The Pearls of Arcadia: Book two in Saltwater Series

By Susan Sowerby

Saltwater Series Synopsis (Trilogy)

An ancient race from the Deep Ocean, keepers of seven mysterious orbs, are faced with the massive task of re aligning a fractured Earth. They are desperate for human assistance but remain hidden for fear of violence.

When sixteen-year-old Finn discovers he is half sea-born, he find

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Sowerby
• Release date: Mar 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9780975812044

Susan Sowerby

Susan Sowerby lives, sculpts and writes in the West Australian surfing town of Margaret River. She is best known for her sculptures of sea-drenched mermaids and mer-men, but also sings and paints. She has written and illustrated several children's books. 'Spring forgot to Come,' with its colorful illustrations is free on her website.Susan is the author of 'Saltwater in the Soul,' the first novel in a series of three. She is fascinated by myth and legend which she sees as a way to understand more deeply the human condition. For this reason, she includes some myths in her fantasy novels. She holds the firm belief that our stories mark the progress of our civilizations.Susan has three grown sons and lives on a conservation property near the south-west Australian surfing town of Margaret River, in a little cottage surrounded by various forms of wild life. She is in love with Mother Earth and will always remain so.

Book preview

1

Origins

‘I tell you, no woman has lived until she’s been made love to underwater by a lover who is breathing for her. It takes trust to a whole new level.’ Mum blinked away a tear. I couldn’t believe she’d hidden the bizarre truth about my father for the whole of my life.

The island wind blew up, hammering hard against the walls of my little hideout where we brought her that day, the day she escaped my stepfather. I stirred the peat fire to life and it flared briefly, illuminating the silver streaks of sadness that trickled down her face and dripped from her chin.

‘Tell me, mum,’ I begged, ‘Tell me everything you know about my real father.’

Despite seventeen years of misery, my mother had somehow managed to hang on to the beauty that had drawn terrible misfortune to her. I knew how hard it must have been to live with my father’s murderer, but I believed I had a right to know exactly what happened.

Uncle Torquil’s bottle of Drambuie offered itself from the sideboard. It seemed to give a sly wink, so I snatched it up and pushed a glass towards her hoping it would loosen her tongue and help her find the words I desperately needed to hear. It dawned on me that while I’d never known my real father, neither had I known my real mother. Here, at last, was my chance.

‘Go on, mum,’ I urged, ‘I have to know.’ The battering wind ceased as though holding its breath. It’s alive here on the Isle of Erraid and seems to echo what I feel, as though it knows my darkest secret as well as my greatest joy.

In the glow of the fire, mum’s face suddenly burst into a smile. ‘I knew your first question would be about your father, Finn. I can tell you now. Before, you wouldn’t have been able to bear it, not with Alf Webster around.’ She was referring to the miscreant who is my stepfather.

My girlfriend, Bridget, caught my hand and squeezed it to show her support. Torquil, my recently found and much-admired uncle was also present. I suspected he bore a strong resemblance to my father, and though I could see mum found his company disturbing, she cleared her throat and began to talk.

‘I met your father when I’d almost completed the Channel swim. It was the second time around. A rowdy pod of dolphins joined me, looping and diving through the green water. I tried hard not to be distracted, but when the sun burst through the clouds, I looked down and saw a human face directly below me. It glided along, gazing up, cradled by the sea. A sun beam penetrated the water, briefly giving the face a radiant halo, but more astonishing was that the powerful human body melted away to become a majestic dolphin tail.’

Bridge lay her head on my shoulder. From the moment we met, my fey Irish lass had known there was something unusual about me, even before I did.

Mum smiled. ‘That face shattered all the willpower I’d focused on reaching the shores of Brittany. I froze, thinking my fatigued mind was playing tricks, afraid it was trying to sabotage me. I was almost there, pushing my last record hard, and my body felt leaden with exhaustion.

‘In a rippling explosion of speed, the face vanished. I stalled, not knowing what was more important – to break my record or pursue the astonishing creature I thought I’d seen. Confused, I hung, stunned, wasting precious seconds.’

The shadow of a smile skipped across her lips and sparkled in her eyes while she remembered him, and she continued. ‘As though realising what he’d done, he reappeared. A flick of his powerful tail brought him ahead of me. In the hazy green distance, he aligned himself with the coast so I could then pursue both goals. He let me catch up until I was drawn along in his slipstream. I began to move as he did and it seemed as though the water became soft as silk.’

