1-Samhain
The merfolk were dangerous. Everyone on Avristar knew that. The kinfolk stayed away from the lake and the mists that curled around them, concealing the island from the Lands of Men. Avristar was safely tucked away from the humans and their wars, but the merfolk gravitated to the shores, living in an underwater paradise below the island. They slid their slick black bodies through the cracks in the rocks and pooled forth into the chasm underneath the mountain. There were stories about them finding their way to the surface, but the stories were centuries old. Fear flooded the kinfolk and forced them away.
Krishani shifted his weight on the stone platform behind the forbidden falls and peered out from sheets of water blocking the entrance to the cave. The falls were on the south side of Mount Tirion, and they were off limits. Krishani narrowed his gaze at the banks of the pond, his heart thudding. A girl kneeled on the edge, her white hair cascading down her back in curls and waves, her pasty hands pressed against the ledge. She peered into the depths of the pond. He never saw anyone do that before and it made him nervous. He was brave enough to ignore the elders when they said not to travel to the waterfall. When he was forced to be in the royal city of Orlondir for the Fire Festivals he preferred the cave behind the falls over the dancing girls, the hairy feorns and the sparring matches.
He slid a fraction of an inch down the stone as the girl backed away from the ledge and a fin on top of a smooth black head bobbed along the surface. The girl ran her hands through her hair, trying to push it away from her face, and for a second Krishani thought she might be scared. He was. He pressed his back against the stone behind him, and let out a deep breath. The merfolk pushed its head through the white tufts of foam forming on the surface. And then everything moved too quickly. Krishani blinked and heard a loud splash. When he looked, the girl who had been clothed in an ivory maiden’s gown was naked. He tore his gaze away, but the image was already imprinted on his mind. It made warm tingles run down his torso and he clenched his stomach muscles in response, trying to control himself. He never cared about the girls from Araraema or Evennses, and he especially felt nothing for the feorns. He heard another splash and when he dared a glance back at the banks she was gone.
His pulse quickened as he thought about removing his cloak and diving into the pond after her. Nervousness washed over him, his pulse pounding in his ears. To grasp her, pull her out, touch her skin, it made him crazy.
He slid further down the stone stairway in an attempt to get a better look. There was nothing floating along the surface of the water. He needed to know if she was going to be okay. He also needed to know why she was being so stupid, but that was something he wasn’t brave enough to ask. He wasn’t even supposed to talk to her or watch her or near her. He was supposed to be at the Elmare Castle eating pheasant and apple pie while keeping to his own with the Brotherhood.
Still, he kept staring at the pond, waiting for her strands of white hair to graze the surface. It took too long. He frowned at the waters, and took a deep breath. Flashes of nightmares raced behind his eyes. He promised himself he would forget about those. He had suffered from nightmares for as long as he could remember. Nobody knew about them, not even his elder, Adoron of Amersil. He was too afraid to admit he dreamt of death all the time.
Krishani sucked in a breath as he caught sight of white hair on the surface. He realized that if he didn’t move quickly she would see him, and he would see her—again. He clambered up the stony incline and peered over his shoulder as he reached the platform behind the falls. She had her dress on and was wringing her hair out over the falls. He smirked; she would be in a lot of trouble if the elders knew what she was doing. Then again, he would be in trouble too if they knew he was planning on spending the night in the cave. He barely got away with it last time.
Being rebellious didn’t come naturally to Krishani; it was something that seemed to follow him around. He envied his brothers with their sharp combat skills, elemental manipulation and pure knowledge. They were probably the smartest kinfolk on Avristar. All of them destined for greatness, all of them expected to go to the Lands of Men across the lake.
Krishani was unsure about his own greatness. Even though the Great Oak had given him a promising parable, he wasn’t sure he’d live up to it. The Great Oak was the oldest tree on Avristar, its wisdom beyond measure.
Adoron seemed to believe Krishani was a warrior, but Krishani didn’t really feel like one. Keeping up with the brotherhood had proven difficult at best.
The girl ran her fingers through her knots of hair. He leaned forward to get a better look at her. She was petite, the ivory dress hugging her body in a very flattering way. Her skin was a soft pasty white. He desperately wanted to know more about her. She was the first thing that left him stunned and mesmerized, heart thumping and palms sweaty. His mouth dropped open involuntarily as he stared at her, watching her thin fingers caress her hair like a harp. He wanted to spend all day speculating about who she might be, where she might be from, and what she might be destined for. She looked old enough to have been to the Great Oak, to know her parable and station in life. It had to be better than his. He didn’t really understand the armies of Avristar and their battles in the Lands of Men. He didn’t like the idea of being a pawn. He was barely good with a sword, let alone hand to hand combat. No, he wanted to forget all about the brotherhood, his destiny and his nightmares.
