Song of a Mermaid Warrior pt 3
Don't ask me why I picked up a nearly 4 year old story. Was looking through my old work, found this unfinished one, and wrote a new part.
I'll repost the previous parts first, and link part 1 and part 2 here.
If inspiration stays with me, I'll finish the story in another 2 or 3 parts.
Enjoy!
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“Hello again, Hunter.”
Jordan looked over, her face expressionless, staring at the person she had almost died trying desperately to find a few years ago. He stood in the doorway, so different from her memory, but achingly familiar at the same time. His appearance hadn’t changed from the night he had left her, there were no traces of how he had spent the last three years… at least at first glance. The only thing that had changed about him were his eyes.
His eyes that had once looked at her with love. With fear, sadness, and an underlying hope. Sometimes timid, sometimes withdrawn, always caring.
Hunter’s eyes carried nothing but a weary calculation now.
The song of the ocean murmured in the back of her mind, always present, urging her to tear her captors to pieces. But beyond the usual call to fight, to kill, there was a new element. Something directed towards Hunter’s presence.
Aversion. Disgust.
Enemy. Jordan’s instincts cried out to her, the song carrying a tone of warning. It rolled underneath her skin, a defensive cover, as if expecting an attack. Not safe.
Jordan almost laughed, even as she took a deep breath, struggling to control the magic within her. I don’t need to be reminded not to trust Hunter. He had been the one to teach her not to trust anyone.
“I was hoping you would agree to come, Jordan. It’s been a long time.”
Glit groaned from his position on the floor. “Agree to come? How come the way I remember it is that you knocked us out and dragged us in here!” He groaned, rubbing his head against his tied hands. “Elves have a funny way of hospitality, don’t they? Us dwarves typically at least offer a nice cold ale before trying to bash guest’s skulls in… and we do it your face, rather than this sneaking behind people business.”
Hunter ignored the tied-up dwarf on the floor, but a young female elf who had entered the room behind him couldn’t hold back.
“Shut up you filthy dwarf!”
With a vicious glare she kicked Glit in the stomach, forcing the air out of him with a small groan.
Glit shook his head.
“That was a terrible attack, friend, I hardly felt it.” He paused and then added reassuringly “But don’t worry, my Ma always said, no matter how weak you start up, you can always get stronger if you work hard enough.”
“You little…!” The female elf stepped closer to attack again, but Hunter raised his hand, stopping her in place. His bright green eyes stayed on Jordan, never wavering from their careful study of her face.
“I missed you, Jordan.”
His expression showed a deep sadness, and Jordan had an almost instinctive desire to comfort him.
For almost eighteen years they had been by each other’s side. In a broken world that hated them, they had always only had each other to rely on. 3 years ago, had Hunter shown that expression, she would not have hesitated to hug him, to tell him that she missed him too.
But it wasn’t three years ago. That night, the decision he made, had shattered the trust between them, leaving only the ruined traces behind. He had changed. And so had Jordan.
“Where are the mermaids?” She asked quietly, her gaze cold.
“Is that really the question you want to ask?” Hunter raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want to know where I’ve been, what’s happened to me? How I escaped captivity? Why I asked you to come?” His voice took on urgency as he spoke, until he was almost tripping over his words, trying to force them out quickly while studying her expression, looking for something.
“Where. Are. The. Mermaids?”
“Look, I know you’re angry, but you have to understand…” He knelt down, holding her hands in his own. Jordan shook at the contact, the song of the ocean welling up with rage at his touch. Enemy. Beware. She forced the magic back, trying to pull her hands out of his grasp, but he tightened his hold, refusing to let go. “I had no choice! I had to make sure you were safe.”
And so you made sure I had no choice as well. Jordan kept her expression neutral and firmly repeated her words. “Where are the mermaids?”
SLAP!
