All around us sunlight filtered through the surface, refracting in an unnatural way. The dark interspersed with the light, created shadows that had me thinking I was seeing things.
Lucian tapped me on the shoulder and pointed down below us into the abyss. At first, I didn"t notice it. A trail of tiny bubbles rose up to the surface in front of our eyes, but Lucian was looking at the source below.
And when I saw it, I nearly screamed.
Eighteen.
Eviana I noticed the teeth first. Sharp, white fangs larger than a ratchet"s rose up from the depths at an incredible speed. Her face contorted into a horrific form, snarling and wrinkled and deadly.
The bubble tornado spiraled past us and shot to the surface. In its wake I could see tendrils of hair and something else. It looked like jellyfish tentacles, and just as I was trying to get a closer look, Lucian yanked me back out of the way. He shook his head, warning me to stay back, and then pulled me up to the surface.
When we broke through the water, I immediately wanted to ask him what was happening, but the sight in front of me rendered me speechless. The nereid, terrifying and hideous below the surface, now reminded me of a sea G.o.ddess. Her delicate form floated gracefully across the water. The tentacles had transformed into a silver flowing dress, although when I looked closer, I could still see the life in it. Each strand moved as though it had a mind of its own. Similar to the dress, her long blonde hair wavered in the air like extensions of her arms. I remembered the lake naiad using her hair to touch Brendan and me, and a wave of chills swept through my body.
Amathia"s head snapped in my direction, her hair and dress tentacles following a few seconds later. "You have seen one of us before?" Her whisper-like voice echoed in the air. It was so beautiful and soothing, I could only nod in response. I knew she would be able to read my thoughts like the other sprites.
"Amathia, it has been too long." Lucian captured the nereid"s attention. She studied him for a moment and then swept across the surface to come closer. Sinking into the water so that she was at eye level with us, her hair began to caress Lucian"s face. His eyes closed and he smiled.
Amathia continued to touch Lucian"s face, neck, and shoulders. Graham watched with an expression that was very close to being star stuck. I thought that it was such an intimate moment, I almost looked away.
"You need something from me," she stated. There was a slight accent to her voice. Something ancient and wise.
"Yes. We need your help," Lucian answered, eyes still closed seeming to enjoy the nereid"s touch.
"Yes. Yes, you do. It has been a while since I"ve been asked to awaken one of you." She rose to the surface again and turned to look at Graham. A piece of her tentacle dress reached out and wrapped around his head. I watched his mouth curl into a blissful smile as his eyes stared at Amathia"s beautiful face. "I shall enjoy teaching this one."
I swear I saw her appearance change ever so slightly so that she now looked ten years younger; closer to my age. Her focus on Graham intensified as she continued to alter her image.
"You are young. And now I am young for you." She bent forward and kissed Graham on the mouth. It wasn"t an innocent kiss either and after a few seconds, Lucian stopped her.
"Amathia, my daughter needs you. Not Graham." She recoiled so quickly that her hair practically pulled Graham with her.
"A female?" Something about her tone sped up my heartbeat. Her face flashed back to the creature we first saw below the surface. It was only for an instant, but it scared me. "I haven"t had a female for centuries."
I certainly didn"t like the sound of that, but Lucian seemed unconcerned. "My daughter has the blood of leaders in her, but she has been untrained by those who raised her. I have prepared her for you the best I could, but it is time for the awakening."
"You prepared me?" I asked before I could stop myself. "The drugs?"
Lucian nodded to me and then looked back at the nereid. "She will fulfill our destiny."
"The Legacy?" Amathia asked but it wasn"t kind. "You want me to awaken her so that she can control me too?"
Lucian swam a little closer to her. "Amathia, you are a G.o.ddess of your kind. Powerful, beautiful, seductive. You cannot be controlled. Ever." If I didn"t know any better, I"d say Lucian was flirting with her.
"I am a G.o.ddess, Lucian Sutherland. And it would be wise for you to remember that." Her hair reached out toward Lucian and started to caress his face again. But then he jerked back in surprise and she lifted one of the tendrils to her mouth. Lucian rubbed his neck and when he pulled his hand away, I noticed the blood. Amathia suckled on the tip of the tendril, enjoying the taste of Lucian. "Delightful. And powerful." Her body shivered in satisfaction.
I didn"t want to be here any longer.
"Will you help her?" Lucian finally asked, his flirtatious tone no longer in his voice.
Two tentacles from her dress reached out and grabbed me so quickly that I didn"t have time to react. She pulled me to her at the same time she lowered herself to my level. Her hands and tendrils ran through my hair and stroked my face. A wave of calm washed over me and I understood why the guys had been so content under her touch. It was as though nothing else in the world mattered. It was peaceful.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear them talking. "I can feel it in her," Amathia was saying.
