Shattered by the Sea Lord - Starla Night Page 0,97
about to become a very real fight.
The king studied him as if he knew what Ciran had not said and was debating whether or not to make him pay for it.
Bong…ong…ong…ng…g…
A deep, resonant knell filled the city. Although it had originated on the sacred island, the city’s bell now amplified it.
Konomelu, Nuno, and Itime had done it.
They floated back from the bell, still tethered by their ankles, and hugged their chests.
“It is the sacred brides.” Figuara lifted his trident. “They call for our aid, and I, for one, will answer.”
The older warriors who must have trained under Elder Daka mustered their weapons and flew into a formation behind him.
The younger warriors, orphaned and trained only under the king, milled in confusion.
“No sacred brides call to us. It is some disrespectful humans who figured out how to bang a pot like the land monkeys they are.” The king gestured at the two distant guards beneath the Life Tree. “Forget the prisoners. Muffle that bell. Warriors! Ah, I am surrounded by incompetence.”
The two guards did not notice the king’s change of orders. They tried to drag the prisoners away from the trench, but the rocks were too heavy. They cut the stone tethers. The prisoners immediately turned on the guards and wrestled for their weapons.
Kraken tentacles quested along the ledge, a creeping backdrop to their struggle.
The king pushed the lever. The mechanism made a grating sound and resisted.
Bong…ong…ong…ng…g…
A third strike reverberated across the city.
Crack.
The mirror stone closest to the Life Tree fell in two pieces.
More tentacles emerged. A new current forced the Life Tree away from the trench. The dais tilted and mating gemstones spilled off, falling like iridescent raindrops for the coral below. The spiked armor around its stalk creaked in a warning.
Still, the king wrestled with the lever.
Lieutenant Orike returned to the center of the city with his warriors. “My king, a strange mass of sea creatures drifts this way.”
The king ignored him. “I must fix this mechanism.”
“The mass is urgent. It is…I cannot describe it. It is organized, directed. I have never seen sea creatures behave this way.”
“The sacred brides.” Figuara faced off to him. “They summon us with the bell and now the very ocean.”
“It is not a summons.” Lieutenant Orike frowned at him like he was crazy. “It is an army. Mindless animals, and yet, they storm the city as though guided by a master. We must assemble and fight.”
“Fight our own sacred brides?” Figuara lifted his chin. “I would rather fight the water I breathe.”
“What are you babbling about, old male? I have walked all over that island. None live there now but a dim-souled human.”
“You angered them. You did this. Their ghosts have arisen. We must answer or face their vengeance.”
“How do you propose to entreat a ghost?” Lieutenant Orike shook his head in disgust. “While we debate, an unnatural mass descends on our city. Look.”
A sperm whale drifted over the city, not at its usual distance, but just above the tops of the castles. With it, bumping against the castles, soared an entire school of tuna.
“There are your ghosts,” Lieutenant Orike said.
Figuara and the others gaped. “They obey the sacred brides.”
“For the last time.” The king released the lever and aimed his trident at the two warriors. “There are no sacred brides!”
Bong…ong…ng…ng…g.
“Then who rings the bell?” Figuara asked softly. “Who summons the kraken?”
Crack. Crack-crack. Crack.
More mirror stones fell. The dreaded tentacles rose level with the midpoint of the Life Tree stalk. The battle paused while the warrior raced away from the questing creature. But it was so massive, it looked like just the fingertips of the beast clawing at the edge of its crypt.
Bong…ong…ong…ng…g…
The rest of the mirror stones collapsed.
Ciran kicked back from the trench. Would their rescue arrive in time?
“There!” A warrior at the back of the assembly pointed. “Ghosts.”
The four women linked hands inside an impenetrable white shield, a bubble enclosing them safely while the animals Meg had summoned surged around them. Dannika floated at the far left. Energy surged out of her fingers and reinforced the bubble. On the far right, Angie did the same. They both had shielding powers. Meg and Bex, inside, amplified their power the way the two bells amplified each other.
Dannika locked gazes with him.
She had done it. She had found her power.
And nothing would ever make her doubt again.
He swelled with pride.
The king gaped at the women, then lowered his trident at Ciran. “This is your fault.”
“Guilty.” He grinned at the king and raised his fist.