the quiet laughter of the group. “But you would then be without your dagger if you missed.” He didn’t have to remind me. I had once before been without my dagger and I never wanted to be again. Both of my arms twitched and I felt the sturdiness of the blade against my left forearm, contrasted by the smooth rippling of the pearls along my right wrist.

     “I want you to pretend you already have your blades,” Elik shifted his feet into a ready stance. He stood with one foot in front of the other, knees slightly bent and his hands held in front of him, but close to his body. Feeling foolish, I tried to mimic his pose and found it quite comfortable as I spread my fingers, as though blades extended from them. 

     “Here,” a dark-haired mermaid walked forward, pulling something off her hands.

     “Ahh, perfect,” Elik said and caught the odd shaped gloves she tossed. “Put these on,” he said and handed one to me.

     The glove was made of rough leather, worn down on the insides where my palm rubbed against it. A dank sweatiness seemed to press against my fingers, and as I pulled the gloves on, I felt the weight of the heavy tips. On the end of each finger was a five inch extension of metal encased in leather. The tips were blunted with rounded metal caps, but the weight of the gloves astonished me, not to mention the length.

     “They’re made heavier than usual for strength training,” Kryssa said from my other side, as she helped me strap on the left glove. I nodded as though I knew what it would be like to have real blades jutting out from the tips of my fingers.

     “Resume your stance,” she said and sunk into position. She looked more natural than Elik had and I moved to replicate. “Now, what’s going to happen is he will make the first move.”

     Before us, Zale held his arms in front of him, the backs of his cuffed forearms facing us. I knew if the metal cuffs didn’t contain him, his blades would be directed our way. Simply thinking of it made me swallow heavily.

     With a lithe move, Zale darted forward, his arms held near his chin almost like a boxer, until he reached Kryssa and swiped toward her shoulder. At the last moment, she feigned to the right and his blow missed her body, spinning around on her foot she leapt up into the air and brought her fingers down onto the back of his neck. If her blades had been drawn, she would have killed him instantly.

     “Now, it’s your turn,” Elik said, strapping on cuff links with fake blades, similar to the ones I was wearing, only his were on his forearms. He moved where Zale had been standing before. Thanking my lucky stars Elik was going to charge at me instead of Zale, I waited in the starting position.

     The weight of the leather gloves seemed to tug at my already sore shoulders and my feet fidgeted beneath me. Elik stood still, until suddenly he charged forward, moving quicker than I expected. Rushing to gather my bearings, I dodged to the right as I had seen Kryssa move, but I moved too fast. He readjusted his swing into an arc and brought it closer to my shoulder, the very tip of the leather grazing my skin. If this had been real, he would have splayed my shoulder open.

     Gritting my teeth, I spun on my heel and retreated, feeling the blood course through my veins. He came at me again. This time I waited for the precise moment and darted to the right a split second before the fake blades would touch my arm. Feeling a tinge of success, I spun on my foot and leapt into the air only to bring the tips of the blades down on the back of his neck. When I made contact, I had only a brief moment of satisfaction before the power of my blow reverberated through my fingers and I gasped as my feet hit the ground once more.

     “Ouch,” I said, shaking my hand as I moved away from Elik, only realizing he was saying the same thing.

     One of his hands massaged the back of his neck. “Not so hard next time,” he grimaced.

     “Sorry,” I murmured, still a little taken aback from the blow to my arm. 

     “That’ll get the job done,” one of the surrounding mermen said, and the others laughed in approval.

     “Yes,” Kryssa strode over to Elik and glanced at his neck, marked where I had touched him. “Five points of contact,” she nodded, “nice work.”

     “Thanks,” I said, and felt my real fingers begin to tingle beneath the leather of the gloves.

     “But not so hard next time,” she chided. “If you practice that way, the battle will be over before you can get your blades out of your opponent’s corpse.”

     “That’s disgusting,” I mumbled under my breath and sunk back into ready position.

     The merman, who had spoken earlier, came up beside me and proceeded to teach me a couple of new moves. Even the surrounding mermaids who had been staring at Zale earlier, came forward and offered explanations of just how to complete the defensive techniques and where and when to move in for a strike.

     At times, I stood off to the side and watched them fight one another, their bodies moving slowly, so I could see each step of the deadly dance. They would complete a round, allow me to watch it twice, and then it was my turn to perform the moves. I stumbled and fell, got hit in the face multiple times, but after a while I began to get the gist of what they were teaching me.