ELEMENTS: Acquiesce Read online

  “Well done Tallulah,” said Marilla.

  After the morning’s diving disaster, Cordelia decided to hold back for a while, not because she wasn’t going to try, she just wasn’t in a hurry to embarrass herself again. Lana stepped forward to take her turn. Standing on the edge of the rock with her eyes closed, Lana slowly raised her left hand. The water responded. A wave of turquoise and blue rolled in one spot on the surface of the ocean, creating a valley of foam between the wave and the shore. Then she steadily beckoned the wave with her right hand and it moved closer. Lana opened her eyes moments before it reached the sea breakers and dispersed the wave.

  “Perfect!” cried Marilla, beaming with pride.

  “She’s had a lot of extra training from her father,” whispered Masika.

  “Yeah, don’t worry, we’re not expecting that level of expertise from you Cordelia,” jibed Max.

  Cordelia glared at Max, her blood simmering beneath her skin.

  “That was amazing!” exclaimed Nerissa as Lana rejoined her friends.

  “Thanks.”

  Masika and Nerissa were next and Cordelia watched in amazement as Masika made the water rise and Nerissa invited the wave to shore.

  “How do they do that?” asked Cordelia. “They haven’t said a word to each other.”

  “Telepathy,” replied Lorelei and Genevieve in unison before going on to perform the same impressive trick.

  Cordelia looked on as the rest of her classmates created waves with their minds and destroyed them in seconds. Eventually it was her turn. Cordelia glanced up at Morwen as she stepped forward, oblivious that another pair of eyes were watching her that day. A raven named Orlenda perched near by, her beady eyes fixed firmly on Cordelia. A blanket of dark clouds rolled in above her and blocked the sun. A drop of rain fell into Cordelia’s eye, then another. She could hear her classmates whispering. Determined not to make a fool of herself, Cordelia closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, summoning all the energy she could muster, her mind focused on the water. A wall of water, at least one hundred feet high rose above the sea. It had sucked all the water out of the bay like a tsunami. Her classmates gasped but she was oblivious to their reaction. Opening her sapphire eyes, with a steely look, Cordelia commanded the wave to draw near. The water hurtled towards the shore with such fury that Marilla ordered the students to retreat. Rain poured heavily as the students made their way up the slipway, looking over their shoulders at the monstrous wave. The students who were still on the rocks braced themselves, realising that it was too late to run. Then, at the most perilous moment, with one swift movement of Cordelia’s hands, the wave parted in the middle and pounded against the cliff walls, projecting water over Morwen in the process. The shimmering rocks at Ross Bay lay awash with foam as the students climbed into their wagons. Stunned by what had just happened, Cordelia stood motionless, water lapping at her ankles. At the realisation of what she’d done, Cordelia’s pent up energy dispersed, as did the darkest rain clouds. Cordelia expected a jibe to follow but the students stared at her, none of them quite knowing what to say.

  “I’m not sure if that was good or not,” piped Max, nervously breaking the silence.

  “Did you see Morwen’s face?!” exclaimed Kendria.

  “She didn’t look too pleased at being soaked,” said Genna.

  “I thought it was brilliant,” declared Lana.

  Rafe said nothing, instead watching with intrigue as his new classmate trudged up the slipway.

  “That was amazing!” said Nerissa as Cordelia hauled herself into the wagon.

  The other girls shuffled over to make room.

  “How did you do it?” asked Sequana.

  “I don’t know, I just thought about making a wave and that’s what happened. I knew I wasn’t cut out for this.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Lana. “That was brilliant.”

  “I don’t think Morwen will agree.”

  “I’m telling you now,” said Lana, “for your first attempt, that was incredible.”

  Morwen and Marilla stood talking in the rain while the students were taken back to the Lighthouse.

  “I have my doubts about her,” said Morwen.

  “I know it was a little uncontrolled but I thought that was a rather splendid attempt for her first try,” said Marilla.

  “Splendid? She nearly killed you all!”

