When the narrator finished the story, the entire audience stood up and applauded the impressive performance they had witnessed, as if the legend of Terrarkana and all its characters had come to life in front of them.
Even after the spectacle was over, the four gigantic dragons, as well as the chimeras, which were nothing more than cloths that took shape with the movements of the people hiding underneath them, continued to meander through the crowd, making the children laugh, especially those who played at chasing the legendary creatures.
Once the applause died down, Olivia caught the conversation of two old men talking next to her.
“As usual, he has left things untold,” observed one of them, disappointed, apparently referring to the chief who had officiated as narrator.
“Recent history, brother,” replied the other, in a conciliatory tone. “He does not want our tales to reach the ears of the elves.”
“Brother, it's been a hundred years.”
The other laughed softly.
“For the elves that's nothing.”
“He didn't even mention the pirates.”
“They don't care about such things.”
“Nor the hunting of the chimeras.”
“So what? As long as there are no chimeras around, we have nothing to worry about.”
Olivia felt Silas' body move next to her, but she could no longer hear the rest of the talk because suddenly the drums beat again, this time with a slower rhythm than before. All the torches went out, and the lakeshore was plunged into complete darkness.
A deep silence fell over the expectant audience. Each new beat of the drums sounded like a collective heartbeat, and the tension grew as the minutes ticked by, as if everyone present was holding their breath.
Olivia, like everyone else, stared out into the far side of the lake, black as night. She didn't know how long she stood like that, until a child's scream was heard:
“There! They're coming!”
People began to move to get a better view of what was happening. Olivia felt her heart stop when she saw the first glimmer in the water. It was a small flickering light that rose from the depths like a lone star. It began to circle pointlessly across the dark surface. Then it disappeared again for a few seconds and, when it emerged, new lights returned with it.
The drums continued to beat, and with each beat more and more lights began to emerge. As they got closer they became more playful, like golden butterflies playing chase.Suddenly there were so many lights that it seemed as if the sky had reversed and the stars had come down to play in the waters of the lake.
When they reached the stone promontory that marked the tomb, the lights began to rotate around it, forming a luminous ring.
A scream was heard from the water followed by a deep voice that began to sing and then was joined by other voices from all the tenors that formed a chorus that emitted a complex and beautiful harmony. Olivia could not understand what they were saying, but the singing transported her to another time, before humans, when magical creatures roamed free everywhere.
Just as they had appeared, the lights in the water faded, and the voices quieted. Deafening applause erupted from the audience. The torches slowly flared up again, and Olivia could see the chiefs and other members of the tribe walk onto the shore.
And there she saw them. The Sirenians.
They were emerging from the water. There were countless of them.
Olivia started running towards the shore to get a closer look at them, followed from behind by Silas. She had to force her way through the crowd, but eventually she made it.
They were beautiful, slender creatures. Each seemed to have a different skin color. Some were dark green, others red, blue, violet, yellow, orange, all shades. Their scales emitted a glow similar to what she had seen shining in the water. Their hair was long, abundant and black, falling like a cascade of loops over their shoulders and back.
What impressed her most were their limbs. As they waved with their hands their fingers were shown joined by membranes that surely made it easier for them to swim. When some of them turned, she caught a glimpse of their dorsal fins. From the waist down, they had a fish tail whose powerful fins, to Olivia's amazement, were transforming as the sirenians left the water behind and took on their terrestrial form. The fish tail split and was replaced by two long, muscular human legs. Their hands became normal, and their skin lost its scales and some of its iridescence, while their colors became dark. Even so, they maintained a bright aura that made them stand out from the rest of the humans.
And they were naked, Olivia realized too late to look away and forget everything she had seen. The giggling sirenians didn't seem to mind, as the rest of the members of the tribe reached for shirts and tunics to put on over them.
On the shore sirenians and humans embraced and kissed. Some were couples, others were entire families. A group of green-scaled children emerged from the water leaping like happy little fish behind their parents.
“Ah, Acolyte Dahlia!” Mantok shouted.
Olivia turned around to find the happy old man wrapping an arm around the waist of a woman who was more than a head taller than him. Her skin was dark and her black, frizzy hair no longer shone as it did in the water but in the torchlight took on a golden hue. Her eyes expressed warmth, and her wide mouth was smiling from ear to ear, competing with her partner's happy smile. She was not young, but neither did she look like the grandmother of a great offspring.
“Didn't I tell you that they like to make their entrance? May I present my dear Thalassa!” said Mantok.
