Smoke and Mirrors (32)

Thirty-Two

The City in the Sea

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Sterling and the merman silently conversed with their hands for the duration of our trip. I really wished I learned sign language, but then I began to wonder if they even spoke Outsider sign language. Who knew what Merfolk language was like?

I kicked my legs as fast as I could to keep up with Sterling and the merman. They were so fast–and it made me realise that during the duration of the trip here, Sterling had been going slower than he was now, which likely meant I was the cause.

Eventually the kelp beds disappeared as we swam deeper into the shadows of the sea. I could feel currents slide past me as I cut through the water, still clinging to his strand of mirror like a helpless child. We swam through darkness for a while, but soon it began to lighten as we grew closer to a city of lights.

I inhaled a mouth full of water as I saw the sight before me. Orbs of light seemed to light up the kingdom, throwing shades of every color onto buildings made of–Coral? Barnacles? I wasn’t sure yet, since they were still too far to see clearly. They looked gnarled and lumpy though, but I noticed that most buildings seemed to have a specific design to them. Some buildings were covered in red gnarled rocks–or likely coral–while others were blue, pink, orange, and a variety of other colors. Some even seemed to have patches of different colors.

One thing was obvious; these coral-like buildings had been crafted carefully and with a lot of thought.

As we drew closer, I had the opportunity to see the buildings up close. One building was being built as we swam slowly past it, which allowed me to realise that the outer colorful layer I saw was in fact coral, but that covered up something entirely different.

The largest clam shells I had ever seen before were being broken in half by merfolk and stacked together to fit like the pieces of a complex puzzle. The clams were shaped oddly, which made them perfect for fitting together. I noticed one side of the building had one side of a clam shell sticking out of the ground and was already growing small patches of coral across the outside of it.

Merfolk darted in and around the structures and I noticed that it really wasn’t all that different from the cities on the Outside. However, instead of chatter, the merfolk used their hands to communicate. I was able to glimpse deeper into their communication system when one young mermaid bumped her head hard on a large boulder and began making a whining, high-pitched noise. An older mermaid–likely an older sister, but I had no idea how family relations worked here–darted over and began signing with her webbed hands. The little girl rubbed her head and replied silently. It seemed like they used their hands to communicate normally, but when they urgently needed to, they could also produce sound.

What infatuated me the most though were the glowing orbs of light, randomly fixed around the city. I noticed that tiny, bioluminescent fish seemed to dart out of the glowing orbs and then back in, which caused the orbs to pulse with movement. I began to notice as we swam closer that they weren’t orbs of light, but rather many schools of glowing fish huddled tightly together that produced the lights. They were like swarms of gnats–but way more useful. If gnats produced beautiful lighting like this, I might have actually enjoyed the pests.

Sterling began yanking on the strand of mirror that I still clung to and I realised that I had stopped swimming to stare at the city. Could he blame me though?! This was easily the prettiest and most dream-like place I’d ever seen. This was the kind of place where artists came to live out their days in aesthetic splendor.

I continued kicking my legs and followed Sterling and the merman.

We arrived at a tall spiral of rock and coral that seemed to reach endlessly towards the surface. I couldn’t see where it ended–it just stretched off into the darkness of the sea above. It was elegantly decorated with giant gleaming pearls the size of basketballs, as well as orbs of polished crystals and metals.

We stood outside of what looked like an entrance into the building. Mermen with spears strapped to their backs and crossbow-like weapons swam out of the entrance and began signing to us. They looked dead serious. I was brave though–so brave that I hid behind Sterling. If either of us was going down, I’d much rather it was him. But hey, bravery came in different forms, right? I would be pretty brave if I tragically gave up the man I was supposed to marry so that I could save my kingdom. Right?

But he did drag you all the way down here, a thought chided.

I shoved it aside and continued watching the exchange between Sterling, the dark-haired merman, and the mermen that seemed to guard the spiral building before us.

They bowed their heads and let us to pass, which allowed me to breathe in a deep sigh of relief.

The structure was dark as we entered. We began swimming blindly upwards. I released Sterling’s mirror strand and swam by myself. My hand brushed the side of the structure and I realised that it was smooth and hard, not made of coral like the exterior.

