Son of a Mermaid (19 page)

“Look over there!” Kae elbowed Shea’s ribs and pointed toward a smaller crowd, crouched on the floor next to one of the tables. A merman with blue hair and a face to match lay on the cold floor unmoving. His eyes seemed unusually wide as they stared off into the distance, the whites of his eyes criss-crossed with blue lines. His lips were swollen and disfigured, and even bluer than the rest of his face. A second body lay near his side, small and childlike, with raven black hair and staring eyes streaked with blue.

“Are they…?” Shea couldn’t finish the question, riveted by the gruesome spectacle. His tail twitched nervously, stirring the water around him.

“Dead,” Kae agreed, nodding her head slowly. “I hope King Koios will be okay.”

“Who are those two?”

They inched through the crowd, closer to the bodies. Kae shook her head. “I have no idea. The merman with the blue hair must be from the Pacific. The boy I don’t recognize.”

Shea’s shoulders slumped forward. “We’re too late. We didn’t save the King.”

Kae whirled around to face him, green eyes blazing. She poked a finger hard into his chest. “You stop that talk right now, Shea MacNamara. The King isn’t dead yet. There’s still time.”

“Time for what?”

“If those two merman were poisoned,” Kae said, “they’ll need to find the right antidote in order to save King Koios.”

“Right.” A new light shone in Shea’s eyes as his shoulders straightened.

Kae pointed toward the table. “Let’s start over there.” The pair swam to where the blue merman lay on the cold stone floor. Adluo guards ignored the body, pushing past to get to the smaller merman, lifting him gently and quickly withdrawing from the Great Hall. The crowd drifted away, talking nervously amongst themselves of poison, treason, and the suddenly fragile peace accord.

“That must have been King Theo,” Kae said with a gasp. “The Adluo heir is dead. That leaves Prince Demyan in charge of the Southern Ocean.”

Shea tried his best to ignore the panic in the voices around him, including Kae’s. He needed to concentrate. “What’s this mess on the floor?” He stooped to pick a seed from a scattering of broken glass. He rolled it carefully between his fingers. It was the size of a small grape, but darker green in color and softer to the touch, as if overly ripe. As he gently squeezed, a trickle of blue juice escaped the thin skin and floated upward through the salty water, leaving a tangy sweet scent in its wake. “There seem to be a lot of them spilled here, and shards of glass.”

“Eucheuma,” Kae said, wrinkling her nose. She glanced around the Great Hall. “But there’s a bowl in the center of every table, so that can’t be the source of the poison.”

Shea checked the crowd to confirm that indeed no one else was turning blue. He saw the crystal bowls on every table…including in the center of the King’s table. Realization dawned. He grabbed Kae’s arm. “The King had a separate bowl to eat from! Maybe the royals who were poisoned ate from a different stash of seeds! We need to gather samples, the ones scattered under the table. They must contain the poison!”

Many of the seeds had already been swept away by the crowd of onlookers and guards, but together Shea and Kae managed to find a handful left unbroken. Cradling the soft seeds between his cupped hands, Shea looked around the Hall again. Some of the celebrants still milled about, unsure what to do as they waited for word of their host’s condition. “We need a quiet place to examine these.”

“Back this way,” Kae suggested. She pushed open the swinging double doors, into the now empty kitchen. Shea dropped the seeds onto the chopping block where Mariella had previously stood, dismembering tentacles. The seeds floated gracefully down onto the surface, their glistening green skins looking translucent under the bright kitchen lights. Mariella’s butcher’s knife sat gleaming on the table, next to the net of squirming jellyfish.

“What…” Kae started to ask.

Shea put his finger to his lips. “Hush.” His eyes focused on the wriggling net and he bent his head closer to the creatures. “I’m listening.”

Kae opened her mouth to retort, but clamped it shut again, looking at the netted creatures. After several long moments of silence, she finally asked, “Can you really hear their thoughts?”

He looked up at her. “Can’t you?”

She shook her head. “It’s rumored that the King can hear the thoughts of all the creatures in his ocean. But most merfolk I know can only hear when you speak out loud.”

Shea smiled. “I guess I have something in common with my grandfather after all.” The smile disappeared. “Have you heard of something called an underwater lion?”

Kae shook her head, looking confused.

“These little jellyfish call themselves
nettles
.”

“Obviously,” Kae huffed impatiently. “Because that’s what they are.”

