Beyond the Sea (41 page)

Melia nervously edged closer. Firelight danced from the cave opening. A shadowy figure thrust a blade into the flames. After a few seconds passed, someone screamed.

“Then I will find a way to end it myself,” the second voice cried. Melia placed the accent: it was the ceasg.

“Tsk tsk. And tell me, Mordag, how you will do that? The last time I checked, your hands were tied behind your back.”

“I can’t do it!” Mordag screamed. “I’ll give it back! It’ll be the first broken contract in the history of ceasgs.”

The gruff female let out a husky laugh. “Vaianu doesn’t want it back. And do you think he’s that dumb? Maybe he can’t use magic to make Melia love him, but he can make himself something Melia loves. We’re not done with you yet.”

Melia heard the scuffling and the distinct sound of someone getting slapped.

“Stay here,” Melia whispered to Nerina, placing the dagger in her hand. Without thinking twice, Melia burst into the cave. Like Oceanids, ceasgs were beautiful. Mordag was anything but. She was frail; her bones popped out over paper thin skin. Her white dress was stained with dirt and blood, and she was covered with scratches and bruises.

A large female adaro stood in front of her. Opposite them, bound and gagged, was Peter. His eyes bulged when he saw Melia. He shook his head, trying to tell her ‘no, don’t come in here’. Melia nodded and slowly took a step closer. Her eyes were fixed on Peter. She didn’t look where she was stepping. Leaves crunched under her feet.

“Celosa,” Melia hissed, recognizing the adaro. Celosa spun around, her terror turning into delight. “Well, looky here. Melia, my darling. I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

“Celosa,” Melia said in a level tone. “What are you doing?”

“Waiting for him,” the adaro said as if it was obvious. Melia sensed a disturbance in her aura. Other than the obvious, something wasn’t right. “It’s not true is it?” Celosa asked.

“Is what true?”

“That you love him?” she spat, disgusted, reeling away from Peter. “I didn’t believe him. Not
you
. Not Melia,” she said quickly, rocking back and forth. “You are too perfect to love a human.”

“Of course I don’t love him,” Melia tried to say with indifference. Melia could sense that Celosa was already coming unhinged. “Me, love a human? He’s close-minded, boring, selfish and-and…terrestrial.”

“Oh, good!” Celosa began rocking back and forth even faster. “I knew it wasn’t true. Not you, not my Melia. You are too perfect. I always liked you, you know. Always looked up to you. So pretty, so perfect. I wanted to be you. And now I will be. I will be, I will be.”

“Ok, Celosa, you can be me. Why don’t you let me take this disgusting human from your sight so you can get on with being me.”

“Can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Insurance. Vaianu’s gonna win, one way or another.”

“No, he’s not. I’m never going to agree.”

Celosa laughed. “Hence the ceasg. You’re pretty, Melia. But slow. You will agree and you will love him.”

Celosa meant to frighten Melia, and she did. The words terrified Melia right down to her very core. Her eyes flicked to Peter on their own accord. Something wasn’t right. If Vaianu could have used a wish to make her love him, he would have. She had to force her body to stay calm when she realized that was what the ceasg couldn’t do: create love.

“Celosa, you don’t want to be involved in this,” Melia tried to reason.

Celosa kicked Peter. “Yes I do. I helped start this war. You don’t get it, Melia. You wouldn’t. You grew up in the perfect family. Everyone loved you and your pretty sister. You could do no harm. You don’t know what it’s like.” Melia winced as Celosa kicked Peter again. “I looked up to you. I liked you. I wanted to be you. For years, you didn’t even know my name.” She kicked Peter once more.

“Celosa!” Melia screamed.

Celosa spun to face Melia. “Does it hurt you to see me do this?” she asked and kicked Peter again.

“Yes!” Melia cried. “It does, ok. Please, stop!”

“Then you admit to having feelings for a human.” She knelt next to Peter, taking a handful of hair with one hand, and picking up a rock with the other. She raised it. Before she could smash the rock against Peter’s skull, Melia lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. Reconnoitering, Celosa slammed the rock into Melia’s temple.

