Enchanted Ever After (Mystic Circle) (28 page)

He shouldn’t have...but perhaps more had changed with his magic when the great orb from the earth had broken in the spring.

I will need to hear-feel the responses,
she snapped.

He flicked his nictitating lids up and down in apparent surprise.
The bubble is permeable to sensation.

She turned to him, frowning. Before she could answer, two voice projections came.

Claim gold reward,
boomed the voice of a naiader.

Ah wan’ some gold,
said a softer, mellower female tone.
Ah saw your missin’ naiad. Plumb stupid, she is.

Lathyr winced, and fear crawled along his nerves once more.

A spurt of water hit him midchest.
What did they say?
asked Whitefroth.

One naiader and naiad have seen her. They wish the reward.

Get it from the half-breed princess,
the Water Princess said.

Lathyr nodded and returned to Jenni and Aric in his legged-mer form, glad to be away from the arrogant merfem. “We’ve received two responses.”

Jenni’s face lit with hope. “She’s alive?”

He had to swallow before he could answer. “So far as we know.”

Get the gold and come back here,
ordered Whitefroth.
The naiad and naiader need a tow to us to report,
she added and Lathyr reckoned that he would be the one expending energy in bringing the two to them.

How far away are they?
he asked.

How should I know? They garble their communications.

He gave Jenni a half smile. “I must return.”

She tilted her head. “I didn’t realize that the Merfolk treated you so poorly.”

The fins along his spine ruffled in embarrassment. He shrugged.

She took his webbed hand and turned it over, pressed a couple of good-sized nuggets in his hand and curled his fingers over the gold. “You are much more tolerant than I.”

His lips twisted. “If I want to live the way I do, I must endure whatever slights my hosts mete out.”

Jenni frowned, studied him more intently than she ever had. “What do you want, Lathyr?”

Chapter 29

“KIRI SAFE,” HE
said.

Aric put his arm around Jenni’s waist. “So do we all,” he murmured. “But what do you hope for as a reward for your service?”

Lathyr received the impression that Aric was asking as the royals’ man. None of the others had requested that information, and he had been waiting for the right moment to let his needs be known. “An estate of my own in the ocean.”

“Any ocean?” Jenni smiled, curiosity peeking from her eyes.

“Any I can get,” Lathyr said.

“We will do our best to award one to you,” Jenni promised.

He stared. “Even now, when I lost her?” Lost Kiri. His gut twisted again. He’d been trying to stay positive.

WHERE ARE YOU, MIXED BLOOD!
shouted Whitefroth.

“Mixed blood.” He repeated the words that coated his tongue with a bad taste.

Jenni canted an arrogant hip, lifted her chin. “I am a Fire Princess. I have my sources for rewards and help.”

He dared to hope so. “First we must ensure Kiri’s safety.”

“Why would she leave?” Jenni worried her lip.

“I don’t know,” he repeated, then sent to Whitefroth,
I come.
He dived back into the river and joined the merfem. She sent a stream of large, irritated bubbles at him, whisked a gesture.
The naiader is closer.
Mentally she gave Lathyr the visualization the naiader had given her.

Gold, gold, gold,
he chanted,
I want me some go-old!

He was about an hour farther down the river than Lathyr had gone. Flexing his shoulder muscles, he flung a line of magic to the guy.
I need to drop the stay-in-place bubbles surrounding us to pull the naiader to us,
he lied to Whitefroth.

Very well
, she pouted.

If you please you could stay on land with Princess Jindesfarne Emberdrake. Or the shallows,
he offered.

She looked at him sharply to see if he’d insulted her with his mild tone, which, of course, he had. Evidently, she didn’t think him so bold.
I will remain.

With a nod, he began reeling the naiader in fast. Yes, Lathyr’s power had definitely improved. More than a born-princess’s. The knowledge was heady, even as he wondered how that could happen, how he might have gained power and Whitefroth...others...had not.

The naiader arrived, grinning and snorting. The man was as large as he, and rough-looking, hair and beard unkempt, his tail fin ragged, his trunk scarred.

Lathyr questioned him, and as the man wove in the water, knew that the naiader had threatened Kiri. Lathyr kept his nostril frills folded so as not to show contempt and wrung every minuscule detail of Kiri from the naiader. He handed off the gold, and sent the guy away with a hard shove of water that spun him into the deep and fast current of the river, watched the mer flail as he strove to remove himself from the stream.

The only other person to answer the call was a plump and cheerful naiad. She’d told them all about the slight incident with the “stupid as mud” shallows naiad. After being given her reward, she’d just shaken her head with regard to Kiri and stated she didn’t think she’d make it much longer in the river and swam off.

