The Serpent's Ring (Relics of Mysticus) (22 page)

COME DROWN WITH ME

AS EVAN’S THOUGHTS DRIFTED, DREAMS clamored for his attention. He stood on the cliff, begging Aegir to reconsider. Only this time, when Aegir turned, it was not the sea god’s face Evan saw. Someone else was trying to unlock Jormundgand.

“Who are you?” screamed Evan.

“Alamaz …” whispered the man, and then he was gone. A girl rose up out of one of the waves, and although her back was to Evan, he could see her body emerging from the sea foam. The Serpent’s Ring continued to rise, and Jormundgand was tumultuous.

“What are you doing?” Evan asked the girl, but she ignored him.

Something wrapped around his chest, and he was pulled back, hard against pitted rocks!

He sat upright in his hammock. And although he could breathe, his lungs felt squeezed.

“That dream felt a little too real,” said Evan, his hand clenching his chest.

In the dim blue light, he could see the room hadn’t changed. He climbed out of the hammock, and his foot landed on the floor. It was wet. He could hear the faint sound of rushing water, flooding into his room. He leapt off the hammock and raced for the door. But the water rose quickly and was soon up to his waist. Something wrapped around his chest and pulled him under! Evan fought, thrusting and kicking his legs.

Under the water, a girl’s voice asked, “Where is the Serpent’s Ring?”

Evan was released and rushed to the surface. The space between his head and ceiling was getting smaller. “Where are you? Show yourself,” gasped Evan.

“Where is the Serpent’s Ring?”

Evan didn’t answer, and again, she dragged him down. He searched, but all he saw was gushing water. Finally, a pale-faced girl came forth. She reminded Evan of Himinglaeva, with her pearly skin and beautiful features. But this girl’s expression was a lot less friendly. Her eyes narrowed, and her mouth snarled. She shook him violently, plunging him deeper into the water.

Evan thrashed around, until at last, his head erupted up into a small pocket of air. Again, he struggled for breath.

“I asked one simple question, and you will answer! Where is the Serpent’s Ring?” she shrilled from below.

“Why do you want the Serpent’s Ring?”

She didn’t answer. She yanked him down again, and this time, his back slammed against the floor! All of his reserve air shot out of his lungs. He couldn’t breathe; he was done for. What a fool he had been to believe he had succeeded on his quest.

Evan lay motionless, waiting for her to attack him again. She grabbed him by the neck and rushed him to the surface. He breathed in the salty air, wondering why she didn’t just end him.

“Think of the consequences,” Evan mumbled. “Your father does not want to flood the planet anymore.”

The water level dropped a little. A few inches away, sea foam sizzled and from it a girl’s head emerged. The ninth sister circled around Evan, glaring, her icy stare making him shiver.

“You have absolutely no idea who you are dealing with,” she said. “I am a daughter of Aegir and Ran, rulers of the sea. I am the wave Dufa. I have lived for thousands of years. And you are Evan, a young, naïve boy.”

“Yes, that’s true. But just so you know, I will not give you the Serpent’s Ring. In fact, it’s not even in this room.”

“You are a liar! I will find what I am after. It matters nothing to me whether or not you are alive to assist me.”

“Then you are going to have to let me drown. I will not help.”

“So be it!”

Water surged over Evan’s head, and he felt a mighty tug. Again, his body was slammed onto a hard surface. He twisted and turned. What could he do? There must be something. He thought and thought until an idea came to him. He concentrated and tried to push the water back. Nothing happened; the entire room was full with water. He needed to get the water out, but how?

The door! Cautiously, he used his mental powers to turn the door’s handle. Slowly and carefully, he imagined he was releasing the lock. It worked! The door swung toward the hallway, and water spilled out. Evan knelt on the floor, coughing and sputtering. When he tried to stand, he was whacked on the back. Pain spread from his head down to his knees. He fell forward and tried to regain his strength. He tried to stand, but again, he felt something wallop him.

Abruptly, Dufa’s long fingers stretched, encircling his neck! He reached back to grab her, but his hands simply passed through water. He concentrated on the hammock and swung it at Dufa. It wrapped around her watery body, but it flowed right through her. Evan’s options were running low, and again, he was knocked to the ground.

Water suddenly splashed above, beside and around him. Dufa and Himinglaeva struggled against one another. More waves arrived, all battling against their rogue sister.

An arm grasped Evan, yanking him out of the turbulence. He landed in the hallway, safe. It was Lazonia.

“Are you all right?” Lazonia asked, kneeling down to his level.

“Yeah, I think so,” said Evan.

“I heard commotion from your room. I am so sorry. I really thought you would be safe in there.”

“This wasn’t your fault,” he said, gripping his battered side.

“Evan!” Claire’s voice rang from a few feet away. “What happened? You look terrible.”

“Dufa … the missing wave … tried to kill me,” Evan said in between gasps. “Apparently … she doesn’t agree with Aegir’s new plan … she wants the Serpent’s Ring.”

“Is the Serpent’s Ring safe?” Sigurd asked, still approaching.

“Yeah … it’s right here,” Evan said and removed the Serpent’s Ring from inside his shirt.

“I’m just glad you’re all right,” said Claire, hugging him.

“Ow, I wouldn’t exactly say I was all right. She banged me up pretty good,” said Evan, wincing.

A furious Aegir thundered down the hall. “What is the meaning of this? How could Dufa continue to go against my wishes?”

“I am certain she believed she was following through with your wishes, Dear,” said Ran diplomatically.

