Blood of Destiny (Witch Fairy #6) (10 page)

Chapter 11

I am so glad that Kallen and I were still holding hands so we can fall together even if that sounds selfish.  I wonder what it looked like to everyone else.  Did they see the big, dark hole that sucked us in?  Or did we just disappear without a trace?

Like before, the bottom of this black tunnel is coming all too soon.  From what I can tell right now, it’s a fifty-fifty chance if we are going to land on a small, rocky island or fall into the water.  The landscape is similar to that of Tory Island.  Are we back in Ireland?  If so, it would have been nice to have picked up the other Angel while we were there the first time, saving us this lovely trip back.

It looks like it’s going to be the rock we hit.  That’s okay, hitting the water at this speed would probably hurt.  A lot.  Simultaneously, Kallen and I use magic and prepare our invisible bean bag to soften our fall.  What we don’t expect is for the rock to push back against our magic. 

It’s not like it’s rearing up and attacking us, but the land is definitely moving like it’s irritated by the magic pressing against it.  Something in the distance catches my eye, despite the impending doom I’m foreseeing due to the land moving, and it looks like a head.  A turtle head to be exact.  A turtle head that is bigger than Isla’s house. 

Half of the head is mouth.  A big, gaping mouth that is emitting a loud, piercing noise now.  I’ve heard that the Blue Whale is the loudest creature on earth.  I bet whatever this is would push the whale out of the top spot.  I feel like my ear drums are going to shatter.  I have to let go of Kallen’s hand so I can cover both of my ears.  He does the same.

We’re trying to hold our magic steady so we can still avoid the water, but landing on a giant turtle doesn’t seem like the best idea in the world.  I don’t see a smooth landing for us at this point.  I suppose landing on or near a mammoth turtle never is smooth.

The turtle’s large mouth is open as it rotates to get closer to us.  Even though it’s a slow moving creature, it’s only a forty-five degree turn for it to catch us with its pseudo teeth instead of us landing on its back or in the water. 
Now
it feels like we’re falling in slow motion like in the movies.  I seem to have plenty of time to imagine myself a turtle snack.  I wonder if he’s going to chew us up, or if he will just swallow us and his stomach does the rest?  I imagine neither option is pleasant so the point is probably moot. 

With a last ditch effort to save us, I pull my magic away from trying to provide us with a soft landing, and I throw it at the turtle’s head.  Kallen does the same.  This causes it to rear its head back just enough so that we can avoid its mouth.  It also means that we hit the water instead of the turtle’s back.

Amazingly, hitting the water from such a height is just as hard and cold as I imagined it would be.  It feels like doing a belly flop at a thousand miles per hour.  Every last bit of oxygen that my lungs were trying to hold onto has been pushed out by the impact.  This means that if I don’t get back to the surface really fast, I’m going to drown.  When the downward momentum finally releases me, I kick hard with my legs to propel me towards the light above that must be the surface.   Each kick gets harder as my body reacts to being suffocated. 

Someone grasps my hand, and I pull magic in reaction.  Something I should have thought of before.  Suddenly, I’m rocketing to the surface, and the hand on my wrist is coming with me.  I’m not sure whose hand it is, but it’s not Kallen’s. 

Unfortunately, when I use magic out of fear I tend to overreact a tad bit.  Which means that I shoot out of the water like a bullet.  Whoever is holding onto my arm screams, and I finally look down to see who it is.  Seriously?  Mermaids are real, too?  And I think I’m giving her a heart attack.  I hope she’s not the last one.

So distracted am I with the fact that I have a Mermaid grasping my hand for dear life, I have completely forgotten about the giant turtle.  Amazing, I know.  But I did.  It didn’t forget about me, though.  I’m about to hit it with magic again when I feel Kallen’s magic beating me to it.  He zaps the turtle in the eye, causing its head to jerk back and keeping me and the Mermaid from being turtle food.  God, I love him.

Now I’m free to use my magic to slow our descent.  I’d try to shake the Mermaid off from me to make it easier, but she looks terrified.  I don’t have the heart to do it.  We splash down into the water and this time I only sink a few feet.  The Mermaid finally lets go and we both swim to the surface.  Ah, oxygen.  Such a wonderful thing.

Kallen swims over to us.  “Are you okay?” he asks.  I nod.

“We should leave this area before the Zaratan remembers it is hungry,” a shaky voice next to me says.  “Come.”

Imagine an Olympic sprinter saying ‘follow me’ and then starts running.  That’s what it’s like to swim with a Mermaid.  Remember, I’m from Colorado.  We ski, we don’t swim.  Basically, I tread water well and can do a simple breast stroke I learned from swimming in the pool in Aunt Barb’s apartment building in Denver a few times.  Dad wanted to make sure I wouldn’t drown, but I’m far from a strong swimmer.  Kallen knows this and even though he could probably keep up with her, he matches his speed to mine.  In an effort to help me swim a little faster, he makes us both wet suits and flippers.  He keeps giving worried glances towards the Zataran turtle which is making me even more nervous, but I am picking up speed now. 

The Mermaid is about a hundred yards ahead of us when she figures out that we’re not right behind her.  Reversing herself, she swims back to us.  “We really must hurry.  This Zaratan had been sleeping for two hundred years before your magic woke him.  He will be terribly hungry.”

I’d be hungry too if I slept for two hundred years.  I now have a whole new appreciation for how close we are to being turtle toast.  And apparently, fear does make me swim faster.

