Moon's Call (Sample)

Chapter Sixteen

"No, you leave him to me." Lycidas sauntered into the court room and most of the people gasped and scurried away from his path. Myers staggered backward in shock as Lycidas approached and loomed over him, clicking his long finger nails together that were more like claws. "I heard your words several miles away, Myers..." He said and Astrophel reluctantly backed away from them. "What was that bright suggestion of yours again?" He asked with sarcasm and slowly craned his head towards Myers. "I would like to hear it up close."

Myers swallowed hard and stuttered as he floundered for words to say. "I...I...d...didn't really say a thing... I was just..." He shrugged nervously, his head drawn back from Lycidas' blue glare.

Lycidas smiled wickedly. "I thought as much.... Of course you said nothing." He adjusted the ends of Myer's jacket and patted his chest then turned to observe Theresa's teary face without a word after his blue eyes were replaced by his normal brown ones. He quietly scrutinized all present in the court, the people might not like him but they cowered in his presence except of course, Darius, the alpha, Herrick, his beta, Astrophel and Medea who always felt indifferent towards him. He glanced at Claire and she offered him one of her flirty smiles which he impassively acknowledged.

He walked past Theresa and approached Darius then leaned on his arms on the table so his shoulders were hunched as he stared down at Darius and he stated. "There's something in the sea."

Darius slowly sat upright with a start, leaning away from the backrest of the chair.
"What are you talking about?"

"Something larger than we can ever imagine... something hunting the aquatic clan and their incessant screams wouldn't let me have some quiet."

"And how do you know this?" Herrick questioned.

"I live closer to the sea, remember?" Lycidas replied him sarcastically.

"That was what the nymph has been trying to tell us all along..." Aguilon muttered as it finally dawned on every one of them.

"Which obviously you all wouldn't listen to!" Lycidas snapped at him and the old man flinched. "You all were so bent on getting rid of her that you fail to realize that we have more crucial matters at hand!" He snapped at the watching people in the court and they cowered the more. He turned to look at Darius and said. "We have got to stop whatever is causing such an uproar in the sea before it is too late!"

"But it is not our fight!" Aguilon protested. "If whatever is in the sea can not get out to land, let the Merpeople fight their fight and not involve us in it!"

Lycidas turned to face him. "You seem to forget why we are the guardians of the veil, Aguilon. Anything that slips through that veil is our responsibility. We are bound by our oath of loyalty and duty to take care of it whether it chooses to wreck havoc in the sea or land! No one is safe to travel on those waters..." He jabbed a finger towards the direction of the sea. "...if we leave whatever is in there unscathed!"

Herrick turned to Darius. "Theresa was right all along, we have got to do something."

Darius quietly regarded Theresa for a moment and finally spoke. "We also cannot deny that Aguilon is also right, if we go to their aid, it means interfering in matters that are really no business of ours. The Merpeople are not our concern."

"It still doesn't change the fact that you are the protector of the realm, honey." Elaine interceded. "The mermaids have come to us for help, we just can't abandon them in time of their need, that will be a cruel thing to do." Elaine said, trying to convince her husband, especially because she had a soft spot for mermaids.

Darius thought for a while as all eyes settled on him waiting for a response. He finally sighed and rubbed his temples with his thumb and index fingers. "Fine... We will go to their aid, but they are a difficult lot to reach..." He turned to Theresa. "Have you any idea on how we can reach them?"