Kingdom of the Sea Page 2

  What a wonderful world Lisbetta had grown up in.

  Even as he worried about her, he felt a tiny spark of joy. At last, he was beginning to understand more of Lisbetta’s life before she met him. Perhaps, when he found her, he would be able to understand her a little better. For all his fear and panic, this strange old story might yet have a happy ending

  Three armed men sprang out of the seaweed in front of him, and he jerked to a halt, all his daydreams falling away. Long-haired, wearing silver armour and carrying threatening silver spears, Cormac knew what these men were. He could see it in their dark eyes and smooth skin, the uncanny smoothness of their movements.

  Selkies.

  “Identify yourself,” one of the men said. “State your purpose.”

  But which man had spoken? Cormac almost couldn’t believe the truth. The words had appeared directly in his mind, clear as his own thoughts. They had not been spoken aloud. He tried to reply, to explain that he was no threat, but only bubbles came out.

  The three selkies drifted closer, spears lowered toward him. Glinting silver knives hung from their belts. Their faces did not show any mercy. Beautiful and cold.

  That feeling, those words… when had he felt something similar? He searched through his memories desperately. Lisbetta. He tried to hold her in his mind, pull her as close as he could. This world was not entirely new to him.

  My name is Cormac, he thought.

  The selkies jerked back, the faintest trace of surprise on their faces. What had they expected?

  “What is your purpose, Cormac?” the voice asked again, the words slipping straight into his head.

  I am here to find my wife. Her name is Lisbetta. She was once your princess.

  The guards exchanged shocked looks, their eyes wide.

  He’d done it. He had managed the tiniest magic of his own, and spoken mind-to-mind with a selkie. How could just the thought of Lisbetta hold such power? He should be afraid, but all he felt was exhilaration. His body tingled with excitement, his thoughts edged with vivid colour.

  “Come with us,” the guard said, gesturing with his spear. Cormac followed along, as he was ordered, unsure what else he could do. Would these two soldiers help him or harm him? He may be closer to finding Lisbetta, but he felt more confused and powerless than before. The strange world of the selkies swirled all around him, achingly beautiful and yet utterly terrifying.

  As the city rose up before him, bright white and gleaming in the dappled blue light, Cormac knew he was seeing the palace that Lisbetta had so often told him about. Where else could this be but the ancient stronghold of the selkie rulers? Gold-tipped turrets were wreathed about with sparkling nets, protecting the palace from above, and schools of fish darted across in dark clouds. It seemed the size of Cormac’s entire town, but grander and more beautiful than any city he had ever seen. Surely someone here would know what had happened to Lisbetta - if he could decide who to trust. The seaweed forest had flattened down, opening up into what seemed like a road, leading the across the last stretch of ocean floor towards the city walls.

  “Where are we?” he asked the guard. The mental communication still felt strange, like a a faint tickle inside his head. Had Lisbetta grown up speaking like this? How odd it must have felt to begin speaking aloud.

  No reply. He would just have to trust his intuition. This could not be anywhere other than Lisbetta’s palace.

  They passed through a towering pair of gates and into the city itself. The gaps between buildings were flooded with selkies now, swimming past in both their human and seal forms. He tried to call out to them, asking for help, but he wasn’t sure how to speak with individuals in such a large crowd. The guard in front of him turned to glare. He must still be speaking to the guards rather than to the surrounding selkies. He stopped trying and instead focused on the buildings around him, staring up at the wonders of the city.

  Lisbetta had often spoken about the selkie palace that had once been her home, but he had never encouraged her to go into detail. He’d always felt unsettled by the reminder of how different they were, of how strange she was.

  What had she told him about the palace? It was hard to remember anything useful, now that it was rising up around him, tall and beautiful, and more real than he could ever have imagined. He glanced up at the carvings above his head, figures of dolphins and fish so real that they seemed to swim across the stonework. How old were they? He thought of the ancient carved symbol stones that dotted Scotland, and tried not to shiver. Something told him that these figures were even older. Was Lisbetta’s strangest story true - that the entire selkie kingdom had once been a human city that sank into the sea? He’d laughed it off as a silly folktale but here, among these ancient walls, he could almost believe it. After all, hadn’t he once thought selkies couldn’t possibly be real? He hadn’t forgotten the disbelief and shock he’d felt when he learnt Lisbetta’s true identity. Was there any story left that had no truth to it?

  Each corner brought incredible new sights, with silvery domes reaching up toward the surface, colourful silks wrapped around jewel-draped selkies, and harnessed teams of dolphins pulling tiny floating carriages. But Cormac could not stop remembering that this beautiful place had a dark side as well. Hadn’t Lisbetta left on bad terms and never returned? He must not forget that. And what if her sister, Anja, still ruled? She had once betrayed Lisbetta and nearly destroyed Cormac’s life. He must not forget that either.