Considering the size and reach of the Zaratan, it’s a good ten minutes before we’re far enough away for the wrinkle lines on the Mermaid’s forehead to smooth out.  Looking back, the Zaratan has its head under water now, presumably looking for fish to eat since it couldn’t have us.  I am still in awe of an island size turtle.  I’m pretty sure now that we’re not in Ireland this time.

“I am curious how you have come to be here,” the Mermaid says.  “Our realms have been closed to each other for quite some time.  We have seen to it.”  Nope, definitely not Ireland.  The Mermaids apparently have their own realm that they don’t want to leave.  I guess that explains why no one sees them anymore.

This is my first chance to really look at her.  As with most magical people, she is stunning.  Her hair is deep brown and her skin is well tanned and looks smooth as porcelain.  Since she probably spends most of her time in the water, I assume that it’s natural, not tanned.  I haven’t really been able to see her tail, so I have no idea what it looks like.  I’m fairly certain it’s fishy.  “Um, I hate to be a pain, but I can only tread water for so long.  Is there land here that isn’t a giant turtle?”  I certainly can’t see any.  I guess I could magic myself a boat.

She bows her head slightly.  “Forgive me, I am not accustomed to visitors such as yourself.  I am Coralia, guardian of the Zaratan in this area.  If you will permit me, I will make it possible for you to breathe underwater so that I may bring you to Queen Undine.”

Underwater.  Don’t really bad things happen to people if they stay underwater for too long?  Especially if they go too deep?  “Is it safe for our bodies besides the oxygen thing?”

Coralia smiles.  “Yes.  I am aware that your bodies are fragile.  The magic will prevent any harm.”

“We gladly accept your generous offer,” Kallen says, proving yet again he’s the better diplomat.

Coralia inclines her head and then lifts her long, slender arms from the water.  As her fingers meet, a rainbow of colored water droplets begins to swirl around the three of us.  “Bodies of land, born for soil and sand, foreign to the sea, yet protected you will be.” 

Short and simple, I like it.  The droplets spin faster until a prism wall surrounds us.  “You will be safe now,” Coralia says.

Funny, I don’t feel any different.  I guess I was kind of expecting gills or something to form on my neck.  Then again, Coralia doesn’t have gills.  With a last smile, she disappears under the water.  I look at Kallen, who by way doesn’t look at all tired from treading water, and raise my brows in question.  Do we follow her?  He nods and grabs my hand, pulling me underwater with him.

I hold my breath as long as I can, but my chest is starting to hurt as we go deeper.  I need more air.  With a tentative sniff, I inhale a little with my nose.  I expect the sting of the briny water, but it doesn’t come.  I inhale deeper and I feel the tightening in my chest begin to ease as my body is somehow able to separate the oxygen I need from the water.  This is so cool.  I wonder how long the spell lasts.  Hopefully, it’ll last until we’re ready to leave this realm.  I’d hate to be in the middle of the Merpeople’s palace at the bottom of the sea and have a sudden need for oxygen.  I’m guessing they wouldn’t have any on hand.

Kallen’s legs are much stronger than mine, so he ends up pulling me behind him as I try to match is leg strokes and fail miserably.  The sea is getting darker and darker and it’s getting harder to see Coralia.  I did get a closer look at her tail, though, before she pulled ahead.  It really is a fish tail and it’s covered in bright colored scales.  Scales that are moving farther and farther ahead of us at the moment.

After several long minutes of thinking that she’s simply leading us to the bottom of the dark sea to leave us to drown, I can finally see light in the distance.  It’s a soft light, not like the sun.  Muted, like a light with a dimmer switch turned down to low. 

If nothing else comes from this whole chasing Angels thing, at least I’m getting some exercise.  My legs are killing me now.  Even Kallen finally looks a little tired. 

We’re at the edge of a city.  There are buildings built of very solid looking rocks and what could be called streets running between them.  I guess Spongebob isn’t as far off as I would have thought.  There really is a thriving community at the bottom of the sea.  At least in this realm there is.

Some of the buildings are about the size of a one story house.  Others are taller.  As we swim through the streets, presumably to get to Queen Undine’s house, the Merpeople we pass are just as curious about us as we are about them.  There’s a lot of uncomfortable, awkward eye contact going on as we look at each other from head to toe.  I admit, they’re more interesting with their colorful scales than our wetsuit clad legs and flippers.

We wind through a few streets until we get to one that abuts a mansion of rock, coral and the occasional sea anemone.  I’m thinking those are just for decoration.  Or they haven’t scraped them off yet.

The Merhouses, this mansion included, are different than houses in the other realms.  They don’t have doors or windows, just openings.  And these openings are all around the house so it’s easy to see what the people are doing inside.  It seems like there’s very little privacy in this world at the bottom of the sea.

The very top floor of the mansion is where we find Queen Undine.  She’s lounging on a chaise lounge of stone covered in sea grass.  Coralia shows us to a couch made of the same things.  If you can get past the slimy feel of the grass, it’s actually pretty comfortable to sit on.  At this point, I’m too tired to care about slime.

Coralia turns to Undine.  “The two centennial Zaratan in my area has been awakened.  The magic of these two pulled her from her slumber prematurely.  There will be a shortage of larger fish to store from this zone.”

Hey!  Did she bring us here to get us in trouble with her queen?  And all this time I thought she was being nice and friendly.  Except when I thought she was leading us to our death that is.