Promises (Book One of The Syrenka Series) (25 page)

Nineteen

It was almost two days later before we
were able to leave the room again. There were chaperoned bathroom
breaks and three meals a day, but we had really been effectively
trapped. To make things worse, Julian never came by to give me an
update on Brendan, and Kain and Carissa’s relationship seemed to be
growing every day. If it wasn’t for Daniel, I think that I would
have lost my mind several times over. I felt so alone right now.
And not knowing what kind of damage I’d inflicted on my
relationship with Brendan was killing me. My power had overtaken
him. He was used to taking care of me and I loved that about him.
But now it seemed like the tables had turned and I wasn’t so sure
that he would be a willing participant.

I silently cried myself to sleep every
night. I missed my home and my family, and I wished more than ever
that I could go back and think things through a little bit more.
What if I would have married Kain and took him up on his offer to
allow me to continue seeing Brendan? I still didn’t know how that
would have actually worked out, but I was pretty sure that none of
us would be here right now if I would have just been unselfish and
made the right decision for once in my life.

When we were ushered to the great
ballroom again I was surprised to see that most of the humans were
gone and more mermaids were in attendance. A part of me smiled at
knowing Lucian had removed them from my presence. I had been able
to break his control over them. Even though he was testing me, I
would imagine that he was still hesitant to give me that
opportunity again. The only downside was that we were counting on
having their help to assist us in our escape. In one of the few
conversations I had with my friends in our holding cell, I revealed
that I took over the minds of several selkies and most of the
humans. I even went as far to tell them that I appeared to have
limited control of my new found power. Their reactions were mixed;
from shocked to inspired. Kain’s blank expressions left him
somewhere in the middle. But regardless, we came up with a
plan.

Now that most of our strategy had
failed to show up, I was rapidly trying to count the remaining
possibilities without being noticed. Nearly twenty mermaids,
several of them clan leaders, were now flanking the three thrones.
This was not only disturbing because of the number, but also
because I was disappointed to see so many following Lucian’s insane
platform. There were about ten selkies present and one of them was
Brendan. He made very little eye contact with me when we arrived. I
noticed Julian standing by his side, offering a hand on his
shoulder. Perhaps there was more going on here and Brendan was just
playing a role. Maybe he really did want to be by my side. It was
the only shred of hope that I could grasp on to.

The sound of our shoes clicking along
the stones echoed throughout the cavern. After a day being held
captive, they finally gave us back our clothes. Freshly cleaned and
pressed; not a stain on them. Whatever. It was better than the
silken robes. The noise was ominous, like a ticking clock counting
down to our big demise. The silence when we stopped was even worse.
I searched the thrones for Lucian, but he wasn’t here
yet.

A door slammed along the side wall,
sending pulses of sound in chaotic waves around the room. Master
Sutherland waltzed in like a king with several more mermaids on his
tail. They appeared to be escorting someone, but the way they
surrounded each other made it hard to see exactly what was going
on.

“
Eviana, such a pleasure,”
Lucian said grandly. “I apologize for the delay, but I had to get a
few things in order before continuing our discussions.”

“
I thought we were finished
talking,” I said. Lucian walked up to his throne and made another
elaborate show of sitting down. Today he was wearing black leather
pants and a blood red silk shirt. His golden hair hung loose around
his shoulders so he could artfully brush it out of his face when he
needed something to do. Finally in his seat, he crossed his legs
and propped an elbow up on the arm of the throne.

“
Oh no. We still have so
much more to discuss. In fact, I am surprised that you have not
asked for me after your little display of power the other day.” I
looked behind me at my friends and then to the side of the room at
Brendan. They all knew what had happened, but there was still a
part of me that cringed at my sudden abilities. Seeing my
discomfort, Lucian began to laugh. “Let me guess, they don’t want
to be around you anymore. Is that correct?”

“
No,” I pouted.

“
Well then, why the gloomy
face?” He leaned forward in his chair. “You are about to become the
most powerful leader amongst the non-followers. They will all have
to obey you.” I looked up at him in confusion and then back at my
friends to see that they, too, had no idea what he was talking
about.

The shuffling of feet from the doorway
area where their leader had emerged drew my attention to the side.
The mound of people surrounding something began to drag their
prisoner towards the center of the floor and directly in front of
me. They dropped their baggage like a piece of trash and quickly
moved away to flank my friends and me. Stunned, I looked down at
the battered mermaid before me and nearly lost all
control.

My mother’s tiny frame was broken and
bruised. Her normally beautiful thick dark hair hung in mats and
was filled with dirt and something else. As I looked more closely,
I could see the cuts on her head, leading me to believe that I was
seeing blood mixed in amongst the dirt. Her left arm appeared to be
broken and one of her ankles was swollen bad enough that I doubted
she could put any weight on it. The long purple sundress she was
wearing had rips and tears throughout, hidden only slightly by the
patches of mud and blood. I couldn’t make my legs move fast
enough.

“
Mom!” Bending my knees, I
slid down next to her side while trying not to touch her and cause
more distress. She turned her head up slightly, but it was enough
for us to see each other. Tears stained her face and that fierce
spark that made her who she was seemed to be gone. Her dark eyes
were now just that: dark and empty. I rubbed my hand lightly along
her check. “No, mom. What did they do to you?”

“
Eviana…” she whispered,
but I couldn’t make out much more of the words.
“…missed…father…worried…gone.” I leaned closer so that we could
have our own private conversation.

“
I’m here now, mom. Don’t
worry about me. You and dad don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
Her face was blurry because of the tears filling my eyes. I didn’t
even try to wipe them away since I knew the flow would not stop. My
mother began to position herself so that she could see more of me.
Her face was ripe with pain, but not as a reflection of the
physical kind. This pain was much deeper than that.

