Beached Page 18

  Lunia knelt up on her haunches, shaking her head. ‘We must move,’ she said, sighing in Ran’s direction. ‘It is dangerous for all of us to stay here, Mother,’ she said. ‘I am not sure how long we have been in here already.’ She looked at her watch and shook her head, as though trying to make sense of it.

  ‘Not as long as you thought?’ Ran smiled. ‘It is always that way with Manos,’ she said, a small shudder shaking her slender shoulders. Then she nodded, standing and bringing the three women up with her. ‘Listen to me, children,’ she said. ‘You have a few minutes, and we must speak.’

  The women turned to her, and Lecanora was sure they must be as captivated as she was by the tone of gentle command in the Goddess’ voice.

  Rania spoke first. ‘Last time you came,’ she said, ‘it was to tell me that I was one of The Three. But you couldn’t tell me much more.’

  Ran sighed, a delicate thing of silver and lace. ‘Each step you take on this journey reveals a little more. To us, in that other place, and to each of you. I am a Goddess, so I can see a little further. But believe me, if I had the answers, my daughters, they would be yours. Your courage, and your strength, it tears my heart from my chest.’

  The woman/goddess wrapped long arms around the three women and brought them close. Rania spoke again. ‘You saved me,’ she said. ‘Your song, it chased him away.’

  ‘Oh no.’ Ran frowned. ‘No Rania, child of Lunia, you have that so very wrong. It was Lecanora’s brain that pursued Manos, that chased him away. But when it did, the next piece became clear to me.’

  ‘Which piece?’ Lunia sounded very tired as she said the words, almost as though she knew what the answer would be already.

  ‘Lecanora,’ Ran said. ‘She is one of The Three. Her brain is a weapon of strength and goodness. And her will is a fearsome weapon, too. She has made Manos afraid this night.’

  As Ran said the words, Lecanora suddenly remembered Manos’ parting words, as she disappeared into the water and down the sink. ‘My mother,’ she gasped.

  ‘Yes,’ Ran said. ‘He will try to hurt her now. That much is almost certain.’

  Lecanora spun in a skittish circle. ‘I must go to her.’

  Ran sighed again, and placed a hand on Lecanora’s arm. ‘The Queen was right,’ she said. ‘None of this will be solved without The Land. I see it now. And this woman…’ Ran held up a hand towards where Susan Murray stood, still frozen. ‘She is the link, somehow. I see it now. You are all bound by blood. You, Rania. And you, Lecanora. And this one.’ She gestured again towards Susan Murray.

  Lunia walked slowly to the place in front of Susan Murray and considered her closely. ‘I knew that I knew her,’ she mused. ‘But then, so did Lecanora. We recognized her, somehow. I thought it was that she was…of The Sea.’ Lunia turned to Ran with a question in her eyes.

  ‘It is more than that,’ Ran confirmed, joining Lunia and taking her hand. ‘She is the lost one. Your maternal aunt, Lunia. Saskia.’

  ‘The child who went missing?’ Lunia shook her head slowly. ‘Swimming with the dolphins, and never found again? But we all thought she had been—’

  ‘Killed by The Land dwellers?’ Ran raised an eyebrow at Lunia, who hung her head.

  ‘Yes,’ she said, frowning. ‘It was easy to believe. Everyone tried to find her with their minds. She was nowhere to be found.’

  ‘Of course.’ Ran smiled gently. ‘Our worst stories about each other are always so easy to believe, because they are rested in truths. But—’ She shook her head. ‘—not this time. This time, this little girl, she was washed up, and rescued, by a doctor and his wife. They were living in an isolated part of the coast. They had experienced…’ She trailed off, as though looking for the right words. ‘…their own sadness. When the girl came to them, they helped her. And they knew always, or at least very early, that she was different. Somewhere—’ Ran reached across and touched the temple of Susan Murray. ‘—somewhere inside, or perhaps not so inside, this woman knows that she is different. She will be open to you.’

  Rania opened her mouth to speak, frowning.

  But Ran had more to say. ‘But you must be open to her. You must reveal yourselves to her.’

  Lecanora nodded, feeling the sense of it settle in her bones. As she watched Ran, the goddess began to fade, the edges of her turquoise shift blurring into a vanilla light.

