Smoke and Mirrors (34)

Thirty-Four

People of Shadow

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Go to sleep?! We’ll talk more in the morning?! How dare he, first of all. Second of all, I’d like to knock some sleep into him! I was so close. So close to breaking that shell of ice that kept me from figuring him out.

And he wanted me to sleep?!

I screamed–silently, since water didn’t carry words–and kicked one of the loose shell fragments on the floor of my room.

Shells, barnacles, and lots of broken pieces of wood decorated my room. They made up the walls, framed the door, and also made up the imaginary weapon I was planning to knock a certain King of Mirrors over the head with.

I took a deep breath and made myself go to sleep.

***

Something nibbled at my toes.

I awoke immediately and pulled my legs back to see a cloud of glowing fish swimming around my feet. I gave them a bewildered expression and slipped out of my cocoon.

I swam over to a trunk beside an old broken mirror, which was full of traditional merfolk clothing provided by the king. Everything was thin and light, and consisted mainly of shirts and smaller scraps of fabric. The shirt I pulled out was weaved of an odd, leafy material–likely kelp, but I wasn’t sure–and was fitted around my waist, where it flowed out over my hips. There were no pants, and I wasn’t about to swim in just a shirt, so I left my leggings on beneath it.

I left my room and explored the lobby out of both boredom and curiosity. There was a display case that looked like it was pieced together from different colors of broken glass shards. Inside was a giant piece of wood, still in perfect condition despite its current location. There was some kind of a board in front of the wood with an inscription on it in another language, but I couldn’t read it.

Servants busied themself with shooing out small clusters of fish, sweeping sand that settled on the floor out of the room with their speckled tails, and straightening up paintings that small currents had dislodged. When they saw me enter, almost immediately they stopped what they were doing and signed some kind of message to me, then bowed. They almost seemed synchronized with their message and I felt bad that I didn’t understand it.

I offered a smile and a thumbs-up.

–But apparently that wasn’t a good sign, because several of the mermaids promptly raised their noses at me and one of the younger mermaids looked like she would have burst into tears, were we not already surrounded by water.

I gaped and tried to shrug away my mistake, but it only looked like it made things worse.

Sighing, I left the room as quickly as I could before I accidentally did something else I wasn’t supposed to do.

–Then I made another mistake by crashing into a figure.

I thought at first that it was another mermaid, but I soon realised the figure had legs.

The next thing I observed–mind you, it all happened rather quickly–was that her eyes were golden, and widened when they saw me. I barely noticed them because her face was covered by a dark scarf which was wrapped around her head. Before I had a chance to even attempt signing an apology, she slipped away, down a corridor and into a room.

Those eyes were so familiar. It didn’t take me long to realise who they belonged to.

Seraphina.

When it hit me who I’d just smacked into, I quickly turned and kicked my feet as fast as I could. It felt like I couldn’t swim fast enough–as if the sea was fighting against me and time had stood still.

This was it–I could get that horn and fix everything.

I followed her into a series of rooms and hallways lined with glowing sponges and coral pieces, then down a tunnel that led to some kind of large room with tablets of stone on the walls.

She stopped and turned to me then. A moment later, Sterling rushed into the room, and a cat-like grin broke out over her face. She waved us up, then surfaced above us.

Sterling glanced at me, then began swimming after her, so I followed.

When we surfaced, I realised we were connected to some sort of dark cave. Stalactites hung menacingly from the shadowed ceiling like the claws of a monster. Torches almost seemed as if they were meeting the wicked claws as they reached upwards with fire, casting eerie darkness on our surroundings and mingling it with flashes of orange and red.

The air felt cold and light on my face and my hair clung to my skin as we crawled onto the floor of the cave. Rock crumbled like ash into the palms of my hands as I dragged myself onto the ground. I had never noticed feeling so heavy before, but after floating in the water for so long, my body just seemed drawn to the ground in a way I’d never realised. My steps were slow and unsteady as my brain waited for a wave to catch me–but no wave came, which caused me to stumble.

Sterling seemed to fight the same battle, because he stumbled forward and caught himself on the side of a stalagmite. I snickered at him and he narrowed his eyes at me.

“S–” My voice was cut off as a wracking cough broke through my throat. I tried again; “Seraphina?! Where are you?!” My voice sounded nasally, as if I had a cold.

“Keep walking,” I heard her voice reply. “I bet you both have a lot of questions for me.”

I began to rush forward once I found my balance, but Sterling grabbed my wrist tightly and held me back.

“Tell us where you are,” he demanded, then ducked his head as he began hacking and coughing.

I pulled my wrist from his grip, but proceeded forward more cautiously than before.

“I’ll come to you,” she replied, “but I have a reason for having you two here, so don’t do anything rash.”

Seraphina was dressed in a dark hood that matched the shadows of the cave as she stepped forward, saltwater dripping onto the stone flooring from her dress. Her eyes glowed gold in the dark, just like the fire from the torches.

“Where is Adrian?” I couldn’t help asking. “How could you kidnap your own son?!”

Her eyes met mine. “Trust me, darling. Kidnapping him is the farthest thing from my mind. I needed him with you just as much as he wanted to be with you.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but as her words hit me, my words died before they had even formed.

