Page 56 of Wicked Tides #1

Dahlia

Not death do we mourn

But the things that were

and now will never be again

~Unknown

Three women stood at the very edge of a low cliff over calm water.

The ocean whispered as it moved and the biting breeze wept with the villagers as the three women sang.

Their voices were sorrowful and beautiful, a haunting lullaby on a dreary day as Sakari’s family and friends bid her farewell.

Vidar and a few from the crew stood off to the side, watching but not participating.

I kept a little distance as well and stood near some large rocks to observe, soaking in the looks on every person’s face as they paid their respects.

Ahnah held on tight to her grandmother’s hand, tossing me innocent glances now and then.

I tried to smile at her each time, but it was hard. I didn’t want to smile at a funeral, but I felt the need to reassure her somehow. Of what, I didn’t know. I wasn’t planning on replacing Sakari, so what could I give Ahnah besides smiles and hugs?

When the women stopped singing, a dozen or so villagers with a long flower garland stepped toward the cliff and slowly tossed the beautiful creation into the cold sea.

Another song began, that time by the men. By then, I was beginning to catch on that they weren’t songs at all but prayers. Each time someone began, the others would bow their heads.

I recalled funeral practices from my childhood, which consisted mostly of feeding a body to sharks or cannibalizing it. The first time I saw my mother sink her teeth into a dead sister, my stomach turned. The second time, I wondered what my own sister would taste like if it ever came to it.

When Vidar killed my mother, the last thing on my mind was eating her. I wanted nothing more than to kill him for shattering my world beneath my feet.

A world I didn’t even love.

The only world I knew.

It was all such a mess and nothing made sense.

A sudden feeling like someone was standing right behind me made me turn my head.

Meridan was sitting beside me and immediately looked in the same direction as if she felt it, too.

Behind us was nothing but a tundra of dirt and snow.

I focused my eyes against the too-bright landscape to see a woman standing near a cluster of stones.

She was as white as the snow with white hair and dark, inky eyes.

Her long, slender form was covered by a thin dress that looked too large on her frame.

I stood and Meridan stood with me, just as curious as I was to finally talk to one of the coldfins.

Quietly, we made our way toward her as the funeral kept on.

Just when we were close enough to speak to her, she slipped behind the rocks as if to coax us away from prying eyes.

Turning around the stones, we found her standing there, her gaze regarding us both like we were not real.

I noticed then that she was nothing like us at all.

Her features were so delicate. White, short fur covered her shoulders and the tops of her arms and a dreamy sheen made her flesh look like the top of sun-kissed snow.

And her eyes were like onyx with no color in them at all.

Slowly, she started to pace, her eyes studying.

“What is your name?” she asked, her head canting subtly to one side.

“Dahlia.”

“Meridan.”

“You are a Kroan, from Theloch,” she said to me before turning to Meridan. “And I’ve seen your kind before. The Naros.”

“I am from Underhome,” Meridan confirmed.

The woman studied me again “And you live in warmer waters. What are you doing here?”

“We came to return the girls home.”

“Men took them. Men like the ones you are here with.”

“Different men. My sisters and I killed those men.”

“You and your sisters. I see only two of you.”

“The others were killed.”

“Southern sirens and men have been killing each other for a long time. We may stick to the cold, but we know the ways of the world. Why are you with them?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Nothing is complicated.”

I swallowed, taking a deep breath. “We had common interests and we chose to work together for them.”

“The common interest being the girls.”

I nodded. Slowly, the woman took a step forward, her eyes roaming across my body like she didn’t think I was a siren under all the clothes.

“Why would men and sirens care about those girls enough to work together?”

“Does it matter?”

“It matters if you’ve brought notice to our home. We do not want conflict here.”

“Would you rather we didn’t bring them? ”

She paused, her black eyes telling me nothing. And like the frozen waters she lived in, her expression was cold.

“We care about the people here. We rely on them.” She inclined her head. “I thank you. But we know far too much about Kroan zealots and their violent delights.”

“I am not associated with a clan. I was cast out a long time ago.”