  ‘I don’t have long left here,’ Ran said, noticing Lecanora watch her. ‘As I told you last time, Rania, it takes much for me to come to you. I need to ensure it is worth it. So know this.’ She grasped the hands of both Rania and Lecanora. ‘You two are the core of The Three. Your bonds—of blood and history—bind you to each other, and to our nation. Your hearts bind you to our worlds, both of them. Land and Sea.’

  Rania shook her head, and Lecanora could read the confusion mixing up with the recent pain inside her brain. Ran was disappearing fast, the lines of her blurring and dissolving, but she stepped close to Rania and placed a hand on her heart. ‘I am going to give you some solace, child,’ she said. ‘I know your pain is great, and you have many leagues to go before you can rest. And I know this burden weighs heavy.’ Ran motioned to Arty, lying still at their feet. ‘I would not rob you of your grief.’ She smiled sadly. ‘I know better than most that grief is something that belongs solely to us. But I can plant some comfort in your heart.’

  As Lecanora watched, the Goddess’ hand glowed gold on Rania’s chest. Rania closed her eyes, and as Lecanora watched, her forehead smoothed out and the tiny lines around her mouth relaxed. When the glowing stopped, Rania’s eyes opened and she smiled a small smile at Ran. ‘Thank you, Mother,’ she said.

  Lunia held out a hand to Ran as she began to disappear. ‘Mother,’ she said, motioning to the people frozen around them. ‘What of these, how will we—’

  Ran spoke gently, and it was almost as though her voice was being carried towards them on a sea breeze. ‘You can take The Land man and Carragheen with you now,’ she said. ‘They will take a few minutes to come back to themselves, but they can move if you guide them.’ She motioned to the presidential candidate and her aide. ‘These two, also, will come to themselves naturally in a few minutes. About the same time the guards do, and they will come in to check on them.’

  Rania rubbed her forehead and then seemed to snap back to awareness. ‘Perhaps we should take them with us,’ she said. ‘We have so much to discuss.’

  ‘No,’ Lunia said. ‘We cannot afford any alarms to be raised.’

  ‘The rest is up to you,’ Ran said, with a silver sigh. ‘Go in peace, my children.’

  Lecanora thought again about Manos’ parting words. Cold, slimy fear for her foster-mother slid down her esophagus as her glance flicked down once again to Arty. She turned to Lunia. ‘I think I, too, share Rania’s view. This may be our only chance with her.’ She stared across at Susan Murray, who slowly blinked as she watched.

  Lunia shook her head. ‘She will come to us,’ she said. ‘When she works this through. We will wait. She will come to us very soon.’

  Rania nodded and bent down to pick up her father. Lecanora placed a hand on her shoulder and a thought in her head. I will help you.

  Thanks, babe, Rania said. But I got this.

  Lecanora looped an arm through Doug’s and led him back through the hole they had blown in the wall. Lunia did the same with Carragheen. Both men followed, like puppies, groggy and drugged after a minor operation.

  Lecanora paused a moment, looking back one more time at Susan Murray, frozen in a moment of frowning.

  How did Lunia know she would come to them?

  How would Susan even know where to find them if she did?

  She tried one more time. ‘She may not know where we are,’ she said.

  Lunia turned to Lecanora and nodded. ‘I think she will,’ she said. ‘But just in case.’ She picked up a gold-encased lipstick which Susan had left on the vanity when she had been interrupted. She carefully bent down and lifted one hem
of Susan’s dress, almost to the knee. Just below it she scrawled, with raspberry pink lipstick, ‘Room 708’.

  Chapter 12

  Getting real

  The hotel room reminded Lecanora of a feeding ground, every heart on high alert. Carragheen was pacing the room like a circling shark, his body taut, his teeth bared. Rania stepped in front of him, arresting his progress. ‘You have to go back.’

  ‘I cannot leave you here. Not now, with all of this.’ Lecanora watched as Carragheen gently touched the side of Rania’s face, tracing a long finger down her cheek. He brushed away the floppy piece of hair that always fell in her eyes, and cupped her chin. ‘How could you ask me to do this?’ His eyes were so dark they were almost menacing, and Lecanora marveled at Rania’s ability to stare him down. The merman with the body of a fighter was poised in front of her, his muscles tense, his jaw set. He looked like he wanted to kill, like he could do it was for fun, just to relieve the pressure of the moment. ‘Do you have any idea what it was like, to watch you like that? While he did those things to you?’