All he really wanted to do was talk to her.
Before he had a chance to back away and hide, fall into the ranks of duty and push the thought aside, she looked at him. Bright emerald green eyes caught his and widened. Her hands dropped from her hair and nervously ran along the hem of her dress. She chewed on her lip and dug her toe into the ground.
Krishani gulped and forced himself away from the girl, retreating into the cave. His breathing heavy and ragged, he tried to calm down enough to believe this wasn’t happening. She wouldn’t come looking for him, she wouldn’t confront him. He didn’t know how to talk to a girl; he had never done it before. He held his breath as he crouched in the shadows and waited for her to leave.
• • •
It was the pressure and the lack of air that made swimming in the pond scary, not the stories about the merfolk dragging unsuspecting kinfolk to the bottom. The merfolk were actually gentle creatures, cooing and floating around her, pulling at Kaliel’s hands and wondering at her differences. She wasn’t sure what to expect from Orlondir, the royal city of Avristar. In Evennses the lake was an hour walk from the House of Kin and the beach was blocked by trees. The trees never let the kinfolk see the lake, let alone swim in the waters. They had the creek for that.
She shook her head, disappointed she hadn’t been able to touch the bottom of the pond. It made her curious, the lake, the pond, the waterfall. She knew all the familiar stories, the ones about the dangerous merfolk, the ones about the tarnished Lands of Men across the lake. She heard stories of the mists, the protective shield that turned the lake into an endless sea. There was no coming or going from Avristar without an ancient incantation. At fourteen, Kaliel was nowhere near old enough to know it; the most she knew was land magic. And she was bad at it.
Without the threat of danger in Avristar it was hard to imagine anything lethal in the waters, across the waters, in the pond. Still, her elders seemed vexed by the merfolk. It might have been beginner’s luck, but she found them tame and playful.
She worked her fingers through her hair and a prickly feeling washed over her. She glanced at the falls and saw them—eyes watching her, one blue and one green. The rest of their form was masked by a black cloak, and it disappeared behind the falls as quickly as it had appeared. Self-consciousness made her cheeks turn pink as she left her wet hair and went to climb the stony stairway.
Her slippers fought to grip the rocks and she had to use her hands to pull herself up and across the platform behind the falls. Nobody was there. She frowned and crossed to the cliff on the other edge. She glanced down, seeing sand and the outlines of vegetation.
“Pux?” she called. He was the feorn friend that had told her about the waterfall. She thought he went back to the castle already. She also thought she was alone when she decided to strip naked and swim with the merfolk. Her knuckles turned white against the stone as she gripped it hard, fear ripping through her at the thought of the eyes. She scanned the ground one more time and decided she imagined it. As she rose to her feet and turned, a scream erupted from her lips. She grabbed the clammy stone wall beside her and cursed her luck.
Whoever it was stood on the opposite edge of the platform, blocking her only escape.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, his voice deep and full of alarm.
She tried to find her feet as her head swelled with dizziness, her cheeks flushing. Mist drenched her, creating water spots across her ivory dress. She tried to find her confidence, but the bravery she had earlier drained away. Her knees felt weak.
“Was it you?” she asked, her voice ripping through the air like a ghost.
He froze, didn’t say anything for a long time, which made her heart hammer even harder in her chest. “I saw you in the pond.”
She gripped the stone harder. “How much did you see?” She thought nobody ever came to the waterfall, that she could keep her curiosity to herself. She thought she could avoid the hard stares of the elders, but this made her fainter by the second. Not knowing who he was, not knowing what he wanted, it left her trapped in limbo.
“I saw you wring your hair out,” he said.
She exhaled loudly and pushed herself off the stone. She found her balance even if she had to keep her hand planted against the wall to do it. She waited for him to move, but he stood there like a statue. Nervousness flitted through her.
“I should return, Elder.” She stammered on the last word, knowing that saying it would make it true, but she had no choice. He probably was an elder and she was probably in a lot of trouble.
He didn’t move.
She felt worse. “Do you want to take me back to the castle?” There was something belittling about being carted around red-handed. “I thought I was alone.” Her shoulders shook.
He buried his face in the rocks and pressed himself against the smooth stone. “You weren’t alone.” His voice was thick and almost rude.
She frowned as she neared him. “I know.”