“A... a pleasure... I...” Olivia suddenly realized she had lost sight of Silas. She turned her head to look for him, but couldn't find him. Perhaps he had stayed away, so as not to attract the attention of the sirenians.
“And they are all my children and grandchildren!” he pointed to the ten or so sirenians who were hugging the rest of their families. “You'll meet them all! You're invited to our family dinner, of course!”
“But I...” Olivia didn't have time to talk to Silas about how to proceed once they were in front of the sirenians, although it seemed to her that meeting Mantok's family might be the first step.
“She's a very beautiful young woman, Mantok,” Thalassa said suddenly, and pinched her partner's cheek. “You didn't find yourself a new woman while I was gone, did you?”
“If you start bothering me like that, I'll do it!”
“You grumpy old man!”
“Father!” two women, very similar to Thalassa, wrapped in loose robes, approached and embraced Mantok.
“Ah, if it isn't my Yaritza, and my Numi!” Mantok wrapped his thick arms around them, and they stayed that way for long seconds.
“Where is my father?” asked the younger sirenia as she let him go.
Mantok scratched his head.
“Now that you ask... I haven't seen him,” he shook his hand. “He should be here any minute.”
“But he's always here waiting for us!” she protested.
“Calm down, Numi” the other sirenian put her hand on her shoulder. “Something must have happened to him, he'll be here soon.”
“In the meantime, I introduced you to Acolyte Dahlia Silas. This morning she saved me from dying,” said Mantok, as if to get out of trouble. “Dahlia, these are my daughter Yaritza and my granddaughter Numi.”
The three women stared wide-eyed at Olivia as Mantok exaggerated the episodes of that day.Numi hugged Olivia so tightly that she almost lost her breath.
“Thank you so much, thank you so much, for saving my grandfather!” when they stepped apart, she studied her from head to toe. “But you even look my age! Then we'll be friends from now on! You'll tell me all about your travels in the kingdom, and I'll tell you stories of the sea! I've always wanted to visit the inland!”
And with that said, the sirenian grabbed Olivia's arm, and dragged her away just like that.
Meanwhile, other members of the family had approached and, after another round of affectionate greetings, the large group continued to walk among the crowd, until they returned to the big family hut near where they had built a fire.
The twelve children of Mantok and Thalassa, plus all the grandchildren of all ages, stood around it. Some of the humans had already been preparing what would be that night's dinner, a variety of fish, vegetables and fruits.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Numi had Olivia sit with the rest of her cousins, including Zaagic. She seemed to be the oldest. The young sirenian girls were very struck by the fact that there was a wizard visiting them, and kept asking questions. Mantok would jump into the conversation by referring to Olivia's non-existent healing skills, and the girl couldn't help blushing, praying to herself that no one would ask her to do a magic demonstration.
“Numi!” exclaimed one of her cousins, who was about eight years old. “Tonight I will beat you!”
“Never!” Numi replied, and the others began to tease her.
Then they explained to Olivia that it was a tradition to stay up that first night to wait for the sunrise. In recent years, Numi had always come out the victor, something her human cousins could not stand, as she should have arrived tired from her long journey across the sea.
“I have a lot of stamina!” Numi boasted, flexing one arm to show off her muscles.
“Numi!” another little human cousin tugged at her robe. “Did you meet any handsome boys?”
“No one, none of them came close to me,” Numi folded her arms and the rest of the sirenians rolled their eyes.
“Not even a pirate?” asked another cousin.
“Pirates have horrible faces. And you, Dahlia, do you have any boys waiting for you in your town?”
“No, no... I don't,” Olivia replied with shyness.
“I'm sure my grandfather has already made you an offer, but don't listen to him,” she pounded her fist on her chest. “The best thing to do is to take care of it yourself, as I plan to do. Although I haven't met anyone worth kidnapping yet.”
Olivia looked surprised.
“Do sirenians kidnap men?”
She said it in such an innocent tone that the sirenians, and the rest of the humans couldn't hold back their laughter for quite a while.
“Actually, we don't kidnap anyone,” said one of Mantok's eldest daughters, Numi's aunt, once she caught her breath. “That was my sister Yaritza's doing. She is to blame for our bad reputation.”
“My mother got herself a very handsome man that way!” Numi defended her. “And I'll do the same someday!”
“Many women would like to be kidnapped by me!” exclaimed one of the sirenian men, and received pieces of food that the others threw at him in response.
“To love sirenians means to respect their freedom! And not many humans outside the tribe are willing!” said another.
“Mom!” Numi shouted.