  Rania shook her head, and placed her hand over his on her face. ‘I can imagine,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t too much fun from where I was standing either.’ She moved her hands to his shoulders. ‘But you must go. You are one of the Queen’s Council now.’ She sighed. ‘For now, at least. And he is coming for her. That sick sonovabitch is coming for her. None of them are safe. You have to go.’ She paused, shaking him a little. ‘Think about Tila.’

  At the mention of his half-sister, Carragheen’s face softened. He had cared for the little girl on and off since her birth. The little girl’s mother had been unwell since Carragheen’s own father had raped her. Most people still thought Carragheen was the little girl’s father, and it did not bother him in the least. Carragheen was just not a man who cared what others thought.

  Lecanora cleared her throat, aware that she was eavesdropping. ‘I will come with you, Carragheen.’

  ‘No.’ Lunia’s chin thrust forward as she moved towards her eldest daughter. She paused in front of Lecanora, her blue eyes shining with silver. ‘You will not go. I will not allow it, and neither would the Queen. Not when he wants you the way he does.’

  ‘I am going.’ Lecanora looked at her mother and felt a surge of connection to her: that steely beauty, the determined jaw. But she had no choice. Manos had said. He was coming for the Queen, her foster-mother. That woman had spent a lifetime being her mother. There was no force on Land or Sea that could stop Lecanora from being with her when the showdown came.

  Lunia picked up one of Lecanora’s hands and put it to her face. ‘You must listen to me, my love. Your mother has given you a job to do, and it is an important one. She knows how critical it is to the outcome that we get The Land people on side. She has entrusted you with this task.’ She motioned around her, to Rania, Doug and Larry. ‘We are only here to help you. It is you who must do this.’ She picked up Lecanora’s other hand, entreating her with her eyes. ‘And I promise you, once it’s done, we’ll all go home. Together.’ Lunia moved to where Rania and Carragheen stood. ‘Carragheen will go back immediately, and be with Imd until we can speak with Susan Murray. And then we’ll be there. Pronto.’

  ‘No.’ Lecanora shook her head, even though it hurt to say no to this woman, to watch the pleading in her eyes and deny her. ‘I cannot risk it, I must be there.’

  This time it was Doug who spoke.

  He got up from his place on the bed, and walked over to stand in front of Lecanora, where her mother had been. He hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then nodded at her. ‘I understand why you must go.’

  She felt relief flood through her at his words. She saw in those dark brown eyes of his that he meant it.

  He nodded again, and then his brow creased. ‘Although, of course, you know, it is what he wants.’

  Lecanora frowned back at him. ‘What do you mean?’

  Doug scratched his stubble. ‘Well, you know, I was pretty out of it, when he was there. Caught in whatever spell he made. But from the things you’ve told me, he planted that taunt about your ma, just as he was leaving. He wanted you, like Lunia said. He’s been clear about that, yeah?’

  Lecanora nodded, feeling the pieces of it knit together.

  Doug continued. ‘I doubt he even cares about her anymore. It’s you he’s fixated on now. He’s planted a trap, one he knows you can’t resist. And it’s perfect, honey. He gets everything he wants out of it. He gets to disrupt you making the connection with the next president, and bringing The Land on board. And, even better, he gets you, back in the deep sea where somehow he seems to feel he’s on surer footing. And he gets to really, really piss your ma off.’

  Doug reached out a hand to her, and she took it, reveling in the feel of having her cool fingers wrapped in his big, warm, dry palm. ‘‘Cause you know, Princess, I’m pretty sure she sent you away to try to keep you safe from him. So he’s gonna just love that he’s yanking her chain like this. And yours.’

  Steam rose inside Lecanora’s chest. She knew Doug was right, but how could she stay here? How could she not go to her mother? What choice did she have? She tried to look at all the pieces of it, like sifting sand. She thought about her foster-mother, who made decisions on behalf of a nation every day. Lecanora knew how heavily those burdens rested on her, how much the Queen labored over them. And she must do the same.

  She turned to Rania and Carragheen. ‘How long ‘til we can make contact with Susan again, do you think? How far behind Carragheen would we be?’

