Sea Spell (Waterfire Saga #4)(75)

“Becca? What’s going on?” Sera asked, unused to seeing her practical, serious friend so excited.

“Ready for a bit of good news?” Becca asked.

Sera arched an eyebrow. “Good news? What’s that?” she joked.

Ling stuck her head around the door. “Look who we found!” she said breathlessly.

A mermaid, thin and silt-stained, swam through the doorway.

“Ola, minas. Como vas?”





“AVA!” SERA SHOUTED. She swam to her friend, threw her arms around her, and whirled her around and around in the water.

“I’m so happy you’re safe! I was so worried! Where have you been all this time?”

“In the swamps, and then in a cage, and then on the back currents.”

“A cage?” Sera said, outraged.

“I got the ring, and then Traho got me. He took it. He was going to turn me over to Vallerio, but a friend rescued me. We’ve been making our way to you ever since. Sera, may I introduce another queen? Manon Laveau, the swamp queen of the Mississippi.”

Sera had been so overjoyed to see Ava, she hadn’t noticed that others had swum into the room with her.

Sera bowed to Manon, who returned the gesture.

“I would also like to present Jean Lafitte, Sally Wilkes, and the Countess Esmé,” Ava said.

The ghosts all bowed. Sera’s eyes widened at the sight of them.

Manon saw her fear and laughed. “Don’t you worry, cher. They’re not shipwreck ghosts. They know better than to suck the life out of folks.”

Sera relaxed. “Thank you for saving my friend,” she said, taking Manon’s hand.

“You’re more than welcome, but honestly, it wasn’t no scales off my tail, as they say in the swamp. Ava’s a good soul, and I’m always happy to mess up a bully’s plans, and Traho is one mean bully.”

“He was,” Ling said. “He’s one dead bully now.”

Manon shook her head regretfully. “That’s too bad. My boys will be disappointed. They were fixing to make mincemeat out of him.”

She must’ve brought bodyguards with her, Sera thought. Traho must’ve gotten on their wrong side, too.

“Ava, did you say that Traho had Nyx’s ring?” Becca asked.

Ava nodded sadly. “Baby got it from the Okwa Naholo. We were on our way out of the swamps when Traho found us.”

“Traho probably passed it on to Orfeo,” Sera reasoned, crestfallen to think that Orfeo had two talismans now.

“Speaking of Baby, where is that little beast?” Neela asked.

“Dead,” Ava said sadly. “The death riders killed him.”

“Oh, Ava, no!” Neela cried. “I’m so sorry!”

As Neela, Ling, and Becca comforted Ava, Sera attended to Manon, asking her if she would like something to eat.

“Child, what I would like is somewhere to rest my old bones. It’s a long way from the Mississippi to Miromara. Maybe you have a nice little shack somewhere where a swamp queen could put her fins up?”

“A shack, no,” Sera said, smiling. “But I’m sure we can find some comfortable accommodations for you.”

She called for her maid. “Gianna,” she said when the mermaid arrived, “please show our guest to the abalone suite in the west wing. Have dinner brought for her. And please have some tea brought for us, too.”

“I’m much obliged to you,” Manon said, turning to follow Gianna. But before she could go, Ava reached for her, then hugged her tightly.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“You catch up with your friends now. I’ll see you in the morning,” Manon said gruffly, patting Ava’s back.

The ghosts chattered loudly as they left the chamber.

“A palace, a court, royalty,” Esmé said grandly. “At last I’m back with my own kind!”

Manon snorted. “If you’re a real countess, Esmé, then all those beads the goggs throw during Mardi Gras are real jewels!”

“Do you think this place is haunted?” Lafitte asked, looking around fearfully.

“Please don’t tell me you’re afraid of ghosts now,” Manon said, exasperated.

“Manon, where did those gators of yours get to?” Sally asked. “They were right here, now they’re not.”

A scream was heard from down the hallway.

“That’ll be them,” Manon said. “Probably cornered some fool saltwater mer who doesn’t know a gator from a salamander. Antoine! Gervais!” she bellowed. “You boys get over here!”

Sera’s eyes grew wide. “She brought alligators with her?” she whispered. “I thought she meant bodyguards when she said my boys.”

Ava nodded. “She did. The alligators are her bodyguards. Don’t worry. She keeps them under control. Mostly.”

Sera bit back a laugh. “I’m so happy you’re here with us, Ava. Sit down. You must be so tired.”

Sera’s maid returned with a pot of hot sargassa tea, plus bowls of candied barnacles, pickled snails, and salted sea cucumbers. The five mermaids flopped down on soft, anemone-filled sofas, on large sea-silk cushions scattered on the floor, or collapsed into luxurious giant clam chairs.