Magic by the Sea

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Chapter Seven

The Petrel and the King

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Ryan’s dreams weren’t peaceful. He saw the faces of people he knew. Or people he thought he knew…

Like some incredibly far away memory, or memory he only half remembered, the sounds of shouting and the crashing of waves filled his ears. It was a man and a woman. They were arguing, the woman was crying, and Ryan was so sure he knew her voice.

‘You can’t do this! He’s my baby!’ She was screaming. She was almost hysterical, young but frantic with barely contained terror.

‘He can’t be anymore! No, listen to me! They will come for me. The only way to stop him from coming for you both as well is to convince them that Ryan is dead.’ Ryan was being picked up. He tried to look at the people arguing. He wanted to tell them it was okay, that he was fine.

He wanted to ask them who they were!

The woman’s wailing intensified as Ryan got further away.

‘Please don’t take him from me!’

‘We will look after him, I promise.’ That was Alice’s voice. He was sure. He was positive he knew the other woman as well but from where?

‘I will never forgive you for this, any of you!’ the woman screamed. Ryan watched with only half formed eyes as his blanket and necklace of a shell was taken from around his tiny neck. A rock was placed inside the blanket, the necklace tying it together. There was a last desperate sob from the woman as the bundle was tossed into the ocean with a condemning heavy splash.

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He woke feeling oddly uncomfortable, like he was being watched. A shadow fell over him and he groggily looked up. He yelped. Den stared down at him.

‘Get up,’ was all the merman said. Ryan’s first thought was to argue. His second thought was that retaliation probably wasn’t a particularly good idea. So instead, he climbed stiffly to his feet and followed the creature. He watched in stunned amazement as part of the solid smooth wall suddenly disappeared, revealing a corridor that was, at least, above water like his room.

‘Where are we going?’ he asked. Wow his voice was hoarse. The switch from dreams to waking was so quick that he was struggling to remember what he was dreaming about. He felt oddly like it was important but even as he struggled to think about it, the details were fading away like smoke.

‘Did you really think you would be eating every meal in your quarters?’ Den grunted without looking back at the boy.

Ryan shrugged. ‘Dunno. This is my first time being abducted. Sort of new to this whole thing,’ he grumbled. Den actually chuckled. He was kind of relieved. It made the other male seem less hostile. Ryan looked out into the deep ocean from the corridor.

‘Are all your buildings like this?’ he asked, pausing to watch a large school of trout swim by. Den paused.

‘Of course. Are yours not the same?’ he asked, his tone bored.

‘No. Not really. I mean we have glass, but our buildings aren’t really…underwater like this,’ Ryan murmured, staring. He stopped walking.

‘Have you… I mean have any of you had any contact with the outside world?’ His question was met with an uncomfortable silence.

‘We can take human form for short periods of time though we may never be far from the ocean and we are bound to these islands. I have been to the mainland briefly and your own island. I have seen television, electricity, those ridiculous machines that carry you about. I know people have cell phones though don’t ask me how the bloody things work.’ Den said finally.

‘Did your people used to travel? Like to other oceans and stuff? I mean, even in a hundred years, so much has changed. It is probably going to be a shock for you,’ Ryan said awkwardly. He wondered briefly if he should mention that places like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia were dying out. Yeah… maybe he wouldn’t mention that part. The merman looked at him and shrugged.

‘I assumed there would be more humans, more filth, more waste,’ Den grunted.

‘Yeah… six billion is more than you might expect though.’ This time it was Den’s turn to looked stunned.

‘An exaggeration,’ he snapped.

Ryan looked up at him. ‘Not… not really.’ They stood in the corridor in silence. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

‘Six billion?’

‘Yeah… Umm… Sorry?’ Ryan winced. He opened his mouth to speak but the older merman turned sharply and began to stride away and he had to jog to catch up. They didn’t say another word to each other until they reached another large circular room. There was a massive table and chairs.

‘Sit, eat,’ Den said gruffly, waving a hand at a bowl that sat on one side. Ryan wanted to apologise again but didn’t really have any idea what he could say. He sat down and pulled the bowl close. He peeked inside, hoping dearly there wouldn’t be whole fisheyes looking back at him. The hot scent of creamy chowder hit his nose and he let out a breath of relief. Crab chowder was an improvement over raw fish.

‘Thank you,’ Ryan said as he picked up his spoon. Den just grunted. His guard was looking out of one of the clear walls into the ocean bed beyond their room. Ryan squinted. Was it his imagination or were there shapes sticking out of the seabed? They looked like the masts of old ships. He ate a few mouthfuls before he finally asked the question he had been dying to know the answer to. He thought he could push his luck just a little further.