She laughed. ‘As I dragged my exhausted body towards shore, a voice called out that I’d broken my past record by more than two minutes. The boat behind me and the crowd in front erupted. The cheers changed in pitch and intensity as I turned away and plunged back towards the English coast. My trainer, who intercepted me from the rescue boat, thought I was suffering from disorientation and insisted on pulling me up. I fought him, saying,

‘I’ve seen something, I’ve seen…a…a…merman! Even to my fatigue-addled mind it sounded ridiculous. He laughed and kept hauling me in while everyone clapped and cheered. They wrapped me in blankets, and realising it would be futile to go on resisting, I sank down in the boat and allowed the warmth and exhaustion to overwhelm me.’

Bridget and I sat rapt, squashed together on top of the peat bin. I was a bit short of seats in my tiny croft. My uncle, half-born brother to my father, sat on the chair opposite, leaning forward, his eyes focused intently on mum. The sea outside waited.

Mum tucked her feet up on my ragged old couch and continued. ‘I thought I’d never see such a creature again, and came to believe what I’d been told, which was that I’d suffered some form of hallucination due to exhaustion. After that, my instructor insisted I train in pools most of the time. I hated it, the unnatural taste and the chemical feel of chlorine on my skin felt abhorrent. I was in the ocean whenever I could be, lured by the memory of that face. Then one day, he returned.’

Torquil made a sharp movement. His mother had told him his sea-born father had never returned.

I listened as mum said her Aunt Evie lived near Bigbury by the Sea, so she found excuses to visit her often. She went there every holiday in her last school year.

‘When the dolphins came in, so did my MM. He just seemed to know when I was there. I’ve always called him ‘MM,’ short for merman because his real name was a noise so outlandish it almost blew my eardrums. I never spoke about him because he didn’t want me to. He was my heart-held secret.’

Bridget smiled. She has always said there are many throwbacks walking around in the world today, and that these people struggle with a profound longing for the sea. As mum spoke, I believed I could hear the sea-born gene echoing through her voice.

‘Together we played like children among waves even with other people around. They couldn’t see his tail and if they ever did, I’m sure they believed it was a false one. Sometimes we sported with Dolphins. I loved the beautiful innocence of him and mimicked the way he moved. My swimming improved so much I gained the interest of the international swimming community.’

Mum sipped her Drambuie and stared into the distance. She must have felt wistful for the life she couldn’t live. ‘One day, he seemed anxious to show me something. We couldn’t communicate through language as his was like the melodic call of whales, but he managed to convey it was something very important to him and indicated it lay far out to sea. Since the weather offered an encouraging smile, I clung to his muscular bicep with the naive trust of youth and let him tow me way out past Land’s End. We sped through the waves at such a tremendous pace it beggared belief. I’d never had so much fun. Then he literally took my breath away. Putting his mouth over mine, he dragged me down beneath the waves and breathed for me as we sped along even faster, sometimes spiraling, sometimes rocketing like a torpedo. I was ecstatic. I was in love. I would have done anything for him.’

She glanced around at our intent faces. ‘I have no idea where we ended up, but it must have been down very deep because the light appeared dim and I could feel the water pressure on my eardrums. It hurt a little bit. Remembering an old diver’s trick, I held my nose and blew hard. The pressure equalised with a little pop. I could make out what looked like the coral encrusted arches of graceful, ruined buildings. Tall turrets reached upwards into the lighter blue above. They sprouted from the roofs of what appeared to be huge sunken cathedrals.’

‘The lost city of Atlantis?’ Torquil enquired.

She nodded. ‘I wondered. Though my MM kept our breath going, he seemed distracted, intent on searching for something. I felt sure he could see a whole lot better than I could, for he didn’t appear to have need of light. His eyes glowed a cat-like green in the dark. All this was exhilarating and very strange, yet up to that point I had not felt afraid. I felt safe and protected.

‘We spent a long time floating down dark tunnels and through ruined coral arches and though I could see very little, I didn’t mind. I thought he was giving me a guided tour, mer-style, but at the same time, I sensed he was still searching. As we glided along, his breath was my breath. I became one with him, encircled by his arms, enveloped in his confidence. I wanted us to stay as close as possible, forever. Then I spotted something unusual. Through the velvet darkness a soft radiance emanated from under shards of rock which looked like a massive shattered altar.’

‘Orb?’ Bridge gasped, jerking my attention back to the room.