  For all its beauty, this selkie kingdom was a dangerous place. Beauty on the surface, dark magic running deep.

  The guards kept going, marching him through a large archway and into a warren of courtyards and corridors, white marble walls whirling past so quickly that Cormac knew he would never be able to retrace the route. The white and gold flew by in a blur, until two huge doors opened in front of them and Cormac was swept into a giant, cavernous room. Around him, the soft buzz of mental chatter died down as Cormac and his guards swam along the centre of the room. Ahead of them sat a giant throne, gleaming in silver and gold.

  As they drew closer, Cormac saw that a small, slight figure hovered over the throne - a woman. Silvery-blond hair drifted all around her, so long that it reached the seat beneath her. Her entire body was wrapped in silver armour, with a sword at her belt and knives strapped to her chest. In her hand was a spear like that carried by the guards.

  He drew close enough to see her face - and felt a jolt of shock. Though she was silver rather than copper-gold, he would recognise those features anywhere. This selkie woman looked so much like Lisbetta that she could only be her sister, Anja.

  At last, a burst of hope.

  He lunged forwards, a broad smile on his face as he pushed the guards out of the way.

  “Anja! Sister! It’s me -”

  His words were cut off as one of the guards slammed into his side, tackling him hard to the ground even as he felt a burst of magic crash into his chest. He tried to fight his way back up to his feet, but another wave of magic threw him back to the ground. Anja stood in front of him, her arm outstretched and her pretty face twisted in effort as she held him frozen.

  “I mean no harm,” he tried to call out, but a twist of her fingers trapped his voice inside his mind.

  “Who are you, attacker?” she asked. He sensed that these words were for him alone.

  “I am no attacker,” he told her. “I am yer sister’s husband. I come in peace.”

  “Liar. My sister has no husband who could enter this place. Who are you really?”

  “I swear I am tellin’ ye the truth!”

  He tried to stare up at her but the magic kept him frozen in place, gazing straight ahead.

  “Will you agree to be tested?” Anja asked after a moment.

  He had no idea what she was talking about, but something had to be done.

  “I agree. I promise ye that I tell the truth!”

  A cold hand gripped his chin, fingernails digging into his skin as his face was jerked up to stare into pi
ercing blue eyes. Anja looked right into his thoughts, and he repeated, this time for everyone to hear:

  “I am yer sister’s husband. I come in peace.”

  She dropped his chin.

  “Let him up,” she ordered the guards, and they backed away instantly.

  Cormac scrambled upright, hovering awkwardly in the water to face his sister-in-law for the first time.

  Her face, so like Lisbetta’s, was both comforting and unsettling at the same time. The shape of her features, the thoughtfulness in her eyes, those were all Lisbetta. But her icy blond hair and unfreckled skin were different - as were the hard lines around her mouth, too heavy for a woman so young. Not a lady used to smiling. Every inch of her seemed draped in silver and jewels, from the heavy teardrop pearls that hung around her neck, to the tiny sapphires winking on the hilts of her many knives. Everything about her screamed wealth and coldness.

  “Brother. What is your purpose for being in my kingdom?”

  “I came lookin’ fer Lisbetta,” he explained. “She’s disappeared, and I need tae find her. I hoped she would be here, but I worry that something bad has happened tae her.”

  “What sort of nonsense is this?” Anja asked, her voice cold and mocking. “You chase my sister away and then dare to ask for her back? If Lisbetta left you, it must be because you mistreated her, perhaps with harsh words, perhaps with your fists. If she ran away, it must be because you forced her.”

  Cormac gaped up at her, horrified. “Never! I love Lisbetta, and I would never harm her! I just want tae find her, tae know that she is well.”

  “You expect me to believe that you love her?” Anja laughed. “How can you truly love her? Look at the differences between the two of you. A rough human man, a fisherman, and a princess, a creature made more of seawater and magic than human flesh.”

  “I do love her,” Cormac said stubbornly, but Anja shook her head.

  “Lust, yes. She is very beautiful, and very easy to admire. But love? Never.”

  “Ye are wrong!” Cormac shouted, fury bubbling up through his body. How dare this woman - this stranger - tell him how to feel! It was not true, none of it. He loved Lisbetta. They had troubles, yes, and they were certainly very different, but that couldn’t stop him from loving her - could it? No mere lust would last seven years. Although Lisbetta was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

  “You were foolish to come here,” Anja said. “You will not find what you are looking for, and it is a miracle you are even still alive. With only that paltry human magic helping you breathe, you should be on your hands and knees thanking me for your life. I could snuff you out in a second, weak little human. You are permitted to survive only through my generosity as queen.”

  “How dare you!” Cormac shouted, feeling his anger rip through him along with the thought, flying through the water. Anja actually reeled, staring at him in shock.

  “I came here tae find my wife,” he said, waves of force pulsing through the water with each word. His anger was so strong he could barely shape the thoughts, yet they seemed to flow effortlessly from his mind to hers.

