Chapter 26
Prism
Rumor blurred into view through the whirlpool. I glanced over my shoulder where the sirens watched on. Estuary gestured for me to gaze back into the whirlpool.
“Is this some kind of trick?” I asked her. “Or is it real?”
“Can’t it be both?” the siren responded with a pointed smile. “Speak with who found you, ocean daughter. Do it while the moon is full.”
We’d sailed the whole day prior. Finally, on the second night, shore appeared on the horizon.
I’d never been so happy to see such odd-looking trees with no branches, only a feathering of leaves at their tops.
I’d only just jumped from the ship, joining the sirens to swim to shore, when something glittered nearby.
As I swam toward it, the water whirled, casting an image beneath the surface.
“Sister?” she said.
“You’re no sister of mine,” I snapped.
Rumor stared at me through the ripples of the ocean.
Her hair half-white, half-black, all unbrushed.
Dark purple circles pressed in under her eyes like crescent moons.
She’d been crying… and not sleeping. My heart cracked ever so slightly—until I swiftly remembered she deserved it.
She deserved far worse than tears and lack of sleep for what she’d done.
“What do you want?” I asked when she didn’t respond.
“What do I want? I want a lot of things, Prism. I want to bring you home.”
“My home is dead, Rumor. My home died at your hand. My people, my family, are not in Willowspire anymore. My heart is somewhere here, and I am searching for him. My place is in Nisse and will be forever—very far away from you.”
Rumor’s face twisted in pain. “Prism… I’m…”
“I have nothing to say to you. There’s nothing you could say to me that would matter now.” Spinning in the water, I kicked to swim away.
Rumor called out, “I spoke to Vore.”
I paused, my body freezing. Somehow, I managed to turn and swim slowly back. My sister’s downcast gaze revealed no hint of malice or lies. She didn’t call him “the monster” or “the wither”… she called him by his name. “What? How… how is that possible?”
“I’m at the scrying stone in mother’s garden. Twenty, my familiar, helped me get it going so I could find you and talk to you… When I called out for you, Vore appeared instead.”
My breath lodged in my throat. “You saw… Vore? My Vore? What did he say?”
“He loves you, Prism… He loves you a lot.” She swallowed. “I’m… I didn’t mean to… I didn’t know.”
“Vore is here in the Underworld? Does he know I’m coming for him?”
Rumor bit her lip slightly. “He knows… He doesn’t want you to find him. He says this isn’t the place for you. We agreed on that, actually.”
“Oh, that’s convenient. Suddenly ‘Vore’ wants me to come back home to you? Really, Rumor, does your lying and manipulation know no bounds?”
“I’m not lying to you. And no, he doesn’t want you to come back to me, he wants you to go back to Nisse.
I… I guess that’s maybe where you belong?
Where you could belong, if it made you happy?
I don’t know. But I do know that you don’t belong in the Underworld of all places.
Prism, what the hell were you thinking walking into the fog like that? What if Asunder finds you? Then what?”
“What if I find Asunder? That’s who I’m looking for. Asunder can point me towards Vore.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing. Do you have any idea how dangerous this all is? You could be damned for eternity.”
“If this is all you have to say, then I’m swimming away now.”
“Swimming? There’s a lake in the Underworld?”
“An ocean.”
“Are there sharks?”
“How do you know what a shark is?” Despite my annoyance, the corner of my lip threatened to curve. I couldn’t deny the small warmth of relief I felt at seeing Rumor. Hate her as I may, she was my only tie to home, to my mothers, to my old life, and to Willowspire.
“Little sis, I know you want to find him and bring him back… but you can’t.”
A huff of irritation left my throat. “Don’t tell me what I can’t do. Even if I can’t, I’d rather be damned here with Vore than live a half-life earth side with you.”
“Do you really think I gave you a half of a life?”
“Yes.”
We sat in silence for a long moment, only the ripples of gentle waves lapping around me to fill the space.
Rumor bristled slightly but recovered. “Vore’s body is hanging on, searching for his soul; however, Vore doesn’t believe there’s a way he can return.
There could also be consequences even if we were to find a way…
Asunder would notice such use of magic. You could find yourself right back there. ”
I shook my head, unsure if I could even believe her. My sister, the same sister who killed the love of my life, stood here spouting words she alleged were Vore’s. It could all be a lie.
“Why do you care, big sis? I’m no longer your burden, and you’ve successfully taken away anything that could have brought me happiness. Go and be free of me. Enjoy your miserable life with your Blackthorne daimons and leave me alone.”
“Wow.” Rumor shook her head. “The Underworld has made you mean.”
“You have made me mean.” I pushed to swim away. “I have nothing else to say to you.”
Rumor called out. “I want to help, Prism. Please, let me help.”
“No, you’ve done enough.” I kicked my feet behind me, leaving Rumor repeating herself in the whirlpool behind me.
I waded towards the shore and Estuary glided beside me. “Who did you see when you looked into the eye of the ocean?”
“My sister,” I grumbled. “She has some nerve, after what she did, to come to me while I’m here and try to tell me what to do. She’s the whole reason I’m in the Underworld in the first place—because of what she did.”
“Hmmm…” Estuary hummed. “Sisters do have a way of bringing out our worst at times. It is perplexing how two born of the same parents can be so vastly different. But, here in the ocean, we believe the spirits around us were guided toward us for a reason. Nothing is by accident, not even here in the Underworld sea.”
“My mother’s name was Spirit,” I said softly as a soft wave nudged me towards the shallows.
Estuary stopped swimming. “I know.”
“You know?” It occurred to me that it was time to say goodbye, but I’d already drifted too far to hug her or the others. My heart cracked a bit at that. “I hope I see you again someday. Thank you all for everything.”
The sirens waved, getting smaller and more invisible as I waded backwards towards the shore. Estuary called out, “Remember the siren’s song in your heart, Prism. It will lead you through dark tides.”
I missed them already.
I couldn’t believe I had gotten to be a siren.
What a dream that was. I wanted to tell Vore about it… part of me wanted to tell Rumor, too. How long until those sisterly desires finally faded? When would those urges within me get the updated information that my sister was no longer good, or anyone I wanted to know?
When I made it to shore, sand squished between my toes as I stumbled forward.
I hadn’t been on land in what felt like days.
A flash of orange flashed in front of me and I yelped, falling backwards.
As I did so, Fuzz jumped into my lap and licked my face.
With a giggle, I rubbed his ears. Viceroy stretched his arms and dusted sand from his legs.
“Sorry about all that. Getting caught up with sirens is a nasty business, I detest the creatures.”
“I liked them—I liked them a lot, actually.”
Viceroy straightened his monocle. “Tonight, we make camp, and tomorrow we continue on our journey. Get comfortable, for it’s about to get real weird the further inward in the Underworld we go.”
Glancing around at the deep purple sky and lapping waves, I thought to ask, “Where are we now? What is this place?”
“Oh, this little nook of the Underworld? Did the sirens not tell you?”
“No.” I shook my head.
“Allow me to formally introduce you to this quarter then. Welcome to Night Gale.”