Torrents (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 3) (25 page)

     I was just about to cry for help when she suddenly leapt away from the battle and dashed beneath the trees across from me. For only a moment did I remain hidden. Everything around me seemed to come alive.

     The legion of Hyven from the Outpost descended into the valley, their blades ready for blood, only to be met by Zale and the soldiers behind him. Tunder was fighting his way through the battle, and I thought I caught a glimpse of Kryssa’s black hair, but couldn’t be certain.

     For only a split second longer I remained where I was standing, then I launched myself through the wreckage of the battle and into the trees, in direct pursuit of the blonde mermaid.

     Her footsteps were light, and she ran fast, but I could hear each step like I never had before. They called out to me as though it was my destiny to hunt her down. My energy had returned and I was moving faster in the woods, dashing around the tree trunks and over roots with a grace I’d never possessed. My steps were gaining on her and with each bounding leap, I tried to think of what I would do once I caught her.

     Grass turned to dust beneath my feet as we broke out from the cover of the trees and ran down the hill toward the ocean waves. The cacophony of the battle echoed in the distance, but my only thought was of the girl before me. The white-washed buildings passed by in a blur, but the rippling hair of the mermaid was all I focused on; her padded footsteps a beacon.

     I continued to catch up, but as the ocean unfolded before us I knew there wasn’t enough space. I gathered my voice within my throat as a sliver of a doubt passed through my mind, worrying its way into my gut. The memory of Verna was all too clear.

     The small distraction caused a fissure in my concentration and I stumbled to the ground. When I regained my feet, she was twenty yards ahead of me and picking up speed. I pushed on as the overpowering need to stop her overcame me, but my voice seemed to catch in my throat. I was only returning to full speed when she launched into the air and plunged into the depths of the water.

     With a sudden halt, I came to a pause at the water’s rushing edge. Each breath escaped through my lips painfully, the air filling my lungs but not releasing the worry in my mind. Her fins disappeared sooner than I expected, and I knew there was nothing I could do to stop her.

     My fingers trembled and I shook as I gazed out over the water, knowing it wasn’t over. I had hoped, wished, tonight might be the end of it all, but it wasn’t.

     Looking down, my mouth fell open and I remained in place staring. Eyes wide, it was all I could look at, even as the echoing cries of the battle came to an end.

     A call of triumph split the night air, but I didn’t move. I was shaking from head to toe when he called out my name, the worry in his voice evident.

     His shirt was cut, scrapes and battle wounds tracing his arms, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. When he saw me, his shoulders relaxed, and when I looked down again, he was there in an instant. I wanted him to take my hands, but knew he couldn’t.

     “Relax,” he said, the word passing over me like rippling water.

     Concentrating, I closed my eyes and tried to do what he said, but couldn’t. “It’s done,” I murmured. He nodded, I felt a single tear escape my control and roll down my cheek.

     Standing before me, he looked down at my hands. His eyes shining from the glimmer reflecting off them. I looked down once more and with as much control as I could muster, my hands stopped shaking, the tips of my fingers stretching and holding the mermaid blades still.

     I was no longer human.

It took only a moment longer for me to realize what had happened. My mind slowly caught up with the rest of my body, and when I raised my eyes to Zale’s, I hardened my heart against what I would see. He pitied me, that much was obvious, but I straightened my spine and lifted my chin.

     “Are you okay?” I asked him, he had been through more than me.

     He nodded and laid one of his hands on top of mine. “Relax,” he said again, soft and sure, in the swirling wind.

     I concentrated on doing what he asked, and as soon as the muscles in my arms and hands stilled, the blades retracted, disappearing as though they had never existed.

     From a ways off, the sound of pounding feet reached us and I looked up to see their approach, but it took longer than I expected for them to appear. My ears were able to pick up on their pursuit much earlier than before.

     Calmric and Jonco passed through the shadows of the trees, both looking a little worse for wear. Their hair was matted and stuck out at odd angles, dirt and grime covered their arms and they had matching cuts along their shoulders and legs. Concentrating on maintaining steady breaths, I started walking toward them knowing where I was headed.

     I never let go of Zale’s hand as we walked back to the valley. Somehow, the events of the last hour were a blur in my mind, as though they hadn’t happened. But I couldn’t deny their existence when I saw the wreckage in the valley.

     Wounded lay on the ground and the Lathmorians were tending to them, skirting over the trodden-floor of the valley to help those holding onto open wounds. Soft groans, murmurs of encouragement and care drifted in the air, while the scent of blood mingled with the salty breeze. Those who were wounded were beginning to gather their strength, others weren’t so lucky. I averted my eyes from their pale lifeless forms.

     Lathmorian soldiers were lifting injured bodies between them, hurrying to give the hurt the relief they would find in the embrace of the ocean waves. Near where we entered, Gendra was heaving a wounded merman beneath her arms. One of his legs was badly wounded, and he cursed her as she lifted his shoulders off the ground. Eyes wide, she searched for help, but I was already moving.

