The Definer

Chapter 27

Small pools dotted the room, a couch on one side and also a wide bar. Every creature in the room had narrowed eyes pinned on them and even the tiny live band had stopped playing. The room was much less hustling like the outside and only a few were down here. I suddenly felt very inappropriately dressed and was tempted to go back through the wall and change.
"What do you wants, pretty girls?" One growled with an evil smirk slowly spreading across his face.
"We could show you 'round." Another hissed.
"I could show 'em my bed!" Exclaimed a rather intimidating beast that sat with a sturdy glass of beer in his hand at the bar.
Although I didn't dare look, I could see a wide stubby thing crawl into my peripheral vision. The stench burned off him and flooded my nose with the wretched smell of death and disease along with a lifetime buildup of fungi and mould. It creeped up, carefully rubbing two greasy fingers across my bare skin. I flinched at his touch but Estelle made it pretty by the way she held my wrist that she didn't want me to freak out.

As the creatures fingers moved down my body, it began to press harder against my thighs and butt. I urgently resisted the temptation to spin and punch it in the face. I know that's what James probably would have done. Punched it in the face just for touching me, then held my head against his muscular chest and soothed me. The sound of a deep, man's voice snapped me from my little daydream and my attention turned back to reality. I was just on the brink of tears but managed to push them back in.The creature jumped about ten feet when the voice rang through the tiny room and it scurried off into the corner. My eyes raced around the room looking for the source of the voice. They landed on a large man with a white beard cascading like a waterfall down his bare, tanned chest. A clear set of abs marked his stomach and his muscular arm held a golden fork like staff. Disney had nailed this guy's look in the little mermaid. A tail shined in the dim light of the cave and matched the ones that belonged to the others who sat silently in the small pools.
"Mermaids?" I whispered breathlessly.
"Merpeople. I am a man if you didn't notice." I was slightly taken aback by the man's humour that showered his voice.

Estelle giggled but I wasn't sure whether to laugh at him or be intimidated.
"My name is Gallick. I am leader of the merpeople of quarters five and up, including the outcast quarter." He said.
"Estelle." She said casually, offering her hand for him to shake. He took it happily and there was a minute of silence after their hands broke apart.
"You two are quite the conversationalists, aren't you." He teased.
I cleared my throat as subtly as I could and looked up at him through my lashes. I wasn't exactly sure what to do.
"So, who are you?" He asked.
"Gosh have you been living in a cave?" Estelle muttered.
"As a matter of fact I have been living in a cave." He said and they shared a small laugh.
"This is Jess. The Definer." Estelle introduced me to him, pushing me forward encouragingly.
"Hi." I mumbled discreetly.
I could feel the weight as every set of eyes in the room bored into my skin like daggers from every direction. I could see Gallick looking between Estelle and me absolutely dumbfounded.
"A girl?" He asked incredulously. I nodded and he gave me a funny look. "Fancy that. Here I was expecting a warrior to fight courageously in battle and die a hero but..."
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you." I snapped back.
His face melted into a frown. "There, there. Don't get like that. I don't know why fate or the Gods chose you but there must be some reason so I cannot complain about their choices."
"I need to find the man with the ram's horns." I demanded.
"Come on, don't you want to meet us first?"

"This is Felix, Cameron, Alec..." He pointed out, gesturing to each of the men in the pools.
"What's going on?" A woman asked, swimming forward and gripping onto Gallick's arm protectively. Her jaw dropped to the floor as she saw me and she rushed to the edge of the pool. "Jess, right? The Definer? What on earth are you doing down here in a moist cave like this?"
"You... You know me?" I asked.
She laughed and shook her head. "Of course I know you. Who doesn't? You are going to be the hero of our world. Is there anything you need?"
"Amberly." He said sternly.
"Oh, calm your farm Gal, I'm just being friendly."
"We need to find the man with the ram's horns." Estelle stated firmly.
His eyes narrowed on us and I could hear more than half the people in the room hold their breath. "Who sent you?" He asked.
His voice broke as he said the last word and I could see the pain on Amberly's face.
I lowered my eyes, feeling a little intimidated by the way he was staring at us. "Someone named D. We don't know their real name."
I heard someone to my left gasp and Amberly swam away from the edge and buried her face in Gallick's arm. He wrapped a protective arm around her, pulling her into his chest and kissing her hair. I wasn't sure why but I felt a tinge of jealousy at that tiny motion. I gulped and averted my eyes back to my feet.
"Carlile is dead. He was the one with the ram's horns tattoo. What do you need from us?" He asked solemnly.
"I-I don't know. We need to get through some sort of doorway thing. D gave us a key of thorns." I muttered. "I-I'm sorry for asking but... Was he your son?"
Once again, she looked out at us for a moment before nodding hesitantly. Tears gleamed in her eyes but you could tell she was doing her best to hold them back.
"We have a key..." Estelle said slowly. "This person said it could get us where we want to go."
"Come." Amberly replied. "We will do whatever we can for you.