“What differences?” Mona asked .
The vampire frowned. “That’s a little too personal for me to feel comfortable discussing in front of strangers.”
“Ernesta,” Kiev said, standing up and walking over to her seat. “We need to find your brother. Do you have any idea where he could be now?”
“Why do you need to find him?” she asked.
Kiev exchanged glances with Mona and Matteo, then turned back to Ernesta. “Are you aware that your brother was in love with an Ancient?”
Ernest shook her head. “No. I had no idea… Even when we were in touch, we were never close enough to discuss romantic relationships.”
“Are you aware of the situation with the black witches?” Matteo pressed.
“I have been out of touch with affairs going on outside of this island.”
“Well, now is the time to enlighten yourself,” Mona said impatiently, also standing. “They are attempting to carry out a ritual that has never been done before. If successful, it would have catastrophic consequences not just for humans, but all species too weak to fight off their powers. Even The Tavern would not be safe. Lilith—the Ancient your brother was in love with—is a key part of this ritual they are trying to carry out. We need to end her before they can complete it—”
“I still don’t understand why you need my brother.”
“He is the reason Lilith is still alive. She loved him deeply, madly, and it’s that bond of love that is keeping her hanging on. We must find him so he can help us break it.”
Ernesta’s lips parted in disbelief as she took in Mona’s words. This was the first time I had heard a full explanation about why we needed Magnus, so I was grateful that Mona had explained it.
“I see,” Ernesta said, swallowing hard. “Well, the last I heard of my brother, he was residing in The Cove.”
“The realm of the mermaids,” Mona muttered. “But you have no idea if he might still be there now?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can only suggest that you travel there and ask if anyone there knows where he is. Even if he isn’t there, perhaps you will be able to pick up his trail. I’m sure they would be able to give you more insight about Magnus than I can, in any case.”
“When Mona and I were last near those shores,” Kiev said, “the Hawks had taken over the merpeople’s land. Do you know if this is still the case?”
“Oh, no,” Ernesta replied. “At least, the rumor is that the Hawks were forced to retreat from The Cove in order to return to their own realm, Aviary. They needed all the reinforcements they could get in their war with the Elders.”
“Do you know what the outcome of that war was?” my mother asked. “Or is it still ongoing?”
“It was brutal,” Ernesta said. “They attacked each other’s realms so fiercely and weakened each other’s resources to such an extent that neither side is much of a force to be reckoned with anymore. The Elders finished off huge numbers of Hawks and destroyed many of their natural resources, while an army of Hawks managed to penetrate Cruor and destroy their supply of human blood and vessels.”
“I see,” my mother said. “Thank you for that information.”
“Now, is there anything else you could tell us about your brother that might help in tracking him down?” Matteo asked.
Ernesta bit her lower lip. “There’s not a lot I can tell you of his past that would be relevant now, because it was so long ago. But I can warn you, if you do manage to find him… be careful. My brother can be… unpredictable.”
With that, she stood up and looked toward the door, indicating that we were now at risk of overstaying our welcome.
Mona, Matteo and Kiev looked dissatisfied, as all of us were, but it seemed Ernesta was done offering information. Mona made Kiev invisible again before we all exited the sitting room, walked along the hallway and bundled out onto the street outside.
“Good luck,” Ernesta said, eyeing us one last time before shutting her door.
“What happened?” Ibrahim asked.
“She couldn’t tell us much,” Mona replied. “Last she knew of her brother, he was in The Cove.”
Ashley heaved a sigh. “So now what? We’ve got to travel to The Cove?”
“It’s the only lead we have,” my father replied.
“Hey, Mona! Matteo!” a gravelly voice called behind us.
We whirled around to see a gray wolf running toward us. As he neared, I realized that he was missing an ear.
“Oh, hello, Edward,” Mona murmured.
“I haven’t seen you around in a long time,” the wolf said. “What have you been up to?”
“Too much,” Matteo said.
Edward chuckled. “We’re having a roast out on the beach tonight,” he said. “Why don’t you join us? Ronan’s wife is cooking and there will be blood, too.”
“Very tempting,” Matteo replied, “but we are just passing through. We have to leave now. Thank you for the invitation, in any case.”
“Suit yourself,” Edward said. “It’s good to see you both. Hopefully we can catch up one of these days.”
“Thank you,” Mona replied. “Enjoy dinner.”
Once the wolf had bounded away, Mona and Matteo turned to us. “Okay,” Mona said. “Let’s get out of here before there are any more distractions.”
Chapter 6: Rose
A strong sea wind whipped against my skin when our feet hit solid ground again. When I looked around, we were all standing on a small rock formation. Its surface was covered with a slimy moss-like substance and was uneven, dipping now and then to form shallow pools. My stomach churned as I caught sight of a massive spider crab about a foot away from where I was standing. I clutched Caleb’s arm and squeezed it.
“Gross,” I breathed, pointing to the creature.
Caleb looked amused by my reaction. “There are plenty more where that came from.” He gestured toward a mound about a hundred yards to our left. It was swarming with crabs scuttling in and out, carrying what looked like oysters and small fish between their razor-sharp pincers.