The force of the blow snapped Jordan’s head back. She took a deep breath, licking her bottom lip, and tasting blood from where it had split. The song was raging within her now, a righteous angry chorus. Calling for revenge, for torn sinew, split blood and splintered bone. Her vision was a hazy blue, and as she turned her head, she saw the female elf from earlier, her hand still up in the air from hitting her.
“KNEEL.”
Before Jordan could react, a voice imbued with magic spoke. The air was filled with a sudden weight, the pressure and enormity of the magic called forth making it difficult to breathe. The rage of the song within her faded, replaced by wariness and defense, allowing Jordan to regain back control of herself. She blinked, taking a moment to register two things: first, that the voice had been directed at the female elf who had slapped her, who was now kneeling on the floor, pale and shivering. Second, that the voice had come from Hunter, who seemed to tower in the room over everyone else. His magic surrounding him like a cloak, his eyes burning with rage and power.
“Your Highness, I merely…” The female elf stammered, clutching her chest as she forced out the words.
“Elaina. I warned you.” Hunter’s voice was cold. “Do. Not. Touch her.” He turned to Jordan, his gaze softening. “Are you okay…?” He reached out a hand towards her face, but she turned her head avoiding his touch. Pausing for a long moment, Hunter sighed.
“Everyone out!” He spoke quietly now, but the power behind his words had not faded. Elaina ran out first, glaring desperately at Jordan before leaving the room. Two other elves dragged Glit out of the room, his shouts echoing in the hall
“Hey, Let go of me, ya’ unnecessarily tall bastards! If you dare release even one of my limbs, I’ll take you all on! Jordan, I’ll be back once I figure my way out of these ropes, and have a few fights!”
Despite their current desperate situation, Jordan almost laughed at his words. He’s definitely optimistic. The faintest hint of a smile crossed her face, before fading away as Hunter dragged a chair over and sat down in front of her, his knees brushing against her own.
“There’s still a lot I can’t explain. But I can tell you a few things.” He took a deep breath. “The Darkness. It’s different from what they told us in school. They told us it was an Elven plot, magic gone wrong, but it’s not! It was actually a human conspiracy to destroy magic, to even the playing field between them and the other races.”
“…” Jordan silently stared at the floor, her face unchanging.
“Don’t you understand? This changes everything! All the abuse elves have taken over the years, the blame we carry… it’s all lies!”
“…”
Hunter reached out and grabbed Jordan’s chin, forcing her to look at him. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Jordan raised an eyebrow. “Where did you hear this truth?”
“I found it among the Elven records.”
“So… from the elves… I believe that as much as I believe the humans who say the Darkness had nothing to do with them, either.” She sighed quietly. “Everyone is telling themselves that it was another race’s fault, and definitely nothing to do with their own actions.”
“You don’t understand!” His voice was raised, tinged with magic, making her skin crawl at the sound. “I grew up thinking it was my people’s fault that the world was broken. But it’s not… it’s those filthy, purity obsessed, short lived humans. They tried to destroy the other races, but accidentally hurt themselves in the process.”
“What did the elves lose?” Jordan spoke up, her gaze locked on Hunter’s green eyes.
“…What?”
“We all lost something to the Darkness. Humans lost their future. Dwarves lost their connection to the earth. Fairies lost their wings. What did you lose, Hunter?”
“…” He was silent for so long that Jordan thought he wouldn’t respond. But eventually he spoke up, his expression bitter. “We lost everything.”
Standing up, he paced around the room. “Elves were once the strongest, the natural rulers of this world. Magical power beyond imagining, physical strength that outrivaled the dwarves, longevity… even more beautiful than the mermaids.” He smiled at Jordan as he said the last point. She didn’t return it, until it finally faded and he looked away. “But when the Darkness took hold… we became shorter lived. We lost our connection with magic. We became weaker, in every sense of the world. And so the humans quickly took over, capturing and enslaving us.”
Everyone lost something. Jordan sighed quietly. I didn’t expect the elves to fall so far.
What did the mermaids lose? What did I lose?
