Waterfire Saga, Book Four: Sea Spell: Deep Blue Novel, A (40 page)

As Astrid tried to figure out what to do, both sets of guards walked toward the mermaids, forcing them back to the center of the T.

“We’ll have to swim back the way we came,” she said.

But before they could, the guards on the left grabbed hold of a massive iron lever jutting from the wall. They threw their weight on it, pulling it down.

There was a deep groaning sound, and then the heavy scrape of stone against stone. The entire prison seemed to shake. Cracks appeared in the floor, and the corridor the mermaids had just swum down rose, forcing the mermaids up with it. The guards disappeared from view. With a booming
thunk
, the moving corridor slotted into its new position, and instead of staring at a stone wall, the mermaids found themselves looking down a new passageway.

“What happened?” Ava asked.

“The guards shifted the hallway. They’re driving us farther into the labyrinth,” Sera explained.

Astrid peered into the murky waters ahead. There were more cells, with more ghosts inside them, but no free-roaming guards.

“We’ve got to be on the lookout,” Becca said. “Ava, you’re going in the middle. Everyone else form a circle around her.”

The group made its way down the new corridor, and two more, before running into guards again. Just as before, the guards pulled a lever, but this time they lowered the corridor.

“They’re herding us,” Sera said. “Toward the courtyard.”

“Becca was right,” Ling said. “Abbadon wants to get us into an open space. So it’s easier to kill us.”

“And we still have no idea how to kill
it
,” Sera said.

“We better come up with something fast,” Neela said. She pointed ahead with her sword. A wide doorway yawned ahead of them. Light poured in from it. “There’s the courtyard.”

T
HE SIX MERMAIDS swam up to the doorway cautiously, weapons raised. When they reached it, everyone but Ava looked around, their eyes scanning the high walls, the remains of a fountain, hills of ice, but they saw nothing.

“It’s got to be here,” Sera whispered. “It led
us
here.”

Then they heard it: a short, sharp sound, like a shot. It sounded like ice cracking. Or glass.

Astrid looked up. “Great Neria,” she whispered. The others followed her gaze.

Abbadon clung to the glass ceiling with two of its hands; more were thrust out into the water, the eyes in the palms staring. Its sightless head hung down, scenting the water. Its body, the color of a shadow glazed red, was tensed and ready to spring.

“
I’m
the one who’s supposed to know how to undo this thing?” Astrid said. “Then we’re doomed. Because I don’t have the first clue.”

“We can do this, merls. Don’t lose your nerve,” Neela said bravely, glowing bright blue. “We can bring it to that monster.”

“Ava, anything?” Sera asked.

“I’m trying,” Ava said, “but it’s blocking me.”

“Becs—”

Becca was a stroke ahead of her. “Sera, you get out in front of it with me,” she said. “Astrid, take the back. Ling, you and Neela take the sides. Ava, stay here in the doorway, and keep focusing. We need to see inside it.”

At that very second, Abbadon sprang. It was so fast, the mermaids had no time to react. Its slashing claws caught Ling and sent her spinning. She hit a wall and sank to the floor with a deep gash in her right side. Blood poured out of it and her ribs showed whitely through her torn flesh.

This is how we’re all going out—fast and bloody,
Sera thought grimly.
Unless Ava can get a glimpse inside it. And Astrid can use what she sees to kill it.

“Hey! Hey, lumpsucker! Over here,” Astrid shouted, trying to draw the monster off Ling.

She swam close to Abbadon and jabbed it with her sword. It wheeled around instantly, and Astrid was nearly slashed herself, but the few seconds of distraction Astrid provided gave Sera time to grab Ling and get her underneath an overhang of ice.

Sera took off her jacket. “Press this against the wound,” she told her, then she swam back to help the others.

They took up the positions Becca had devised and began to harry the creature with songspells.

Neela launched a frag. It hit Abbadon in the back but did little more than enrage it.

