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“Where is Agner, anyway?” Merletta asked. “I kind of thought he’d be there to see me off, seeing as this is his test, and I’m the only trainee taking it.”
Felix’s smile widened. “He’s around.”
“Why does that sound ominous?” Merletta asked darkly, and Felix gave a small chuckle.
“Here we are,” he said at last, drawing to a stop at what seemed to be a random patch of ocean.
There was a rocky shelf below them, with a couple of sea turtles swimming lazily across its surface. On one side, the rocks disappeared into a forest of tall seaweed, and on the other the stone gave way to sand. The area was unfamiliar to Merletta, and she could see nothing remarkable about it.
“Your task is to find the hidden treasure and bring it back to this spot,” said Felix solemnly. “And to escape injury if possible. You have three hours.” He permitted himself a small smile. “Good luck.”
And without another word, he turned and swam back toward the Center, disappearing rapidly into the gloom. Merletta stared after him, her mouth slightly open. She knew that the rules prohibited her being given any advance warning of what the test involved, but she’d expected a little more instruction than that at the actual time.
After a moment, Merletta pulled herself together, turning her gaze back toward the empty water. She needed to be alert. For lack of a better plan, she swam slowly forward in the same direction she and Felix had been heading. Her eyes scanned the seabed below, and the waters above, looking for anything unusual. What would qualify as hidden treasure? Should she go looking for wild pearls? She angled herself downward, swimming to where the rocky ledge rose up in ridges, providing her with some cover.
After several minutes of uneventful progress, she reflected that the practice test was, so far, much less daunting than she’d expected. Then it occurred to her, as she weaved her way in and out of the natural sculptures, that most trainees would probably be terrified already. The test wasn’t designed for someone like her, who’d spent many hours in solitary exploration of the open ocean.
At least she was unobserved out here, she thought happily, as she did a barrel roll in the water for the sheer joy of it.
The thought had only just crossed her mind when something slammed into her from the side. Gasping, she twisted rapidly, bringing her spear out in front of her. But whatever it was had disappeared. The only sign that she wasn’t alone in the water was the rippling of the long fronds of seaweed below her and to the right. She hovered for a moment, her heart beating frantically, and her side aching where she’d been struck. What creature had that been? Was she supposed to follow it, subdue it somehow?
Deciding not to risk it, she hurried on, her senses much more alert now. She floated upward, not as far as the surface, but far enough to give her a broader view of the ocean floor below. She had been foolish not to realize that if she had cover amongst the rocky crags, so did other creatures.
As she continued east, the feeling of being watched grew on her. Her scales seemed to ripple in the cold water, and her eyes couldn’t search the gloom rapidly enough. Any number of things could be stalking her out here, of course. But based on her experience, a predator such as a shark would have attacked by now. She suspected that she was dealing with merpeople.
With that in mind, as she drew alongside a tangle of multi-colored coral, she turned her head pointedly the other way.
Sensing the movement immediately, she whipped both her head and her weapon back around. This time she was quick enough to block the blow aimed at her torso. The figure facing her was masked, but it was definitely a merman, and his spear proclaimed him as a Center guard. He was lashing out with the butt of his weapon, and Merletta parried with her own. With their spear shafts still locked together, Merletta brought her tail around and slammed it hard into the guard’s hip. He made no sound, and his mask prevented her from seeing any expression on his face. But he fell back slightly, and Merletta raised her weapon in a defensive position.
She glanced around her, half-expecting to see herself surrounded. But she appeared to have only one opponent. As he floated, still silent and motionless, a ripple of fear went over Merletta. Was this part of the test, as she’d first assumed? Or was he sent to kill her? It had occurred to her before now that her practice test would be a convenient opportunity to get rid of her and make it look like an accident.
She was still debating the question when the merman suddenly struck out again. He was still using the butt of his spear, which reassured Merletta that he probably wasn’t there to murder her. She deflected his blow, then went on the offensive. After two sturdy hits to his midriff, she had the satisfaction of seeing him retreat. He turned quite abruptly and swam back west, toward the triple kingdoms. Merletta floated for a moment, catching her breath. She had the sense the guard could have fought on easily enough. Presumably he was the easiest of the obstacles she was to face, and these challenges would increase as she proceeded.