“But it doesn’t matter, because I’m going to change things. Fix this world, return it to how it should be. Put elves back at the top.” Hunter took a deep breath. “But to do that, I’m going to need your help, Jordan.”
Jordan’s face remained unchanged, but she couldn’t avoid a stab of pain in her heart at his words. The only reason he looked for me was because I was useful. I knew better than to hope, but I still find myself disappointed.
“I wasn’t lying when I said that humans were holding mermaids captive in the city. I just don’t know where they are.” He sat back down facing her directly. “Mermaids are one of the keys to unraveling this. There’s a reason that mermaid blood allowed humans to avoid complete annihilation from the Darkness. They taught us that mermaids were used because they were the best choice, but they were wrong. They are the only choice. They are at the center of this. I need to find the mermaid queen. Only she can help me fix things.”
The mermaid queen? The song of the ocean rose at the words, its melody becoming triumphant and bloody, carrying the faint memory of long won battles. Jordan ignored it. “So why do you need me?”
“Elven records show that all mermaids carry the song of the ocean within them. It carries their magic, their instinct, and connects all of them to each other, and directly to the queen.” He grabbed her wrists, ignoring her attempts to pull away. “You are a full-blooded mermaid. Your song, plus my magic, can help us find her.” His grip on her arms tightened. “Please, Jordan. Help us.”
“…” Jordan pulled back again, and this time he released her. “That’s all you need my help for?”
“Yes.” He didn’t hesitate.
“Then I just have one question before I agree.” She studied him closely. “What do you need from the mermaid queen?”
He tried to control his expression, but despite the three years apart, Jordan could still see it. The tightening around the corners of his eyes, the downcast gaze, the slightest angling on his lips.
Whatever the answer to her question was, it made him extremely angry.
“I can’t explain it right now.” He finally responded, his voice low. “But I promise it won’t hurt you.”
“Don’t promise me anything, Hunter.” Jordan smiled at him for the first time since she had woken up in this room. “You can’t keep it, and even if you could I would never trust you anyways. It’s a waste of time for everyone.”
“Don’t be like this. You don’t understand what I’ve been through. What this world is really like. We thought we saw the worst of it, growing up in this hateful city, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The reality is so much worse.” His eyes were red, and Jordan was shocked to see unshed tears within them. He reached within his pocket, pulling out the silver badge she had carved for him, the one he had sent her that led her here.
He must have taken it off of me while I was asleep.
He stared down at it fondly but sadly. “I just have to finish my mission, and then we can go away, regain what we had. The trust, the deep bond. It’s such a rarity in this world, Jordan, such a precious thing. More than anything, I want to get it back. I need to have it back. ”
“And yet…” Jordan shook her head. “It was you that broke that trust, that bond, with your own hands.”
“I didn’t have a choice!”
“Neither did I, thanks to you.”
“The cops were breaking down the door! It’s not like I had time…”
“And who called them?” At her question, Hunter fell silent. “Exactly. You gave yourself no time, because you were afraid of what could happen if you and I had the proper time to talk it through. You were worried that you would change your mind, and you had already decided for both of us that I couldn’t be a part of your mission.”
“… Will you help us?” After a long pause, he asked quietly.
“Perhaps. But whether I do or not, it doesn’t change anything between us.” She looked at him solemnly. “I promised you that night, that if you left me behind I would never forgive you.”
“Jordan…”
“And unlike you, I keep my promises.”
“…”
“…”
After a long silence between them, Hunter sighed and stood up. “I’ll give you some time. Why don’t you get a good rest in here, and we will talk later. I’ll have someone bring you food.” He hesitated again, and then placed the silver badge back into her hands. “Jordan, I really did miss you.”
Jordan closed her eyes, refusing to answer. She didn’t open them until after she heard the door open and close, and when she did, the room was empty. She was alone.
It hurt. Because a small part of her, the ghost of the young woman she had once been, wanted to believe him. To take his hand, to agree to help, and take on the world together. But she couldn’t afford to listen to that part. Because despite all his inspiring words, his tear-filled eyes and emotional glances, Hunter had missed something: She knew him too well.