Shaking his head, Shea continued, “They have poison in their tentacles, but they say it’s nothing compared to a larger species they refer to as ‘the lions.’ They’re really big, and their tentacles grow a hundred feet long”

“Oh wait,” Kae said, her eyes widening. “Do you mean
Lion’s Mane
? Those are the big jellyfish that come down to this area to breed in the springtime. They’re usually gone by Solstice, because they need colder water, like up in the Arctic Ocean. My father has a story about one who…”

“Apparently,” Shea interrupted, “If you grind up enough of them, the poison is pretty powerful. We need to tell someone, and fast.”

“Who?”

“How about your mother? She’ll know what to do.”

“Let’s go,” Kae said, leading the way back through the swinging doors and into the Great Hall. “But we still don’t know who put the poison in the seeds,” she added in a low voice.

Shea pressed his lips together in a tight line. “Unfortunately, the only eyewitnesses have already ended up on the chopping block.”

“Jellyfish don’t have eyes,” Kae said, sounding annoyed.

“Not everyone needs eyes to see what is going on around them,” Shea whispered back as they swam slowly through the thinning crowd. “Let me go first,” he insisted, swimming ahead of Kae. “I’ll check if the coast is clear.”

“The coast?” Kae looked puzzled. “We’re underwater, Shea. There’s no coast here.” He sighed and shook his head, deciding it would take too long to explain.

They were almost out of the Great Hall when a hulking merman appeared out of nowhere directly in front of them, blocking their escape. He crossed his arms over his muscled chest. “And where do you two think you’re going?” His challenge sounded menacing.

Kae pushed forward, past Shea. “Father!” she cried, obviously relieved. She threw her arms around his waist. “Thank Neptune we found you!”

The big merman’s face softened as he put his arms around his daughter. “I’ve been looking all over for you! I went to Windmill Point, but was told you’d already left with the son of the Princess.” Lybio glanced at Shea again, this time with a slightly less menacing look on his face.

“This is your father?” Shea’s voice sounded hoarse even to his own ears. “I thought we were captured again for sure.”

“Captured
again
?” Lybio repeated, narrowing his eyes as he looked back at his daughter. “Soldiers did this to you?” he asked, touching the kelp bandage still wrapped around her torso.

“The Prince tortured her,” Shea answered. “With his own knife. Now he’s poisoned the King and we need to tell someone which antidote to use…”

“Whoa, there,” Lybio commanded, putting out a hand to stop the flow of words. “This sounds like a conversation better held in private.” He motioned for them to follow him into the courtyard. They crossed the open expanse quickly and reentered the summer castle through another door. The passageway was darkened and silent.

“Father, there’s little time,” Kae blurted once the door had closed behind them. “We can talk as we swim, but we must hurry to the King’s chamber. His life may depend on it!”

“Very well, but I expect an explanation.”

“You’ll get one, sir,” Shea assured him as they began to swim swiftly down the long, empty hallway.

The hallways were all empty. Shea realized that the Solstice guests must either still be in the Great Hall, awaiting word of the King’s condition, or locked behind their own chamber doors, fearful of what might happen next. They met no other creatures as they swam through the palace halls.

Lybio came to an abrupt stop in front of a wooden door, more elaborately carved and painted than all the others. Shea looked around, but there seemed to be no guards posted anywhere nearby. “Where are the soldiers?” Kae asked as Lybio knocked on the wooden door. He shook his head in silence.

A very pale Kira opened the door, throwing it wide when she saw them in the hallway. “Oh, Kae! You’re safe! Praise the gods!” She wrapped her arms around her daughter. “Prince Demyan dismissed the soldiers who were guarding the King. He said there was some kind of Aequorean rebel group they needed to deal with. He also told us that a group of Adluo dissidents had taken you and the boy prisoner!”

“We were prisoners. It was awful.” Kae hugged her mother tightly. “But we escaped, and we’re here to help the King.”

“Why is this kelp stuck to your collarbone?” Kira asked, drawing a trembling finger along the bandage. Before Kae could answer, Kira turned to look at Shea. “Is this him? The son of the Princess?” He nodded and she bowed her head. “You may inherit the throne sooner than anticipated.”

“We’re here to save the King,” he said, feeling suddenly awkward, “Not gain the throne.”

Lybio swam to Kira’s side and held both of her arms with his large hands. “Where are the Princess and the guards? Where are the Healers? Why does no one attend the King but you?”

Kira shook her head. “The Healers went away to consult their library and seek an antidote. I know not why they stay away so long. Perhaps the Adluos have detained them. Demyan told us his soldiers are restless because of the poisoning, especially as their young King lies dead and King Koios yet lives. They felt there must be treachery afoot. He said he suspects it was the Pacific Prince, as the Eucheuma seeds came from Pacific territory.”