“And I’m not an elder,” he added.
“Oh.” The guilt waned a little. It was really hard to tell with his height and the cloak concealing every part of him. “Then who are you?” She stood behind him, feeling the heat radiating off his features.
“Does it matter? It’s not like I’m going to tell anyone,” he snapped.
His words stung. She opened her mouth ready to fire something vile back at him, but closed it, her thoughts circling around nothing that would hurt as much.
“Goodnight,” she forced, trying to make the pleasant sound of her voice as unpleasant as possible. She went to descend the stone incline and forgot it was slippery.
“Wait,” he said.
She turned and her foot slid on the frictionless rock; she careened towards the pond. Her heart wildly pounded in her chest as her arms flailed, trying to find something to hold onto. She couldn’t believe she was having a clumsy moment right then and there. Her cheeks turned bright red as she thought of tumbling down the rocks and splashing into the pond. And then there were arms circling her waist and warm fabric against her smooth skin; her body pressed against something hard. She felt disoriented and elated all at once. A hand slid into hers and warmth was replaced by cold. Her stomach did flip-flops as she thought of pressing herself against the warmth again.
“Maybe I should take you back to the castle,” he grumbled, his voice gruff.
She opened her eyes and found herself perched on the stone incline, mismatched eyes knifing into hers, his hand still curled around her fingers. He squeezed them hard, trying to keep her in place. He sounded annoyed with her, but his expression said it was all concern. Her eyes hardened as his words sunk in.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
He let go and retreated behind the falls. She almost fell on her knees, but found the wall and scaled across the stone incline. She paused at the edge of the platform and peered into the cave; it was something she hadn’t noticed before. She crossed her arms and glowered at him. “I’m not leaving until you tell me who you are.”
He pushed the hood off his face, revealing long locks of jet-black hair, a sharp narrow face, high cheekbones and ghostly white skin. Her knees trembled as he stared at her, clearly mesmerized.
“Stop looking at me like that,” she said quietly as her eyes hit the ground.
“You first. Who are you and why haven’t I seen you before?” He pushed his hands into his sleeves and gripped his elbows.
She shook her head in disbelief, looking for some excuse to avoid the question. Defeated, she gulped, digging her toe into the stone. “Kaliel of Evennses,” she muttered, curling a strand of hair behind an elongated ear.
He continued staring at her. “Aren’t you old enough to come to the Fire Festivals?”
She raised an eyebrow and thought back to her home, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips. “Old enough ... but um …” She cast around for a way to explain that she was always tardy for her lessons, always botched assignments and was never where she was supposed to be. Pux was worse; the elders spent more time chasing after him, but she wasn’t any better.
He folded his arms against his chest. “Don’t tell me you’re always like that.”
She furrowed her brow and shot him a look. “Always like what?”
“Endangering yourself?” He almost smirked, but his lips spread into a straight line and he nodded towards the waterfall.
She looked at the ground, her cheeks turning pink even though she didn’t want them to. She was about to answer him when she realized all of this was avoidance. She pulled her arms tighter across her chest and stood up straight, making direct eye contact with him. It made the butterflies return, but she tried to shush them with her will power. “You still haven’t told me who you are.”
He shifted away from her. For a second she thought he was going to dive into the waterfall, but he stopped and dropped his arms to his sides. “Krishani of Amersil.”
That wasn’t something she expected. It made her lips twitch into a frown as he put more distance between them, another step back, and what seemed like the length of a field. If there was anything she knew about Avristar it was that Amersil was full of the handpicked apprentices of the land. They were able to command the elements, move mountains with their mind, make rain, manipulate fire. Most of the other kinfolk listened intently to stories of their greatness. They were private, and aloof. The worst part of it was they knew they were better than everyone else, and they constantly reminded everyone about it with their ignorance.
“Oh,” she said.
His expression changed. It was like he was testing her reaction, his eyes bashful and embarrassed. She didn’t have anything else to say so she just stared at him, curiosity and intrigue crossing her face. Moments passed, their eyes lost in a lock, and then he let out a sigh and turned towards the falls.
“You haven’t heard of Amersil have you?”
She frowned. “Yes I have.” She dropped her hands to her side and began rolling up the hem of her dress.
“Then you should know the stories.” There was something tortured behind his words. She uncrossed her arms and pushed off the stone.
She shrugged. “You’re not like the stories.”
He turned back, a smile creeping across his lips. “Is that what you told yourself about the merfolk?”
She shrugged again. “They’re not like the stories, either.”
