The Mermaid Trials Read online

  I turned and saw the dolphin pulled carriage speed past. So they had been deliberately trying to delay me! It had all been a ploy to make me miss the opening ceremony!

  But why?

  What difference did it make to my stepmother and half-sister if I participated or not?

  “Hurry!”

  I stripped quickly, shedding my uniform and slipping into the long tunic Lila had made me. There was no time to admire my reflection in an air bubble or salvaged mirror. No chance to do more than run a comb through my hair.

  “You’re perfect.” Lila smiled at me, though her eyes were worried. “Now, go! We’ll be right behind you!”

  I pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and nodded.

  “Try and keep up, Beazil!”

  And then I was off. I swam faster than I ever had before. I swam toward my obligation and my destiny, my chance to change my life and change the world.

  To save the sea. To know the unknowable. Not just to live, but to thrive. To excel.

  When the arena finally came into view, I slowed slightly, though I was clearly late to arrive. My eyes were wide with awe. I had never seen anything like it. There were more Mers gathered here than I had ever seen in my life. Mers from all walks of life and all parts of the world were mingling outside as they waited to take their seats.

  As I got closer, I could see the throngs of competitors off to one side, already arranged neatly in lines. I cursed under my breath and swam faster. I was on the brink of being disqualified!

  To think my stepmother and Thalia had intended this . . . it hurt more than their initial rejection of me as part of their family. They sought to truly hurt me, not simply brush my existence under the rug. But why? What had I ever done to them except to be born?

  I nearly tumbled head over tail as I slowed, sliding into place at the back of the line. A young Merman waited beside me. He looked up in surprise, his clear blue eyes catching the light from the luminescent globes that lit the arena.

  “Have they recorded our names yet?”

  He shook his head slowly, staring at me as if I was a two-headed fish. I touched my hair self-consciously. The young Mer was uncommonly handsome, though the way he was looking at me was insulting. And then his expression changed.

  He smiled slowly, almost as if he was pleased to meet me.

  “You made it just in time. They haven’t gotten this far back yet.”

  “Oh, thank goodness.”

  “What made you so late? Don’t you want to participate in the Trials?”

  “I do! My . . . employers . . . kept me working till the last moment. Deliberately, I think.”

  His eyes grew wide.

  “That’s against the law.”

  I tossed my head, determined to cast off the pall of the day. Of the long years of days!

  “They think they are above it.”

  He shook his head.

  “No one is above the law.”

  “They are wealthy and connected. My stepmother brags that her cousin has the ear of the Queen.”

  “Her cousin?”

  I sighed.

  “I know, it’s silly. But she thinks she is important.”

  “But you’ve never met them yourselves? Have you seen them?”

  “The Royals?” I shook my head. “No. I’m a lowly servant. How could I? My stepmother is wealthy, not me.”

  He took another look at me, taking in my shabby clothes and lack of armor.

  “Wealthy? And yet you are a servant?”

  “I am.” I lifted my chin. “But I don’t mind. I will never be a servant again. I plan to win.” I added after a moment of silence, “My father was a messenger, one of the fastest in the sea.”

  He looked at me again, deep in thought. He was a strange combination of conflicting traits. He exuded physical strength but seemed almost shy at the same time. What did he have to be shy about? He was strong and his armor was well-made. I was the one with frowzy hair and a penchant for tardiness.

  “What is your name?”

  I blinked at him. He was just being nice. There wasn’t anything flirtatious about his tone.

  Not really.

  “Katriana. And you are?”

  He pulled off his helmet and held out his hand.

  “Dane.” He grinned at me, his blue eyes twinkling.

  I shook his hand, feeling something shift in the waters between us. He was flirting! But he was being direct about it. There was nothing coy about this particular Mer.

  “Are you staying here for the duration of the trials? Or do you have housing?” he asked.

  “Nope, I am living off the hospitality of the Queen. I’m never going back to there.”

  He told me that he was too. He hoped we might be bunked near each other, though I was fairly certain that the young males and females were housed separately. Apparently, though, the post-Trial parties were epic.

  He easily drew me into conversation as we waited to be checked in by the Mers with stone tablets who worked their way down the lines. It was funny—usually, I considered myself shy. But now I was chatting easily with a handsome Mer without a second of self-consciousness.

  I looked around with a start, realizing we had been talking for nearly an hour and they still hadn’t taken our names down. There were hundreds of young Mers here. Maybe thousands. But they had been here all day. Apparently, we were ordered by size and strength.

  Only the two of us at the tail end were late to arrive, and we got stuck with the smallest and youngest Mers here.

  At last, they took our names. I noticed that Dane put his helmet on and left it there, well before we were checked in. He was either really neurotic about defense or keeping a low profile.

  Or maybe he’s just tired of carrying his helmet, Tri. Not everything is a conspiracy.

  Drums rang out and the line before us started to move. He cast me a knowing look.

  “Are you ready, Katriana?”

  “Tri.”

  “What?”

  I turned my eyes to the side and smiled.

  “My name. My friends call me ‘Tri’. And yes, I am more than ready.”

  I squared my shoulders and swam into the arena.

