Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 156907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 785(@200wpm)___ 628(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 785(@200wpm)___ 628(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
“Yes, he was. You are our secret. You are our protector. As such, you have my respect. And with that respect, I must share I do not have time to play games.”
“Not I,” the voice replied. “I have all the time in the world.”
“I can imagine that would be a boon,” Aramus muttered.
“No, my son, it is a curse. It is the worst curse of all. That and loneliness. Think of that, an eternal lifetime of loneliness.”
“The kings would visit, if they did not have to sacrifice.”
“The gods would frown, if they did not get their due.”
“Are you a god?”
“I was.”
Aramus felt his neck begin to itch.
His father told him of the riddles, the games. That you did not seek the seer without a vast store of patience. That you needed to guard against getting caught up in the enigmas, or you could be lost to that abyss forever.
And you did not seek the seer unless you were willing to pay the price.
He drew on his store of patience and asked, “Do you still have power?”
“If I did, would I be in this pit?”
“The Beast rises,” Aramus told him.
“No, he has risen. He has visited the surface, but returned to his lair. Though he will come to stay. And soon.”
At that, Aramus felt his chest seize.
“The dragons will be an interesting addition to that battle,” the voice mumbled.
Indeed, even in this pit, the seer knew all.
“Do we prevail?” Aramus demanded.
“Is this what you wish to know, Sea King?”
“Yes, but most of all, I wish to know my wife will be safe.”
“The mermaid queen.”
Aramus stood stock still.
When he did, a sinister cackle rent the air before, “Oo, that surprise. So delicious, that one was free.”
“Mermaid queen?”
“Ah, lovers,” the voice said like a shake of the head. “So foolish. Ages pass, and they remain fools.”
“My wife is a mermaid?”
“Secrets, secrets.”
“Tell me, is my wife a mermaid?”
“You know, of all I have witnessed on this earth, the cruelties vastly outweighing the kindnesses, that is something I never did understand. How things so extraordinary could be treated so abominably. And it is everywhere. Do you know, on the parallel world, they kill baby seals simply so women can wear their fur?”
“Sir—”
“And they contain creatures in cages so that humans can gawk at them?”
“It would mean much to me—”
“Magnificent beasts who by rights have the breadth of the seas to call their own, they imprison in small pools and force them to perform as entertainment?”
Aramus shut his mouth.
“We do that too,” the voice whispered. “We did that to the Mer.”
“I know,” Aramus whispered back.
“Cut them in half, hallowed out their fins, so they could be worn by humans of means on parade.”
He didn’t know that.
And knowing it, Aramus’s stomach turned.
“Mermales slaughtered by the hundreds so mermaids could be captured, forced to reside in tanks and perform such acts on human males.” The voice dipped. “Such debauched acts.”
Aramus clenched his teeth.
“Triton and Medusa created them together. An act of love, was the Mer. A gift to this earth, their beauty, their brand of magic. And that was how they were treated.”
Aramus had no words for there were none.
“This is why she hides.”
Aramus closed his eyes and dropped his head.
She was a mermaid.
His wife was a mermaid and she had not told him.
“You are not being overprotective. You are the Sea King. You are sensing her specialness. And you are moving to shield it.”
Aramus opened his eyes and looked into the dark.
“In sharing that, will you take something from me?” he asked.
“I am glad we are here for I prefer that to be a surprise.”
Aramus had a feeling he would not like that kind of surprise, but for the sake of time, he didn’t fall into discussing it.
“Will she be safe?”
“You do not wish to sacrifice what that answer would buy me.”
“Will you keep our realm safe?”
“I have enjoyed our visit, Sea King. Do not end it by offending me.”
“Your power has not been called on for centuries and you allude to being stuck in this place, unable to leave,” Aramus pointed out.
“I will admit, in these troubled times, I do have concerns my power is a bit rusty.”
And Aramus used more patience.
“The Beast—”
“Ignore the lore. It is faulty, magnified over the years in the mouths of tellers that are liars. His power is not manifest, it is insidious. But it is perilous. In other words, he is not what you think. Even those who think they can control him do not know all he is and all he’s capable of. And he has allies. Ones you would not ever expect.”
“What is he?”
“You have much to contend with before you concern yourself with him.”
Aramus was quickly coming to the end of his supply of patience.
“You are not telling me anything I do not already know.”
“And this, Sea King, your father could not know for he never deigned to attend me. You come with nothing and you leave with what I want to give you, no more.”