35. Allarick
Chapter 35
Allarick
I ’m ripped away from Erin, pulled in the opposite direction. Delmare comes into view. He grabs Erin and pulls her out of the room, doing exactly what is expected of him. Protecting the queen.
The fear and confusion on Erin’s face cut deep. I want nothing more than to go after her and promise her she’s safe. Except my words won't be true. Only my actions can guarantee her safety, which is what spurs me on.
“We need to move, Allarick!” the voice from next to me booms. There’s only one person here who wouldn’t bother with royal titles.
My suspicions are confirmed when I turn to see Nori, Atina’s crewmember, leading me out of the dining room. His usual calm demeanor is replaced with stoic urgency. I don’t give a shit that he didn’t use my title when speaking to me. But I care deeply that he clearly knows more than he’s letting on.
“Tell me what is happening, Nori,” I growl, ripping out of his grasp. Chaos ensues all around us as merpeople attempt to gather their family and flee.
“The Leviathan’s song has grown stronger, affecting sea life. We’ve seen changes in the animals and heard whisperings about attacks from various sea creatures. We didn’t realize this until the problem was nearly at your front door. Atina asked me to swim ahead and let you know what is happening.”
Just as Nori speaks the last word, a loud boom crashes around the hallway. I spot the reason for the sound immediately. Above us is a sixteen-foot predator, a shark with white, milky eyes and scars along his underbelly that look fresh. The shark swims around before zeroing in on our invisible sound barrier.
He rams it.
He rams it again and again until murky bits of the magic begin to crumble. Our only barrier between us and the Leviathan is on the verge of collapsing completely. Singing filters in through the cracks.
It’s there and gone in the next second as the barrier struggles to knit itself back together, but not before the song gets under my skin. It was a pull. A strong pull. One that, if it went on longer, I don’t think I would have been able to ignore it.
Seeing the stunned faces of guards and merpeople around me, I’m not alone.
Siren mages rush to the front line, singing their own magical songs to strengthen the barrier in hopes to buy us some more time.
Nori shoves something in my hand. “You’ll want to wear these. ”
In my hand are two sound cancelers, different from the ones I issued. These are made with a different, firmer material and better shaped for ears.
“From above land. Should be stronger,” Nori answers my unasked question. I shove them in my ears. They block out a lot of the noise, but not all of it.
Crying and screaming merpeople push their way to the doors, demanding their release. Sharks of all sizes and species ram against the invisible barrier. It’s not meant to withstand attacks, meaning we are living on borrowed time. It will soon fail.
And everyone around us will be in danger.
“Nori, gather a few guards and issue noise cancelers to people who don’t have them,” I bark out, knowing Nori doesn’t answer to me. He answers to Atina. Still, the man nods and rushes off to do as I say.
So much is happening at once. The screams from my people. The barks to “get back” and “calm down” from the guards. The guppies crying. The constant attacks by the sharks.
Through all of this, I hope Erin is okay. Delmare is a good man. I know he’ll take care of her until his dying breath.
A new sound assaults my senses: a terrible ripping sound, like a limb being separated from the body. It’s so loud, it makes everyone stop in their tracks.
I jerk my head up just in time to see the last of the barrier fail, no longer able to hold its magic from the shark attacks. It blinks once and then crumbles out of existence. Mage sirens slump to the floor, exhausting all their energy.
And then, for one glorious second, silence.
Until the song starts.
Even with the noise cancelers Nori gave me, I can still hear the low thrum of sound and the nagging pull to listen to their cries.
All around me, people scramble to block out the song. Guppies scream as if in pain. It’s a harrowing sound. Death itself has paid a visit to us today. The real question is how many he’ll take with him by the time this is all over.
Without further stalling, I rush to the nearest guard and take his sword from his sheath. He can find others in the armory, but I don’t have time to make the trip myself.
Sharks swarm the castle, breaking through windows and crashing through doors. We live in peace with all creatures of the sea. A coexistence we have cultivated over millennia. But tonight, we are forced to be enemies. The Leviathan’s song is growing impossibly strong if they can control these massive beasts.
I try to reach out to them, but my call is blocked. Again and again, I can't get through. Then a shark lunges for civilians. Its large, jagged teeth bite into a merman’s arms. He screams, flailing, but it only makes things worse.
Later, I will beg the sea goddess for forgiveness.
Later, I will atone for the atrocities I will commit today.
