Chapter 33: A Fight
1978 Words
A voice in the back of his head screamed at him that this was a bad idea, but he couldn’t seem to be able to bring himself to stop. The song was far too strong, like a chain wrapped around his heart and pulling him wherever it decided.
It led him to the wooden jetty on the far side of the beach Alister owned. It was a place where sand turned to rocks and low cliffs, where the waves crashed on the stones with no mercy and the ocean floor was cloudy, mostly devoid of life.
He’d only been here once, with Hartley and Nora. He remembered it clearly, the day was blinding with the sun overhead and the water was so clear, he could see the rocks at the bottom. It was Nora’s favourite place; the cool ocean breeze and the sound of the crashing waves were the only company.
The water that day had been sparkling silver.
Just like it was now in the midst of an oncoming storm.
The irony was not lost on him.
The melody drew him ever closer to the edge of the jetty, his balance shaky and his toes curling on the end of the wood. It felt like he was still in a dream. The rain hitting his face was warm, the winds comforted him, promising to fill void he didn’t even know was there until now.
He was going to jump in the water.
The surge of adrenaline at the thought snaps him out of it. The song. It was no ordinary singing; it was the call of a Sirinian. His heart hammers in his chest, forcing him to take a hasty step away from the water. Kaelonne growls as he tries to clear the cloudy feeling in his head. The song is still loud in his ears, the Sirinian was close. But how?
The young royal raises his head and chest in defiance to the song still reverberating over the water, threatening to pull him back to the water. The drops of rain is now freezing cold on his shoulders, the wind shipping wildly at his clothes and hair. It’d been so long he’d last heard them sing.
Sirinian were creatures of song, it was how they expressed themselves. They sung for their intended, they sung in renewal of their memories. Kaelonne had learned that it used to be quite common over the years, but after they’d hidden themselves away from all life, it’s been impossibly rare to even hear the hum of it. If a siren was willing to use their song as a lure, they must be quite determined to get to him. He was going to give them what they wanted, but he wasn’t going to do it easily.
Footsteps behind him pull him out of his reverie, the sound of the storm fading. No, they couldn’t be caught in the crossfire, they would never stand a fight against a Sirinian. Humans were not fragile in any way, he learnt this well over the last few months. They were creatures of immeasurable strength and cunningness, but even that could not be enough to go against a creature that was impossibly angry and impossibly determined to get what they wanted.
Kaelonne snarls at the water, feeling his incisors sharpen in his mouth. His claws dig into his hands at the power now coursing through him. The young royal turns around in defiance to the song, stilling as he meets Hartley’s worried brown eyes.
The world faded around him, the sunlight breaking through the clouds behind him lit up the eyes like rich soil that braved the waves crashing on its cliffs. They were worried, but they were determined. He didn’t see Hartley, he saw the being that talked to him in his dream. Powerful but ever so kind.
Helacean swam closer to her with a smile on his face, she shakes her head and bares her teeth back in a grin. They were planning to unite their people and it was going much better than they’d hoped. The Queen hands him his spear as they swim through the halls of the half-built castle, watching the view through the windows. Helacean nudges her again, nodding to the little ones playing together, but she was lost at the look in his eyes. This was the first time she’d truly looked, the war not at the forefront of her mind for once. They were powerful, but kind.
The Queen refused to let anything happen to him again. He will not be harmed ever again, not in this life.
“King Helacean, stay back, please.” Kaelonne whispers, his voice ripped away by the wind around them. The sky lit up as though acknowledging the meeting of two creatures tied by fate.
They were not lovers; they were not friends. They were more. Like two beings sharing the same soul. Tied together by destiny to accomplish a goal, to unite to set of people. To show that the bond of a life can transcend anything. Forever separated in two different forms, always intended to meet no matter the circumstances.
Helacean looks at her with brave face, but she could see the worry under the well-built mask. She nodded at him with a grim smile. He was decked out in his armour, his spear glittering in the small amount of light. Behind him was the small troop he’d gathered to talk to the humans. It was supposed to be a small agreement, a discussion, an oath that the two could live in peace side-by-side. Little did she know that this would be the last time she’d truly see him.
Hartley takes a step forward, his hand outstretched with a worried gaze. Kaelonne shakes his head, he could hear the song of the Sirinian getting ever louder. They were close, to close. “Go! You need to leave!”
The young royal takes a step forward… and the world erupts into chaos.
