Shattered by the Sea Lord - Starla Night Page 0,91

not military cries.” Konomelu rested a hand on his cell door and rattled it, as he did occasionally, although it never opened. “They are bloodthirsty, predatory…Ah. New recruits have arrived. They will soon bring us out for display. And sacrifice.”

Now. It was happening now.

A group of warriors descended from the Life Tree toward the prison.

“Remember the plan,” Ciran murmured, floating back from the door.

“Of course I remember,” Konomelu growled and hunched his shoulders weakly, trying to look as incapacitated as he had days ago. “It is all I have thought about since you told us. Although it is insane. Our actions will only hasten our deaths.”

“Then I will see you in the blacknight sea,” Itime vibrated calmly. “Second Lieutenant, it has been an honor.”

“We will survive.”

The unit gathered outside the prison.

One warrior opened Ciran’s cell. “Out, Undine exile.”

He floated out obediently and held out his wrists.

The warrior eyed him like he was crazy while he opened the other cells. “What?”

“You will not bind me?”

“No, weakling scholar. I hope you will resist.” He grinned and thumped the base of his trident against Ciran’s scarred shoulder. “The kraken likes her meat tenderized.”

Konomelu and Itime exited and received more blows—because they were Luscan betrayers, whereas Ciran was just an ordinary enemy combatant. They directed the prisoners to fly up the armored stalk of the Life Tree to the central dais where the rest of the city had gathered.

As they rose, the odd territory of Lusca spread out beneath them.

Ciran tried to take in as much of the landscape as possible.

His plan depended on it.

The Life Tree of Lusca was old and venerable, and its nurturing radiance filled the normally barren seafloor with vibrant life. Healthy coral forests teemed with fish. The thick stalks of the mer castles punctured the seafloor and the massive green spheres floated level with the Life Tree dais.

A mer castle grew a new layer of rooms every few years. Ciran had grown accustomed to Atlantis’s young Life Tree and its small, whale-sized castles. Lusca’s were the size of Undine’s, colossal and magnificent.

But the city was lopsided and there lay the key to Ciran’s plan.

The forest and castles fanned outward from the yawning chasm. Lusca’s Life Tree teetered on the edge. The slightest quake could slide it, castles and all, into the abyss.

Itime and Konomelu had described in detail what would happen next.

To sacrifice them, the king would change the orientation of the mirror stones. The kraken would loft a few tentacles and scare the new recruits into pledging their obedience to the king. For good measure, the king would sacrifice his enemies by tying a great stone weight to their wrists. They would fall into the trench, into the kraken’s arms. Then, the king would reposition the mirror stones to drive the kraken back, deep into the trench.

He had done the same to Prince Ankena. In fact, he had even stabbed Prince Ankena as insurance. But Prince Ankena had somehow survived.

Ciran’s plan was more ambitious.

Searching for Prince Ankena would be much easier if the trench were empty.

They would raise the kraken.

“We must trick the warriors into dropping us prematurely,” Ciran had detailed. “As close as possible to the Life Tree. Then, do not fight against the stone. Use it to swing closer to the stalk. The best would be to break the mirror stones closest to the trench. But as a backup, we will unmuffle the bell.”

Because of the tentacles, no one would chase after them. They would have precious few moments to move the coral, wood, and mud. But as soon as the bell cleared, the Luscans would have a different problem to worry about.

He hoped.

“We will have the same problem,” Konomelu had growled. “And a kraken to avoid. Itime, reason with the Undine. I mean, Atlantean. This is madness.”

“I approve.”

Konomelu had frowned.

“We are past the point of reason.” Itime had rotated his healing wrists. “It is time to fight madness with madness.”

Now, the Luscans led them up the stalk of the Life Tree and over the lip of the dais. There, in the center, rested the massive white Life Tree. Like all the old trees of the ocean, it sat on a mountain of unclaimed mating gemstones. Holy radiance bathed them with pure welcome.

Tinkling chimes soothed Ciran’s jangling nerves and quieted his pounding heart. Large droplets of resin coagulated and rolled through the barren branches to drop at its base.

This was not his Life Tree, but he was a mer, and its radiance would always affect him,