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  Ellister continued to observe her, approaching slowly, fully aware of what she was, but disbelieving. She was a woman that had come from the sea—a human woman to end his plight, and yet not human at all. A gift.

  His foot shifted in the sand and she noticed him then, turning her head to stare into his eyes like a frightened animal. She shied away warily, and he saw that she wore a conch on a string around her neck, but he hardly gave attention to that. He stopped a few paces away, content to simply look upon her. Every aspect of her form was perfection. A mermaid with legs.

  Ellister could hardly believe his luck or his attraction. He stared into her eyes, which were like an image of the sea commingled with a blue sky. The pipe fell from his loose fingers and dropped into the sand, still smoking.

  Chapter Twelve

  Stolen Treasure

  1

  The next morning when Nathan left the tavern, he left without words. Gideon was busy cleaning from the night before, and hardly regarded him. Sophia raised her eyes to watch him pass by, but quickly went back to sweeping as if she wanted nothing to do with him. That was all well with Nathan. He had the answer he’d come for, and had learned a few other things on top of that. He was ready to return to the castle.

  Despite the early hour, Nathan was certain that the crown prince would be in his study, wide awake, mulling over compasses and current charts. That would be a good thing, for Nathan had many questions, and various other things that he wanted to discuss. He may have also liked to ask personal questions about Gideon and his daughter, and about how Ellister had come by them as informants in the first place, but he doubted he would get as far as that. The first thing on his mind was the talk of the Leviathan.

  By summoning, some great creature was to rise from the dark depths and—what? What would it do? What was it said to look like? Was there a way to stop it, or any chance of survival? Another thing that was not far from the front of his mind was his discovery that sirens were accepted as real by some—and his certainty that there had been such a beast on his back the night of the sea nymph battle. But what had it been doing there? What was the purpose of such a creature? Did Ellister know anything? He needed to share that information with the prince. For all Nathan knew, the emergence of a siren was one of the signs which would proclaim the coming of the Leviathan.

  On the way back to the castle, through the carriage-trodden roads of the city, Nathan thought through these things, wondering how concerned he should be. Until he heard or saw something definite, he wasn’t sure that he could be anything but curious.

  When he reached the gates, he was recognized and let inside promptly, and without words to any of the servants who asked him if he required anything, he carried himself up the many stairs to Ellister’s study.

  Normally, the door was left open when the man was inside, but on this day, it was closed. Nathan knocked upon the door, receiving no answer. He tried once again to the return of silence from within. There was no stirring whatsoever, and Nathan was finally led to a rather surprising revelation.

  The essence of normality had fled from this day. Ellister was not there.

  Nathan excused Ellister’s absence by telling himself that perhaps he was asleep for once, or visiting with his sick father—but not even that seemed to make much sense, considering how urgently he had wanted to receive news this morning. The crown prince often went without eating when there were greater matters pressing on his mind. It was an even further surprise to find out that Ellister was in a wide dining room, breakfasting before the great windows that looked out over the sea.

  Baffled by this behavior, especially when his own mind was still filled with the things he had heard the night before, Nathan carried himself blankly to the room he’d been directed to, hoping to find an appropriate answer.

  The dining hall was certainly for show, with large doors engraved with ornaments of the sea—starfish, seahorses, and shells. The doors were standing open, and the room within was lined completely by enormous domed windows—all much taller than Nathan—and through them was a perfect and untainted view of the water beyond. The morning sunlight shone in radiantly, reflecting off the highly polished floor of decorative golden tile. This was a room built for dinner parties and guests of great numbers, but it also may have been appropriate for a ballroom dance. The palace had many rooms such as this, and Nathan was not fazed much by its splendor.

  Nathan stepped into the room without thinking twice, but halted promptly, his boot squeaking against the smooth floor when he noticed something peculiar. Ellister was inside, as he’d been told, but oddly enough, he was not alone. There were always servants around, of course, waiting attentively to learn of whatever he might desire, but if the man was not surrounded by advisors that wanted something, he was alone with only his constant thoughts to keep him company. This made what Nathan stumbled upon a very unexpected scene indeed.

  Ellister was not sitting at the table where a great deal of food was set, but was instead standing on the open floor, apparently waltzing very clumsily with a young woman. Nathan did not know Ellister to be a man who kept company with many women, though he had heard that the man was being goaded to marry. Nathan highly doubted that Ellister would have anything to do with dancing nonsense when he was not being forced to do it for show.

  “That’s it,” Nathan heard Ellister say to the young woman. “One foot before the other, and…”

  Ellister looked up, catching sight of his associate.

  “Ah, Nathan! There you are.” Nathan tilted his head involuntarily in confusion. He didn’t believe he’d ever heard the man in such high spirits, speaking to him almost as a fond friend. “There is someone I want you to meet.”

  The crown prince took the fancily-dressed woman by the hand and by the waist, turning her toward Nathan, leading her forward to be introduced. Nathan forced a pleasant expression to form, though he was not quite as ecstatic about meeting the woman as talking to Ellister about more important business, but—

  Nathan’s heart jumped into his throat when his eyes fell on her face, for it seemed so familiar to him. Her hair was long and golden, pulled back elegantly from her cheeks so that it trailed down her back in curls. Her dress was lovely, fitting around an attractive shape. Everything was as it should be. She was so startlingly familiar.

