Chapter Twenty-Two

When Caspian arrived back on the island, Marin had gone to start his shift with the gatherers. Caspian stripped out of his suit and pulled on the more comfortable jeans and shirt as he pondered what to do.

Caspian wondered how Marin would take the news of Urion now being vulnerable. They hadn’t spoken of him in a while, but Caspian wasn’t fool enough to believe Marin had forgotten his quest for revenge.

A tiny voice in his head suggested that maybe he wouldn’t have to tell Marin anything. The former sea dragons were a long way south, many miles from the new colony, and it would be a dangerous journey for the Atlanteans, if they intended to continue on their current route at all.

They might never reach the new colony. They could head for the nearest land mass and start new lives, as they should have done the day his father had banished the rest of their people.

Unfortunately, common sense told him that sooner or later Marin would find out, and if he thought Caspian had kept it from him, he would never forgive him.

Instinct told Caspian that the Atlanteans would head for the new colony, following the orders of their goddess. It wouldn’t be hard for them to acquire basic weapons and even tridents weren’t entirely outside the realm of possibility.

A knock on the door announced Jake’s arrival.

“Hey, there you are,” Jake said as Caspian opened the door. “Are we working today or what?”

“Sure. What time is it?”

“After eleven,” Jake replied. “I’ve dug out a couple of rows for seeds, but I wasn’t sure what you wanted to plant.”

Caspian checked the seed supply in the cupboard. He still wasn’t sure what to plant when. Tempest might have set up a weather system, but the seasons didn’t necessarily follow any pattern he was familiar with. All he could do was hope she hadn’t included a hurricane season.

Grabbing a couple of packets, he followed Jake back outside.

“So, Marin said you’d been summoned to a meeting of the pantheon,” Jake commented as they set to work. “Have they restored your powers?”

“No, that’s never going to happen. Did Marin think that was the reason I’d been called?”

“He feels it’s his fault you were made mortal. I think maybe he’s hoping if you get your powers back, he can let go of that guilt.”

Caspian wished there was some way to ease his guilt, but he suspected there was nothing he could do, other than live his life to the fullest and show Marin he had no regrets.

“So, are you going to tell me what the meeting was about?” Jake asked. “Or is it top secret classified information?”

Caspian laughed. “No, it’s not. I’m sure you’ll find out sooner or later anyway. The situation with Mariana and her sea dragons reached the breaking point. The pantheon stripped her of her powers and immortality this morning.”

“Does Fabian know?” Jake asked. “Even though she disowned him, she’s still his mother.”

“I suspect Medina will be stopping by to tell him.”

Jake gave him a dubious look. “She’s not exactly tactful. Are you sure you don’t want to go tell him first?”

Caspian wasn’t sure he wanted to be the one to tell Fabian, but Jake had a point. “Come on. Let’s go see him.”

They arrived at Fabian’s house only to find Medina had already beaten them to it.

“I see you’re here to tell Fabian the news,” Medina said. “I’m afraid you’re a little late.”

Fabian nodded. Caspian didn’t think he appeared overly upset at hearing that his mother had been stripped of her powers.

“How are you taking it?” Caspian asked as he sat down in a nearby chair.

Fabian shrugged. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Save for her priests and a handful of humans, the mer are all who are left who believe in the Atlantean gods. The more of those who die, the weaker every immortal in the pantheon grows.”

“Except for Mariana,” Medina concluded.

Caspian hadn’t even thought about it that way. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that the gods were just as concerned for themselves as for the mer. Still, if it helped the mer, he couldn’t really say anything. Besides, it was too late now. The decision had been made.

“How’s Marin taking the news?” Fabian asked. “Is he eager to go track down Urion?”

“I haven’t told him yet,” Caspian replied. “He’d already gone to work by the time I returned.”

“You know he’s going to want to swim off and find Urion as soon as he knows.”

“I’m hoping I can talk him out of it.”

