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Authors: Jim C. Hines
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seagate path. Beatrice hired dwarves from Fairytown to dig this passage after a rockslide buried the path twelve years ago.” She kicked the stones and grinned. “I know it looks like a loud sneeze will collapse the rocks, but the mortar the dwarves used to reinforce the rock is stronger than steel.”
“It’s filthy,” Danielle said.
“It was supposed to be an escape route,” Snow went on. “But the rockslide also opened up a few caves down at sea level. So when Lannadae asked for sanctuary—”
“Beatrice brought her here,” Danielle finished. Despite what she had said to Talia, a part of her was stung that Beatrice hadn’t told her. “Lannadae must have been terrified, to turn to humans for help.”
“She was frantic,” said Snow. “Beatrice tried to get her to talk, but that only upset her more. Undine have actually been known to die of terror. Whatever Lannadae saw, it frightened her near to death.”
Danielle stopped to peer through a gap in the rocks. The ocean was closer than she had expected. They were already more than halfway down the cliff.
“Beatrice thought Lannadae would be safe here,” said Snow.
“ Lannadae was safe,” Talia snapped.
Normally, Snow would have either responded to Talia’s jabs in kind, or else she’d have stuck out her tongue and ended the whole thing. Not this time. Snow bowed her head, ostensibly watching the steps.
Danielle searched for words. A part of her simply wanted to shove Talia down the steps, hoping the fall would knock some sense into her. This wasn’t Snow’s fault any more than it was Talia’s. But Talia was the kind of person who liked to seize a problem by the throat and throttle it into submission, preferably in such a way that left her other troubles too frightened to bother her. With Lirea out of reach, that left only Snow and Danielle as targets for her anger.
Nobody spoke again until Snow’s footsteps began to splash in the water. Snow stopped to remove her boots, setting them against the inner wall on a higher step. “We’re close now. The tide is rising, so you’ll want to leave your things high enough to avoid the water.”
Danielle removed her cloak and bundled her shoes inside. She retreated up the stairs, setting her things where they would be safe from the sea. The damp air raised goose bumps on her arms.
The stairs descended into cool seawater. A bed of algae and seaweed covered the bottom steps. Danielle held the outer wall for balance, frightening a tiny crab who scuttled through the cracks and disappeared.
Snow turned sideways, and the light from her choker dimmed as she squeezed through a narrow gap in the inner wall. Talia followed, and then it was Danielle’s turn. The rocks smeared mud and algae over her shirt and skirt. After a few steps, the passage widened into a shallow cavern filled with water.
Snow was already wading toward the center of the pool. “Lannadae?”
At the back of the cavern, a dark shape slipped into the water. Too large to be an animal, it had to be the mermaid. Danielle started to speak, but between one breath and the next, the mermaid exploded from the water.
She hit Snow with one shoulder, knocking her aside before turning to brandish a large rock at Danielle and Talia.
“Stay back!” Talia shouted, her knives appearing in her hands as if by magic. She leaped into the water, twisting sideways to avoid the next attack.
“Lannadae, these are my friends!” Snow shouted.
Even Danielle could see how clumsy Lannadae’s attacks were. The mermaid swung wildly, clearly panicked by the arrival of strangers. “Talia, don’t hurt her.”
The next time Lannadae swung, Talia brought the hilt of her knife down on the back of Lannadae’s hand. The mermaid squealed and dropped her rock. She splashed back, barely avoiding Talia’s knives.
A powerful tail slammed into Talia’s hip, tossing her to the side. Lannadae tried to use her second tail to shove Talia beneath the water, but Talia was
“It’s filthy,” Danielle said.
“It was supposed to be an escape route,” Snow went on. “But the rockslide also opened up a few caves down at sea level. So when Lannadae asked for sanctuary—”
“Beatrice brought her here,” Danielle finished. Despite what she had said to Talia, a part of her was stung that Beatrice hadn’t told her. “Lannadae must have been terrified, to turn to humans for help.”
“She was frantic,” said Snow. “Beatrice tried to get her to talk, but that only upset her more. Undine have actually been known to die of terror. Whatever Lannadae saw, it frightened her near to death.”
Danielle stopped to peer through a gap in the rocks. The ocean was closer than she had expected. They were already more than halfway down the cliff.
“Beatrice thought Lannadae would be safe here,” said Snow.
“ Lannadae was safe,” Talia snapped.
Normally, Snow would have either responded to Talia’s jabs in kind, or else she’d have stuck out her tongue and ended the whole thing. Not this time. Snow bowed her head, ostensibly watching the steps.
Danielle searched for words. A part of her simply wanted to shove Talia down the steps, hoping the fall would knock some sense into her. This wasn’t Snow’s fault any more than it was Talia’s. But Talia was the kind of person who liked to seize a problem by the throat and throttle it into submission, preferably in such a way that left her other troubles too frightened to bother her. With Lirea out of reach, that left only Snow and Danielle as targets for her anger.
Nobody spoke again until Snow’s footsteps began to splash in the water. Snow stopped to remove her boots, setting them against the inner wall on a higher step. “We’re close now. The tide is rising, so you’ll want to leave your things high enough to avoid the water.”
Danielle removed her cloak and bundled her shoes inside. She retreated up the stairs, setting her things where they would be safe from the sea. The damp air raised goose bumps on her arms.
The stairs descended into cool seawater. A bed of algae and seaweed covered the bottom steps. Danielle held the outer wall for balance, frightening a tiny crab who scuttled through the cracks and disappeared.
Snow turned sideways, and the light from her choker dimmed as she squeezed through a narrow gap in the inner wall. Talia followed, and then it was Danielle’s turn. The rocks smeared mud and algae over her shirt and skirt. After a few steps, the passage widened into a shallow cavern filled with water.
Snow was already wading toward the center of the pool. “Lannadae?”
At the back of the cavern, a dark shape slipped into the water. Too large to be an animal, it had to be the mermaid. Danielle started to speak, but between one breath and the next, the mermaid exploded from the water.
She hit Snow with one shoulder, knocking her aside before turning to brandish a large rock at Danielle and Talia.
“Stay back!” Talia shouted, her knives appearing in her hands as if by magic. She leaped into the water, twisting sideways to avoid the next attack.
“Lannadae, these are my friends!” Snow shouted.
Even Danielle could see how clumsy Lannadae’s attacks were. The mermaid swung wildly, clearly panicked by the arrival of strangers. “Talia, don’t hurt her.”
The next time Lannadae swung, Talia brought the hilt of her knife down on the back of Lannadae’s hand. The mermaid squealed and dropped her rock. She splashed back, barely avoiding Talia’s knives.
A powerful tail slammed into Talia’s hip, tossing her to the side. Lannadae tried to use her second tail to shove Talia beneath the water, but Talia was
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