Lybio snorted. “Aequorean rebels? Adluo dissidents? Pacific poisoning? There’s treachery afoot, all right. What else did the Prince say?”

“Demyan told Princess Brynn that rogue Adluo soldiers were holding her bastard son captive, and planned to harm him if the peace accords did not continue as planned. With the King near death, he insisted they go to speak with the High Chancellor immediately, to do something official to quell the unrest.” She turned to look again at her daughter. “How in Neptune’s name did you escape from Adluo soldiers?”

“Mom,” Kae said, shaking her head, “there isn’t time to explain. Where are the Healers located?”

“The poison is jellyfish toxin,” Shea added.

Kira covered her mouth with both hands. “Blessed Neptune! But how…”

“There is no time. Go. Bring a Healer to fashion the antidote,” Lybio ordered. “I’ll guard the King. Hurry.” He put a hand against the small of her back and urged her into the hallway, closing the chamber door behind her. As Lybio pushed a stone bench toward the door to block it from opening, Shea swam to the King’s side. Kae followed him.

After staring at the sleeping merman for a few moments, Shea’s hand found Kae’s. “This is my grandfather?”

Kae looked from the sleeping figure to Shea’s face. Her eyes widened as she squeezed his fingers. “Jumping jellyfish! You look so much like him! I mean, except for the beard, of course. But the rest of your face… No wonder Prince Demyan guessed who you are so quickly!”

Shea’s eyes never left the King’s face. “I’d really like to meet him, you know?”

“I know.” Kae released his hand and put her arm lightly around his waist. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I was wondering,” Shea said, raising his voice to address Lybio. The older merman turned to look at him. “You said someone told you we’d left Windmill Point? Did you talk to Gregor?”

Lybio shook his head. “The Adluos were not the only ones with spies on dry land. The King thought it wise to keep an eye on you. You are heir to his throne, after all.”

“The King…knows…about me?”

Lybio nodded. Urgent knocking on the door interrupted whatever it was he was preparing to say next. The doorknob rattled. Someone was trying to gain access to the chamber. Lybio put a finger to his lips before calling out, “Who seeks to enter?”

“Lybio, it’s me.” It was Kira’s voice. “I couldn’t find the King’s own Healer, but I have Lady Kata, from the Caribbean, here with me. She promises to be discreet, and knows how to mix an antidote.”

Shea swam over to help Lybio move the bench. The chamber door swung open, and Kira entered, followed by a tall mermaid with a flowing mane of jet-black curls and brown skin shimmering like melted chocolate. Lybio closed the door behind them, and pushed the stone bench back into place.

Lady Kata placed her voluminous silver bag on the table under the window, and pulled opened the drawstring. She withdrew several stoppered vials of thick liquid in brilliant hues, lining them carefully in a row. “I am told this is jellyfish toxin at work?”

“Yes,” Shea confirmed. “Ground from a type of fish called Lion’s Mane.”

“We don’t have that species in my home waters, but I have heard tell of its powerful sting,” Lady Kata said, her black curls waving wildly as she nodded her head.

Kira hovered next to her, hands clasped together. “What can we do to help?”

“You already did the most important thing,” Lady Kata assured her. “You discovered the source of the poison. Now you must let me work. And please, try not to stir the current.”

They watched in silence as Lady Kata slowly chose three of the small colored bottles: one crimson, one deep blue and one bright white. She carefully poured five thick, fat drops from each bottle into a clear glass mug, the gooey liquids oozing down slowly out of their containers and through the salt water, to settle at the bottom of the glass. The healer slowly swirled a glass rod through the mug to mix the colors until the muddy liquid appeared uniformly lavender within the glass.

“There now,” she pronounced when she had finished stirring. “The King must drink this, and then we must wait again. If you are correct about the source of the poison, the King will soon awaken to rejoin us. If you are mistaken, he will stop breathing within the hour.” She handed the mug to Kira.

Kira hesitated. “Should we wait for the Princess to return?”

Lady Kata shook her head. “He must drink this now, before the toxins spread any further within his system. You saw what happened to the other mermen, the gallant prince of the Pacific and the poor hapless boy who would be King.”

“But what if it’s not the right antidote?” Kira glanced at Lybio. “How sure are you that Lion’s Mane was used to poison the food?”

“I’m positive,” Shea interjected. “The nettles in the kitchen told me so.”

“The… What?” Kira almost dropped the mug of the gooey formula.