Mum glanced a question her way, but continued. ‘I tugged MM towards it. I doubt he was able to spot the subtle glow because it seemed he saw everything as though in bright daylight. I suppose it didn’t show up for him. When we reached it, I moved a small rock and exposed what seemed to be a huge pulsing pearl. I was dumbfounded and thought it might be dangerous but he didn’t hesitate to gather it up, croon tenderly and cradle it to his chest as though it was a long-lost child.

I felt overjoyed that I’d found something so precious to him. Our faces were inches apart as the eerie glow lit up his expression. Though I’d never seen him smile and of course he couldn’t with his mouth fixed to mine, it was clear he felt ecstatic. In that moment I could not have been happier, but in the next, an awful thought struck me. What if he abandons me since I’ve found the precious thing he’s been searching for? Had I been foolish in believing I was the important one? Not a good feeling when one has allowed oneself to be drawn deep below the surface of the ocean and has become so utterly dependent on the other for breath, the most basic element of life. Had he cast a spell on me and would he now throw me aside to die on the bottom of the sea?’ She gazed into the fire. ‘To find the pearl with human eyes may have been his intent in the beginning, but I know he fell in love with me in the end.

She paused. All of us were riveted.

‘That was the first giant pearl. He plaited it securely into his hair as I pressed our lips together, breathing, my arms tightly wound around his neck. I was amazed at the speed and dexterity with which those clawed, webbed fingers worked. The pearl lit up his head like a god, making him look as I’d seen him the first time in the Channel. He was my Adonis, but I had no idea if gods really care about humans. When he indicated there might be another pearl hidden in the area, I could feel the excitement shivering through his body.

‘That was when we saw a movement above us and we were suddenly joined by unwanted company. Six human divers in dark wetsuits descended, rudely probing the sacred darkness with strong torches. We squeezed into a crevice as they passed way too close. I was afraid they would see the glow of the pearl, which I shielded as best I could with my cupped hands. They seemed intent on their mission. One after the other, they turned out their lights. This made me believe their human eyes were searching for the same object I had found.’

‘Surely they saw you!’ questioned Torquil.

Mum shook her head. ‘We crouched among the coral ruins while I held tight to my MM. The pearl felt alive and seemed to pulse gently under my hands. All the while, I continued to draw breath and life from my love in a divine rhythmic flow.

‘But what about your bubbles? They must have seen your bubbles.’ Torquil insisted.

‘The group didn’t seem at all curious about my bubbles, probably because that area of the sea seems to be riddled with fissures and warm effervescent springs. Those and my MM kept me from the cold down there. When they disappeared into the ruins, we made our escape towards the entrance and waited behind a huge barnacle encrusted pillar. I felt nervous and wanted to leave but MM refused to budge. About twenty minutes later the group emerged carrying another glowing object in a string bag.

‘So that’s how we ended up with two of them?’ said Bridge.

Mum nodded. ‘I felt MM’s muscles tense and was alarmed when I realised he was about to leave me to go after another pearl. My worst fear had come to pass because I knew there was no way I could make it to the surface. ‘Before he let go of me, he breathed long into my lungs. When they reached bursting point, he thrust me upwards with tremendous force. I wasted time looking back, scared about what would happen to him if he tackled six humans single-handedly. I should have thought of saving myself, but in that split second, I saw the torch-light catch him as he skimmed past them like an arrow, tearing the bag from their hands. They would have had no idea what hit them.

Mum said she headed for the surface using all her strength, not knowing how far it was to air and safety. ‘I felt devastated that my merman, the love of my short life, had abandoned me to death. My heart and lungs writhed in agony, my mind had lost its grip when something hit me from below and thrust me to the surface. Sun drenched my face as I snatched massive, painful gulps of air. Black and gold stars blurred my vision. The next moment, I was pulled down again, but not before I’d caught a glimpse of a huge white ship decked out with everything imaginable. It looked like an amazing floating paradise. On board, a near naked blonde jumped up, pointed and screamed as I went under,

‘Look, look, a mermaid!’

‘Those divers must have come off that rig,’ Torquil stated.

Mum shrugged, ‘Probably, though I saw another boat not far away. My MM hovered well down, one arm around me while the other clutched the string bag. It contained what appeared to be a large glowing shell. Though we could hear a speed boat whining overhead, we knew they didn’t have a hope of catching us. I couldn’t control my joy. My MM was still by my side! My whole body shook with pure relief. He had trouble supplying me with air when I laughed because bubbles leaked from between our interlocked lips.

