Smoke and Mirrors (31)

Thirty-One

Pull me Under

---

“It’s just water! You’ll be fine!”

“But there’s a whole kingdom down there–I don’t like super deep water.”

“You’re literally the future queen of water! Are you kidding me?!”

I swallowed a bite of air jelly from my jar and tightened the lid on it before sticking it in my satchel, which was slung around my shoulders. It was tasteless and slimy, and I felt no different after eating it.

I stared at the road that disappeared beneath the teal waves. Sterling was already waist-deep in the water and looked back at me like I was a fish who should have had no problem with the sea.

“No–but I don’t know what’s down there,” I mumbled. “There could be krakens, or giant sharks, or–”

“--You’re the blasted princess of water. You just have to walk in and swim.”

I sucked in a breath and stepped forward. A wave crashed forward, knocking into my ankles. I tensed up. “I can’t do this. It’s not like walking into my kingdom–this is actually under the water.” My arms wrapped around myself–the only semblance of a shield I had against the endless abyss of the ocean before me.

He sighed and waded back to me. “Let’s try something else then.”

Suddenly, mirrors poured from his hands and encased my wrists. He ran into the water with me in tow, and before long, the ocean cut off my screams. All noise was muffled as water filled my ears and the cold chilled my skin.

I was powerless as Sterling dragged me further, deeper and deeper into the sea. Everything was a blur of blue. I didn’t even get the chance to see the coral reefs or the fish, and I barely saw the way the sun danced in the waves, filtering over everything like flashes of light through crystal.

How could he swim so fast?!

I had been holding my breath for as long as I could, which I knew was pointless, but I was afraid of testing the air jelly. When I could no longer hold my breath, I risked inhaling the water.

Water poured into my mouth and nose and plunged down my throat, but it didn’t burn. I could feel it sliding into my lungs. I exhaled and water pushed out of my lungs.

“Wait!” I called out, trying to get Sterling to slow down, but my words came out in bubbles at first, then stopped altogether. I tried to speak, but my voice didn’t work.

I gritted my teeth and yanked on his arm–hard. He stopped and looked back at me with a shrug, which allowed my eyes to adjust. Everything was blurry, but I felt my eyes ache, as if I was looking into the light after standing in a dark room. Suddenly, everything was as clear as if I wore goggles.

I motioned to my throat and tried to talk, but since nothing came out, my message was obvious; Where is my voice?!

He rolled his eyes and gestured something with his hands.

I shrugged again.

He shook his head and swatted away my question, then we continued to swim, although we went slower now.

The light danced through transparent fish that glowed in the dim water. I tried to touch one, but Sterling sped up then and I missed.

I jerked on the mirrors that bound my wrist again and he stopped to look at me. I shook my hands angrily. Can I get these things off of me now?!

He paused and the mirrors released me. I grinned, rubbing my wrists, and he motioned for us to keep going.

I’m not sure how long we swam, but it seemed like forever. The light grew dim from the sky, the fish began to get bigger and harder to find, and more of them started to glow.

–And the water got colder. At first, I fought the cold by warming my surroundings, which caused Sterling to stop and look at me with wide eyes.

What I would have given to be able to explain that I didn’t pee, I just warmed things up a bit.

The water seemed to grow thicker and harder to swim in as my muscles grew tired. Sterling seemed fine, but I was definitely not. My legs burned from kicking, and every now and then we would hit a current that we had to fight through, which only made it worse.

Eventually, I stopped swimming. Sterling kept on without realising I was lagging behind. I knew I had to keep going or I was going to lose him, but I was just so exhausted from swimming. I forced myself to move, but my pace was slow.

I seriously needed to start working out more. Then again, if I didn’t survive this journey, I’d never need to workout again.

Finally, Sterling glanced back and noticed my lack of motion. He pursed his lips and waved his hand towards me, which sent a thick strand of mirror spiralling around my waist, reflecting the sunlight above. I allowed him to pull me to what very well might have been my doom, but at that point, I didn’t care. I was exhausted and he was moving me.

He dragged me for a long distance before anything really interesting happened.

Suddenly, Sterling stopped swimming and I felt the water ripple behind me.

I turned my head quickly, but nothing was there. I noticed that Sterling seemed to be scanning the area as well. His pale eyes reflected the sea as perfectly as his mirrors did. Compared to his dark hair, they almost seemed to glow.

Stop looking at his eyes, you moron!

I blinked and forced myself to keep swimming, despite my burning muscles. Deep beneath us, kelp swayed like solemn dancers in the water, creating a perfect hiding place for fish–or monsters. I swallowed.

Suddenly, something brushed my ankle. It was slick and fast, and I felt my stomach sink as I jerked around to see what it was.

Nothing was there.

I turned back to Sterling, but he was still swimming, oblivious to my fears.

I felt like I was hyperventilating–water pulled into my lungs and expelled quickly, which tired me even faster. I jerked on the mirror tether between us to get him to stop.

I kicked my legs to keep me in place and pointed towards the kelp.

He glanced down at the swaying plants. If I hadn’t just felt something touch me, I would have thought it looked tranquil. Rays of light beamed through the water and slid across leaves and stalks of the tall plants. Nothing was there except small fish.

He looked back at me with a raised eyebrow.

I thinned my lips and pointed back at the kelp, then gestured to my leg, punching it–slowly–to show that something had touched me.

He shook his head at me and continued gliding through the water as if he’d done it all his life.

I sighed and continued kicking my legs. It was no use–without words, how could he understand me?

A streak of dark grey flashed past us. It was so quick, I almost thought I imagined it–but I knew I hadn’t. A sudden current following behind the mystery creature caused Sterling and I to stop.

We looked at each other. He pointed down to the kelp, then used his fingers to mimic the swimming motions of a fish. Then he pointed to me.

I blinked and looked down at the kelp, swaying ominously in the gentle currents. They looked like they went on forever and their bases were shrouded in shadows.

I gulped a mouthful of saltwater–which was disgusting, let me tell you–and tried to propel myself towards the kelp as quickly as I could.

Suddenly, something raced out from the shadows of the kelp and tackled Sterling just behind me. I froze, my mouth gaping as my eyes adjusted to the object.

A mermaid–or rather, a merman–arched through the water around Sterling, peering at him from upside-down through a mop of hair as dark as midnight. His tail was a dark mossy grey, with speckled patches throughout it that were pale like the skin of his neck, arms, and torso. Most of his torso was covered with some kind of sash that seemed to be made from a blend of woven kelp and fishing nets. The fins on his tail were divided into four sections; they fanned open and close like a squid as he swam.

Sterling’s eyes were wide, then he quickly began to sign something to the merman. His hands moved quickly and reminded me of sign language back on the Outside.

The merman rolled over and looked at him normally now before signing something back to Sterling. I noticed that he had long claws the color of the mossy green of his tail and his hands were webbed. On his bicep was a glowing design of some sort, similar to the one Sterling had on his arm. It swirled and crept beneath the sash he wore.

Sterling conveyed something that seemed to make the merman curious. With a swift move, he opened Sterling’s jacket and ripped the sleeve of his shirt, where the seam connected it to the rest of his shirt.

I gasped–silently, of course–and watched as the merman took notice of Sterling’s design, which glowed more brightly now that he was awake than it did in that room in the Shadow Realm so many nights ago.

The merman released Sterling’s jacket, then made a fist against his palm and bowed his head over it. Sterling returned the gesture.

The merman turned to me and gave a wave of his webbed hand, accompanied with a smile.

I was still too surprised to move, but slowly, the movement returned to me and I began kicking my legs again. I returned the wave.

After all, it wasn’t every day that you got to say hello to a merman.