Becca tried to encircle it with waterfire, but it deftly eluded the flames and backhanded her into an ice hill. As she struggled to get up, Astrid hurled a stilo.

Her spell hit home, tearing a chunk out of the monster’s shoulder. It roared and came after her. She defended herself with her sword, slicing into one of its hands. It nearly grabbed her with its other hands, but Sera threw up a water wall and blocked it.

The mermaids kept at it, battling Abbadon with everything thing they had, but only managed to inflict small injuries.

Astrid, ducking Abbadon’s hands again, swam close to Sera now.

“We’re getting our tail fins kicked!” she shouted.

“It’s going to wear us down and crush us! And then it’ll get out of here! What if it breaks through the waterfire you cast over Orfeo and takes his pearl? What if Orfeo’s soul jumps into Abbadon?” Sera shouted back.

Before Astrid could respond, the monster charged, forcing them to dart off in opposite directions.

Come on! Figure this out!
Astrid yelled at herself, terrified by the idea of Abbadon escaping.

She was Orfeo’s descendant. She was the one who’d spent time with him, who knew how he thought. But as hard as she tried, she still couldn’t figure out a way to kill his monster.

Abbadon charged her again, forcing her close to the doorway and Ava. Astrid took shelter there for a moment, pausing to catch her breath.

“You okay, Ava?” she asked, turning to look at her.

Heavy silver tears were brimming in Ava’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Astrid asked, alarmed. “Are you hurt?”

Ava shook her head. “I can see them,” she said in a choked voice. “I can see the souls. There are so many of them, Astrid, and they’re all in terrible pain. They want to be free. For four thousand years, they’ve wanted to be free.”

As Ava spoke, Abbadon backed Becca into an ice hill.

“No way!” Astrid shouted, streaking off.

She swung her sword with all her might, right into the monster’s leg. The blade bit deeply. Abbadon roared, spun around, and lunged at her. Astrid launched herself up, somersaulted over the monster’s head, and landed near the overhang where Ling was sheltering. Abbadon lunged again. Astrid shot under the overhang. The monster’s hands closed on water.

Astrid leaned against the back of the ice hill, panting. She looked at Ling. Her eyes were closed. She was very pale. Blood from her wound was seeping through the makeshift bandage.

“Ling? Ling, are you all right?
Ling!
” she shouted.

Ling opened her eyes. “Astrid, if I…if I don’t make it, sing my dirges,” she rasped.

“No,” Astrid said, panicking. “You’ll be okay, Ling.”

“Astrid, please….”

“No!”
Astrid shouted, anger pushing aside fear. So many mer had died because of Orfeo and his madness. She didn’t want to lose one more. “I’m
not
singing your dirges, Ling! Nobody’s singing
anybody’s
dirges. You’re going to make it. I swear to the gods you are….”

Her voice trailed off. She felt as if the eye of a hurricane had just passed over her.

“Dirges,” she whispered. “Oh, my gods.
Dirges
.”

How do you kill an immortal soul?
Sera had asked.

“You don’t,” Astrid whispered aloud. “You free it. Just like Orfeo had hoped to free Alma.”

“Astrid, what are you talking about?” Ling asked.

“
Dirges.
That’s how we do this. Ling, you’re a
genius
!”

“True, but what do dirges have to do—”

Astrid sheathed her sword. She swam out of the overhang. “Abbadon!” she shouted. “Hey, monster man!”

“Astrid, what are you
doing
?” Ling called after her.

“I don’t know!” Astrid shouted back. “I’ve never done it before!”

How do you sing a dirge?
she wondered desperately.

She cast her mind back to the Hall of Elders, in the Citadel, when she and Desiderio were trying to escape from Rylka. That’s when she’d heard her father’s dirges being sung. The songspell was a simple and beautiful old Ondalinian melody. She would borrow it, add her own lyrics, and hope that her magic was strong enough.

“Abbadon!” she shouted, swimming right toward the monster. “Abbadon, hear me!”

