By moonlight's shadow

Chapter 66

The hills that lie friendly in the day - like the pillows of the land - are darkly ominous by night. The paths that were illuminated just hours before become lost in a blackness that even moonlight cannot help. The trees that are magnificent in sunshine tower over Lukas as he steps across the borderline between the seen and unseen. Choosing not to go in is no choice at all, but aren't all quests like that? He steels himself to keep moving, his hair on end as if the forest was on the enemy side. The air is several degrees cooler and soon he begins to shiver. On his frequent stops, Lukas listens for signs of life around him, but there come none. Back in his home such a silence would be tranquil, but out here it is more like the quiet of the graveyard.

Rhea walked past the gates and closed so no one would follow. If it would take her until evening here, her brother would eventually know where she was. The iron gates that had fallen to rusts swung with heavy metallic shrieks. A knitted scarf, made by her favorite Aunt of the pack, hung around her neck loosely and it flew as the wind brushed past her auburn hair, it was always colder up the hill.

The girl slowly picked it up, only to find it in muddy stains from the knocked over stone markers. She cursed and hid it on her clothes, enlarging the bulk on her left-side pocket. She paused for a moment and hid behind the old crumbled chapel’s remains, carefully not ripping her dress.

They both knew that they had different roads cut out for them and that they would need to go to the end of the road in order to understand what they needed to do after that. Lukas would have to travel to the highlands and then trudge towards the sea where he was supposed to find out the mermaids and come to know what exactly the treasure that he needed to find was. Last night after Rhea had made Luna leave her room and hide in some non-descript corner where they would not be able to see him Lukas and Rhea had started discussing about how was it going to be possible for them to ask and find out what was the quest that they were needed to become aware of. Lukas told her that he needed to journey back over the hills so that he could reach the sea faster and then he would need to find some kind of treasure.

But Rhea was not very sure about this particular description. She had said that if he needed to find treasure then the quest would be something different. After all he was not going to find and locate an 18th century pirate ship, was he now?

As Lukas walked in that silence he recalled his sister’s words. Even though she was fairly younger than him sometimes it really felt like she was wiser of the two. Lukas knew that Rhea would absolutely rip and shred him into pieces if she came to know that he had divulged the location of Rhea to Charlie, who said that he would maintain his distance and keep an eye on his mate. After all it was his duty to protect her and keep her safe from any harm.

“I know you mean well Charlie, but you have to remember one single thing. This is a quest that is going to lead us both in the direction of our destiny and this is something we need to do alone or we could have gone together. But since that is not the case you must not help her in any way,” Lukas had said. And till now since he had not heard any complaints from Rhea through their pack link he felt that Charlie had not been any hindrance at all.

When Rhea would describe her idea of an adventure to me it would send chills down my spine. She wanted to backpack across India, sail up the Nile in a wooden boat, trek through the sss and climb Mount Everest. She wanted to explore rural China, dog sled in the arctic, tour Russia and deep sea dive. My idea of adventure was trying a new supermarket, a different hiking trail in my neighbourhood or a new hairdresser, thought Lukas. Even though she had sap running through her veins along with warm wolf blood the only change that made in her was that she had a lot more wiser head on her shoulders than him. Apart from that she was not very different from the other wolf pups who were still waiting to find their purpose in life. And suddenly Lukas found that he had reached the edge of the cliffs. The place was so damn beautiful that it took his breath away for a moment and he kept staring into the empty space before him. The drop must be sheer a few hundred foot, and once someone dropped from there his body would never be found again. That much, he was sure about.

The cliffs rose sheer from the jungle, towering ramparts of stone that glinted jade-blue and dull crimson in the rising sun, and curved away and away to east and west above the waving emerald ocean of fronds and leaves. It looked insurmountable, that giant palisade with its sheer curtains of solid rock in which bits of quartz winked dazzlingly in the light of the setting sun.

These were the cliffs where the mermaids had been spotted rampantly over the last few years only that they could dive back again in the depths of the water. And they were not seen, and to be honest he was a bit spooked about the news because none of the ships or the sailors had gone missing from this region and that was another point why he should not go but this was the best lead that he had and Lukas knew that he needed to take this chance.