  “Never one to exaggerate Morwen. I see a young girl who’s trying to fit in. It’s raw talent, that’s all. She just needs a little guidance.”

  “She’ll need more than a little guidance. I don’t know what Triton was thinking bringing her to us. A random girl that he rescued from the seabed. He’s putting us all at terrible risk. It’s not the first time she’s needed rescuing either; a fisherman found her in the sea by the islands when she was born, so Triton tells me. No parents, no paperwork. Heaven knows what we’ve got on our hands, but I intend to find out.”

  “It sounds like she needs all the support we can give her.”

  “Mark my words, she’s dangerous. I’ve never known a student to possess power like that.”

  “You’re just annoyed that she splashed you.”

  “Always have to have the last word don’t you Marilla.”

  “I just think you’re being a little harsh.”

  “There you go again, wanting the last word.”

  “The sooner Mazu and Triton return, the better,” muttered Marilla under her breath.

  Morwen scoffed at Marilla’s comment and walked off.

  Having listened intently to their conversation, Orlenda flew back to Slate Island and reported to Zamira all that she’d seen and heard.

  Zamira rose from her stone perch in a rage. “The child lives?!” she screeched. Zamira paced back and forth in a fury before coming to a halt on the cliff edge. “There’s no place for her here. She must die!”

  The ravens calmly gathered around, looking in the direction of the lighthouse, softly singing their song of death.

  Cordelia didn’t hear a single note, but someone she loved heard everything. It was the ravens’ turn to keep a secret; they were keeping a prisoner against his will.

  That evening, the four friends gathered together in the reading chamber which was filled with rare books and antique furniture. Even the walls were adorned with tapestries, woven with intricate pictures of merfolk, waves and daggers and row upon row of bookshelves stood illuminated in the candlelight.

  “There’s plenty of books in here to help you out,” said Lana. “I’ve brought these along too, as promised.” She handed Cordelia three books, “Laws of the Seven Seas and the Kingdom of Meren, Powers of the Moon and Mind, and Merfolk and Sirens – A Beginner’s Guide.”

  Cordelia looked forlorn.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Lana.

  “I’m not sure I belong here,” began Cordelia. “If it hadn’t been for the storm and losing Flynn would I ever have known about Meren and the School of the West?”

  “Everything happens for a reason,” said Masika. “Even if it doesn’t make sense at the time.”

  Nerissa smiled and nodded, “That’s right, you’re supposed to be here.”

  “You inhibit the power to control the sea,” said an unfamiliar voice, “of course you belong here.”

  Cordelia turned to see a rather plump, eccentric character with blue, coiffed hair standing beside her. He was well dressed and wore a large brass key on a chain around his wide neck.

  “Forgive me,” he said, “I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Wade Bo, Keeper of Books.” He held out a hand embellished with jeweled rings.

  “Cordelia,” she said, shaking Wade’s hand.

  “I have books on every subject imaginable, though some are off limits to novices. If you need help finding anything you only have to ask.”

  Cordelia smiled and Wade bowed before walking away.

  “You’ll get used to him,” said Lana.

  Cordelia opened one of the books Lana had given her and studied the
contents page. She was intrigued by the chapters on dolphin etiquette and whistle complexity.

  “Do you really communicate with dolphins?” asked Cordelia.

  Her three friends exchanged sideways glances. Being several years ahead in their learning it seemed odd that a fellow mermaid wouldn’t know something as obvious as that. They simply smiled and nodded. In this moment, none of them could possibly conceive just how brilliant Cordelia would become.

  FIVE

  THE DUGGERNA REEF

  When lessons ended the next day, Cordelia grabbed her books and bathing suit and walked along the cliff top to the pools on the Duggerna Reef, a place she liked to explore with Flynn. The view of the reef below brought mixed feelings, heartache at the loss of Flynn but also a strange comfort in familiar territory – a welcome break from her new surroundings. It’s where she’d grown up; a place her heart was incredibly fond of. It was her sanctuary. A love-hate relationship began to form in her mind, she hated the reef for taking the only person she had ever loved but equally she loved it because it made her feel alive. Cordelia continued to walk along the cliff top, the wet, spongy grass beneath her feet and the wind stinging her cheeks. The tide was on its way out and slowly exposed the rocks that shaped the pools.

