The Blue Divide

Chapter 13

Lainey and Alec were both sleeping when Eko crept out of his room. He grabbed Alec's violin from behind the armchair and went out into the night. A thick mist had rolled in from off the ocean, clouding all sense of direction.

There was a broken staircase behind the cottage that led to a patch of rocky shore. The stairs creaked and swayed as he made his way down them and stood on the rocks facing the sea. The waves were rough and angry, smacking the rocks in fountains of spray.

He closed his eyes and listened for Nerine, but could barely make out the whispering notes of her mindmusic. He put the violin under his chin and began to play.

The music sang into the night, overpowering the roar of the sea. Eko let it flow in and out of him like the ebb and flow of the waves. It ignited the spark of merrow telepathy needed to project a summons. The music filled his mind, taking the place of thought and feeling until a black haired girl burst from the waves, coughing and choking while she adjusted to breathing air. The violin clattered to the rocks as he ran into the water, barely aware of how freezing it was. He wrapped his arms around Nerine's wet body. She shuddered in his grasp, still trying to catch her breath, and he pulled away to gaze at his old friend. Her eyes glowed their usual bright violet, illuminating the tops of her strong cheekbones. She reminded him of everything he missed about his former life, things he didn't know were important until they were gone. If only he could go home with her. If only everything was normal again.

"Ekrios," she whispered in his mind. "I didn't think I would find you again. Your mindmusic has been so faint I thought you might be dead."

"I nearly was," he said. "Sometimes I wish it were true."

She shook her head. "You can't die. Not if you are to be my husband."

"But if I can't return—"

"Father wants me to give you up and choose another, but I have refused. We swore fealty to each other in the presence of a god. That isn't to be taken lightly."

Impossible weight filled his chest and he squeezed her shoulder. Her skin was hard. Like marble. "I miss you."

She brushed his hair out of his eyes and traced the angles of his face with her finger. "You haven't told anyone who you really are?"

He shook his head. "No."

She breathed out, relieved. "Father always told me that humans are dangerous. If they know of our existence it will ruin us. Soldiers have been patrolling the surface for years, sinking any human vessel that comes too close."

Eko drew back. Was the sunken ship in the forbidden plains the work of merrow soldiers? "But going to the Upperworld is illegal."

"That's true. Soldiers are the only ones allowed to go there. It's for everyone's protection. You discovered for yourself what can happen when you go up. If I'm caught, father will have me locked away."

His heart fell into his stomach. "I don't want to cause you any more trouble. You've already done so much for me."

She looked into his eyes, her violet gaze taking his breath away. "I would do anything for you." She gripped either side of his arms. "I'm glad you called me when you did. I think I may have found a way to save you."

Eko drew in a breath and grabbed her arm, hardly daring to hope.

When she spoke again, her tone was softer. "It's a spell. I know black magic is forbidden, but surely your situation overrides any of the laws of Atlys. And we're not in the city. No one will know."

"How did you find it?"
"Cleverly disguised as a children's rhyme." She began to chant:

"Half a head of krillon blood, atop a bowl of sea,

mix it all with seelie scales, will bring her back to me.

Drink it down until it's gone, and go into the brine,

Only then will my true love, once again be mine."
She laughed. "I remember learning hand gestures to it as a child and my tutor telling me not to repeat it in the Temple of Poseidon because it had evil connotations. Come to find out it comes from an old tale about a merrow named Maryne who was tricked into giving up her fins by a human who loved her. Little did the human know she was already married, and her husband, Killian traded everything he had to a hex in exchange for a spell that would bring her back. My father banned the story for everyone's protection. He didn't want young merrow getting curious about the Upperworld. Then there'd be far more of us in your predicament."

"So what do I need to do?" he asked.

"Exactly what it says. Mix together the blood from half a krillon head in a bowl of seawater, along with seelie scales. Drink it and then go into the ocean."

"That's it? No magic words or anything like that?" He could tell that Nerine believed in the spell because she wanted to so badly, but he had never been very superstitious. It sounded too good to be true.

"None that I could find. I had several philosophers tell me their version of the legend. This part was always very clear."

The sound of a rock splitting underfoot interrupted his response. He spun around and saw Lainey making her way to the shore. Her hair was flung back over her shoulders and she wore a loose nightshirt over the top of a pair of shorts.

"Eko?" she said, her hands outstretched in the darkness.

Nerine dove into the waves.

"No!" Eko cried, following after her. He wouldn't be parted like this. The land beneath his feet dropped off and he was plunged into deeper water. He reached out and cried after Nerine, but she was gone. He was abandoned again; left imprisoned in the strange Upperworld that would never be home. Never. Despite shouts from Lainey, he let the waves surround him and fell into their cold embrace. It was difficult to believe in a spell from a children's story. There had to be another way. Staying above the water had turned him human, perhaps staying beneath it long enough would change him back.

As his lungs began to scream for air, he felt Lainey's hands pulling on his arms. He wouldn't give in to her. If he couldn't change back, what good was living at all? He opened his mouth, praying to Poseidon that his lungs would welcome the salty water. Instead he choked. It was the same as when he had gone overboard in the storm. It hadn't worked then.

He kept fighting, but lack of oxygen depleted his strength. His body went limp and Lainey's grip on him won over. She pulled him coughing and sputtering to the shore where he spit up all the water he had inhaled.

"I heard your music," she said, picking up her grandfather's violin.

If only he could hate her. She had ruined everything! He raised his arms to push her away but there was something so comforting about her that he couldn't work up any bitter feelings.

She sat beside him while his wracking coughs turned into sobs. His mindmusic normally pined when he was upset, but that hadn't happened since his transformation. Instead, water pooled in his eyes and clouded his vision. He blinked it away, but it flowed even stronger. He was powerless to stop it, whatever it was. This was a response that was distinctly human.

Lainey's hand stroked his back while warm tears dripped down his cheeks. They tasted like the sea.