  It’s not her, Nathan. But it’s not a surprise that you might see her face everywhere.

  This calmed him somewhat, for he understood that at any moment her face would clear, and he would see the woman for who she really was. She was not his Treasure.

  He kept his eyes on her—only her—waiting patiently for the truth. As the moments passed, he wished for it diligently, for the truth still would not come. The woman came closer, and fear began to close around his heart, but he did not realize the full reality until she had come directly before him. She certainly looked different, combed and dressed and standing, but those eyes…those lips… They didn’t lie. It was her, and Nathan was certain for several blank moments that he was dreaming. He was asleep in the cellar at Gideon’s, and he had yet to wake.

  Treasure… He had sent her away, and now she was here, standing before him. Had he made some terrible mistake? All this time, had she been able to gain legs and come ashore? What was the explanation? He could not ask.

  Treasure looked at him softly from beneath curled lashes. She did not smile, and he thought he saw a bit of sadness in her eyes just before Ellister interrupted his disbelief by speaking.

  “Nathan, this is Amelia,” he said, wearing a constant smile like Nathan had never seen on the man. Unfortunately, he could not appreciate it, for the words blew him away. He glanced from Ellister and then to the woman at his side. Treasure’s face twisted into an expression of apology, and Nathan stood there, aghast.

  He renamed her. How dare he erase me?

  “Isn’t she beautiful?”

  The words shocked him. He wasn’t sure if they made him angry or simply took him off guard. He could hardly
answer clearly, as if he didn’t understand the question.

  “Yes,” he finally stammered. “Yes, she is.”

  A little smile rose up on Treasure’s face, and Nathan felt a bit better for it, though inside, his mind was yelling that he should not let Ellister see any sort of familiar exchange between them.

  “Her…” he started, looking at Ellister, but then thought better of it and looked at the woman herself. “Your name is Amelia, you say?”

  Treasure parted her lips slightly, but said nothing before she closed them again, lowering her eyes.

  “It’s quite a tragedy. The poor dear,” Ellister said quietly. “She can’t speak.”

  Once again, Nathan looked from Ellister to Treasure, and felt he might be repeating the same motion until the sun set. She had spoken to him so recently. Was this just a ruse because she did not wish to talk to Ellister?

  Disregard that. She has legs! How is she even here? He silenced his inner voice.

  “Forgive me for being insensitive,” Ellister said to her, and she offered him a forgiving smile. Nathan didn’t like it.

  “Would you excuse us a moment, my dear?” the prince asked, and Treasure stole a glance at Nathan before nodding.

  Ellister called to a female servant who was standing attentively to the side, and the woman came forward, took Treasure’s arm to help support her, and led her away across the room.

  The crown prince stepped closer to Nathan, but he could not even hear the man’s footsteps for the rapid beating of his own heart. Finding Treasure here had been the very last thing he’d expected. She was in the palace, walking, wearing human clothes. He had a mind to rush over and lift the skirt of her dress to see her legs for himself—to know whether it was only an illusion—and it was perhaps only the fact that Ellister had stepped up to him which kept him restrained.

  “Now, I believe you must have some news for me,” Ellister said, much more businesslike than before. Nathan looked back at him blankly, and for the life of him could not recall anything of the sort.

  “I…um…”

  Ellister watched him flounder around with the thought for a few moments, looking more and more amused to Nathan’s eyes. Nathan felt he could hardly be blamed, for everything except this current situation was dulled by his tangled senses.

  Get a hold on yourself, Nathan scolded silently. Until I figure this out, I cannot act a fool. I still cannot allow Ellister to know about her, or to know that I know her.

  “I did as you asked and found Gideon,” he said, finally grasping it. Ellister, however, did not seem to hear it. Instead of asking about what he had wanted to know so direly last night, he leaned a bit closer and lowered his voice.

  “You can tell, can’t you?” he asked.

  Nathan froze, feeling unable to move.

  “I’m not quite sure what you mean,” he said carefully. What was the man even talking about? Was it something about Gideon? Or was it some horrible secret about the woman in their midst?

  “The girl,” the prince clarified. “She’s affecting you, isn’t she? You can see the truth about her.”

  Nathan wasn’t sure how to answer. Was Ellister insinuating that he knew Treasure was a mermaid? That she was using the spells of her kind? Nathan couldn’t speak. Instead, his eyes trailed past the prince to glance at Treasure far across the room. She was watching him quietly.

  “I found her on the beach and I knew instantly by looking into her eyes. She is not a human, and yet she has legs. I was not aware that such a thing was possible. I would love to ask her how it came about, but she has no tongue, and she cannot write. There is absolutely no way for her to communicate—except through those eyes.”

  Nathan was stunned further by this thought. It was not that she was pretending she couldn’t speak, but she had no tongue? Surely she must have been faking her handicap. She’d had a perfectly good tongue just a day before. He’d spoken to her easily—he’d tasted it.

