elementary school now.”
Anyo, an elementary school teacher? I couldn’t picture him teaching kids how to multiply.
“He does know a lot of history,” said Blacktail. “Bet he’d be happy to share it.”
I slashed long blades of grass out of my way with the crossbow. I was still angry with Anyo for not defending us at that disastrous meeting.
“Meela, you gotta trust some people,” said Tanuu. “We’re all a part of the same fight.”
If we were all on the same side, why did I feel so alienated because of what I wanted? My people might have wanted freedom, but they wanted to kill mermaids to get it.
I considered Tanuu’s words. Of anyone who might be able to tell us our island’s history, Anyo was probably the one I trusted most.
“He wasn’t necessarily against us finding the Host,” said Annith, watching me. “He could’ve been quiet because of the others. He might even support our search for the legend, now that he’s been sacked.”
I didn’t know if he’d go as far as supportingus, but I could hardly imagine him ratting us out to the committee. Besides, after what I’d just seen, blindly searching for the Host was a much bigger risk than simply going to Anyo for information.
Sighing, I checked the position of the sun. Behind the patchy clouds, it sat low on the horizon. School would have let out long ago.
I scanned our attire. We were wet, filthy, and miserable looking. Blacktail’s clothes were splattered with blood. Not to mention our weapons. Even if Anyo was still there, we couldn’t go to a schoolyard like this.
“Tomorrow,” I said. “After the kids go home, we’ll talk to Anyo.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lesser Evils
A blanket of hammerhead sharks darkened the world above. They came from the west, a tight cluster of at least a hundred.
The baitball and the tuna scattered. A pair of feeding dolphins shot away.
I yanked my weapon from Spio’s bag.
It wasn’t the presence of the sharks that scared me, but the way they moved. They bumped into each other, moving too fast, too erratic. Rather than swarm the easy meal, the sharks had pushed straight through.
“They’re fleeing something,” I said.
Spio let the half-gutted tuna float away and pulled out his own Iron Hook of Doom.
“Smells like merpeople.”
My lips prickled. My teeth had lengthened, cutting into them. Ready to fight, my body transformed without my will. I gripped my weapon with both hands.
A few mermen up, Officer Strymon drew himself closer to the shoal. He scanned the line. “Enemies on all sides, soldiers!”
He’d barely drawn his longblade when a war cry sounded. The current changed at my tail.
Instinctively, I bared my teeth and rounded on the threat.
An army surged from below. Hostility closed around us, thick and suffocating.
They were going to pinch us between them and the sharks.
“Sideways,” I shouted to Spio.
We spun, but the opposing army already directed the sharks back, surrounding us. The predators formed a wall, trapping us inside the swirling ring.
The Battle for Eriana Kwai flooded back to me, bringing to life my every nightmare. This wasn’t how I was supposed to die—half a world away from everyone I loved, fighting for a cause I didn’t believe in.
Sharks and adrenaline-fueled mermen wreaked havoc on my senses. I didn’t know where to turn. Everything moved at blinding speed. I was used to fighting against the predictable, slow pace of a human.
Ripples grazed my skin from below. A merman with dreadlocked black hair shot towards me.
Spio dove between us. “I’m on it!”
He swung hard. The hook sliced the merman’s chest, spilling a cloud of blood.
“Weapons up, Lysi. This fight’s gonna be off the hook .”
Yelps rose over the rushing current as more soldiers closed in. They resembled us in appearance and weaponry, except for the dishevelment they all shared. They must have travelled an entire tidecycle to get here. Where had they come from?
A tiny mermaid
Anyo, an elementary school teacher? I couldn’t picture him teaching kids how to multiply.
“He does know a lot of history,” said Blacktail. “Bet he’d be happy to share it.”
I slashed long blades of grass out of my way with the crossbow. I was still angry with Anyo for not defending us at that disastrous meeting.
“Meela, you gotta trust some people,” said Tanuu. “We’re all a part of the same fight.”
If we were all on the same side, why did I feel so alienated because of what I wanted? My people might have wanted freedom, but they wanted to kill mermaids to get it.
I considered Tanuu’s words. Of anyone who might be able to tell us our island’s history, Anyo was probably the one I trusted most.
“He wasn’t necessarily against us finding the Host,” said Annith, watching me. “He could’ve been quiet because of the others. He might even support our search for the legend, now that he’s been sacked.”
I didn’t know if he’d go as far as supportingus, but I could hardly imagine him ratting us out to the committee. Besides, after what I’d just seen, blindly searching for the Host was a much bigger risk than simply going to Anyo for information.
Sighing, I checked the position of the sun. Behind the patchy clouds, it sat low on the horizon. School would have let out long ago.
I scanned our attire. We were wet, filthy, and miserable looking. Blacktail’s clothes were splattered with blood. Not to mention our weapons. Even if Anyo was still there, we couldn’t go to a schoolyard like this.
“Tomorrow,” I said. “After the kids go home, we’ll talk to Anyo.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lesser Evils
A blanket of hammerhead sharks darkened the world above. They came from the west, a tight cluster of at least a hundred.
The baitball and the tuna scattered. A pair of feeding dolphins shot away.
I yanked my weapon from Spio’s bag.
It wasn’t the presence of the sharks that scared me, but the way they moved. They bumped into each other, moving too fast, too erratic. Rather than swarm the easy meal, the sharks had pushed straight through.
“They’re fleeing something,” I said.
Spio let the half-gutted tuna float away and pulled out his own Iron Hook of Doom.
“Smells like merpeople.”
My lips prickled. My teeth had lengthened, cutting into them. Ready to fight, my body transformed without my will. I gripped my weapon with both hands.
A few mermen up, Officer Strymon drew himself closer to the shoal. He scanned the line. “Enemies on all sides, soldiers!”
He’d barely drawn his longblade when a war cry sounded. The current changed at my tail.
Instinctively, I bared my teeth and rounded on the threat.
An army surged from below. Hostility closed around us, thick and suffocating.
They were going to pinch us between them and the sharks.
“Sideways,” I shouted to Spio.
We spun, but the opposing army already directed the sharks back, surrounding us. The predators formed a wall, trapping us inside the swirling ring.
The Battle for Eriana Kwai flooded back to me, bringing to life my every nightmare. This wasn’t how I was supposed to die—half a world away from everyone I loved, fighting for a cause I didn’t believe in.
Sharks and adrenaline-fueled mermen wreaked havoc on my senses. I didn’t know where to turn. Everything moved at blinding speed. I was used to fighting against the predictable, slow pace of a human.
Ripples grazed my skin from below. A merman with dreadlocked black hair shot towards me.
Spio dove between us. “I’m on it!”
He swung hard. The hook sliced the merman’s chest, spilling a cloud of blood.
“Weapons up, Lysi. This fight’s gonna be off the hook .”
Yelps rose over the rushing current as more soldiers closed in. They resembled us in appearance and weaponry, except for the dishevelment they all shared. They must have travelled an entire tidecycle to get here. Where had they come from?
A tiny mermaid
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