Page 4 of Chasing Tail
Chapter 3
Iwas pretending everything was normal, but I was really so frustrated and disappointed with my people. They were locking their kids up and taking this sentry duty so seriously. Anyone with a brain knew there wouldn’t be another ship this soon.
The land dwellers didn’t know the first thing about what went on under the sea. They didn’t know what came up from the depths during an eclipse. They were counting on us being in total darkness as a means to get away with it. They weren’t going to come back when we could see them. The fucking druid king probably hadn’t even realized his men were dead.
We made our home far away from land. It took more than a day to sail here. There were plenty of places in this vast ocean for them to drop their filthy nets for fish to feed themselves. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the druids who sought deeper waters for bigger catches. Many savages on land liked to eat parts of sharks. They lit their houses and perfumed their skin with things that were only possible by murdering wise and noble whales.
I had no idea where the druid king actually lived, but I knew if he thought ship would get away with it, he still wasn’t expecting them back yet. So, all of this was utterly pointless. Resources weren’t unlimited in the ocean either. Building houses took time, and I would imagine ships did too. He wouldn’t risk another one of his precious ships when he didn’t know if the other one had successfully mutilated several creatures in the ocean.
I didn’t want to draw attention to Talora, and I didn’t want to be stopped. I’d never been on land before, and all I knew of their customs was what had been taught to me by a really ancient whale professor in school. Whales always tended to be the most intelligent things in the entire ocean, and they lived the longest, but they couldn’t exactly go on land or even talk to those people like we could.
I might not have been able tosneakout of the house when I was supposed to be inside, but I’d certainly lied my way out several times. Lying came easy to me and was sometimes and necessary evil. These sentries swimming around our home now weren’t necessary, but sometimes, they were. They used to like to tell me I was too young for that, and it was too dangerous. I did it anyway, right under their noses.
I could use that because I doubted it would be easy getting close to the druid king. We didn’t have kings or queens in my area of the ocean, but some sea folk did. I’d been invited to those kingdoms before and seriously thought councils with a representative from everyone were the way to go until everyone was against me on this.
I’d been invited to those kingdoms, and I barely even swam in the same current as their royalty. They had so many guards surrounding them. I didn’t even bother trying. Instead, I ate their food and flirted with the local mermen until it was time to swim back home.
Getting close to the druid king was going to take every skill I had, and there wasa lotI didn’t know about living on land. There was a lot I didn’t care about knowing, either. So, I waited and plotted. I couldn’t go very deep into my plans because a lot of that was hinging on getting there and not coming off totally bizarre to these people. I didn’t need to blow my cover as soon as I got there.
I saw a shark in the distance. I recognized the long scar down his right eye. Taron was lurking and trying to get my attention. I felt okay bringing him with me. He was doing his job, too. He volunteered for sentry duty and put on airs like he wasn’t handling the loss well. When Taron disappeared, no one would suspect it was with me. We needed to be planning, but we weren’t hanging out, even if we usually did that often.
I grabbed my abalone spear and made like I was going hunting. Taron went the completely opposite way and took the long way to the ship graveyard. There was this cluster there where several ships fell to the ocean floor relatively close together. It provided the perfect cover if you didn’t want to be seen. I didn’t just come out here to hunt or bring Seira. Rio was a persistent merman who didn’t get that I wasn’t into him that way. Sometimes, I came here to get away from him. Rio thought this place was haunted and never followed.
I double-checked to make sure I wasn’t followed. All the teens were on lockdown. They could attend school, then go back home. No adults came out here except me because I wasn’t superstitious, and there were plenty of things to eat out here because no one else was hunting in this area.
“It’s done. Talora did the surgery and put the magic in my fin. It hurt like a bitch at first, but she healed it, and it’s painless now. We are going to need a damned good plan for sneaking away with all these sentries posted. Talora said it’s mostly done at night, but they are out then too now.”
“I’ve thought about this,”I said.“It’ll also keep attention away from Talora. They are all on high alert, looking for ships. They know I can handle myself on hunts. So instead of volunteering to be a sentry, I’ll say I’m going hunting. They know I swim far sometimes. So we’ll swim straight past them and tell them I’m looking for spiny lobster, and you’re with me for protection.”
“That’ll work. When do we leave?”
“I’d say now, but there are things I need to pack. I’ve seen Talora too. She gave me an enchanted abalone dagger to kill the druid king with. I’ll pack it in my bag with a few other things.”
“We’re going to do this, Kishi. I don’t know the first thing about being on land, but I’ll protect you with my life.”
I squared my shoulders and brushed my hair out of my eyes.
“The only person dying is the druid king and anyone who gets in our way.”