     Together we braced the merman between us, his slimy fingers struggling to gain a hold, as we carried him to the lapping ocean waves. When the salted embrace touched the soldier’s leg, he sighed in obvious relief. I needed no further encouragement.

     For what seemed to be hours, I helped Gendra carry the wounded to the shore. We moved among the bodies with a practiced ease. There were no words between us as a bond was formed in the necessity of the moment. Only every now and again was I aware of Zale, looking my direction. He carried those who had breathed their last into the waves.

     Leaning over a mermaid with a deep cut across her chest, I knelt in the water to let it embrace her. Gendra’s hands helped to press on the wound, the water turning a dull pink as the mermaid’s blood drifted into the depths. She was gasping for air and I crooned to her softly, my voice drifting as she closed her eyes. It was only when her body relaxed in my arms that I finally looked up.

     “Thank you,” Gendra said, her voice clogged. The leader’s blonde hair was matted to her head. Whether from sweat, the sea spray or the blood of the wounded, I couldn’t tell. “She was one of the good ones.”

     With a trembling hand, she reached forward and closed the mermaid’s eyes.

     “What was her name?”

     “Wansa,” she said softly. I nodded as though it made a difference, but it didn’t. Gendra’s hand wrapped around my own. “Let her go.”

     Swallowing, I did as she asked and the mermaid’s body was pulled into the waves. Refusing to cry, I stared at the spot where her body had disappeared. Gendra left, her steps splashing me, but I remained in the water. It wasn’t until Zale called my name, that I moved, forcing myself to push past it all.

     He took my hand as soon as I stepped onto the shore, and I leaned into him.    

     We entered the valley once more. Across from where we entered, Tunder was commanding a group of Lathmorian soldiers surrounding Hyven prisoners. They knelt on the ground, arms raised behind their heads, as metal cuffs and braces were snapped over their forearms and hands. As we approached, a command was given and the prisoners were led from the valley toward the palace—their feet dragging beneath the weight of the chains securing their ankles. Verna would have company tonight.

     I scanned the valley, noting Nixie and Kryssa helping some of the wounded. Off to the side, was Daggin, his eyes shifting between the prisoners and his wife, always making sure she was safe, and Elik stood beside him, giving orders to the mermen from the Outpost.  Seeing them all safe loosened the grip on my gut.

     “Everything fine?” Tunder turned toward us upon our approach. In the pitch of the night sky it was difficult to make out his expression, but he appeared pleased with the carnage around him.

     “Only one escaped,” Zale replied, and the king bobbed his head once more. We came to a halt before him and he glanced at some of the fallen bodies within a stone’s throw from where we stood.

     “It’s done,” he said, but I couldn’t tell if he was speaking to anyone in particular, “for now,” he conceded.

     Zale nodded beside me, his expression harder to read than Tunder’s. Our hands were still intertwined and they rocked back and forth between us, if only gently. I wondered, half-heartedly, how it was so easy to control the blades now. There had been a moment, standing at the front of the island, where I had thought I would never be able retract them.

     “How did you know there were more?” Tunder asked, finally turning to fully face us, his gaze resting on Zale. It was the first time I had seen him look at Zale without disdain.

     “She told me,” he squeezed my hand and heat flooded my cheeks. Everything I had done seemed unreal, now that a stilled silence cloaked the island.

     “I saw them coming,” I said and shrugged. “All I did was run.”

     Tunder gave a half-laugh, and shook his head. “Whatever you did, it was enough. Only one missing, that’s more than I could’ve hoped for, even if it wasn’t their full force.”

     “There’s something else,” I said and swallowed around the lump in my throat. I didn’t know how to say the words, knowing what I had done might put others in danger. “I reached Zale with my voice, my siren voice. He wasn’t the only one who heard.”

     I could feel Zale’s eyes on me, he squeezed my hand a little tighter but I tried to ignore it as I confessed my deepest worry. If I was right, the battle won tonight meant nothing by the standards of what was coming.

     “The Hyven soldier who got away, she heard me and saw me. Then she ran. I tried to catch up, but I lost her.”

     Tunder nodded, and I tried not to notice the way his shoulders seemed to slump. So easily I was able to knock the confidence out of him.

     “She knows, and she’ll tell
him
,” I said, the gripping fear returning to my stomach.

     I knew it was true even as I said the words. I had known it the moment I watched the blonde mermaid take off into the shadows of the trees. It wouldn’t be long before Morven knew. He could only have hoped for me to gain my mermaid attributes tonight, but now he knew my secret. My voice was strong and powerful, ready for use.

     “You will stay with her at all times,” Tunder looked to Zale. “He can’t take her, if he does we will lose.” He spoke with such intensity, I could barely understand the weight of his words, though I knew they were true.