Hands wrap around his waist far too tight, and suddenly he was underwater. His breath gets caught in his throat and he has to remind himself not to breath. It throws him into confusion for a second, unfamiliar with the notion of having to hold his breath in the water. Bubbles surround them as he’s dragged even further under, the little light he could see reflecting in the ripples.
The world is blue and silver, the swimming sky above him still flashing with lightning. It was cold, so cold, it felt as though it were burning him. Struggling did not help, his claws hardly digging into the Sirinian’s arms. It felt as though cotton was taking a place in his mind, shards of glass touching his limbs at every movement.
They touch the rough, rocky ground. His hair floated in front of him, blocking his sight. The Sirinian’s song is practically screeched into his ear, claws wrapping around his wrist as they fight. It was more of a tussle really, bubbles of much needed air escaping Kaelonne’s mouth.
Black sclerae bore into his own, stilling him for a few seconds as he gets lost in the song. It doesn’t last long as something hard slams into both of them. Kaelonne breathes out the little air he had left at the force, the Sirinian shrieking in anger as it fights anew with the other creature.
The young royal knows he needed to get the surface soon, but the painful pressure on his ankle warns him of that impossibility. It was stuck between two rocks, and he was to lightheaded to even try to pull himself out. It didn’t matter because he was far too lost on the fight happening before him.
Sirinian and Mermatian locked in battle. They snarled and clawed, screaming in each other faces for the upper hand. The sand now clouding the water from the frantic movements made it nearly impossible to make out the murky figures. Spots dance in his eyes as his lungs burn, the cold of the water now fading along with everything else.
Navy-blue scales, very familiar navy-blue scales. A scar running down their face. Kaelonne’s struggling heart rejoices, he couldn’t tell if the lack of air were merely creating images before him, but he would gladly accept it. Cassian, the face of the Father’s most trusted captain, the last Mermatian Kaelonne swam with before he was pulled to the surface.
As the spots in his eyes grow darker, he looks up to the now bright sky. Kaelonne belated mourns the fact that he’d lost the dagger the captain had given him, that he might not be able to give him it back. Two blurry figures move above him, the water rippling in the movement, bubbles surround them.
The face of Hartley and Nora come close to him. He tries to warn them of the danger, but Nora merely shakes her head and swims down to his trapped leg. Hartley pulls his attention with a smile, wrapping an arm under his own and shooting him a soft smile.
His leg is free and suddenly they’re rushing back up to the surface, the sounds of snarling and screeching fading. Kaelonne splutters and coughs as his head breaks the surface, Hartley arm like a band on his chest. Nora beaks the surface next to him, pointing to the trio standing worriedly by the end of the jetty.
Kaelonne gasps, a pressure building in his chest. Exactly the same as the one in his dream… vision? It burns, his breathing harsh and strained as Alister grabs his arm and t-shirt and drags him onto the jetty. He claws at his chest, trying to get the feeling to recede but it only grows worst. It was as though it was reacting to the sounds of fighting below him.
He couldn’t get his mind off Cassian, the Mermatian has already given his life to save the royal, he refused to lose him a second time. Hartley and Nora pulls themselves up beside him, with hurried movements. They’re speaking worriedly above him, but the words barely get past the ringing in his ears.
The Sirinian screams again, startling all of them on the deck. Kaelonne struggles weakly against the hands on his chest, the burning in his chest growing worst. It was spreading to his throat, he could feel his fangs digging into his human jaws as he grits his teeth. Hartley appears in his vision, hands on his face, trying to get his attention.
His hearing sharpens in that moment and that’s when he senses it coming. Hartley yelps as he sits up without warning, the human letting out a confused stream of words as he’s pushed behind the heaving Mermatian.
Kaelonne could hear it, Cassian had lost hold of the Sirinian and it was heading straight to them. It would scream. It would be too loud for the humans to handle, they would be hurt but not if he had something to say about it.
The water erupts.
Kaelonne screams.
He lets the pressure building in his chest out, revelling in the feel of power that ripples the water before him. The Sirinian shrieks back, but it quickly turned into a cry of pain as the sound easily overpowers its ears. It splashes the water angrily before swimming off.
The young royal slumps to the ground as his lungs burn for air, eyes trained on the water for the slightest movement. He could feel his claws and fangs retreating now that the job was done, his energy sapped. Hartley grabs him as he falls back, words of worry hardly reaching his ears.
He couldn’t rest yet. The familiar sound of a Mermatian pulls to him, he wasn’t letting Cassian go again.
- Writer