  Chapter 5

  Trumpets blared as the competitors swam slowly in an ever-shrinking circle until the arena was filled with a spiral of healthy young Mers. The array of costumes and armor was staggering, as were the different varieties of Mer.

  Unlike our two-legged cousins, we reflected the colors of the sea. Mers came in all shapes and colors, many of them shocking pink, blue, and yellow. And that was only their hair!

  I stared around in wonder, forgetting to be nervous. Forgetting for a moment that they were sizing me up just as I sized them up.

  A large Mer towered over the rest, where he bobbed gracelessly in the center of the spiral. I remembered that we’d been ranked. As late-comers, Dane and I were at the absolute bottom. We hadn’t been judged on size and merit, but we were at the bottom all the same.

  “I suppose there’s no place to go but up?”

  I cocked a jaunty eye at Dane. He forced a smile, but I could tell he was nervous. Only a fool would not be.

  And apparently, I was a fool.

  All I felt was excitement. Excitement and wonder. I was eager to begin. Even with no sleep and no food in my belly, I was ready to begin the great race that traditionally started the Trials. I would have to wait until tomorrow though. I wondered if I would be able to sleep at all.

  And then my stomach rumbled. Loudly.

  Dane raised a brow.

  “Let me guess, they forgot to feed you as well.”

  I nodded with a wry smile.

  “That’s okay. I know how to scavenge. If you’re hungry, you can come along.”

  His face showed his surprised pleasure.

  His eyes twinkled. “I would like that very much . . . Tri.”

  I nodded and waited for the opening ceremony to begin.

  Chapter 6

  The cro
wd was screaming, cheering for their favorites as they took their places in the stands. I stared up at them, feeling a mixture of pride and scorn. Everyone in the stands was too young or too old to participate.

  Perhaps there were some cowards as well, disguising themselves and planning to lay low during the first Trial.

  I scanned the crowd, wondering if I could spot Lila, or even my stepmother. Dane elbowed me.

  “Looking for someone?”

  “My friend Lila.”

  “Probably better to size up the competition.”

  I cast him a sidelong glance. He was right, of course.

  “You’re smarter than you look.”

  He grinned widely, flashing perfect white teeth.

  “Don’t I look smart?”

  I’d been about to say that he was too pretty to be smart, but only as a joke. But now, he clearly knew that I thought he was pretty. I glared at him, my cheeks hot. I deliberately moved my attention to the other competitors. We were toward the back, so on either side of us were the youngest and frailest. Nothing to worry about here. In fact, I had the urge to wrap an arm around the scrawny girl with dark green hair who hovered beside me.

  But if you looked toward the center of the arena, things got exponentially more . . . menacing.

  Bigger and meaner looking Mers swam in place there. Exquisite armor and costumes and hairstyles adorned many of them. But dead center was the largest Mer I had ever seen.

  Dane must have seen him too.

  “By Triton! Is he real?”

  I nodded slowly.

  “Unfortunately, so.”

  The brute floated head and shoulders above the swarm of Mers. He must have been seven feet from tip to tail! And he was all muscle.

  He did not have fancy armor. In fact, he barely wore any. Shoulder guards and a helmet, along with the straps. Straps that held a large assortment of wickedly sharp looking weapons, mostly looking like they were scavenged from two-legger ships.

  On his back was a massive hatchet that made me swallow nervously.

  “His name is Juno.”

  I glanced down at the tiny Mer swimming by my side.

  “Aren’t you too young to be here?”

  She shook her head and I frowned.

  “They should have a height requirement.”

  Dane let out a guffaw at that, earning a swift kick from my fins. He rubbed his side, raising his brows.

  “What? She’ll lose the race and be safely on the sidelines.”

  “Maybe so. But people don’t always survive the race.”

  He looked at the young Mer, then back at me. He nodded.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. But what can we do?”

  “I could swim with her.”

  “You’ll lose!”

  I chewed my lip.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Starla.”

  “Are you a fast swimmer, Starla?”

  She shrugged.

  “I am for my size.”

  “Well, do me a favor.”

  She smiled at me and I felt like a horrible Mer. I wasn’t offering to help her. I was just giving her some lifesaving advice.

  “Don’t swim fast tomorrow.”

  Her jaw dropped.

  “I don’t understand. I have at least a chance of finishing the race.”

  “No. You don’t have a chance. If you keep up with the bigger Mers, you could get hurt. Or killed.”

  Her eyes grew wide. I pointed at the competition.

  “The really big Mers won’t swim that fast. You could get stuck in the middle, with him on your fins.”

  She visibly gulped. I pointed at a tall young woman with white hair whose armor was covered in wickedly sharp-looking spikes, hooked so that they angled upward. If she swam into you . . .

  “Or her.” I wrinkled my nose. “What if she tries to hug you?”

  Starla let out a startled giggle. She sounded so young, so innocent. It nearly broke my heart in two.

  “The people at the front will be busy trying to win, but unless you are sure you can keep up . . .”

  “All right. Thank you . . .”

  She let the end of the sentence dangle.

  “Katriana.” I smiled. “You can call me Tri.”

  She nodded, smiling shyly.