Yaritza, who was at the other end of the campfire, asked her daughter what she wanted.
“Tell Dahlia how you kidnapped Papa!”
That request triggered a new burst of laughter.
“Well, if you insist,” with much grace and playfulness Yaritza walked towards the group, fixing the cloak she was wearing over her shoulders. “One day I was enjoying the waves on a sunny day, minding my own business, when suddenly I saw a ship with Her Majesty's flag passing by, and on it was a sad young man, although his sadness did not dim his beautiful eyes.”
The young sirenians gave each other complicit glances.
“Papa says that you always knew he was on the ship, and that you had been following him for a long time,” said his daughter, and then winked at Olivia.
Yaritza put her hand to her forehead in a gesture that simulated indignation.
“Slander! I didn't know anything. The fact is that I got to the boat, and, as I wanted to get a closer look at his eyes, I grabbed some nets and ropes hanging from the boat, and climbed up to the deck. We had a brief conversation... and... one thing led to another and he fell into the water by accident.”
“By accident!” laughed one of Yaritza's sisters.
“By accident! And then... well, I rescued him, I took him to an island...”
“And why not back to the ship if you just wanted to rescue him?” asked another of his brothers.
“Well, because otherwise I wouldn't have had him all to myself for all those days...”
Whistles and more laughter did not wait to be heard. Yaritza raised both arms.
“And I won't say more because there are children present!”
The others began to protest in disappointment.
“Leave Yaritza alone!” Thalassa decreed. “Had she not done what she did,” she approached Numi and planted both hands on her cheeks. “We would not have our dear and precious Numi among us,” she kissed her granddaughter's forehead.
The whole family agreed, and the dinner continued more quietly.
“Acolyte Dahlia,” Thalassa approached Olivia. “Can you come with me? There is something I need to discuss with you.”
Olivia suddenly felt nervous. She had been noticing for a while that, from the other side of the campfire, Thalassa kept watching her with a calm smile.
The sirenian matriarch began to walk along the shore away from her family. Olivia followed her, and they did not stop until they reached an area free of huts from where she could barely hear the voices of the rest.
Thalassa folded her arms and turned to face Olivia. She hadn't lost her cool, but her lips no longer conveyed the same initial warmth.
“Perhaps you have your reasons but... I can't help but notice the artifact hanging under your tunic.”
She was talking about the talisman. Olivia put a hand to her chest out of instinct.
“What a wizard does is none of my business, unless that wizard is carrying an elven stone that she is using to deceive my family and...”
“I didn't mean to!” Olivia lowered her head. “I just wanted to disguise myself. The encounter with Mantok was by chance. I meant no harm. I'm just passing through.”
“What is your real name?”
“That... I cannot tell you...”
Thalassa took a deep breath. It seemed she was not used to being denied.
“I see no malice in you, but I cannot tolerate being tricked, let alone involving my family, and even misleading my innocent granddaughters...”
“I only wanted to ask for the help of the sirenians.”
Thalassa raised her eyebrows.
“What help could a wizard possibly need from us? Unless it has to do with the Dragon, so I'm sorry to say...”
“It's because of me,” Silas' voice was heard behind them, and they both turned to find the black dog emerging from the darkness. “She's helping me.”
“Ah...” Thalassa's eyes widened as if they wanted to absorb all the moonlight. “I thought my senses had atrophied with age. I had been feeling a strange presence since we returned, I dared not believe it, and in the end... it turned out to be you... for real.”
“You... you know?” Olivia asked.
“We sirenians can detect another magical being. My family must have done it too, but they must have been just as confused as I was.... It is an honor. Welcome to the lake, brother chimera,” Thalassa bowed her head, and Olivia was surprised to see that Silas, for the first time since she had known him, bowed his head as well in respect.
“A human and a chimera,” Thalassa said thoughtfully and looked at Olivia again. “I wonder what the story is.”
Without revealing her true identity, Olivia went ahead of Silas to explain that he was forced to flee from the mountains, pursued by a group of wizards, and she was now helping him to travel to the Isle of Demons.
“I can't imagine what could be the reason that pushed you away from your home, brother,” Thalassa told him. “But if you can't go back there, then, yes, the island is your best option. The hybrids will welcome you with open arms.”
“Can you help him then?” Olivia asked.
