Dark Waters

Chapter 6

When Tyler and I swam up to the pilings, Ra'loreh was waiting for us. I lifted my brother out of the water and sat him down on the lowest piling, letting the both of us catch our breath. My bodyguard swam around from the back of the wooden structure and treaded water silently in Tyler's line of vision, waiting to be noticed. Tyler looked up from swinging his legs and turned his penetrating gaze on the merman. He held his now-damp octopus calmly in his lap.

"Hello," said Ra'loreh.

"Hello, sir."

"You must be Tyler."

"I am."

"Marin brought you out here to come live with us."

"Yes. May I?"

"I think we might allow that." Ra'loreh looks at the sodden toy in my brother's lap. "Let's see if nothing can be done about that octopus." Dutifully, my brother handed over O'Malley. Inch by inch, Ra'loreh wrung out the stuffed toy, which produced a surprising amount of water despite the fact that Tyler had taken great pains to keep it dry. The guard blew on the toy a few times and handed it back to Tyler.

"Hmm, that's odd," remarked my brother like a musing artist. "I've never seen him dry out so fast. What did you do?"

"Someday I'll teach you. Shall we go?"

Plop! Tyler slid off the piling into the water. Having spent much of his life at the beach, he was an excellent swimmer for a four-year-old. He kicked his short legs to keep himself afloat.

"Take a breath and hold it," I told him. Together the three of us sank below the surface.

Once under the water, I was surprised to find it difficult to hold my breath again. Tyler's face was screwed up a bit as he concentrated on keeping his air. Rather stiffly and with a tint to his cheeks, Ra'loreh blew fresh air into my lungs. I sighed in relief and turned to share the breath with my brother. His eyes lit up when the world sharpened back into focus for him. He paddled excitedly in a circle, then approached Ra'loreh and ran a tiny finger down his scales.

"You were telling the truth, Marin. They're merpeople!"

"Didn't you believe me?" I asked with a smile.

"I was skeptical." What four year old says skeptical? Only my brother. "I thought maybe you'd hit your head a little bit and weren't thinking straight. But you are right."

Ra'loreh shook his head and smiled at me. I reached out my hand and grasped Tyler's little palm. Ra'loreh took hold of his other hand and we swam downwards. At the edge of the total blackness, we halted. Tyler peered into it as though he could see clear to the other side.

"Does anyone have a nightlight?" he asked. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. I chuckled and swung him onto my back before grasping Ra'loreh's hand. We nodded to each other as he began to swim forward. "Hey, Tyler, can you sing 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' with me?" I asked.

~~~~~

Our strange little caravan emerged from the dark waters, Ra'loreh toting me, me toting Tyler, and Tyler toting O'Malley. My brother shook his head, sending a storm of bubbles floating out of his hair.

"That was interesting," he remarked calmly, and began to swim downwards towards the sprawling undersea civilization that had taken my breath away the first time I saw it. He didn't seem at all put out by it.

"What an amazing child," noted Ra'loreh next to me.

"He's a funny kid," I replied. "Not a lot phases him."

Ra'loreh chuckled again. "Come on, let's go catch up to him before he gets lost."

Tyler was nearly down to the marketplace when we reached him. "What took you so long?" he inquired.

"Slow swimmers," I said, took his hand, and swam towards Aelaria's home. He floated contentedly along next to me and wiggled his fingers at the people we passed. When we passed a fish or some other form of marine life, he would take O'Malley's leg and wave at them with it. I laughed and we kept moving.

Outside the house, Aelaria and her family were waiting for us. Tyler latched immediately onto the twins and the baby that had reminded me so much of him. A few of the other young children joined the group, and they began to play a complex game of tag that they all seemed to understand, despite none of them having laid out rules.

Aelaria swam over at top speed and embraced me tightly. She held my shoulders at arms length like she was making sure I was still whole.

"Nothing happened?" she asked in a worried voice.

"No complications," I replied confidently, conveniently forgetting to tell her that my father had almost caught us while we were leaving. She hugged me again, and her whole family joined in. I was at the center of a constantly shifting ring of arms and shoulders, chests and faces and tails, and I was held tight by so many people. I loved the feeling of acceptance that radiated towards me. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was part of a family. Wriggling like a worm through the sand, Tyler made his way to the center of the vortex of love of and squirmed up to my arms. I held him and he buried his face in the curve of my neck. A small contented noise escaped him, and I knew that he was feeling what I was feeling.

"Did I come at a bad time?" said a man somewhere in front of me, outside the ring of hugs. I recognized him as Lanntryns, sounding as though he was extremely nervous.

Aelaria and her clan disbanded their circle, and the children went back to their game, although Tyler stayed snuggled in my arms. Ra'loreh stood off the the side of the yard, looking awkward, and Lanntryns was staring at me and my brother contemplatively.

"Hello Marin," he greeted me fondly. "Is this your brother?"

"Yes," I replied. "Say hello, Tyler." He remained silent. I was surprised at him. Usually he was quietly polite, and I was baffled as to his immediate aversion to the merman.

"Hello Tyler. I've heard a lot about you," Lanntryns tried. Still Tyler said nothing.

"What's wrong, silly?" I teased him, poking his cheek in an attempt to get a smile out of him. I got no response. Lanntryns coughed uncomfortably.

"Well, I'll... I'll go say hello to Aelaria, then." He swam away rather briskly.

"What's the matter, Tyler?" I asked my brother, genuinely concerned now. I seated him on a rock near me. "Are you alright?"

"Marin, I don't like him. I don't trust him." I blinked, taken aback.

"Well, why not?" I asked, trying very hard not to be defensive.

"He's not good. He's... I can't explain it, Marin. But he isn't right."

I furrowed my eyebrows and stared at Tyler for a long minute. Normally he was a very verbal child and had a knack for expressing himself that no other kids his age did. Even I wasn't as articulate as him sometimes. I probably would have stared at him for another hour, trying to grasp what he wanted to tell me, but Lanntryns swam back over.

"Marin, if you're not busy, I'd like to take you sightseeing. I've never shown you the Garden of Pearls."

Tyler had gone stoic again, staring at Lanntryns blankly. I knew that behind his quietly pensive eyes, mistrust for the merman simmered. I flicked up my eyebrows in his direction, asking his permission. He gave me an almost imperceptible shrug. I guess, sure. What a mystery my brother was.

"Sounds like fun. Let's go," I replied, and Lanntryns offered me his arm before we swam off towards the open sea.

A/N: Sorry again for the late update. School is crazy busy. On the plus side, I'm hoping to have another chapter up by around the middle of next week. After that, I'm not sure how often I'll have a chance to write, but I'll do my best!