“For the best.”

“What about you? Humans fear us, but these people talk about you as if you are gods.”

“And it has kept them content.”

“So, you live here? Alongside them?”

“Not exactly.”

“They do not fear you so you must not eat them.”

“These people believe they came from the sea long ago. They believe when they die, they return to it and are reborn. They age, we visit them, and we take them. And we take the sick. The disturbed.”

“You take them… and feed on them.”

“We get what we need and they believe their loved ones have passed on to the form from which they came.”

“But it’s a lie.”

“The world is built on lies. Ours keep people satisfied and functional and they keep us fed without war. Happiness, after all, lasts as long as the veil remains over one’s eyes.”

“And you’ve been doing this all along?”

Her gaze was unblinking, so dark I could see myself looking back.

“Your people have been at war with men for generations,” she said. “Which life would you prefer? If it is war you want, you’d have killed the men you came with before ever arriving on these shores.”

The statement made me pause. I knew no other life.

Fighting hunters had been the focus of my people—what used to be my people—since I was born.

Of all the daughters of the sea, the Kroan were the most spiteful.

Since before I was born, it had been the way of things.

Trying to imagine a life absent conflict made me wonder if I would even know how to function without the violence .

“What’s your name?” Meridan finally asked.

“Teles,” she answered.

Though it was hard to know exactly where she was looking, I sensed she was staring past us. Her head cocked and she blinked, her shoulders relaxing.

“They are finished with their goodbyes,” she said. “There will be a celebration now.”

“A celebration?”

“They will celebrate Sakari’s return to the sea and the time they had with her.” Teles stepped in close, looking up at me. “I smell blood on you, Kroan. Shed any here and it will not go unnoticed.”

Her head snapped toward Meridan for a moment and then she slowly backed away, inching toward the water’s edge just past the rocks.

I watched her slide her loose-fitting dress off her shoulders, letting it fold to the ground.

She stepped delicately out of it, unaffected by the biting cold, and glided into the water off the edge of a slate of ice. As if she never existed, she was gone.

As Teles said, the tribe began celebrations as soon as the sun began to descend its peak.

There was a large fire in the courtyard where tables were full of salted fish, milky drinks, and fruits.

Boil was eager to help make the food and Billy seemed tied to him at the hip.

There was even music. Flutes, drums, and upbeat singing filled the air as people seemed to forget about the sadness of the morning and replace it with joy.

Whatever the milky drink was, it was strong smelling.

Something fermented, I gathered. The men enjoyed it and after a while, they were laughing and singing boisterously.

Sea shanties being sung off-key replaced the drums. Mullins and James were making fools of themselves, stumbling about with wide smiles on their faces.

They were trying to dance in unison, but each time they lifted one foot, their other would fail them and they’d stagger.

Some villagers laughed at their clumsiness while others tried to teach them how to dance properly.

It was a wonderful mess.

Even Ahnah had taken on the task of getting scrawny Billy to dance with her. She had a smile that stretched from ear to ear and poor Billy was doing his best to seem unenthused.

I was snacking on a handful of berries that were so sweet, they made my jaw hurt. I wasn’t accustomed to sweet foods. Or foods that did not come from something that once had a beating heart, for that matter.

Meridan was enjoying the fruit as well while she watched the festivities. Neither of us had ever been a part of something so… blissful. The Kroan did not have feasts or celebrations. Not like that. I knew the Naros were even more elusive. It was all so different and yet, I didn’t hate it.

From the longhouse, I saw Vidar with one of the male village elders and Taupek.

He and the elder shook hands and I wondered what it was that they’d been discussing inside while the others were getting rowdy.

I watched him from afar as a young woman strode up to him with a cup of the strange drink.

He smiled at her and she inclined her head bashfully as if asking a question.

I bristled at the sight. Her mannerisms suggested she was attracted to him. Her shyness. The way she lowered her head with a smile. It all seemed so transparent.

When Vidar took a sip of the drink, the young woman giggled and then set the cup down on a table before boldly dragging him into the courtyard where people were dancing around the firepit.