“
No…your father…gone.” She
was shaking her head but I still didn’t understand. “Killed,” she
breathed.

“
What?” My hand stopped
soothing her and I jerked my head towards Lucian. “Where is my
father?” I demanded, trying to sound stronger than I felt right
now.

Lucian just shrugged his shoulders and
then pushed to his feet. “He wouldn’t let your mother go without a
fight.”

“
Where. Is. He?” I ordered
between clenched teeth.

“
In California.”

“
Alive?”

“
Not anymore.”

In my mind, I watched myself leap over
my mother and wrap my hands around Lucian’s neck, squeezing so that
he couldn’t speak ever again. I beat him until I couldn’t move
anymore, taking out all of my pain on the man that killed my
father. But what I did instead was much more mature than I would
have ever anticipated. Lucian wanted something and if it would get
my mother and my friends out of here alive, than I needed to
bargain with him. There was a reason that my mother wasn’t dead
yet.

Standing to face my adversary, I heard
Daniel and Carissa crying behind me. But I didn’t look at them. I
would grieve for my father later. “What do you want?” I asked
softly.

“
I want your clan to join
me. The Dumahls and the Matthews will secure enough of a force to
make the Council finally listen. They will have to reinstate the
Legacy.” I shook my head.

“
You still don’t get it, do
you? I am not a part of my clan anymore. I have no authority! I
don’t even exist in their eyes!”

“
You’ve only been shunned
by your leader. Once she is gone the problem is solved.” Panic
seared through me. What was he going to do?

“
I…I can’t take leadership
from her. It doesn’t work that way. She was chosen.” Lucian snapped
his fingers and someone instantly grabbed my arms and pinned them
behind me. I struggled to break free, but their grip was too
strong. My friends were soon contained by another group of selkies
as well. There was nothing that we could do now except watch what
was coming.

Lucian sauntered over to my mother who
had pulled herself up to her knees to face her enemy. She turned
sideways and it allowed me to see that she was clearly being as
defiant as she could in this position. Her chin was forward and her
shoulders were back; taking one last stance. When Lucian reached
her, he brushed a piece of hair behind her ear in a very personal
gesture. She allowed it, but I saw her swallow hard.

“
Such a waste, Marguerite.
Such a waste. You should have accepted my offer.” He continued to
caress her cheek like a lost lover.

“
She will never join you,”
she said.

“
We will see,” he replied
just before reaching out with inhuman speed and snapping her
neck.

“
Mom!” I screamed. The bile
in my stomach rose up into my throat. At that moment it seemed as
if I was in a dream. Everything moved in slow motion. I nearly
ripped my arms out of their sockets from pulling so hard against my
captor while the sickening crunch of my mother’s bones echoed
throughout the cavern. Her lifeless body slumped to the floor for
the last time. Lucian followed her down to the ground but I didn’t
know why. A moment later, he stood, holding her shield in his
hand.

He started to walk towards me but I
continued to struggle. I didn’t want this. My mother was the
leader, not me. I was a selfish runaway child who did not have the
knowledge to lead my clan. I could never be like her. And the only
two people who could have prepared me for this were now dead. “Stay
away from me!”

“
Eviana, it is time for you
to make a choice. Lead your clan and his and do what is right.” He
nodded behind me towards Kain, implying that we came as two for the
price of one. “This shield is meant for you. Wear it and own it.”
His hand shot out and the broach flew through the air in my
direction. There was nowhere for me to go.

When the shield landed against my
chest, I slammed back against the selkie holding me. The golden
double wave that represented our clan began to glow. Air was pulled
from my lungs and every part of my body tingled. The hair around my
face began to fly around in a silent breeze like the naiad’s watery
tendrils in the mountain lake. Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on
that power. The shield had chosen me and I would contemplate the
reasons why later. For now, I had to tap into this source and use
it to get us out of here. Vaguely, in the background, I could hear
Lucian cheering.

“
Do you see that?” He asked
the crowd. “This was her destiny. It’s just marvelous.” His
sing-song voice almost made me break my concentration. But the
magic coursing through me right now reminded me to
focus.

“
Kain?” I
whispered.

“
I’m here,” he said right
next to me, apparently not being assessed as a threat any
longer.

“
It’s time.”

With that, I threw out my hands and
opened my eyes, staring at Lucian. The pounding of my heart was
almost as loud as the sharp gasps and exclamations from the
mermaids watching me pull every selkie and every human around under
my command. Doors began to open and close throughout the room as
more and more humans emerged. Their faces were blank and as they
got within a few feet of me, every single one dropped to the ground
on their knees. In just a couple of minutes, I was surrounded by
three dozen people.

Lucian’s expression was weary. He had
suspected that I could do this, but he still wasn’t sure if I was
on his side or not. “How impressive, Eviana.” His voice was
slightly shaky. “This is why I need you.”

“
You don’t get to make that
choice,” I said. A bit of his arrogance appeared again.

“
You can’t control me
too.”

“
I don’t need to control
you,” I said. With a mental shout to those surrounding me, I
commanded them to attack Lucian and his allies. I sent in the
humans first. Not because they were cannon fodder, but because I
wanted the selkies with me. For some twisted reason, I trusted
Julian to get us out of here.

The ensuing sounds of hand to hand
combat filled the room over, as the echoes reverberated off the
walls. With another mental push, I pulled all of the selkies into a
circular formation around us. Brendan limped up along the side of
them but didn’t try to come any closer. I swallowed a ball of
regret knowing that we would have to talk about this
later.