Beneath the Waves (Ocean Song Book 1)

*UPDATED* Chapter 20: High Tide

"What the hell's going on Cas?!" Zale asks angrily as he, Arion, and Caspian stand upon the beach waiting for God knows what.

While Zale seems to be irritated with waiting around out here, Arion seems more concerned with the result of this meeting. "You said we'd be able to find Serena, Rodion, and dad if we met this stranger. So where are they?" He asks impatiently as he glances around in search of this mysterious person who claims to know how to help them.

Caspian sighs as he scratches his head with a shrug. "They'll get here when they get here. Besides, I don't know how true their words are but it's all we got right now," he says tiredly as he crosses his arms over his chest.

Just as Zale is about to snap, another voice pierces the air. "I do hope I did not keep you waiting too long." All three look to where the voice comes from only to find a strange person garbed in a black cloak. Their face is shrouded in darkness and their voice is raspy with a slight echo to their tone. "Preparations had to be made," they say lightly as the three brothers regard them with suspicion.

"Preparations for what?" Zale asks suspiciously as he eyes the stranger warily. Something didn't feel quite right about them and he gets the feeling that they shouldn't trust this stranger at all. However their proposal is too tempting to pass up. So far they haven't had any luck with finding evidence surrounding their family members' disappearance. Right now, this is all we got... He thinks a little begrudgingly as the stranger turns in his direction to answer his earlier question.

They seem almost amused with the whole situation as their tone possess a lightness with something akin to creepy laughter interlaced in every word they utter. "Follow me and I shall show you how to locate your missing family members." Arion is hesitant and it shows clear on his face as he looks between both of his brothers with trepidation in his eyes.

Caspian is unsure as he looks towards his youngest brother and his next words are anything but confident. "Alright. Just show us how to get our family back," he says after a moment of hesitation. Zale doesn't appear too convinced of the stranger's intentions and Arion isn't too keen to discover what this stranger has in store for them. However, the fact of the matter remains that this person is the only one who knows anything regarding the location of those they lost to those accursed waves and so...they follow them to the place where all of this began...

"Foolish boys!" The person curses as they watch the three young men follow after the suspicious person garbed in black. Oh, how desperately they wish to call out and warn them against following this person but alas, they are but to observe this stranger's movements on land until they finally return to the sea. "I knew I should have made direct contact earlier on. They are going to get themselves killed," they groan as they watch the three near the edge of the cliff. "I cannot hear the words they speak from here..." They murmur as they hold out a hand and effortlessly summon forth a glowing silver conch. They bring it closer to their face as a group of voices pour forth from it like a radio.

"So, what now?" Asks the youngest one possessed of golden blond hair. His tone is impatient, and his stance is guarded as he turns his gaze back to their "companion" and away from what lies below them.

The one with silver hair, may hap the second eldest, runs a hand through his hair. Judging by his stance it is quite obvious that he is wary of this stranger—as he should be given that they've offered them no plausible reason to trust their words. "What'd you bring us up here for?" Clearly, he's annoyed and most likely wishes to engage in his nightly activities that this person has witnessed once or twice.

A chuckle echoes forth from the shell as they take notice of the black tongue pouring forth from their lips. Their eyes widen in shock as the conch suddenly dissolves into a cloud of a black, tainted mist. They jump back quickly to avoid it as they swear under their breath. Clearly their subject of interest has noticed their presence and any cover they may have had is blown away like leaves on the wind. So with the element of surprise lost to them there is no longer any reason for them to hide and with that they sprint towards the cliff in the hopes of being able to save the oblivious boys at the very least.