  Across the room, the female servant was trying to claim Treasure’s attention for some purpose, but the girl would not take her eyes off him. Nathan felt that he understood the look in her eyes. She did not care about the other people in this room. She wanted to rush to him and him alone, but she had the intelligence to know that she shouldn’t. But why would she want to come to him? Had he not practically banished her from him the day before? She might have hated him for that, but he knew she didn’t. When she’d left him, she had loved him. For good measure, he gave a very slight shake of his head. He hoped she saw it.

  “Her emergence solves problems for me,” Ellister was going on. “I can toss off petty matters and pay attention to more important things—like the matter you discussed with Gideon.”

  Nathan felt he was lucky in his ability to give Ellister attention in the midst of all this. “Yes, he showed me the cellar. He confirmed that you are right. He said that the conditions are accurate for what may be to come.”

  This did not seem to faze the crown prince much, for he already seemed confident in what Nathan would say. Ellister nodded slowly, looking away.

  “Then we must watch for further signs,” he said finally. “Our survival as a kingdom could depend on that.”

  It might have been at this point that Nathan would have asked all the questions that had been swimming to and fro in his mind, but this new development had caused all those thoughts to flee. He no longer thought of monstrous threats or mysterious sirens. My Treasure… She had come to him, and yet he could not have her.

  “I’m very taken with her,” the prince said, changing the subject abruptly as if he knew it was also on Nathan’s mind. “It is hardly imaginable, so it must be her spell, and yet…”

  The man did not finish. Instead, he changed his thoughts again.

  “Escort Amelia to her tutor, would you?” he called to the female servant. Then, as if forcing himself, Ellister took his eyes from the young woman.

  “Do help yourself to anything at the table, Nathan. You must be famished.”

  Ellister left the room, leaving Nathan to stand there, muddled. The servant attending Treasure began to lead her away, and the beautiful creature watched him from over her shoulder, but they were both powerless to stop the separation.

  Powerless.

  Comeuppance.

  Nathan could only stare at her as she was taken away. He was being murdered slowly by the knowledge that just a short distance across the room was something that was his, but he could not touch it.

  2

  Within the waters of the ocean, deep sea nymphs with shattered flesh patrolled the forest of weeds which surrounded the decaying tower. The guard was often light, but not without benefit. There were predatory creatures to guard against, and it was always wise to keep aware of fleeing slaves. Though the colonies of nymphs were allies, one never knew where enemies were lingering, and the banished were never allowed to return.

  One guard, whose name was an echoing sound, drifted along with her spear—alone, as was their pattern—patrolling an area near the outskirts. All was quiet, as it usually was, and the guard was busy in her own mind, considering the chaos that would soon be wrought on the wretched human world. The priestesses had gathered and were praying to the sea. The Mistress had been waiting quite a long time for the conditions to be proper for the summoning. She believed that if they destroyed the kingdom of men that was not so far from their own, then the sea would accept the bodies as a gift and bless them with male offspring. Only then would the sea nymphs thrive again, and there would be no more men tainting their waters.

  The guard had to admit to herself that all these were pleasant thoughts, though she believed that it would have been more pleasing to have a war with the humans, and not to simply wipe them out before they knew who had done it. She wondered if the Mistress secretly felt the same way—

  A stirring sound within a patch of wavering weeds drew her attention. The movement was too much to be a simple fish or eel passing by, and as the guard looked on, she caught sight o
f two glowing orbs—the eyes of a hiding nymph.

  “Show yourself,” the guard commanded firmly. “Who are you?”

  “Jou know who I am,” a voice purred from the darkness, and before the guard even had a chance to achieve recognition, a well-formed hand was at her throat, there was a poison barb in her neck, and a terrible feeling had come over her body. She felt weak, she could not move—not her fin or her arms—and her eyes had faded before she’d even seen her attacker. The feeling was unnatural, it was unexpected, but it was death.

  “Life so recklessly received,” she heard a nymph’s voice say. “Life so easily taken.”

  The guard floated, lifeless, never to hear another word.

  3

  Bliss let the guard’s scaled body pass from her hands, a curving smile across her face. One was dead, and if she could have killed them all, she certainly would have. While she had power, it was not quite as easy as that, and she was no immortal. She could be killed as easily as the rest. Her goals would be reached in due time; there was no sense in being irresponsible. She’d been waiting for years, and finally the time had come to act. She would persevere, or fall forever.

  “You…”

  The sneering resonance came from behind her, and it was not a welcoming sound. Bliss turned her arrogant face to see another guard beyond the reaches of her floating hair. This one looked just as the other, but was a bit more prepared to handle a foe with her spear at the ready. Bliss flicked her silver tail.

  “It is good to know dat I am not a stranger,” she drawled.

  “You have been banished from this place, witch,” the guard hissed.

  “And now I return.”

  The guard did not waver. “The price of returning is death.”

  “I’ve come to see de Mistress,” Bliss said calmly, ignoring her. “Jou will take me to her.”

  A smile pulled at the guard’s cracked lips. “I will certainly do that. You will be impaled upon the end of my spear when I present you to her!”