‘Are there other tribes of mer people around the world?’ he asked in a would-be casual voice.

Den snorted and shot him a look that suggested he wasn’t fooled. ‘Of course. There are tribes in the far north and the far south. We prefer the colder deeper waters. We…’ the older merman sighed.

‘We have not had contact with them from a long time,’ he said heavily. Ryan put down his spoon.

‘Den, can you please tell me what is happening? Can you tell me anything about the war or why I’m here. I’m trying to absorb all of this but…’ Ryan shook his head.

‘This is too much!’ he spluttered, waving a hand at the ocean window. Den turned away from the view to look at him.

‘How much do you already know?’ the man asked finally. This time it was Ryan’s turn to snort.

‘About as much as I can from a few chapters of some old kid’s book,’ he said and then immediately wished he hadn’t. A look of pain crossed the old man’s features before it was gone seconds later.

‘A children’s book… The war that caused the near extinction of my tribe is a children’s book.’ Den words were hissed out through sharp teeth. Ryan flinched, wishing very much that he had kept his mouth shut. Den was the only ally he might have and offending the merman was probably a bad idea. Choosing his words carefully, he continued.

‘My grandfather also used to tell me stories too. He told me how the islands around here are magic. Pirates controlled most of the waters. They discovered the islands and wanted to use them to hide and smuggle stolen goods. He said they fought with the mermaids who called the islands home and the resulting war wiped out the pirates,’ Ryan said, struggling to remember every scrap of the legend he had ever heard. Den just stared at him for a while and then gave a curt nod.

‘That is not… a disgustingly inaccurate account. It isn’t anywhere near complete though. The humans did invade our waters. There are places in this world where creatures of magic can go and be protected however this comes at a cost. These places do not belong to any one people and to claim they do is to cause their destruction. Mistakes were made. For pride and honour, rubbish that can’t bring back our dead or heal our wounds.’ Den’s voice was heavy and deep. Ryan found himself engrossed, the chowder forgotten.

‘When the men came with their ships and guns we should have left. The islands would have defended themselves without us. No human could own them or live there. But first blood was drawn, and our young prince was injured. Refusing to retreat and ignoring the ancient laws told to us by our forefathers, we stayed and fought for land and waters that were not even rightly ours. Many were killed, human and mermaid.’ Ryan swallowed, his eyes tracing for the first time, the ridges and scars that covered the old merman’s torso. There was a particularly deep one that stretched over the hip above the cloth. It looked as though an entire hunk of muscle had been carved out.

‘These islands used to be a place of protection. A place where my kin could be safe from humans and their invasion. Now they are our prison. Magic takes no sides, favours no individual. By the time we realized the nature of the curse our war had created, it was too late. We were all trapped. The king firmly believed that if we destroyed the last of the pirates, we would be freed. We hunted them all down, every last one but it made no difference. That’s when he started to believe it wasn’t enough. If not the pirates, then their descendants too. Their children, their wives. We hunted them all.’ Ryan’s mouth went completely dry. Horror and dread coiled thickly in his gut.

‘But it didn’t help, did it?’ Ryan croaked. Den shook his head.

‘No. It didn’t. Until we discovered that you were alive, the last living descendant of the last Kestrel Captain.’ Silence filled the room.

‘Is he going to kill me too?’ Ryan asked. His hands were shaking. He put them in his lap to hide them.

‘I do not know. I would have said yes if you had asked centuries ago. He is not the ruler I once knew. He has lost too much, sent too many of his kin to the depths. He needs to learn to let go,’ Den breathed. Ryan lifted his head, suddenly understanding.

‘Is that… is that why you told me all of this?’ he asked. The merman nodded.

‘It is. I have long since been aware that this curse hasn’t dissipated. It didn’t end with the war, or your father’s death but it needs to end. My hope is it will end with you. One way or another,’ Den growled.

‘What is he doing in here!?’ The voice was like a whip crack. Firth was standing in the entrance, pale eyes narrowed. His lips were pulled back like a snarling dog.

‘My king.’ Was it Ryan’s imagination or was Den’s tone vaguely mocking?

‘What is he doing here? Why is he not in his quarters?’ Firth spat again, striding forward like an angry serpent. Ryan rose from his chair slowly. Den shrugged one massive shoulder.

‘Was I supposed to keep him restricted to his quarters? My apologies my king, I am new to this whole abducting thing.’ Ryan’s mouth fell open as he listened to Den parrot back what he himself had said not that long ago. The king looked furious. His pale cheeks were blotchy with rage and those oily dead eyes were sliding around in their sockets.