  It wasn’t long before Cordelia was striding across the rocks, navigating her way with ease; anyone less familiar would have needed to tread more carefully but Cordelia knew the reef better than she knew herself. While she had strayed away from the lighthouse, Cordelia knew she’d be safe here. The other students preferred to practise their skills further around the coast, out of sight from prying eyes in the bay, but Cordelia knew she’d have the pools to herself which was far more appealing than practising her diving technique in front of her classmates, or anyone else for that matter. The town folk rarely ventured this far out of town, even if it was within sight on a clear day. Such fear had been drummed into people about the dangers of the cliffs and the rock pools that some were unaware of the reef’s existence, others refused to talk about it and many kept it a secret well hidden from their children. Besides, sea bathing was still a relatively new fashion amongst Cordelia’s human neighbours and bathing machines were far better suited to the beach where prudes could wade into the ocean discreetly.

  Cordelia bypassed the first pool in favour of the second. It was deeper, more secluded and of the three pools it had the best diving rock, a large black rock which sat boldly, towering over the water. Barnacles crunched beneath her feet as she hopped from one rock to another and the water continued to flow out of the pools and into the open Atlantic.

  Blind to the dark forces at work near by, Cordelia made her way around to the western side of the rock. From here it was only the water that separated Cordelia from America. ‘Only the water?’ Cordelia realised the error of her thoughts. There was an entire Kingdom between these two lands, or so she was led to believe. She changed into her bathing suit and sat down to study her reading material. ‘Merfolk and Sirens – A Beginner’s Guide’ had a whole chapter on diving techniques, that’s where she’d begin. She could catch up on the rest later in her chamber.

  Cordelia studied the diagrams carefully until she had the technique firmly in her mind. Standing on a ledge where she was sheltered from the wind by the mighty rock, Cordelia scanned her surroundings. To her left in the distance were the bay and the town, the houses a mere speck on the horizon. In front of her were rock pools and beyond them, a peat bog and grassy rolling fields that led to the cliff tops which wound their way around the coast towards the lighthouse. To the right were the open waters of the wild Atlantic and behind her, the reef stretched across the mouth of the bay towards George’s Head. There didn’t appear to be a soul in sight. A blanket of moody grey clouds covered the sky and the cliff tops were cloaked in their shadows. Beyond the reef, the silver sea looked mesmerizing and as she glanced down, she saw not a pool but a mirror. Cordelia gazed at her reflection, her bright sapphire eyes looking back. The water in the pool was perfectly still, not a ripple in sight. The soft sea mist crept across the rocks like white smoke but Cordelia was undeterred. She was determined to perfect her diving technique, the sooner the better. Cordelia assumed the position for a forward dive and leapt. Before she hit the mirrored water, Cordelia saw a great pair of feathered wings in her reflection. They were positioned so perfectly, they could have been her own. Cordelia cut through the water like a knife and quickly turned on the bottom of the pool to look up at the surface. Through the water, Cordelia could see a raven perched on top of the black rock. It was Orlenda. Orlenda squawked loudly and as Cordelia resurfaced, a flock of ravens swooped low across the water. Cordelia took a deep breath and submerged herself in the pool, air bubbles rapidly escaped from her mouth as she remembered what Lana had said about the ravens. As she watched the ravens circling overhead, waiting for her to come up for air again, Cordelia realised that she was no longer holding her breath, she was breathing under water. A shoal of Pollock surrounded her and the ravens departed with Orlenda finally withdrawing her stare as the sun’s rays broke through the gaps in the clouds. Cordelia savoured every second that she frolicked in that dappled pool of light.