The narrow structure ballooned out at one point. Some kind of blue glowing plants lit the room comfortably, allowing us to see everything. There was a door made of what looked like gold that guarded the next room. It soon opened and an older merman swam out, wearing a spiraling crown made of what looked like gold. All of the merfolk I’d seen so far looked alike; mossy grey tails with patches of paleness that matched what was on their faces and torsos, dark eyes, and a fin at the end of their tails that seemed to open and close a they swam.

He signed something to Sterling, who responded. Soon, the merman gestured for us to follow him, and we disappeared into the next room.

The next room was a large, bubble-like room filled halfway with air and halfway with water. We poked our heads into the air and I took a deep breath, then wheezed and began to cough up water. My lungs burned and felt as if they were on fire as I inhaled air, and I realised that breathing water was actually not so bad in comparison.

Sterling seemed to do the same thing I did, but he recovered sooner and turned to the king. “Thank you for allowing us to be here,” he started, then coughed again.

The king poked his head out of the water, as did the dark-haired merman. “Please, thank my son here. If he hadn’t found you, we might have attacked.” He had a thick accent that almost made him hard to understand. It reminded me of some I’d heard–through movies only–in Africa, but slightly different.

I inhaled, which caused me to cough again. When I recovered, I asked, “Attacked?”

He turned to me. “Yes, your Highness. You must understand our position though–we have not had the best experience with the Landkin.”

It felt weird to have a king address me as ‘Your Highness’. I shoved the feeling away and bowed my head. “I’m sorry, your Majesty.”

He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “You did not come here to apologize, I am sure. How can I help you?”

Sterling cleared his throat. “We have lost a vital tool to our people. A Unicorn’s Horn. If we don’t get it back, it could be the end of the lands, and even your own homes. The person who stole it has led us here–do you think you can help us?”

The king’s eyes widened. It dawned on me then that none of the merfolk I’d seen had eyebrows. “Yes, I know of your tool. They have led you here? But why? My people would not steal such a vital tool from you.”

“Oh no,” I cut in quickly. “Your people did not steal it. The woman who stole it is my aunt–and she’s leading us on a very long treasure hunt around the kingdoms. Her next clue was ‘The Mermaid’s Mirror in Aquilai.’”

He sucked in a breath that sounded like it rattled in his chest. “The Mermaid’s Mirror? How would your aunt know of that?”

I blinked. “I–I don’t know.”

Sterling added, “If you can help us, we’d greatly appreciate it.”

The king stared at the water sloshing against the side of the room. “Alright, if you’re sure it will help. But the mirror can’t leave here, yes? It stays in my kingdom.”

“Of course,” Sterling replied.

The king turned to the merman beside us–his son. “Bring it here.”

He nodded and ducked beneath the waves. When he returned, he was carrying a gold case decked with shining gems and pieces of bark. I thought the bark seemed odd, but maybe it had a different value for merpeople.

“This mirror has been passed down for generations,” the merman said. “It was my mother’s, before she was taken.”

Sterling accepted the mirror carefully. “I’m sorry about your mother,” he said quietly.

“Taken?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

Sterling turned to me. “His mother was one of the girls the Weeping Stones are dedicated to.”

I looked back at the merman with wide eyes. “Oh–I’m really sorry.”

He shrugged. “It was hundreds of years ago. I just wish we knew who did it.”

Sterling picked up the mirror out of the box and looked into it. The mirror began to swirl beneath his touch and showed something; a mermaid with dark hair slowly moved past the mirror’s view, then hovered beside one of the three mermaid’s beds. She poured something into the water right above the sleeping mermaid’s mouth, then did the same for the other mermaids.

She never turned towards the mirror. Her face was never shown, but I saw a glimpse of her arm and noticed she had a glowing mark there like Sterling and the merman did.

I heard Sterling inhale sharply. It echoed off the walls of the room. “That’s the mermaids–the ones that were stolen.” He looked up at the king. “Have you seen this, your Majesty?”

The king nodded solemnly. “When it first happened, I watched it for years almost every day. I looked for some clue–something to tell me who stole my daughters and how I could get them back.” He shook his head. “I drove myself insane with that thing.”

“What clue will this give us?” I murmured, staring at the mirror. “What is Seraphina doing?”

“I have a feeling I know,” Sterling grumbled, but I barely heard him. He looked up at the king. “Thank you for your help. If you’ll allow us to stay in your kingdom for a week or so, we might be able to find our horn. We won’t cause you any trouble.”

“Of course. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

So did I.