“Wait,” Sterling cut in, “what do you mean? Where is he?”

Seraphina inhaled. The air smelled cold. If cold was a scent, it would smell like rock and water, like seafoam and ashes mingled with charred wood from Seraphina’s torches. Being here, with her in front of us, scared me. “My sister took him.” She narrowed her eyes at me for a moment. “Your mother.” The look passed and she waved a hand in dismissal. “Look, we need to get down to business. I asked for you to come here for a reason. All the clues were only pieces of a bigger puzzle.” She inhaled. “You need to remember things that some have begun to dismiss.”

I shook my head, anger welling up within me. “My mom didn’t take anyone! I know what you’re up to–you’re trying to turn me against her. She told me what you were like when y’all grew up together. She showed me the scar on her arm where you burned her.”

Something akin to a smile flashed across her face for a moment. “I admit, I did some pretty bad things to her.” She tilted her head at me. “And you know what? I don’t feel sorry about it. I’m cruel, aren’t I?” I gaped at her, but she only laughed. Sobering, she said, “Look, despite our differences, you and I have more in common than you think, Tanwen. My goal is to help you see past the blinders your mother wanted on you.”

I bit back a reply on her use of my real name. “What if I don’t want to have anything in common with you?”

She sniffed. “Then that’s a pity, but I couldn’t care less what you want.” She looked at Sterling. “You now know what your mother did, don’t you?”

He tensed beside me, but said nothing.

“Come on,” she continued with a voice like oil. “Aren’t you curious at all about why she did what she did?”

“Only people selling something have to hook their audience. Spit it out, Seraphina.” His voice was rigid.

She pulled her hood down. “Fine. I won’t put syrup on anything though–your father forced your mother to kidnap the mermaids, since killing them would have alerted the entire merfolk group.” She looked at me. “You probably don’t know about that, but merfolk put off a chemical when they’re murdered that alerts other merfolk and permanently follows the murderer.” She turned back to Sterling. “But you don’t seemed surprised at this. Why?”

“I figured it out when I saw the mirror. I never knew about the scene the mirror caught, but when I saw it, it clicked.”

She watched him for a moment, then shrugged. “It all goes deeper than just that. This isn’t just about the mermaids. Your father was a part of a whole network of people laced intricately throughout the fabric of the Inside world’s kingdoms.” She looked at me. “Tanwen, you may not know this, but there are people your father has thrown out from his court who are a part of the network.” She paused for a moment, as if she was carefully gauging my expression. Then she added, “Among the members of the network is your own mother.”

I furrowed my eyebrows, unsure of what this information meant. “Wait–how do you know she’s part of it? Who is this network? What is their goal?”

Sterling exhaled loudly. “This is another trick, Tessa. Another false clue leading us to nowhere, just like all the others. Isn’t that right, Seraphina?”

She ignored him and her gaze bored into mine. “Aren’t you just a little curious about why there’s an entire prophecy written about you, Tanwen? Don’t you feel that it’s wrong to destroy a part of yourself that you were destined to use for good? Don’t let your betrothed’s thoughts become your own. You need to use your own judgment here.”

“Yeah–there’s a prophecy written about her,” Sterling cut in, “but it says she’s going to die.”

I flinched at that. So many thoughts swirled through my head and I didn’t know which ones to follow. “How can I trust you?” I asked her. “How do I know this–this network is even real, or that my mother belongs to it?”

“They want to control us, Tanwen. All of us. It will start here, but once they’ve gotten every last royal under their control, once they’ve banished the Fates, none of this will matter anymore because it will all be gone. And no one sees it but me.”

“Maybe that’s because everyone else is sane,” I replied sharply. “If no one else believes you, and they’ve been here for generations, then why should I believe you?! I’m a complete stranger to your world!”

She raised her chin at me. “Exactly. You are a complete stranger. Don’t you wonder why your mother kidnapped you? What purpose would it serve? Why keep you isolated and fatherless your entire life?”

I bit my lip and glanced at Sterling. He was staring straight ahead at Seraphina. His eyes looked like they should have been shooting strands of mirrors at her.

Seraphina chuckled. “Deny it if you want, but it makes sense, doesn’t it? That’s because it’s true. Sterling, your father was part of this group. He detested the merfolk. You know that better than anyone.”

“Why?” His voice broke. She’d hit a nerve. “What did getting rid of the merfolk have to do with anything?”

“Because one of them was supposed to be the group’s destruction–their downfall. They couldn’t have that, of course.”

I sighed. “Prophecies are so annoying. Why have them at all if they’re just going to let the bad guys know where to strike next?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Prophecies are like people. Each one has its own potential for either good or bad, but they deserve the chance to live out which direction they’ll take. You can’t tell from the start how every one of them will turn out. The ‘bad guys’ just happened to be good at deciphering it. However, your mother had an agenda of her own, and it involved kidnapping her own daughter and forcing her to live in solitude. She joined the group because they could help further her cause.”

“What is this group called?” Sterling asked.

She eyed him for a moment. “No one knows. I’m one of the very few people who even knows an entire group exists, and that’s only because my sister is part of them.”