Melia shrieked in pain, losing her grip on Celosa’s throat. The ceasg sprang forward, hands closing around Peter’s wrists. Peter jerked away the best he could but the ceasg persisted. Instead of trying to injure him, she tore at the ropes that tied his hands behind his back. She was disobeying an order, causing blisters to painfully form on her hands. She screamed in pain but managed to loosen the ropes enough for Peter to slip free. He untied his legs and ripped the gag from his mouth.

“His soul,” the ceasg whispered in English to Peter, “is in the egg.” She recoiled in pain, the blisters popping and oozing. Forcing himself up despite the pain, Peter grabbed Celosa and pulled her off of Melia. He grasped Melia’s hand and helped her up, worried about her head injury. Celosa yanked a burning log from the fire, holding it in front of her as a weapon. Peter’s arm wrapped protectively around Melia, pulling her away from the crazed adaro. They backed into the cavern wall. They were trapped.

“He’s gonna be happy that I brought him both of you.” Celosa jabbed the burning log forward, causing little embers to dangerously fly around.

“Who are you talking about?” Melia asked, her confidence faltering.

“Me,” a gruff voice bellowed. Celosa squealed with delight. She dropped the log and jumped, moving out of the cavern’s small opening. Standing in the shadows was Vaianu.

Nerina!
Melia thought, panic bubbling inside of her. If Vaianu found her, she was dead for sure. She reached for Peter’s hand, trying to keep the tremble out of hers. She hadn’t heard Nerina scream. Maybe she was alive and got away. Maybe she was running through the woods right now, making an escape. Or maybe Vaianu got to her first. Maybe he killed her before she had a chance to realize what was going on. No, Melia had to stop. She needed to pull it together.

“I see you’ve made your choice,” Vaianu said, speaking in English so Peter could understand. “I’m disappointed Melia. We would have been great together.”

“Vaianu, stop. This-this has gone too far. You don’t have to do this!”

“Funny, that’s what your sister said.” Vaianu lumbered inside the cave.

Melia felt her heart flutter. “What?”

“Oh, Lana. That girl never could mind her own business. Even you can’t refute that.” He reached down and stroked Celosa’s fins. She leaned into him, looking like a love sick school girl.

“No! You!” Melia shouted. “You killed my sister!” She struggled against Peter. “She did nothing wrong! She was innocent!” Melia sobbed. “No! Why?! Why her and not me?” She broke away from Peter and jumped at Vaianu. Celosa dove in front of him, taking the blunt of Melia’s wrath.

Peter watched, frozen in horror, as Melia smashed Celosa’s head into the rocks multiple times before Vaianu shoved her off. Snapping out of his fog of fear, he rushed over and pulled Melia up. He pushed her behind him, wanting to protect her.

Vaianu laughed, stepping over Celosa, who coughed up blood. “You are more like your father than you think,” he told Melia.

“I am nothing like my father,” Melia retorted, bearing her teeth. “You. You are a disgusting, loathsome waste of life. And I swear, on Lana’s grave, that I will kill you!”

Vaianu laughed again. The fire flickered off something shining in his hand. Melia had been too preoccupied with beating the life out of Celosa to notice the trident. “Kill me, sweetheart, after I kill your lover.” He raised the trident, faltered, and then yelled in pain.

The ceasg, standing on weak legs, pressed the smoldering log into Vaianu’s back. He smacked her out of the way. She clattered to the ground, cracking her head on a rock as she fell. With no hesitation, Vaianu drove the trident into her back. Mordag’s body went limp.

“Melia,” Vaianu said, limping forward, eyes narrowing at the pain caused by his charred flesh. “All you have to do is agree. Marry me and I won’t kill your lover.”

“No!” Peter shouted. “Don’t do it, Melia.”

Melia put her hand on Peter’s shoulder. “I don’t believe you won’t hurt him.”

“I won’t. He’s not important to me. He’s just in the way of getting you. Once I have you…” An evil grin settled on his face. “He’s a stone, Melia. One tiny, insignificant rock at the bottom of my ocean. Let him come after you. And you can watch him sink.”

“I’ll kill myself,” Melia blurted. “I’d rather die than let you have me.”