“My wishes have changed!” yelled Aegir.

“For years, you have complained about how mankind has ruined your oceans. I am sure Dufa feels as strongly against man as you do.”

“You dare to say this is my fault?” questioned Aegir, stopping right in front of Evan.

“In some respects, yes, I do. She is always trying to gain your attention,” said Ran calmly.

“Perhaps, you are right,” Aegir said and looked down. “What have I done?”

“There is time to fix this problem,” said Ran, placing a hand on Aegir’s shoulder.

“You are correct,” Aegir said and looked at Evan. “We will discuss the terms of our peaceful resolution tomorrow.”

With that, the sea god whisked past Evan and stormed into the room. Ran was right behind him, whispering rational words of advice. From where he sat, Evan could hear Aegir howl in another language, and then the splashing water halted. The door slammed shut, and Evan was relieved he was not on its other side.

“I really don’t want to talk with him,” admitted Evan.

“Do not worry,” said Lazonia. “Gods generally do not discuss anything for long. They get to the point—very short and very brief.”

“Well, let’s hope. The less time I have to spend with Aegir, the better,” said Evan, looking up at his bedroom door. “I wonder how long they’ll be arguing in my room.”

“Why don’t you stay in my room tonight?” volunteered Claire. “I’ll keep an eye on you.”

“Thanks,” strained Evan, as he attempted to stand. “I’m exhausted.”

Sigurd rushed to his aid, “Here, let me help.”

Evan managed to travel the short, painful journey to Claire’s room.

“Hey, this room’s nicer than my room. What gives?” said Evan, upon entering her suite.

“I’m a teenage girl. I need more space, along with all of the other creature comforts,” rationalized Claire. “Evan, you can stay in the room over there.”

“I only had one room. How many rooms are in here?” said Evan.

“I don’t know, a few,” said Claire, leading Evan and Sigurd through a living room of sorts.

“There’s a TV?” Evan asked, noticing a few of Claire’s extra amenities.

“Of course, didn’t you have one?” said Claire.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Well, the shows are a little unusual. If it weren’t for the subtitles, I’d have no idea what anyone was talking about,” said Claire. “There’s this one show with three mermaids. It’s very good.”

“Oh, I love that show,” exclaimed Lazonia.

“Come on, I’ll help you get situated,” offered Sigurd, as he helped Evan onto the hammock. Once settled, Lazonia and Claire were swiftly at his side.

“What can I get for you?” Claire asked.

“A towel would be nice,” mumbled Evan.

“On it!” said Claire, dashing out the door.

“It has been a very long time since I have seen a television,” Sigurd said with a smile, leaving Evan alone with
his
mermaid.

“I cannot believe Dufa tried to kill you,” said Lazonia.

“Let me guess: she was always the sweet one,” chided Evan.

“No, she has always been aggressive. After all, her name means to dive.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. She tossed me around pretty efficiently,” Evan said with a weak smile.

“Of all the sisters, Dufa would be the one wanting to see Aegir’s plan through. Once she gets an idea in her thick head, that is.” After finding a small cloth, Lazonia wiped it over Evan’s brow.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to be her right now. Aegir looked really angry.”

“One thing is for certain, Dufa will be dealt with.”

“Lazonia, there’s one other thing that has been bothering me.” Evan sighed and looked away. “Just before Dufa tried to drown me, I had another nightmare.”

“And?”

“Alamaz was there, trying to unlock Jormundgand, but I’m sure it’s nothing. Right?”

“Let us hope it is nothing, but I will discuss this with Aegir … just in case.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

NOT AGAIN

EVAN SLEPT WELL THAT NIGHT, having happy dreams instead of nightmares.

“It’s time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty,” said Claire, as she poured water into Evan’s cup. “It’s almost noon. I’m pretty impressed with myself for resisting the urge to wake you earlier.”

“I slept that long? I guess I was really tired,” grunted Evan.

“Yeah, you hardly moved.”

“Thanks for watching over me.”

“No prob. But you need to get up. There are a few people who would like to see you. And you won’t believe this one; it looks like Alamaz
was
behind Dufa’s extreme behavior!”

“Alamaz? You mean that immortal guy who tried to steal the Mysticus from the gods—that Alamaz?”

“You know more than I gave you credit for,” Claire said with a smile.

“But I thought he was locked up in nightmares or something.”

“From what I understand, even though Alamaz has been trapped inside the Dungeon of Dreadful Dreams, he is still able to communicate with some creatures.”

“You mean to tell me, Alamaz is still in the picture?”

“Yes, it turns out he corrupted Dufa through her dreams. He convinced her to capsize the ship over the Great Reef,” said Claire, wandering to a chair shaped like a clamshell. She lifted a pile of nicely folded clothes and returned to Evan. “Here, Himinglaeva brought these for you.” With that, Claire tossed them onto her immobile brother. “And look, there’s a pair of shoes under the chair.”

“Finally, I can wear sneakers again,” said Evan, staring at the brown leather flip-flops. “Those aren’t really my style; could you maybe change them into sneakers?”

“When in Rome, Evan. When in Rome,” said Claire.

“I suppose that means you won’t change them.”

“No.”

Evan lifted the shirt to his face and inhaled—fresh, white cotton. It had been days since he had worn anything remotely clean.

“I see you also have some new clothes,” Evan said upon noticing his sister’s white dress.

Claire stood in front of the mirror, admiring her reflection. Her dress wrapped around her neck, scooped down in the back, and draped to her feet.