Sea Spell (Waterfire Saga #4)(93)

“Ava, what do you see?” Sera shouted.

“Souls! Thousands of them!” Ava shouted back. “They want to get out!”

Abbadon roared again. It sounded like a creature in torment.

“It’s working, Astrid!” Neela shouted. “Keep it up!”

Abbadon was breaking apart. More souls were pushing their way out. Their light was swirling through the courtyard. Their energy was fearsome.

They’re going to destroy the Carceron, Astrid thought. And everyone in it.

Another section of wall caved in. Sera grabbed Ava and Neela and swam with them into the center. Becca lifted up Ling, who was still under the overhang, and joined them. Only seconds later, the overhang split off from the rest of the ice and crashed to the ground.

“They have nowhere to go!” Neela shouted. “They want to go to the underworld, but they can’t!”

“They need pearls!” Ava yelled.

“Astrid!” Neela shouted. “Use your—”

But her words were cut off when a chunk of the glass ceiling fell in, narrowly missing Astrid.

“THE PEARLS!” Neela yelled as the water cleared, frantically pointing at her neck.

Astrid didn’t understand what she was trying to say. Her hand came up to her own neck. And then she felt it. Alma’s necklace! she thought. It was made of thousands of pearls. They were small, though. Would they work?

Still singing, she unhooked the necklace and swam to Abbadon. The monster’s roars had risen to shrieks now. Its body was riven with cracks. The light pouring from them was so bright, it was blinding.

“Hurry, Astrid!” Sera urged, as another section of wall came down.

Astrid ripped the necklace apart and scattered the pearls in a circle around Abbadon.

As the mermaids all watched, rays of light swirled out of the monster and disappeared into the pearls. One by one, the freed souls found their refuge.

Abbadon took a few last breaths, then with a deep groan, toppled onto the icy courtyard floor. As Astrid and the others watched, its chest sank. The eyes in its hands became sightless and dull. Its body, nothing but a hollow shell now, crumpled.

“You did it!” Sera said, throwing her arms around Astrid.

“We did it,” Astrid said, hugging her back. “All of us together.”

Becca and Neela slapped tails. Ling, pale as a sand dollar, managed to squeeze Ava’s hand.

And then the Carceron shuddered. A noise like a gunshot was heard overhead, as a crack opened in the roof’s glass.

“We’ve got to get out of here before the whole places crashes in on us,” Becca said.

“We can’t leave them,” Neela said, nodding at the pearls. “They need to go home. If the Carceron falls, we’ll never be able to find them again.”

“Ling needs a doctor,” Sera said, grimacing at the blood seeping out between Ling’s fingers. “Becca, can you get her back to camp?”

Becca nodded. “We’ll swim through the hole in the ceiling,” she said. “We don’t have time to deal with the maze, or the ghosts.”

“Good idea,” Sera said. “Everyone else, let’s move.” She cast an anxious glance at the ceiling.

Sera’s jacket, which Ling had pressed against her wound, was soaked with blood. Becca took off her own jacket and tied it around Ling’s torso. She looped one of Ling’s arms over her neck, then swam for the ceiling.

Astrid, Neela, Ava, and Sera swooped down to the bottom of the courtyard and picked up the pearls as quickly as they could. Ava felt for them with her hands. Astrid and Sera tore fabric from their dresses and made pouches out of it. Neela and Ava used their jackets. They all had to swim for cover when another crack snaked across the ceiling, but miraculously the glass held and they were able to resume their task.

“Ava, can you sense any that we missed?” Sera asked when they were done.

Ava shook her head. “We got them all; I’m sure of it.”

“Then let’s go.” Astrid gathered the corners of her pouch and knotted them. The others secured their pouches, too. Sera knotted Ava’s for her. Taking Ava’s hand, she swam toward the hole in the ceiling. Neela and Astrid followed.

The four made it through the jagged hole without any injuries and were turning toward the camp when another crack ripped through the ceiling. This one was too much for the ancient glass to bear. It imploded, lethal shards raining down over the courtyard and what was left of Orfeo’s tragic creature.

“We got out just in time,” Astrid said, leading the way back to camp.

The mermaids swam on in silence, then Sera said, “Will he come?”

“It depends how strong my magic was,” Astrid said.

“He’ll come. I know he heard you,” Sera said.

Astrid nodded. “I hope so,” she said. “Come on. We’ve got one more pearl to gather.”





SERA COULD SEE the anxious, upturned faces, mer and goblin, searching the waters over the Carceron.

Yazeed spotted them. He broke into a wide grin. “There they are!” he shouted, pointing.

Sera, Astrid, Neela, and Ava cleared the prison, then dropped down into the camp. As they placed the pouches of pearls down, their fellow fighters rushed to them.

“Did you—” Yazeed started to ask.