Chapter 8 Nightmares
Nightmares
Siralaine
The shore is close. I can see the glimmering moonlight from the twin moons, a beacon through the dark waters of the Elmerian Ocean.
Just a little further; I’ll be faster on land than they will!
But even knowing that, it doesn’t matter. Not when my mind is telling me, I won’t make it.
Not when I can hear them behind me; even if they have not reached me yet, it feels as if their claws are sinking into me.
My entire body is aching from swimming as fast as possible to avoid the wave weavers.
The water is now like a blanket weighing me down. My heart hammers like a thousand drums as I spare a glance at the shadowy figures that swim after me. Their slithery, blue scales glint when the moonlight catches them. The wave weavers are my father’s deadliest warriors.
I look over my shoulder as I swim faster. He must have sent them to retrieve me and take me back home. I have disobeyed him and ventured far too close to the shore. We may control the oceans, but he still considers the land dangerous.
I glance back at the wave weavers, with their grey skin, ribbed torsos, eel-like tails and yellow eyes. They lack the humanity that sea sirens have. They are nothing more than killing machines, without an ounce of mercy in them. They will do anything my father asks, regardless of what that may be.
I push harder, seeing the ripple of the waves on the surface of the water. I’m almost there!
I force my tail to work faster as I swim upwards, the sinister wail as a webbed hand reaches for me chilling me to the core, and just as I break the surface of the water, pain sears through my tail as one of my pursuers rips through my scales.
I gasp in pain but don’t stop, swimming with all I have towards the rocky shore that is so close now! I can’t stop!
How did it even get to this?
Just because I defied him outright, he now thinks I’m a traitor? I had no choice but to leave the palace, and I know by gods, he is extremely angry with me.
My stomach sinks, and I push the thought away, refusing to let the panic of what will happen to me if I’m caught consume me. I need to get to shore and wait it out until Father’s anger changes to worry, and only then, will I go home.
The moment the water becomes shallow, I force myself to shift, feeling my tail disappear as it’s replaced with legs.
Pain throbs through my right one as I keep running, the broken shells and rocks that cover the ground cut into the soles of my feet, and I stumble through the wet sand as fast as possible.
I hear the wave weavers break the surface behind me, my heart pounding violently, but I don’t waste precious seconds looking back, knowing every single one counts.
I hear their hisses of rage.
“She must not escape!” one of them hisses; their voices sound like a chilling wail carrying across the waves on a stormy night.
I’ve made it this far; I will not let my shaking legs and my screaming heart weaken me. I will not be caught and dragged back to my father!
The moment the rocks lessen, and my feet are now on smoother ground, I spare a look over my shoulder, seeing the wave weavers slithering out of the water. Unlike me, they do not look like humans, but more like something from a garish nightmare.
Their webbed feet don’t move as fast as mine do on land, as theirs were not made for this.
Centuries ago, sea sirens were forbidden to shift and walk on land, and it became a rule that endured.
We are powerful in water, and in water we shall remain.
But ever since I was young, that was something I defied.
I loved the land almost as much as the sea.
Even if the oceans are large, it was on land that I felt free.
Thanks to the rules my father had in place I felt suffocated in the palace.
But in the eyes of my father and the ocean, to walk on land is punishable by death.
However, I didn’t listen to those laws. I have snuck away for years now, and it was on one of these escapades that I stumbled upon an unregistered crack in the veil.
Suddenly, I’m thrown to the ground with great force. I gasp as stone scrapes my cheek, the taste of blood fills my mouth, and stinging pain jars through me.
“Get off me!” I snarl, my eyes blazing as the water ripples angrily. “I am the Princess of Elmeria! You will not defeat me!”
“Your death is written, Princess. You betrayed your father and thus betrayed your kingdom. We have been ordered to end your life here.”
My eyes widen. What? “No! My father would have wanted me brought back!” I snarl. Something isn’t right! He wouldn’t order me to be killed!
They don’t reply. Instead, all eleven of them advance towards me, raising their long spears, ready to carry out an order I cannot believe is real. I don’t have a weapon, but…
The first one raises his spear, and I call upon the power within, causing the waves to rise behind them – raising them higher and higher into the sky, ready to plunge us all into water.
The moment the first one dives at me, I duck, pushing aside his spear and turning, breaking into a run as the wave crashes down upon him and the others, buying me precious moments.
We are getting further from the ocean, and I won’t be able to use what abilities I have much longer. I run into the trees, ignoring the way the branches scratch against my hair and skin. I gasp when a spear misses my head by mere inches and push further.
I focus on the sea, creating another wave and praying it slows them down. Reaching up, I hiss as a branch cuts into my arm. I twist my wet curls up on top of my head into a tight coil, using one of my necklaces to wrap around my hair, holding it in place.
They’re still coming for me, but I know this place better than they do, and it’s helping me move faster.
The fear remains, but adrenaline pushes me on, keeping me going. I keep moving, taking several steps back at times, changing direction, only to detour back. I need them to get ahead, for them to think I’ve made my way further along.
Spotting a tiny niche under the roots of an upturned tree, I squeeze inside, stilling my racing heart as best I can.
Please don’t find me… please don’t find me…
Gods above be with me.
I hear their slippery, wet footfalls as they approach where I am hiding. I hope they don’t notice me. Praying that they move ahead, I count in my head and after a few moments, I’m about to move, but I hesitate.
I touch my leg, feeling the blood that covers it.
I have to move before I bleed out here. The more blood I lose, the weaker I will get.
Giving it a few more minutes, I fist some dirt from the floor and rub it on my leg, gritting my teeth to stop from yelping.
It is just to help stem the bleeding so I don’t leave a trail in my wake.
They won’t be too far, so I move silently, focusing on my goal. Just a little more and I’ll be free… free from this world, my father and the wave weavers.
Ten minutes later, I finally reach the large oak tree. Looking at it, you would not think much of it, but if you manage to squeeze through the large roots, you’d find an odd ripple deep beneath it, enough for a person twice my size to crawl through if they so wanted.
But unless they physically went through it, they wouldn’t even realise what it was.
Taking a deep breath, I cast one last look over my shoulder and heave myself over the large boulders, only to stop when I spot the legion of men surrounding the tree.
My heart sinks as I take in their wings. Sky sirens… I hate them with a deep passion. My heart thumps, and I quickly pull away when one of them turns towards me. I cower behind the boulder, my mind spinning.
Why are they guarding the entrance? Are those Varkhazan’s men?
Just the thought makes me nauseous. If there’s anything worse than Father’s wrath or being caught by the wave weavers, it’s Varkhazan, a monster.
He is a tyrant who rules the three realms, and just as we hate him and his kind, they hate us with equal passion.
If they realise what I am, they will cut my head off right here.
Peering out through tree roots, I spot the shadowy form of a wave weaver prowling a few metres away. A soft gasp leaves me, and I clamp my hand over my mouth as his head turns my way.
“What was that!” one of the sky sirens shouts. I hear the wave weaver hiss.
This is my chance! I have to get to the human realm!
The moment the sky sirens follow the sound of the wave weaver, I break into a run, my only goal to get through the veil and into the human realm.
I’ll make it! I have to!
My eyes fly open, and I’m back in the stranger’s room. Light shines through the window, and the distant sound of cars honking reminds me I’m in the human city.
I sit up shakily. My hands, which are still tied behind my back, are clammy.
Gods, I need to pull myself together.
“What’s wrong? Did I haunt your nightmares?”
I stiffen at the sound of that deep voice and turn to see him leaning against the door frame.
“No, I’m not afraid of you.”
“Then you’re more foolish than I thought.”