Water

Wave Sixty Eight

Later, as the night tide began to swirl through the nest, Leira joined the Black Tails in the centre. Numbly, she noticed Mira’s body had been cleared. Arla’s tail swept the seabed where he’d fallen, agitating the sand. Someone pressed something into her hand. She glanced up to find Marilla nodding at her, her eyes eager. Looking down, Leira saw something pink. A round ball sat in her palm. It was a flower urchin made from hundreds of pink tubes. She squashed it and watched as a cloud of spores billowed from it.
(No, don’t waste it!) Marilla laughed. (Breathe it in.) Leira sniffed at the water around her and felt a rush of adrenaline thump through her. A tingling sensation crept along her fingers, curling its way toward her heart. Suddenly dizzy, Leira found it difficult to keep her eyes open. The feeling passed.
         
As though through a haze, Leira watched as the other Black Tails swam unsteadily around. They were laughing and play-fighting. They began projecting images sporadically in front of one another. Leira giggled as she saw visions of the Black Tails swoop from their minds, unintentionally broadcast. A small voice at the back of her mind tried to caution her, and she thought about the memories she carried. Memories she didn’t want others to see. Unbidden, a vision of Eli burst into her head. She watched, distraught, as he rushed toward her. Desperation shone in his eyes as he reached for her. She watched as the life drained from him. She watched as his whisper joined the fading Source. She watched as the last of his energy poured into her. And she watched, dismayed, as Naeco viewed her vision, cast without her permission, in the water ahead.
           
With glazed eyes, Naeco faced her. His tail curled around a nearby boulder. Leira saw spots of red tinged the tip of it. She wanted to tell him to wipe Mira’s blood away. Or explain how she knew so much about Sources. Before she could react, Naeco emitted his own projection. It was an old memory - one that must have been handed down to him - that filled the space before them, dancing and crackling colourfully.
         
It was dark. The City slept. Leira saw a Mer with a vibrant red tail streak past, unaware of the Black Tail shadowing it. They reached the Nest. The Flame Tail darted in, but something drew the Black Tail up short. He was staying out of range, Leira guessed. Moments passed and the Black Tail was joined by dozens of other warriors. One stood out amongst them with a pure white tail. Leira waited for the inevitable surge as they attacked, but it didn’t come. Instead, a solitary Black Tail stole into the Nest. The memory swirled and Leira observed, horrified, as the lone Black Tail swam into the midst of the Nest, careful not to disturb it. He pulled a dagger from a belt slung round his waist. Without hesitating, he raised it to his chest, and plunged it in. He died within seconds, and the memory pulled Leira back to the waiting Black Tails. As soon as their friend was dead, they swarmed the Nest. The Mer within were helpless, incapacitated somehow. It was over within moments. The Black Tails were merciless. Leira watched on as the final events of the memory played out. Some of the Mer retrieved their fallen colleague while the others continued the annihilation. On an unspoken signal, they began to wind away from the Nest. Leira saw the White Tail flee alongside, a stone chest clutched in her arms. It was glowing.
         
Shaking, Leira waited for Naeco’s memory to end. His eyes refused to meet hers. Horrified, she tried to quell the bile that rose in her throat.
(You steal Sources?) Still unable to look at her, Naeco nodded.
(Don’t you know what they are?) Naeco turned to face her, and picked up her hands. His tail began to flick as his passion grew.
(Our Seer told us everything. We know what the Sources contain. It’s why one of us has to make the sacrifice.) And suddenly Leira began to understand. Sedna had told her herd the secrets of the Sources. They knew they contained souls. So they sent one of their own in to kill or be killed. To die. But why? She voiced her guess.
(So once one of you has sacrificed, they attach…)
(-to the nearest Source.) Naeco clarified.
(And once they’ve attached, they can project its location to your Seer.) Naeco inclined his head, confirming her speculation.
(The Seer can speak to the soul inside it. It can tell her anything. Where the Source is, who to target, how many to cull-) Leira’s head snapped up.
(Cull?) Naeco passed a hand over his face, his eyes still huge from the venom.
(We target bigger herds. Bigger herds have bigger Sources. But we’re not monsters, Leira. We couldn’t just take from them and leave them with nothing. We have to cull to allow the rest of them a chance to survive off their remaining Sources.)
(But you’re murdering innocents! And worse, stealing souls. Stealing ancestors. Those souls, they’re still alive. Inside the Sources maybe, but they’re still there. You take them and use them up.) Leira stopped for breath. It came in ragged bursts as her heart fluttered.
         
Dismay ran cold in her stomach as she reasoned further.
(That’s why you haven’t killed me yet. It’s why everyone’s been so good to me here.) Naeco’s grip on her hands tightened painfully.
(Maybe at first. We thought you’d take us to your herd. But not now. You left them. You’re one of us. You’re mine, Leira.) Leira pulled her hands away and ran them through her hair. She could feel the venom wearing off, and her head ached. Naeco’s face swam in front of hers. His eyes bore into hers and she tried to read the emotion within them.
(I need to be by myself,) she thought softly. She rose to swim to her tent. Naeco shifted as if to follow. She waved him away.
(Please. I have to think.) Naeco looked hurt for an instant. He recovered his composure and shrugged. Leira watched as he swam back to the others. Someone smashed a flower urchin near his face, and he leaned close to inhale its vapours.
         
Leira glanced down at her wrist-orb. In the frenzy of the afternoon, no one had thought to take it from her. She knew it didn’t contain enough energy to get her back to her Nest, but what choice did she have? She had to try. She had to warn them. She swam quietly toward the edge of the crater, barely moving her tail as she slid through the water. An orb floated over to her, and she waved her arms to waft it away. It caught in a current and was swept off. She was left in darkness.
         
(Leaving so soon?) Marilla’s voice cut the murkiness. Leira fumbled for her wristpiece, but a hand snatched at her shoulder.
(No, don’t. The light’ll give us away.) Leira pulled Marilla’s hand away.
(It’s not right. What they do. What we do,) Marilla continued. (Sometimes I think I can hear them.) She must mean the souls, Leira thought. Marilla was still projecting.
(And I definitely can’t do it to you. Not now we’ve become…anyway, here.) Leira felt something pressed into her hands. It was round and smooth.
(It’s not much, but it’ll help.) Marilla pulled Leira into a rough hug. (Good luck.) With a small splash, Marilla disappeared. Leira began the long journey home, Marilla’s orb lighting her way.