‘By the time we made it back to Bigbury, evening had fallen. Elated, we held each other on the shore, rocking back and forth. He crooned his joy first in one of my ears, then the other. It was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. Our mission had been a success. Still, a niggling fear persisted that my MM might leave me now I’d fulfilled his mission. Instead, he held me as though I was as precious as his radiant pearls. We snuggled close in a little cove near the river mouth while a rich full moon rose majestically over the sea. I pointed to the glowing objects. What were they? He began to mound up little bumps of sand in a circle. I think he was indicating a place where he thought there might be more, lost on dry land maybe? In a stone circle perhaps? I clung to the hope that if it was on dry land, he would have reason to keep me close.’

She stared into the fire. ‘At that point even more exciting things began to happen. He proved his love for me, body and soul.’

My heart jumped in my chest. ‘But I thought you said I was conceived in the sea!’ This fact was vital to me. It is the key to metamorphosis.

‘You were!’ she answered. ‘As I said before, no woman has lived until she’s been made love to underwater by a lover who is breathing for her.’

Torquil snorted from his chair and I could feel my ears burn a little. His mother had told him he was conceived on land, which barred him from transformation. I felt pleased this was not the case with me and though I felt a bit embarrassed, I leaned close and whispered to Bridget.

‘You’re allergic to saltwater, damn it!’ Then I stopped as I remembered the worst of my mother’s story was yet to come. I knew my stepfather murdered my father, but I didn’t know how or where it happened.

An anguished sob escaped from mum and extinguished her flicker of mirth. ‘He could have rushed away and forsaken me. How I wish he had. We retreated back to the cove and lay for hours in each other’s arms, needing no words. Suddenly, a black shadow fell across the mouth of the cave. All the magic and beauty in my life was destroyed with one savage blow. I still remember the wet, sickening crunch.’ She began to tremble violently. ‘It was so sudden. As I crouched by him, screaming, a rough hand grabbed me by the hair and dragged me backwards into the moonlight. I stared into the face of a young man who seemed horribly familiar.

Bridge put her arms around me and Torquil frowned at the floor.

Mum almost shouted, ‘then he whispered, how dare you dirty yourself with that filth. His eyes were flat and dead, devoid of the slightest glimmer of soul. You’re mine! he hissed, and you always will be. His rancid breath hit my face, mixing with the metallic smell of blood. I was in so much shock I couldn’t do anything.’ Mum put her hands over her face and cried. When she could speak again, she said ‘I had the terrible realisation I’d seen him before, but never paid him much attention. He always wore jungle greens and was often staring in the window of the antique weapons shop in Bigbury. Memories of him flooded back to me then. I’d repeatedly seen him in crowds, never more than a few yards away, but it hadn’t registered. He must have been stalking me for a long time, closing in on his prey. The rest of the story needs no telling Finn, you know it all too well.’

Her tears fell silently. True, it needed no telling. Apart from all the other things he did, he’d threatened to expose my father’s body to the Navy, along with the presence of the sea-born unless she married and obeyed him to the letter. She understood how fiercely opposed my father and his people were to any exposure to humans, whom they considered barbaric. I still shudder when I think how strong and loyal to her true love my mother was, and I don’t understand how she managed to remain sane, waking up every morning with my stepfather’s murderous hands writhing possessively over her body.

She laughed when we told her the story of our how I’d tricked him into leading us to my father’s grave and of our wild chase behind my stepfather’s ute all the way to Dartmoor, just the day before. She cried when we told her my father was a prince among his people and how that morning, they’d lamented, wrapping his bones in sharkskin and drawing them down under the waves.

I didn’t fill her glass again because Torquil was there and I knew he wouldn’t approve. He always emphasised that grieving isn’t a time to encourage drinking, and that drowned sorrows rise up from the depths like vampires, hungry for their pint of blood. Mum certainly needed to catch up on a lot of grief. That afternoon was the first time she’d met Torquil. Earlier in the day, she’d swum from the Isle of Mull to Iona, battling the powerful currents in Iona Sound. Just before that, she’d alerted the police and fled our family house in Edinburgh after she’d found proof of my stepfather’s nefarious activities. If the police had been doing their job, he should have been behind bars already.