  “I will. Thank you, Tri.”

  We waited there until the procession started to move again. We pooled our notes on whom to look out for. Other than Juno and the girl with the spikes, there were still many terrifying Mers to avoid. One of the largest boys smiled at me as we passed, so Starla and I marked him neutral on our mental list.

  Dane snorted and I turned to him.

  “What?”

  “He’s not neutral.”

  “How do you know?”

  Dane shook his head slowly.

  “He’s not neutral unless you look like you.”

  Starla laughed, agreeing with him.

  “You think he has a thing for spotted redheads?”

  Dane looked at me thoughtfully.

  “Is that really how you see yourself?”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Fine, maybe he likes scrawny, spotty redheads with no armor. In fact, maybe he was smiling because I looked like easy pickings. Starla, we need to change ‘Smiley’ from neutral to possible threat.”

  When I turned back to Dane, his eyes had grown wide.

  “You don’t have armor?”

  “Can’t afford it.”

  “No helmet?”

  I shook my head distractedly, craning my neck to see what was happening. I swished my fins just enough to bob slightly upward so I could see. Dane was muttering something under his breath. It sounded like a litany of two-legger curse words. I stifled a laugh as I floated back down.

  “I think it’s over. The center of the procession is heading toward the exit. Tsunami! That means all the good beds will be taken!”

  Dane looked distracted.

  “I need to go. Meet me at the front in an hour.”

  “You’re going to cut the line?”

  “I won’t get caught. I’ll find you later, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  He stared at me for another moment, then he darted out of the line toward the wall and disappeared. Starla and I continued ranking the competition as we followed the long line.

  We saw a slender girl who had extra fins on her tail, making her look as though she could swim and maneuver better than most. She had icy blue hair and an unfriendly look on her pretty face. We decided that she might just be nervous but to keep an eye on her.

  There was a boy with an extra eye in the center of his forehead. He was slight-looking, non-threatening. But while he was swimming forward, his third eye turned and stared at us. We decided an extra eye could definitely come in handy.

  Mutations were not all that uncommon with Mers, especially in the past hundred years. With the oceans becoming more and more polluted, they had become commonplace. But I’d never seen such useful ones!

  Finally, we started to approach the wide door that led in and out of the arena.

  “Want to get a snack? I’m starving.”

  Starla nodded eagerly and I gave her a hard look.

  “But don’t tell anyone my secret spots, or I’ll gut you.”

  Starla giggled, clearly not impressed. I was going to have to work on my menacing tone. I rolled my eyes and swam around the side of the arena, heading closer to shore.

  “Come on, let’s see how fast you really are!”

  I took off, not showing my true maximum speed. I never did. The only time I swam at top-speed was with Beazil when we were completely alone in the deep blue. I didn’t want to give away my abilities before the Trials.

  And I especially hadn’t wanted my stepmother to put me to use as her errand-Mer.

  But right now, I was swimming even slower to accommodate my new friend. Starla swam by my side, a happy smile on her face. She was only a few years younger than me, but she seemed much yo
unger. She was small, for one thing, and she’d told me she’d been raised by her kindly GrandMer.

  She’d been sheltered and loved. Even though they hadn’t been rich, she’d never scavenged for food before. We might both be orphans, technically speaking, but that’s where the similarities ended.

  Well, other than the fact that neither of us was a brainless jellyfish!

  “Last one there is a rotten jellyfish!”

  I pulled ahead, her girlish shriek of excitement making me smile. She was pretty fast, definitely above-average for a young Mer. I considered telling her to try and win. But if she slipped up or anything went wrong, she would be smack-dab in the center with the big Mers.

  The big, vicious, spike-wearing Mers.

  And anyway, the rest of the Trials would just get harder. More dangerous. She didn’t really care about serving the Royals. She wasn’t fast enough for a Messenger, and there was no way she would survive long enough to win and become a Spark.

  That was a one in a million chance. We might all think we had a chance, but only the smartest and most resourceful were in the running. Usually, only one Mer per King or Queendom became Spark, though they had selected up to three in the past.

  Even the huge, brutal-looking Mers did not have hope of becoming Sea Spark. Soldiers, yes. Perhaps even Generals. But not a Messenger and not a Spark.

  That was for the quick of fin and clever of mind.

  I smiled. Despite all of my shortcomings, I knew I had what it took. I might be plain, clumsy, overly nostalgic, and covered in spots. But I was fast and I was smart.

  I glanced behind me, making sure Starla was okay. She was swimming frantically, her eyes wide in terror. I saw why an instant later.

  An enormous shark was following us.

  “It’s okay!”

  I swam back toward her, taking her hand and drawing her to a stop. She was frantic, tugging on my hand and shaking her head wildly.

  “Shark!”

  “I know, Starla. He’s with me.”

  “He . . . what?”

  Beazil circled us, then nudged my side with his blunt nose.

  “He’s my familiar.”

  Starla’s mouth dropped open. I smiled, trying to set her at ease.

  “Who is your familiar?”

  She opened a pocket in her dress and pulled out a starfish. It shook itself, then ‘looked’ around. It curled into a ball when it noticed Beazil.