He moved closer. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
She twisted her hands together, pressing them against her knees. She felt nauseous, something gnawing at her gut. The words struck a chord with her, but she couldn’t figure out why. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Is that why you were watching me?”
He turned green. “Um …” His cheeks flared a pinkish color and he ran a hand through his hair. His eyes couldn’t lie: they were full of concern. “Morbid curiosity,” he muttered, trying to force a smirk, but he looked like he wanted to vomit. “At least someone could tell the elders what happened if …”
She put a hand around her neck and let out a short breath. “You mean if I turned up dead?” That was more unheard of on Avristar than war. She regretted it the moment she said it.
He shook his head and passed her, clambering down the incline. “Yeah, that.” He reached the bottom and went for the break in the trees. She slid down the rock as quickly as she could and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him away from the path.
“I’m sorry,” she squeaked, silently begging him to stay. “I won’t go back in the water if you don’t want me to.” Her voice cracked as urgency fled through her. She felt hot, like her entire body was pulsating with fire.
He turned, his fingers entwining with hers, his eyes working their way over her body, making her feel naked again. Tingles spread through her chest and for a second she thought she would pass out
He glanced at the waterfall and slid away from her. She let out a breath as he passed.
“Can I show you something?” He climbed the stone behind her and moved towards the falls.
She frowned, but followed him back to the platform. She pressed her shoulder against the rock as she watched him push his hands together, take deep breaths and plant his feet on the stone. She cocked her head to the side as his cloak fluttered open, revealing a cream-colored tunic, leather belt and black breeches. She hadn’t noticed how lean he was with the bulky cloak in the way. She choked on her breath and coughed.
He glanced at her and worry streaked his face. “You need to close your eyes.”
She raised an eyebrow, but did as she was told, the magnitude of his presence only stronger when she couldn’t see him. She could feel him better, his unstable energy, his mismatched eyes, his strong hands and lanky frame. It was hard not to think about the warmth he emitted when he touched her.
Moments passed with her eyes closed, her thoughts drifting to the Elmare Castle, to Pux and Luenelle and her elder Desaunius. She would be in a lot of trouble if she got caught. She twisted her toe in the ground, uncertainty coursing through her. She knew the merfolk were dangerous, but she swam with them anyway and someone had seen her. Part of her wondered if he would tell the elders. There was the gnawing feeling in her gut that what she did now would color what the Great Oak would say to her when she went back to Evennses. She was nearly old enough to hear the words of the ancient tree.
“Kaliel?” Krishani asked.
Her eyes snapped open and she was met with a handful of ice, a smooth round ball attached to his hand. Her mouth hung open. It stung as she ran her fingers along it, breathing over it, causing the top layer to turn to water. She drew her fingers underneath it, separating it from his frozen hand, and tremors moved through her. It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen anyone do in her life.
“It’s so cold,” she whispered, her eyes meeting his. They seemed far away, dull and exhausted. He dropped onto one knee and winced.
It was her turn to feel concerned. “Are you okay?” She cradled the orb in one hand and put her hand on his shoulder. He shook his head while gasping for breath.
“I’ve never … tried something like that.” His hands fell to his lap, his head drooping towards the stone.
“Why would you try now?” she blurted, and regretted it. She tried to withstand the coldness of the ice, but she put the orb on the ground, her hand numb.
He shook his head and tried to stand. “It’s you, you’re …” He moved to his feet and pulled his hands into his cloak. He looked away as she let her hand linger on his cloaked forearm.
She didn’t know what to say. The ice continued to melt away at her feet and he was the most confusing person she had ever met. “Is that why you were so harsh?”
“We’re not allowed to speak to outsiders.”
Nervous attraction raced through her as she pulled her hand away and dropped her gaze to the stony ground. “Then, why me?”
He looked at her briefly, his expression unreadable. He pushed past her, descending the incline. “I’m only an apprentice.” He turned the corner and disappeared through the trees.
She picked up the orb and ran after him. “Wait!”
He stopped, his expression mangled.
“Will I ever see you again?” she asked.
“Probably not.” He turned, the cloak billowing around him as he stalked away. She watched him until he was nothing but a shadow amidst the trees and sunk into the dirt, burying her face in her hands. A hollow feeling spread through her as the orb slid into the mud, melting at her side.
“Farewell,” she whispered as the first signs of dawn erupted over the horizon. She glanced up and a sticky feeling raced through her. They had been there all night. She sighed and picked up what was left of the orb, trudging along the path, loathing the punishment she would endure for her mischief.
* * *