Fallen Thief Page 20

  “This could be your home,” Amara said gently. “All you must do is let go of your life above the surface, shed the clothes that are weighing you down, and embrace your true selves. You are merrows, and it is time you start harnessing the powers of our people.”

  “Merrows used to live on land, and they were just fine,” Mira said, tearing her eyes away from the glowing empire. “Until the disease that killed every last one of them.”

  “That was when you were the merqueen,” Kay added. “You stayed here, letting everyone die while you lived on for more than a hundred years.”

  Amara pressed her lips together, her smile wavering for the first time. “The merrows on land were vulnerable. They remained with the landdwellers, far from their own true homes, where they belonged. They chose not to return despite my warnings that it would only lead to devastation and death. I protected those I could from the plague, but I could not protect those who would not listen.”

  “Doesn’t explain what you did to live for so long,” Kay pressed. “No one believed us when we said you were the same ancient merqueen from the history books. No one’s done that before you.”

  “There are powers in this world you cannot understand.”

  “The only way you could be immortal is through sorcery,” Mira persisted. She could tell the empress was hiding something. “You did something to live forever.”

  “It would be a waste not to use the powers offered by our world,” Amara said. She gestured to the glowing buildings in the distance again. “Just look at what it has given those of us who know how to wield them.”

  “But how did you survive when every other merrow died?” Kay asked. “How come the plague only killed the merrows who spent time on land and not your empire?”

  “You ask too many questions.”

  “Is that why you burned my mother’s study?” Mira said. “Because we asked too many questions?”

  “You revealed my secret to the humans. They are not to be trusted.”

  “Why not?” Mira exclaimed. “They’re more trustworthy than you!”

  “More trustworthy than me?” Amara repeated, her eyes narrowing. “There is not a single merrow in my empire who is not better off, thanks to the sacrifices I have made for the good of my people.”

  “You’re evil,” Mira said simply. “You hurt others just to get what you want.”

  “How dare you speak to your empress with such disrespect,” Calder hissed from behind her.

  Amara held up her hand to silence him again, calmly inching closer to Mira and Kay.

  “Foolish children.” Amara’s words turned cold as ice. The empress raised her chin, looking down her nose at them. “You mistake my patience for kindness. But, like all things, my patience has a limit.”

  She raised her arms, and the water around her hands swirled in powerful currents. She pushed out towards them, and suddenly Mira found herself encased in a tight whirlpool from her neck down, her arms and legs pinned together without a chance of breaking free. Kay cried out beside her as he struggled against his bonds, too.

  “Now,” Amara said, her gaze as cool as the tone of her voice, “I must decide what to do with you. What do you think, Calder?”

  Calder grinned maliciously from behind the empress.

  “Turn them into the maggots that they are,” he hissed.

  Mira let out a groan as the summoned whirlpool tightened around her, squeezing her chest so that she fought to draw in breath. Her thoughts began to swim. The empress was going to kill them, or worse—Mira didn’t know what powers Amara held.

  “I warned you not to cross me,” Amara said. “Now, you must pay the same price as the merrows who were just as easily tricked by landdwellers to betray the rest of us. I could not stand idly by, watching them destroy my realm, and I will not tolerate it again.”

  Mira stared at Amara, the empress’s anger radiating from her like heat.

  “You did something,” Mira said with difficulty. “You did something…to those merrows—the ones who lived with landdwellers.”

  Amara blinked, her expression going blank, and the currents that restrained Mira and Kay tightened.

  “I simply closed off the walls of my empire, protecting my people.”

  “Yeah, and you killed everyone else,” Kay panted. “That plague was your doing!”

  “You did it, didn’t you?” Mira said, her head spinning at the horror of it—or was it the bonds that were crushing her chest? “It wasn’t a disease at all. You murdered those people with sorcery! All the merrows who wanted to live their lives with landdwellers—”

  “You probably killed our birthparents, too,” Kay groaned. “They’d never have wanted you as their empress, not when you’re such a monster.”

  “You speak of things you do not understand,” Amara hissed.

  “How did Mira and I end up on land, then?” Kay spat. Mira clung to his every word despite her struggles to breathe. “I bet our parents wanted to get us away from you.” He glared at Amara, whose pale face had gone paler, her full lips drawn into a thin line. “And you killed them for it. But we got away.”

  Amara’s lips curled up into a mean smile, and she tightened the currents around Mira and Kay. “We have you now. You see, the ocean has a way of drawing in what belongs to it in the first place. You were drawn to the music box of our people in that shop, which set off a series of events that helped us discover you, and then brought you straight to us today.”

  “And you hurt innocent people who got in the way,” Mira said with effort. “Our friends and family. Even that shopkeeper in Aindel—”

  “That worthless man had it coming,” Calder sneered. “If I get my hands on him, I’ll—”

  “Enough!” the empress yelled, ignoring Calder as she glared at Mira and Kay. “I have tolerated your disrespect for too long. You do not deserve the paradise I offer, but you will watch it from afar as my prisoners.”

  As the empress signaled for the soldiers to seize Mira and Kay, they frantically threw their thoughts to each other.

  Kay, get ready to make a portal.