  Rania shrugged, and Lunia sighed. ‘We cannot say, darling. But I think as soon as Susan is back with us again, and as soon as she’s had some time had some time to think over the implications of all she has seen, she will contact us. I would be very surprised if that did not happen tonight.’

  A tight, hard ball bunched inside Lecanora’s chest. She did not want to say yes. She did not want to agree, to agree to let Carragheen go without her. Almost as though she could hear her thoughts, Rania moved close to her. ‘I’ll go with him,’ she said. ‘You guys don’t need me here. You’re important, babe. You’ve gotta plead the Queen’s case, and Mom’s important, too. I will go back with Carragheen and help to protect the Queen.’

  Lecanora squeezed her eyes shut. It felt like things were unraveling; events were building a momentum of their own.

  She opened her eyes and looked at her beloved sister. Rania’s face was hard to read, and her eyes were still red from tears. Carragheen’s face was set. It was as though everyone was locked in by a series of impossible choices. Rania was breaking apart inside over the death of her father, Lecanora knew it, but she wanted to go back so that Lecanora would not. Carragheen did not want to leave Rania, but neither did he want to take her back to Aegira, where uncertainty and evil waited, but he knew he had to go. Lunia did not want either of her daughters out of her sight, but she too felt the pull of her duty to her home. Lecanora could feel the vermillion swirls in her mother’s brain pressing in on her own.

  ‘It is too much, sister,’ Lecanora said, taking Rania’s hands. ‘All that has happened to you this night. It is too much. Your father—’ Lecanora’s voice cracked as she said the word. She and Rania looked over at the bed at the same time, where Arty was laid, looking very much as though he were simply taking a well deserved nap. He was a grandfatherly type, having a snooze.

  Lecanora quickly looked away. ‘I am not even sure you could song-travel right now, after all the sorcerer did to you.’

  ‘Oh I can do it alright,’ Rania said, her face firing up with color. ‘I could do it a thousand times over. And, what’s more, I want to. I want to find that fucker and nail him to the nearest goddamn reef. This is different now, Lecanora. It’s not about you, or the Queen, or the goddamned prophesy. Or even Aegira. It’s personal.’ She stalked over to the bed where Arty lay, but Lecanora could not bear to watch. Instead, she watched Carragheen, clenching and unclenching his hands, his face slammed shut.

&
nbsp; ‘This man is my father,’ Rania croaked, sitting beside Arty’s body on the bed. ‘And he killed him, like a toy, like someone who meant nothing.’ As she spoke, tears rolled down her face and Lecanora held her breath. She knew how much Rania hated to cry. Rania hiccupped and went on. ‘That bastard killed him just because he wanted something from us, and because Dad tried to protect us. You think I couldn’t make it back to Aegira? I’ll hunt that fucker for the rest of my days if I don’t kill him soon.’

  Larry, who had been sitting at the little table talking on his cell and making notes on a tiny pad, intervened. ‘It’s arranged,’ he said, his face expressionless. ‘My guy will be here in twenty to take Arty.’

  Rania’s face crumpled a little at his words. She dropped a cheek to the white cotton of Arty’s shirt, even though it was soaked with dark red blood. ‘I’m sorry, Dad,’ she whispered. ‘I’m so sorry.’

  Larry walked over and stood beside her, putting his hand on one of her shoulders and rubbing it up and down. ‘You know what he’d say, honey, don’t you?’

  Rania looked up at Larry, a red streak on one of her cheeks. She looked to Lecanora, like an ancient, fearsome warrior, with her wild red eyes and the blood painting her cheek, and then nodded. ‘Yeah,’ she said, smiling a tiny smile. ‘He’d say it was “‘una buona morte”‘.’

  Larry nodded. ‘Yep. A good death. Nothing he would have wanted more than to die being with you, and trying to help you.’ He placed a firm hand on Arty’s chest, right over the enormous bloodstain, and then he looked up. ‘So, what’s decided?’

  Lecanora cleared her throat. ‘Carragheen and Rania are returning home. To Aegira, and my mo—the Queen. Lunia and I will follow as soon as we have connected with Susan Murray.’

  ‘‘Kay,’ Larry said, motioning over to the little table. ‘Doug and I will run point here when you make the rendezvous.’ He looked over at Rania. ‘When you heading off, toots?’