But right now, I plunge my sword through the shark's rubbery skin. It’s tough and not easy to cut through. I muster all my strength to push the sword in deeper until it comes out the other side .
Someone screams.
I think it’s me.
The shark twists in my direction, causing my sword to slice through him. Blood colors the water around us until I can no longer see through the cloud of red.
The shark stops struggling and sinks to the floor.
Dead.
Because of me.
Because I killed it.
More sharks attack, and screams of pain nearly drown out the Leviathan’s song. Nearly.
Guards take up arms against our cousins of the sea, slaying them in our own home. It’s a massacre. Them versus us.
With each wound inflicted, my soul dies a little. The water bleeds red. A few guards try to spare their lives, but these creatures are relentless and not in control of their own bodies. They won’t stop, despite the injuries given to them. Nothing but death—of the sharks or the Leviathan—will keep them away. My guards have no choice. It’s kill or be killed.
Another shark comes from the red mist, right for me. I barely dodge its attack and swim out of the way. The shark hits another guard. A new recruit who started six months ago. The young kraken barely registers the hard impact of the shark.
The guard turns his head, and his eyes are the same color of murky white as the shark’s. I check his ears but see he’s not wearing any noise cancelers. He starts to swim toward the exit of the castle. None of the other sharks pay him any mind. They let him pass .
The young kraken isn’t the only one. More people swim unprovoked through the castle. Not screaming or fighting. Eerily quiet as they all swim in the same direction. Each one of them with the glazed-over look on their face.
“HEY!” I scream, trying to get their attention. Anyone’s attention. But none look back. It’s as if I’m no longer here.
I feel powerless to help my people.
I can’t let the feeling of defeat overtake me. I channel all of my fears into my attacks. It’s not a good strategy. Fighting without a clear and sound mind is sloppy work at best and death at worst.
With each shark I cut down, three more take its spot. It’s like we have the entire ocean at our front door. The water is almost too red to see through. Only dark shadows hint at where sharks could be. It’s getting harder to make out who is friend and who is foe.
My body is already fatigued. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep the sharks at bay and from hurting any more of my people. A shark to my left swims straight toward me.
I lift the sword up.
The creature moves faster.
I’m ready.
But before the shark can make contact, and before I bring my sword down upon him…it stops.
The fog in the shark's eyes disappears as if never there. It looks disoriented, not sure where it is and why it’s here. I no longer feel the blockage in its mind. The frightened shark glances at me before turning tail and swimming out of the castle.
I scan the room—what I can see of it, anyway—and more sharks follow in its wake. Guards and merpeople who had similar hazy expressions suddenly stop what they’re doing. A mixture of horror and panic crosses their faces as they look around to see what happened.
What changed?
I hesitate but slowly pull out one of the noise cancelers. Music hits my senses, filling me with warmth and tranquility. It’s not the song of the Leviathan; this is different. Happy. Welcoming. Beautiful. Safe.
Erin.
I know it’s her. It has to be her.
My body moves on its own volition, carrying me to the music. To Erin. Getting there isn’t easy. Broken glass and statues clutter the path. Dead sharks that need a proper funeral also litter the way toward Erin. They deserve better than that. I will atone for what I did later.
Right now, I need to get to Erin.
I maneuver my way through the throngs of merpeople, all gathered around my wife, blocking my view. I push myself to the front of the crowd and sag in relief when I see her. Safe and untouched. My sweet girl.
Erin sits on her bench, lost in the music she creates with her harp. Delmare and Iris stand behind her, keeping back anyone who gets too close. We spoke of Erin’s ability to captivate an audience with her music and how it holds magic in the tune. I fully believed that, but I never thought about the music blocking out the Leviathan and bringing people out of their hold. Where I once thought her music brought only comfort, I know now she can counteract the singing.
Pride, love, and devotion for Erin swirl in my chest, making me choke on the affection I have for my wife.
But it’s gone all too soon.
Because I know Erin can’t do this forever. My people need a safe place, and Tetria isn’t safe. Maybe one day it will be, but I can’t risk the civilians. I can’t risk Erin.
My sister’s words from the tavern come back to me. Only a member of the royal family can close the gate to keep the Leviathan locked away. Erin has made me stronger. She has protected our people. My wife has done her job, and now it’s time for me to do mine. I’ve waited long enough. There’s no safest way to do this; it simply needs to be done.
I know what I must do now.
I have to break Erin’s heart to save my wife and our people.