Spurn (2 page)

She continued to swim towards the largest moon, staying close to the surface. No one else
would be able to hear the droltine’s cry, but Talina’s hearing was better than most. Finally the isolated barge came into view. Mesh netting surrounded it on all four sides, a barrier to keep them contained.

With her head above the waterline
, she gripped the closest section of netting.

“Gladriel!” She would probably pay for it later, but Talina couldn’t help the anger that spilled out in that one word.

A single screech was her reply.

Talina’s clenched fists tightened on the barrier. She
would have to enter her mother’s lair.

Diving over the top
, she descended into the sparsely lit water. All the way down she continued to hope she was wrong. But there was very little doubt.

Gladriel came into sight then, her emerald hair surrounding her. At first it looked as if she was alone, but within moments the droltine came into view. It was tethered to Gladriel by a simple twined rope. And she was systematically pulling it forward, send hot shock waves into it and blowing it back.

STOP!
Talina mentally screamed at her mother.

Gladriel turned, a s
neer gracing her features.

Hello
, daughter, come to join me while I train our next guard and scout?

Talina shudder
ed with anger. She could taste the fury as it ascended from the pit of her stomach. The swirl of energy that always lived inside her was tumultuous, and her vision started to blacken around the edges.

No, I can’t lose control again.
She silently begged herself to hold it together.
You have to stop, Gladriel. You cannot treat our beautiful friends so cruelly.

It is in our nature
, daughter. I need this one’s co-operation and I need it to be tough. There is no other way to achieve this.

And she turned to shock the poor animal again.
It screeched in pain, shying away from its torturer.

Talina noticed the spattering of red where the droltine had endured Gladriel
’s training.

The water started to swirl around Talina and she knew it was almost too late
; her power wanted to be released; Gladriel must be stopped. The water heated as it formed turrets.

Slowly h
er mother turned back toward her and noticed the energy surrounding them.

Talina! What are you doing? You must control yourself
; you are weak.

Talina barely registered the insult
. She was reveling in the flow of power, the confidence that she was the baddest thing in the water and that she could end Gladriel’s reign of terror. The blackness was descending over her vision again, but she registered Gladriel’s fear. Her mother trembled and dropped the tethered droltine, holding both hands up in a pleading gesture.

I promise I will let her go and never do this again. Just stop this.

A smirk crossed Talina’s face; Gladriel knew she was about to become the victim; she was practically begging for Talina’s mercy. It was time to give some of the torture back.

That last thought was enough to shock a semblance of control into
Talina’s system. She paused on the brink of sending out a devastating wave of power.

No, s
he refused to be like her mother, abusing the powers granted to her.

Instead of attacking Gladriel
, she sent a powerful force through the water that blasted apart the mesh cage.

If I ever catch you doing this again, Gladriel, I swear I will not stop at
disintegrating the mesh.

Talina turned then and left the area. She needed to get away from her mother before the anger brimmed over
. She needed some hard swimming to calm down.

Her power
needed release, and she’d never be able to control it if she couldn’t work off this pent-up energy.

As she swam she decided not to tell Raror what had occurred. It would only create drama for him, and she hoped that was the last time Gladriel would commit such cruelty. Her fear of Talina’s powers might just keep her
in line.

The next morning Talina and Raror sat with their legs hanging off the side of her top-level balcony. Eighteen pontoons had been separated from the collective to head for the Isle. It would take them seven days powered by wind and seahorses to reach the land. Earon’s quadrant was the second largest behind the Baroons; blue-hairs were top of the food chain.

Talina rested her face on the railing. She stared out into the half-sun lighting a pink sky.

“You know, despite the fact Gladriel is probably going to have me sacrificed, I’m really excited to see the Isle.”

Raror glanced at his sister. He’d always thought she looked like a mystical creature.
The differences that marked her as weak among Spurns seemed beautiful to him. The thin lines of hair covering the ridges above her eyes and the flicked-out strands along her eyelids framed her brown eyes perfectly. Most Spurns had eyes that ranged from gold to marmalade, but always in the yellow tone, which made Talina’s unique.

The black flecks through her hair, which she was so clever at hiding, transformed her emerald
locks to that of the brightest polished stone. She was taller than almost everyone on Spurn. Only Ladre, the Baroon’s leader, topped her height, though Talina was leaner and less muscular. But more than all of this it was the innate goodness that shone from her; she was not like the rest of them, operating in the animalistic environment of eat or be eaten. She had imparted much of her gentle qualities onto Raror, and he believed himself to be a better Spurn for it.

“Don’t you worry
, little sister.” He patted her warm arm. “Remember? I will never let Mother hurt you.”

Talina nodded
and Raror turned back to gaze at the sea. A long time ago he had made the promise – to protect her from all of those that aimed to harm.

And on Spurn, that was everyone.

Talina really enjoyed the journey
, she didn’t see Gladriel once, and there was nothing more calming than the great expanses of the ocean. They were due to make land the next morning, and she wondered if she would get any rest that night.

This was the most exciting thing to occur in her nineteen
-year lifetime. She’d never seen land that formed above the water.

Then she noticed the
moons were already at full sky. It was later than she thought. She left her balcony.