She continued east for a short while, but saw and heard nothing of interest. Pulling up, she thought about the two attacks. Both had come from the same direction. If she was right that they would intensify as she got closer to her goal, perhaps that meant whatever she was seeking was back that way, under their protection.
She turned around, hurrying back to the point where the masked guard had attacked her, and bravely swimming straight into the mass of coral. She ducked and weaved her way around the many prongs stretching stiffly out from the ocean floor. Before long, she emerged out the other side, and found herself swimming across a large expanse of sand. The water was noticeably warmer, although she wasn’t particularly close to the surface. Movement caught her eye, and peering down, she saw a thin trail of little crabs scuttling across the sand.
After a quick scout of the immediate area, Merletta dove down for a closer look. Surprisingly, the water didn’t get colder as she descended. If anything, it was warmer. The crabs were headed for a patch of rocky ground that formed the end of the sand. Her approach sent them scampering more quickly, and they soon disappeared into the rocks. The space was too small for Merletta to follow, and she was forced to swim up and over the rocks. The clump into which the crabs had scuttled quickly rose into a jagged maze of ridges. Before Merletta could do more than reflect that it was another ideal hiding place for attackers, no fewer than three figures rose out of the rocks.
With barely a moment to think, Merletta acted on instinct, and dove down between the razor-sharp edges, only just evading the swipe of the closest masked guard. She could see a relatively open area not far away, and she hurried into it, positioning herself with her back against a vertical rocky shelf. She knew it was risky to place herself where she couldn’t easily escape, but she didn’t think she stood much chance of fighting off three opponents in open water, where they could so easily surround her.
The guards followed her, and it soon proved that she’d chosen her battleground well. They couldn’t sneak up on her, and hampered by the jagged rocks around them, they couldn’t come at her all at once. The first one, a mermaid who was again masked, rushed forward. Merletta struck out with her spear, managing to prevent the guard from getting close enough to properly grapple with her. Merletta was using the blunt end of her spear, in imitation of her attackers. But as she whipped her weapon around, the sharp tip caught the tail of one of the others, who had been surging forward in an attempt to get under her guard.
The merman drew back, and a thin trickle of red spread into the water from his injured tail. He gave a small grunt of annoyance, and pressed harder than ever against Merletta. Even with the advantage of facing them one at a time, and the fact that they were obviously not aiming to kill, Merletta was soon struggling to hold her own. She kept hoping that they’d retreat once she reached a certain unknown milestone, like her first opponent had done. But so far, they showed every sign of persisting until she capitulated. But she couldn’t give in. She was sure she was close to her goal—why else had the defense escalated so dramatically?
The outcome of the clash was still undecided when a sudden chill swept over Merletta, in spite of the warm water. She clearly wasn’t the only one who felt the undefined rush of dread. There was a lull as all the fighters stilled, looking around for whatever danger had triggered the instinctive response.
There it was, emerging from the gloom, its sleek body swaying from side to side as it swam. It had their scent in its nose and death in its eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The shark was among the largest Merletta had seen, and clearly bold to approach such a group. The injured guard gasped, clapping a hand to his tail. The wound had been slight, and the bleeding had already stopped. But obviously not quickly enough.
Merletta’s heart was racing frantically, and her hands shook as they gripped her weapon. She’d been struggling to hold off the guards as it was. She couldn’t defend herself against them and a shark.
But to her relief, none of the others seemed to have any further thought of attacking her. They turned toward the shark, their eyes widening as they took in its size. Merletta swam forward to join the line of defense. The shark was almost upon them, and Merletta wondered optimistically if it would back off without the need for a fight. Surely a united group of four merpeople wasn’t the easy prey it would be looking for.
But even as the thought flashed through her mind, the other three seemed to reach a silent decision. As abruptly as a school of minnows after a rock had been dropped through its center, the guards scattered. Merletta wasn’t sure if they were abandoning her to her fate, or if they’d assumed she would flee too. If so, she’d missed the cue. The shark, with only one target in its sights, put on a burst of speed as it made straight for her.