She knew he was lying.
Not about everything. He did miss her. He did wish he could get her trust back. But everything else was coated in half-truths and lies. He needed her help for his mission, and that was still his number one goal. He wasn’t going to risk her refusal, so he had approached it by appealing to their previous relationship. But he couldn’t hide the calculation in his eyes.
Jordan couldn’t risk going along with his plan.
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She thought about his words, that the song would connect her with other mermaids and the mermaid queen. There had never been any sense of connection before, only the instinct to fight, to kill. But to be fair, she had never tried to connect to anyone through it before.
She took a shaky breath, the fear of what she was about to attempt overwhelming her. She had spent her time since inheriting her blood right avoiding the song, Jordan just wasn’t sure what would happen if she listened to it. It always dragged her to violence, to madness. It was all too possible she could lose herself within it.
A terrible place to experiment with this. She thought grimly, looking around the empty room. But I need to try. If it doesn’t work, then I may need to at least temporarily cooperate with Hunter. He said his magic could help. But first… I should try on my own.
And with that, Jordan closed her eyes, and listened to the song.
Released from her holds on it, the song soared within her. A cold blue invaded her mind, inviting her to dive in, to join with it.
It sang of a world of water, of freedom and light. It sang of wars and blood, of victory and glory. It sang of betrayal, a desire for vengeance. It called for its people, a swelling chorus.
There. A cold sweat breaking out on her forehead, Jordan focused on the last part, trying to feel a connection. With her focus, the song seemed to stutter to a brief halt, only to return and raise to a triumphant sound.
THE QUEEN CALLS! THE QUEEN CALLS! RISE! RISE! RISE! The song soared in her mind, and she felt it split into multiple pieces, each strand connecting her to another song.
Jordan held her breath in shock. Is this the mermaid queen that I can hear? I can feel hundreds of connections… but which one is the right one? She felt the pull of the songs, leading her westward. A large group was gathered in one place. They were together, waiting. She felt their shock and joy at her connection. Their desire for her to find them.
I know where to go. Feeling triumph at her success, she attempted to pull away from the song...
Only to discover, it wouldn’t let her go.
From the happy sounds before, it now turned dark and twisted, clinging to her like a tar coating her skin. It sang of blood and death. Hundreds upon thousands of deaths. Corpses piling up in the ocean, their bodies rotting in the sea. It sang of blood and pain, urged her to kill, rend and destroy. The harder she tried to pull away, the tighter it stuck to her, trying to pull her under its black tide. Her hands clutched the silver badge in her grasp, the cold metal cutting into her skin, the pain barely keeping her sane.
Outside of herself, her eyes tightly closed, she could sense the presence of an enemy. Hear their breath, feel the blood running through their veins, the smell of wood and light circling around them.
Elf. Female. It was the one who struck her before, Elaina. Jordan struggled against the song, feeling her nails grow, knowing her eyes were glowing a bright blue beneath her closed lids. The song called for the elf’s death, begged for her blood to spill on the ground at her feet.
“How dare you make our prince sad?” Elaina snarled. The voice excited the song within Jordan even more, she was sweating with the effort to control it. “You’re a No Blood, which just means to me that you are a pure human. A piece of trash, the worst of this world. How dare you even breathe the same air as His Highness?”
Even as she drowned in her blood lust, Jordan felt a small amount of surprise. Hunter didn’t tell them I was a pure mermaid? She wasn’t sure to be grateful, or suspicious that he had his own purpose in concealing the fact.
“You are nothing but a distraction to him. Even if he is angry for a while, your death is necessary to protect our prince, protect our people. I have to do it. I have no choice.” She seemed to be talking herself up to the attack, her hesitation irritating Jordan and the Song.
“What nonsense.” Jordan whispered, her voice filled with brine and blood. “You reek of fear and jealousy, trembling with a knife in your hand, pretending to be a righteous warrior.”
“SHUT UP!” The elf screamed.
