Sea Witch: Children of the Waves by LaVerne Thompson

shorts he’d
taken off earlier.
    “Ready,” she said. “I sent the dolphins
to alert the king. We’ll meet them outside the palace. Zek should have located
Cyrus by then and will join us at the portal.”
    “What about the warriors?” Aaron asked.
    “Assembling as we speak.”
    He turned to glance toward the palace
gardens. They could see fifteen warriors headed toward the meeting place, at
the edge of the grounds.
    As they approached the waiting warriors,
they spied their king along with the queen swimming toward them.
    “Son, do you have something to tell me?”
Balen, Aaron’s father asked while smiling at them. He stood with the warriors.
    Aaron squeezed her hand. “May I present
to you, Father…my bride, Sienna.”
    Balen leaned forward and kissed her on
both cheeks. “Thank Poseidon! Congratulations, may the blessings of the sea be
upon you. Welcome, daughter. I am sorry we cannot do more to celebrate this
grand occasion.”
    “I too, sir and thank you.”
    Balen glanced at Aaron. “We will go to
your mother upon your return, so you may present your bride to her.”
    Sienna hoped his words were true.
    “We’re ready, Sienna. We’ll follow you,”
the king stated. He turned to Cori and they embraced. “Des is on her way here
with some of my warriors to stay with you until this is over. Balen will remain
to look over you both.”
    “What about Aurora?”
    “She’ll be safe on Zek’s island,” Xav
replied.
    “Come back to me, Xav, be safe,” Cori
pleaded.
    He kissed his bride hard on the mouth,
then backed away. Turning around, he began to swim.
    Sienna flanked his left, Aaron on his
other side. The king’s guard fanned out behind them a few more warriors joining
them. A pod of five dolphins scouted ahead and around them. Ten more were
already on their way to the portal.
    Sienna wasn’t sure how many of the
monsters from Hades were released into the depths, but she would take no
chances. The king along with Aaron had to guard the portal until she and Cyrus
could get Shawnah out. She knew they all had a battle on their hands to destroy
these creatures before they could return to Hades and prevent any more from coming
out.
    An area of darkness grated on her senses,
because it didn’t belong in their world. It drew her unerringly to it. The
journey didn’t take very long, but no one allowed their thoughts to wander for
others to hear. So, it was a silent trip. Even Aaron’s thoughts were blocked
from her as her own from his. She had told him the truth, just perhaps not all
of it. While his claiming her did result in her no longer having her powers of
viewing, her last view did reveal the possibility of her not returning to his
side. It always had. She could not see beyond the darkness she had to enter.
Still, none of them had a choice.
    Tabatha aligned herself to powers she had
no way to control, even though in her arrogance, she assumed she did.

    All the children could see for miles
within the water and for some time now, none of the lesser denizens of the
ocean could be seen. Even the plant life in the area changed from the lush
colorful sea flora, fauna and coral beds to something alien. The way ahead
appeared sparse of life. What little there was looked dried, dead. Even the
sandy bottom over which they swam had grains of gray threaded through it, not
the vibrant pink or white it should be.
    Glancing forward again, Aaron realized he
could no longer see the dolphins scouting a little farther ahead.
    They’d been swallowed up in water that
could have easily had an avalanche of mud mixed in with it, making it an effort
to swim through. Suddenly, the mammals clicked excitedly, swirling up the muck.
    He could see them circling an area, a few
yards ahead. It could only be the portal the white witch had opened to the dark
depths and beyond to Hades itself.
    It seemed much like a doorway of darkened water, about ten feet
high and wide. If it were above ground, it would be like the mouth of a