"Yes, she will far surpa.s.s me in time," Lucian answered. He sounded proud.
"I will need the day," Amathia said, eyes never leaving mine. "And a taste of that one."
"Agreed," Lucian said. I a.s.sumed she wanted to taste Graham, but I was too enthralled to realize how disturbing that was. Until I saw her face change.
Her eyes turned black and soulless. Her mouth widened to an unnatural size. And the fangs reappeared. "This will only hurt for a moment," she said just before opening her mouth and biting down into the side of my neck.
I tried to scream, but the pain racing through my neck was too intense. Amathia"s bite never faltered and I could feel her fangs burying deeper and deeper into my flesh. I feared she was going to bite clear through.
We spiraled down into the depths of the hole in a free fall. I barely noticed the blues of the shallows disappear into the blackness hundreds of feet below. Amathia began to make a noise that pierced through my ears. It sounded like a falcon dying a horrible death. Her screams continued until we slammed against the bottom of the hole. It was dark and cold, and I knew that I was going to die down here.
You will live. Amathia"s voice pushed into my mind, which did not have a calming effect. How was she doing that? My chest burned with its need for more oxygen. Diving this deep was not impossible for us, but the pressure limited our air capacity.
I began to panic. Lucian made this happen. He was trying to kill me, I just knew it. I used what little air I had left getting upset over Lucian"s betrayal, and prepared myself to drown. It"s not an easy feat; accepting that death is a few seconds away. Deciding to give up. It"s not really what I wanted, but there was a nereid holding me six hundred feet below the sea, drinking my blood and denying me oxygen. Death seemed like the obvious conclusion.
You will live, Amathia said again and I think I chuckled at that sentiment. There was no way I could make it through this. As that thought filtered through my mind, Amathia pulled her fangs out of my neck and covered my mouth with hers.
She kissed me. But it wasn"t like a regular kiss. It was like her mouth was a pa.s.sageway to the surface. My lungs filled with oxygen, and a euphoric sense of peace washed over me. Let me in, she said. Although consciously, I didn"t know what she meant, I felt my body relax and let her presence fill me. In an instant, everything went black.
I woke up with a shock and sucked in a huge breath. But something was wrong. Where was I? What just happened? My brain moved through a fog as it tried to process the situation. I was sitting in the dark on the bottom of the ocean. The blue hole. I remembered that I was in an ancient sinkhole, but I shouldn"t be breathing.
I was in my mermaid form, yet I felt different. Stronger. I sucked in another breath and didn"t cough or sputter or drown like I should have. It was exhilarating.
A dark shadow darted past me. Then another, and another. I was suddenly surrounded by creatures too dark to see clearly, but similar in size as me. They began to shriek while swimming in a circle around me. I covered my ears to block the awful sound, willing them stop. When that didn"t work, I threw my hands out toward them trying to use the water as a weapon.
It worked. Wisps of seawater sprang out of my hands and wrapped around the black bodies of the shadow creatures. They screamed and screeched as, one by one, they shattered into pieces. I didn"t fully understand what was happening, but I had to smile. I"d just used water control in the same way Kain and Graham did. Now if I could figure out how to get out of here, I would be a very happy girl.
When I tried to move, I started to lose hope. It was like I was stuck to the ground, unable to lift anything except my arms. I took another breath. Weird. I couldn"t swim, but I could breathe. I couldn"t force my tail off the ground, but I could suddenly control the water better than ever. I didn"t understand.
You are awakening. It was a strange echo of a voice that instantly soothed my mind. Give in to it and you shall thrive.
Give in to it? It didn"t seem like I had enough control over my body to give it commands. I tried to swim again to no avail. How was I supposed to go through with this?
In a flash, something slammed into my chest. I fell backward so that I was lying completely on the bottom, looking up at the surface where I hoped someone was waiting for me. I felt several tiny feet walking along my body from my tail and moving up toward my chest. My head was paralyzed, as well as my arms. The only thing moving now was my racing heart.
One slow step at a time, the thing on top of me inched closer to my face. I still couldn"t see what it was, but the little feet felt like daggers digging into my skin. One by one, they crawled up my stomach, my chest, until finally stopping.
Amathia"s face frightened me to the core. Her head was no longer shaped like a human, but more like the water sprites I"d encountered at Jeremiah"s pool. Oblong things with slanted eyes and hundreds of pointed teeth. She hissed at me at the same time her hair sprawled out from her head like a cobra preparing to strike. And I couldn"t move.
Let me in, she whispered. I tried to shake my head. Amathia lowered her mouth inches from my skin and proceeded to lick my neck and face in one long movement. Her tongue split down the center and was longer than any snake I"d ever seen before.
