A Touch of Ruin ✓

The Lair of the Sea Witch

"Fate is colder than the Northern seas."

"Do you really want to do this?"

Euphemie's question hung in the air, like the glittering stalactites hanging from above her cave. Just like them, her violet eyes gleamed in the little sunrays which this endless realm of water received.

Mahina raised her eyes in acknowledgement. She had never been surer of anything else in her life. Her tail, a beautiful aquamarine one, swished against the algae covered walls of the cave.

Every moment they wasted was too crucial. They granted that human another minute of life which he did not deserve while her sister lay underneath the seabed, cold and motionless like the dead ones.

She was one of them now, after all.

"You do not understand," said Euphemie. "What you are asking for can cost you a lot. It is like knowing that a storm is coming, but swimming headfirst into its eye."

"Do you think I still care about my safety?"

"You should think about it, you know."

"I don't. Neither should it be your concern."

"As a sorceress, I think it is within my rights to worry about your safety. I shall not let you commit something so reckless without prior warning."

"Would you think about it if it happened to you?"

"Yes, I would."

"Then I should say that you have a heart of stone."

Euphemie grimaced. Mahina frowned. For several long moments, they stared at each other, unblinking; cold topaz icicles clashing with burning violet fire. Waves swished past their ears as did a lone eel.

The obsidian walls of the caves seemed to close around them as they drowned each other in their angry glares. Only the soft splash-splash of the water against the rocks indicated that the scene was not frozen in time.

Euphemie sighed. "Fine, come along with me."

"Finally."

Ignoring her snide, the sea witch turned around. Her purple tail, deep as the colour of her eyes, with the glowing sigils of the first witch Scylla etched on it, flapped against the cave's walls. Mahina followed close by, breath hitched in her throat. Her heart throbbed like that of a fish in flight.

It was just a cave and nothing more; she reassured herself.

Darkness grew engulfed them as they delved deeper within. Not a ray of sunlight pierced in this gloaming. The only light that showed Mahina where they were was the glowing sigils on Euphemie's tail. She could not help but wonder how the witch found her way around?

"Halt."

Mahina stopped abruptly, inches away from hitting her face against Euphemie's shoulders. Wherever they had come, it was even darker than the path through which they had come. She felt that even if the sun was brought underneath the sea, this darkness would not have gone away.

"Stay quiet and do not interfere," Euphemie said, swimming past her. "Do not come near me till I tell you to."

"Fine, I would not."

Euphemie did not answer. Instead, she floated past the siren and stilled in the middle of the chamber within the cave. Taking in a deep breath, she raised her arms above her head, chanting;

"Kyría Skýlla, próti apó tis mágisses, deíxe mou ton drómo."

The flow of water around them stilled, waiting for the events to unfold. A chill crept in through the walls of the cave, unnatural in this warm sea. Teeth chattering, Mahina put her arms around herself.

"Edó érchetai anazitóntas, gnoríste tin epithymía tis kardiás tou. Deíxe mou ton drómo, kyría mou!"

Euphemie's tail radiated such bright light, one would have suspected that she was on fire. Gooseflesh rose on Mahina's exposed skin, but that soon changed into utter fright when she saw the witch's eyes.

Rather the holes where once her eyes resided.

Her lips moved in a chant whose words had become incoherent. Tendrils of her hair floated upwards, touching the unfathomable roof of the cave. The water within grew restless, thumping against the walls.

They sloshed across Mahina's face, who watched the spectacle dumbfounded. For all her life, her sister had told about the great powers of the sea witches, but never had she seen one for herself.

She took in deep breaths and closed her eyes as the waves grew even more furious. With brutal force, they hit her lithe frame, pushing her against the walls. Mahina imagined herself to be within a whirlpool and not a cave. Definitely not a cave.

Then it stopped.

As quickly it had started, the effects of the spell dissipated. The water calmed down. Euphemie's tail ceased to glow with the fiery brightness. Breath returned to Mahina's chest.

"I have answered your request."

Mahina nodded, gaze averted from meeting the witch's face. She did not want to see those black holes. Her poor heart would give away if she did.

"Look at me, Mahina. Do you want this or not?"

With much courage, she looked up. Relief flooded her being when she saw that Euphemie's eyes had returned to normal. She smirked at her.

"Frightened you, didn't I?"

Mahina hissed. "No, you didn't."

"Your face tells another story."

"Forget about my face, would you?"

A high-pitched chuckle escaped Euphemie's lips. "Fine. I better hand these over to you before you decide to kill me with your eyes."

Saying so, she took Mahina's hand and upon it kept a small vial with an inky black liquid within it and a smooth dagger, as dark as the walls of the cave.

"The potion in the vial will exchange your tail for limbs. But have it only after you have reached the shore. Its effect shall last for only three hours." Euphemie said, seriousness returning to countenance.

"This dagger you will only use to slaughter the human prince," she said. "Once his blood graces its blade, lick it all. Not one drop should fall anywhere else lest you desire to create a dark being."

"I would do as you say."

"I pray you do."

"What is its price that you spoke of earlier?"

Euphemie's lips turned into a straight line. "It is no ordinary spell that I will name its price. It claims what it wants to."

Nodding, Mahina turned towards the exit. She was feeling lighter, almost joyous. At last, her day of retribution was here. Gripping the dagger and the vial tightly in her palm, she swam.

She had only just got past the sea witch's inner lair when she heard her calling. Her voice was a mere whisper as the waves carried it, yet each word was crystal clear.

"Remember Mahina Elysian," she heard her say. "Fate is colder than the Northern seas."

~•~