“Those things are fierce,” I said.
“Hunter crabs,” Caleb replied.
“Well I don’t want them hunting me,” I muttered.
“You had better toughen up, Rose,” Mona said darkly. “Those crabs are the prettiest things you are going to see while we’re here in The Cove. I promise you that.”
I shuddered.
After everything I had been through, all the horrors I had seen, one would have thought that I would have overcome my fear of spidery creatures. Now I wasn’t sure I would ever overcome it.
Ashley gripped Landis’ arm none too gently as she eyed a couple of crabs near her. She stumbled out of the way as they started scuttling straight for her.
At least I’m not the only one.
I’d been too occupied with the crabs until now and hadn’t looked properly at our surroundings. Beyond the small rock formation we were standing on was ocean, and further still, all around us were clusters of countless more islets, spreading out as far as we could see. The Cove, it seemed, was one massive, sprawling archipelago. Still gripping Caleb tightly in case I slipped, I moved toward the edge of the rocks and stared down. The water was dark and murky, and was tinged a dark green from the dense sea flora growing within it.
“Okay,” Mona said. “Listen up, everyone. We need to tread very carefully. We can’t afford to have anyone slipping into these waters.”
“What would happen if one of us did fall?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Just don’t. Inside the archipelago, these waters are the merfolk’s private property. It’s simply not done. We’re going to have to try to get someone’s attention while we are up on these rocks. Merfolk are hostile enough as it is. We need to try to extract information from them about Magnus, and any of us falling in might prove to be a fatal blow to any chance we have. So just… watch your step.”
“So what now?” Micah asked. His claws were extended, digg
ing into the moss to keep his hold on the ground, and his paws were sopping wet.
“We’re going to travel from islet to islet, using magic of course,” Mona said. “And we all need to scan the waters surrounding us. Tell me if you see anything.”
With that, we all cautiously began spreading out toward the edge of the islet. I could still see nothing but murky green as Caleb and I made our way around the islet. It didn’t take long for all of us to finish scoping out the rocks. Mona magicked us to the next rock formation and we continued our search.
Perhaps it was just my imagination, but there seemed to be even more crabs on this island. It was hard to concentrate on the waters when I was constantly checking my feet to see if one was scuttling over me. I ended up admitting defeat and climbing onto Caleb’s back.
“Whoa,” my mother said behind us. Caleb hurried over to her with me. She was pointing toward the waves. The water churned violently, and as I strained my eyes, I could make out an enormous black shape.
“It’s a shark,” Corrine said.
“If you’re right, that is one long-ass shark,” Ashley murmured.
Corrine was right. A shiny fin protruded above the surface before sinking back down again seconds later.
“Just another reason why nobody should go slipping into these waters,” Mona said.
Once we had finished that second islet, we moved on to a third. This time it was Caleb and I who spotted something strange in the water. At first I thought it was some kind of long red stringy flora, but then it began to move and swirl. Caleb caught sight of a pulsating oblong object the same color as the stringy things, which turned out to be giant tentacles. The creature moved backward in one sudden motion.
“A squid?” I gasped.
“Looks like it,” Caleb said.
The others came over to look at what we had spotted.
“Yes, a squid,” Matteo said.
“Everything here is supersized,” Ashley said.
“Let’s keep moving,” Mona said.
We reached the fourth islet. Here we spotted black-striped sea serpents gliding through the water. I looked around at the seemingly never-ending archipelago. “How long is it going to take us?” I said, more to myself than to anyone else.
“We’re going to have to hope that we spot some merfolk sooner rather than later,” Mona said.
We were about to move on to the fifth islet when a shrill scream broke through the calm. I turned in time to see Helina flying backward, a bright red tentacle wrapped around her waist. She was pulled off the rocks and out of sight. There was a splash.
“No!” Matteo, Kiev and Erik yelled at once.
The three men were a blur as they raced toward the edge and dove into the water after Helina.
“No!” Mona shouted. We all rushed to the edge and looked down. None of them were visible—all we could see were ripples in the murky water where they had disappeared.
Biting her trembling lip, Mona faced Corrine and Ibrahim. “Hover over the water with me and help me create a whirlpool.”
The three witches floated off the rocks with their palms facing downward. The sea beneath them began to churn, slowly at first, but quickly gathering momentum until a swirling vortex of water had formed. We all stared down into the eye of the whirlpool. I spotted the redness of the squid showing in the wall of water. Then Helina’s scream echoed upward. The tentacle was still wrapped around her waist, and no matter how much she clawed at it, it wouldn’t let go. I caught sight of the shadow of the three men in the water, about ten feet above Helina. They were closing in on her fast, even through the force of the whirlpool.
“Pull back!” Mona screamed down at the men. But it was too late. They reached the squid and began attacking it in the water, even as they continued to swirl around and around. “No! They shouldn’t be attacking it! It will only strengthen its grip around her. Corrine and Ibrahim, keep up the whirlpool while I go down there.”