With a glance at the time, Torquil rose abruptly. Taking mum’s hand in the manner of an old-world gentleman, he bowed. ‘Katharine, when we meet again, it will be my great pleasure to spend more time.’ Although he hadn’t said much, I knew her story must have deeply affected him. His origins are as mysterious as mine and I was irritated there wasn’t more time for mum to get to know him. She sure needed a sea-change when it came to men. Unfortunately, he’d already arranged a lift across the strait with someone from the community group who live in the lighthouse builders’ cottages. They are the only other inhabitants on Erraid. Unfortunately, Torquil was moored to his fishing fleet so he had to leave.

Bridge and I mobbed him at the door and smothered him with hugs. The downfall of Alf Webster had been epic and none of it could have happened without him. I always hated to see him go, even more since the time I thought he’d died at Belfour Bay,

After making her a steaming hot chocolate, Bridge and I threw some clean sheets on the only bed we could offer mum in my cramped little croft. We set up our own makeshift arrangement next to the warmth of the fire. Mum was visibly exhausted. She couldn’t even blow out the candle.

As I snapped the calipers off my legs, I nudged Bridge. ‘Which stone circle do you think he meant it’s in?’

‘What’s in?’ she yawned.

‘Another orb.’

‘It could be in any one of them, could even be in Ireland.’

‘Hey, my fey lady,’ I said, waving my hands mysteriously, ‘I’m asking you to use that seely mind of yours to see where it is.’

‘Finn!’ she said, suddenly serious, ‘don’t you ever get tired? Today we’ve been to hell and back. I need to sleep.’

‘Ahhhh!’ was all I could say as I hugged her close. We’d known each other some months, though we’d been lovers for only twenty-four hours. The truth be known, we were both so weary, an earthquake could not have moved us.

2

Freedom

Ithink it was midday before I came around. Bridget, already awake, was reading of course. I became aware of mum singing outside. Her voice sounded high, thin and haunting, like that of a child. I’d never heard my mother sing before. The tone sounded so eerie I worried if recent events might have flipped her mind. I’d heard people often flip out when released from prolonged stress. I hoped to God she’d left no clues behind as to our whereabouts, for if Alf Webster managed to slip the law, he would definitely show up to cause more grief. I hoped the police had nailed him before he reached our house in Edinburgh. Also, I had the uneasy feeling if anyone anywhere along the way had seen mum, they’d remember her for sure. It’s the way she looks and her dark red hair. A well-placed question could point him in our direction. I was relieved when I remembered she’d stepped onto the jetty that morning wearing sunglasses and a black scarf.

The tune she sang had a peculiar ring to it and I realised she was actually singing in Gaelic. Something about it gave me shivers, so I asked her what the words meant.

‘I learnt it at school. The original is very old and speaks of the death of the Great Selkie at the hands of human beings. It also prophesies the death of his half-blood son…’ She stopped suddenly aghast. ‘Oh my God, I’m sorry, Finn, I didn’t even think…’

I hugged her, ‘Don’t worry, mum, it’s only a song and I don’t understand much Gaelic anyway.’

She changed the subject. ‘Ah, I don’t know what to do with all this freedom.’

‘You’ll learn,’ I chuckled. ‘It’s midday. Let’s have a hearty lunchfast and step out on the island.’

Bridge giggled. ‘Be prepared, Katharine. This is a place where anything can happen.’

‘Yes, we could even meet Doctor Who – woo – woo. We’re in the zzzzone.’

‘Who do you mean, Doctor Who – woo – woo?’ she queried.

‘Who exactly?’ I whispered.

She cast a fearful glance behind her as if she thought Alf Webster might be standing there. ‘How soon do you think they’ll let him out?’ She had a right to feel frightened.

‘Oh, I’m not talking about him, I’m talking about my real relatives, your sea-born-in-laws. As I’ve said, you would have married into royalty if all had gone well.’

She took the plate of pancakes from my hand. ‘I wouldn’t have cared what I married into. Falling in love with a merman is as crazy as it gets, isn’t it?’

‘Having a kid with him is crazier, but I’m not joking, mum. His relatives know me and I know them. They come here.’ Her brows shot up and her face became animated but I couldn’t read her emotions. Maybe she thought they’d blame her for his death, especially if he’d been royalty. She looked away and changed the subject.

‘Are you ready to tell me about these?’ She pointed at the callipers. I told her I could explain better if I took her on a tour to the other side of the island.

We finished breakfast and stepped outside into the seaweed tang of Erraid. What a place this is! The scent of peat and crushed turf meld to create a bouquet of earthy aromas. The moving sky reflected a moody ocean which at that time churned in anticipation of a wild winter. Roaring towers of spray