Ice Crypt (Mermaids of Eriana Kwai Book 2) (34 page)

“I’ll find the others, Lysi!”

With a final glance at me, he shot backwards, leaving a trail of bubbles.

For a moment, I wondered who these ‘others’ were—until Adaro shouted, “Follow him!” and rounded on Coho and Ephyra.

Spio was trying to draw Adaro after him.

My chest constricted. “No!”

Coho and Ephyra hesitated, both of them weak and bleeding from shark bites. Ephyra started forwards, but Adaro stopped her with a snarl of frustration. He held out the iron hook.

“You have reached the end of your fight, Lysithea. Your human will soon be dead, and the Host mine.”

I lunged at him, jerking against the ropes. I wanted to scream but fear swallowed my voice. What if he was right? I had to get to Meela. I had to stop her before she became a sacrifice.

“What should I do with her, sir?” said Ephyra, taking the hook.

“Find out where the rebels are. Use any means necessary. Then kill her.”

He turned away and charged after Spio, spinning the iron trident in his fists.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Eriana’s Crypt

My tea had cooled long ago, but I was still clutching the mug as I watched rain slide down the window. I sat on the living room couch, listening to the downpour and the rhythm of the old clock on the wall.

A lump the size of a stone had hardened in my throat. In a mere hour, we would join the rest of the island at the docks to watch the Massacre depart.

I barely grasped the reality of it. Twenty girls from the training program were about to depart almost a year ahead of schedule. Most would die. Each would kill dozens, if not hundreds, of mermaids during her time at sea.

I blinked a few times, focusing my eyes, and dropped my gaze to the bone dagger in my lap. I turned it over, pushing my thumb against the blade. Serpent head on one side, trees on the other.

The floor creaked, and the couch sagged beside me. I looked up. My father replaced the mug in my hands with a fresh, steaming brew of pine needle tea.

“What’s that you’ve got?”

“Found it under the Enticer,” I said dispassionately.

He picked it up, examining it with raised eyebrows. “The old ship?”

I sipped my tea.

“Interesting,” he said. “You don’t often come across these. You know what the trees and the hole are for?”

I shook my head.

“It’s like a map. See?” He held it eye level and pointed at the trees. “These should line up with landmarks.”

“I thought there used to be a stone here, or a gem,” I said, poking my finger through the hole.

“Nah. That hole is intentional. Looks to me like it’s the real point of interest.”

“It’s a landmark?”

“Look at the arrow pointing into it.”

I took the dagger back. A tiny groove was beneath the hole, slightly off-centre.

Was this the fissure in the earth? Did the groove mark the entrance to the leviathan’s resting place?

Whether this bone dagger provided a landmark or not, I still didn’t know where to find these particular trees across the expanse of Eriana Kwai.

My mother sat on my other side.

“Well, isn’t that beautiful.”

I let her take it from me.

My father tapped his fingers on his mug. “I do wonder whether our island has more history than any of us is aware.”

I raised my eyebrows, but he didn’t continue.

I didn’t press. It felt too nice, sitting quietly between my parents, the three of us together.

“Mama, Papa, I’m sorry I got mad—”

My mother made a shushing noise. She wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“But I am sorry—”

“Honey, there’s no need. I was wrong to push you into something you’re not ready for.”

I leaned against her, breathing in the scent of mint and honey. I’d already forgiven her for that. I didn’t want an apology.

“Not a day goes by where I don’t miss Nilus,” she said.

“I know,” I said. “Me too.”

She handed the dagger back. The three of us sat in silence.

My father set his mug on the coffee table and stood.

“Where are you going?” said my mother.

He held up a finger to indicate we should wait a moment, and left the room.

A minute later, he returned with his cloth-bound book.

“I never got to show you this,” he said, sitting beside me. “It belonged to my mother. I don’t suppose you remember your grandma.”

“A little,” I said, trying to lighten the truth that I didn’t remember her in the slightest.

He opened the book towards the back.

“She gave me this before she died. See this? Birth certificates for you and Nilus.”

My face pulled into a slight smile as I scanned the fragile papers. The pages beyond them were untouched—wanting to be marked with more family history.

“And here,” said my father, flipping back a page. “You never knew my older sister. She married an American and took off for the mainland. When I was sixteen, we got word that she died in a car accident.”

I blinked at the death certificate. My father never discussed his sister. I’d all but forgotten she existed.

He flipped back through more pages.

“It’s mostly birth certificates, marriage records, names of siblings and cousins pencilled in where documents haven’t been found. But if you go further back, you can see a few interesting stories in our family tree. Here, for instance—my great-uncle had a pet moose. See that?”

He showed me a black-and-white photo of a moose standing in a river, staring at the camera. I giggled.

“And your great-great-grand … uh … whatever he is. This man. Executed at thirty-three. Gallows.”

I gasped at the same moment my mother said, “Now, honestly, Kasai!”

“He was hanged? For what?”

My father pointed to the page where a news article had been taped. “Horse thievery.”

“Tough punishment for stealing,” I said.

“He lived in a time and place where this wasn’t tolerated,” said my father.

I looked at him. “He wasn’t from here?”

My father shook his head. “Saskatchewan.”

There it was. Though it didn’t matter anymore, a piece of me had still hoped I was a descendant of Eriana. It had become a source of pride without my knowing whether it was true. The idea was oddly magical, like I was a part of this island, right through to the blood in my veins.

Disappointment must have shown on my face, because my father said, “Now, wait a moment. Just because he’s from the mainland …”

He flipped to the front page.

“Look here. The first record of the family tree on my mother’s side.”

I took it from him.