     Maybe it would take time, but I wasn’t as strong as Patrick. I wouldn’t be able to endure the beatings until I mindlessly gave in to the power of Morven. The Hyven leader could make me give in to him, somehow I had always been defenseless when in his midst. From the first moment I saw him in the churning waters when I was thrown overboard until we would face each other again, he had been waiting—lying in the shadows until I had come into my own. And now I had.

     “We need time.” Tunder mumbled.

     “A respite,” Zale agreed.

     “I can’t ask my people to fight like this again so soon. We need her to be safe and out of his reach.”

     Zale nodded once more beside me, “I’ll take her to the island.”

     His words drew my head up and when I looked between the two soldiers, their expressions matched.

     “Go,” the king said and jerked his head to the front of the island. “I’ll send word soon.”

     Without objection, Zale tugged on my hand and pulled me behind him. We wound our way through the wounded and past the bodies the Lathmorians were still struggling to take to the ocean shores. I tried not to think about them dissolving in the water.

     As we neared the edge of the valley, I caught Kryssa’s eye. She had a cut along the side of her forehead, but seemed to be all right. She nodded when she saw me leaving, and I knew she would come and visit when she had the chance. For now, the island was a necessary haven. It had hid Patrick for hundreds of years and maybe it would provide the relief the Lathmorians needed before more plans could be made.

     We took off into the water and wound our way through the ocean depths. I followed the black shimmer of Zale’s tail, finding it easier than ever before to keep up with him. He led us on a mindless route, sometimes pushing out in the opposite direction of the island only to double back and cross the other way. I wanted to ask what he was doing, but knew he had my best interests at heart and remained silent. If anyone knew about Morven and his ability to track, plan and attack, it was him.

     After what seemed to take twice as long, we reached the sloping rise of the sand-padded, ocean floor. I took one last inhalation to gather my strength and broke through the surface, landing on the soft shore in bare feet. Zale was already in front of me, fully transformed, his dark pants matching my own, but the gray fabric of his shirt dripped with water and clung tight against his chest, outlining each muscle. I relaxed quite suddenly. A feeling of coming home beginning to stir within my chest when he took my hand once more.

     Together we padded through the darkness, skirting around trees and ducking under low-grasping branches. More than once I felt as though I was seeing the island with a new set of eyes. Everything seemed to be closer together, as though without Patrick’s inhabitance the place had grown wild.

     Passing beneath swaying shadows of the stretching trees, he never hesitated for a moment, but pushed forward. Into the mouth of the cave, we were consumed by an overwhelming darkness. If he hadn’t been beside me, I never would have entered.     

     My grip on his hand tightened as he led us through the damp recesses and pulled off to the left, where the air was stale. A gritty sand floor met my feet and I knew we were in the cave room Patrick had shown me upon my first stay on the island.

     He let go of my hand and I came to a halt in the center of the room—an imminent feeling of being alone struck at the same moment. My better eyesight quickly adjusted, I could make out the looming walls encircling me. The scratch marks from Patrick’s time on the island faintly decorated every available space. Stepping forward, I let my fingers slide over the marks, remembering when he had first shown them to me and what had happened afterward.

     Making my way around the room, my fingertips grazed over the stone until I suddenly stepped on something soft. I shuffled back, surprised by its touch and startled for the moment. It was cool and soft beneath my feet. Working up my courage, I stooped to touch it and felt the softness of the gentle cotton fabric slide between my hands. Memories of a different visit to the cave bombarded my mind and I wondered where it was Zale had pinned me to the wall.

     “Lissie?” his voice beckoned from inside Patrick’s little armory.

     “I’m here,” I called back and straightened.

     “Take a hold of these,” he said, reappearing in the cave room, his arms filled with sheathed knives. He hefted them into my arms and I huffed from the weight, while trying to balance them against my body.

     “Expecting company?” I asked, unsure of where this humor was coming from.

     “Doesn’t hurt to be ready,” he grumbled, unamused, before returning to the small adjoining room. Resounding clanks and bangs echoed for only a moment before he reappeared, his arms once again full. I noted the many knives tucked into the waistline of his pants.

     “Can I put these down?” I asked, not sure of what he wanted me to do with them.

     “Only if you think you can’t make it to the cabin,” he said nonchalantly, hefting his own load.

     “We aren’t staying here?” my voice pitched on the last word and I wondered at its betrayal. It was true I felt safe inside the enclosed walls. It might be a little stuffy, but at least it was away from prying eyes.

     “No,” he grumbled.

     “Why not?”

     He sighed loudly, “Because I would rather know when something is coming than be trapped with no escape.”

     He said nothing further and left the room the way we came. Not knowing what else to do, I hiked up my cumbersome and awkward load to follow him back through the dank pathways, his shoulders blocking my line of sight. Only when a fresh gust of air brushed against my face did I feel stronger once more. Stepping into the night breeze, I strode by Zale’s side into the underbrush of the island.