The Lost Secret of the Silver Sea

Chapter 32: Of Dreams and Songs

        Kaelonne dreamt of the open waters, the ocean. A world so blue, so cold, and vast. Light scattered in the movement of the water, creating a soft glow. A sparkle of silver in the water caught his attention, and a pressure building in his chest. His raised his hand above his head and pushed down, his hair falling back like a wave behind him. His head broke the surface, and he breathed the air.

            The sky was a paste of blue and grey, like an abstract painting. Sliver flashed, lightning unaccompanied by its brother. Land was nowhere to be seen, the blue stretching for miles. No one with him. He felt so alone, but it was peaceful, like a world stuck between reality and dream. His head bobbed on the surface, his tail – legs? – moving under him.

            A soft sound reached his ears, a humming. It passes his ears like a whisper all around him, a song. It uttered words he didn’t understand, in a tune he’d never heard before. It uttered words he understood, in words he knew all to well. The voice chanted, verses passing through his fingers like silk ribbons.

            A faint whistle in the distance.

            His head went under again.

            The blue world sparkled with silver.

            A movement at the corner of his eyes catch his attention. He stops and stare. An underwater being with black and silver scales, it glittered at the slightest push of its tail. Kaelonne was entranced.

            As the creature came closer, he noticed the spear in hand. A simple design, as silver as their scales. The weapon shimmered with power, the metal looked fierce in the hands of its wielder. The face was blurry, fading in and out like a view from a microscope lens, but Kaelonne knew who he was seeing, who was singing.

            The King of the Sirinians.

            King Helacean.

            The time has come to fight, my Queen.

            Kaelonne woke up with a jolt, as though his head had broken the surface of the water. He sat up in the bed, chest heaving silently as he took in his surroundings. The pressure in his chest was still there, like a warm weight. The song rang in his ears, a haunting melody he couldn’t escape.

            He was still in the room that Alister had offered to them. The ceiling to floor windows on the far side overlooked the great ocean. The world was still a shade of grey and silver from the early dawn hidden by the brewing storm. The sun was hiding behind thick clouds. An eery reminiscent of his dream.

The young royal flinches slightly at the sound of Hartley turning in the second bed in the room. Nora and Madeline was in a room over and Axel was with Alister. Conan has taken the risk of going to the laboratories last night despite how early into the moring their talks lasted.

            Kaelonne got to his feet, blood rushing to his head suddenly. He absently notes the fact that his was in a loose white jersey and short pants, his bare feet on the cold ground. He leaves the peaceful human to his sleep as he walks out onto the wooden deck, careful to open the sliding doors quietly.

            The call was hypnotizing, the song of the sea. He flinches at the drops of icy rain from the drizzle coming down on them and just takes in the breathless sight.

            A storm, just like the day he ended up on land. The waves are rough and loud, froth sparkling silver. The sky was dark and cloudy, lightning flashing, and thunder trembling his very being. Winds blowing harshly at his skin, his clothes and loose hair swaying. The melody was louder, and he needed to get to it.

            A sleepy voice calls behind him, but he’s already walking on the sand.

            Hartley groggily wipes his eyes as he sits up in his cot. Goosebumps raising as the sudden onslaught of cold breeze. Did they forget the door open? He stretches with a yawn, sighing in relief as his stiff back pops. The sound of rain on wood catches his attention.

            He sniffs and properly opens his eyes, widening them in surprise as he notices someone standing out on the deck. Hartley tilts his head in surprise as he recognises Kaelonne staring at the sea. He considers calling him, but the Mermatian seems to be pretty distracted.

            The world looked like it was shrouded in a thick blanket. The sky and sea dark and stormy, looking like a painting. The first thought that came to mind was that Kaelonne must be feeling homesick. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like, having been dragged from your home unwillingly as a war starts. It must be harrowing that he didn’t even know if any of his folks or friends were alive.

            Hartley gets to his feet slowly, contemplating joining him on the deck. He wouldn’t want to disturb him, but he wasn’t about to leave him on his own. Before he could get the chance to, Kaelonne takes a step forward and then he’s off on the sand, heading towards the water.

            Something was wrong, adrenaline wakes him up fully and kicks him into high gear as he runs for the deck. The footsteps are deep in the sand, leaving easy imprints to follow. Hartley makes the split decision to get the others, because he didn’t feel like he was dealing with an on-the-whim sense. Something was coming and he wasn’t about to leave Kaelonne to deal with it on his own.

            Alister and Axel were the first he barged in on, startling them with short words and a little yelling. As they pulled on jackets and shoes, he heads to Madeline and Nora, knocking repeatedly until Nora opened it with blurry eyes, a scowl, and a slipper in hand. She immediately pulls herself together, however, at the worried expression Hartley was sure was etched into his face.

            They rush out into the cold weather, following the marks in the sand. Hartley clutched the extra jacket in his hand, mind running over the possibilities of what he might find. They were led to the far side of the beach, where sand and water turned to waves bashing upon rocks.

            There was a board walk built far this side, to the caves that were hidden in high tide. The footsteps moved onto the wood, sand leading to the piece that jutted out over the water. Hartley’s heart was in his throat as he watched the figure standing on the very edge of the jetty. He was struck with a moment of awe, the others frozen in place as they notice it to. The feeling of charged power.

            Kaelonne was a friend. Someone who shouted ridiculous phrases with Nora, wiped oil on his face by accident with Axel, made terrible jokes with Madeline and played with the dolphins with Alister. He was the person who stayed up to late hours, teaching them hilarious games from his home, the one who ran through halls with Nora after too much coffee. The person who held the craziest conversations with Hartley on a daily basis. But today? Hartley didn’t see that person; he saw something else.

            Kaelonne, was a creature of a world they could never reach. A regal being, centuries old, someone that would continue outlive them for generations, even after their great grandchildren were playing with their own. Tattoos seemed to glow almost sliver in the storm, his hair whipping out behind him, his chest lifted in defiance to the tempest threatening to rage. Before them stood a being more powerful than they could imagine. If Hartley had any doubt of Kaelonne’s standing as a being from another world, it was gone now.

            Hartley held up a hand to stop the others as he took a step forward, handing over the extra jacket in his arms to Alister. The sun broke on the horizon, painting the world in so many colours so quickly that Hartley was left squinting to keep sight of the Mermatian. The sun stood in front of him as if acknowledging him as a being of high standard. The tattoos running up his neck seem to glow even brighter. Hartley couldn’t feel the cold rain running down his face anymore. Despite the fair distance between them, he holds out a hand, his voice stuck in his throat.

            The ethereal figure turns to face him, and the breath is stuck in his throat as he his eyes meet bright silver ones. Times seems to stop a few seconds, just for the two of them. Hartley takes another step forward… and then there was chaos.

            The world rushes back to them, Kaelonne’s eyes widen in panic as he takes a step forward. He’s yelling but Hartley could hardly hear him over the crashing of the waves and strong winds, a great boldness to the sun now painting the sky.

           Hartley rushes towards him but Kaelonne shakes his head wildly, and he sees why.

Something breaks the surface of the wave, a creature easily larger than the dolphins. He barely catches a glimpse of it, dull grey scales and black, eyes. Droopy fins and claws hands, its skin is an unhealthy grey and its mouth is open in a nasty snarl. It wraps its hands around the Mermatian and then they’re gone, water on the jetty left behind as the only evidence.

        Hartley’s brain takes too long to understand what happened.

         “KELLON!”