Jordan’s eyes snapped open, her vision filled with blue. Her mouth opened to sing, to welcome her enemy to death.
“Wha..” The female elf froze, a long knife in one hand paused in the air at the sight of her eyes.
But before Jordan could sing…
BAM
The elf crumpled to the floor in a heap, bleeding from a blow to the back of her head. Jordan blinked in shock, the Song retreating back into her mind with a grumble, her vision returning to normal. Slowly she raised her eyes, only to see an overly thin and pale human woman, clutching a large metal mop bucket in her hands.
She seemed more shocked than Jordan to see the elf she had knocked out. She stammered. “I’m… I’m sorry. I just… I heard her talking about wanting to kill you so I followed her and…”
Jordan smiled, and patted the woman’s shoulder. “Thank you. You saved me.” Technically she saved the elf’s life, but it’s the thought that counts.
“You should take this chance and escape from here.” The woman looked down and whispered. “I heard you are a No Blood... like me.”
Raising an eyebrow at the woman’s words, Jordan reached out with the song… and felt no connection. Disappointed, she pulled it back. A real no blood, not a mermaid.
“Isn’t this the Resistance? I thought they welcomed No Bloods.”
The woman’s face darkened at the question. “It used to be. But a year or two ago, the Elves took over. Their ‘Prince’ was declared the leader of the Resistance. At first everyone was happy. He seemed like a strong leader who hated this city more than everyone. But then… more and more elves joined, taking on all the leadership positions. Slowly anyone with any human blood was pushed to the side, and then trampled on. And the worst of it was No Bloods like us. They call us ‘pure humans’. ” She showed an arm, the imprints from chains still visible on her wrist. “They mostly keep us locked up, and let us out to help with chores. It’s gotten so bad that most of us… haven’t made it.”
Jordan felt the song within her murmur with rage at the woman’s words. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s just…” The woman choked back tears. “I thought I had finally found a place that I could be accepted, but now this place is even worse than the city. They are enemy groups! Why are we hated by both?”
Jordan found some rope in a nearby cabinet and tied the female elf up, pulling the ropes viciously tight. “It just means we can’t afford to trust anyone. Our safety, our fate, has to be in our own hands.” She paused, pulling the badge Hunter had given her out of her pocket and stared at it briefly. The carving of the ivy and the wave seemed to mock her, a sign of her young hopes and dreams, her naivety. She shook her head, and tossed it in a nearby trash can.
The woman watched her actions with increasing anxiety. “You need to escape before they chain you up too. This place… you’re a woman, especially… you can’t stay here. Please run.”
“What about you?” Jordan asked quietly.
“I’m not strong enough.”
“Don’t worry.” Jordan grabbed her arm. “I’m strong enough for both of us. Come with us.” I won’t trust anyone, but this is repayment for someone who risked herself to save me. Besides, if she stays, having attacked an elf, it won’t end well for her.
“You don’t mind my dead weight?” The woman asked sadly.
“Just keep that vase handy.” Jordan held out her hand. “I’m Jordan.”
The woman took it with a small smile. “Rebecca.”
“Nice to meet you, Rebecca. Now let’s escape.” The two ran out, looking carefully down the hallway before closing the room door behind them.
“The exit is that way.” Rebecca pointed down the hall to their left.
“Wait one moment, I need to pick someone up.”
“What?” Rebecca’s eyes widened. “Who? How are we going to find them?”
“Shhh. One second.” Jordan held up her finger, listening carefully.
CRASH!
Jordan smiled. “Found him.”
They followed the sound, forcing open a door and rushing into the room.
“Glit!” Jordan started to say. “We’re here to rescue…” She trailed off.
Glit sat on a pile of unconscious bloody elves, wiping what appeared to be a broken chair leg with a rag. Seeing them run in, he paused and waved cheerfully.