Kae reached out to steady her mother’s hand. “Shea can speak with his mind to other creatures in the ocean,” she explained. “Trust him.”

“Oh dear,” Kira said, placing the mug down on the table. “I’m not sure…”

“I am,” Lybio declared, sweeping through the room with a flick of his powerful tail. He grabbed the mug and swam to the King’s bedside. “We can not allow the King to die today. This is our best hope for saving him.” The gelatinous goo dribbled slowly from the mug straight into the King’s mouth and down his throat.

“Now we wait,” Lady Kata said. Everyone in the room edged closer to the King’s bedside. The tension in the room rose with each passing moment. Seconds felt like hours as they waited for King Koios to open his eyes.

“It’s no use,” Kira said desperately, after several long minutes had ticked slowly by. “We must have been misled. And now the King will die!”

“No, look!” cried Kae, pointing. Eyelashes fluttered against pale cheeks and finally lifted. Faint blue streaks still traced through the whites of his eyes, but the King focused his gaze on the Caribbean princess by his side and smiled.

“Lady Kata,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I must have dozed off during your tale. Would you please finish your story of how you met Prince Azul?”

Lady Kata smiled widely, her brilliant white teeth shining against the darkness of her skin. “He lives!”

The King furrowed his brow in confusion, as he glanced around at the ring of concerned faces. “What in Poseidon’s name is going on? Why am I in my chamber? Why does my voice sound so rough?” His eyes connected with Lybio. “Lybio! What happened?”

“You were poisoned, Sire,” Lybio said, bowing his head. “At the Solstice banquet. The Eucheuma seeds.”

“Poisoned!” The King tried to sit up, but fell back against his kelp pillow, raising a hand slowly to massage his temple. “Is that why my head is pounding so?”

Lybio nodded. “Your grandson was the one to figure it out, Sire.” Lybio put a hand on Shea’s shoulder.

Shea watched as the King turned his head ever so slowly until his eyes connected with Shea’s. “Ah, we meet at last,” he rasped, his mouth curving into a smile. “I hope you have not had too harsh an introduction to our underwater world.”

“No, sir,” Shea whispered. He opened his mouth to say more, but bit his bottom lip instead. He did not want to get into an argument with the King at their very first meeting.

The King studied him for a long moment. He slowly lifted one hand to stroke his beard, his eyes never leaving Shea’s face. “I’m sorry you grew up without your mother. Someday, when you are King, you’ll understand how hard decisions can be. I thought you would be safer growing up as a drylander, at least until we could be sure of your mermaid blood.”

Shea rolled his eyes, unwilling to let the old merman off the hook so easily, but kept his mouth firmly closed.

The King narrowed his eyes as a slow smile spread across his face. “I can see you are reluctant to argue with an infirm old king, but your eyes betray the fire in your heart. Just like your mother. I look forward to many interesting discussions when I regain my health, young merman.” He glanced around the circle and frowned. “Speaking of Brynneliana, where is my daughter?”

“With Prince Demyan, Sire,” Kira told him. “They went to seek the High Chancellor.”

“I’m afraid the Prince will try to force a wedding tonight,” Lybio added darkly.

“Tonight?” sputtered the King. His eyes were wide, as he turned his head to face Kira. “How can she and Theo marry tonight? Isn’t he as sick as I am from those infernal seeds?”

“Theo is dead,” Lybio told him. “As is Prince Azul. You are lucky to have survived.”

Shea watched how slowly the King moved his head as he turned to face Lybio. “So who then, pray tell, will be getting married?”

“Prince Demyan seeks the crown and your daughter’s hand for himself,” Kira interjected. “Demyan said his forces would kill her son if something wasn’t done. That they had gone rogue with the uncertainty of treachery tainting the Solstice. With your life hanging by a thread, Brynn saw no other choice but to go with him.”

“It wasn’t rogue soldiers,” Shea said. “They were acting on orders from Demyan himself.”

“Shea, that’s a pretty big accusation,” said the King, his expression grave. “How can you be so sure?”

“Demyan himself came to question us while we were bound,” Shea told him. “He threatened us both with a knife, and caused that wound at Kae’s neck. He would have killed us both, but decided to keep us as hostages, once he recognized me.”

“He knew of you?” the King’s eyes flew open wider. “Lybio, does Demyan know of the Mark on my grandson’s back?” The King propped himself up with both elbows. Lady Kata moved forward to stuff another pillow of seaweed behind him to help steady his still-feeble body.

Shea’s eyes darted from the King over to Lybio. “Does everyone around here know about my birthmark?”