Therin’s brow knotted.“What has changed? Has there been another taken?”
Syleen shook her head.“No. Everyone is unharmed.”
“Mostly.”Greylin grunted. Actually grunted. I’d never heard any such undignified sound from any mer. To top it off, I could tell the sound came from his body, not his mind.
Therin turned his attention to his friend.“Everyone is mostly unharmed? What am I to make of that?”
Syleen answered before Greylin could respond.“Zef became nearly out of control when he learned your party had left the tribe in the middle of the night. I had never seen him so angry. In truth, his determination that we not seek those who harm us has left me with unease for many years. Therin, you know this to be true.”
Dad nodded, motioning at Greylin and including him in the acknowledgement.“We all felt such. Wrell too, of course.”
Greylin nodded, as if Syleen hadn’t already been very clear on where Wrell stood on the matter.
Syleen placed the small uneaten portion of her fish on the sand beside her, unconsciously covering its carcass with sand so it didn’t float away as she kept her attention on Dad.“It got worse the longer you were gone. He kept suggesting the entire tribe should search and bring you back. The greater your absence, the more irrational he became. He even started suggesting the four of you be tried for sedition upon your capture.”
“Zef? Really?”I couldn’t picture the merman in such a state and acting that way. He was the first of the mers to show me any kindness. A sharp contrast to the welcome Syleen had offered. When we’d left, there had clearly been some sort of unease between Zef and the others, but I hadn’t realized it was as vast as it seemed to be.
Syleen turned her head to include me.“It is so. I must confess I was quite shocked myself. Over our centuries together, I have seen hints of such temper—we all have irritability, of course—but nothing I’d witnessed compared with this.”
Greylin cut in at her pause.“The entire tribe noticed the difference in him. It made them begin to question what the four of you were really up to. They had been disturbed by your disappearance and worried about all of you but had not thought anything questionable about your motives. Until Zef continued to demand that you be brought to justice.”
While I was surprised Zef would be so angry, the astounded tone in Therin’s words told me that I didn’t understand what a big deal this actually was.“Zef was saying such things to theentiretribe?”
“It was getting to the point that there started to be division among us. Some, trusting Zef, were convinced of your treachery. However, many, like the twins, defended your honor, even knowing nothing about our plan.”Syleen turned all her attention to Lelas.“Your mother and father were among those who adamantly argued there must be things the tribe did not know that made the four of you leave. They were only concerned for your safety.”
At Syleen’s words, Lelas gave the most minute of nods. My heart thrilled at the clearest sign I’d seen that she was still in there somewhere.
Lelas had pointed out her parents to me, but I’d never actually met them. By the time I’d decided I was really going to be part of the tribe, the doomed quest was underway. Plus, I’d always gotten the unspoken sense from Lelas that they didn’t approve of her friendship with me—who knew the reason. My human side. Demon blood. Faggoty nature. Spin the wheel. Pick one.
Syleen looked back at Therin and me, including us once more.“It got to the point that Greylin and I believed we had no other option. We told the tribe of our involvement in your disappearance. We confessed you had left in an attempt to find out what was happening to our fellow tribesmen.”
The anger was clear as Greylin cut in.“The fool demanded our blood! He commanded that the tribe slaughter the two of us on the spot.”
Though I understood what Greylin was saying, I couldn’t force it to make sense. It sounded so far from what I’d seen from the Chromis that it didn’t seem possible.“What did they do?”
He sneered, his lips curving in a sort of smile.“Nothing. Zef should have known our people better than to expect them to kill those they loved for no other reason than because he willed it. Just because he has been alive for thousands of years does not mean he commands our people.”
Syleen’s expression was neither jovial nor sarcastic. Instead, a deep sadness seemed to wash over her.“Zef’s demands had the opposite effect of what he hoped. Those who had sided with him against you saw his instability, realizing something was wrong.”Her eyes glazed over, watching the scene replay in her mind.“When he realized no one was going to follow his edict, he attacked on his own.”
At her words, I turned to Greylin.“He tried to hurt you?”
He shook his head, but it was Syleen who responded.“He came at me. He swam at me with a blade, swiping at my head.”
“It was Rulus who speared him, right through his shoulder.”Greylin’s smile broke again, showing pride in the twins.“Of course, Flain was only seconds behind her. Between the two of them, Zef was restrained before the rest of us could take action.”
Silence fell. The story seemed too bizarre to be true. Even hearing Syleen and Greylin tell it, I couldn’t picture Zef acting in such a manner.
Therin, who’d been silent through the telling, spoke up.“What became of him?”
“He will remain in suspension until we have uncovered the truth of the matter, once and for all.”
I looked from Therin to Syleen.“What do you mean that he’ll be in suspension?”
Dad answered.“He is kept weighted down with stones so that he may not swim nor move. He will be kept alive, but just.”
“Until we find out how to stop the mers from being taken? That could take months. Or years!”
Therin nodded.“True.”