Let me in! This time I could hear the command in her voice and another round of fear fluttered in my stomach. Yet for some reason, I shook my head in denial again.
Amathia, the nereid of the sea, threw her head back and screamed. It lasted for minutes, maybe hours, I couldn"t tell. But I do know that it was horrendous. My ears felt like they would bleed in response to her shrill cry. When she finally stopped, I sighed in relief. If I made it out of here, surely I would have some hearing damage.
Her tiny feet continued to climb closer to my face. How many feet did she have anyway? I squeezed my eyes shut, fearful of what she might look like now. Although imagining it in my head was probably worse than seeing it for myself.
Open your eyes, Eviana. And unlike the rest of her commands, I couldn"t fight it. My eyes opened on their own to focus on her beautiful human face. She"d changed her appearance again. I was enchanted by her eyes and the sense of peace they brought to me. I stared at her willingly, not wanting it to end.
Amathia"s hair flowed around her head like a crown. The tentacles from her dress rubbed my arms and tail, sending shivers through my skin. I thought she was going to kiss me again when she lowered her face next to mine. And I wanted her to kiss me. I wanted her breath, her power. I wanted to let her in.
Now! She yelled in my mind and I saw a bright flash of white before a stabbing pain penetrated my skull. In seconds, everything and everyone in my life flashed in front of me. Brendan at our sanctuary, Marisol and I playing in the water with my parents, watching Kain leave my house the night before our wedding. I saw glimpses of Palmer, Graham, Troy, Abhainn, and Isabel. Some of the images ripped from my memories and some of them created by Amathia.
There was a war. A battle in the sea between merfolk. I couldn"t see faces, but I felt those I loved being harmed. In the center of the fight, I stood still. Watching. Waiting. For what, I didn"t know. I was simply an observer seeing the depths to which merfolk would go to defend their beliefs.
Was this the future? Was this happening now? How long had I been trapped in this hole? A thousand questions flitted through my mind as I watched merfolk, selkies, and sprites die in battle. I tried to move, tried to fight. I needed to do something.
At once, a wall of water encircled me and I saw Amathia"s face. She held two long, silver swords in her hands and she looked at me like I was a tasty morsel of sweet chocolate.
"What do you want?" I screamed at her, afraid of what was coming next. She simply smiled. Her fangs bit into her bottom lip, but she didn"t notice. I watched several drops of dark blue blood fall from her mouth and disappear into the water below.
Off to the side, Kain cried out in pain. His face became clear and we looked at each other as a merman stood over him, ready to inflict the final blow with his knife.
Help him, Amathia"s hollow voice echoed in my head.
I don"t know how, I replied, somehow understanding she would hear me. In slow motion, the merman brought his knife down toward Kain"s chest. I wanted to stop him. I needed to stop him. I pushed out with my mind in a last ditch effort.
And the merman stopped moving. He dropped the knife and fell to his knees. The sound of fighting ceased all around me and I was stunned to see everyone staring at me. Some had faces, some were just generic images of those I did not know, but they had all succ.u.mbed to my command.
Good, Amathia whispered, just before she plunged both swords into my stomach. Screaming in pain, I reached for the swords now penetrating my body. I tried to pull them out, but the nereid held them in place "Why?" I asked in between sobs. "Why now?"
It is time for you to wake up. I didn"t understand. I was awake, wasn"t I?
Another burst of white light sent me back into the belly of the blue hole. Amathia"s face lingered over top of mine and I could still feel the swords piercing my stomach. Surely I was going to die now.
Amathia smiled, revealing her true nature again, and thrust her fangs into my neck. I shouted out in fear, but no noise left my mouth. It didn"t take long before I began to lose consciousness.
It felt like I was floating upward. The sky got brighter and the sides of the hole leapt out of the darkness. My arms dragged behind me like broken wings and I was unable to move my tail. The pain in my stomach was almost too much to bear, and I wished that I would pa.s.s out for good.
Someone grabbed me around the waist and propelled me closer to the surface. There was a part of me that knew I needed air, but despite what happened below, I didn"t dare try to breathe under the water.
The warmth of the sun and the orange, pinks, and blues of the sky welcomed me at the surface. I took in a large gasp of air, and turned to the side just enough to see Lucian holding me in his arms.
"You"re okay, Eviana. You did it," he whispered smoothly into my ear.
I couldn"t fully comprehend what he was talking about, and the last thing I remembered was a bird flying over my head and off into the setting sun.
Nineteen.
Kain Before we left Lucian"s meeting, Adele had a chance to pull me aside. Her frantic tone contradicted the determination in her voice. "We cannot let this happen. Let"s meet tomorrow. I will contact you."
