“As are all young, Ventait was the center of the tribe. Everyone doted on him and protected him. He was never out of an adult’s sight. Ever. Even if that were not the case, both Miline and Riendt were extremely protective—rarely even leaving him alone with another member of the tribe. Miline told me that she felt like her soul was being ripped from her body when she was away from him.”
Lelas turned away suddenly, causing the water to ripple around her.
I reached out, placing my hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me any more if it’s unpleasant.”
She didn’t answer for a moment, then wiped her hair back from her face in a determined gesture before facing me once more.“He was only seven years of age when he was taken from us. I never thought that life could be pain until he was gone.”
I waited. The silence stretched on interminably, the sound of the wind loud in the quiet of my mind. I knew the right thing to do, the kind thing to do, was to let the story stop. It was obviously causing Lelas too much pain to continue.“How did he die?”
She looked at me in confusion, as if I’d not been paying attention.“He was taken from us.”
I thought through her words, trying to derive a different explanation. I couldn’t.“Yes, taken from you. He died.”
“No, at least not then.”She shook her head.“I assume his death came soon, but I know not.”
Taken from them. Growing up in church, to me that simply meant he was taken to Heaven.“You mean he was actually taken from you? By who?”
“As I have told you, we rarely journey to the surface, but at times, we do. I was not with them.”She halted and then stared at me.“Actually, your father, Therin, was with Miline and Ventait, along with a couple of others. Therin and Riendt were best friends. Riendt was out on a hunting expedition, I recall not which kind, and Therin loved Ventait as if he were his own offspring.
“Miline told me they were doing races and simply playing. Ventait was already a strong and fast swimmer—Riendt was the champion swimmer of the tribe, so it only made sense his son would be as well.
“To this day, I do not understand how they did not see the boat, but they did not. Until it was too late. During one of the races, Ventait kept swimming. He was such a good boy, but he always pushed the limits of boundaries and always swam faster than we told him to. By the time Miline found him, he was already caught in a net, being pulled aboard the boat. She called out and began to swim, the others instantly joining her. Even Therin, who was bested only by Riendt, could not catch up to the boat.”
Zef’s response to me being on the surface alone suddenly seemed less like an overreaction. No wonder he’d acted like it was a life or death situation. Actually, it was kind of touching that he cared enough to even bother with me.
“The tribe searched for weeks, following the direction the boat was headed. Traveled for days before we reached the shoreline. We rarely slept, rarely ate. Only enough to give us the endurance to continue the search. We found nothing.
“It was the day after we abandoned the search that Miline ended her life. Sank a blade into her heart. Riendt swam away when her body was discovered. Therin went after him. They were gone for months and months. Only Therin returned.”
Maybeit was Ventait’s story. Maybe it was the shark. Maybe it was the beauty of the sea at night. Whatever the reason, the urge to see Therin was too intense to ignore.
I stuck my hand through the kelp and waved. I should have waited before barging through, but I couldn’t. I hadn’t even wanted to give warning at all, not that a momentary hand flash was all that much warning.
He was floating on the opposite side of the hut, tail intertwined through the seaweed, holding him in place. Even in sleep, he was stoic—arms crossed over his chest, back rigid and straight. Not even his head lolled. Only his white-blond hair billowed like mist around his face. He was a sentinel, ever at the ready. Much as Lelas appeared earlier, Therin looked every bit of a separate species. His demeanor made me even angrier than when I’d made up my mind to speak to him.
As mad as I was, I didn’t want to touch him, and I wasn’t sure how to go about waking him. Could I yell at him through my mind? Could he even hear me if he wasn’t awake? My luck, he’d sleep right through it only to have Syleen barge in and demand an explanation for my demonic behavior. Is barging into someone’s house in a fit more of a demon attribute or more of a dramatic queer thing? I’m sure Syleen would be able to tell me.
I looked around his hut. It was as empty as mine. Maybe everyone’s is like this. I’d not even been in the one Lelas lives in. I thought maybe they had some type of furniture. Who knows what? I’d not seen any of them sitting on anything at the meals, only reclining on the ground or floating upright. I doubted I could use Therin’s place as proof the mers didn’t have any type of belongings. Even if they did, I’m sure Therin was too “enlightened” to need earthly possessions.
I flinched when I looked back at him. His ice-blue eyes were open and staring at me. No other part of him had moved. Not so much as a twitch of a cheek muscle.
I stared back, waiting for some response. Anything.
Nothing. Not even a blink.
It became a staring contest. Well, I’m not sure if he knew it was or not, but it was. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of staring me down. Maybe he wouldn’t have any satisfaction anyway. Maybe he wasn’t even staring me down. No matter, I wasn’t going to give in.
He looked down at the sand and then back at me. Good enough. I had won the noncontest.
“Really? You’re not going to say anything to me?”
No expression escaped his face in response, but he let his arms fall.“Are you not the one who sought visitation?”
“Sought visitation? Come on! Pull the stick out of your ass! Can’t you just say something like ‘didn’t you come to see me’ or ‘what’s up?’”
His brow furrowed in confusion.“I do not follow your meaning. I am sorry if my words do not meet your expectations.”
“Meet my… Whatever, man!”Why had I felt the need to do this? I turned, shoving my hand back through the kelp strands. It was pointless.