  “I willnae leave until someone helps me,” he told her, but she did not respond.

  “Help me!” he shouted again, this time with even more force, and he almost felt her resistance crumble. He glanced around nervously, but no one else seemed to have noticed, the faces of the guards and courtiers frozen in polite interest.

  “My apologies, brother,” Anja’s voice said softly in his head. Then her thoughts grew louder, and Cormac knew everyone else could hear as well.

  “Lords and ladies, my brother-in-law has passed the test! He comes to visit us in peace and love. Treat him as an honoured family member, and the brother of your queen.”

  She turned to a tall, slender selkie hovering anxiously at her elbow.

  “Place him in the best guest chamber.”

  She smiled at Cormac, but her eyes were still cold.

  He smiled back, fighting the fear and confusion. What was happening to him? Magic? His anger had never felt so thrilling - or so terrifying. And if he could not trust Anja, as seemed the case, then who else might be able to find Lisbetta?

  He bowed low to Anja,then followed the guards as they led him through even more corridors. Had he come this way before? The entire palace looked the same, overwhelming and unfamiliar. Each turn brought more curious eyes, and whispers of thoughts that seemed more like accusations than welcomes. When they finally reached his new chamber, the silence came as a relief, the door slamming on the backs of his guards and on the sly faces of the selkie courtiers. But he had not heard one single thought about Lisbetta. Who was keeping the secret of her disappearance?

  Cormac woke up in a panic, breathing hard and trying to shake off an unsettling fear. Where was he? He fought his way free of the heavy cloth over his head, and sighed in relief as soft blue light illuminated the room around him. He still lay in the guest room Anja had assigned to him, soft pillows all around him and a blanket heaped over him. Lying down underwater should have felt strange, but he had fallen asleep surprisingly easily.

  He lay still for a moment, absorbing the strangeness of this new world. The water gently lapped all around him, every tiny movement he made disturbing the stillness of the room.

  Such strangeness was all too overwhelming, making it easy to remember that, despite its luxury, this kingdom was very dangerous indeed. He still didn’t know what had happened to Lisbetta, but it seemed increasingly likely that her disappearance was in some way connected to this mysterious kingdom. He had to learn more. She had been gone for seven years - who might still have wanted to hurt her after all that time?

  He threw off the blankets and straightened his clothes as best he could. They drifted strangely around his body, and he realised why all the selkies wore yards of rope tying their clothes tightly to their bodies. Life underwater was different in so many tiny ways that he had never expected.

  The door was not locked, surprisingly, and he swam straight out into the corridor. Was he an honoured guest after all, as Anja had insisted? Two guards were waiting for him. Perhaps not.

  “Sir, we must request that you do not leave this chamber without approval,” one said, his thoughts a little uncertain.

  “Must I remind ye that I am family to your queen?” Cormac asked, keeping his tone light and friendly.

  The two guards looked at each other nervously.

  “If ye like, confirm with yer commander,” Cormac said. “Ye’ll find that I am allowed to go wherever I wish.”

  He tried to make the words as confident and convincing as possible. After a second’s pause, the guards swam off, disappearing round the corner at speed, no doubt planning to check with a superior and hurry back. Strange that both had gone, not just one. Still, there was no understanding how selkie minds worked.

  Cormac swam off in the other direction, moving casually to avoid looking suspicious. The palace still seemed every bit as vast and luxurious as it had the day before. Was it even morning? He had no idea how much the light changed down here. That strange blue witch-light seemed to illuminate every corner of the palace without any need for windows. He couldn’t even tell where it came from. In fact, for all he knew, it was still the middle of the night. And the eerie light was the least of the many mysteries about this place. How was he suddenly able to survive underwater?

  He drifted out into a small courtyard, at last seeing the open sea above him, a faint golden light filtering through. There was something welcoming about this place, for all that the water was icy-cold. The courtyard seemed almost abandoned, weeds growing through the paving to flutter in the current, and the rocks of the walls were crumbled and rough. He spun around slowly, admiring the leaping dolphin frescoes that seemed to move from one wall to the next. What had Lisbetta told him about her pet dolphin? He couldn’t remember the name. If only he’d paid more attention to the stories of her childhood. But he’d never expected to see this place. How could he have
known something so incredible, so unbelievable would happen?

  “Apologies for disturbing you, sir.”

  A man’s voice stole into his head and he jerked around. A slim man stood in the doorway to the courtyard, wrapped in a dark human-style cloak that moved strangely in the water. His face was expressionless and oddly smooth. Ageless.

  “I am Gunnar,” the man continued. “I am Queen Anja’s court magician and, as such, a loyal servant to your family.”

  He bowed low, but he did not seem like a servant. Cormac felt raw power - and danger. Dark magic leaked out of this man like blood from a wound.