As they swam down the main current, Serafina could see that the town they were in was poor and sprawling, nothing like Cerulea. It was a shabby place, made up of found things. The freshwater mer, living so close to the terragoggs, had an abundance of one thing no matter how poor they might be: garbage. And they made good use of it. Serafina and Neela swam down the current, saw a shop built from oil drums, another from plastic buckets. Others were made from wrecked boats, stacked tires, or shipping containers that had fallen off freighters. Roofs were shingled with flattened tin cans or plastic bottles. Down at the end of the current was a department store that had been built from a sunken oil tanker.
“Sea cucumbers—still oozing!” a peddler called.
“Gooseneck barnacles—crunchy and sweet!” another cried.
And then the mermaids heard another voice, right behind them: “They’re coming.”
Neela whirled around. It was the mermaid from the café, the one with the red jacket. Her tail and torso were white with brilliant orange patches, the colors of a koi fish. She had almond-shaped eyes and high cheekbones. Her black hair was coiled into two knots on top of her head. She carried an embroidered silk bag over one shoulder. A sword in a scabbard was slung over her back.
“They’re coming,” she repeated. “You should get out of here.”
“Who’s coming?” Serafina asked.
“Moarte piloti. That’s what the locals call them. It means death riders. Traho’s men.”
“Who are you?” Neela asked warily.
“My name’s Ling. I’m from Qīngshu? in Qin.” She called to a manta who was gliding above them and spoke to her in perfect RaySay. Then she asked something of a school of anchovies in Pesca. Finally a stickleback told her what she wanted to know.
“Fifty of them. On hippokamps,” she said. “Three leagues off, but coming fast.”
Neela’s fins began to prickle. “You speak a lot of languages,” she said.
“I’m an omnivoxa,” said Ling.
Neela knew that omnis, who could speak every dialect of Mermish, and communicate with most sea creatures, were very rare. The prickling in her fins grew stronger. She suspected that Ling was more than some random mermaid from Qin.
“You haven’t even disguised yourselves,” Ling continued. “They’ll pick you out in no time. Even with that really bad haircut.”
“Um, thanks,” Serafina said. “Guess the illusio wore off.”
“How did you know who we are?” Neela asked brusquely.
“Because you stick out like sore fins. You’re wearing dresses that probably cost more than most people here make in a year. That, and Traho’s wanted signs. Your faces are everywhere. There’s a price on your heads. Twenty thousand trocii each. Every bounty hunter and his brother is after you. If I recognized you, they will too. You’ve got to get out of here. I’m going to get some food, then hit the northbound currents, and find a cave till the death riders blow by. I suggest you do the same.”
“Do you know where we are?”
“Are you serious? You don’t know where you are? You two are hopeless,” Ling said, shaking her head. “Radneva. In the Black Sea. The Dun?rea River is about a two-day swim from here. Then it’s another two days, maybe three, to the Olt.”
“But how do you—” Serafina started to say.
“Know where you’re going?” Ling finished. “Because I’m going there, too.” Then she quietly sang the Iele’s chant.
As she did, Neela’s fins flared. Her suspicions had just been confirmed. Ling had heard the chant. She’d had the same dream. The Iele had called her, too.
“I’m the One who sings all creatures’ songs. Vr?ja summoned me, just as she summoned you, Daughter of Merrow,” Ling said to Serafina. “Which one are you?” she asked Neela.
“One whose heart will hold the light,” Neela said, giving Ling a dark look.
“Of course,” Ling said cheekily. “How could I have missed that?”
Neela glowered at her. She didn’t want this. She didn’t like it. It scared her.
“Forgive me for not shining my light at this particular moment. We’ve had just a teensy bit of a bad time. Nothing much, really. Just an invasion and a kidnapping. An attack by speargun-wielding thugs. Had to swim for our lives a few times. Got stuck in a mirror with a psycho. Maybe I’ll get my glow back tomorrow,” she said waspishly.
Ling gave her a solemn look. “You’re going to have a worse time if you don’t come up with a disguise and get out of here….” Her voice trailed off. Her face took on a distracted look, as if she was listening to another conversation.
“What is it?” Neela asked. “Do you hear something else?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe it’s just mackerel chattering.” She frowned. “It sounds like laughter, though. Strange.”
“It’s the monster,” Serafina said gravely. “I hear it too.”
“But I’ve never heard it when I’m awake. Only in my nightmares. That means…”
“…it’s getting stronger,” said Sera.
“Yeah,” Ling said grimly. “I guess it does. Hey, see you at the Iele’s maybe.” She started to swim away.