Fabian raised an eyebrow.

“I know. I know,” Caspian muttered. “I won’t be able to stop him or keep him safe.”

“I will watch over him on his journey,” Medina offered.

“Thank you, but I’m hoping that he’ll at least wait and see if they come here, rather than facing the hazards of the journey as well as the priests.”

“You believe Marin has the patience for that?” Fabian asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Even if he does agree to wait, what happens if Urion and the others decide not to come to the colony?”

“His patience will run out eventually,” Caspian said.

Medina nodded. “It seems to me that we need a way to bring Urion here, and since two of you are human and Jake has some strange aversion to deep water, I guess it’s up to me.”

“Aunt Medi, what are you suggesting?”

Medina smiled. “I believe the priests will head to the colony on their own, but I don’t think any of us need the stress of a prolonged wait for them to swim all this way. I can have them all brought here in the blink of an eye.”

Caspian was well aware that she had the power to do that. He would have been able to do the same himself before his powers were taken.

Fabian nodded thoughtfully. “I have an idea.”

“Yes?” Caspian asked. He was open to any suggestions that would keep Marin safe from harm.

“Urion is Atlantean, and as such, he should respect the traditions of our people. Whether it is justice or vengeance Marin wants, he could get both if he challenged Urion to single combat.”

Caspian wasn’t sure he liked the idea of Marin fighting Urion at all, but the Atlantean tradition would at least impose some rules on them.

“If Marin challenges, Urion would get the choice of weapons,” Medina said. “What do you think he would pick?”

“Tridents,” Fabian replied. “His aim with any type of throwing weapon was never very good. His talents lie with swords and tridents, and he will prefer the trident for its ability to produce sea-fire.”

Caspian nodded. “Marin did improve his skills with a trident a great deal, but he hasn’t been practicing recently.”

“He’ll need to,” Fabian said. “Urion was a great fighter, and while he won’t be at his best after all these years, he shouldn’t be underestimated. If he does intend to continue driving the mer from the sea, he’ll be refreshing his skills every day.”

Caspian nodded as he mulled over the various possibilities in his mind. Where would Marin wish the fight to take place? As a merman, he was more comfortable in the water, but he had been doing most of his training on land. If he chose to fight in the water, Caspian would be able to do nothing except pace on the beach and wait for the outcome.

Urion hadn’t been on land or in human form for years. Marin might have a slight advantage there, even if he was more at home underwater the rest of the time.

“I have to talk to Marin before we decide anything,” Caspian said.

“You would let him challenge Urion?” Jake asked.

“I wouldn’t like it, but I’d rather he face him in a ruled fight that he’s prepared for than be ambushed somewhere.”

Caspian didn’t want Marin to fight Urion, but he couldn’t stand in his way either. Marin deserved his support and nothing less.

 

* * * *

 

Marin stored the sea fruits he’d brought home in the fridge. The fact that he was starting to think of Caspian’s house as his home wasn’t lost on him. Caspian sat at the table, looking as though he wanted to say something but seemed hesitant to do so.

“What is it?” Marin asked. “Does it have something to do with the meeting this morning?”

“Yes.”

Marin closed the fridge, hung up his net on the wall hook and slid into Caspian’s arms. “How about we don’t worry about the gods and just pick things up where we left off this morning?”

Caspian chuckled. “It’s tempting, but I have something to tell you and it probably shouldn’t wait.”

Marin sighed. “Is this something that’s going to kill my erection?”

“Probably.”

Marin rubbed up against Caspian’s leg, humping him gently. “Then I guess I’d better hurry up with this before you ruin the mood.”

“I’m serious,” Caspian said as he tried to slip out of Marin’s range. “It’s about Urion.”

Marin glanced down at his wilting cock. “Yeah, that’ll do it. What about him?”

“He’s human again.”