‘What have you been telling him?’ the king snarled. The two mermen stood staring each other down for several tense moments.

‘Nothing the boy did not know already, give or take a few details,’ Den grunted, utterly unfazed by the creature that was becoming less human by the second. Ryan moved behind the other side of the table. It really wasn’t much but Firth seemed to be growing. He filled the whole space, his long fingers hooking into great talons. Scales slid up over his torso making him look far more like some undead demon fish person than anything close to human.

‘It is not his place to know!’ Firth roared. Ryan tried to square his shoulders.

‘You’re going to kill me, I don’t care what you think, I deserve to know why!’ Ryan barked with as much courage as he could muster. To his credit, his voice only shook a little. Firth’s head swivelled at a grossly unnatural speed to look at him.

‘You are alive because I am not done with you. That decision may change,’ the king hissed. Throwing caution to the wind, Ryan glared.

‘Yes, because killing any and everything has worked so well for you in the past,’ he snapped. The merking let out the oddest sound. It was almost like a roar and the squeal of a dying animal. The hair on the back of Ryan’s arms stood on end.

‘What do you know of death!? You are a child!’ Firth thundered.

Ryan met him like one storm to another. ‘That’s exactly my point! I am a child. Just last week I was playing a computer game with my little brother whilst I was eating Doritos and arguing with Trent that DC comics will always be better than Marvel even if they only ever make shitty movies! I am so far removed from your world I may as well be from a different planet! You can’t have it both ways! Either I’m the murderous spawn of a pirate responsible for the death of your people or I’m a regular human kid with lying parents!’ Den looked mildly impressed. Whatever Firth had expected him to say, it wasn’t that.

The king opened his mouth and then shut it again. The powerful sense of fear was receding as the merman seemed to shrink again. His jaw tight and his eyes pinched the king finally said, ‘Take him back to his quarters. Immediately.’ Den bowed to him and then placed a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. Ryan didn’t argue and allowed himself to be escorted from the room. He felt that piercing gaze on his back the entire way. When they finally returned to the round room of Ryan’s, he collapsed down onto the rug.

‘Holy crap,’ he wheezed. His legs were shaking. Adrenaline was pumping through him like an electrical current.

‘I’ll give you one thing kid, you certainly have some stones,’ Den chuckled. Ryan groaned.

‘Somehow I don’t think that helped him like me over much.’ The boy slumped over, putting his head in his hands.

‘I dunno. That’s the most emotion I’ve seen him show in a long time,’ Den said cheerfully. Ryan shot him a nasty look.

‘You are enjoying this,’ Ryan accused.

Den smirked. ‘It’s been a long time, kid. I’ll take whatever entertainment I can get.’ With that, the old merman turned and left Ryan to his thoughts.

He stayed for a long time on the floor. He hadn’t eaten very much, and his various bruises and cuts were starting to ache again. He was also slowly becoming aware that he had not had a shower of any kind in a while. His hair felt dry and itchy. His skin still had that sandy salty feel you get after swimming at the beach. He had a vague image in his head of a screaming woman. Den’s story echoed about in his ears as though he were hearing it on his grandfather’s old radio.

He groaned. It was insane. Every last shred of it. The worst part of all, Ryan had no idea what to do. Well… that wasn’t entirely true. He needed to convince Firth that killing him wouldn’t end the curse. However the hell he was going to do that. His fingers drifting up again to the tight collar around his throat.

Had Firth always planned to kill him and just said all that shit about being a pet to mess with him? At the same time Ryan felt an odd pang in his chest. Loss? He had no idea why but a small part of him had begun to think that maybe his father had still been alive. They had certainly talked about him as though he had been alive, like his capture had only been last week.

Ryan could be brave if he just knew that he had a real family out there. Was his birth mother still alive? Did he know her? Something heavy and cold settled in Ryan’s belly. Would Firth go after Alice and Jo for being involved? They had hidden Ryan away, rather successfully for eighteen years. Fear and worry and sadness weighed him down until Ryan laid back on the bed and rolled over.

He spotted his boots and old clothes still tucked in a wet pile under the table. Gingerly he made his way over. He crouched down and paused, listening intently for the sounds of footsteps. It was difficult to hear anything over the ceaseless movement of the ocean all around his prison. He waited but no one came. He took a slow breath as he pulled his sodden boots out. From their depth he drew the two daggers. He unsheathed them and stared down at the blades.

One a petrel

The other, a trident.

He needed answers.

Somehow.

Somehow, he had to find a way to leave this place and get home.

And he was going to get Den to help him.

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END

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