Lukas undressed and then just wore the swimming shorts that he was wearing underneath his jeans. He packed all his clothes and folded it together in a neat bundle and then hid it under the rock and took a deep breath as he stood at the edge of the cliff again. And then he dove. The feeling of dropping head long into the sea was as scary as it was exhilarating. And then he was in the water and he felt absolutely peaceful.

The wind had become the orchestral conductor of the sea, sending waves into their crescendos' all through the ballad that was the night. All about us was the perfume of the salty water and the fine spray that came as boldly as any viola flurry. It was as if life herself had entered the water and the energy was so great that this great pulse came upward to form a steady rhythm. Moving through her depths, I become aware of her currents; the sea is more as rivers in three dimensions with no need of banks. In them are schools of the living, the creation that remained in her watery embrace when we land dwellers sought flowers and the shelter of trees. Though to her fish swimming is as easy as breathing underwater, it is no doubt time for me to return to the waves and the boat that awaits, anchored for my return as it rests upon her steady pulse. But Lukas knew that he had to delve further inside and then try finding out those beautiful creatures who lurked in the water.

Ocean still as a mill pond, like a slumbering giant, powers untapped, muscles unflexed, dozing, dreaming, caressing the beach as a mother to her newborn, until the wind whips it up into tempestuous waves, powers unleashed, tumult of waves, roaring, smashing into the beach with unchecked fury, pounding, smashing. What was that which would lead him to find out the mermaids that he was looking for?

And finally Lukas could feel that his feet was stuck in the corals. It was a sharp jagged rock and he did not dare to pull it out because he knew that his blood was going to attract all kinds of dangers which lurked under water and then he saw her swimming towards him. They said all kinds of wrong things about these creatures. Whoever had spoken the rumours had absolutely no clue at all about how the mermaids looked.

Lukas stopped swimming or trying to move as he gazed in wonder at her. Her entire body was covered with scales, small scales which gave her skin a shiny and shimmering effect. The colour of her skin was a beautiful combination of azure and purple which made her absolutely in sync with the colours of the depths of the ocean. And he could not even imagine what she would look like from close. And then with a strange speed and grace of a fish she was swimming before him as she smiled. She was just an exact replica of fish except that she was in a human shape on the upper part of her body. She had gills to breathe and air bubbles were coming out from them. Her eyes were a sapphire blue which sparkled and….

Holy cow!!! She had teeth like shark and Lukas’s eyes widened but he did not do anything hasty or stupid. He showed him that his leg was stuck in the coral and the skin was scraping off and blood was starting to ooze. She nodded at him and then gave the coral a firm slap and suddenly his leg was free. Lukas started speaking something excitedly but he had forgotten that he was under water and immediately the mermaid blew an air bubble towards him which stuck over his entire head like a protective helmet and he could breathe freely.

He smiled and said,” Thank you so much for saving my life. How can I ever repay my debt to you?”

She just smiled again at him and nodded her head saying something but he could not understand a single word that she was speaking. When Lukas decided that when Fate had given him the opportunity to meet one mermaid he should not let that go waste. He took her hand and placed it on his heart. Her skin was cold and clammy just like a fish but the moment her skin touched his, the mark that Aurora had put on him started glowing in a faint blue colour and she looked at him with wide eyes.

He looked at her in a pleading manner and she looked even more bewildered. Lukas had no clue what he was supposed to do next but he did not let go of her hand. She was still looking at him when she decided that it would be better if they were taken somewhere else rather than here. And blood was still coming out of the scrape that he had gotten from the coral reef. So she caught hold of his hand even more firmly and started moving and the speed with she moved under water made Lukas go absolutely dizzy. He could not even think anything else except for the fact that his body was in rapid motion and he might throw up the very moment they stopped but they were not stopping.

The next thing that he knew was they were in a huge clearing and that was underwater and everything was just like as if he was seeing the ruins of a very huge construction. Was he dead? Hallucinating or what?

“No Guardian, you are not hallucinating. Although she could not tell you anything when she brought you here, you did an admirable job of asking for her help,” said a woman standing before him in white robes which almost blinded him.

“You can speak in English?” asked Lukas in shock.