Marin stumbled and gripped the edge of the table. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve not seen him with my own eyes, but yes, I’m as sure as I can be. Mariana was stripped of her powers this morning, and as such, her magic has been undone.”

“She’s mortal?”

“Yes. Her parents are going to be relocating her somewhere on land, just as I have done. Unlike me, she didn’t agree to her punishment, so she had no time to prepare or build her home in advance.”

“And her priests can’t turn back into sea dragons on their own?”

“No. The power came from their goddess and now she no longer has it.”

“Are you sure? I mean, you created this island and home magically, but it’s still here after you’ve lost your powers.”

“That’s because the pantheon had no objection to this use of my powers and my mother has ensured the continuation of my spells here.”

“Where’s Urion now?”

“Somewhere in the Pacific, headed toward the colony, the last we heard.”

“Do you think they’ll still come here, now that they’re human again?”

“I don’t know. They may decide to go to the nearest stretch of land. Only time will tell what their plans are.”

Marin wondered what he would do if he were in their position. “They’ll try to contact their goddess.”

“Maybe, but they won’t get very far. She won’t hear their prayers any more than I can now hear those who call out to me.”

Caspian took hold of Marin’s hands, and Marin realized he was shaking. “Marin, you know you don’t have to see him, not ever, if you don’t want to.”

Marin didn’t know what to say, but Caspian wasn’t finished.

“If you do still intend to face him, we’ve been talking about it.”

“Who’s we?”

“Me, Fabian, Jake and Medina.”

“And?” Marin prompted. “Oh, let me guess. What’s the best way to stop me from killing him?”

Caspian shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t do that to you. I know how much you want to see him pay. What we thought was that you might challenge Urion to single combat. That way the other priests can’t interfere in the fight and there will be rules you’ll both have to follow.”

“What sort of rules?”

“Well, if you challenge Urion, you get to pick the location of the fight, but he chooses the weapons. Fabian thinks he’ll pick tridents, and I have to say that I agree with him.”

“Would I be allowed to kill him?” Marin asked. “Or is one of the rules that if the loser concedes defeat, the victor has to allow him to walk away?”

“You get to decide whether you fight to the death or to first blood. But be warned, you cannot change your mind partway through. If you say it is to the death, that is what you fight to.”

Marin nodded. “And how would I find him to issue the challenge?”

“Medina could bring him here, though I think we should do a little more training before you fight him.”

“I should have been practicing daily,” Marin scolded himself. “Instead I’ve been—”

“Getting on with your life?” Caspian suggested.

Marin walked over to the wall and took down the trident that hung there. “Can we practice now?”

Caspian grabbed a second trident and gestured to the front door. “Not in here. I can’t magically fix the damage now.”

Marin nodded and they headed outside. The sun was still high. They could get a few hours practice in before the light was gone.

They worked on balance and footwork, conjuring and aiming sea-fire and combat that was both up close and from a distance.

Marin could tell Caspian was tiring, but he didn’t ask to stop.

Finally, Marin brought things to a halt and the two of them collapsed onto the grass of the clearing.

“Am I good enough to take him on?” Marin asked. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.

Caspian didn’t answer straight away, and when he did, it wasn’t the answer Marin wanted to hear. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen Urion fight. I don’t know his strengths or weaknesses.”

“At least his strength is no longer being a sea dragon,” Marin offered.

“Good point.” Caspian sat up and rubbed at his arms.

“Cold?”

“A little.”

“Sorry. I tend to forget that the mer don’t feel the cold as much as humans do.”

“I’ll soon warm up once we’re back inside,” Caspian assured him. “Come on. Let’s call it a night, and tomorrow I’ll ask Fabian to come over and join our practice. I might not have seen Urion fight, but he has. He might have some tips to offer.”

Marin nodded and they went home together. There was no longer any question of Marin returning to the colony at night. Even though the Atlanteans wouldn’t reach the area for some considerable time, Caspian didn’t want to risk him running into Urion before he was ready.