“I think we can, as long as everything is done in secret, of course, but for that I will have to gather several sirenians... and tonight is a celebration. It would be very complicated to explain. Perhaps tomorrow, when everything is calmer and the visitors have left the lake...” Thalassa turned to Silas. “In the meantime, feel free to join us. The rest of the sirenians in my family will say nothing. They will see you arrive with me, and understand that you are under my protection. Tonight we celebrate our return and the visit of a race that has not set foot on these grounds for a century.”
Olivia looked at Silas who seemed to be convinced by Thalassa's words.
The three of them walked back to the campfire together.
“It is very noble what you are doing, Acolyte,” commented Thalassa a few steps before they arrived, and were greeted again by the others who asked them what they had been doing all this time.
As the elderly woman said, none of the other sirenians mentioned anything. Olivia noticed how Numi and the others watched Silas curiously. Thalassa just nodded to them, and they all nodded in response having understood the message.
“Ah!” exclaimed Mantok, and reached over to stroke Silas' head. “Here is our companion Shadow again. Have some fish, my friend.”
The little ones couldn't help but approach and pet him too. Thalassa told them to leave him alone, but the chimera didn't seem to mind the attention, and started running around with the laughing children, as he chased them and gently tugged at their clothes with his teeth.
Numi returned to sit next to Olivia. The young sirenian seemed determined that they should be friends.
“What a strange thing,” she sighed.
“You mean...?” Olivia omitted the last word.
“Ah, no, no,” Numi laughed. “I've seen stranger things. I once encountered a Kraken,” she stretched out her arms trying to give an image of the portentous sea beast before continuing. “What I wanted to say was that every time I see you I feel a strange sensation, as if I knew you from somewhere else.”
Perhaps it was the talisman, Olivia thought, but Numi must not have possessed the same abilities as her grandmother to recognize the deception. Though she also couldn't deny that there were features in the sirenian that seemed familiar, but she wasn't sure why.
Dinner continued for a few more hours. Some of the human and sirenian couples had begun kissing, and retreated to their huts followed by the whistles of the others. Olivia couldn't see the reflection of her face, but it must have been red hot.
The younger ones began to retire wearily. Every time one of them said goodbye Numi couldn't help but brag that she would again be the winner of the night. She had told Olivia to join her to share the victory together, but her new friend's eyes felt heavy as they were about to close. Mantok with a mischievous smile kept filling her glass with juice from a very sweet fruit they harvested nearby.
Although she also didn't want to lose any of the sirenians' anecdotes that spoke of their encounters with pirates and sailors from other lands who had tried to capture them.
“And when the sailors come closer, we start singing in a horrible way, like imitating seagulls!” Numi told. “So they think we're monsters who are going to eat them! Some of them even tie themselves to the mast because they think we want to drown them!”
“But the pirates are really annoying! They never stop flirting!” complained another of her cousins.
“And they're always drunk!” added Numi.
“Which drunk man has been bothering my daughter? I'm going to punish him immediately!” said a man's voice approaching from the lake shore.
It couldn't be, thought Olivia, who felt as if those words were digging into the middle of her chest.
“Papa!” cried Numi, who ran out to hug the newcomer. “What took you so long?”
Olivia's back was turned to him, but she had no doubts about what she had heard. She looked over at Silas, who was resting next to her, having collapsed exhausted after playing with the children.
He lifted his head, and looked in the man's direction. Then he turned his eyes back to her. She couldn't guess his expression, but she was sure he was as surprised as she was.
Olivia felt as if her heart would burst out of her chest at any moment. Very slowly, she turned around, asking all the deities in heaven to be wrong.
That was no use. When she could finally see his face, he was so content, smiling, happy and relaxed, as she had rarely seen him in her life.
Numi's father was none other than her own father.
Lord Alaric, Count of Shadowrock was wrapping both arms around Numi's body, and pressed her to his chest like the most precious thing in existence. Without letting go of her, he looked up to look at the rest of those present, as if searching for someone, perhaps Yaritza, but his eyes, until that moment narrowed, snapped open as he looked at Olivia, as if a ghost or the Blue Dragon himself had appeared to him.
He turned away from Numi very quickly, and the sirenian looked at him confused, not understanding his reaction.
But Olivia was in disguise, he couldn't recognize her. Perhaps what caught her father's attention was her resemblance to Daephennya.
“Olivia, the talisman...”
That was Silas' voice, who, also startled, had forgotten that he wasn't supposed to speak.
Olivia put a hand to her chest, and pulled out the talisman, now glowless. It had gotten lost its effect.
The girl looked around, and all the faces reflected the same surprise back to her.
In front of all the stunned people present stood a completely different girl than the one they had met that night, next to a black dog that now happened to be talking.