“Astrid, no!” Sera cried.

She started to swim toward her, but Neela stopped her. “Wait, Sera!” she said. “Listen!”

They all listened as Astrid’s voice—strong and expressive—rose in the water. She’d cast a few frantic spells when she’d fought Orfeo, but this was the first time they’d really heard her sing.

Abbadon had been advancing on Becca, but as Astrid’s voice grew louder, it stopped, then slowly turned toward her. It seemed spellbound by her song, and the beauty of her voice. Its hands stretched toward her. One by one, they opened. The eyes stared at Astrid, unblinking.

“Oh, gods, no. It’s going to tear her in two,” Becca said.

As if acting on Becca’s words, Abbadon charged at Astrid, roaring.

“No!”
Neela screamed.

Astrid’s own hands were knotted into fists, but she didn’t flinch. The monster stopped only yards away from her, its chest heaving. It threw its head back and roared so loudly that the mermaids had to press their hands over their ears. The entire prison shook. A section of wall behind Sera cracked and tumbled into the courtyard.

“Dirges,”
Sera said excitedly. “She’s singing the souls back to the sea.”

Astrid kept singing. The monster clutched its head, then dropped to its knees. As it did, a thin crack opened up in its side. Light, pure and white, shot out of it. The water inside the courtyard started to whirl.

“Ava, what do you see?” Sera shouted.

“Souls! Thousands of them!” Ava shouted back. “They want to get out!”

Abbadon roared again. It sounded like a creature in torment.

“It’s working, Astrid!” Neela shouted. “Keep it up!”

Abbadon was breaking apart. More souls were pushing their way out. Their light was swirling through the courtyard. Their energy was fearsome.

They’re going to destroy the Carceron,
Astrid thought.
And everyone in it.

Another section of wall caved in. Sera grabbed Ava and Neela and swam with them into the center. Becca lifted up Ling, who was still under the overhang, and joined them. Only seconds later, the overhang split off from the rest of the ice and crashed to the ground.

“They have nowhere to go!” Neela shouted. “They want to go to the underworld, but they can’t!”

“They need pearls!” Ava yelled.

“Astrid!” Neela shouted. “Use your—”

But her words were cut off when a chunk of the glass ceiling fell in, narrowly missing Astrid.

“THE PEARLS!” Neela yelled as the water cleared, frantically pointing at her neck.

Astrid didn’t understand what she was trying to say. Her hand came up to her own neck. And then she felt it.
Alma’s necklace!
she thought. It was made of thousands of pearls. They were small, though. Would they work?

Still singing, she unhooked the necklace and swam to Abbadon. The monster’s roars had risen to shrieks now. Its body was riven with cracks. The light pouring from them was so bright, it was blinding.

“Hurry, Astrid!” Sera urged, as another section of wall came down.

Astrid ripped the necklace apart and scattered the pearls in a circle around Abbadon.

As the mermaids all watched, rays of light swirled out of the monster and disappeared into the pearls. One by one, the freed souls found their refuge.

Abbadon took a few last breaths, then with a deep groan, toppled onto the icy courtyard floor. As Astrid and the others watched, its chest sank. The eyes in its hands became sightless and dull. Its body, nothing but a hollow shell now, crumpled.

“You did it!” Sera said, throwing her arms around Astrid.

“
We
did it,” Astrid said, hugging her back. “All of us together.”

Becca and Neela slapped tails. Ling, pale as a sand dollar, managed to squeeze Ava’s hand.

And then the Carceron shuddered. A noise like a gunshot was heard overhead, as a crack opened in the roof’s glass.

“We’ve got to get out of here before the whole places crashes in on us,” Becca said.

“We can’t leave them,” Neela said, nodding at the pearls. “They need to go home. If the Carceron falls, we’ll never be able to find them again.”

“Ling needs a doctor,” Sera said, grimacing at the blood seeping out between Ling’s fingers. “Becca, can you get her back to camp?”