War of the Ocean

Chapter 28

Down she swam, back down towards the ocean palace, leaving the battle in the surface far behind her. It was quiet beneath the waves and the water was oddly still compared to how it splashed about up above. There was no one about, all the Mer had risen to fight in the surface. She knew that the children would be down here still, all huddled up somewhere in the city surrounding the palace. Where had all the creatures of the ocean gone though? They were probably hiding away somewhere far away, not wanting any part in the Mer's quarrel although it affected them too.

Drifting down into the courtyard once more, Arelena made her way inside the palace. The halls were eerie as she swam through them, gradually moving down towards the prison below. Turning around the corner of the hall leading into the prison, she froze for a split second and darted back around the corner at lightning speed. Back against the wall, she mustered the courage to glance around the corner once more.

There were sharks patrolling up and down the hall; three great big sharks that would snatch her up and eat her if given the opportunity. They had probably been sent by Tristien to keep her away from Soren, which meant that he'd known that she'd come for him and had also known that the sharks would stop her. And they had, for a moment at least. Arelena could not let these sharks get it the way of her plan. She had already defied her brother and rallied many of the Mer against him, she couldn't stop there after she'd come so far. Sharks or no sharks, nothing was getting between her and Soren, she had to find a way around them.

Perhaps they would swim away in a minute, perhaps she should just wait and see. So she did, or at least tried to. After thirty seconds, Arelena decided that she couldn't wait anymore; time was running out and she needed to get to Soren as quickly as possible. The sooner she could get him to end this, the less casualties there would be. She had already lost Kaiser, she couldn't lose any of the Mer as well. Giving herself no time to back out, she launched herself around the corner only to come face-to-face with a great white shark. Its beady black eyes watched her for a moment, the two of them remaining still until the shark moved, beginning to circle her. The other sharks joined in, trapping her in a ring of deadly bodies. There was no way out.

For a second, Arelena felt as though all hope was lost. She had never gone up against the sharks before and wasn't prepared to now. The voice in her head kept telling her she had to but every other part of her screamed no. Fear was beginning to take over, her body quivering faintly. Why was she so afraid, these creatures were like fish. Oversized fish with at least five rows of razor-sharp teeth that could rip her to pieces in only a few bites. But she had to get to Soren somehow.

Once again, she acted before her brain could convince her not to. She darted forward, ducking beneath a shark's tail as it passed by her. Immediately they all swung in her direction but Arelena took off, leaving them behind in a stream of bubbles. She knew they would take chase but maybe she could get to Soren first and he could help her. She kept this in mind even as the sharks began to gain on her, she was so close to his cell now. There was still a chance that she could reach him before they caught up with her. But then their teeth were almost snapping at her tail and she knew she had lost the race. Stopping abruptly, she whirled around to face the monsters, surprising them. A wave of nerves washed over her as she waited to see what they would do. But the sharks only waited for her next move.

They were so calm, so patient; trained killers waiting for their prey to snap. It frightened Arelena that they did not react, that they did not even move. What frightened her even more was that she could not tell what they were thinking for their was no sing of emotion written on them anywhere. Even the fish had small signs like the way their fins quivered when they were afraid and the Mer and humans alike had their facial expressions to tell how they were feeling, what they were thinking. The sharks were something else entirely. Their tails moved from side to side in sync and their soulless eyes revealed nothing. How could creatures be so emotionless?