  When?

  You’ll know.

  Mira reached into her thoughts for the memory of the Grimmir’s voice. Closing her eyes to concentrate, she used every ounce of energy she had to urge her words to him, to beg him to save them.

  Please, we need your help!

  The currents around them disappeared, leaving Mira and Kay doubled over and gasping. A moment later, strong arms held them up as the empress smiled down at them in victory.

  Mira threw her thoughts to the Grimmir again, fighting against the soldiers’ tight grip in vain.

  Finally, a rumbling sound reached her ears. The vibrations in the water shook them all, and the soldiers looked around in surprise.

  “What is this?” Calder asked as the ripples grew stronger.

  Kay’s voice rang in Mira’s ears.

  Is it the Grimmir?

  Mira nodded just as an ear-piercing screech shot through the water. With a violent wave, the Grimmir bolted straight towards them, making the soldiers scatter in a panic. Mira and Kay seized the chance and dove downward, away from the chaos.

  Kay, now!

  Kay was already holding up his arms, about to form a portal, when Mira was jerked backward. She turned to see Amara’s face only inches from her own, the empress’s icy fingers tightening around her wrist as the monster’s flaming red scales flashed over their heads.

  “No!” Amara shouted, her eyes wild. “You will not escape me again!” She dug her fingers into Mira’s skin, making her cry out in pain.

  In an instant, the world around Mira changed. First, she saw the shimmering image of a silver chalice with a drop of glowing liquid at the bottom.

  “The curse must not be stopped. I will destroy all who stand in my way.”

  A sense of panic accompanied those words.

  “I will finish what I have started.”


  The words echoed into nothingness as the image then turned into a crowd of merrows glittering with jewels that adorned their hair and clothes. They had fear in their tired eyes as they all scurried to hide behind lavishly decorated walls made of gold and amber, moving out of the way of a carriage pulled by dolphins.

  The shimmering image twisted again and this time landed on the face of a young girl with freckles and brown hair, staring back at her with wide blue eyes as she struggled to pull away—

  With a scream, Amara threw Mira from her. Mira clutched her pounding head, trying to make sense of what she just saw. Through the shock of it all, she had an inkling that she had just broken into Amara’s thoughts.

  “Mira!” Kay bellowed from what felt like miles away.

  She managed to open her stinging eyes just as her brother grabbed her arm and dragged her up towards the monster. He stretched out his hand and grabbed onto its tailfin. They lurched forward, pulled by the Grimmir.

  “After them, you fools!” Amara screamed.

  “Hold on!” Kay yelled, and Mira clutched onto the rough fin with all her remaining strength, trying to fight through the pain in her skull. She squinted up to see Kay let go of her arm and stretch it out in front of him. A portal bloomed right in front of the monster’s head, and an instant later, the sounds of the empress’s screams behind them were silenced.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Golden Gift

  T

  he Grimmir slowed down as they appeared right above one of the colorful coral reefs they had passed in the Ebb Sea. As the portal disappeared, the beast turned around to face them. Mira and Kay let go of its tail, their nerves easing in sight of their peaceful surroundings.

  Mira’s head was still pounding, but she fought through the pain to look into the Grimmir’s glossy, black eyes.

  Thank you, she thought.

  Yeah, you saved us, said Kay’s voice.

  The Grimmir bowed its head.

  It is I who should be thanking the two of you.

  Even though he didn’t speak aloud, Mira thought she traced a hint of exhaustion in the sound of the sorcerer’s voice that echoed in her mind.

  I had not a single hope left in the world until you found me. I do not recall the last time a merrow has even spoken to me. I either hunt, or I am hunted. That has been my way of life for many moons.

  For the first time, Mira noticed the scars that ran along the Grimmir’s back from the countless times it had been hunted: jagged slashes that were cut through its sleek black-and-red scales, all of them around the grooves atop its spine, where its golden horns used to be.

  Kay swam forward. We listened to the conch shell you left behind. It’s how we knew you were really cursed and that you could be set free.

  The conch… the Grimmir repeated, slowly twisting its body to swim around the coral reef as it thought. Ah, yes. I feel as if a fog is being lifted from my memory. I remember my tower, my laketown, my hideaway.

  Mira and Kay glanced at each other.

  I’m sorry, but your tower was destroyed. Mira cringed as she sent the sorcerer her thoughts. One of the empress’s spies tore it down.

  No matter. I would never have made it back to my tower in this state. I am slowly, but surely, transforming back to my old self, though my merrow body has long outlived its life. At long last, my time on this earth has come to an end.

  It turned its head to look at the children closely with a large black eye.

  Though it seems there is still some wonder left in this world that can surprise an ancient sorcerer like myself. Two merrowlings discovering the portal into my hideaway and unlocking the vial of my blood, only to deliver it to me. I once had hope that such a thing would be possible, but it had vanished centuries ago.

  We followed your voice in the hideaway, Mira thought and looked at Kay, who nodded. You’re the one who led us to it.

  The powers I once possessed were great to behold. Even a drop of that blood could have been used to do things even greater than what the empress is capable of doing. It seems the protective spell I used to seal it away was successful. Only those who wield the powers necessary to unlock the vial but who do not wish to use the blood for their own gain would be able to take it.

