Page 44 of Leviathan's Song
He paused for a minute, watching. “That guy over there”—he nodded surreptitiously to another sprite standing on a park bench—“is trying to convince two of the more aggressive ones that their time would be better spent elsewhere. They’re making the rest of the group look bad.”
The male Levi indicated appeared to be one of the oldest in the group, if I could judge by his paunchy build and hazed-over eyes. He was clearly worn thin by his peers but seemed to be holding his own in his debate with the other two sprites, and he was keeping a calm demeanor even while frustrated. He had an air of authority about him, and I decided he was probably my contact.
I took a seat on another nearby bench to wait for a break in his conversation, rather than risk being pelted with coppers by the protesters in the fountain. The tiny man didn’t make me wait long, waving off his companions and lifting off the park bench to drift over toward us.
Fairies didn’t have wings quite the way most humans imagined them, but their magic allowed them to fly, even the sprites who lived underwater. His path was lazy and a little wobbly, and I suspected his energy was probably depleted.
It was surprising to see someone like him, whose magic felt very sharp and strong—my reading said he could control ocean currents on a whim—unable to keep a short flight path steady. He’d probably spent at least a week on the surface, only heading back to the water to recharge when he absolutely had to.
“Golemancer?” he asked wearily as he alighted on the bench next to me. At my nod, he sighed deeply and introduced himself, “I am Arvad Ren, one of the Elder… council from The Deep.” His words were slow and measured, as if he chose them carefully as he spoke. It was obvious by his speech patterns that our tongue wasn’t native to him, but I was so touched he’d made such an effort to communicate with me.
I inclined my head to him briefly, since trying to shake his tiny hand would be awkward and strange, seeing as his entire body could fit in my own hand.
“It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ren. My name is Elara Hawthorne. This is Levi Navarre. He can act as a translator if needed,” I introduced. “Would it be more comfortable for us to speak at the tide pools?”
The luminescent markings his body bore seemed greatly faded compared to the other sprites I’d interacted with, though whether that was due to his age or separation from the ocean, I didn’t know. Regardless, the least I could do was try to make sure the man was comfortable while I took up his time.
Arvad’s eyes lit up at the suggestion, but then he hesitated, until Levi interjected, “My skin has been peeling lately, so I would love to spend some time at the tide pools.”
I felt my eyebrows pull down in confusion because I’d never noticed any skin peeling on him before, and he could visit the pools any time he wanted. But then Arvad acquiesced and seemed relieved at the idea, and I realized Levi had spoken for the sprite’s benefit.
When we arrived at the rocky section of beach, I found a dry piece of sun-bleached driftwood and settled in to wait as Arvad gratefully submerged himself in a craggy puddle. Levi quietly excused himself and made his way over to a large crop of thorny-looking succulent plants nestled in some sand back by the cliffs. I didn’t have time to wonder as he bent toward one of the larger plants because Arvad floated to the edge of the pool closest to me, watching me with only his overly large eyes breaking the surface of the water.
“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today, Mr. Ren,” I said sincerely.
“You call me Arvad,” he said slowly, lifting just enough that his toothy mouth rose out of the water before sinking back down to his eyes. “This is much better,” he sighed, drifting slightly in the pool. He turned his head briefly to survey Levi before narrowing his gaze at me. “What is your relationship with the mer?”
Did he mean Levi? Or the mer in general? “Levi doesn’t readily identify as a mer, but he’s my…” I hesitated. I wasn’t sure exactly what to call us. “Boyfriend?” That seemed as good a fit as any, even if it felt weird on my tongue. He was mine. That was what mattered. “Other than him, I’ve never met a mer in my life.” I didn’t count Levi’s father. We hadn’t really been introduced.
“He is a singer though, no?” he asked, lifting his face out of the water just enough to glance over at Levi. “I can feel his magic in his words.” He seemed suspicious of Levi as he narrowed his eyes at him. It reminded me that Muriel Ta’nith, the liaison, had shown a similar reaction.
“He is a siren, yes,” I confirmed. “You’re welcome to ask him about his heritage yourself.” What response he’d get, I couldn’t guess. Levi was as touchy about his bloodlines as Jordan was about his vampirism.
“I’m sure you have many other things you need to be doing, so I’ll try not to take too much of your time. I just wanted to speak with some people from your community so I could better understand what I’ve been asked to do and some of the dynamics at play with the Alliance.”
Just then, Levi approached, holding several thick stalks of the spiky plant. He split the skin with his thumb, peeling the top layer back and revealing some dripping clear tissue inside. He dug a chunk out and bent down to offer some to Arvad, speaking to him quickly in Abyssean, and then demonstrated rubbing some of the liquid into his own skin.
Arvad climbed gingerly out of the little pool and took some of the goop, volleying questions at Levi in curious tones.
Finally, Levi looked up at me. “I’m just explaining that the plant will help with his—” He paused to search for a word. “—slime coat? The barrier on his skin that protects him. Being out of water is hard for them, and this will help. And he wanted to know about my affiliation with the mer. I’ve explained that I have nothing to do with the Alliance, nor do I want to.”
Levi took a seat on a rock near the pool and began methodically stripping the tough outer skin off of the plant stalks. He had a large, wide leaf from another plant, which he laid out next to him and deposited the inner tissue of the thorny plant onto.
I turned my attention to Arvad, who was busily smearing the tiny chunk of plant all over his body. He lifted his eyes to Levi and watched him as he sat, quietly making himself useful, before speaking to me.
“Ask me questions. I will answer.”
I smiled briefly. Something about his bluntness was endearing.
“Can you tell me about the Alliance?”
“Alliance… we all have war treaties, so we won’t fight. All the ocean peoples have someone to stand for them in the council. Lots of talking. Too much talking. Mer are bossy—” He clicked his teeth shut and glanced at Levi, who nodded in agreement but didn’t take his eyes off his work, until Arvad looked away, at least. Then he glanced at me with a playful leer and wiggled his eyebrows. The idea of him ‘being bossy’ made my face hot, and I quickly refocused on Arvad.
“Mer is biggest group on the council, so they decide all the things,” Arvad continued. There was resentment in his tone, and suddenly things started clicking into place for me. No one liked to have an outside group making decisions for them, especially when that group didn’t hold up their part of the bargain—like protection.
“What is it you want to do?” he asked. “You make a golem for the Alliance?” he guessed as he dipped to scoop seawater from the pool and massage it into his skin. As he did, the markings on his body began to glow just a little bit brighter.
“A sprite named Adonci Tyr came for me in the Void with a heartstone and a note asking me to provide a golem for defense of The Deep.” Arvad nodded with a deep frown but didn’t appear surprised, which told me he’d already heard about it. “Now the Alliance is requesting I make a golem for them, but I have some reservations about doing so. Why is this Alliance requesting the golem instead of the sprites? If the sprites own the heartstones, shouldn’t you be requesting the service yourselves?”