Generally, Spurns require
d exactly five hours of closed-eye respite, whether above or below the water, but Talina functioned better on six or more. She opened her pod; it was half-full of water, a calming level for her. Shedding her white mesh covering, she stepped in. Lying back and closing her eyes, she allowed the pontoon’s rhythmic movement and water in her pod to calm her energized thoughts. Surprisingly, she had no trouble drifting off.

The next morning the Earons gathered together.

“Isn’t it the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?” Talina held Raror’s arm as she bounced in excitement, a euphoric emotion that she rarely felt.

They were standing on the balcony, waiting for Gladriel’s command to start swimming.

“It’s so strange, as if something has broken the ocean and there is a crack in it.” Raror was wide-eyed, the clear lenses flickering off and on as his eyes adjusted to the air.

The sand was white, with just a tinge of gold. It was unlike any color Talina had ever seen. The sunlight sparkled off the grains like the precious jewels they were.

Earons, take to the water now. We are to make our way to the edge of the Isle and wait.

Their leader’s voice echoed through her mind, and without hesitation Talina dived into the depths. She let the water flow over her, and as her gills kicked in she took off. Speed-swimming was her favorite thing to do. To her left, Raror kept pace, although, if he needed to, he could almost double her velocity through the water.

Emerald hair streamed in the currents as their collection of members approached the golden sands of the Sacred Isle. For the first time in her life Talina was shocked to see
the ocean floor tapering up. It became shallower until at last she could put her feet down and stand above the water line. She wobbled precariously, but as her lungs kicked in she found her feet on the squishy sand, digging her toes in for extra stability. Gladriel, who’d been the first to stand, shifted once or twice, but managed to stay straight at the head of their group.

“Do not move too quickly. It will take time to get used to the stillness of land.” Her lisped words echoed.

Talina glanced around her. Judging by the tumbles already being taken in the shallow water, Gladriel was correct.

She
turned when she heard a clamor behind them. A foreign pontoon, blue flags flying, indicated that the Baroons had arrived. They were in the process of tethering to a nearby station. Her heart skipped a beat at the possibility of seeing Ladre, their intimidating leader. She swung back as Gladriel spoke again.

“We have permission to move onto the land. Take it slowly.
Start on all fours for balance.” She waved everyone forward, and then turned away to concentrate on her own journey. Talina could see that their leader was still slightly off-kilter, but otherwise she made it onto the flat sand without drama. Realizing she would be left behind, Talina took her first hesitant step.

Her muscles made their usual adjustment for the sway and ebb of the ocean, but for the first time there was no movement from below.
She over-balanced and sprawled headfirst into the shallows.

Raror moved to help her up, but he was just as un-coordinated
as she was and splashed into the water next to her. Dragging herself forward on hands and knees, Talina crawled onto the still dryness of land. Her head started to sway, and an instant nausea rose as her body tried to compensate for the lack of movement it was so used to.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Raror dived past her to heave his morning cucreamer all over the sand.

He wasn’t the only one.

Talina flipped over
onto her back and, using the half-sun as an anchor, breathed deeply for a few moments. Finally the nausea abated enough so she wasn’t about to join the hurling ranks. Sitting up, she straightened her shaky legs before pulling herself up to stand.

She guessed that this was how it felt when learning to walk for the first time. Balancing without the movement of the ocean required different muscles and a
center of gravity that Spurns lacked, but eventually most of the Earon clan was able to stand and move further along the sandy beach. Talina loved the delicious texture between her toes; it tickled as it scrubbed her feet.

Once walking became easier, she was able to observe her environment. And she wasn’t the only one; most of the Earon clan was trying to walk and take in the vast wonders surrounding them
, which meant there were plenty of tumbles, golden grains flying up in small clouds all around her.

The sand started at the water line and drifted gently up a curved mound. From there on
, it looked to Talina like a mix of sand and swathes of green vegetation. She knew that the entire island was only fifty miles wide and ten miles long. At least eighty percent consisted of the lagoona tree plantations, which she could see stretching out into the distance in long straight rows.

It was simply incredible to see. Everything looked so free and unencumbered with no water surrounding it. She was distracted at just that moment as Raror
stumbled and fell down next to her. A grin spread across her face as she reached out a hand to help him to his feet.

“This is not exactly how I pictured this experience.” He shook his head, dispelling the masses of sand that had accumulated in his long straight hair. It was such a warm day that already sections of the emerald
tresses looked dry.

“We need to get you to water soon, Raror.”

Talina frowned as she examined him. She had never forgotten the story of the Baroon, the blue-haired Spurn who had become lost on this island. They had found him almost at the water’s edge. His hair, which looked to be reaching for the water, had lost all color and was brown and shriveled. From that day on they’d been warned to never let their hair dry out. It was a living entity that was essential for each one’s survival. Cutting a Spurn’s hair was tantamount to cutting off an arm.

But Talina knew that she was different.

When she was younger, she had allowed her hair to dry completely – with water at the ready just in case – but she had only experienced mild discomfort and a dry mouth.

Raror
touched her arm. “I’m sure they will have water available when we reach the buildings.”

Eyes crinkled with worry, she continued to shoot glances at Raror. The walk felt like it was taking
forever, but eventually Talina noticed a small lagoona-clad building in the distance. Progress had been slow and members of the clans were staggered along the beach.