  Powers? Kay repeated. What powers?

  Never have I seen a sorcerer conjure a portal such as the one you created. And you, he twitched his head towards Mira. Your mind is an indestructible fortress. There is magic in your blood, little ones. Be careful how you use it. The powers of sorcery come with a price. You can see mine with your very eyes.

  The beast circled around the children. Mira once again noticed the jagged scars running through the Grimmir’s dark scales before it turned back to face them.

  It can take ages for sorcerers to realize that their powers are not worth the price of using them, but we all understand it in the end—even if it is too late to do anything about it. I deserved to be hated and hunted for all those years after living my life with selfishness on land. You two have done me a great service, despite all of that. I know that you seek my help. I can, at least, do one good deed to partly make up for the misdeeds of my past.

  It lowered its head and rubbed it against the reef. With a gentle snap, the last golden horn popped off the back of its head and fell softly onto the seabed.

  Take it. Crush it into powder and brew it in freshwater for a full day and night. The potion will return the drinker to health in an instant, even if they are at the brink of death.

  Mira swam down and picked up the horn, which was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. She closed her trembling fingers over it and swam back up to look into the Grimmir’s eyes again, seeing her face reflected back at her.

  Thank you, she repeated. You’ve saved us and our friends.

  It is you two who have saved me, little ones. You have given me the gift of sight so that I may revel in the beauty of the ocean one last time.

  It glided past the children without another word, its snakelike body uncoiling as it swam off into the depths of the ocean. Mira watched it move with a heavy heart, for she knew this was the end of the sorcerer’s story. The Grimmir’s golden stripes winked under the faint light from the surface as it disappeared from sight on its final swim through the water: a vicious beast on the outside but on the inside a merrow who spent his last moments of life to do some good in the world.

  Kay approached Mira a moment later and murmured, “Let me see.”

  Mira opened her hand to show him the pointed, golden horn. His face broke into a grin that lit up his eyes.

  “We did it,” he said.

  Mira returned his smile. “We have the cure.”

  She repeated the phrase over and over in her head, barely daring to believe it herself. After a long sigh of relief, she sent the words across the Old Towns to Peter.

  We have the cure.

  She carefully placed the horn in her pocket, and they rushed over to the base of the docks to grab their clothes. With their cloaks and boots in hand, Kay made another portal in front of them, and they were off to the familiar lake they had once used for their training on the other side of the kingdom.

  They had no idea how long they had been in the ocean, but the cloudless sky above the kingdom’s capital was dark and speckled with stars when they emerged from the lake. By the time they made their way through the forest at the edge of the city and reached the curved streets of the Ripple, they were dragging their feet with exhaustion. Mira didn’t know which hurt worse: her head or her feet. She didn’t even have the strength to tell Kay what she’d seen in her stolen glance into the empress’s mind. This would have to wait for another time. All she could think was that they needed to reach the palace and deliver the Grimmir’s horn as soon as they could.

  The streets were empty. Mira had to keep reminding herself that it was because they were walking about at night and not because they were still in the lands that were cursed and abandoned after
Amara’s plague.

  Luckily, one of the guards that stood in front of the closed palace gates recognized them as soon as they stumbled up.

  “They’re the merrows!” he said, raising his helmet to get a better look at them under the light of the lit torches on either side of the gates. He turned to his companion. “Tullor won’t believe it when we tell him—that little man was right. The children came, after all. Quick, open the gates. They look like they’ve gone through quite an ordeal.”

  Mira was too tired to pay much attention to what the guard was saying. She leaned her body against her brother, willing herself to take the last few steps to reach the warmth of the indoors.

  “We need to see the king,” Kay grunted as they waited for the gates to swing open.

  “The king and his family are at the Winter Castle down south,” the guard said, almost apologetically. “The Royal Advisor, Dane Tullor, is in charge here until they return. We can wake him—”

  “You can wake him, Wade,” the other guard snapped. “I’m not getting in trouble just because two little children arrived—”

  “You don’t need to wake him yet,” Mira cut in weakly. “First, take us to the infirmary.”

  “Are you hurt, little miss?” said the guard named Wade.

  She stuck her hand in her pocket and took out the golden horn.

  “We’ve got the cure to everlock sleep.”

  Once they made it inside the Throne Room, Mira and Kay were rushed into the infirmary by a nurse. They headed to Alexandra’s bed immediately. Their friend looked just as they remembered: her soft cheeks were smooth and dimple-less, and her eyes were still closed in her endless sleep.

  We’re here, Mira thought, placing a hand on her warm shoulder. You’ll wake up soon.

  Aristide was still sleeping on the bed opposite Alexandra’s. Mira handed the golden horn to the nurse, telling her the Grimmir’s instructions for brewing the potion that could break an unbreakable sleep. The nurse listened seriously, her eyes widening at the mention of the Grimmir. She nodded and then urged the children into the beds next to their friend. Mira welcomed the warm hug of the sheets, and after sending a thought of reassurance to Appoline and Peter that they were safe in the palace, she closed her eyes, eager to let her mind slip into sleep.