* * *

As Kiri slept, a merfem haunted her dreams, shouting at her, insistent, making Kiri’s head ache. The woman wanted something. Kiri wasn’t sure what, and
she
wanted to sleep. Not deal with some arrogant and demanding woman. Still the demand itched at her,
felt
scratchy more than echoed in her ears, pulled at her. She shifted a little, woke to half doze. Gathered her thoughts and sent back
, I am here and tired and sleeping. Nag, nag, nag. Go away now.
And she dropped back into her sleep.

* * *

While they awaited results, Lathyr and Whitefroth had moved to shallower water, both taking legged forms.

The new naiad has contacted me!
Whitefroth beamed at Lathyr.

He wanted to grab her, shake the information from her. She’d knock him out of the water and onto the bank.
Where is she? Tell me!

You made me lose her!
Whitefroth’s nose frills fluttered.
She did not have much power to answer, said she was sleeping. And she was...far distant...she must have spent much time pushing along the greatest current, most likely in droplet-form.
Whitefroth shook her head.
Chancy for a naiad.

Frustration seethed through him.
You can’t give me a location?

A shrug of green shoulders. “No. But she lives. You’ll be able to find her.”

You got a solid signature for me to follow, then. I’ve been having trouble with that, since she’s been changing, as all young do, growing into their powers.

Whitefroth froze. Her nictitating lids rapidly clicked up and down, the first sign of nerves Lathyr had seen.

You will have to parse Kiri’s trace for me in all senses.

The princess drew herself up haughtily.
I don’t have time for that.

Why was he plagued with inefficient mers? Because they didn’t take him or the project seriously.

“It’s vital we find her.”

Another shrug along with lip curl. “Not to me.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Aric said. He’d come up behind them, and stood upright and solid in the water. He held Jenni, who didn’t appear to be bothered by the great river as much as Lathyr would have expected.

“We might have to renegotiate your price.”

“I have given you all I’ve gotten!”

Jenni raised her brows. “Well, we obviously expected too much of you, then, and you promised what you couldn’t deliver.”

Opposing magic hissed around the women. Lathyr stepped back; Aric stood stoically.

Whitefroth’s face dewed with anger droplets. She glided forward and took Lathyr’s right hand in both of hers and
sent
the impression of the communication she’d received from Kiri.

The strength of her power should have pushed him to his knees, his head underwater, forcing his bilungs to change from air to water breathing, a rude punishment. It didn’t. He dug his feet into the mud and stood, drew
more,
every iota of information from her, the scent...warmer, farther downriver, human scents-sounds-tastes different from where they stood. And, yes, there was the inherent feeling of distance, Kiri was a lot farther away than he’d anticipated. He wasn’t sure if he, himself, could have gone so far in such a time period. He certainly wouldn’t have tried in a strange river. He shuddered, then suppressed fear.

Focus! Focus on all the myriad details Whitefroth had sensed. Light—the light was poor, the scent stagnant. Whitefroth had said Kiri was sleeping. Closing his eyes, Lathyr steeped himself in the merfem’s brief experience.

Night dark, so little or no time had passed since Kiri had answered. Feel of the water around her was soft and lapping-calm, no current. Since an unpleasant smell came with that, he deduced that Kiri had found a small backwater...there was a caged feeling...of branches. Water overhead, so she rested in legged-mer or full-mer form, probably legged since that was the closest to human. Wise, he didn’t like the idea of what might happen to a naked woman on the bank of the river in the lands of the humans.

Resting. Sleeping. Weariness and the taste of hunger on her tongue. She hadn’t eaten? Damn.

“Ha! I will set a compulsion on the naiad to come!” Whitefroth announced.

Lathyr opened his eyes to see a fierce smile on her face, her eyes damp with gleaming recklessness as she raised both hands and began to dance in place. He knew that look—no one had contradicted her for many decades in her own home, and she cared not for any consequences of using her anger, she was so offended.

He caught her wrists, pulled her from her feet that she would lose connection with her magical pull of earth as well as water to fuel her spell. Easier to distract her than he’d anticipated. She made her arm scales sharp and they cut into his fingers, but he held on, met her furious gaze. “No. A person under compulsion cares for little else, would not take care of herself on the way to you, would ignore danger. No.”

“You dare, tainted-mer. I will have your fins and tail.”

“Kiri is more important than anything you might do.”

“My cousin will hear about this!”

“So will all the royals, the Eight,” Aric said.

“I’ll love telling my brother and sister-in-law, the Fire King and Queen, of a Water Princess’s bad behavior.” Jenni chuckled like fire cracking.

Whitefroth spit poison in Lathyr’s eyes. Luckily he’d been expecting as much and had his nictitating lids down, but the spew burned his face. Still holding her, he dunked under the river’s surface, taking Whitefroth with him.
You curb yourself now, or all will hear of your lack of control. The royals cannot have a princess in power who lacks control.
And that was the truth.