  So amazed was she with her ability to breathe under water that she had momentarily forgotten where she was. She swam to the surface, glancing up at the cliff top and fields as she fumbled around trying to find a ledge to stand on. Through blurred droplets of salt water, Cordelia thought she saw a raven return. She wiped her eyes and sure enough, a figure was still there – a male. From the distance she could tell from his stance and the shape of his clothes that he was one of the town folk. He was holding a shovel and when he realised that Cordelia had noticed him, he climbed over the stone wall surrounding the peat bog and started digging. Cordelia had never seen anyone at the peat bog before. She watched him for a few moments as he began to pile turf onto a wagon. When she was happy that he was no longer watching, she continued with her diving practise, stealing glimpses of the peat boy each time she emerged from the water, unaware that he was also spying on her. He’d never seen grown men swim in the rock pools, never mind a young woman. It was unheard of. By the time dusk fell, Cordelia had mastered a forward dive, a back dive and almost had the hang of a reverse dive.

  “How did it go?” asked Lana at dinner that evening.

  Cordelia nodded enthusiastically whilst chewing a mouthful of food. “Really good. A bit more practise and I’ll be able to give you three a run for your money.”

  “I’ll toast to that,” said Nerissa and she raised her goblet in Cordelia’s honour.

  “Cordelia!” they cheered with pride.

  Cordelia shook her head, “To brilliant friends.”

  Morwen Vanora watched the four friends closely with an ice-cold stare, stabbing the same piece of food over and over with her fork.

  At that very moment on Slate Island, Orlenda was updating Zamira with the news.

  “She breathes under water,” revealed Orlenda.

  “A fish?” said Zamira.

  “It would appear that way.”

  “If it’s a fish, then perhaps there’s no threat?” probed Akilina, one of Zamira’s army.

  “Of course she’s a threat!” hissed Zamira. “Is it true that she’s beautiful like her mother?”

  The Ravens hesitated.

  “Answer me!” commanded Zamira.

  The Ravens shook their heads but Zamira knew they were lying. She screeched in frustration.

  “Would it please you if we killed her?” enquired Orlenda.

  “Not yet,” said Zamira. “We’ll wait a while longer. We’ll have some fun with this and when I’m bored of it, I’ll kill her myself, right after she drags him to the bottom of the sea. Did you hear that? That so called daughter of yours isn’t the angel you think she is, she’s a freak just like the rest of us.”

  In a rage, Flynn pulled and pushed the rusty, cast iron bars above him that kept him trapped in a hole on the edge of Slate Island. There was little roo
m for movement in this hellhole, open at one side to the elements. Fragments of rock and soil gave way beneath Flynn’s worn leather boots and tumbled away from this frightful opening to the rocks far below. It was currently his only way out but, attempting to jump from here would have been nothing less than an attempt on his own life. Strong legs and a powerful grip stopped him falling to oblivion. Flynn wiped beads of sweat from his brow while his heart raced under his dirty, sodden shirt as he stared at the sheer drop below. The daylight was fading fast and the ink filled sky grew darker with every heartbeat. At the base of Slate Island, the navy sea smashed against the rocks in the gloomy darkness, swirling and slopping like a witch’s broth in a giant cauldron. The height of the drop made Flynn sick to the stomach. The view below began to spin and flash before his eyes, he leaned back against the damp wall of his cell and the sound of his own breathing echoed in his ears. He paused for a few moments to catch his breath, then, refusing to give up, Flynn continued to grapple with the iron bars above his head until Zamira stomped on his calloused fingers, drawing blood with her claw. In return, Flynn spat at her feet.

  “That’s no way to treat a lady. I hope that’s not how you treat your wife. Ooops, silly me, she’s dead, isn’t she?”

  “If you so much as harm a hair on Cordelia’s head, I’ll wring your neck!” warned Flynn.

  “Is that a threat?” laughed Zamira, dangling a fish over the pit. “Here, fetch!”

  That night in her chamber, Cordelia read by candlelight, absorbing every detail. Shadows danced on the walls amid the gently flickering flames. Cordelia studied the laws of her newfound homeland. There were eight, one for each of the seven seas and one for Meren.

  Rules of the Seven Seas and the Kingdom of Meren