It was a rather cryptic message since we both knew that many eyes were watching. I didn"t even have a chance to find out what Lucian had done to threaten her, but apparently she wasn"t going to let that stop her completely.
Later that evening, I received a message that she would stop in California on her way home to Seattle, and we agreed to meet at Eviana"s house. It practically felt like my home now as well, plus the selkie leader and some of our best protectors were still there. Surely they would want to hear what Adele had to say.
I informed Troy, Palmer, Malcolm, and Julian that the merfolk leaders would be coming today. I didn"t know how many Adele was bringing with her, but hopefully she chose her friends wisely. The clans and Councils seemed to be equally divided in this war, so decisions couldn"t be made in haste. A friend today could very well be an enemy tomorrow.
There was one person, or sprite, missing from the group. I hadn"t seen Abhainn since Lucian shattered him at the meeting last night. Abhainn would often disappear that way on his own accord, but Lucian had forced it on him and I worried that wasn"t good for his kind.
I made my way to the oceanfront in the few extra minutes I had before Adele"s arrival. Hoping to see some sign of a water sprite, any water sprite, I scanned the horizon. It was a calm day in the sea and the sunlight reflected brightly enough to create a mirror effect. A shimmering wave caught my attention, and my stomach fluttered with excitement. Who would have thought, just a few months ago, that I"d be so happy to see a water sprite? In that short period of time, Abhainn and I had become great friends. He"d taught me so much about my water control abilities despite the fact it was his biggest fear about my kind. And his relationship with Isabel was inspiring. Two individuals from different backgrounds finding a way to make it work. It had given me hope.
The shadow of a wave I thought I saw disappeared and I feared that my eyes had played a trick on me. Knowing I had just a few minutes left, I started calling for him. It worked once before, so now I wished for the same result.
Again, I noticed something that looked like a head pop up and out of the water just a few yards offsh.o.r.e. I watched as that head expanded into a body and emerged from the breaking waves. Even with the sun glaring against the surface, I recognized Isabel"s long hair and perfectly shaped human body. I guess if you can shift into any form, why not make it exceptional.
She was hunched forward dragging something behind her. No, not dragging exactly. More like a.s.sisting the awkwardly shaped sprite by her side. I ran forward into the surf to help her.
"Is that Abhainn?" I asked, shocked at the state of his appearance. His form was shimmering in and out of focus, switching between his human shape and something more akin to the sprites I"d met at Jeremiah"s house. His head was misshapen and pointy, his bones protruded from every joint at an unnatural angle, and his legs reminded me of a seabird"s.
"Oui. He must feed. Now!"
I could hear the queen in her come out. She speaks and expects someone to answer. Ironically we heard a playful scream and round of laughter from further up the sh.o.r.e. Usually it was secluded, but it appeared that a group of teenagers decided to ignore the POSTED signs and risk a trip to the private beach. Human teenagers on the same beach as a hungry sprite. Not a good combination.
"Zhey will do," Isabel said.
"I don"t know..." I tried to say but she cut me off.
"He will die! We need a food source now, and zhose ignorant human children are coming zhis way."
She was right. They must have been drunk, because when they saw the three of us standing in the water, one of them shouted and encouraged the others to follow behind. He ran as fast as he could, yelling something about a mermaid. Idiots.
"Fine. But I"m leaving," I said. It wasn"t an ideal situation, but in the grand scheme of things I needed Abhainn more right now. A few humans were going to lose their lives for the sake of saving many more tomorrow. "Please come to the house when you are finished. We have much to discuss."
Isabel nodded her head without taking her eyes off of the approaching male. I turned and walked briskly back toward the house. I heard the young man whistle and catcall at Isabel, just before the revolting crunch. A few screams later and everything went silent. Well, the humans did. Abhainn, however, didn"t make any attempt to eat politely, and the slurps, snaps, and chomping carried in the wind all of the way to the deck. I shivered in disgust.
Trying to rid my mind of those images, I prepared myself for the meeting. I was pretty sure that we would make a final stand against Lucian tomorrow, but I needed to confirm that the support was there. Adele had many friends, and now that everyone understood what we were fighting against, I hoped they"d be willing to attack.
When I walked into the house, I was met with an eerie silence. Wondering where everyone went, I looked out the front door to see several town cars parked in the driveway, all empty. They must have already arrived.
Knowing there was only one place to go, I hurried down the hall and into the designated conference room. The conversations were in full swing until I walked through the doors.
"Master Matthew, there you are." Adele held out her arms in a surprising show of emotion. We"d worked together for a few months now, but not once had she made an attempt to do any more than shake my hand. I moved to her and offered the embrace she was asking for. Her tiny frame seemed so fragile under my arms, almost like it was on the verge of breaking.