She yanked at his grip and he let her loose—a misjudgment since she made a sweeping motion with her hand, sending the incomplete compulsion-spell downriver.

Then she shrieked and clapped hands on her head, plunging deeper into the river. Lathyr saw black and curled fronds on her scalp, scented burning. The top of her head must have been above water, and Jenni had called fire to burn it. He backswam away from the shrieking virago, only rose from the river when Whitefroth did, to spew curses at Jenni, who was smiling smugly.

“You can go now.” Jenni waved a hand in dismissal.

Choking, shaking with fury, Whitefroth vanished, taking droplet form. Narrowing his eyes, Lathyr watched her race upriver, using the humidity the great river afforded her to move huge distances quickly.

“Wow,” he said, a human sound, Kiri’s word, something he’d never said before.

Aric had doubled over with laughter. “Not good to anger my beloved,” Aric said.

Jenni gave a human punctuation-sniff. “Can’t deliver on her promises. I’ll make a notation in Eight Corp’s books not to ever use her as a consultant again.” Then Jenni huffed a breath. “But she was the best we could get at short notice.” Her forehead lined as she stared downriver. “Half-assed half-cast compulsion spell.” She turned her worried face to Lathyr. “How much trouble are we in?”

“I don’t know, but I’d better head after Kiri.” Good thing he’d eaten well. He took the few strides to Jenni, grasped her hand, turned the palm up and shook a few droplets of his blood onto her skin and met her eyes. “This should allow you to track me.”

“We can meet up—” she started, stopping when he shook his head.

“No. Nothing that will slow me down.” His mouth flattened. “I don’t know this river, the length or its outflow, but I must reach her before she gets lost in the ocean.”

“We still don’t know why she’s doing this,” Jenni said.

“That we must wait to learn until later. It’s a pity we weren’t able to speak with her.” He went closer to Aric, grabbed the Treeman and tossed him toward the bank with Jenni. “My blood in the water is drawing creatures you don’t want to have biting you.” Lathyr drew a protection bubble around him—a small one because he would need all his magic, all his guile, to find Kiri and keep her safe. He raised a hand. “Later.” He paused, saw Jenni and Aric lean together, wrap arms around each other’s waist. Envy twinged inside him. “Later, my friends.”

Aric inclined his head. “Later, my friend.”

The man’s acknowledgment glowed in Lathyr’s heart.

“Bye, Lathyr, my friend and colleague. See you later,” Jenni said softly.

He dived under the river, letting the image of their affectionate expressions linger in his mind as he searched for and found the fastest current and propelled himself downriver, trailing Whitefroth’s compulsion spell, watching as it affected creatures.

It drew predators.

* * *

Kiri slept and shivered and finally woke, cold and still legged-mer. Still cold. Still not a good sign. Her energy and magic were depleted.

She was hungry, had no money, no clothes if she became human, so she’d have to hunt and eat fish or other stuff. She’d nibbled on some weedy plants that were safe and filling, but she needed protein.

Hungry.
And she had no idea what she could eat in the Mississippi River. Crap. No, carp. There were a lot of carp, but they reminded her of the koi in the pond she cherished.

A small school of minnows swam by and without thought, her webbed hands swept out and shoved them into her mouth, crunch, crunch.

Yum.

She’d eaten
live
food. Ewww. Ewww. But the bits had already slithered down her gullet and her stomach was happy to receive them.

She opened her mouth to wash it out and narrowed her eyes at the smell of something like food. Easy food to keep and catch and eat. Mussels!

Diving down, she found them, against the bank and at the bottom of the river—a plethora of kinds. Oh, wow. Stomach grumbling, she forced her hands
not
to grab a few more minnows. No. Ewww. No. Even centuries wouldn’t change that reflex, she didn’t think. But killing things wasn’t much better, like bashing a trout to death in Maroon Lake—up close and personal, life and death in the raw.

But she had to eat, and mussels were better than fish, easier for her to kill—though she said a little prayer for them—and tastier, too. She drifted down the river, looking for food. Not many Waterfolk seemed to be awake.

Still night—what time, she didn’t know and didn’t seem to care. Hypothermia? Maybe. But maybe as she stayed more as a naiad, the more her mind became that. Who knew?

And the scent, song, feeling yet beckoned. An enchantment on her? She hadn’t even considered becoming human. As she chewed another mussel, she pondered that.

Tough if she became human. No clothes. Unsure of where she was—even what state she might be in. Heaven knew what might happen to her, even if she had magic and glamour. She didn’t know how to use glamour to help herself and wouldn’t feel right doing that, either.

Here in the river, she could continue to travel safely. She should call Lathyr or even Jenni.