“Hi friends! Great timing! I just finished warming up!” With a leap he jumped off the groaning elves and landed on his feet. He then turned, searching one of them until he found what he was looking for, his folded up axe. Clutching his new prize, he walking forward, stopping in front of them. He smiled brightly at Jordan. “So glad to see you in one piece!”
Jordan smiled back. “Was there any doubt?”
“Strong as you are? Not a chance!” He looked over at Rebecca. “Who’s this?”
“Rebecca. A new friend.” For now.
“Nice to meet ya, Becca. I’m Glitenaere ni Tolk Vhelarite, firstborn of Marleiun ge Nerturin. Friends call me Glit!” He looked her up and down. “I guess you aren’t one for fighting, though.”
“Don’t count her out just yet. She knocked an elf out with that vase.”
“Really? That’s great!” He looked at her with more interest. “Want to fight?”
“Not the time, Glit.”
“Good point. Let’s escape first, fight later.”
They ran.
As they rounded a corner, they found an exit, with a group of elven guards between them and escape. Before the guards could shout, Jordan opened her mouth, letting the song of the ocean flow through her softly. In the next moment, they all fell to the ground, unconscious. Jordan paused, shocked. My song has never been able to take on this many people at once. Was it connecting with other mermaids that allowed me better control?
There was no time to think about it, however, as they rushed out, onto the streets, the dark sky above them indicating that multiple hours had passed since they were captured. They kept running, ducking down a few random streets and alleys until the building was far behind them. Skidding to a halt, they paused to catch their breath.
“Whew, well, that was fun. We should go fight those guys again soon!” Glit grinned, even as he leaned against the wall, exhausted.
“I’m sure you’ll get a chance, someday.” Jordan shook her head, the memory of Hunter’s desperate plea for help still haunting her. “Did you find anything about the dwarves?”
Rebecca started. “Wait, you’re a dwarf?” She looked at Glit closely. “Where’s your beard?”
Glit shrugged. “Lost it in a bad bet.”
“I see.”
“Nah, I’m just kiddin’. It’s an effect of the Darkness. But don’t worry, I can fight with the best of them!”
“So did you hear about the other dwarves…?” Rebecca trailed off uncomfortably. Glit nodded, his face turning uncharacteristically grim.
“I heard them talking about it. They were going to throw be down in the mines to be with my kin. So sounds like they are being held captive there.” He chuckled. “Jokes on them, we like being in mines. But I guess I’ll need a few more fighters than just me and Jordan if we’re gonna bust them out.”
He turned to Jordan. “Did you find the mermaids?”
“Yes, they aren’t here. The lead was wrong, they aren’t being held captive in the city. They are gathered in a large group to the West.” Hunter thought the humans were holding them captive, but there are no living mermaids within the entire city radius… except for me. Something is different. I feel like I’m still missing a large piece of the puzzle. What the Darkness is and who really was the cause. Why does Hunter need the mermaid queen? How do I stop the violence of the song, prevent myself from being a mindless killer?
First, she needed to find the mermaids.
Glit spoke up, interrupting her thoughts. “Great, so let’s head West! The Dwarven home is on the way, we can stop by and see my Ma and say hi! She’s been wanting to fight a mermaid for years!”
“Wait, on the way?” Jordan shook her head. “Are you coming too?”
“Of course! My friend is on her way to find her family. The very least I can do is help her out!”
I must be crazy to not tell him to go away. But when she looked into his eyes, and all she saw was genuine concern and friendship. No calculations. No intrigue or half-truths. Just him.
“Okay.” The word felt heavy as she said it. “You can come.”
“Me too?” Rebecca spoke up, clutching her bloody vase. “I can’t stay in the city, and I can’t go back to the Resistance. So, please, let me come! I can be helpful too!”
“How?” Jordan asked, amused.
“I can cook!”
Glit’s eyes lit up. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “I can’t cook at all.”
Jordan whispered back. “Me neither.”
“We have to take her with us!”
“Fine. You can both come.” Jordan smiled, the song of the ocean rising happily in her thoughts, pulling her westward. “Let’s go find the mermaids.”