She began drifting downward into the eye of the swirling mass of water. A burst of white-blue fire shot from her palms, aimed directly at the squid’s giant head. It took about ten bouts of fire from Mona before it finally exploded. Bright red liquid stained the water, and finally Helina was free from the tentacle.
Mona swooped down and lifted up Helina from the waves. She rushed up to us and laid her down on the rock before returning for the three men. We gathered over Helina. Her face scrunched up in pain, she was gripping her abdomen. Blood soaked her hands—at first I thought it might just be the squid’s blood, but as Corrine bent down and loosened Helina’s hands around her waist, there was a nasty-looking gash near her navel.
“I would rather use magic to heal this,” Corrine said, looking at her husband. “It will be faster than waiting for Helina’s natural healing capabilities to kick in. This is a deep gash.”
Ibrahim bent down next to her and they began working on healing the vampire. Mona appeared on the rocks moments later with Erik, Matteo, and Kiev.
“Is she okay?” Matteo panted.
“She will be okay,” Corrine said. “Just… don’t come too close. We need space.”
Silence fell among us as we stared down at the waters. The waves were settling and the corpse of the giant squid had bobbed up to the surface.
“Well, I’m sure we’ve attracted the merpeople’s attention now,” Mona said, her forehead creased with worry. “Just not the type of attention we want…”
Chapter 7: Rose
“What do you mean?” my father asked Mona.
“We just killed one of their pets,” the witch replied. “We came here to get information about Magnus. The odds of getting that from them were slim to start with… Now, I’m debating whether we should just leave. I have a bad feeling about staying in this place even a minute longer.”
“We can’t just leave,” my mother replied. “That would be giving up. The Cove is the only thread we have to cling to.”
Mona looked toward Matteo. “What are your thoughts?”
Matteo didn’t look any less worried than Mona. He shrugged. “I’m not sure we have a choice but to take this risk. As Sofia said, if we leave now, then what?”
Mona gulped as all eyes turned to her again.
“Okay.” She walked back over to the edge of the islet. The corpse of the squid was still floating above the waves, lapping against the rocks. Outstretching her palms, she uttered a spell. The monster’s body vanished in an instant. “Let’s hope nobody witnessed what just happened.”
We gathered around the witches and traveled to the next islet.
“We should get down on the ground this time,” my father said. “It will make it harder for squids to take aim at us.”
Despite the crabs, I got down on all fours along with the others. Crawling to the edge and looking down at the water, I was surprised to see that it was tinged with a darker reddish color. “The squid’s ink,” Caleb said, following my gaze. “It’s spread through the waves.”
Great.
I almost leapt out of my skin as a high-pitched screech pierced the air. Mona swore beneath her breath. “Gather around,” she hissed. “We’ve got to move to a different area.”
I hurried toward Mona. Just before we vanished, I was able to catch sight of the source of the noise. Shooting out from the ocean fifty feet away, seated atop a giant horned seahorse, was a creature unlike any I had seen before. Half woman, half fish, she had skin consisting of green scales. She had a head of thick purplish hair, and her tail was long and slimy. Baring her teeth, she revealed a sharp set of black fangs.
Wow.
That is no Little Mermaid.
My heart was pounding in my chest as we reappeared in a different location. I could no longer hear the screeching and there was no tint of red in the ocean nearby, so I could only assume that Mona had taken us far away.
“Okay,” Mona said, wiping sweat from her brow. “They know. It’s only a matter of time before word spreads. We must find someone to speak to before that
happens. I’m going to go down and try to find someone myself,” she said, even as she looked terrified at the notion.
Kiev gripped her arm. “You said we couldn’t enter the water without their permission.”
“We don’t have a choice now.”
“Then you are not going alone,” he said. “I for one will come with you.”
“No, Kiev. One person entering is bad enough, two people will just get their guard up even more. I will go alone. Meanwhile, Corrine and Ibrahim will stay with you.”
“But Mona,” Ibrahim said, looking concerned. “What if we need to move? How will you find us?”
“We will find each other.” Mona cast her eyes around at the archipelago. “I will shoot up a flare once I am ready. If you detect any merfolk or other creature drawing close, vanish everyone a mile or so away from here. I will try to be back as fast as possible.”
“I don’t like this,” Kiev said. He was still holding on to his wife.
“Neither do I,” she replied, a pained expression on her face. “But we have no choice.”
She shook herself free from Kiev and, without delaying a moment longer, dove into the water. I supposed that she would cast a spell on herself to allow her to survive beneath water.
The silence was chilling as Mona disappeared. We all looked at each other. Kiev had an agitated expression on his face.
“Let’s keep to the center of this rock,” my mother said, “as far away from the edges as possible.”
“Just three of us should remain by the edges to check for anyone approaching,” my father said. “I will keep guard. Who else would like to volunteer?”
He was deliberately avoiding looking toward my direction, but I called his attention, and Caleb followed me.
My father rolled his eyes. “You and Caleb can watch one corner, together.”
“You think I would be able to sit while my wife is down there?” Kiev scowled. “I’ll watch the third corner.”