A picture was inked into the page in black and red. It was our national emblem, the sea lion, same as the one on the cover of Anyo’s book. The next page depicted a woman, a deer on her left, a wolf on her right, an eagle overhead, and a salmon beneath her feet.

“The charmer of animals,” said my father.

I tore my eyes from the page. “We are descendants. You and me. We come from Eriana.”

“According to this book, yes. If you turn the page …”

I did so, revealing a few lines of text in the old language.

“Translated, it tells of our family being born from the land, always a part of it.”

“A legend,” said my mother.

But here was the proof. Eriana had been a real person, and I descended from her.

I sat back, watching the pine needles float around my mug.

If I had more time, could I find the Host? I could give one more shot at finding this serpent, maybe, while everyone was at the docks.

But where would I start?

I felt both my parents watching me and looked up.

“You know, Metlaa Gaela,” said my father. “You’ve always been so stubborn. You kept telling us you’d given up, but I thought you’d keep hunting for the Host of Eriana in secret. I guess I was wrong.”

I stared at him, not sure what he was getting at.

“A part of me hoped you were onto something,” he said. “I’d be booted from my position on the committee if I admitted it, but I would rather end the Massacres, too.”

“What?” I whispered. “You think—you believe—”

My mother clapped a hand on my knee. “Meela, I see your imagination running away again. Your father’s only talking about a naive hope that there might be a better answer. Sea demons are dangerous business, and I don’t want you messing around with
that man’s
training program.”

She huffed, face blotchy.

I glanced to my father, who stared out the window. The clouds had mercifully stopped downpouring.

“Even if this Host is real,” said my father slowly, “are you convinced that freeing it is a good idea?”

“This legend is a part of us, Papa. I know I’m supposed to find it. This is the way to free our people.”

He stared at me for a long time. My mother said nothing, working her jaw like she was grinding her teeth. Did they believe me? Or was that an accusation of insanity in their eyes?

“We should go,” said my father. “The ceremony is in half an hour.”

They stood, leaving me alone on the couch while they got dressed.

I tried to understand what my parents were thinking. Had my father supported me this whole time, or was he trying to make me feel better now that I’d failed? My mother seemed opposed out of worry, more than anything. She didn’t want me getting in trouble from Mujihi.

I’d come so close. I had every piece of a puzzle except for one—and that was the big hole in the middle of the bone dagger.

We left the house in silence, stepping into air that felt much too cool for June. The dark clouds pressed down on us, threatening to open up again.

On our way down the dirt road, we were caught up by Annith, Tanuu, and Blacktail.

I studied Annith for signs of pain.

“You’re all right?”

“Just fine,” she said brightly, though I noticed a limp in her step.

All of them watched me. I became self-conscious of the puffiness in my face from lack of sleep.

“Can we talk?” said Annith.

I glanced to my parents, who looked away guiltily and continued on ahead of us. The four of us fell behind.

“We feel bad,” said Annith. “We talked about it, and we want to keep helping.”

“Out of pity?”

“No. Because you’re our friend.”

I shook my head. “I never wanted you to help because you felt obligated. I wanted you to believe in the plan.”

“I can’t speak for you guys, but I believe in the plan,” said Blacktail.

“Me too,” said Tanuu.

“So do I,” said Annith.

I looked between their apologetic faces, somewhat exasperated.

“That’s nice and all, but in case you haven’t noticed where we’re going, we’re too late. The Massacre is departing, same as always.”

“We’ve still got half an hour,” said Tanuu. “And we know Annith’s a descendant.”

“Who, limpy over here?” I said. “I don’t think draining more of her blood would be a wise move after yesterday.”

“Whatever,” she said. “I lost more blood than this on the Massacre, and I bounced back just fine.”

I waved a hand. “Not that it matters, but I found out I’m a descendant.”

“No way!” said Tanuu. “That’s awesome.”

“You guys are missing the point,” I said. “We’re too late. The girls are leaving and we still don’t know where the Host is.”

“Oh, I see what’s going on,” said Tanuu.

He stopped walking, forcing me to turn to him.

“What?”

“You’ve given up,” he said.

“I have not—that’s not—” I huffed.

“Meela, we’re sorry,” he said. “We shouldn’t have left you.”

“It’s fine. I’m not brooding. But the whole island is ready for those girls to get out there and slaughter demons. Nothing we do is going to stop it from happening. Maybe everyone’s right, and these girls will kill enough demons to …”

My throat tightened. I kept walking. The three of them jogged to catch up.

“Remember what you told me,” said Annith. “Adaro’s threat if we send another battleship. He’ll be pissed, right?”

“He’s already pissed,” I said.

“But think about what he’ll do. He’ll want to hurt you, Meela, in any way he can.”

My heart skipped a beat. I knew it, but I couldn’t think about it.

“Where do we start, Annith?” I said, voice breaking. “I’m out of ideas.”

“Tanuu and I were brainstorming,” said Blacktail. “We wondered if the Ravendust bushes actually lead the other way.”

“What, into the ocean?”

“Yes. What if the leviathan isn’t on the island at all?”

I chewed my lip. There was a real possibility that we could have been led astray.

“Think about it,” said Tanuu. “Where are you gonna hide something that big?”

Not on a tiny island
, I thought.

“If it’s not here, how are we supposed to get to it?”

“Maybe we need to sail somewhere else to find it,” said Annith. “We can take the Massacre ship and the warriors along with us, and go hunting for it.”

As we neared the docks, the crowd thickened. I said nothing, surprised to find myself entertaining the idea.

But this didn’t make sense. All signs pointed to the leviathan being on the island. Why would Adaro want me to find it if it wasn’t on Eriana Kwai?