“How do you know if they’re bad then?” I tucked a strand of dripping hair behind my ear and used my power to warm myself. Steam slowly began to rise from my body.

“Any group whose mission is to bring power to themselves and take away the freedom of the people is bad,” she replied bitterly. “They’ve had their roots in our history for far longer than any of us can remember. As best as I can tell, it started with Lady Wyrn–or at least someone very close to her.”

Sterling gaped. “Lady Wyrn? But that was–forever ago. How could she be bad? She rescued children during the war when no one else would!”

She tilted her head at him. “Or is that what your history books have told you? They started the war to make her look good. It was all part of their plan.”

I shook my head. “Lady Wyrn–the same Lady Wyrn from the photo in the Hall of Shadows?”

“The very same.”

“But. . . how?” I asked. “I thought she was, like, some great–saint or something. How is she bad?”

“It’s all very complicated and this meeting would take days if I told you everything I know about what they’ve done, but Lady Wyrn was one of the first members of the group as far as I can tell. She was rich and had a lot of Talents, so the group included her as one of their own and went through a lot of trouble to make the people love her.”

“Why would they want the people to love her?” I questioned.

“Because syrup draws bugs better than thorns. Their goal was to strip the people of our powers–and they’ve succeeded. Now, when we look back, all we see is that the ancients were under oppression because villains had a lot of power. They’ve erased our history to hide the fact that there were heroes who stepped in to defend themselves, their families, and their communities. Don’t you get it? They lied to us.”

Sterling shook his head. “You just want to keep the unicorn horn. Towns are being destroyed right now because young children can’t control their fire powers in a town made of ice! Didn’t you think of what kind of problems this could bring on the people?!”

She waved her hand at him. “Of course there will be rough patches, but it’s necessary if we want to save our people from the oppression of the network. Imagine a life where people easily have fourteen Talents again! We were designed to be free and they’ve stolen this from us.”

He scoffed. “You’re disillusioned. If this was a problem, the royals would be on it, wouldn’t they? Isn’t it kind of convenient that you’re the only one worried about this?”

She squinted, her gold eyes narrowing to slits. “I am royal and I am on it. Your mother tried to fight them, but she was weak, Sterling.”

He stepped forward angrily. “Watch what you say about her. She was stronger than anything you’ll ever know.”

She held up her hands in defense. “Oh, don’t get me wrong–it wasn’t her fault she was weak. Your father did a number on both of you from what I hear. But that doesn’t change the fact that she was weak and unable to do what was necessary to stop them.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “You were her biggest weakness. Pity you didn’t grow up to be better than your father.”

He growled and yanked her hand off his shoulder as if it burned. Maybe it did. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

I stepped back, afraid of what was about to happen. Tension was thick in the air.

“Don’t I?” she asked. “Look at yourself. Your hands have the power to heal, and what have you done? You’ve threatened my niece’s life. Your future bride. How are you any better?” She let her words hang there like a heavy storm over him.

I swallowed. On one hand, I wanted to shout, “Yeah Seraphina, tell him!” But I also wanted to hide in case Sterling went all crazy-psychopath on her. Or me, for that matter.

“If you’re not careful,” she added in a low voice, “you’ll allow your hatred to turn you into a copy of him. Do you want that?”

He stayed silent, but I could feel waves of quiet anger rolling off of him.

She turned to me and her tone lightened. “Anyway, Tessa, Tanwen, whatever your name is, I believe you and your betrothed are destined to stop this group. They’re an unforeseen evil–just like the prophecies say. But you’re going to die, and if someone”--as she said this she turned to Sterling–”doesn’t watch how he acts, he’s going to let the kingdoms fall to ruin. You have to be bigger than your anger, understand me, boy?”

Sterling replied, “I don’t make promises. What are you wanting us to do, Seraphina? You didn’t just lead us out here to give us a history lesson, did you?”

She grinned. “The lesson is only another puzzle piece. I need you to get my son back.”

“Why can’t you do it?” I asked.

She snorted a rather undignified snort. “They’re looking for me, of course. And thanks to you, I have the rest of the kingdoms keeping an eye on me as well. That’s why I hid here–Fire Talents hate water.” She grimaced at the pool of water behind us, which sloshed against the rocks like a lullaby. “No one will ever look for me here.”

I fidgeted with the kelp hem of my shirt. “But I don’t even know where he is.”

Her grimace fell and a look of solemnity replaced it. “They’re holding him captive as an attempt to force me to obey them. As much as I love Adrian, I can’t do it. This is always what they do when they find a royal is unwilling to obey their commands–they threaten those close to them. Well, Adrian is the only person I care about in this entire blasted world.” I thought I saw a tear in her eye for a moment, but the shook her head and it was gone. “I need him back. He’s important.”

Sterling looked at me, then at Seraphina. “We’ll discuss it and get back to you with an answer.”

As much as I wanted to jump in right away and say that, yes, we’d save him, I had to agree with Sterling. We needed to think about this rationally before we agreed.

However, I did ask, “Where is he?”

A rueful grimace curled her lips. “The Dream Realm.”