“Be serious, Melia.” Vaianu rolled his eyes. “We both know that’s a lie.” He raised the trident. “You wouldn’t do that to your lover boy. And mostly, I know you won’t do it because it won’t solve anything.”

“It would keep you from getting what you want,” she spat.

Vaianu laughed. “You’re willing to die to keep me from getting what I want?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, I will kill you both!” He lunged forward. Peter wrapped his arms around Melia, prepared to take the lethal hit. But it never came. The trident clattered to the ground. Peter looked up, releasing Melia, and saw Vaianu drop to his knees. Standing behind him, holding a bloody dagger, was Nerina.

“Melia!” she cried, letting the weapon fall to the ground. She leapt over the fire. “Are you ok?”

“I think so,” Melia answered. She hugged her friend. “You saved us.” Distracted by Nerina, Melia didn’t notice Vaianu stagger to his feet. Peter did, and snatched up the trident, driving it into Vaianu’s chest.

“How is he still alive?” Peter asked, staring in disbelief.

“His soul,” Melia explained, her eyes settling on the dead ceasg. “It’s not in his body. He can’t die without it.”

“It’s in the egg,” Peter said, thinking it sounded ridiculous.

Melia gasped. “The egg!” Jamie’s visions. It was what Lana was looking for. “His soul, it’s in the egg. If we can find it, we can kill him.”

Before Peter had time to ask how in the hell they would do that, Vaianu rose to his feet, a harrowing scream escaping his lips. He dove for Melia. Peter lunged, knocking Vaianu back. He knew there was a steep and sudden drop off that would send them crashing into shallow, rock-riddled water. He didn’t intend on going over the edge with Vaianu. But he did.

Peter madly grasped at anything. For a split second he was airborne, falling, plummeting down to his death. Then his fingers laced through roots. It tore his skin, the exposed flesh stinging horribly as he hoisted himself back up. Melia screamed and almost tumbled off the edge herself as she looked for Peter. She reached out for him, pulling him back to safety.

He fell onto her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in as close as he could. Melia cried, and Peter scooted farther from the edge of the cliff. He cupped his hands around her face and kissed her. “It’s ok,” he breathed. “It’s over.”

Melia nodded, tears falling from her eyes.
It’s over
.

“Not to be the bearer of bad news,” Peter hesitantly stated, “but what are we going to do with her?”

Melia looked at Celosa’s unconscious body and then at Nerina. With a shrug, Nerina grabbed the adaro’s ankles. Melia took hold of her wrists. The girls hoisted her up and flung her body over the edge of the cliff.

“She’ll wake up eventually,” Melia explained.

Nerina knelt next to Mordag. “Should we sing the passing song?” she asked Melia.

“I think it’s too late,” Melia responded ruefully. “Peter, can you carry her?”

“The body?” he asked, taken aback. “Yea, I
can
.” But he didn’t want to.

“She didn’t deserve this. From what I heard. I want to give her to the sea.”

“Give her to the sea?” Peter questioned.

“Like a human funeral.”

“Oh, ok.” Awkwardly, Peter carried the body, very aware of the blood dripping onto his clothes. Afraid someone would see him hauling a dead person, he jumped at any sound, thinking it was a car passing by. They made it to the shore unnoticed. Nerina said something that sounded like beautiful poetry. As Melia requested, Peter set Mordag’s body down just above where the tide could reach. When Nerina was done speaking, she opened her arms to the sky above. And, as if it answered, a large wave washed upon them and carried Mordag’s body to her grave.

“Let’s go home,” Peter told Melia, taking her hand. Melia stopped. “What is it?”

“We need to find the egg.”

“Ok…” Peter shook his head. It was late and dark; he couldn’t see anything. “You need to explain that to me.”

Melia nodded. Taking a deep breath she said, “Mordag is—was—a ceasg. When caught, they can grant wishes.” She leaned against him, tired from everything they had just gone through. Nerina sat, and, seeming like a good idea, Peter sat too, urging Melia into his lap. “But it’s not that simple. The wishes don’t come without a cost. The cost is your soul. That’s what Mordag meant. Vaianu’s soul is hidden inside an egg. That’s what Lana was looking for. She-she must have known all along somehow.” Melia wanted to cry.

“So if we find the egg, we can destroy his soul?”